Stop Trying to Knock the Ball out of the Park

I'm on the wrong side of the pond for baseball really, but the phrase 'knocking the ball out of the park' seems so rich an analogy. Many people seem to get this wrong when they start out online. They are trying to 'knock the ball out of the park' or (if like me, you are on this side of the pond) they are trying to burst the net (to use a football metaphor).

As the great Jimmy Greaves once said, you don't need to break the net, you just need to pass the ball into the net. OK, so I know I have used two different metaphors, but they are both good. Let's talk about trying to break the net. This is something that many defenders try to do on those rare occasions when they find themselves in front of goal. Instead of coolly tapping he ball into the empty net, they want to put the laces through the ball. The result? More often than not, they knock it over the bar.

I'm not a baseball player and it may be ever so slightly offensive to talk about cricket, or rounders, in relation to hitting the ball out of the park, so bear with me a little. Perhaps there are some baseball players here who might be able to validate what I am suggesting. I think that if you step up to the plate with the intention of knocking the ball out of the park, you can also end up increasing the odds of getting caught behind or simply mis-hitting the ball.

Of course it would be great to knock the ball out of the park - or to burst the net with a screamer - but that's not what professional players are usually trying to do. They simply train themselves to strike the ball well and they can do it almost without thinking. Of course occasionally, they do manage to strike it just perfectly and it flies like a rocket, but that's not what they are usually trying to do.

OK now what has all of this got to do with internet marketing?

Glad you asked.

Firstly, stop thinking in terms of needing to have the next big idea. This is something that many of the people I have personally spoken with seem to get wrong. They get excited at stories like the guys who started their multi-million dollar business in their garage or the author who wrote that one book that sky-rocketed them to instant success.

Sure, those people did 'knock the ball of out the park' but the chances are that they were not trying to do that at the time. In fact, I remember one successful writer saying that it had taken him over twenty years to become an overnight success - there is a lot of wisdom in that quote if you open your mind to what the guy was saying.

Second, stop thinking that there must be something wrong with your current product if it is not flying off the (digital) shelves. There could be something wrong with your product, of course; I am not saying that might not be your problem. But it is much more likely that there is something wrong with your marketing.

So, instead of thinking that your next product will be a home run, start tweaking your current sales page to optimise your conversions. Or, if you are an affiliate for someone else's product, start examining how you currently capture leads and gently lead them to your recommendations. Then work out how you can do that a whole lot better.

Third, stop thinking that you just need to get that one JV with that big name marketer. You don't. You need to learn how to do JVs with people who are at the same level as yourself. You are not going to get that big JV until you learn what makes a successful campaign and what makes it attractive to potential partners - and you learn by doing. When you can successfully run a small JV, then you will have trained yourself for the larger opportunities when they eventually present themselves.

So, if you are still trying to get your act together, I hope you might find this post useful. Remember, you don't need a big idea. Learn the basics and learn them well and you will begin to sell things. Train yourself to always do the right things and one day, who knows, maybe you will knock the ball out of the park.

Will