Internet marketing, like most industries, is filled with different strategies and ideas on how to be successful. Do you focus on SEO, pay per click, social media, or some combination. What is the right ratio? Should my website have flash? What is the best headline for my website? What colors should I use in my design? What images will work best? When you are planning your online strategy, the answer to all these questions is, I don’t know. That is why the #1 secret to online success is to act.

You can always follow best practices in your web design and marketing, but at the end of the day what works for other websites won’t necessarily work for yours.

Ready, Fire, Aim

If you have never heard the saying ready, fire, aim I suggest you write it down because it can be applied to all aspects of your life. Jack Canfield talks about this philosophy in his book The Success Principles How to Get From Where You are to Where You Want to be. The idea is simple. The easiest way to hit the bulls eye on a target is to ready your gun, fire, see how far off your shot was, adjust your aim, and fire again.

There is an obvious correlation between this philosophy and business on the Internet. The biggest advantage we have online is the ability to track our efforts. Instead of spending additional months making sure every aspect of your website is perfect pre-launch, just act. What you think is right is most likely different than what your site’s visitors will say is right. Why waste time guessing? Design your website (ready), launch it (fire), measure its effectiveness / make adjustments (aim), and then repeat the process until you hit the bulls eye.

The easier your company makes it to act, the greater the success you will have online. Websites never hit the bulls eye on the first try. There is always something to improve. If you are a small business, this is an area where you can have a significant advantage over your larger competition. Large corporations have procedures and many different departments that get involved before changes are made to a website. As a small business, the number of people involved is minimal. Use that to your advantage to create an environment of constant improvement.

Adopt the philosophy of ready, fire, aim. Apply it to your website and life. You will be surprised how much more success you can have by not being afraid to act.