That is one of my all time favourite sayings and something I have instilled in my kids from when they were old enough to talk - good choices have good outcomes, bad choices quite often will have a bad outcome or certainly not a great outcome! Indeed they heard me say it to their dad (my ex-husband) hundreds of times who blatantly didn't make good choices back then or he wouldn't be my ex now! But that is a whole different topic!! Having said it to one of my kids again today (they aren't young kids they are now in their early 20s but I still say it on a regular basis) I thought this would actually be a fun topic for an email. Good and bad choices for your business. The GOOD choices are in copper and the BAD choices are in teal.
Website & brand colours, look and feel
Pick colours and images that reflect you as a person or as a company. Being drawn to a certain colour or image and using that for no other reason than you like it!
Using boring images and primary colours because that is what others in your industry are doing! If it doesn't resonate with you then it won't resonate with your ideal client either!
Your websites purpose
The main thing you really need to get clear on is what you want your visitors to do when they are on your site - their journey through your site and then making an enquiry.
Just providing reams and reams of information, masses of long text but with no purpose and no call to action. This will guarantee your visitors will leave without you being able to bring them into your world!
Knowing when a website is ready to launch
Having most of your content in place, making sure that your visitors can do whatever it is that you want them to do is exactly the right time to launch!
Waiting for the site to be perfect because - shock horror it won't ever be perfect. Get it launched and tweak away to your hearts content after!
Relying on social media for your income
Algorithms change, the powers that be decide they no longer want you to get thousands of likes for your page but swap to a community instead. Building that community then finding they want you to do stupid dances whilst pointing at an imaginary screen in order to garner likes. You get the drift. Always have a way to communicate with your followers away from social media - whether that is through traditional marketing, newsletter /email marketing, blog posts, or even yes … having a website!
Putting all your eggs in one basket! You shouldn't just have a newsletter or just rely on one social media platform, have a mix of different things. I use two social media platforms, I blog (watch out for the backlog of blogs about to be launched over the coming weeks and months). Don't spread yourself too thin either - that will become a chore and ineffective. Pick different ways of communicating and mix that in with one or two social media platforms. You don't need to be all things to all people.
Launch it and they will come
If only this were true! This is where the hard work really starts - you have got to get out there and get visible no matter how uncomfortable that may make you feel.
Playing the waiting game, sitting there scratching your head wondering why you have no visitors to your website! Blaming everything under the sun but not actually doing any marketing!
Beautifully designed websites
Invest in good images - whether that is good brand photos of yourself or your product or GREAT (and it has to be really great) stock photography. Make sure that you balance with well written text as well - some people do like to read not just look at pictures. Also make sure that people are able to get at any information they need. Make it easy for them to buy from you!
Website that only have images and no text are poor for SEO. Google are still saying they can't read images (they can and that is coming) but having just images and no text really will harm your website rankings. Likewise websites that only have text and poor photos aren't a good user experience. It's all about balance.
Picking a web designer to work with
Pick someone that gets you. That sees your vision and can translate it. Someone that has good processes and systems and can get the best out of you. Make sure they have a good strategy for your website. Work with someone that you are drawn to not just the one that offers the lowest price. Follow your gut because it rarely leads you wrong.
Don't base your decision on price alone. If you have a budget (and let's face facts most of us do) but your gut is saying this is the wrong person - then there will be someone else out there that can meet your budget just keep looking. There will be someone out there that is the right fit at the right price, it may just take you a little longer to find them.
