See You on the Internet
Building Your Small Business with Digital Marketing
Book Edition Details
Summary
In the vibrant arena of digital marketing, where small businesses strive to distinguish themselves, Avery Swartz emerges as a beacon of clarity and innovation. "See You on the Internet" dismantles the daunting facade of online marketing with Swartz’s expert guidance, honed over fourteen years of hands-on experience. Imagine transforming your business into a digital dynamo without the need for a tech background. This book distills the essence of building a brand and amplifying customer reach through five intuitive steps, illustrated by real-life success stories. Swartz's approach not only demystifies website creation, social media strategies, and SEO but also empowers you to confidently track your progress. Whether you're launching an e-commerce platform or refining an email marketing campaign, this guide is your indispensable partner in navigating the digital landscape and unlocking your business's potential online.
Introduction
Every small business owner faces the same daunting challenge: how do you make your voice heard in the digital noise without breaking the bank or burning out? You know you need an online presence, but between websites, social media, email marketing, and search engine optimization, the whole digital landscape can feel overwhelming. The truth is, you don't need to master every platform or chase every trend. What you need is a clear, practical framework that helps you focus on what actually moves the needle for your business. This isn't about becoming a tech expert overnight—it's about building sustainable digital marketing habits that grow with you, one strategic step at a time.
Building Your Digital Foundation
Your digital foundation starts with understanding that technology should serve your business goals, not the other way around. Think of Debra, a lawyer who left the corporate world to start her own boutique practice. She built a basic website using Squarespace, but her copy was filled with legal jargon that didn't connect with real people facing real problems. Her office assistant gently suggested rewriting the content to tell Debra's story and focus on solutions rather than services. When Debra rewrote her website content to reflect warmth and empathy—the qualities her clients experienced in person—everything changed. Her online presence finally matched the caring professional she was in real life. This transformation didn't require expensive tools or complex technology; it required clarity about her purpose and audience. The foundation of effective digital marketing rests on three pillars: a domain name that reflects your brand, reliable hosting that keeps your site running smoothly, and professional email addresses that build credibility. These aren't glamorous investments, but they're essential. Your domain name becomes your digital real estate, while professional email hosting ensures your communications don't end up in spam folders. Start by securing your domain name through a reputable registrar like Hover.com, arrange hosting that matches your website needs, and set up email through Google or Microsoft. These foundational elements create the stable platform upon which all your other digital marketing efforts will build.
Creating Compelling Content That Converts
Content creation isn't about having perfect writing skills or professional photography equipment—it's about sharing your authentic story in ways that resonate with your ideal customers. The most successful content answers a simple question: what value are you providing to the person consuming it? This means moving beyond generic elevator pitches to create messages that speak directly to your audience's needs, challenges, and aspirations. Consider Diana, who sold beautiful Scandinavian furniture from her home country of Denmark. Her website was visually stunning, but when she searched for "luxury Scandinavian furniture" on Google, her site was nowhere to be found. The problem wasn't her products or even her website design—she simply hadn't included the obvious keywords that potential customers were actually searching for. She was so immersed in her own perspective that she forgot to use the language her customers would naturally use. After Diana rewrote her content to include the search terms people were actually using, her website began appearing in relevant search results. This shift required her to think like her customers rather than like an expert in her field. She learned to balance writing for humans first while still giving search engines the signals they needed to understand and rank her content. Content that converts combines authentic storytelling with strategic keyword usage. Start by identifying the specific words and phrases your ideal customers use when searching for solutions like yours. Then weave these naturally into content that genuinely helps your audience—whether through blog posts, videos, social media updates, or email newsletters. Remember, the goal isn't just to be found online, but to be found by the right people at the right moment in their buying journey.
Mastering Social Media and Email Marketing
Social media success isn't about being everywhere at once—it's about showing up consistently in the places where your ideal customers spend their time. The key is choosing platforms that align with both your audience's preferences and your own communication style. If you hate LinkedIn but force yourself to post there, your discomfort will show through your content. Authenticity beats omnipresence every time. Annie's story illustrates this perfectly. After eleven years in banking, she decided to pursue her passion for baking. As she transitioned from corporate life to entrepreneurship, she shared her journey on Facebook—the behind-the-scenes struggles, the small victories, the beautiful cupcakes emerging from her rented commercial kitchen. Her honest posts about the ups and downs of starting a business resonated deeply with her followers, building a devoted community that supported her transition from part-time baker to full-time business owner. Annie's success came from treating social media as a relationship-building tool rather than a broadcasting platform. She followed the 80/20 rule: eighty percent of her content was social and engaging, while only twenty percent was directly promotional. This approach helped her build genuine connections that eventually converted into loyal customers. Email marketing amplifies these relationships by providing a direct line to people who have already expressed interest in your business. Unlike social media algorithms that determine who sees your content, email ensures your message reaches your subscribers' inboxes. Focus on providing value in every email—whether through exclusive discounts, helpful tips, behind-the-scenes content, or early access to new products. The businesses that succeed with email marketing treat their subscribers like VIPs, not just sales targets.
Measuring Success and Growing Forward
The digital world offers more data than you could ever analyze, but measurement isn't about tracking everything—it's about focusing on the metrics that actually indicate progress toward your business goals. Before launching any digital marketing initiative, identify your key performance indicator (KPI): the one metric that tells you whether you're succeeding or need to adjust course. A health food store owner wanted to increase daily foot traffic, so they ran geo-targeted Facebook ads encouraging people to visit the store. Rather than getting distracted by vanity metrics like ad impressions or social media likes, they focused on what mattered: the number of customers making purchases in-store each day. During their first campaign, daily customers increased from 50 to 55—a modest but measurable improvement that justified continuing and refining their approach. Their second campaign included a special promotion accessible through Facebook, which increased daily customers to 70. Interestingly, very few people actually showed the coupon at checkout, but many mentioned seeing the offer. This insight helped them understand that their ads were working as awareness-building tools even when customers didn't take the specific action requested. This cyclical process of planning, executing, measuring, and learning becomes the engine of your digital marketing growth. Each iteration provides data that informs your next decision, helping you double down on what works and abandon what doesn't. The businesses that thrive online aren't necessarily the most creative or well-funded—they're the ones that consistently measure their efforts against meaningful goals and adjust accordingly. Remember that digital marketing metrics should ultimately connect to offline business results. Website traffic means nothing if it doesn't lead to phone calls, foot traffic, or sales. Social media engagement is valuable only if it builds relationships that eventually convert to business outcomes. Keep your measurement simple, focused, and tied directly to the goals that matter most to your business's success.
Summary
Digital marketing success for small business isn't about mastering every platform or following every trend—it's about building sustainable systems that connect you with the right people at the right time. As one successful entrepreneur learned, "You can't automate that away" when it comes to understanding your customers and measuring what truly matters. The framework of Goal, Plan, Execute, Measure, and Learn provides the structure you need to cut through the noise and focus on activities that actually move your business forward. Your digital transformation begins with a simple but powerful step: clearly defining what success looks like for your unique business, then consistently measuring your progress toward that goal while staying open to learning and adapting along the way.
Related Books
Download PDF & EPUB
To save this Black List summary for later, download the free PDF and EPUB. You can print it out, or read offline at your convenience.
By Avery Swartz
