2021 Has Started Off With A Bang!
We are officially in Feburary 2021 and last month was cray cray! I also believe January 2021 proved a point I have been trying to hammer for years now: YOU NEED YOUR OWN PLATFORM IF YOU RUN A TECH BUSINESS! I know in 2021 it is very easy to get into the modality that all you need is social media but I am going to explain why that should be an auxillary and not your main source of outreach! Owning my own website and setting up an email list were the first things I did when I quit my job in 2017.
You Don’t Control Social Media
Services such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube all have their own unique perks. First off they are free to sign up and use and you can organically grow your audience to the MILLIONS! Many personal and business brands do very well on social media! However there is one major drawback to relying on social media….YOU DON’T OWN THE PLATFORM! When you don’t own the platform in which you serve your content several things can happen that drastically affect your reach such as:
- Changes in the algorithm
- Changes in the TOS
- You can be blocked/banned
- The platform could literally go away
Changes In The Algorithm
When a platform such as Twitter and Facebook change their algoirthm for their news feed, you have zero control over that. Depending on what the changes are your content might not reach as many people as it did before. If you rely on these platforms primarily then that will directly affect your income!
Changes In The TOS
Terms Of Service or TOS is the contrat you abide by when you sign up for these platforms. Basically it says what you can and cannot do on a platform. Once again you have no say in this because you don’t own the platform. When a platform controls what you can and cannot say that directly limits how you can market to your consumers. This problem doesn’t exist when you own and control your own website.
You Can Be Banned/Blocked
Just look at all these platforms and former President Donald Trump and his allies. While you can argue that it was the right thing to do (it was F*CK Trump!) the fact remains that when you own and control your own website and emailing list you can’t be censored, banned or blocked.
The Platform Can Literally Go Away
Seriously look at Parler 😂 but ya imagine you having 100’s of thousands of followers WITHOUT a website and email list of said followers and the platform shuts down! You just lost your only link to your customers. Need I say more?! Own your content and you never have to worry!
The Wonders Of Email List Marketing
Let’s be honest, follower counts on social media platforms are vanity metrics. Alot of followers aren’t even real people! When you own a website and an email list, you know those who are following you are loyal real potential customers who rock with your content. Think about it. Email is sacred, we tend to only subscribe to email lists if we genuinely want the content delivered to us. I would argue that an email sub is the most import following you can have! When you have an automated email list set up via MailChimp or whatever provider you can constantly engage the audience that is most likely to:
- Read your content
- Buy your products
- Promote on your behalf
Ownership Is The Goal For 2021
Whether you are just starting your brand or are established but want to make the transition to full ownership, my company J Computer Solutions LLC is the best at website design and hosting! We also can help you establish your email list and teach you how to effectively grow and expand it! Lastly it wouldn’t be a good blog on email lists if I didn’t ask you to join mine! Join the Code Life newsletter to get up to date info on the blog, new courses and subscriber only content!