The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site - and How to Avoid Them by Gihan Perera

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site - and How to Avoid Them by Gihan Perera BuildYourWebSiteInTwoDays.com

The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

You Own the Reprint Rights I believe this report contains vital information, so I’m giving you free electronic redistribution rights. Yes, it’s yours free! This is $57 value. This means that you can give it away to other people. You can send it to your mailing list (but no spam, please)! You can give it away on your Web site. You can even sell it for any price you’d like and you get to keep 100% of the profits! Or you can use it as a free bonus in a product bundle. It’s up to you. The only restriction is that you must not change it in any way, which means that you must distribute it in its original PDF format in its entirety.

Disclaimer The material contained in this report is general and is not intended as advice on any particular matter. The author expressly disclaims all and any liability to any persons whatsoever in respect of anything done by any such person in reliance, whether in whole or in part, on this report. Please take appropriate legal advice before acting on any information in this report. Copyright © 2010 Gihan Perera.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Table of Contents You Own the Reprint Rights .................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 3 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 4 Overview ............................................................................................................. 9 Mistake #1: Their Web Site Doesn’t Change, so It’s Inaccurate, Out Of Date, Or Just Plain Wrong ............................................................................................................... 16 Mistake #2: They Make It Too Difficult For People to Buy .......................................... 20 Mistake #3: They Don’t Have A “Plan B” For People Who Don’t Buy ............................ 25 Mistake #4: Their Web Site Focuses On Themselves, Not the Real Problems of Their Site Visitors .............................................................................................................. 30 Mistake #5: They Try To Sell Too Soon .................................................................. 36 Mistake #6: They Try To Please Everybody (And End Up Pleasing Nobody) .................. 42 Mistake #7: Their Web Site Doesn’t Fit The Rest Of Their On-Line Strategy ................. 46 Summary........................................................................................................... 49 How can I help you? ............................................................................................ 50 Will you catch the wave? ...................................................................................... 51 About Gihan Perera ............................................................................................. 53

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Introduction Any fool can create a Web site. And many fools do. There are millions of business Web sites on the Internet. And most of them don’t work. They cost money, they frustrate people who visit them, they take up the Web site owner’s time, effort and energy. And they don’t give them anything in return. Fortunately, your Web site can be different. It is possible to build a profitable Web site that helps you grow and develop your business, rather than sucking money out of it and causing you endless headaches and frustration.

Who is this for? This is for you if you’re a business owner or entrepreneur who wants to build a solid, high-quality, effective Web site that goes hand in hand with your business. This is not a report for Internet marketers - people who want to create passive income from the Internet. This is possible, but it’s difficult, and takes full-time focus, energy and investment of time and money. Instead, this is for you if you’re a regular business owner and you want to know how a Web site fits in with everything else in your marketing mix.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Why you need to read this report Any competent Web developer can give you advice about fonts, colours, cross-browser compatibility, branding, site maps, link anchor text, and other technical stuff. Some of the will also give you advice about copywriting for the Web, keyword density, search engine optimisation, navigation menus, linking strategies and other marketing stuff. But very, very few will talk about your Web site strategy. This is not about looking at your Web site from a technical viewpoint. And not even from just a marketing viewpoint. But from a business strategy viewpoint. That’s what this report will give you. It’s not about how you build your Web site. It’s about what you build (and avoid), and why you do it. It might sound a bit negative and pessimistic that I’m telling you the seven mistakes people make with Web sites. After all, isn’t it better to focus on what to do rather than what to avoid? Sure, but your Web developer can tell you what to do. But I bet you that your Web developer won’t help you avoid all of these mistakes. So I want you to get the best of both worlds: Use your Web developer to build the site, but use this report as a checklist to avoid big strategic mistakes. There’s so much new stuff happening on the Internet that it’s easy to get confused and distracted by every new tool, technique and gimmick that appears in your in-box. The truth is, most of these things can work for you, but only if you apply them appropriately for your business. But most business owners simply don’t have the time and focus to

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investigate these fully. So don’t! It’s not necessary to follow every Bright Shiny Object that comes into view. Focus on the basics - which you will get in this report - and then you can pick and choose what else to pursue.

Why should you believe me? I’ve been using the Internet since 1988, long before many people even knew it existed. More importantly, I’ve worked with over 100 business owners in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, the U.K. and Singapore. In the time I’ve been using the Internet, I’ve seen it go through many changes. I’ve seen people make money from it, and I’ve seen them lose money from it. As a small business consultant, I’ve followed the growth of the Internet from its time as an academic network to being a commercial force and now to its latest form as a community-oriented user-based communication tool. I’ve been using it actively during all three stages, so I know what’s changed – and more importantly, what that means for you. I’ve heard people say that since the “dot com crash” on the stock market, there’s no money to be made on the Internet. And I know other people are making millions – literally – from it. And I’m not talking about huge companies – I’m talking about business owners, just like you and me.

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I reckon I bring three things to the table. None of these are unique in themselves, but combining them gives you access to a rare and powerful expertise: 1. I have a background in IT and I’ve been a Web developer since 1997, working with real business owners and their on-line strategy. Some of my earlier clients - who are still clients now - were Internet business pioneers, not sure when they started whether this whole Internet thing was just a passing fad. So I’ve been around the block a few times, and I know what works and what doesn’t work. Now I get to share with you the secrets I’ve learned over the years. 2. I help clients with their on-line strategy, not just the technical skills. Ask my clients and they’ll tell you that they value my strategic input more than my technical input. It’s easy to buy technical skills from Brisbane, Boston or Bangalore; it’s far more difficult to get the right strategic input. 3. I’m a professional speaker, author, trainer and consultant. So I know how to present information in engaging and relevant ways. I hope you'll find that to be true in this report as well. I’m not saying all this to impress you. I’m saying it to impress upon you that this report is different. It’s not your typical run-of-the-mill report from an Internet marketer who wants to sell you an expensive Internet marketing product that offers to turn you into an Internet marketer.

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Why is this more important now than ever before? The Internet has changed recently, particularly with the growth of “Web 2.0” tools such as Facebook, blogging, Twitter, LinkedIn, podcasting and YouTube. Although this has taken some of the focus of Web sites (for example, you can now have an on-line presence without a Web site), it doesn’t mean that Web sites are obsolete. Far from it! In fact, the opposite is true: A high-quality Web site is even more important than ever before. It’s just that it plays a different role in your on-line strategy. Three other things have made this even more important now: 1. Business has become faster, with everybody expecting instant responses and faster turnarounds. Your Web site must show up-to-date pricing, your staff must respond faster to queries, and your marketing efforts must keep pace with changes in your business environment. 2. You’re facing more competition, not only from your traditional competitors, but also from other providers anywhere in the world - including India, China and other countries that can offer what you’ve got for a much lower price. 3. Your margins have become tighter. Internet users have been spoiled by free services like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter that they expect so much more to be free, or very low cost. So how do you compete in this highly connected world? Keep reading …

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Overview Despite the overwhelming number of Internet tools and Web sites now available to consumers and businesses, the fundamentals of Internet marketing have remained the same. Briefly, Internet marketing is still about getting more people to your Web site, persuading them to interact with you, and eventually persuading them to take action by “buying” from you. The purchase might be buying an actual product, registering for an event, or picking up the phone to call you. There are four key stages … Think of your Web site like an onion, with three layers.

1. Build a shop to take orders The first, innermost, layer is your on-line “shop”, where your Web site visitors take the ultimate action you’d like them to take: Buy a product, order something, register for an event, or even just pick up the phone and call you.

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Every product and service you offer should have some call to action, and a process for your Web site visitor to take that action. If you don’t have a shop of some form, there’s not much point to your Web site. On the flip side, if you only have a shop, it’s very unlikely that anybody will buy without any other supporting material. So the second step is …

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2. Write sales letters and flyers The second layer of the onion is to write a sales letter, brochure of flyer to promote each of the products and services you offer:

Each product and service you offer should have one of these sales letters, describing the benefits and features of that product or service. This is an important step in building your Web site, because you’re now promoting, not just selling, on your Web site. But this still isn’t enough. A purely promotional Web site is most likely to turn people away, unless you have a strong relationship with them already.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

So the third step is …

3. Write high-value content The outermost layer of the onion is your free, high-value content you write to make your Web site attractive and useful to site visitors:

This can take the form of articles, video clips, photographs, audio clips, surveys, slide shows and the like. The point is that you’re giving value, not just promoting your products and services.

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You do promote as well, but only at the end of each content piece. For example, you could write an article with tips on how people can improve in your area of expertise, followed by a direct link to the sales letter you’ve written to a related product. These three layers make up your Web site. But there’s a fourth step as well …

4. Push your content out into the world The final step is to take that high-value content and push it out into the world:

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For example, you put your videos on YouTube, your audio clips into a podcast on iTunes, your articles into a blog and e-mail newsletter, your photographs onto Flickr, and so on.

Together, these four steps give you the broad framework for your entire on-line strategy. Here they are again in summary: 1. Build a shop, so you can take orders. 2. Write a sales letter for each offering, so you can persuade people to buy it. 3. Create free content – text, audio or video – to increase the value of your site. 4. Push that content out to other places on the Internet.

The Seven Biggest Mistakes Now that you understand these four levels, I can tell you about the seven biggest mistakes people make. The first - and biggest - mistake of all, and the most important to avoid, is to get stuck with a static Web site: ⇒ Mistake #1: Their Web site doesn’t change, so it’s inaccurate, out of date, or just plain wrong. The next two mistakes relate to the innermost level of our “onion”: The on-line shop:

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⇒ Mistake #2: They make it too difficult for people to buy. ⇒ Mistake #3: They don’t have a “Plan B” for people who don’t buy. Now we turn to the sales letters and flyers, which are all too often sadly lacking. ⇒ Mistake #4: Their Web site focuses on themselves, not the real problems of their site visitors. Moving on to the third layer of our onion: We’re talking about the importance of creating the high-value content that people read and see before they get into your sales pitch. ⇒ Mistake #5: They try to sell too soon. The last two mistakes relate to your promotional efforts in getting people to your Web site. These two aren’t restricted to your Web site alone, but to your entire on-line strategy: ⇒ Mistake #6: They try to please everybody (and end up pleasing nobody). ⇒ Mistake #7: Their Web site doesn’t fit the rest of their on-line strategy Do any of these ring true for you? This report goes through these seven mistakes, and – more importantly – tells you how to avoid them. When you understand and apply what you’ll learn here, you’ll be ahead of 99% of other businesses – especially your competitors.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Mistake #1: Their Web Site Doesn’t Change, so It’s Inaccurate, Out Of Date, Or Just Plain Wrong I recently asked my network of subscribers exactly what problems they had with their Web sites. By far the biggest problem that arose was that it was difficult - sometimes impossible! - to update it. Here are some examples of what people said: "My website is not enabled for me to work on it and in it, so I have to pay someone else to do all my changes for me no matter how small." "Keeping it up to date, not out of date as soon as it has been revised." "Updating it!! Or understanding the technology enough to do so simply. Updating just isn't happening as regularly as it should & there are a bunch of really vital functions we just don't use at the minute." "The biggest problem for me is back end capability and ability to update, review, edit and change it myself." "Not having the website set up so I can change or add information as I please." "I have started to do some outsourcing with some admin work in my business, but I'm just not comfortable really with giving my passwords to an outsourcer, given the security issues."

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"The turnaround time from idea to action is too long." "I want a way to update it easily. At the moment all I am doing is blogging. I would also like to include video clips and refer to articles." Many Web site owners fall into the trap of thinking that creating their Web site is the end of the journey. It’s not – it’s only the beginning. So they build their Web site and then leave it there, hoping it will turn into a money-making machine. Not likely! If you don’t do anything about it, it’s more likely to turn into a virtual millstone around your neck.

You MUST be able to change your site yourself It’s vital that you, the Web site owner, can change your site regularly to reflect changes in your business. If you don’t have the ability to do this, or it’s too expensive, then you might as well take down your Web site and forget about marketing your services on the Internet. So you’re probably losing most of your potential clients simply by not keeping your site up-to-date. For many businesses – particularly in financial services, law, real estate, and other regulated industries – you could even be breaking the law by providing inaccurate information!

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This is even more important now Don’t think you can get by with keeping your Web site static, and just making changes on Twitter, Facebook and your blog. It doesn’t work that way. In fact, these tools mean it’s even more important now that you have control over your Web site. For example, you want to be able to: ⇒ Announce a time-limited offer on your blog, and link to it on your Web site; ⇒ Ask your Facebook friends to pass on a new article you’ve added to your Web site; ⇒ Post a Twitter “tweet” about a free event you’re running as a promotion. Your Web site is the place people keep coming back to, so you must have control over it. A few years ago, one option was to pay your Web developer to make each and every change, under some sort of retainer arrangement (so it didn’t end up costing you too much). But the world has got so much faster since then, and I don’t think that option is feasible any more. It’s not the cost, it’s the turnaround time. You need to be able to update your site instantly, whenever you feel like it. This means you need what’s known as a “content management system” (CMS) for your Web site. Typically, this means you log in to a private Web page, and then you update the Web site immediately. You can do it from any Web browser, from any computer on the Internet.

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Typically, you can change the text and pictures on each page, and you can add new pages. You won’t necessarily be able to change the overall look of the site (color scheme, menu buttons, header and footer of each page, and so on). But you generally wouldn’t change this anyway, unless you’re an experienced graphic designer. Why is this so important? Because it means you can change your Web site at any time, from any Web browser, at no cost. Would you like to advertise a new event that’s happening next week? No problem – you can add it to the front page of your Web site. The same goes for new client testimonials, new products, media releases, new staff profiles, and anything else on the site. It doesn’t cost you anything, and it doesn’t require a degree in Computer Science. The key is that you have simple tools to update your Web site. You don’t need to download any special software, and you don’t need to learn FTP, HTML, CGI, HTTP or any other fancy acronyms.

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Mistake #2: They Make It Too Difficult For People to Buy Your Web site might be so full of pages, links, graphics and interaction that you forget why you built it in the first place! Here’s the most important question to ask: What is the single most important action you want a Web site visitor to take? Or, to put it another way: What is the last thing you want them to do before they leave your Web site? For example: ⇒ If you sell products or services directly, you want them to go to your shopping cart, fill in their credit card details, and actually buy something. ⇒ You might want them to pick up the phone and call you. ⇒ You might want them to send you an enquiry by e-mail. ⇒ If you’re a wholesale brand or a franchise owner, you might want them to locate a retailer or franchisee and contact them directly. Whatever the outcome for your business, make sure you make it simple - almost simplistic - for them to take that action.

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This might seem too obvious to even bother saying, but you would be surprised how complicated some Web sites are when it comes to this most important part of their site visitor’s interaction.

Payment systems are the worst! You would think that it’s a simple process to take somebody’s credit card for a payment. It should be, but it’s amazing to see just how complicated it is on some Web sites. In fact, studies have shown that most shoppers who start buying on a Web site abandon the process before completing it. In the real world, this would be bizarre. But in the on-line world, it’s the rule rather than the exception. Here are some of the dumb things that Web site owners do to annoy, upset and even scare their users: ⇒ Forcing them to “register” as members before they can buy anything (For example, Web sites that use the widely-available PayPal system require that clients register as PayPal members first – a long, complicated process that gets in the way of making a purchase). ⇒ Not using a secure server. ⇒ Adding unnecessary steps to what should be a straightforward process. ⇒ Not publishing a clear privacy policy on their Web site.

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⇒ Not providing a variety of payment options, especially for people who are worried about giving their credit card details on the Internet. ⇒ Not publishing a telephone number that allows a wary client to talk to a real person. ⇒ Not publishing a full street address that reassures the client that this is a legitimate business. ⇒ Assuming that all clients are from the same country, and not providing a handy currency converter for international clients. ⇒ Making it difficult to determine postage and handling costs, or not even publishing them at all. ⇒ Including a whole block of incomprehensible fine print for Terms and Conditions, instead of writing them out in plain, easy-to-read language. ⇒ Not publishing a refund policy, or making it so heavily weighted against the client that it’s a deterrent rather than an incentive. You’ve probably seen some of these mistakes already on other Web sites. Make sure that yours doesn’t make the same mistakes.

The good news is that it’s easy to turn this around. Some of the research suggests that the number of shoppers abandoning the sale is as high as 80%! If you believe that research, it means that you’re missing out on 4 out of every 5 sales. Imagine what would happen to your business if 80% of your clients came in the door, talked to you about your products and services, made the decision to buy,

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but then walked out before completing the transaction. That might well be happening on your Web site. The good news, of course, is that if you could convince these potential clients to complete their order, you would increase your profits instantly! And all this happens without having to get one extra visitor to the site. Look at how much of a difference this could make to your business. If we take the 80% figure quoted above, convincing just half of those people to complete the transaction would mean that that number drops to 40%. This means that you’ve now got a 60% completion rate, compared with 20% before making the change. That means you’ve just trebled your income!

The same applies to other action processes. Even if your Web site doesn’t sell products or services directly, that doesn’t let you off the hook! Think again about the last thing you want people to do before they leave your site, and make sure it’s easy for them to do it. For example, if you want them to pick up the phone and call you: ⇒ Is your phone number shown prominently on every page (not just hidden away on a Contact Us page)? ⇒ Do you show area codes for long-distance callers? ⇒ Do you offer a toll-free number to encourage calls?

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⇒ Do you clearly show your opening times or available times for people to call? ⇒ If you have more than one phone number (for example, for Accounts, Sales and Support), is it immediately obvious which number they should call? As another example, if you want them to e-mail you to take the next step: ⇒ Is your e-mail address shown prominently on every page (not just hidden away on a Contact Us page)? ⇒ Do you show an actual e-mail address, rather than forcing people to fill in a form? ⇒ Do you explain how e-mail queries get answered - for example, giving an estimate of how quickly you will reply? ⇒ If you have more than one e-mail address, is it immediately obvious which address they should use for their situation? You might think you’re doing everything right to get the required response. But go through the process again, this time walking through it in your Web site visitor’s shoes. You might be surprised to see how many obstacles you’ve put in their place - without realising it, of course.

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Mistake #3: They Don’t Have A “Plan B” For People Who Don’t Buy We’ve just talked about making it easy for people who have decided to do business with you. But what about those who aren’t ready yet? Many Web site owners put all their eggs in one basket. They assume that somebody will visit their Web site, read all about the products and services on offer, and immediately make a decision to buy. That’s almost always a mistake. Not every site visitor is ready to buy. Sometimes it takes more than one contact (some research indicates that it takes up to 6 or 7 contacts) until they are ready to move from being an interested prospect to a paying client. This means that even if you’ve successfully got them to your site and engaged them in your offer, if you’re relying on them to buy from you on the first visit, you’ll probably fail most of the time. The key factor here is trust. How much does the site visitor trust you? If you’re a wellknown name with a well-established brand, then the trust level is probably high. Similarly, if you’re dealing with existing clients rather than strangers, then again you’ve probably established a high level of trust.

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But if you’re dealing with strangers – in other words, people who are visiting your Web site for the first time – and you don’t already have credibility in the client’s eyes, chances are they don’t trust you – yet. And if that’s the case, it’s very difficult to make the sale. In fact, it’s virtually impossible.

Start this relationship on your Web site Here’s what this means for your Web site: You must capture their e-mail address before they leave your site. This is crucial. Without it, you’ve got no way of keeping in touch with them in the future. Even with the best of intentions, it’s extremely unlikely that somebody will visit your site regularly unless you prompt them. Remember that most major news Web sites – including CNN, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian – have e-mail services. If sites like these, which change daily, think it’s important to prompt their readers by email, then so should you!

Get Permission Firstly, and most importantly, get explicit permission. This, more than anything else, will increase your chances of reaching your readers.

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For instance, if someone gives you their business card at a networking function, it’s reasonable to assume that you can send them a short follow-up note the following day, but not that you can add them to a bulk e-mail list. The correct way is to ask, “Would you like to receive my e-mail newsletter, which is about men and women working together more effectively in the workplace?” Because of the ever-growing problem with spam, Internet users are very wary of giving out their e-mail address to strangers. So you have to offer them strong incentives, such as: ⇒ A clear privacy policy that assures them you will keep their e-mail address confidential; ⇒ An assurance they can unsubscribe from the mailing list at any time; ⇒ A special offer – such as a free e-book or special report – if they join your mailing list; ⇒ An indication of how often you will be e-mailing them, what you will be providing, and what benefits you are offering. Unless you’ve been given permission, act as if you don’t have it. In this respect, e-mail newsletters differ from printed newsletters. You can put people on your printed newsletter mailing list and they won’t mind. But that’s because they don’t receive 200 items of junk mail every day! Many Internet users do receive that volume of e-mail, so it’s not surprising that they resent the intrusion.

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Deliver Value To stand out from the flood of e-mail in most people’s in-boxes, provide valuable information and high-quality content. My personal rule is “80/20” – that is, every newsletter contains at least 80% free content. In fact, I never send a newsletter that only contains advertising. The key is to provide value first before you sell. We tend to get caught up in our own ideas and products and we think, “I’ve got this great offer that people are going to love”. But that’s not necessarily the case for your reader. In fact, they might have decided that very day that they’re getting too much e-mail. If your newsletter is simply an advertisement, it might be the trigger for them to unsubscribe.

Write More Often Keep your newsletters brief and to the point – it makes them easier to read and increases the chance that they will be read. Unlike a printed newsletter, where you might make it longer and less frequent because of the cost of printing and postage, your e-mail newsletter can be short and more frequent. Publish your newsletter at least monthly, and more frequently if possible. It keeps you at the front of your readers’ minds. As long as you’re providing real value, many will look forward to your newsletter.

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Keep separate mailing lists E-mail is such an important tool that I recommend you manage separate mailing lists for different groups of people. For example, people who visit your Web site would join a general mailing list. People who download a free report could also be on another mailing list, for specific follow-up. Your client mailing list (for people who have bought from you in the past) could have special offers that are not available to non-clients. Clients who bought a particular product could have their own mailing list, so you could send them updates about that product. So ensure your mailing list software allows you to create multiple mailing lists.

ÂŠ Gihan Perera

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Mistake #4: Their Web Site Focuses On Themselves, Not the Real Problems of Their Site Visitors You can’t pressure your Web site visitors into buying. They’re not a captive audience, so you have to grab their attention quickly, and then keep it with real value, not sales hype. Rather than trying to manipulate, cajole, browbeat or force them to buy, create “buying frames” that explain the reasons for them to buy.

I’ll explain … Everybody is asking these four questions: ⇒ Why this? What are the benefits of your offering? ⇒ Why you? What authority do you have for me to believe you? ⇒ Why now? What is the urgency for me to take action? ⇒ Why me? Why is this the right fit for me? Think of it as a picture frame with four sides, with your offerings in the middle.

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Before they buy, they must answer all four questions in their mind. You can help them by suggesting some answers. Let’s consider each of these in turn.

“Why this” (benefits) This is the standard sales technique of describing the benefits, not just the features, of your offerings. Features are “what this does”; benefits are “what that means for you”. One simple way to convert features to benefits is to list each of the features in turn, then add the phrase “so that” or “which means that”, and then finish the sentence.

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For example, if you’re considering the features of a car: ⇒ This car has cruise control … so that … you don’t get a speeding fine ⇒ The car has radio controls on the steering wheel … which means that … it’s safer because you’re not distracted while driving ⇒ This car has keyless entry … which means that … it’s faster to get into the car in an emergency – particularly for women alone at night

“Why you” (authority) People buy from people they trust. Why should they believe you, your business and the people in your business? Do you have testimonials from other happy customers, endorsements from well-known people, formal qualifications or practical experience? If you’ve been doing the things I have already discussed, you have already established yourself as an authority: ⇒ You’re an expert who delivers value in solving your customers’ problems; ⇒ You’re the leader of your customer tribe; ⇒ You’ve established an on-line reputation. And this is not positional authority, where you have “power” over them (as you do with, say, employees, where you pay their wages); this is about being a respected authority.

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Focus on the kind of authority that matters most for your customers – for example: ⇒ Many young people respect celebrities, so get celebrity endorsements; ⇒ Doctors respect letters after your name, so pharmaceutical companies engage experts to talk to doctors about medicines; ⇒ Business owners respect experience more than qualifications, so prove your experience.

“Why now” (urgency) You see this sort of marketing everywhere: “Mid-season sale – two weeks only” “Register now for the Early Bird special” “Only 20 memberships available at this price” “Closing down sale – all stock must go” “New season fashions coming soon – current stock at bargain prices” This is the motivator for them to take action now, rather than putting it off until later. It’s usually based on pain or pleasure – that is, the negative consequences of not taking action or the positive consequences of taking action. This can be the most important factor that gets the sale; however, it can also be the most difficult to do, because it’s not always easy to do this without being manipulative.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

If you genuinely do have a reason for making an urgent announcement, do so and your customers – particularly those already in your tribe – will respond. But if you keep doing this over and over again, they’ll soon grow weary and skeptical. A more respectful approach is to explain why now, more than ever, your offerings are important and relevant for your customers. It’s not about forcing them to buy; it’s about explaining how their circumstances have changed – perhaps without them realising it. For example: ⇒ A real estate agent could say, “There’s never been a better time to sell your home”, based on the strength of the property market. ⇒ An accountant could say, “The new tax laws could cost you thousands of dollars”. ⇒ A restaurant could say, “The economy is booming – come in and celebrate with your friends!” ⇒ A business consultant could say, “The Internet is making it easier for competitors to put you out of business” In all these cases, it’s not enough to just state that claim; back it up with evidence.

“Why me” (fit) Finally, explain why your customers are a perfect fit for your offerings.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

This should be easy if you’ve built your business around a niche market, as I’ll talk about later. Now you simply describe that niche to them – for example: ⇒ What makes them tick? ⇒ What makes them different from other people? ⇒ What differences are they proud of?

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Mistake #5: They Try To Sell Too Soon When somebody goes to Google and they search for a topic, they’re asking themselves the question, “How do I find out about xyz?” rather than, “How do I buy something about xyz?” When they click on a link they find in Google, they’re really looking for information, not necessarily to buy. So keep this in mind when somebody comes to your Web site. Chances are they’re looking for information first. So what should you do? Give them information, of course! This is especially true now, where Internet users are so spoiled by getting everything free that they’ll expect it from you as well. And you can’t just offer them junk or low-value stuff; it has to be high quality and valuable.

Build your expertise One of my favourite actors, Steve Martin, put it this way when asked for his secret to success: “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” The one thing that sets you apart from others is your expertise.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Are you an acknowledged expert in your field? Or are you just the same as every other “expert” in your industry? The more you can establish yourself as an expert (and even better, as the expert), the greater leverage you have in your business. If you’re just the same as everybody else, you’ll be compared with everybody else – on price, quality, speed of delivery, customer service, and so on. But when you position yourself as an expert, your expertise will count for more than any of these other factors (If you need a heart transplant, you don’t say, “Get me the cheapest heart surgeon”!)

Why become an expert? Your expertise gives you the ability to leverage yourself into a position of choice with your customers – for a number of reasons: ⇒ You stop competing on price. Your customers choose you because of your expertise, not because of the price of your products and services. ⇒ You deliver value. When you establish a clear and direct connection between your fee and the increased value you bring to your customers, your fee becomes an investment rather than a cost. ⇒ You stamp out the competition. Most businesses set themselves up as “shops”, not as “resource centres”. If you’re one of the few that delivers expertise rather than pushing products, you’ll have a clear competitive advantage. ⇒ You work with your customers, not for them. Being an expert puts you in a different position in your customer’s mind. An expert is a trusted adviser who helps the

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customer to make a buying decision, not one of the many outsiders selling their wares. ⇒ You solve problems rather than pushing products. Customers seeking your products and services are asking themselves the question, “How can I solve problem X?”, not “Where can I buy product/service Y?” Salespeople and order takers address the latter question, but experts make the real connections, because they answer the former. So even if you’ve never thought of yourself as an expert before, it’s time to start thinking that way now! If you were the world’s leading expert in this area, what would you know? What would you say? How would you communicate with people in that market? What would you read? What would you write? Then act as if you were that expert! This is not about faking it or deceiving your customers; it’s about your attitude and mindset when dealing with them.

Write Articles One of the most powerful ways to demonstrate your expertise is by writing articles. The best articles address problems that your clients and customers face in their lives. So look at each of your products and services, and list all of the problems that it solves for your customers.

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For example: ⇒ If you’ve written a customer service book, it’s solving the problem of poor customer service in the client’s business. ⇒ If you sell life insurance, you’re solving the problem of security for the client’s family in case of death. ⇒ If you’re a high-energy motivational speaker, perhaps the client’s problem is that they require somebody to kick off their conference with a bang. ⇒ If you run a small bed and breakfast, the client’s “problem” is that they’re looking for a home away from home for their holiday. If you get stuck, ask your customers what problem you’re solving for them. They already are marketing experts in your business! Now that you have a list of problems, write an article for each of them, describing the problem and its solution. You can write the article in a number of different ways. Here’s one formula that works well – I call it the PIPES process: ⇒ State the problem – in other words, describe the mistake. ⇒ Tell them the implications of the problem. Explain the consequences, and if possible quantify how much it is really costing them. ⇒ Point out the possibilities if they didn’t have the problem. Paint a rosy picture of how their life would be better if they didn’t have that problem.

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⇒ Give them an explanation of how to solve the problem. Keep this brief, but point them in the right direction. Create a free blog in just a few minutes at www.blogger.com. Then use it for bringing more people to your Web site. For a blog to be useful, you must update it regularly. That doesn’t mean you have to update it daily (though some people do). But make sure it doesn’t fall by the wayside and become stale. To make it easy for you to track news reports on your topic, use Google to e-mail you every time a relevant news story appears on that topic. To do this, go to Google News at news.google.com and click the “news alerts” link. Sign up (it’s a free service). Just enter your topic of interest, and every day you’ll receive e-mail updates of current news stories. Some of that information might be relevant to you, and you can cut and past and place it on your blog.

Write a Free E-Book The third way to build your expertise is to write a free e-book or special report. These are an excellent way to promote your expertise, your business, and yourself – for a very low cost. There are many ways to write an e-book, and there’s no one “best” formula. One of the simplest is to identify the common mistakes that your customers and clients make, and then shows them how to avoid these mistakes. In fact, that’s exactly the formula I’m using here!

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Note, by the way, that if you write about common mistakes people make or common problems they face, you’ll create a much more compelling e-book than if you write about things they could do. For example, if your industry is fashion, Seven Fashion Mistakes to Avoid is a more appealing e-book than Seven Upcoming Fashion Trends. While many readers may be interested in fashion trends, almost everyone worries about making a fashion mistake. After writing your free e-book, look for ways to use it as a promotional tool. It’s tempting to want to sell it, especially if it’s a high-quality e-book (as it should be). But remember that your goal is to get more visitors to your Web site, so give it away for nothing. In fact, if you’re planning to give away an e-book, you might as well make it better than free. By that I mean that you give readers the right to copy it and distribute it to others as well. After all, if it’s promoting you, why not make it easy for it to reach as many people as possible? This is an example of “viral marketing”, where you release something free to the market in the hope that it spreads rapidly – like a virus.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Mistake #6: They Try To Please Everybody (And End Up Pleasing Nobody) The first five mistakes we’ve covered in this report are about your Web site itself. The final two mistakes are to do with things outside - but still related to - the site. First, we’ll look at your target market, and then at building your reputation. It’s tempting to think that because you’ve got a presence on the World Wide Web that you can reach the world. You can’t. Focus on a specific target market, and work on reaching them instead. I don’t know a sure-fire formula for success, but trying to be all things to all people is a sure-fire formula for failure.

Find a niche, and serve that niche. Most businesses make the mistake of trying to reach too many people in their market – which leads to more competition, soaring promotion costs, and minimal differentiation. They cast their marketing net too wide, scared that if they don’t reach out to everybody, they will miss opportunities and lose market share to their competitors.

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Take the opposite approach and focus on smaller niche markets. The smaller your market, the better your offerings for that market – which means you can raise your prices, increase your profits, and virtually eliminate your competition. By all means, search wide to find the right niche markets. But, when you find them, dig deep. When you’re looking for oil, it makes sense to start by casting a wide net, looking for potential opportunities. But the good oil isn’t near the surface – you have to dig deep to find it. Here are some examples of businesses catering to niches: ⇒ Sales trainer: Focus on a particular industry, such as pharmaceutical companies or financial planners. ⇒ Book shop owner: Cater for readers who would like to form, run or join book clubs. ⇒ Financial planner: Concentrate on a particular demographic group, such as young professionals or single parents. One of my favourite niche marketing stories is about Internet marketing expert Frank Kern, who makes $1,500 a month from a Web site selling an e-book that teaches parrots to talk. The key to his success is that he’s chosen a tiny niche market. He’s not teaching your bird how to talk (though there is a “Bird Talk” magazine!); he’s not teaching you how to look after your parrot; and he’s not going for the wider market for pet owners. Rather, he’s chosen a specific group of people. There may not be many of them, but his e-book is perfect for them.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Why niche? ⇒ Your products are tailored to the needs of a smaller market, so they are more valuable to customers; ⇒ You understand many of your customers’ needs already, so it’s easier to build rapport and get to the heart of their problems; ⇒ You speak their language, not yours, which puts you a long way ahead of most of your competitors; ⇒ Customers see you as a trusted adviser, not just a supplier. They’ll ask for your help and trust your advice – even when they want help about choosing suppliers! ⇒ You’ll get more referrals from customers who recommend you to their colleagues in the same industry; ⇒ You can charge a higher price for your products and services, because they more closely match the customer’s requirements (That’s why a brain surgeon charges more than a GP); ⇒ There’s less competition. When you go head-to-head with Amazon.com, you’ll probably lose. But if you focus on local book clubs interested in theme nights, you target needs that Amazon.com doesn’t service; ⇒ Instead of aiming for expensive mass-media advertising, you focus on lower-cost exposure that more suits your market – such as industry magazines, local newspapers, pay-per-click Internet advertising, and sponsorship of specific events; ⇒ When your customers know that you’re offering specific solutions to their real problems, it makes the sales process so much easier for you;

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⇒ You become recognised as an expert in the niche, rather than a supplier pushing a product or service to the market. Finally, remember every customer is already a niche of one. So if you’re not niche marketing already, you’re missing the point.

Niche marketing works. Niche marketing works! It sets you apart from your competitors; gives you closer and more trusted access to your customers; allows you to create joint ventures with other businesses to serve the same customers; and simplifies your business systems and processes. Some business owners worry that when they choose a niche market, they will eventually get everything they can out of that niche, and be left with nothing else to sell. That is a possibility, but in most cases, they under-estimate its potential. When you’ve got the right niche, and you become the recognised expert in that niche, the sky’s the limit.

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Mistake #7: Their Web Site Doesn’t Fit The Rest Of Their OnLine Strategy Internet marketing is still about getting more people to your Web site. But the way you get them there has changed. It used to be about advertising; now it's about your on-line reputation. If you’ve got this far, you probably won’t be surprised by this idea. If you’ve done everything I’ve talked about so far on your Web site itself, it’s only natural to extend that beyond your Web site. And that’s exactly what you do. Your prospects still rely on your expertise when they make a decision to engage your services. But in the past, they would evaluate that expertise on your Web site. So your job was to get them there by any means possible. But this has changed. Now, they must be able to find your content in other places, and that’s what will convince them to visit your Web site. They first find out about you from blogs, podcasts, forums, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and other places on the Internet.

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It's no longer enough to expect people to visit your Web site to find out you're an expert. Now you have to prove you're an expert before they ever visit your Web site.

Where will they find you? Here are just a few Web sites where people are now consuming content in vast quantities: ⇒ Google Reader www.google.com/reader: Google provides this free service that brings you the latest blogs and news updates on topics of interest. ⇒ YouTube www.youtube.com: Anybody can create and upload videos to this video sharing service (and there are many others like it). ⇒ Facebook www.facebook.com: Facebook users can participate in discussions and have blogs sent directly to their Facebook account. ⇒ Twitter www.twitter.com: Twitter users “follow” other Twitter users, and read what you and others have to say. If they like it, they’ll click a link in your Twitter messages. Here are some other ways they’re receiving content without using their Web browser: ⇒ E-mail in-boxes: E-mail newsletters are still popular, despite the volume of spam. ⇒ iTunes: The free “juke box” software allows users to download audio clips – including podcasts – directly to their computer. ⇒ Feed readers: Users can get blogs and news updates sent directly to this software, bypassing the Web altogether.

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⇒ Twitter: This “micro-blogging” tool is the latest craze on the Internet, and it allows you to communicate in short bursts. What’s more, they don’t even have to be at their PC (or Mac) to get the content. Here are some other methods: ⇒ iPod: iPod users transfer iTunes content directly to their iPod. ⇒ Hand-held computers – including the iPhone, PocketPC and Blackberry ⇒ Kindle: Amazon.com’s new hand-held reading device makes it possible to read ebooks almost as conveniently as printed books. So don’t be a hermit! Your Web site is of no use to you at all if nobody visits it. Make sure you spend time elsewhere on the Internet as well, so you build up your on-line reputation and then bring people back to your Web site.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

Summary Here’s a list of the seven mistakes again: ⇒ Mistake #1: Their Web Site Doesn’t Change, so It’s Inaccurate, Out Of Date, Or Just Plain Wrong ⇒ Mistake #2: They Make It Too Difficult For People to Buy ⇒ Mistake #3: They Don’t Have A “Plan B” For People Who Don’t Buy ⇒ Mistake #4: Their Web Site Focuses On Themselves, Not the Real Problems of Their Site Visitors ⇒ Mistake #5: They Try To Sell Too Soon ⇒ Mistake #6: They Try To Please Everybody (And End Up Pleasing Nobody) ⇒ Mistake #7: Their Web Site Doesn’t Fit The Rest Of Their On-Line Strategy If you have a Web site already, you might now realise you’re making one or more of these mistakes already. If so, it’s not the end of the world; rather, it’s the perfect opportunity for you to correct it. If you don’t have a Web site yet, use this as a checklist for planning yours. It doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about building your Web site, but it certainly tells you the biggest mistakes to avoid. As I said earlier, I doubt that most Web developers will proactively tell you about all these things, so it’s useful to have them with you when you do choose a Web developer.

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How can I help you? If you like what you’ve read in this report, and you’d like to build an effective Web site for your business, I invite you to visit my Web site BuildYourWebSiteInTwoDays.com. As the name implies, this is a two-day training course where you actually build your professional business Web site yourself. And when I say "professional", I really do mean it! This is not just a basic five-page flyer you get with some training courses. You will learn how to do basic Web pages, but also graphics, a newsletter, a blog, embedding videos, uploading PowerPoint, creating a private members-only area, credit card orders, event registrations, e-book downloads, e-book cover graphics, adding social media links, and more! I also invite you to visit my main Web site GihanPerera.com for more resources, articles and ideas for making more money for your business, using the Internet. I’ll end with two stories …

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Will you catch the wave? In the last few years, before the global financial crisis hit, Australia – where I live – went through a huge mining boom, largely driven by the mining industry. Many people in my home town of Perth are wealthier than ever before, because many of them took advantage of the boom. will you catch the wave of the future?

However, I often saw letters to the editor in our daily newspaper complaining about the fact that the boom was just passing them by. I think there’s a curious flaw in their thinking, because they assumed they will automatically benefit from the boom. But I don’t think booms create wealth; rather, they create opportunities for wealth. Those who take advantage of those opportunities will succeed in a big way. In 2006, I lived in Coolangatta, on the beautiful Gold Coast of Australia. From my apartment looking out over Coolangatta Beach, I saw surfers out on the water every day. Of course, the surfers already in the water, paddling away prepared for the waves are the one who will catch the biggest waves. Those who stand on the shore will miss out. I think we’re all standing within touching distance of huge opportunities. It’s up to you to take advantage of them.

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There’ll never be a better moment When I was in high school, I read an article in Newsweek about a rocket that was heading to Saturn. But it didn’t have the technology to reach Saturn! So how does that work, you might ask? Well, NASA had launched the rocket without the technology to reach its destination but they had the foresight to give it the ability to upload new technology as it became available. It’s a good thing that NASA didn’t wait until it had the perfect technology before launching the rocket; otherwise it would never have left Earth. I’m no rocket scientist, but the message is clear to me: Start before you’re ready. If you’re waiting for the perfect moment you’ll be waiting a long time. The perfect moment is now. So start a blog, publish a newsletter, build a podcast, create some online videos and write some e-books! Welcome to the journey. We’ve only just begun.

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The Seven Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Web Site

About Gihan Perera Gihan Perera is a consultant, speaker and author who works with business owners, CEOs and strategic leadership teams to improve their marketing, sales and persuasion skills in one-on-one meetings, group presentations and on the Internet. He is the author of the books Secrets of Internet Business Success, Low Cost Promotion, Write Now, Get Traffic Fast (now in e-book form), Write Profitable E-Books (also now in ebook form), Magnetic Messages and Web Sites for Speakers, Trainers, Coaches and Consultants. He has also written numerous e-books and created audio products on effective Web sites and success with information products.

ÂŠ Gihan Perera

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