For more than a decade, Erkan Kemiksizgil has worked as a direct response marketer and online entrepreneur. He has evolved with the rise of online marketing in general, focusing on anything from search engine optimization to mobile sales.

Throughout his time, he has found a few strategies that work specifically well for him. That has allowed him to stay up with the times as much as possible without ever falling behind. While other Internet marketers have found it difficult at times to evolve as fast as the industry, Kemiksizgil always feels as though it is what makes certain people stand out.

Currently, he is the managing partner of Enabled Media, LLC. The company has achieved some great success in the last year in particular, and their focus is mostly on marketing eCommerce products and general Internet marketing strategy. We had a chance to talk to him, with a focus on how he has arrived at this point in his life.

Marketing on mobile and social platforms is still relatively new, and I found that a lot of business owners simply don’t know what needs to be done in order to be successful in this capacity and I saw an opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to leverage online advertising platforms which are really underutilized when you look at the amount of businesses out there right now who could benefit from advertising online.

My typical day is pretty similar to an average workday for most people. I tend to start a little earlier than 9 o’clock in the morning, but that’s a matter of personal preference. Every day starts with some quick physical activity, because I feel like that opens up the rest of the day to do what needs to be done. As far as productivity is concerned, I’m a big believer in moving around and taking breaks at times, even if my job is pretty stationary.

In the marketing world, I might try something out here and there on a small scale to see if I could possibly work down the road for when run on a larger scale. I like to test things on a small scale, and then go from there. Ideas always need to be tested to make sure the day makes sense.

A trend that should excite anyone looking at mobile / social marketing is that smart phones are becoming more affordable than ever before. There will be a time where just about anyone has access to a smart phone, and that means plenty of marketing opportunities for my business perspective.

I touched on it a little bit before, but staying active even with a job that requires sitting at a desk and looking at a computer for hours at a time is important. That means regular physical activity, taking breaks to move around and using things like standing desks. Once I was able to get in that habit, productivity definitely went up. Also, traveling has been helpful for me too.

I think I would tell myself to focus on the future instead of the past. When I was younger, a lot of focus was put on traditional marketing methods. While some of those marketing methods still do work, there was not enough focus on what the future would look like. It feels like a waste to think about all the different marketing strategies that are obsolete today.

Most people agree with me now, but I do remember a time in which I said years ago that people don’t want to read books on their smartphones. Instead, the opportunity to listen to audiobooks would start to takeoff with Audible acquiring a ton of market share over the past few years. The sales are definitely showing that trend is happening all around the world.

Sticking to a routine that works is essential when being an entrepreneur. Most of the time, entrepreneurs are their own bosses, so it is easy to take breaks and not be productive without someone telling you what to do. Make a routine and do it over and over again.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Listening to what real business owners are complaining about. Since we are in an industry trying to help business owners reach their new goals, it makes no sense to not listen to their complaints. By tailoring our business to help out those who are struggling, it has helped us grow to new heights.

I’d say one of my biggest failures was trying to start my own business very early on, without much of an idea on how things really work. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and focus on the craft to launch any type of business. I wasn’t ready then, but I learned and focused on improving in a lot of different ways.

I’ve always wanted to do something with a creative spin on a dating app. Maybe connecting people with very specific interest to bring them together. It has to be slightly different and quirky to stand out from the rest. The “riches are in the niches”, as they say.

Staying true to my preferences, I spent close to $100 on some new audiobooks to listen to during a series of flights coming up. I look forward to learning while traveling.

I collaborate with others using Google Docs quite a bit. It has helped me stay on track, and I really love how people can see everything change in real time.

I’m a big fan of “The Ideal Team Player” by Patrick Lencioni. I think it’s one of the best books on hiring and it’s important for all business owners as well as anyone in business to read because business is most definitely a team sport.

I’m not huge on quotes, so I can’t say who I should attribute it to. However, something I have always kept in mind that is very simple is that “you have to see failure at the beginning in the middle, but never entertain it as the end.” It just has always helped motivate me and keep me going forward.

Key Learnings:

Erkan Kemiksizgil loves the audiobook trend.

Why failures have led to success for Erkan Kemiksizgil.

How a typical day looks for Erkan Kemiksizgil.

Connect: