When you start your website, you must be clear on your goals. If you are not clear about what you want, it’s difficult to determine if you have reached your goal.
So what kinds of website goals should you aim for?
We only focus on websites that are useful for marketing so we always advise clients to think of only 1 to 2 marketing goals.
A must-have goal is to collect names and emails.
If collecting names and emails is your goal, then you should know if you are hitting your goal. Are you getting sign-ups monthly? If you are not, you must find out why.
Is your sign-up form hidden and no one knows you offer e-newsletters or updates via email? Is the offer too boring and no one cares if they get your news? Also, have you promoted the link to the sign-up page? Have you informed everyone you know that you have a monthly e-newsletter that is filled with valuable, actionable strategies and tips that can help them make more money? Have you placed the link inside your email signature?
Not everyone pokes around your website aimlessly. Most people will visit at most a few pages and click off if they don’t see anything interesting and they might miss your sign-up form or sign-up page.
We’ve been in this industry for 25 years and very few Malaysian businesses understand the use of having an email list. A few years ago, we had to persuade a CEO that it was advantageous to create a mailing list of his best customers and email them once a month. He had been running his business the way it had always been run but didn’t think about communicating with his best customers or keeping them updated on his latest products.
Another goal would be to get them to take an action on your website such as reading your articles (sharing them or commenting on them are great signals) or signing up for your free webinar. Taking these actions would signify that they are getting to know you and we know what happens when someone knows, likes and trusts you.
What about giving website visitors something they want? Set up your website so that you offer value first. This is why we have 2 free chapters of our book. It’s our way of adding value to people who first hear about our book.
One of our friends offers customised financial services. So her website goal is to get interested visitors to register for her free fortnightly webinar so that she can explain her service in greater detail.
You could offer a free checklist, a sample chapter of your book, a planner, a template, a tip sheet, basically anything that you know your ideal client wants. You could also offer a free webinar or a free consultation call.
Once you have determined your goals, it is much easier to create the right content for the rest of your website. All you’re doing is offering content that gently leads the visitor down the final path of signing up to hear from you (because they want what you have which is knowledge). If you offer something useful and free, they will often sign up too because their desire for the information that you provide overrides their reluctance to give their name and email. Either way, you will obtain their email.
But does it have to be email? Someone remarked that people don’t read email these days. We’re not too sure about that. In official and professional situations, email is still the preferred mode of communication. WhatsApp or Telegram may work for quick updates but its longevity is suspect since messages can be forgotten or deleted!
The bottom line is, you must determine your website goals before you create your website. If you don’t know the path that your visitor takes to become your client, then you have to figure it out first before you get a website. This saves you from wondering why your website does not work as well as it should.
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