Yesterday, Google ran over 8.5 billion searches.
But just 25 years ago, no one knew what “Google it” even meant.
Things change. And they’re changing fast. ⚡
Online marketing strategies are changing so swiftly, in fact, that the content marketing industry’s worth is predicted to skyrocket to $600 billion by 2024.
What does this mean for small business owners trying to learn “how to grow my business online”?
It means there has never been a better time to launch or scale your online business to staggering heights.
You just have to know how.
It’s not easy, but it can be simple if you’ve got a system in place.
Most passion-fueled entrepreneurs hoping to create a life and business where they can have more free time already know there are no legit “get rich quick” schemes.
It takes time, grit, and commitment to learn the big-picture strategy behind how a successful sustainable business is actually run.
So, it’s time to make sure you know exactly what you’re doing with your content, your website, and your business online.
Not only have I been following the content trends, but at the 80+ person content writing agency I built and successfully exited for seven figures, I helped 5,000+ clients grow their business online. There, I truly saw what works and what doesn’t.
Let’s take a deep dive into the must-have strategies to help you learn how to grow your business online (like wildfire). 🔥 I hope this list saves you time so you can focus on your business strategy instead.
How to Grow My Business Online Massively in 9 Steps
Asking yourself “How can I grow my small business online?” Here’s how to do it the right way if your goal is to work less, make more revenue, and create a sustainable brand that lasts.
1. Double-Down on Content Marketing
With 28.5% of people clicking on the first Google search result, investing in content marketing for your small business has never mattered more.
“Content is king” has become an understatement – content is the castle the leader reigns over, lives inside of, and speaks from. 🏰
This is why it’s so important to have a content strategy in place.
Specifically, I’m talking about a strategy that incorporates easily repeatable systems, including a consistent schedule and plan for how often you or a team member:
- Posts to your blog
- Creates and publishes a video on YouTube
- Publishes on the proper social media platforms for your brand
- Sends emails to your list
If you want to learn how to grow your business online, you’re going to need to master the platforms and mediums on which you’ll cultivate a tangible audience.
Because not all content marketing platforms are created equal. Blogging is still the most powerful and sustainable, and it has the most impactful lifespan of content.
You’ll notice the content marketing ROI statistics are insane around blogging! Organic traffic is still the way to go if you want a good idea of how to grow your business online for free. Yes, you’ll be paying for your website domain and hosting, but overall, blogging is incredibly low-cost and the ROI is massive. 📈
One of the most common questions that pop up from many of the people I’m coaching is how to grow your online business on Instagram.
Here’s the crux of this issue: Social media matters too, but only after you’ve mastered your own content house on your website. That way, your followers have somewhere to go to convert (a place YOU own vs. a place an ever-shifting social media company owns).
Create entrepreneurs often fall into a common trap: They exert too much energy on the MANY genuinely entertaining social media platforms out there… It’s like shiny object syndrome. 🐿️
But seriously, who really wants to spend precious time and money learning how to create for the newest social media platform when its content lifespan is only 2-3 minutes?!
Look out for this: Many budding or plateauing entrepreneurs get stuck in this content deathtrap. Avoid focusing on the wrong content types at all costs if you want to see your online business grow and soar.
2. Master Your Mindset
One of the biggest struggles when learning how to grow your business online is getting yourself into the right mindset for growth.
You need to create and live in an attitude that creates success.
This is easier said than done, but it’s crucial to growing your business online. To be a boss, to be THE boss…you have to rewire your brain and build that boss mindset. 🧠
This way, you can build brand trust with those you hire, your colleagues, and your leads/customers.
What you believe about yourself and the way you portray that – showing up for yourself and your business consistently – is a key building block to making decisions the right way. And as a business owner, you’re going to be faced with a lot of decisions. Don’t let being stuck in the “worker” mindset force you into accidentally making fear-based decisions that you spend forever trying to figure out, and then end up wondering if it was the right decision. It’s exhausting and you’ll get burnt out fast thinking like this.
You don’t have time for it – and your business will suffer.
Many people put this off their whole lives, but to truly scale your business and shift into the entrepreneurial mindset, you have to build your self-worth up. You have to start believing that you can do this.
Because you absolutely can. 💥
With the right habits and consistently applying them, you’ll be in the perfect headspace to manage your business with efficiency and confidence. 🔑 You need to step into this mentality and prepare to truly oversee your online business as it runs smoothly through your management, contractors, and automation.
3. Align Your Branding with Your Target Audience
Are you just blogging to blog? Are you only putting out content because you know you’re supposed to?
No more, my friend! I don’t want you to waste another moment of your time, energy, or money pushing out content that doesn’t work and doesn’t serve your audience.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the truth is, to grow your business online, you need to stop being so broad and start getting granular. That way, when a potential customer finds you — they’re going to be blown away with how authentic they feel that connection is. 🤗
Because your brand won’t be for everyone. You are not for everyone. You have to know who your target audience and business persona are. Then, you can write just for them, gain their trust, and sell to them.
4. Build Your Business Skills
To grow your business online, you need to learn the skills that will provide you with a good, sustainable foundation.
Sure, you can (and should) hire people to help you. But that doesn’t mean you’re above, or completely removed from, learning the basics.
Are you already a master of your trade? Awesome! But — you also need to learn modern and efficient skills business skills like:
- Finance
- Setup
- Team
- Structure
- Tax savings
- Client pitching
These online business skills will be completely worth your time and energy to master, and I go super in-depth when we cover this in Phase 2, Skillset, inside The Content Transformation System (sneak peek of a few modules below).
We talk a lot about creative skills in this phase, too, and I always remind struggling entrepreneurs how important it is to learn these. Which brings me to point #5…
5. Build Your Creative Skills
Even if you’re planning to hire someone to help do your search engine optimization (SEO), blog writing, email copy, etc., you still need to understand the basics of these tasks. You need the ability to tell if they know what they’re doing (while having the fundamental skills to step in and edit or correct something as needed). ✏️
From how to write a small business SEO blog that ranks to how to use a simple payroll system, or even how to get started on YouTube, these important skills are embedded in the content trends for 2022. Online entrepreneurs who lean into them now will see monumental returns on their efforts down the line.
6. Stop Doing Everything
Pop quiz: What is the fastest way to grow your business online?
Answer: Stop doing it all.
If you want to learn how to grow your business online the right way, you have to learn how to grow without burning yourself out. 🥵
This part is HUGE, and it’s actually a well-oiled marketing tactic I use, which you can take advantage of, too.
You’ll need to hire people so you can delegate and automate tasks, which frees you up to oversee and adjust your strategy as needed and to learn how to create lasting impact. It’s absolutely imperative in today’s world to create your own small, powerful team.
The best place to start is to learn how to hire a content writer – but the possibilities of help you can get to take things off your plate are limitless.
Want to learn how to hire the right people? It’s all inside The Content Transformation System, in Phase 3, Growth. I’ll show you the exact system I use to find, hire, train, assign tasks to, manage, and pay the teams that help me keep my online businesses running. The strategies you need for success are already built and available to you in this powerful five-phase system, enrolling now.
A historically high 47.4 million people quit their jobs in 2021 – the pandemic has created instability and unpredictability in so many people’s lives. That’s a lot of people out of work, questioning career paths, and looking to upgrade from the work situations they found themselves in before March of 2020.
With flexibility and meaningful work mattering now more than ever before, there has never been a better time for you to grow your business online by structuring roles and hiring.
There are thousands and thousands of content writers out there looking for hassle-free remote work. This is why your content writer job listing is key – when executed right, I’ve found a way to get an avalanche of applications from excellent, professional content writers. ✍️
Want to skip the exhausting business research and instead access the exact payroll template and job listings I use? I’ve honed in all my 10+ years of business AND creative skills and can teach them to you in The Content Transformation System. I’ll give you the exact systems I’ve used that you can literally plug and play into your own business for explosive online growth.
7. Get Visible in Your Niche
Once your strategy is on lock, and you’re growing your business through your website and delegation, you need to make waves in your niche and get seen. 👀 This is an important step in marketing your small business online.
So if you’re wondering how to grow your business’s online presence, think first about what aligns with your brand and your interests:
- Have you always wanted to write a book? Now’s the time to hire a ghostwriter and get it done.
- Big fan of podcasts and love to talk? Start one up and get interviewed by others.
- Craving connections and dying to share your helpful advice? Write guest posts for other publications in your niche.
There are a lot of ways to go about this, including doing video interviews, online summits, and local networking or speaking events. These are crazy-effective for visibility + growth in your industry! Offering to contribute and collaborate with a similar brand exposes you to a new (yet similar) audience.
Plus, you’ll be growing your network by building relationships with peers in your industry – it’s a win-win. 🎉
8. Focus on Strategy for Clarity
The next time you’re wondering, “How can I spread my business online?”, remember clarity is key.
Before you do anything, you’ll need to plan.
Teaching people how to create a content strategy (step-by-step) is one of the biggest tenants of my coaching system. Establishing proven and repeatable processes for your unique business needs is crucial to serious and sustainable growth.
Because when you’re too stuck in the weeds with the day-to-day work of EVERYTHING that needs to get done, it’ll be a recipe for a business disaster. But once you’ve built and are sticking to a repeatable, predictable strategy – the sky is truly the limit. 🎉
And it feels amazing. It’s the same feeling as when you knock out your to-do list, get the house picked up, and sit down with some clarity. You can then ask yourself, “Okay, now that the basics are taken care of… and I now have the time and clarity…what am I going to focus on to THRIVE and scale this biz even more?”
THIS is the state you need to be in to really grow your business online. The kind of growth you’ve dreamed of and know is possible (you just need to buckle down, get some clarity, and learn the how.)
9. Refine Your Strategy + System
Even though a sustainable online business frees up your time and energy, it’s never going to be a “set it and forget it” situation.
To be part of the roughly 55% of businesses that last more than five years, you need to be agile and flexible.
Source: LendingTree
This means your business’ needs are going to change and grow – this is a good thing (but still requires your attention). 🧐
If you’re looking for real, tangible growth and exponential success, you’ll need to tweak your systems – setting long-term goals and short-term ones.
The Real Answer to How to Grow My Business Online: Strategy
How do you grow a business through the internet?
Through strategy.
You’ll also need the right creative AND business skills that 1.) Are essential and 2.) Give you confidence that you know what the heck you’re doing.
There are too many creative entrepreneurs who are amazing at what they teach but lack the simple digital and business skills necessary to succeed in today’s online marketing world. 🌎
But the good news is there’s a lot of content out there — and you, my passion-fueled business creator, are absolutely capable of learning how to create it (and do it better so your brand stands out!).
Tired of the ups and downs of trying to be successful? Want me to show you how? After successfully exiting my writing agency in a $1M+ sale, I’ve made business coaching my sole focus.
I’d love for you to apply to The Content Transformation System today and see if we’d be a good fit. My live hybrid coaching program contains everything you’ll need to finally break free from the struggle and thrive — all the proven skills, strategy, and even plug and play systems you can immediately use to grow your own business online tremendously.
