Every once in a while I like to pose a series of questions to offer a ‘big picture’ view, instead of lasering in on a specific topic and teaching you about it. Today is such a day.
There is a TON of valuable information in this post. All of the links open in a new window and the content will laser in on that topic. I invite you to spend some time here and really take advantage of this FREE platform I’ve developed just for you.
For those of you who are just getting started online, this post would be excellent for you to print out and keep by your computer as you
build your online platform (your website, social networks, leads – it is all-encompassing of your touch-points online). For those of you who think they are on a great track online, this may be a good post to see what has slipped between the cracks or what area you could build up for better results.
So let’s get started. Consider your online platform and online presence. Really think about the blood, sweat and tears you’ve put into building a website (whether you invested $10,000+ or started a free WordPress site), into starting a social networking account and trying to figure it out, into listening to webinars and teleseminars and reading blog posts on “how” to do it all. Next, I invite you read each question *slowly* and really analyze where you’re at with each of these items:
- Do you have a professionally designed logo that can make for good branding?
- Are you staying ‘up to date’ on what’s happening in your industry so you become the go-to authority for news?
- Do you post to your blog regularly (not once a month, but one a week or more?)
- Is your business brand consistent between all touch points online – from your LinkedIn profile to your Facebook cover to your email newsletter look and feel?
- Have you looked at your content in the past three months to see what, if anything was outdated material?
- Do you do what you say you are going to do online (release new products on time, follow through with your ideas, etc.)?
- When is the last time you did keyword research or competitor research?
- Have you reached out to anyone lately to discuss the concept of collaboration, so you can grow your business more quickly in new markets?
- Do you have a growth plan or goals to help grow your business (such as how many email subscribers you’ll get, how many Facebook friends, how many blog posts, how many emails will you send out to your list each month, etc.)?
- Have you stepped back to evaluate if your web team really IS good, or just the inexpensive solution who isn’t really getting you where you need to be?
- Does your website design help you or hurt you, and when is the last time you’ve evaluated areas for improvement?
- Do you have a solid free introductory product you can give away as incentive for people to sign up to your mailing list?
- And is that free introductory product branded and professionally designed and formatted?
- Do you have obvious social networking icons and feeds on your website so web visitors can connect with you?
- Does your tagline make sense and help you stand out from the noise? Is it easy to remember and does it make an impact?
- Do you have a list of keywords you are targeting with every piece of content you write, so you can start dominating search engines?
- Are you regularly adding products to your website that are for sale so people can get ‘the next best thing’ from you?
- How often are you adding a ‘call to action’ in everything you do (at the end of blog posts, in your email newsletters, in every contact point)?
- Are you organized with your business and do you treat it like a real business with scheduling and planning meetings?
- Do you thank your web visitors, email subscribers, social networking friends and clients for sticking with you?
- How often do you implement new ways to drive traffic to your website and blog?
Your impact on the web IS what you make of it. Those are just a few questions you can ask yourself from time to time to make sure you are BUILDING. Starting an online business is not the easiest task in the world. You are competing with billions of web pages out there. But, there is more than enough room in the sea for us all to profit.
The trick is knowing what to do next to continue building your online platform. Stay focused. Don’t lose the momentum. If you need help with your direction or with implementing tasks, feel free to contact me and let’s have a loose conversation about it. The key is to get help from people who know what they are talking about – and that becomes obvious when someone writes about those topics and gives away the farm just to help others. I’m not tooting my own horn here so much as just teaching how to identify the right kind of person to help you with your business.
If you thought this post was of value, please SHARE this post with others on your social networks. My goal is simple: Helping Others. As many as I can get my hands on.
Thank you for spreading the light!
