Career Changes: Unrealistic Expectations
I started this week with foolishly unrealistic expectations. You see, I thought I’d be able to finish four units, two of which are Google Analytics and Landing Pages. I was feeling confident…Google Analytics was supposed to be some 9 hours and Landing Pages, a little more than seven hours.
In total, 20 to 22 hours of intense study. I can crank that out in seven days, I told myself. I don’t know why, after studying the CXL institute’s Conversion Optimization mini degree for the last four weeks, I’m still looking to their course length for guidance. I’ve established that the course length is either grossly underestimated or I’m slow at understanding basic concepts.
As a result, I’ve spent most of this week studying Google Analytics. From the looks of things, I’ll still be on Google Analytics for at least half of next week too.
Developing and Testing an Emotional Content Strategy
I started the week off by studying Developing and Testing an Emotional Content Strategy. We looked at how human beings, even the most logical and reasonable ones, are emotional creatures. Every decision we make, everything we do has an emotional reason for it.
Conversion Optimization is all about knowledge and we looked at the steps we can take towards knowing our customers better:
- Emotional Competitor Analysis — This involves reviewing 10 to 15 competitors (yes, you read that correctly) to determine what your industry is doing in terms of emotional marketing and where you fit in.
- Emotional SWOT Test — This involves you making educated guesses, using polls and surveys on your site to determine your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- Emotional Content Strategy — Here, you address the weaknesses, threats, and see what the biggest issues people have and how you can resolve them within your emotional content.
- Testing — This is where you test emotional triggers, elements, and words you can use to portray those emotions, and any visuals and colors.
Consumers make buying decisions based on emotion but use reason to justify it. As marketers, we have much more success in influencing our visitors to act by tapping into their emotions. This process helps you to know your customers better and connect with them on an emotional level.
Influence and Interactive Design
This course looked at how to use design to direct your visitors’ attention, educate customers, tap into their emotions, remove any friction hindering them from acting, and building trust and credibility.
While I appreciate the short lengths of these two topics (Influence and Interactive Design and Developing and Testing an Emotional Content Strategy), I kinda feel like what they addressed has already been taught in previous units. It almost felt like I was studying the same topic but with the slightest twist to it. The twist was so slight that it felt like I was reviewing previous topics.
The one thing that I did learn that was new was that abandonment is a natural part of the process with consumers. Customers will always leave, even if they are completely satisfied with your products or services. Perhaps, they’ll stop using your product or service or decide to try a competitors’ product. Whatever the reason may be, customers are bound to leave at one point or the other. It’s something to be expected. It’s something we should expect and plan towards in our marketing and engagement processes.
Applying it to my own life, I have to say that I completely agree. I’m a fickle consumer. I change my mind constantly. I’m always trying new things or one day, I just get sick of using the same product. I cannot easily recall any product or service that I’ve used consistently for five years without changing it at least once. I assume most consumers are the same way.
Google Analytics for Beginners
I didn’t expect to like Google Analytics, but I do. I don’t know if it’s the way Chris Mercer speaks or if it’s that Google Analytics is just an interesting topic, but I’m enjoying the course.
First of all, Chris Mercer must have been a radio personality (is that what they call them?) in a previous life. He is so interesting to listen to. He doesn’t just drone on and on. Even when I’m tired, I know it’s because I’m physically tired and not tired because I’m bored to tears and sleep is my quickest way of escape.
He’s excited about the topic and it shows through in the course. Many times, I’ll find myself just listening to him talk, only to realize that I haven’t taken any notes in a bit. So I have to rewind and start all over again.
The only downside to learning Google Analytics is that there is no way for someone to practice what is being taught. Yes, there’s a demo account, which is better than nothing, but it’s severely limited. I can’t even view some of the things being taught on the demo. If I really want to practice, I need a live Google Analytics account, which I can’t get if I don’t have a website.
People just aren’t willing to let me get my hands on their GA accounts for fear that I’ll mess things up. I don’t blame them because this is a legitimate concern. I am just learning, after all, and I will mess things up. At least, initially.
I may end up starting a blog just to be able to learn more about Google Analytics. I don’t know if Google Analytics works with free blog software, it would be a miracle if it did. Starting an actual blog just to practice seems a bit excessive but I may have no choice if that is the only option available.
I’ll try to guilt-trip some friends into letting me tinker around with their GA accounts. I’m not holding my breath that it’ll work, but fingers crossed.
An interesting side effect of the Conversion Optimization course from the CXL institute is that it has made me want to start an eCommerce store or some sort of online business. Before now I’ve never been interested in starting one. I can’t even think of what I’d sell. I’m more interested in applying what I’m being taught to an actual business entity to see if it works.
If I start an eCommerce store and I mess things up then no harm, no foul. But if what I’m learning actually works, then I’ll be making money while putting to test the theories I’m learning. Then I could use my real-life scenario to market my services. Seems like a win-win situation to me.
