- Define the audience: Should your website portray your 'fun' personality or will it be more important to state the facts? It's important to write for your audience.
- Brevity is the new black: Readers look for titles, headers, and bold letters. Make sure to capture your audience by including the most important words in prominent areas. Remember, less is more.
- Utilize lists: List out your products & services. Identify your solution with their problem.
- Keep it Legible: It's very important to make sure that your words are not too small. People won't read your work if they have to strain their eyes to see it.
- Clean Navigation: Your site needs to be easy to navigate around. Make sure you have your navigation clearly defined on your page.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
How to Write Website Content
Why do people visit your website? Generally speaking, they are looking to gain information very quickly. The bulk of visitors won't stay on your site for longer than 30seconds...so how do you get your message to them? How do you get the sale? Here are some simple rules to follow when writing for your audience:
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Are you in the Business of Helping Others?
Do you own a business? Are you considering starting one? Why? Do you want your business to explode monetarily, or are you focused on helping others. Products and Services enter the market with different intentions. These different intentions may be the difference between success and failure.
Some people enter the business world with one thing in mind; that green paper that controls pretty much everything. Others walk into a business opportunity with a different mentality, one that is highly respected. They want to help. They've invented a product that can help someone, they provide a service that can be helpful to people's physical health, or they just help in another way.
Having a helpful personality can hurt you in business, it can even put you out of business. However, if you are smart about it, you will be the most successful in your industry. Why? Because life is about helping others and creating relationships. The money will follow. There's always someone in a bad position and you could have the answer, or at least get them better situated.
So what's the point here? We can't conduct business for free, that's why it's called business. We all have to live, so why not help each other out along the way? Without compromising your value, you can help others. Just consider what's more important, healing that patient, or collecting the insurance money that day. If your service is worth $200, could you do it today for $50 if you know it will make a big difference in the life of the other person.
If you conduct business this way, I think you'll find a lot of better things on the other end. You can turn people away at the door, or you can do something for someone they will never forget. Just remember, there is a fine line between helping, and being taken advantage of. As soon as you recognize the difference, you'll have good relationships, more friends, and the money will follow.
Some people enter the business world with one thing in mind; that green paper that controls pretty much everything. Others walk into a business opportunity with a different mentality, one that is highly respected. They want to help. They've invented a product that can help someone, they provide a service that can be helpful to people's physical health, or they just help in another way.
Having a helpful personality can hurt you in business, it can even put you out of business. However, if you are smart about it, you will be the most successful in your industry. Why? Because life is about helping others and creating relationships. The money will follow. There's always someone in a bad position and you could have the answer, or at least get them better situated.
So what's the point here? We can't conduct business for free, that's why it's called business. We all have to live, so why not help each other out along the way? Without compromising your value, you can help others. Just consider what's more important, healing that patient, or collecting the insurance money that day. If your service is worth $200, could you do it today for $50 if you know it will make a big difference in the life of the other person.
If you conduct business this way, I think you'll find a lot of better things on the other end. You can turn people away at the door, or you can do something for someone they will never forget. Just remember, there is a fine line between helping, and being taken advantage of. As soon as you recognize the difference, you'll have good relationships, more friends, and the money will follow.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Actual Value of Business
The other day I got an e-mail from a small business owner. His business is doing just 'OK'. Pretty much breaking even each year, just paying the mortgage. In his message to me about his business, he wrote something that really struck me to be a good subject to discuss. After explaining to me that he is one of the best at what he does, he followed with this:
"I am afraid of bidding too high for fear that I won't get the job."
I think at some point, we've all (business owners) been in this type of situation. We started a business and it's scary...so we want to make sure we get the jobs. But, what happens when we bid too low? We lose and leak money and ultimately get pushed out of the industry.
You must recognize your value
I know that we won't get every job on which we bid. Why? It usually boils down to cost. Our portfolio is strong, our concepts are creative, our clients hit record sales & customer numbers, and we build strong client relationships through our work. We separate ourselves from our competitors by dedicating ourselves, our time, our energy, and our all to the work we provide for clients. Can we get under bid? Sure. But it can happen to anyone, at any time.
How do we deal with getting undercut?
We don't have to. The companies that recognize quality, passion, and dedication are the ones with which we work. The companies that undercut our prices? Well, good luck. Most of these guys are not able to fulfill what they promise. More unexpected prices come out during the work process, they don't have the capability of delivering, or they're business model is flawed...The result is, they are going out of business and we're staying right here. Working with companies who recognize Value.
Here's the advice to the small business owner who is scared of bidding right
Bid Fair. You are running a business. If you undercut yourself, you'll push yourself out of business. You must recognize your own value. If you think you are just a "run of the mill" company, FIND SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT AND SELL THAT.
Having the lowest prices in your industry will hardly keep you alive. Focus on the thing that makes you different. Do you have a piece of machinery that prints 10x faster than your competition? Did you go to college and study while your competition was sleeping ? There are a lot of things you can focus on, so what is it?
"I am afraid of bidding too high for fear that I won't get the job."
I think at some point, we've all (business owners) been in this type of situation. We started a business and it's scary...so we want to make sure we get the jobs. But, what happens when we bid too low? We lose and leak money and ultimately get pushed out of the industry.
You must recognize your value
I know that we won't get every job on which we bid. Why? It usually boils down to cost. Our portfolio is strong, our concepts are creative, our clients hit record sales & customer numbers, and we build strong client relationships through our work. We separate ourselves from our competitors by dedicating ourselves, our time, our energy, and our all to the work we provide for clients. Can we get under bid? Sure. But it can happen to anyone, at any time.
How do we deal with getting undercut?
We don't have to. The companies that recognize quality, passion, and dedication are the ones with which we work. The companies that undercut our prices? Well, good luck. Most of these guys are not able to fulfill what they promise. More unexpected prices come out during the work process, they don't have the capability of delivering, or they're business model is flawed...The result is, they are going out of business and we're staying right here. Working with companies who recognize Value.
Here's the advice to the small business owner who is scared of bidding right
Bid Fair. You are running a business. If you undercut yourself, you'll push yourself out of business. You must recognize your own value. If you think you are just a "run of the mill" company, FIND SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT AND SELL THAT.
Having the lowest prices in your industry will hardly keep you alive. Focus on the thing that makes you different. Do you have a piece of machinery that prints 10x faster than your competition? Did you go to college and study while your competition was sleeping ? There are a lot of things you can focus on, so what is it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
