Melinda Brennan writing a post for CopyBlogger outlined 6 mistakes you can make which will kill your online business. As I read her six very well written mistakes (this was CopyBlogger after all) I realized they all could be applied to an off line business as well. She said:
  1. A sucky attitude – Are you offering your customers new products, new services, new reasons to come back?
  2. Marketing to a demographic, not a niche  – It’s only a niche when they share a problem – What problem do you solve?
  3. Looking like a cheapskate – With online printing, and print on demand products, you can look like you spent a lot money – but you do have to spend a little.
    1. Pay for the upgrade, don’t leave the Vista Print logo on your card
    2. Spend some money on a unique logo or graphic, you don’t know where that clip art has been used
    3. If you can’t afford to do a lot of marketing, do one thing well!
  4. Not capturing visitor details – If someone takes the time to visit your site, introduce yourself, offer them a reason to get to know you better: A newsletter or free whitepaper, anything to get their contact information so you can stay in touch! (Want to learn more about conversion strategies?  Check out our seminar: From Random Strangers to Raving Fans)
  5. Failing to plan long term – Or not planning at all.  As the Cheshire Cat said to Alice, if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. ( Need help getting your plan started?  Check out our free business plan outline)
  6. All learning, no action – Planning is good, but sometimes you just have to jump in!