6 Steps To Becoming A Better Zen Marketer

I have realized I have been blowing it. Even though I have managed to make a very good living for many years working for myself online I realize now I could have been doing much better. I could have mastered Zen marketing. Simple sells. I recently ran across a blog called Zen Habits by Leo Babauta. From it’s 6000 Alexa ranking and over 200,000 subscribers it looks like I am late to the party.

I was not only blown away by the mind/life simplifying content of the blog but by his Zen marketing plan for his books and blog. The design of his blog is ultra light and clean. There are no ads on his blog at all. No popups. Just pure simple easy to read content. How does he make money? He sells his original books on minimalist living. From the looks of things minimalism is selling quite well thank you.

The focus of his site reminds me of Google, the most successful online company. Ultra simple design leading people to ultra focused and powerful marketing concepts.

My sites, on the other hand, look like they are run by one of the stars of “Hoarders” television program. Compared to Zen Habits my sites lack focus, are cluttered, and junky. I want to change. I want to go Zen. But how? Here are just a few characteristics of his blog that perhaps we can apply to our own marketing efforts to become more Zen in our marketing:

1. Deliver, quality, focused and original content. This is where everything starts. I do not care if you have a zillion links back to your site. If you content is junk the traffic is next to meaningless. The best way to cut down on advertising costs is to have such good content that everybody naturally wants to come back and refer others. There is no point in promoting crappy content. It is a complete waste of time. Take your time, breathe (Zen!), and get it right.

2. Have a simple focused marketing plan and stick with it. Zen Habits does not try to sell a hundred different products. I do not think he even does joint ventures. He just provides great content and sells his original ebooks and he sells a lot of them. That is it. It is quite a relief to read a blog which is not cluttered with every type of advertising and pop up imaginable.

3. Clean, easy to read, uncluttered web design. Zen Habits blog has just a white background, just one simple elegant small logo, and easy to read large black type which is well centered. The sidebar at the top just has simple one or two word hyperlinks such as “Books”, “About”.”Archives”, “Start Here.” He does not scream at you. He clearly but gently guides the reader. It is very tempting to be constantly adding new bells and whistles to your web design. Come to think of it we complicate our lives on a daily basis hence the popularity of Zen Habits and storage units.

4. Consistency. I think this is the characteristic which separates the top bloggers from the rest. They post everyday, 7 days a week, 365 days per year. Posting quality original focused content is not only the best seo but the best way to actually create an audience that will return over and over to your website. Each post naturally has keywords which give your potential fans another way to find you through search. But once they find you the content has to be engaging otherwise they will not come back, and they will not ultimately purchase what you offer.

5. Always ask yourself “How can I make this simpler? How can I make this clearer?” After writing this post I decided to eliminate the Sharebar floating bar which floated up and down the left side of the blog screaming “share me!” It worked but it was distracting. I do not want people to be annoyed when they come to my blog I want them to enjoy the experience. I want them to come back. If they like my content they can easily share it on the social media sites with the other social media icons I have embedded more discretely throughout the blog.

6. Think long term. This is the opposite of what is so popular in the internet marketing world. Just check out the most popular products under marketing on Clickbank. They are all about the latest trick to make money easy and quick. The problem with these programs, other than the fact that they do not work, is that they waste your most precious asset, your time. Why not commit to writing one quality blog post per day for one year? I guarantee you that you will be further ahead at the end of the year than if you just jumped from one latest trick to another for one year.

I have not been a Zen Marketer. I realize I have lots of work to do to simplify and unclutter my marketing efforts. I would love to hear from you on this subject. I encourage you to check out Leo Babuta’s wonderful blog on simplifying your life. Thank you, Matthew Meyer.