Everyone is obsessed with tactics. Traffic tactics, conversion tactics, pricing tactics and every other ‘you-MUST-be-doing-this-one-thing-or-you-will-FAIL’ type tactics.
But this obsession with tactics is getting dangerous.
Ever feel like you’re fighting to find more time to implement the latest tactics, but even though you’re working harder, you’re not see the massive results you’ve expected?
Here’s why… tactics are worthless.
You see, tactics are part 2 of a 2-step process, but no one ever really talks about part 1.
Part 1: The Simple Little Idea Known As “Strategy”
Strategy, now there is a worthy obsession.
It’s the difference between the blogger who has the freedom to run their blog how they want, and the one who must stay chained to their computer, wasting an endless amount of time.
So, what’s the difference between tactics and strategy?
Your strategy is your framework within to think about your business and blog. Tactics are what you use to deploy your strategy.
As an example, tactics might include something like pay per click, SEO, social media marketing, Facebook marketing, and etc.
But strategy? That’s a whole other story.
How to Develop a Rock-Solid Blog Strategy
With all this talk of “Strategy,” you’re likely wondering “I get it, but how do I develop it?”
That’s where what “The 4 Ds of Strategy” come in.
So, grab a pen and paper right now, and let’s go through it.
1. Define your longterm goal.
Take a step back for a minute and think about what you really want in the longterm. If you had your ideal business and your ideal lifestyle in 1, 2, 5, or 10 years from now, what does that look like?
a) What is your longterm goal for your business and blog?
b) How much is enough? How many readers do you want? How much business will your blog generate?
c) What does your ideal business look like in terms of number of staff and set up?
d) What does your ideal lifestyle look like?
2. Determine if what you’re doing right now will get you to your goal in the future.
Now that you know what you’re actually shooting for, let’s take a look at your trajectory to see if the direction your heading will take you to your goal over the next few years.
a) How much is an average customer worth to you over the next 12 months?
To get this figure just multiply your average sale value by the number of times an average customer returns to buy again in the next year.
E.g. If your average sale is $100 and your average customer buys from you once a month, then they are worth $1200 to you over the next 12 months.
Obviously you also want to factor in your costs so you know how much of that $1200 is sweet, sweet profit, but I don’t want to do complex maths in public!
b) Based on these numbers, how many more customers would you need to reach your revenue goal?
c) If you had that many customers, what would your business look like? Would it match your ideal business and lifestyle?
If the answer’s “no” that’s ok. It’s “no” for lots of people! I call this the Oh Sh*t realisation, as in “Oh sh*t! If my business actually gets bigger and I make more money, I’ll hate my life!”.
Don’t worry, it just means that maybe your current business model needs to change to become the business you really want to build.
3. Decide who you want to work with.
Now that you’re starting to get an idea of what you might have to change to get from the business you have to your ideal business, let’s think about who you can serve and what you can sell them.
a) Who is your ideal customer?
In this customer is king world we live in people tend to think that all customers are equal. Don’t get me wrong, great customer service is vital but you must choose who you serve very carefully. The first mistake most business owners make is that they let the customer choose them, rather than the other way round.
If you’ve sold anything to anyone you’ll know that some people are a perfect fit for what you do and others are not right at all. You know, the ones who don’t value what you do, who always complain about the price, and who just aren’t positioned to get the most value from what you offer.
They’re not bad people, they’re just not your ideal customer.
So who is your ideal customer? If they were sitting next to you right now, what would they be like? What are they interested in? What problem do they have that you can solve for them?
b) What products or services can you offer them that will add value to their lives, and that they would be willing to pay for?
Your products or services must deliver real value to your ideal customer and they must fit in with your ideal business model. In other words, the sales numbers need to stack up to give you your target income goal.
And of course, the products or services you are offering must be something that your ideal customer needs and is willing to pay for. Which is not always the same thing.
4. Do what you know.
Now you know what you’re aiming for and how you want to do it, the next step is to get out there and do it!
What you need to do is simple:
Market products and services that are in alignment with your ideal business, and market them to your ideal customer.
Start by implementing what you already know. Use the tactics that fit best. Forget about chasing the latest hyped tactics, you already know tons of tactics that you’re not using.
And when new tactics come along you can quickly assess whether or not they are in alignment with your strategy and your longterm goals.
Free Yourself From The Obsession With Tactics
The real danger of the obsession with tactics is the guilt and paralysis it brings. We’re constantly bombarded with new tactics that we absolutely MUST be doing, so much so that it’s impossible to keep up, and we feel guilty that we’re not doing them all.
This guilt and overwhelm can paralyze you and you end up with all this knowledge of tactics but not doing much of anything at all!
Having a clear strategy gives you room to breathe. Now you know what you’re looking for in tactics – you don’t want just any old tactic, you want the ones that make most sense for your strategy.
So if you haven’t already written down your strategy, do it now. Then choose one tactic – just one – to implement over the next week.
Start to breathe again, always keep one eye on your strategy and take it one tactic at a time.
I’m always fascinated to see people map out their strategy – I’d love it if you would tell me one thing you learned by doing this process. Leave a comment below.
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{ 29 comments }
Megan, an excellent and timely advice you have given, thank you for that.
With the computer open, it is almost impossible to stay in the plan where I am constantly getting new ideas and tactics that people are suggesting.
One way I found to get over it is to just stay committed to your current plan. If you see a new full proof tactic, just say to yourself that hey I am committed to my earlier plan
Keeping your ideas written down on a paper and pen works wonders. But do have to keep updating the plans, because plan things always don’t happen as planned.
Hey Megan,
That’s a great article, Thanks! Personally, I don’t like the word “strategy” because a lot of people use it to describe their thoughts about what should be done, as opposed to a complete action plan that includes doing actual work.
I think the most important thing about mapping out and pursuing any significant endeavor is twofold. First, it is knowing where you want to go, and second is knowing that you got there.
I think was Zig Zigglar who first said, “Goals should be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.” When you use this kind of “SMART” planning, and follow things through to the end, your chances of success are much better.
That’s my o2, anyway
Mike
Thanks Derek,
Being a chess player I always enjoy comparisons between strategy and tactics.
a Relevant quote from former world champion Gary Kasparov:
“Tactics involve calculations that can tax the human brain, but when you boil them down, they are actually the simplest part of chess and are almost trivial compared to strategy.”
I think the most important thing is two-fold. You have know where you want to go and you have to be able to tell whether, in the end, you actually got there. In other words, you need to have a vision.
Once that vision is in place, I think, the next step is goal setting. I like the way Zig Ziglar talked about goals. He said that goals should be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.
The next (and final?) step in the planning process itself is defining your “tactics”, so to speak — the things you’ll do and the methods you plan to use to go from point a to point b.
Thanks for the great article! I like articles like this one because they make me think.
Just my .02
Mike
P.S. I hope this isn’t a double submission — my browser wigged on me at the last second and I don’t see what I wrote here in the comments section.
A tactics is short term. Both need to be used well.
At last . . . a sensible way to look at blogging. This is what I needed as a kick to analyse where I am in relation to where I want to be.
Nobody has the time to buy into every tactic that every marketer says is the latest “must have”. Thank you for a totally sane analysis.
Keeping an eye on where we are in relation to where we want to be is easy to forget sometimes, there’s so much other stuff going on day-to-day to distract us! I’m glad this helped.
If you’ve been so focused on tactics, the past several years might’ve looked like a series of successful Myspace campaigns (did those exist?). That is, you will have been focused on things that can easily collapse overnight.
Your core service, your customers, and mass desires won’t disappear overnight. They’ll be here when you’re gone. Bank on that.
So true Braden. You have to focus on the things you have ownership and control over first.
That’s one of the reasons why it’s important to focus on things like building your email list before worrying about Twitter followers and Facebook likes.
Ahhh, the ‘ole Tactics and Strategy discussion.
Great post! It’s very easy to get blown off course, trying to follow the latest fads, but you’re right, tactics should be determined by strategy. Thanks
So refreshing to see some common sense marketing principles after so much hype about tactical execution using the latest tools and techniques. If there is nothing valuable in the offer it doesn’t matter how many channels you use to disseminate the message, people aren’t going to buy it. Get strategic or get a job and work for someone who does have a strategy. Thanks Megan!
You’re welcome Jenny, glad it helped. Common sense is underused and underrated – there’s no big mystery and secret to marketing. Like so many other things it comes down to common sense and hard work.
Thanks for this article Megan, it comes at a time when I’m starting a new venture and its critical for me to focus on the long term strategy instead of the details inherent in the tactics to achieve that.
You’re welcome Haroun. Good luck with the new venture!
Megan –
I enjoyed reading the perspective & examples your experience brought to the strategies/tactics topic. My experience and the way I think about strategies & tactics is conceptually different.
I see strategies as categorical containers for the related actions we call tactics.
Identifying similarities and differences is a strategy I could use to highlight the benefits of a product or service.
One tactic I could use to show the similarities and differences would be a Venn diagram. Using a three-column table would be another visual representation tactic within the strategy.
A useful exercise, from this perspective, is to take all of the tactics you use and sort or map them into clusters that makes sense to you. The cluster labels are strategies.
Some tactics may be applicable within more than one strategy if, for example, you were sorting the the tactics into print or digital document strategies or synchronous (including face-to-face), hybrid or asynchronous delivery strategies.
Conceptually, knowing where each of your tactics “lives” makes them more retrievable and useable.
Hi Mark, thanks for sharing. It’s interesting to hear your approach.
I think it explains something I instinctively do for ‘sub-strategies’.
I’ll have my main strategy that defines the big picture of what I’m doing and where I’m going. Then within that I’ll have some ‘sub-strategies’ and I’ll figure out what tactics will work for that part.
It’s not a process I’ve ever sat down and formally mapped out before though, it usually stays in my head. Next time I might give it a go!
Thanks Megan for the great blog post.
As a new blogger I get worried about sitting too much in front of the computer and not tending to my “real world” obligations. By fine tuning my strategy I won’t have to feel guilty about stepping away from my tactics.
My long term goal is to combine my blog (about home repair) and my rental property business together. If they both work as a cohesive unit (and earn enough income) I will be able to serve my end user a lot better.
The one tactic that I will implement this week is to establish an AWeber account and immediately add an email signup form on the homepage (as well as every post).
Thanks again for you great insight.
I wrote about this topic for About.com a couple of years ago. Here’s my take on tactics vs. strategy and my 5 steps to blog strategically for anyone who’s interested in my marketing/blogging perspective: http://weblogs.about.com/od/writingablog/p/Blog-Strategy-Vs-Blog-Tactics-5-Steps-To-Blog-Strategically.htm
Hi Megan,
Thanks for the thought-provoking article.
I like the simple math that you provide…at this stage I’m pretty clear about who my ideal client is because they are starting to be attracted…but hadn’t thought about how much an individual client would be worth, very useful.
Was concerned about becoming overwhelmed, since I’m offering online sessions as well as writing…so creating online courses that clients can work through and come back to me when they are ready. Tactic number 1.
To me the strategy is an umbrella intention…in my case, how to be of service.
The ‘tools’ of service then make themselves apparent via intuitive forces – yet us spiritual types also need a good business container to get the work ‘out there’. That’s where wordpress and Thesis come in!
As somebody who is blogging and providing services too I’ve become aware that some of my initial tactics took a long time to achieve and didn’t help me much (if at all).
The last couple of weeks I’ve cleared my email boxes, unsubscribed from a bunch of stuff I ‘thought’ might be useful but wasn’t, found places to put things so I actually do stuff with them (or throw them away) and I’ve started using Zoho as a CRM. Wow this helping. Clearing the clutter has cleared my vision too…guess that’s another tactic?
Like how you’ve written this article – very clear, thank you.
Sarah
A Mom On A Spiritual Journey!
Hi Megan….you’re music to my ears! Like you, I see strategies as a framework or blueprint that should provide the road-map in decision making. Tactics can come and go based on testing and how they deliver against the strategy (s)….in other words we have many options available to us…some good, some not so good….if the tactic “appears” to be on strategy, the results of the tactic(s) will either pay-off and deliver against the strategy or it will not. Fortunately, if you’re watching #1, KPIs/objectives you won’t have to wait long to see the results.
Respective to quantifying…and I quantify everything….I would switch item 2(growth trajectory) & 3(target opportunity)…I find if you quantify you’re opportunity/target first this will provide a “jump off” point to define your growth trajectory…it will also validate/invalidate the revenue/expense impact….once you understand this, you are in a good position to use this information to establish meaningful KPIs. Great Article!
I really enjoyed with this article. i’ll try to focus on the long term strategy. thanks
Awesome post…got to try and focus on long term strategy and also staying in check with the latest tactics at disposal now and then.
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant.
I’m just creating my own list building product, and this post is the exact essence of what I’m teaching. Don’t go chasing the money and doing all the things that the crappy IM guru’s are selling.
These have been designed to keep you in the dark about strategy, the longer you don’t have one, the more you’ll spend on products about tactics. It’s such a vicious circle that needs to be broken, so hopefully this post will save people time and money.
Only move onto tactics once you know what to achieve, and why you’re doing it.
Andrew
Let me see…tactic or strategy? They both have two Ts and one A.
On a serious note, I guess both are essential. One therefore has to use standards of reasonableness to strike the right balance simply because what works for blogger A may not necessarily work for blogger B.
Strategy takes the upper hand in most cases though, right?
Well I think that both are needed and useful for different purpose.
Strategy is the core, but tactics are useful for selling for example.
I don’t see why we should oppose them, when they are complementary.
The problem is not the use of tactics, but the lack of strategy
Hah. I just had one of thos Oh S**t moments here myself. Thanks for pointing out that I’m lost…now to figure out which way to go…
Simple but straight to the point. Haven’t read 99% of my e-mail subscriptions from copywriting and SEO sites because I’m busy implementing my blog strategy into practice. Back then, emptying out the unread messages in my inbox bombards me with 1,001 tactics to apply on my strategy that I end up doing nothing at all.
I guess just pick a couple tactics that you think will work, lay out a strategy, test it out a couple of months, and if you have time, compile other tactics that you could try out on your next strategy.
Strategy is long term while tactics is short term. I love strategy!