Last Updated on January 10, 2022 by James McAllister

By: James McAllister

12 Comments

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Oh boy, here we go.

I wanted to put out this PSA, because I see this on a near-weekly basis – both in the blogging space, and the eCommerce space.

Many bloggers have been sold the lie that if they put out “great content” and work hard, people will magically find it, they will amass an audience of raving fans, and you’ll be able to retire to a life of luxury.

The same thing happens in eCommerce. Launch a Shopify store, put some products up, and the sales will roll in.

Of course, it doesn’t take very long to discover that things aren’t so simple.

So, you may find yourself asking, what gives? Where is everybody? Where’s the money?

Here’s The Real Problem

9 out of 10 times if the product (content) is good, the answer comes down to marketing strategy.

Marketing is hard. You are competing with thousands of other brands for the attention of your target consumer.

Some of these people have an exceptional set of skills, a lot of money, or both.

The issue that I see, especially with beginners, is they fail to understand this. They don’t realize that the issue isn’t with their website or their product, but the fact that they do not have a complete marketing strategy in place that can effectively move people through your funnel, eventually resulting in revenue.

Instead, they focus on things that for the most part, won’t do a whole lot for them. Things like plugins, themes, or software.

The truth is this. While some of these can help out in various ways and make a little bit of a difference, they only matter if you have people coming to your website in the first place.

There is no plugin or theme that will magically bring people to your website. There is no theme that will take a site that is nowhere to be found in Google, and bring it to the top of search results. There are no plugins that will force non-interested visitors to purchase your product.

This simply doesn’t happen, and will never happen – regardless of what gurus will tell you, or how much you spend on the product.

Are there plugins that help with on-page SEO, increasing social shares, conversions improving bounce rate, etc?

Of course. But these are marginal.

If you are pulling in 100 sales a day, 5% more conversions is significant. That’s an extra 5 sales a day, or 150 sales a month. It’s worth paying a good price for a plugin that can bring in 150 extra sales a month.

However, if you’re making 0 sales, that same plugin will not magically start selling products for you.

Change Your Focus

Plugins, apps, themes, software – these are not where entrepreneurs should be focusing their time.

Expensive plugins or equipment are not worth it until your revenue justifies the cost.

Instead, focus on bringing more people to your website. Unless your product or content is absolutely abysmal, somebody will convert at some point.

Then, you can use the data from all of your visitors to pinpoint problems, and find out what’s working.

You’ll be able to optimize, and learn what problems actually need addressing – as well as what types of people become buyers or leads.

Searching for plugins gives you a false sense of belief that if you just find the right one, all of your problems will be solved and you can ignore the fundamental problems plaguing your business.

It just doesn’t work.

Conclusion

Are plugins and themes important? Absolutely.

However, you’ll do much better if you install the fundamentals, tweak a design to your liking, and get moving forward on actually promoting your business.

When you stop focusing on things that don’t matter and throw your energy into what actually brings the bulk of your business results, your business will grow much more quickly.

You’ll thank me later!

To your success,

– James McAllister

 

About the author 

James McAllister

James is the owner of JamesMcAllisterOnline.com. He started his first blog at the age of 11, and has since gone on to start several successful businesses. In total, these businesses have sold hundreds of thousands of units and have touched millions of lives. Here on JamesMcAllisterOnline.com, he shares his knowledge that brought him to where he is today. If you want to connect with James, follow him on your favorite social networks!

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  1. The biggest pro of WordPress is that it’s so customizable and there are plugins for everything.
    The biggest con to blogging on WordPress is that you can get sucked up into optimizing your blog too much, at the expense of content created and links built.
    And that’s no way t grow.

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  2. Exactly said Plugin purpose for optimizing the website page and post role only. Plugins won’t save your website 100% I agree with you. Your article was really amazing. Thanks for sharing your explore thoughts.

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  3. Hi James,

    Is this post ever the truth! Fabulous wake-up call for bloggers who feel a tool can do work for them. Blogging is challenging. Marketing is highly challenging. Networking feels fun sometimes but can be even more challenging than anything because meeting and serving folks for hours daily tests our patience and energy stores. But creating and connecting through old fashioned smart, hard work makes all the difference in the world.

    Ryan

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    Ryan K Biddulph recently posted…Should You Quit Blogging?My Profile

  4. Hey James,

    I’ve shared your story to a few friends as I’m always inspired when someone starts so young in their journey as a digital entrepreneur or blogger.

    With regards to your thoughts in this article, that’s also what I’ve realized the hard way. Marketing is the hard part. You can hire someone to do almost everything for your online business like building the site, getting content written, designing your logo, but when it comes to marketing, that’s what can make or break your brand.

    Thanks for sharing and more power to your blog!

    Cheers,
    Ryan

      (Quote)
    Ryan recently posted…Vidnami Review – How To Create (Faceless) YouTube Videos Without Showing Your FaceMy Profile

    1. Hey Ryan, thanks and appreciate your wonderful comment!

      Marketing is certainly the big differentiator isn’t it? It’s the part that’s a lot more difficult to outsource, especially since it’s largely a zero-sum game. There are lots of adequate marketers out there offering services, but with most things online, a few people get all the attention and the majority of people never get seen at all.

        (Quote)
      James McAllister recently posted…5 Small Tweaks To Drastically Improve Page Loading TimesMy Profile

  5. Really good read mate! Just started/having a go at creating my own website and at times you do hope there is a magical plugin that will solve all your problems

    Definitely gives a different perspective and whilst basic/obvious it's sound advice!

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    Olly recently posted…Welcome to HIHUBMy Profile

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