As a
business entity, it is guaranteed that you will have competitors. Your ultimate
goal is to work smarter than others. So in order to beat the competition, you
need to have the correct perspective about the tools that you can maximize and
the strategies that you will create while establishing an online presence.
As Daisy
Fuentes put it:
“Pay
attention, study and do your homework. Score higher than everybody else. There
is always somebody there waiting to take your place.”
Thus, it is
important to set straight some of the biggest mistakes committed in internet
marketing, before you start learning how to establish an online presence for
your business. So instead of jumping right into internet marketing, learn from
the mistakes of other marketers that have caused them to lose lots of money.
Here we go:
Mistake
Number 1 - Creating a website with no plan
Imagine a
professor with no outline of the topics he will be discussing for his class, a
troop of soldiers going to war without any strategy, or a doctor that will do
brain surgery without any plan… And so on... Get it? It is a big waste of time, money or even life.
I’m sure you already get the point. I’m sure most people know the importance of
planning. But there are others who don’t plan and rush things. You should
understand the main reason why you need to have a plan: for you to avoid
unnecessary setbacks.
Planning is
being proactive, having a guide and thinking ahead. Careful planning helps you avoid spending
unnecessary expenses and wasting effort. Preparation is your fuel to success.
Whether in business or in personal life, planning is essential.
But do not take too much time planning or preparing, okay? You also need to put your plans into action. That’s why it should be achievable and follows a timeline. So the moment you envision where you are going and how are getting there, start moving. Intention and enthusiasm push people to start and these will only motivate them for a while. But a plan will always help businesses sustain its life.
I’m not saying that you will not encounter bumps, obstacles and detours along the way; you will and it’s normal. But do not be afraid, your plans will help you maintain your direction. You will not get lost because you have a map for success.
Website planning is just as important as planning for anything else in a business. And for your website to be effective, here are some points that you should consider when planning to create one:
- What are the main objectives of your website? (e.g. share information
or sell?)
- What domain name your going to use? (e.g. www.yourwebsite.com)
- Who are your target visitors?
- What type of website are you putting up? (e.g. Squeeze page, Sales
page, Blogs, Informational, E-commerce.. etc)
- What structure will your website have? (e.g. Menus, sub-menus,
pages.. etc)
- What content (write-ups, images, videos, etc..) are you planning to
place inside? Who will be responsible for the content?
- How can your customers reach you through your website?
Above are the most critical questions you need to answer while planning for your website. But there are still a lot others and more details to it. My recommendation is that you collaborate with someone knowledgeable (ahem!) about the internet for more helpful insights. Or you can browse the internet for more resources.
One last tip: It’s also a good idea to study existing websites and find out what they did that worked and what didn’t.
So what are
you waiting for, work smarter and start planning now!
P.S. Please
standby for more articles as we continue to learn how to be smarter than your competitors and avoid the most common mistakes in online marketing.