Popping your head out from time to time is good for your business
As someone who helps small businesses design their websites on Squarespace or Weebly, prospective clients need an initial level of trust to take the first step of contacting me. Word-of-mouth referrals have been my best source of new clients so far, so I've been nudging the connecting process forward by trying some new activities lately.
I've been spending more time on LinkedIn, sending invitations to potential connections with whom I share mutual connections. And I've just added my name to Alignable, a networking platform that helps business owners who are close to each another geographically get to know one another online and in person.
As a confirmed introvert, I've tended to favor online networking strategies rather than in-person networking events. So that's why it was a stretch to accept an invitation from life coach Clare Harlow to go to a local Women's Business Networking meeting last night. I was as nervous as a teenager going to a school dance for the first time. Isn't it maddening that reaching the gray-hair stage doesn't automatically result in calm confidence?
I ended up having a good time and made a connection with a potential client. The speaker was funny and interesting as she shared her authentic, down-to-earth stories of her business journey. The women I met were all very nice, representing a wide variety of businesses, from alpaca farms and healthy pet food manufacturers to construction and financial planning. I had a chance to distribute business cards to several people and was able to stand up for 30 seconds and talk about my business without too much stammering.
Reflecting this morning on the evening, I'm really glad I donned my courage cape and took the chance at trying something new. I'm glad to be back in my den this morning, but if I hadn't popped my head out to check the weather "out there," I would have missed out on learning and networking opportunities that I couldn't have had any other way.
What about you? Is it hard for you to pop your head out of your den?
I recommend starting your business with a Google Workspace Business account so your business email address includes your domain name. But a personal Google account can be useful for many everyday tasks. In this blog post, I cover how the two types of accounts differ.
Understanding in advance how your website will support your business will inform your website's design and content.
You can add a Social Sharing image to Squarespace to be shown as a link preview for your website when you share a URL on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The size of 1200x628 pixels works best for those platforms. You can also set custom images for specific website pages or blog posts to draw extra attention to them.
Taking the time to add a note to your invitation to connect to someone on LinkedIn improves the chances of the invitation being accepted. Adding information about how you know the person or mutual connections you have builds trust.
I used the free version of MailChimp for several years and found it easy to use. I now use MailerLite because it allows a Welcome letter automation sequence that MailChimp no longer offers on the free plan. Still MailChimp is a good choice for small-business owners who want to add a newsletter to their site without the monthly cost of an email marketing plan if they only need to send new subscribers a single Welcome letter.
Adding a blog to your website and keeping it updated is a great way to publicize your business. Search engines like Google reward websites that produce fresh content. Employing SEO best practices to add keywords to your blog posts increases the likelihood that potential customers will find you in online searches.
After reading an article about self-employment time management, I started keeping a log of how I was spending my time on marketing and educational activities related to my website design business. Now I am much more deliberate about how I spend my time online and I've narrowed down my business-related social media focus to a few platforms.
One of the first pages you create for your website is the About page. It helps customers put a face and a story to the person behind the website. You don't need to be intimidated by the prospect of what to write. Think of it as a reply to "What do you do?" when someone asks you that question at a party.
Without a domain, your incredibly amazing website would never be found...by anybody. Here are the four things you need to know before purchasing a domain about how domains work and why your website needs one.
To guide website visitors from being mildly interested in what you are offering to becoming clients and, ideally, your biggest supporters, your website needs clear paths to encourage them to take the next step.
If you have never had a website or have only created a website on your own without help, this blog post will explain the steps my clients and I take to go from our first talk to a finished website that helps their businesses shine online.
Service-based businesses usually have one or more pages that describe the services they offer. They should also provide enough information for people to take the next step toward hiring you.
If you’re getting ready to create your first website, find out how you can claim that perfect domain name for your website.
The importance of posting testimonials on your website has been on my mind lately. Clever ads and slick marketing just can't take the place of testimonials. Nice words from real people serve to reassure people to take the next step of contacting you for a consultation or attending your upcoming event.
A blog has many benefits for increasing traffic to your website and improving SEO. But if you don’t love writing, there are alternatives.
People have been asking me recently what they need to put on a new website. What pages do they need? What information do they need to include? It occurred to me that a website is like an old-fashioned bakery, like those I've seen in the North End section of Boston or in small European villages.
I read an article about a writer who resorted to renting a cabin in the woods for two days without internet service or a cell phone to reach his goal of writing 40,000 words for his upcoming book. I won't be renting a cabin in the woods anytime soon, but I think I'll take some inspiration from this article to think about unplugging at regular intervals to give myself some quiet time to allow creativity and new ideas room to grow.
Kerry A. Thompson
You don’t need a big agency to get your website done. You just need the one right person. I offer Squarespace website design and content development services for creatives, coaches, and healers. Learn more in a free 30-minute consultation.