So here at EpochBG, we get 10-20 calls a day from startups, possible startups, and small companies trying to get out of the garage and become a full-fledged business amongst the regular phone calls. God bless them all as entrepreneurs.
At the end of every month we will try to put a list of the common questions we get and thought it would be of interest to compile myths and misperceptions that seem to be held by this hardy group here in the US of A:
1. Google Is Now Allowing Hemp/THC/CBD To Be Advertised On Google Adwords.
a. False. There was an article published on the web stating this was a new policy of Google. What a lot of readers did not notice was the publish date of the article… Does April 1st mean of anything significant to anyone? This April Fools joke apparently came off as truth to many. Won’t go so far as to say “Fake News” to set both sides of the political spectrum afire but it was a joke, people. Here’s the link to the article: https://www.cbdtesters.co/2018/04/01/cbd-adwords-a-new-era-in-cbd-marketing/
2. Building A Website Takes Months And Will Costs Thousands
a. False. With platforms like Shopify, you can have a store completed in less than a day and if you’re paying somebody should only cost $500-$1,000 for typical cases. And believe me, unless you are selling nuclear reactors or rockets that will go to Mars your store is the typical case. The only people saying this is not true are the consultants that get paid using some antiquated system like WordPress to build the site. You should be spending your money on marketing and brand exposure not the backend of the website.
b. Oh, why are people confused by the fact their eCommerce store is also their website? And also their Blogsite? If you are attempting to sell online as a real legitimate business at least learn how the business is run. Otherwise, the likely result is you will lose money, likely a lot of money.
3. I Have No Sales On Either My Website Nor Amazon But Don’t Want To Make Big Changes Because I believe in My Brand. What Should I Do?
a. There Is No Quick Answer. We get these calls all the time. Where do we start? Do customers want your products? How price competitive are you? Why is your marketing not working? How Do you know what you think you know? Most of the time the person on the other end of the call doesn’t know. The answer here is to go back to your business plan. If you never developed one now is the time.
4. I am already paying someone for marketing and SEO?
a. Then why are you calling us? What is the ROI on your payments to your consultants and “experts”. The goal for returns on marketing should be $5-$10 for every dollar spent. It’s apparent the caller doesn’t really understand what they are paying for so the response from us must be the fix is understanding what the callers marketing goals are.
5. Do You Have Google Analytics and Search Console? (asked to the caller)
a. The Response is either I think so or I don't know. There is a significant number of online retail business owners that just understand how critical it is to use these tools in running an online business. If you don't know how to use these tools. Either learn it by DIY or pay someone to teach you.
Post something if you think you like to add to the common issue FAQ we are going to compile over time.