Nowadays more than ever, people tend to lean more towards using their social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to build their online presence – which is fine, and I absolutely suggest that you make the most out of these high-traffic, incredibly social platforms to help spread your message.
The only problem with this strategy, however, is if this is your only strategy to building an online presence, you’re going to be building your business on rented land. The fact is that you have little to no control over one of these platforms changing how it works, or looks or even worse, you could end up losing everything.
You need your own piece of online real estate and in today’s world, that means owning your own website. So, without further ado, here are my 5 top tips for building a brilliant online home!
Sending the right visual message
On average, you have six seconds to make that vital first impression when someone comes to your site for the first time. So… when playing around with the design, pay attention to the fonts you are using and the colors that you choose. Different colors are associated with different moods and actions as well as with particular types of businesses and locations.
Have a killer tagline
You need an incredible tagline. Something that catches their attention with the value you provide. Show your visitor you have something they want, and more importantly, something they need. Take some time to brainstorm a few ideas and craft a tagline that’ll excite your visitors into wanting to know more about you.
Craft a clear key message
Think about your key messages. Is it clear what you do? Is it obvious to your visitor what you want them to know about you and your business, and what you want them to do on your website? Where should they click next? What action should they take? Give them the path of least resistance, and be sure to guide them to the parts of the website that’ll help them the most.
Build a blog
I know there’s a lot of online content out there already, but don’t let that bother you or stop you from throwing your hat into the ring! A blog is an incredibly powerful marketing tool for your personal brand and your business. Use it to give people valuable information, to answer questions and provide quick-win solutions to their problems.
Don’t forget, every piece of content you create must do one of three things: entertain, educate or inspire – if you can wrap all three up into a nice content bundle, all the better. Doing this makes your visitors want to come back for more, as well as getting them to be more likely to share the content, too!
Don’t forget, every piece of content you create must do one of three things: entertain, educate or inspire - if you can wrap all three up into a nice content bundle, all the better. #Youpreneur Click To TweetSetting up an email opt-in
It’s one thing to work hard to build a website that looks and feels great, has a clear marketing message for it’s visitors and to publish great content on it regularly, but if you’re not capturing the details of those that are visiting your online home, you’re missing out big time.
Make sure you spend a bit of time developing a quick, but highly effective opt-in magnet of some kind, to entice people to get on your email list. Things like eBooks, checklists and short video training clips are great opt-in magnets… they solve a problem quickly for your visitor, while at the same time, building some rapport and trust in your ability to help them again in the future – hence, them hopping on your email list.
Remember, the health and vitality of your email list is paramount to the health and vitality of the online side of your business.
Wrap Up
If today’s video has helped you in some way… perhaps answered a few questions you’ve been having, or helped you develop a new idea or two.. let me know what your biggest takeaway was! I’d love to hear from you.
And don’t forget, you can watch my free training course ‘The Youpreneur Launchpad’ over on YouTube… it’s focused on helping you build, market and monetize your expertise better than ever before. I’ll see you in the next video!
Chris founded Youpreneur® in 2015. He is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker and author of the bestselling books “Virtual Freedom” and “Rise of the Youpreneur”. He hosts our podcast, live events and coaches our clients inside the Youpreneur Incubator. Chris is based in Cambridge, UK.
