Podcasts Business Clickstarter: Australian Digital Marketing Podcast S1 Ep143: Finding new revenue opportunities

S1 Ep143: Finding new revenue opportunities

Published: May 4, 2021, 8:30 p.m.

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Last year taught us one powerful lesson. You can\\u2019t trust a fulltime job or a single source of revenue to get you through a crisis. So now the pandemic is easing in Australia, why are we all just going back to our old habits?
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This is Clickstarter, the Australian Digital Marketing Podcast. I\\u2019m Dante St James.
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Like addicts running back towards our habit, we\\u2019re all running back towards the safety of a single source of income or a full-time job again. But when you\\u2019re a small business owner and a digital marketer, focusing on just one thing could be very dangerous. So how do you diversify?
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\\xb7\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 First, consider diversifying your marketing beyond just one channel
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\\xb7\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 Second, consider diversifying your income from just one source
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\\xb7\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 Third, consider one of the five ways you can look for extra revenue
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Let\\u2019s dig down on that.
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Marketing through one digital channel is dangerous
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If you\\u2019re a small business, chances are you\\u2019ve spent most of your marketing money on Facebook over the last 5 years. It\\u2019s the obvious choice because it\\u2019s inexpensive, gets good reach and is easy to use. But if that\\u2019s your only source of marketing, you\\u2019re putting a lot of trust in just one platform.
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2020 showed us that relying on any one thing can be dangerous. In fact, 2021 showed us that trusting any one platform, even Facebook can have ramifications that you could never expect. Ask anyone who had their ads account banned this year. Or any news-related website that completely lost its Facebook presence for more than a week. Or anyone who had their Facebook account hacked and lost not only money but any possibility of ever marketing on the platform ever again.
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Consider looking at splitting your marketing money between Facebook and other channels like YouTube, Google or even Twitter.
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And while we\\u2019re on the topic of vulnerability,
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One source of revenue is a risky way to fly through business
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While the side hustle is a great way to add some extra coin to your full-time job, if you own a business, a side hustle isn\\u2019t really suitable when you\\u2019re already working god-awful piles of hours on your existing business. This is when you may need to consider looking at other things that are close to what you do that let you draw more money out of the stuff you already do. Let\\u2019s say you\\u2019re a web designer. You can diversify into graphics and social media management. Or if you\\u2019re a copywriter, you could look into developing yourself as a voiceover or proofreader. If you\\u2019re selling cosmetics, then consider selling accessories alongside your main line of business.
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The aim here is to find something really close by to what you\\u2019re doing now that doesn\\u2019t cannibalise what you\\u2019re already doing.
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Finally, what kind of strategies are there for the business that wants to diversify its revenue streams?
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It might be as simple as running workshops and classes to teach others what you do. Or you could run live events online or offline to get people to see you perform or speak. But if you really want to get strategic about it, here are the five ways you can really explore what it takes to find that extra source of revenue.
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1.\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0Explore whether a new business model could be helpful. This could be via expanding into a new type of customer, by solving new problems or even just updating the solution that you offer your customers.
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2.\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0You could always take advantage of the fact that you have existing customers and find new things to sell them. This is the smartest way because you already have a relationship with them.
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3.\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0Use technology to make things run faster, smoother or more efficiently. The time savings can translate to cost savings that can either be passed on or used to fund other items on this list.
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4.\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0If you\\u2019re an expert in your field, it\\u2019s time to use that expertise to innovate in your industry rather than simply just repeating the same stuff over and over again.
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5.\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0Expanding into new markets can grow your revenue opportunities by a lot. But it can also cost a lot to get into those new markets. And remember, not every market is the same as yours.
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Learn more about digital marketing the Australian way at clickstarter.com.au and help your business to Get Known, Get Found and Stay Known.
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