Dear Carol

How much money do you spend on your website and how much money does it make for you? If you don't see a return on your investment (i.e. new clients as a result of the time, money and effort you spend on it) why do you have a website?

With so many millions of websites out there in hyperspace competing for the attention of your clients and prospects, you need to make sure that your website is doing what you need it to. I hope this issue of Scribbles helps.

Best wishes,

Chantal

In this issue:

• Marketing Moments - Don't Spend Money if ...
• Words at Work - Are You Blogging Yet?
• What Does Your Website Do?
• The Last Word

Marketing Moments - Don't Spend Money if ...

... your website goes on and on about how great your company is, rather than focusing on your clients and prospects and what they need. A simple way to tell is by counting the number of times you've written "We", "I" and your company name on the Home page of your website. For every occurance of such a word, you need to write words like "You" and "Your" four times. This will let your readers know that you're thinking about how you can help them.

... your website looks like you and/or your nephew/neighbours son knocked it up in an evening. As long as you've got a business name and a logo, you can create a professional website without spending a fortune. Look at some of your competitor's sites to see what you're up against and create a website that gives visitors a better impression of you, over your competitors. 

... if your website doesn't have an obvious purpose then visitors can see straight away. Do you want people to sign up to your newsletter, buy your new ebook or call you to book an appointment? Whatever it is, make sure it's clear. You can have a different objective for different pages - just make sure that they are all completely clear for your visitors.

Why spend money on your website if it's not doing what you want it to do?

With thanks to Karen Skidmore at CanDoCanBe for the inspiration behind this article.

Words at Work - Are You Blogging Yet?

Another way of boosting your online presence, without spending a fortune, is a blog - and you don't even need a website. You can use a blog to get your message out to more people on a more regualar basis. You can also use one to get conversations going with your readers.

If you're serious about using a blog to do this, here's what not to do:

• Don't tell your readers about something that's of no interest them. They really don't need to know what you did at the weekend, if it has nothing to do with your business or the services you provide. They don't want to spend their valuable time wading through your waffle.

• Don't write about something that doesn't relate to the objective of your blog. Having a theme for your blog will help you stay focused. Your blog is a marketing tool and not just a space for you to download your random thoughts.

• Don't treat your readers any differently to your clients. In some cases they may be one and the same, so make sure the information you provide is valuable to your readers. Give away the same quality of advice that you give to your paying clients. Don’t hold back by reserving the ‘good stuff’ for those who pay.

I'm quite new to blogging, so if you've been at it for a while and you'd like to share your tips with me and the other readers of Scribbles, click here.

What Does Your Website Do?

The main purpose of my website is to persuade people to subscribe to Scribbles, so that I can keep in touch with them. The number of Scribbles readers who turn into clients is growing steadily; for many of them, the first contact they have with me is my website.

Can you help me reach more people who need regular, free, practical marketing advice? Please will you take a moment to think of a couple of other people you know, who would like to read Scribbles and ask them to go to www.appletreeuk.com to subscribe. When they do, they'll receive a free report - Marketing Magic - all about low cost marketing. When someone you know subscribes, I'll send you a free copy of my new ebook - “Business for Free (or How You Can Promote Your Business Without Spending Any Money)” to say thank you.

So who do you know and how badly do you want the free ebook?

The Last Word

Is your website integrated with the rest of your marketing? Or to put that in English - does your website give out the same message as all the other marketing you do? If you're not sure, click here to go to my website, where you'll find a PDF you can download for free, that will help you work out how well your website works with the rest of your marketing. When you get all your messages the same, more people will understand what you can do to help them and more of them will ask you for your help - and be happy to pay for it!

Still Scribbling?

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