Should I go through digital marketing bootcamp or outsource it?
August 5, 2016 12:37 PM Subscribe
I have an idea for a knowledge product (think: in depth e-book) that I'd like to sell online and am trying to figure out how much technical knowledge I need to acquire in order to distribute it, own the channel of distribution and be able to make tweaks and A/B tests in real time to monitor traffic flows.
I'm trying to find the sweet spot between having enough knowledge to run this thing on my own, but not take up too much time on technical skills as I also have to create the content for the product, which is my primary area of expertise and a large time commitment as is.
Other key details that might be helpful:
--My main vision for this product is a fairly simple landing page or web site with a products tab to sell the book.
--The audience is a B2B startup/corporate niche.
--Marketing would be done through a combination of paid and organic tactics, including PR and blogging.
--I can envision future related products and would like to build capacity to accommodate those upfront.
--My current skill set on the tech side doesn't go much beyond managing basic Wordpress sites.
--I would like to employ various tactics such as buying traffic, long-tail SEO, etc. and be able to test various approaches over time. I have very little understanding of these areas currently.
--Willing to spend on software if it's worth it.
So my main questions are:
1) What specific pieces of software such as Google Analytics, as well as specific skills (HTML/CSS, etc.) would I need to accomplish my above goals, and to what level of proficiency?
2) What areas would be best for a beginner to outsource in terms of time/cost analysis?
3) Does anyone have experience with platforms such as Rainmaker, which seems to advertise itself as a turn-key solution for people like me and would this be a good place to start? How easy is it to branch off from a solution like this as I gain more digital competencies?
Thanks for any additional tips or advice from people who have followed a similar arc. Additional resources would also be appreciated, I know there are a lot out there.
I'm trying to find the sweet spot between having enough knowledge to run this thing on my own, but not take up too much time on technical skills as I also have to create the content for the product, which is my primary area of expertise and a large time commitment as is.
Other key details that might be helpful:
--My main vision for this product is a fairly simple landing page or web site with a products tab to sell the book.
--The audience is a B2B startup/corporate niche.
--Marketing would be done through a combination of paid and organic tactics, including PR and blogging.
--I can envision future related products and would like to build capacity to accommodate those upfront.
--My current skill set on the tech side doesn't go much beyond managing basic Wordpress sites.
--I would like to employ various tactics such as buying traffic, long-tail SEO, etc. and be able to test various approaches over time. I have very little understanding of these areas currently.
--Willing to spend on software if it's worth it.
So my main questions are:
1) What specific pieces of software such as Google Analytics, as well as specific skills (HTML/CSS, etc.) would I need to accomplish my above goals, and to what level of proficiency?
2) What areas would be best for a beginner to outsource in terms of time/cost analysis?
3) Does anyone have experience with platforms such as Rainmaker, which seems to advertise itself as a turn-key solution for people like me and would this be a good place to start? How easy is it to branch off from a solution like this as I gain more digital competencies?
Thanks for any additional tips or advice from people who have followed a similar arc. Additional resources would also be appreciated, I know there are a lot out there.
Best answer: Hi! I'm a digital marketer. For this I would hire an experienced DM and pay an hourly fee to have them set it up correctly the first time. You may even want to pay them for training. In meantime study up on your digital marketing. Google offers certification courses for analytics and ad words, Hubspot, Search engine journal, kissmetrics, and digital marketing magazines serve as great resources as well. I do this all day, everyday so feel free to PM with any questions or if your not sure what to look for when hiring a DM.
posted by CosmicSeeker42 at 5:34 PM on August 5, 2016
posted by CosmicSeeker42 at 5:34 PM on August 5, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
You certainly don't need to learn HTML or CSS. You could do this nicely with a hosted website platform/CMS.
I've never used Rainmaker, although I subscriber to their Copyblogger blog. It looks like it would be overkill for you. It's designed for managing a lot of content, not just promoting a few items.
posted by radioamy at 12:53 PM on August 5, 2016