Here are some quick tips on things you should focus on with your website from Day 1 to build a successful online business.
Collect Emails
Emails are better than Facebook likes and follows. Having the ability to follow up and get in touch with people through email is very powerful. However, if you just spam people – then it isn’t going to do you too much good.
Tip: When writing emails to an “email list” use your own name in the From section. It’s more personal and more likely to be opened.
Content is King
Ads are cool. Lots of content is cool. But in order to really get your visitor to want to come back you need to provide some sort of value.
Whenever you write or post anything – think about your visitor. How will they react? Will they like what they see? Will they make a connection with your content? Will they see how much effort you put into what you wrote? Or will they see that you just wanted to post something and didn’t take the time to consider them?
If you don’t value your visitor, they won’t value your website.
Tip: Give people something they can’t get somewhere else. And think about your audience, always. That means make sure they like what you have to say and your site pleasant on the eyes (design and formatting are key)
Get Personal
There’s no better way to build a connection with someone than to share your story with others. It allows people to connect with you on a personal level and get to know you. Sometimes your experiences or stories will also resonate with your viewers so they’ll feel you “get them.”
Just think about it for a moment.
How do you know you trust someone? You share things that you wouldn’t share with just anyone.
The web is no different than in person now a days. The lines are blurred so be smart. Get personal.
Tip: You don’t have to share your life story. But share relevant information that will help connect you with your viewers. Even just a little is enough.
Be Real
If you’re going to write, video, podcast…whatever…don’t be robotic. Don’t read from a script. And please don’t use one of those pay for audio voices. No one wants that. It doesn’t work. It makes you and your site/video/podcast boring.
I worked for a company that hired a video production team to film and edit a video of our CEO talking about some new finance system. It was scripted and the CEO read off cue cards. But that’s not the worst part. The video had a voice over that was robotic and monotone. Nothing excited me about the video and I suspect the same goes with everyone except the marketing department that thought this was a brilliant idea.
You gotta love people that work in marketing but have no real world experience with how to build or grow an audience.
Be real. You are your best asset. Show people who you really are and be okay with your flaws. Talk to people (even when you write) like it’s a human being on the other side of that screen…because it is.
Tip: Embrace that you won’t be perfect but you’ll be real. People are drawn to that.
Update or Die
It’s one thing to have a website but just having one isn’t good enough. That’s like saying if you show up to a gym then that’s all you need to get a 6 pack. It doesn’t work like that.
You need…you must…update your site consistently if you want people to visit and visit often. Not only will your visitors come back to see new updates but Google and other search engines will rank your site better when you update more frequently.
Remember, a website is just as much about you as it is your audience. If you turn your back on your viewers and stop updating, they’ll eventually find another place to spend their time.
Tip: If you have a busy schedule, just try to allocate a small amount of time to making updates (maybe once a week). Remember, it’s not about the quantity of your content, but the quality. So a short valuable post does a lot more than a long post about nothing.
What tips do you have that you think are worth sharing on how to build a successful online business?