I’ve been marketing online for many years now, and recently I reflected on all the different ways that I’ve made money with my websites and I realized that I’d reached a point where I can now see that creating a movement is much more effective than just creating websites.
So what exactly do I mean by ‘creating a movement’? Well essentially I mean creating a following of loyal subscribers and customers that are passionate about your stuff and are often coming back for more.
The obvious example is this blog, I’ve built up a mailing list of the years and consistently updated the site with new content for my readers. The result has been a huge success for me.
However it’s not the only movement I’ve created. I also have a movement happening these days on my ecommerce store, as I target a boutique niche, where the people are passionate about the topic and as a result they come back for more, to buy products and read the blog too.
Out of all the different styles of sites I’ve tried, and many of them have made great income and still do, I have to say the ones where I’m building the community and creating the movement are the ones that are doing the best and have the highest pay off also. Just look at the cult like following of Apples products, this is really the huge driving force that allowed Apple to get where they are today, Steve Jobs knew how to create a movement.
Why Create a Movement?
A movement is self-generating in momentum, as people like to tell others about something they’re a part of and like. This means that you will get more and more business over time with no extra traffic strategies needed. Whereas sites that do not have this going on are constantly trying to get more traffic from Google or otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, this does work, its just more work.
By creating a movement you can make repeat sales off the same person as they’ll naturally be coming back to get more from you. This also opens up the opportunity to one day create your own product in the niche market and increase your profits further.
Movements are great assets and are much less risky. The truth is that the sites of mine that have been built in this way have never once had any issues with Google, not once! There’s a good reason for that, Google can tell if you’re creating a movement as your sites will naturally be giving off ‘good SEO signals‘ to the big G.
It Doesn’t Take Much to Start a Movement
You don’t need many customers/subscribers to start making great money when you’re building a movement, provided you’re creating quality for people. With my ecommerce store, if a customer ever emails or calls in complaining about something, such as the delivery time, I immediately do something to compensate them.
In fact recently a customer called in and said it has been 10 days and she had not got her order and she was angry, very angry. I looked up her order and noticed the courier tried to drop it off and also left a note in the letter box, so it actually wasn’t our fault.
Anyway, I decided to give her the order for free as I know that this would have a much larger impact on her and would be something she’d never forget. The customer emailed me and said she was shocked I’d be so generous, and said she would tell all her friends about my store….the movement continues to generate momentum!
In closing this post, I encourage you all to consider creating your own movement in a niche market. It doesn’t take much to start getting momentum, BUT creating a a movement is not something that happens overnight, you do have to stick at it and over time it pay back big time!
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Hi Matt!
It is easy to create momentum in a niche which you are passionate about. I love cricket but don’t know how to get the ball rolling in this sports niche, any idea?
Matt Carter Reply:
November 28th, 2012 at 8:43 am
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Yeah you do need to make sure there is a good way to monetize the niche also…cricket could be a bit harder
Peter Sundstrom Reply:
November 28th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
I don’t know if Cricket would be particularly hard to monetize.
There’s a lot of hard core cricket fans out there who love all the merchandise that’s associated with cricket (and there’s definitely plenty of it, eg: posters, books, memorabilia, cricket equipment etc).
Well Said Matt! you are one of the very few marketer, i consistently following since more then three years now. Your stuff is always very informative. I always look for updates in your blog and read them all and have watched almost all of the webinars you have recorded so far. Thanks for always bringing in informative and fresh stuff. Keep it up. God Bless you!
Hi Matt, I have been a loyal part of your movement for a couple of years now, and still use your marketing theme. Do you update it at all? Anyway, so many online sellers don’t want to interact with their customers. When I get a comment or question,(like your angry customer story), I answer it right away. I figure if the person came to my site and is asking a question about a product, a quick reply will definitely tell them You value them. Thanks, Ken
this is sooo true Matt.
At this time we;re trying to build 3 communities in 3 different niches. One of them in the pets niche is going pretty well. Hope we;d be able to monetize it decently once we have gathered enough followers.
A follow up post about how you;re specifically engaging your follower base on your ecom stores would be nice 😉
Asim
Wow Matt!
I’m really inspired by this post.
I’m challenged
More grease to your elbow!
Great Stuff as usual Matt.
This post was one of those perfectly timed situations for me. I have recently been reading and following Simon Sinek and His “Golden Circle” idea. Learning why people do what they do and focusing on reaching like minded visitors is the key to building a focused community. Unfortunately too many marketers focus simply on the sale. Sacrificing the golden opportunity to actually build a long term relationship for the short term sale. Building a community that you care for and add value to is the best way to build a long term business that benefits everyone.
Thanks for the insight.
Martin
Hi Matt, I love your work, I too have been thinking in creating a comunity but your right in mentioning it will bring more work. I guess its not for everyone. Could you share your e-commerce website address to see what you do. Thanks again for all the tips.
Very good an informative blog. I agree with you totally. I have been talking with people about a healthier lifestyle and how to get there while saving money. I never thought of it as a movement opposed to just a website. I will have to work on connecting these people to building a community and make it a movement.
Thanks also for the idea on how to work with your customers. Giving her the product for free will definitely produce more income in the long run. Great job.
Your blogs are always worth reading. Thanks for all the help
Thank you for your inspired article. I had bought two of your products and following your blog for years now. Well done….
Hi Matt, this is really the best way to build a site, but it takes time. And that’s why when someone proposes building mini sites, it is very easy to give in to the temptation. And while it is very easy to create 10 or 20 mini sites, they may not bring you any money.
I think an individual can just about mange 1 to 3 community based sites. For more, you will have to outsource or hire people to work for you (would appreciate your comments here Matt, and if there’s any quicker way do this).
Thanks
Thanks Matt,
I agree with you, and as Peter says there is usually something you can monetize with.
Linda
Is a movement like an empire? Cause it sounds cooler and that’s what I’m helping create, heheh albeit very slowly which is frustrating, anyways thanks Matt always great content you put out.
.Andrew G.
Proud Former IMSE Student
Yes would be more interested in a movement
Thanks Matt. This is completely true! Its more like building your brand, your list and your bank account.
Am going to focus more closely on this.
I receive an avalanche of IM material daily which I give a fair shake time permitting, but when I see one of your posts or videos in my inbox, I pull up my headphones and populate the most comfortable chair as it doesn’t hit me on a daily basis, is easy on the eye and ear and always relevant, this movement article is unique and I’ve flagged it’s importance up.
thanks Matt
A movement may not take much to start, but it doesn’t happen overnight, that’s for sure. I agree that good customer service is a great way to push it along, though. How do you gain traction in the beginning?
Gday Matt
You’re right, and I just learned something I think I should share with you.
I was just over at the blog of Matt Cutts from Google. On his blog he has over 500 posts about Google, over 100 about personal issues, 27 about his personal 30 day challenges … well, you get the idea. He’s super productive.
I think he’s leading by example when he says, “content is king”. Whatever you go there for, there’s bound to be another category of his interests that you share, too.
What do you think, is it worth making it an element of our strategies?