Everything Website – Help

Q&A Recording

Help Topics

This section will grow so please make sure to check back if you have a question and haven’t been back in a while.

I am not sure if I should DIY or get a web developer to create my website. What should I do?

There are three things to consider here:

1. The value of your time
2. Your level of technical skill
3. Your finances

Even though it may SEEM like a saving not to pay a developer how much is your time worth? How much is it worth to have potential clients see a really pro website as opposed to one that looks DIY?

I generally find there is very little saving, if any, in doing it DIY. Most especially if you will have to learn how to build the website. Unless you back yourself to create a pro looking website quickly I would suggest investing the money in getting it done for you and using your time instead to get clients. Then you can also feel secure in the fact that everything will be set up properly for you and prospects will see you as a professional business with a professional website.

Writing the copy or rewriting the copy looks like a lot of work. Do I really have to do this, especially if I have copy already? Can I hire a copywriter?

Yes, writing copy is hard and it will probably cause you to reach the point of frustration at least a couple of times. Here’s the thing though, that copy will be out marketing your business for you while you sleep. So a bit of pain now is worth it in the long term. If you get frustrated stop and do something else for a while, even leave it for a few days and then come back to it. I know it’s a hurdle but it will be worth it.

Use the process I describe in the module. Brain dump first and then edit. Nothing is perfect first go. Great copy is in the editing.

If you have a website with old copy on it it is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL, more so than if you have no website, to update it for your new business idea, messaging and offers. This is because if your copy contradicts what you are saying in sales conversations prospects are receiving mixed messages and this will greatly reduce the chances that they buy from you. Consistent messaging is really, really important. You will get better conversions in sales conversations with no website than one that says something contradictory.

Regarding hiring a copywriter – if you really want to do this you are of course totally free to go ahead. Online business does involve writing and you know your story better than anyone else so it is truly better if you write yourself and commit to honing your writing skills. That said a copywriter will of course do a great job as well.

I’m not good at writing? What should I do?

I get it. This is how I felt for a really long time. English Language and Literature was my worst subject at school, plus years of living abroad meant I didn’t speak English all the time and when I did I had to learn to speak really clearly so I wasn’t confusing anyone.

If you really feel this holds you back I would suggest doing your best possible work and then having a copyeditor check over and make improvements on your work. That way you are learning, practising and growing and then just getting a professional to tighten up the writing at the end. If you are a non-native English speaker yourself this may also be your preferred option.

Having an online business will involve some writing, so it is best to get into the habit. You can of course replace blogging with video blogging or a podcast if you prefer audio without video.

I’ve noticed that a number of websites (including yours, Cat) don’t have visible sales pages and don’t conform to the layout you are suggesting in Ignition. Can you please provide some more info?

Copy is part of persuasion.The bigger the ask, the more persuasion you need. So if you are asking people for hundreds or thousands of dollars they have to receive a decent amount of information (persuasion) to be willing to spend that. Not all of it happens in the copy, but it starts there, the copy needs to either sell the Starter Offer or sell the sales conversation.

When you are new online you have relatively little information for people to read/watch/listen to online. So you need to create a base amount with your About, Work With Me & Sales Pages because you need a base level of persuasion to get the yes or the call. That is why the pages are relatively long.

Later when you have more complexity in your business some of this persuasion might go into marketing funnels or launches, in the beginning as you don’t have that yet, it goes on your website and is visible. In my business I have complex marketing funnels and it makes more sense for my website to get people into those funnels, so my website is designed to start the persuasion process, not to complete it. My website started off using the Ignition layout. I fully expect your website to evolve over time.

Do I really need to blog?

Blogging can be a great way to get free traffic to your website, but it is a long term strategy. It is also good for building trust as people can find out more about your expertise.

If you are a coach or consultant and want to grow your business using primarily online methods creating content will help, although it doesn’t have to be written content.

If you are a done for you service provider (i.e. less trust is needed to sell your services as they are done for you) and you are happy to use other lead generation strategies – we get to this in the next building stage – then you may not need to write a blog.

It’s up to you to decide how you want to get clients.

There are people that run multiple six figure businesses and above that don’t blog, but they have something else, usually something more complicated in place, instead. Often, but not always, it involves paying for website traffic.

What about landing pages?

Landing pages come under Lead Generation so they are covered in the next building stage – Get Leads.

Do I need to have pictures of myself on my website?

The short answer here is YES! People do business with people and they want to know who you are, even if you are not creating a personal brand. If you are creating a personal brand then you want to have several pictures of yourself so people can get to know you.

The absolute minimum in terms of pictures of yourself for non-personal brands is one picture on your About page.

In Ignition you advise displaying the price of your Starter or lowest price offer but not the larger packages. Can you explain some more about this?

Pricing displayed on your website can act like a magnet, either towards you “Oh, that’s quite reasonable – I’ll buy that!” or away from you “That’s out of my budget / That gives me enough information to sit and think about it by myself and most likely do nothing”. In addition to this people generally won’t spend more than about $300 from one web page alone.

What we are doing by showing the lowest price is creating a ‘price anchor’. By that I mean giving people the pricing for the cheaper one so they have a ballpark idea of your pricing in general, but not telling them the price of the larger offer. This means that people can buy your Starter Offer from your website without needing to speak with you as it’s likely at a price point where they may be ready to do so, but for the larger offer which people would be unlikely to buy straight from the site anyway, they need to speak with you.

If you feel that your Starter Offer price is outside of the range that an average client would be willing to pay without speaking to you and hearing the value (or you want/need to speak with them anyway) then don’t display the price or buy now button and instead have the call to action to a sales conversation.