After all these years I’m still amazed at how difficult people make marketing online.
It just doesn’t have to be that way. You can make website marketing simple.
I won’t waste either of our time with why website marketing can seem complex, complicated and overwhelming. You probably already have enough experience yourself to know what’s not working.
So we’ll focus on what does work. More specifically we’ll spend the rest of this sort article looking at the three uncomplicated things you need to make website marketing simple. Each of these have their own details. But if you have – and use – the basics you’ll have everything you need to successfully marketing your website and your business online.
1. Platform
Platform is just another way to say ‘website.’ So you’re probably wondering why I don’t just say website.
The reason is simple. When you think of a website you probably think of a bunch of pages around an attractive visual design that talks about your business. Maybe you think that a website is just a ‘must have’ part of having a coaching practice or being an holistic healer. And ultimately you use it as sort of an office where you put up the information you want people to know about you and work while including all the intake forms and such people need to download to get started with you.
This vision is a website that’s for you. It serves your purposes while making you feel like there’s potential clients lurking about waiting to call you.
But see, that’s the problem with a website – it’s most often about you. As I said, websites serve your needs and not so much your potential client’s needs.
See where I’m going here? You build a platform because something will happen on it. You can’t always say that about a website.
This is why I use platform in place of website. The word platform first makes you think a little bit. ‘A platform for what,’ you should be asking yourself.
And in that question is the key to making a website that serves your potential client’s needs first and foremost.
As I’ve said for years, you don’t need a website…other people do. You know what you do. You know what sorts of problems you can help your clients with. You know who you do it for. You know how people can become your clients. But the people who want to become your clients don’t! So you build a successful website for the people out there who want to become your clients.
As such, your website becomes a business platform.
A business platform is a website that’s developed, designed, organized and written for the sole purpose of giving potential clients every bit of information they need to decide to contact you. A business platform is a marketing hub where you have limitless opportunity to express, share and display your expertise in solving the problems your potential clients face. A business platform is where people want to engage you, contact you, read your useful content, signup for classes and email lists, etc. It’s where people feel like they’re in connection to you and where they see you can help them.
A business platform what you think your website should be. But I found without making this distinction it can be difficult to get out of the rut of having a website and into the potential of having a business platform.
With a business platform you can make website marketing simple. It all begins with this foundation.
2. Visitors
You may be one of the best coaches or healers in your profession. Your clients might get phenomenal results working with you. And you ability to share, teach and guide might be top-notch. Yet, no one knows about you.
This is the problem of many, many coaching websites out there. If no one is finding you then no one can hire you. It’s an obvious problem, right? Yet the solution is much simpler than anyone thinks.
You see, many marketing programs out there try to sell you on complex, multiple-step, programs that promise to get your more people to your website. The programs might be great. But they fail usually because of two things – they’re too complicated and overwhelming to actually do and they’re not tailored to your specific needs.
When it comes to website marketing simple is better.
Getting people to your website is no more complicated than talking to people at a networking event or chatting with someone over tea. Honestly, it’s really that simple. The key to getting people to your website isn’t to find some complex marketing program. When you choose 2 or 3 simple tasks and do them regularly you’ll grow your website, get more visitors and end up with more clients easier than you ever thought possible.
3. Action
Once people find your website – okay, you caught me – once they find your business platform they shouldn’t be finished. Before the leave you want them to do something on your website. The last step in website marketing simple is to make sure they take some action on your site.
The ultimate action you want them to take, of course, is to phone you immediately and become a client. Signing up for your email list is probably the next action you’d be happy with. But there’s still tons of other things people can do on your website that will help your business.
They could, for instance, connect to you on one of your social media accounts – say Facebook or Twitter. They could also share you content on social media. Any social media exposure increases the number of people who can find out about your business. This is true whether you’re active on social media yourself or not. Of course, it’s more true and the gains can be significant if you are active in at least one social media channel.
Anyhow, the point is you want the people that visit your site to take action. This means they need to find the opportunities to take action on your website.
Having a contact button in your navigation menu is fine. Yet, inviting people to contact you at the bottom of every one of your pages is better. Same goes for your email list signup. Having your form in your sidebar or header is good. But providing links in your copy that instruct people to signup and having those links go to a short sales page is much better.
The point is, first make your desired actions easy to find. Then make it easy to do. Make it so clear to your visitors that they couldn’t possibly miss it. They’re often called ‘calls-to-action.’ This means you’re ‘calling’ people to take action rather than passively hoping they magically do.
This may still all sound so difficult
But it’s not. Really, it’s not. I’ve helped and watched everyone from the expert business owner who’s looking to increase their business to the basic beginner who is scared of having a website. They all have learned new ways how. They all progress. And they all gain some forward motion with their business – if they keep it simple.
There are 3 things you need to make website marketing simple: Platform -> Visitors -> Action.
How Can I help?
Well, I build business platforms. I can teach you a few ways that you can get visitors to your website (out of the hundreds I know). And I can help you create clear calls-to-action that your website visitors will want to click.
Let me help you. The first 20 minutes of our chat are free. And then you can decide for yourself whether I can help you or not.
So to all your life coaches, business coaches and holistic healers, where are you stuck in overwhelm with having your business online? Share in the comment box and I’ll do my best to help.
(note: image + image + image + image from Flickr, 
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