{"id":9681,"date":"2026-06-12T10:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.johnthornhill.com\/blog\/?p=9681"},"modified":"2026-06-12T10:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:22:14","slug":"the-boring-work-that-actually-makes-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnthornhill.com\/blog\/the-boring-work-that-actually-makes-money\/","title":{"rendered":"The Boring Work That Actually Makes Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people want online marketing to feel exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n

They want the big launch, the viral post, the perfect funnel, and the moment where everything finally clicks and the money starts showing up.<\/span><\/p>\n

But in reality, most of the work that actually grows a business is painfully boring.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that is exactly why so many people avoid it.<\/span><\/p>\n

They will spend hours changing their logo, tweaking their colors, watching another training video, or scrolling through other people\u2019s content for \u201cresearch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But ask them to follow up with leads?<\/span><\/p>\n

Silence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask them to test a different headline?<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe later.<\/span><\/p>\n

And if you ask them to talk to customers and find out what they actually want?<\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly, they\u2019re too busy.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Work in the trenches is boring but worth it\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Too many people <\/span>stay consistent with the things that feel productive<\/span><\/a>, while ignoring the things that make money.<\/span><\/p>\n

Email follow-ups aren\u2019t glamorous. But they\u2019re potential game changers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A person who joined your list raised their hand. They already showed interest. Yet many marketers treat them like a number instead of a potential buyer. They send one email, get no sale, and move on.<\/span><\/p>\n

They get caught quitting early, and they\u2019re not truly marketing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most people create an offer, put it out there, and decide it failed if the sales don\u2019t come quickly. But serious marketers know the first version is rarely the final version.<\/span><\/p>\n

You adjust the headline, improve the promise, change the bonus, sharpen the angle, and keep testing until the market tells you what works.<\/span><\/p>\n

The same goes for headlines. A weak headline can bury a strong offer. A stronger headline can turn ignored content into clicked content. But rewriting headlines is tedious and more time-consuming than meets the eye, so most people do it once and hope for the best.<\/span><\/p>\n

But hope is not a strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then there is the one thing almost everyone avoids: talking to customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no assuming or guessing involved, but actually asking a few simple questions:<\/span><\/p>\n