Jim Connolly Marketing

How to build a successful website

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Yesterday, someone asked me for my best advice on how to build a successful website or blog. Here’s my answer, along with 6 useful resources for you.

The answer that came to mind immediately, was this: The technology that builds a successful website is not as important as your ability to communicate a useful message, in a compelling way, to the reader.

In short: Put the content before the technology.

The world is packed with great looking websites, which no one notices. That’s because the people who own those sites saw the need for their site to LOOK great, but they didn’t invest in great content.

Where to start?

If you want to create compelling content, the best way to start is to put yourself in the shoes of your target readership. Speak to them, in their language, about what matters to them.

For example:

  • Answer their questions.
  • Empathise with them.
  • Share useful resources with them.

And if you want them to get in touch with you, be approachable.

PS – Here are 6 useful resources, to help you write compelling content:

Are you 1 question away from 10,000 daily readers?

How to write great, creative content every day.

Get better results from your content, by removing these 3 words.

How approachable are you?

8 Tips to help you attract more readers, sales and business leads.

It’s all about doing the work.

Now, you’re on track to build a successful website. Just remember, content first, technology second.

From 0 to 60 in just 11 days!

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I’d like to share some interesting feedback with you, which could really help you with your Internet marketing.

It started 11 days ago…

Just 11 days ago, I decided to redesign and totally rework the format of my Creative Thinking site. I chose to completely ignore the typical format used for blogging. Previously, the site used the more traditional, longer post format. The new format is based on an idea I had back in 2010, where posts could be made from the type of tiny updates you would usually just put on Facebook or Twitter.

Here’s how I have been publishing over the past 11 days, followed by some interesting results:

  • Posts are super short – way too short for SEO.
  • No SEO keyword loading.
  • Some content is curated.
  • Post titles are written in plain English.
  • Instead of adding a few posts a week, I added a few posts a day.

The reason I’m sharing this with you

By using that different, short, non-SEO format on my Creative Thinking site, subscriber numbers grew more in those 11 days, than in the 18 months previous! In fact, subscriber numbers are now 137% higher than they were 11 days ago.

And… it’s all human driven.

This means the growth of the site (and the tribe) is 100% in my hands… rather than being outsourced to Google!

So?

It is entirely possible to create a new site or, as I have done, breathe new life into an old site, WITHOUT bothering about search engines or following their rules. By creating useful content and becoming respected for curating useful content, people, real people, will embrace your work and share your work.

No, I am not suggesting this approach is for everyone. It isn’t.

Yes, I am suggesting that if you have been dancing the Google dance and still not getting the results you want, a more human approach may be just what you need. This is especially the case, if you want to build a community or tribe around your work.

For more information, take a look at the following 2 posts:

Getting less traffic from Google? Here’s why it may not matter soon.

Stop writing for Google. Really. Stop it!

2 Reasons not to be a copycat writer

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As many of you were kind enough to point out, one of the world’s biggest websites ‘borrowed very heavily’ from a post I wrote last week. They did so with no reference to my original post and yet people spotted it immediately.

There are 2 useful lessons here, which I would like to share with you.

1. Copies seldom have the same impact as the original

Even though that site gets millions of visitors, their rewritten version of my post achieved just 30% as many social shares as my original.

Why? Because by padding out my points so that his post wasn’t an exact copy, the power of my original post was lost. He’d wasted his time. He deserves better than that. Time is too important to waste.

Had he started with my post, referenced it and then expanded on the original or added some new, relevant information, he could have improved my work and avoided the embarrassment that followed.

2. People notice

Within an hour of the rewritten post being published, people started contacting me via email, Facebook and Google+ to tell me. Although I decided not to join in (I found it interesting but unimportant), the conversations on social networks naming the author and site have created a bit of an embarrassment for them both.

Here’s the thing: Every piece of work we produce will get noticed, to a lesser or greater degree. If we do anything we are not proud of, as soon as we hit send or publish, it’s out there.

Thankfully, the opposite is also true

When you put your own work out there and share your own ideas, people value the uniqueness of your contribution.

It makes you stand out from the ‘ditto heads‘ who just agree with everything.

It makes you stand out from the copycats, who copy everything.

It makes you stand out for being you!

PS — Here’s some great advice from Steve Jobs and Picasso, on why it’s a bad idea to copy other people’s work.

You’re not scared: You just need the right strategy

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We live in a golden age of marketing, with amazing opportunities for you to grow a hugely successful business. So, what are you doing with it all?

Today, you can share your ideas via blogs, email and social networks and build a community of people, who are interested in your work and what you have to say. Moreover, you can do it for peanuts. When done correctly, this generates regular inquiries from highly targeted prospective clients.

What an amazing opportunity.

What does the typical small business owner do?

They decide not to build a community around their own ideas, beliefs and thoughts. Instead, they create social networking accounts for their business, then mostly fill them with the thoughts, links and work of other people. They start a blog, but fill it with generic ‘me too’ content that tells us nothing about them, their beliefs or ideas.

Yes, they get follower numbers, but no community. In fact, most people that follow them will know very little about them or their business.

I was prompted to write this, after hearing some very strong words on the subject from marketing thought leader, Seth Godin. I provide a link to the audio below, so you can hear what he has to say, in context (it’s around 7 and a half minutes in).

No personality, invisible conduits

During the 15th episode of Seth Godin’s Start Up School podcast, Seth called those who regularly share his content and the content of other well known experts (rather than their own ideas): “No personality, invisible, conduits”.

Seth continues: “These people aren’t showing the guts to say, I have a point of view. I have something to say.”

That’s a little harsh and very different to my experience of business owners. Very few of whom are gutless.

It’s not guts that small business owners lack

I disagree with Seth’s belief that it’s fear, which primarily stops people from creating their own content.

I started what’s now called Content Marketing in 1998, with my marketing newsletter. Over the years, I have spoken with countless small business owners, about building their business via email, then via blogging and social networks.

Do you know what stops them?

Here’s a clue: It’s not fear!

In the majority of cases, they simply don’t know what to do or where to start. It’s a strategy they need.

They don’t want to waste time just adding to all the noise that’s already out there. They want results. Let’s not forget, business owners have already shown the courage to start their businesses, often leaving ‘safe’ careers to do so.

When business owners know what to do and they can clearly see the direct commercial benefit of sharing their own ideas, most will get straight to work on it. They are not gutless – certainly not those I work with.

So…

If you are not developing effective marketing assets online right now, stop what you are doing. Then, either learn how to build an effective content marketing strategy or hire someone who can show you exactly what you need to do.

Yes, feel free to share other people’s content, but remember to tell us who you are and what you think. It’s the latter, which creates community, builds relationships and drives marketing success online.

Is your marketing worthy of you and your business?

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So, you’re not getting as many inquiries or sales leads as you’d like. Some things to consider, include the following:

  • Maybe prospective clients lack the vision, to see just how awesome you are?
  • Perhaps prospective customers are not clever enough, to understand what a great deal you’re offering?

Or you need to improve your marketing message!

Most people are far wiser then some business owners think. When they see real value, they happily pay for that value. However, they need to be able to see that value. That’s where you come in.

It’s your job as a business owner, to ensure that your value is clear, so clear that your prospective clients or customers can easily see it.

You work hard… really hard. Your product or service is good… really good. Now, make sure your marketing messages are worthy of you and your business. Either learn to write a better marketing message or get an expert to do it for you.

Clear and compelling

Make the decision now, not to miss out on your share of the marketplace, because your; advertising, marketing emails, newsletters, brochures, website or mail shots, etc., are not clear and compelling enough.

When you match the value of your product or service with an equally great marketing message, everything changes. You will start getting the volume and quality of sales and inquiries, which your products or services deserve.

Content Marketing: Get better results, by removing these 3 words

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content marketing, writing, material, information

In my opinion, there’s no real need to insert the first 3 words of this sentence into your newsletter, blog or social networking update. What you write is, by default, your opinion.

Here’s why I want you to reconsider using those words in your marketing messages, unless you legally have to.

Hands up time!

The reason I am sharing this with you, is that I just caught myself writing the words ‘in my opinion’, in a blog post I am working on. It immediately dawned on me how totally redundant those words are.

Moreover, they would have significantly diluted my message — just as they can dilute your marketing messages.

Why do we feel the need to say in my opinion, when we state our opinion?

I asked myself that question and here’s what I came up with: I think it’s a way to make a point, which is harder for others to attack. If I start a statement saying in my opinion, I have distanced myself from stating it as a fact.

For example:

  • If I say the new XYZ book is terrible, I am stating what I believe to be true. The book is terrible. Period.
  • If I say that in my opinion, the new XYZ book is terrible, I’m stating that it’s possibly a great book, but I thought it was terrible.

Of course, in both those examples I am giving my opinion. The thing is, that first statement sounds so much stronger. It tells you exactly what I believe. The second statement comes with a qualification, in case you disagree. Even though, as I said a moment ago, in both cases I am giving you my opinion.

The next time you find yourself about to dilute your message or soften a statement, by saying in my opinion, think whether you really need to use those three words or not.

A word of caution

Yes, there are legal reasons why you may need to put a qualifying comment before a statement, in some circumstances. Telling people that food at the XYZ restaurant is low grade dog food, without stating it as your opinion, could land you in trouble in some parts of the world.

However, if you are stating something you believe, as I have with this post, there’s no need for you to say, in my opinion. Those three words will almost always weaken your message. We know it’s your opinion, without you telling us.

If you can make your point without those 3 words, you get to express what you believe to your readers at a deeper, more intimate and maybe more honest level. This is especially useful for those of you seeking to position yourself as a leader or authority in your field.