Challenges of Digital Marketing
Digital marketing has its own language.
I’m not calling myself ‘old’, but at 57, I’m no Spring chicken. It’s funny how perspectives on aging change as one ages. At age 30, I thought that a 50 year old was one stumble away from a life behind a walker and a home with a ramp leading to the front door. Perhaps it's a healthy denial, but my scale of old keeps getting pushed back. I’d say 75 is old. I’m just ‘experienced’ in life, and continuing to create experiences is key to continued mental and physical health. It’s important to stay engaged with challenges to overcome. For us ‘Boomers’, technology is that challenge. Learning how to navigate this ‘not-so-new’ world of digital marketing and advertising has proven to be a daunting undertaking. Fact is, maximizing internet functionality for my business is alien to older guys like me. It has its own language, unique to a workflow that didn’t exist until after I was well on my way as a teacher in the early 90’s. Back then, we used these things called pencils and pens to write on this thin flat stuff called paper. Adapting to the digital world was necessary then, and it pointed to an exciting future of endless potential. I dove full on into digital art. 30 years after the dive, digital marketing remains a mystery. Now that I’m in the process of building my ‘brand’ as an artist, the question remains; Is it possible for old guys to adapt and prosper in the digital world?
Success in online sales requires the development of a skill set that can take years to develop.
The “BE” book, while brilliantly written, has yet to tap into the potential of online marketing. After 3 years, it has one review on Amazon’s bookstore.
Being a teacher instills a number of values that I’ve continued to follow to this day, namely, be a lifelong learner. Be curious. But this code of conduct requires a belief that the brain remains permeable from birth to death. We can always learn more. I thought this was true until I tried to sell my artwork online. Keywords, algorithms, SEO, and back end are terms that are vital in digital marketing. These words fit together in the modern marketing puzzle, but this aging brain of mine has become more brittle than previously thought. The digital problem is hard to solve. That’s why, after attempting to launch a few art sales campaigns from a website that I had put together, then designing and self-publishing a collaborative art book, neither of which was particularly well received by the paying customer, I’ve sought the help of a professional who knows what she’s doing. This humbling move was necessary if I was to have a chance at monetizing a hobby for which I’ve had a passion for most of my life.
Liseli Thiele is a web and digital marketing specialist who’s started a company called Own The Throne. We struck up a conversation at a small music venue, where she shared what she does for artists and musicians. Liseli helps this often tech-challenged group to take charge of their success. When we started talking, it became clear that, despite my best efforts in the past, I had a lot to learn about getting my art out through the only viable means of outreach; the internet. Like so many before me, I thought that if the work was good enough, the masses would flock to my site and purchase originals and prints. I just needed to read a few ‘how-to’ articles online, insert my artwork, and the rest was gravy. NOT! I’ve come to learn that for every specialized skill, an entire industry materializes around it claiming to have the best, most reasonably priced solution for the digital do-it-yourselfer. They all say to do this, this, then that, and you’ll be on your way. But the devil’s in the details in this economy of code streams. If you think you can jump into the digital marketing world and master it in a week or two, think again. There’s a reason why my author friend and I were given a quote from an ad agency for $42K to launch a promotional campaign for our book, “Be; The Backroad Guide to Personal Awakening.” The sales rep explained that the book would go through a series of edits, refinements, and then on to the digital marketing team, where a group of specialists would create an online funnel of interest that directs people to our publication. The key word here is ‘specialists’. There are people out there whose job it is to understand and optimize all of those 1s and 0s and steer search algorithms our way. We thought we could do it ourselves, but old school marketing has given way to on-screen interactions. To this day, the ‘Be’ book has sold almost no copies online. I worked with a stubborn author.
My point is, if you want to try and sell something unique online, hire a professional. Seriously. Take it from this old man who’s worked with computers for almost 30 years. I’ve spent half a decade trying in vain to figure out an industry that guards its secrets extremely well. If time is money, please put your ego aside, save time, and spend the money. It’s never guaranteed that you’ll succeed with your online business, but hiring a knowledgeable professional to direct traffic to whatever it is you’re selling, will vastly improve your chances.
