Category: Web Design/Management

Sorting Out the Versions of WordPress

Dear Mr. Communicator: I want to start blogging. Should I sign up for WordPress.com, which I understand is completely free, or create a self-hosted site? — Slightly Confused

Dear Slightly,

I work with many clients to develop WordPress sites. At the outset of a project, one of the biggest questions is whether the new site should be on WordPress.com or self-hosted. You’re not alone in being confused.

To better understand the pros and cons, please head over to my recent post on LinkedIn, where I provide some resources that explain how to choose  the best WordPress option.

Of course, as a content creator and builder of WordPress sites, I’d be happy to help if you need it.

 

Use Your Website to Establish Your Expertise and Authority

Dear Mr. Communicator: People visit my website, but they don’t buy my service. What’s wrong with my site?  – Frustrated entrepreneur

Dear Frustrated:

You provide a fundamental service in the business-to-business market, a service so important that even a few minutes of downtime could be disastrous. Your many competitors provide exactly the same service you provide; the only differentiation is your low price and your ability to gain the customer’s confidence.

I can understand that you wanted a clean, uncluttered website, but the result is a site that doesn’t establish your authority. There is not enough information to give the customer confidence that you can deliver your service.

Essential Website Content that will Establish Expertise

About Us/Bio

List your education credentials and summarize the jobs you held prior to becoming an entrepreneur, making these descriptions relevant to the service you offer. (If you are a broker for waste-hauling services, I wouldn’t mention that your college degree is in Dance.)

Write a couple of succinct sentences that offer a value proposition — what makes you more qualified to sell this service than your competitors?

Explain how long you’ve been in this business or a related field, how many customers you have (or have worked with over the years) and how you bring value to the client.

Services

A complete list of your services — with descriptions — is obviously a critical element. Check and double-check the terminology, ensuring that potential customers will see that you are up-to-date.

Where possible, use brand names and other terms that your clients are likely to search for.

Case Studies

You don’t need to write a 10,000-word dissertation.  Simply give us a few paragraphs that state your customer’s pain point and how you successfully addressed it.

Include at least three to five case studies, using client/company names (but be sure to get the client’s permission!).

If you have no customer experience yet, title this page “Use Cases,” and offer some hypothetical examples to show what kind of ROI (return on investment) your clients will experience.

Testimonials

Your ability to make new sales hugely depends on your past successes.

Slightly different from case studies, testimonials are merely a sentence says “Bill was able to cut our cleaning service costs by 50 percent in six months without sacrificing quality.”

If you’ve only been in this very specific business since yesterday, get testimonials that prove your value as a business partner: “Bill has always been there when we needed him and he understood every aspect of our operation.”

Honors, Awards and Recognition

If you are an electricity provider, it sure would be nice to show a photo of yourself accepting an energy conservation award from President Obama.

Additional Website Elements that Show Authority

  • Glossary of terms in your field
  • Frequently asked questions (and answers!)
  • Cost-saving tips and advice
  • How to select a provider (in other words, why you are the best provider)
  • Photo gallery or portfolio of successful projects and client engagements

Creating Strong Web Pages

To attract search engines and provide solid information for new customers, your pages should have at least 300-500 words and include at least one relevant photo with a caption that includes keywords relevant to the service you offer.

Need Help?

I coach small business owners and entrepreneurs in thinking through how to best present themselves. Contact me for help in making your website a more effective sales tool.

New Website is Live — Now What?

Dear Mr. Communicator: We just went live with our new website. How do we get people to look at it? –a curious marketing manager

The kind of traffic your website needs

Take the right steps and traffic like this will be headed to your website.

Dear Curious:

Begin by telling the world.

  • Ask employees to link to the site in their email signatures.
  • Schedule social media posts with links to specific pages on the site.
  • Write a blog article about the business decision process that led to the new site. Here’s an example from a site I recently completed for Joseph Robertson Foundries, Limited, a Toronto company that makes brass, bronze and aluminum castings.
  • Ask your execs — lawyers, accountants, marketing pros — to ensure that their personal listings in professional organizations include links to the site.
  • Promote the site on any and all customer communications, such as billing statements, store signage, business cards and print advertising.