Art Of War, Business Strategy, Marketing Tactics And Jack Humphrey

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One of the biggest problems I see happening with beginner online marketers (and one of the reasons so many fail), is the tendency to focus on online money making tactics, without having an overall business strategy or plan of action.  This is the “kiss of death” that crushes more dreams of making a living online than any other mistake one can make.

Sun Tzu, the Chinese General of The Art Of War fame said,

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.  Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

Now, I understand these may seem like lofty concepts, and you may be wondering, “Why should I worry about this?”

The quick answer… formulating your Internet Business Strategy and then using Internet Marketing Tactics to bring life to your strategy is what allows you to make money online.

Have I got your attention now?

Definitions Are In Order

It is kind of hard to distinguish between strategy and tactics, so I’ll do my best to make it simple.

I think of it like this:

Strategy is the overall direction you want to take your online business and the general maneuvers you must perform to reach your goals.

Tactics are the specific techniques you use to secure the objectives of your strategy and move you closer to accomplishing your goal.

The PLAN is the systematic, step-by-step action steps coordinating the tactics into a focused effort so you can stay true to the strategy and accomplish your objectives.

I realize this may not help much, so bear with me and let’s look at an example.

Example Of Strategy, Tactics And Plan : Jack Humphrey

Jack Humphrey of Friday Traffic Report and Authority Site Center fame is who I’m going to use for this example.  (NOTE: I haven’t talked to Jack about this, these are just my own observations.)

Jack is a pioneer of Authority Blogging and Social Marketing.  So let’s say his strategy is to build an Internet Business by helping others use authority blogs, social sites and social bookmarking to get targeted traffic to their online businesses and establish authority in their niche.

This is his overall vision (according to me).  It is what he wants to accomplish.  But just stating his strategy, doesn’t make it so.  He needs to use tactics!

So here are some tactics Jack uses to bring life to his strategy:

Authority Black Book is a free resource full of steps you can take and resources you can use to use social marketing to promote your online business.  It is a reference guide everyone should own:  especially since it is great advice and FREE!

This allows Jack to get top quality Social Marketing information in the hands of the public for no cost.

Friday Traffic Report is Jack’s authority blog where he keeps his readers up to date on issues relating to blogging, social marketing, social bookmarking, etc.

This is Jack’s hub where visitors can become immersed in Jack’s world and learn from his tireless effort to teach successful blogging and Social Marketing and make it accessible to everyone.

Social Power Linking is a low-cost membership site that gives ongoing teaching to use Social Marketing more effectively and set yourself apart from your competition.  As the Internet changes, you’re immediately at the head of the class and can get the jump on everybody.

This is where Jack focuses on social marketing, regardless of whether you are trying to promote a blog or a website.  Everyone can benefit.

Web2Submitter is a software program that makes submitting to social sites a breeze.  Just fill in some fields, push some buttons and your posts are announced to the social sites for tremendous exposure.

So, not only does Jack advocate Social Marketing for getting tons of traffic and helping you build your online business… but he provides tools to make it easier!

Blogging is part of Jack’s vision.  Building an Authority Blog and then using the Social Marketing tactics he teaches is paramount to success.  So, it should come as no surprise that he has teaching and tools to help bloggers become more successful and complete their blogging tasks quicker and easier.

Authority Site Center is a membership site full of training, software and ongoing guidance to ensure EVERY blogger has the best opportunity to succeed by building an authority blog and using Social Marketing.

If you are serious about creating a highly successful bog (and get big paychecks to prove it), this is the place to be for expert training and guidance.

 

Utility Poster and Trackboost are two pieces of software that helps bloggers make high-quality posts in minutes, and get valuable trackbacks to their posts.  These tools are super simple to use and make successful blogging cut & paste simple.

Again, the site and tools are in line with his overall vision.  They teach people what to do AND give them the tools to make the tasks faster and easier.  Jack’s vision of blogging and social marketing are made accessible to beginners and experience alike.

 

Now, I know this is getting kind of long, so I’m not going to go into all the other tactics Jack uses to further his vision.  I’m not going to talk about list building, article marketing, RSS feeds, videos, webinars, forum posts, blog comments and everything else Jack does online.

But as you can see: 

1) Jack has a clear vision (strategy).

2) And he uses all the techniques at his disposal to further his vision (tactics).

What about a plan?

Well, once you get on the inside of Jack’s world you are normally given his coveted 60-Day Plan.  These are the exact steps you need to take to take your blog from zero to hero.  These are the same steps other marketers have paid thousands to have done for them.  And all you have to do is follow instructions!

As you can see:

Jack has a clear goal.  And EVERY tactic he uses is designed to take him one step closer to his goal.  This is a coordinated effort, where each tactic reinforces and builds upon the other.  And looking at what he’s done (and continues to do) is a great example of strategy, tactics and plan.

Now ask yourself… does your online business resemble Jack’s? 

If not, you need to take a good hard look at what you’re doing.  Jumping from one tactic to another (like most people do who try to make money online), is not the way to build a real Internet Business.

Having a strategy that coordinates ALL your tactics for the achievement of ONE goal and following a plan to keep you moving in the right direction IS THE WAY TO SUCCEED ONLINE!

Here’s some more about Strategy vs. Tactics from around the web:

Strategy VS Tactics (Video): How 1 Hour A Week Spells Succes or … - I just posted a new video to my blog… it’s straight out of my own personal “Idea Notebook”… and I promise it will help you understand exactly why some people succeed and others fail, and why just one hour a week spells the difference…

Strategy vs Tactics - These are tactics, people! These things are not a strategy for your brand! Put strategy first and then once all stakeholders have bought into what that strategy is, then (and only then) can you start to discuss and determine what that …

Marketing Tactics Vs Marketing Strategy For Small Business - Now there is nothing wrong with all of these marketing tactics as such. In fact they are all important to any successful business. However, if there is no well thought out marketing strategy behind each of these tactics then you will …

Strategy vs. Tactics: Branding With Both Sides of Your Brain - When strategy and tactics align, it can be a beautiful thing. Here are a few brands that have managed to do both successfully, and examples of how they achieved it…

LL Bean was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean.

Strategy vs Tactics - What will fill up my appointment book this month? What will be easy, and not take too much time, thought or money? In the business world, tips are called tactics, and are contrasted with thinking strategically. Strategy vs Tactics …

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