What would you say, if I told you I could think of FOUR powerful internet marketing strategies for your OFF-line business? 

Yes, I mean your brick-and-mortar, physical world, good, old-fashioned business. One and the same. Just because I do business online doesn’t mean I always did it that way. The big changes were the method of delivery and size of the market I could serve. Everything else operates on similar principles.

In fact, I have an interesting story to share about the “business that launched my business.” It was how I began to see the framework for The M.I.L.K. It Method, which is what I teach online entrepreneurs to jumpstart their businesses. You can learn more about that in this recent podcast episode. 

Tom’s Old-Time Stories …

“Back in the old days, when men were men,” I was working in the restaurant industry and amusing myself with magic tricks on the side. It was exhausting, and I wanted to break into the online space because there was so much opportunity.

One thing I noticed, living in Hawaii, is that the advertising and publicity industry out here doesn’t serve local businesses. Why would they? The state's income is overwhelmingly from tourism. That left local businesses – who serve our state’s residents – underserved.

Now if you read the last paragraph closely, you’re already learning (and probably nodding your head) at an important part of the Market principle of The M.I.L.K. It Method. I turned my focus on a part of the marketplace that was being ignored … brick-and-mortar, local businesses.

Now, I know some of what you might be thinking: “Come on, Gaddis, get real! Customers don’t even have to get dressed to do business with you.” 

Yes, that’s true. But it doesn’t mean the reason they want what I offer has changed. People wanted to be successful in business before the internet, too. It’s just that now, we can bring the product or service to them instead of having them search for us.

Okay … What Happened Next?

Going back to my startup story, I came up with the Idea of a “done-for-you” snail-mail postcard service. If you ever get those “ValuPak” mailers, it’s a similar concept … but nobody was doing it in Hawaii! 

I helped clients get more foot traffic into their businesses by doing the hard work of printing, labeling and mailing postcards to nearby neighborhoods. 

Like we do with online businesses, I didn’t wait for local entrepreneurs to discover me. Instead, I went aggressively to them, pounding pavement and meeting with owners until I sold all 16 spots on the postcards in seven days. They loved the idea, and it didn’t take long for their revenue and profits to rise with the increased activity!

At the risk of repeating myself, I’d now covered three core principles of The M.I.L.K. It Method – and I hadn’t even built a single website or run any Facebook ads yet. (I do, however, have a podcast episode for you to learn more about it.)

Tactics vs. Strategy

Maybe you’re reading this and still skeptical. “You’re not fooling me, Gaddis,” you might mutter under your breath. “You’re trying to persuade me to go digital. That won’t work for my business.”

I wish we could get haircuts and dry cleaning electronically. Wouldn’t it be nice to push a button and get a trim, or your suit pressed and cleaned? Don’t worry; I know wishful thinking when I see it.

But … what if you could push a button and get people who need haircuts and dry cleaning to come to you?

See, that’s a better question for a brick-and-mortar entrepreneur to ask. How do you reduce the amount of time and energy you devote toward marketing, so you can concentrate on getting paid to provide the product or service you offer?

While digital marketing is an extremely efficient way to do this, I don’t know that it’s always necessary. You might need to invest some money in doing a proper physical launch, where the four categories of The M.I.L.K. It Method are observed, as laid out in this podcast episode.

So How Did It End?

In a word … it didn’t.

That original experiment led to offering clients OTHER services I knew I could perform – websites, SEO, online funnels and so forth. I repeated the offer, to fund my growth into a full-fledged digital marketing agency. Then I started teaching it to entrepreneurs online.

That’s what the Ka’Ching part of The M.I.L.K. It Method is for – so you can build a bigger, stronger and more enjoyable boat to ride throughout life.

The online world can be a lot more lucrative because, as we’ll cover in another post, “money loves speed.” The internet makes communication and exchange faster … but it uses the same laws and principles for human economic interaction we've always used.

So, even if your business is “old school,” operating from an office or retail location … you should learn how to maximize it using The M.I.L.K. It Method. You can learn the basics of how that’s done in this recent podcast episode.