Business owners often view “website marketing” as “website makeover.” In fact, your website marketing may be fine just the way you have it now.

Every so often I get invited to critique a solo-preneur’s website… and I end up saying, “Hey, this website is terrific! Why on earth do you want a makeover?”

Here are 3 of the most common reasons you may think you need a makeover, when you may need some strategic website marketing planning … or maybe nothing at all.

A “free evaluation” from a marketing coach, web designer or copywriter.

At the risk of stepping on a mountain of toes, I’ll say, “You get what you pay for.” Busy writers, designers and coaches rarely have time to offer in-depth consultations without charging.

You may pick up a few tips, such as “Don’t use italics in the body copy.” You may get chosen for a makeover that will be used as a demo to promote the resource.

The truth is … your website alone doesn’t tell the story. You have to look *outside* your website to decide if you need one.

You hire a business coach, copywriter, or marketing coach who says, “Let’s start with a website makeover.”

[Insert red flag and warning buzzer here.]

Before recommending a website makeover, your consultant needs to review your strategy and your current programs. I’m a great believer of fixing things only when they’re broken and building new things only when you have (a) a realistic objective and (b) a reason to believe the new site will move you towards your objective.

When I work with clients as a consultant or coach, we don’t discuss websites for 2 or 3 sessions – longer if my client is starting a new business or a new business direction. It’s easy to start with the website but painful to make changes as the business plan and strategy evolve.

You’re getting *good* clients and you enjoy working with them. But every so often someone says, “You know, your website is awful. You really should fix it.”

The printable part of my response is, “Take a hike.” Some of the ugliest websites are the most successful.

A website makeover is not a magic wand. Without a strong underlying purpose and strategy, the makeover won’t do anything for your business. But sometimes, you will notice a difference in your revenue almost immediately, so here are …

3 GOOD Reasons To Get a Website Makeover

You’ve outgrown your website: your current clients and business are not reflected in your current.

 You constantly get asked, “I didn’t know you offered this service…” and it’s your signature program.

You attract interest and queries from prospects who are the wrong clients for your business, so you end up wasting time.

If you’d like a consultation about your own website marketing goals, or your online marketing strategy in general, let’s begin with a Laser Marketing Makeover. It’s like adding a jolt of espresso to a cup of coffee: you get an immediate lift! Learn more here.

Replace Your Elevator Speech With Your Elevator Story

Recently someone said to me, “I’m getting bored with my own elevator speech. I feel like I’m putting everyone to sleep … even me.”

No wonder. My own intro to elevator speeches was the Basic Option 1: “You know how stressed-out people get when they are changing careers? Well, I have a three-step system …”

Then there’s the variation, “I work with stressed out corporate executives who want to find a new career while they’re still employed.”

As a copywriter, I get tempted to add an edge to these openings. We could suggest something like, “I work with corporate executives who are one step away from a career meltdown, but want to stay employed while they … ”

Sounds good … almost too good. Good copy is invisible, like good authors of novels. When your audience starts to think, “Wow, that’s really clever!” they stop paying attention to the message.

It’s like watching that commercial where the dog gets a beer from the refrigerator and then we hear lapping sounds. I loved the commercial but couldn’t tell you the brand of beer.

Instead, take another page from the copywriting books and create your elevator story.

Elevator Story Examples

Some time ago I met a prosperity coach who opened with, “I help clients manage their finances. For example, one client was a recently divorced woman who just suffered a devastating financial loss. She was afraid she’d have to declare bankruptcy. Two years later, she’s living in her own home and buying investment property.”

Everyone in hearing distance leaned over to ask her, “Can I have your card?”

One of my own stories goes like this:

“For example, one client had a beautiful calling card website but all the revenue came from face-to-face networking events. We overhauled the website, added an e-course and created a section to showcase her services. Now the website brings in serious inquiries. She’s beginning to close sales after a single phone call.”

Now … what’s *your* story?

Recently a service business owner posted in a forum: “How do I know what my niche REALLY wants?”

This question is important because, as a copywriter, I encourage my clients to define their niches in terms of real problems. For effective copywriter, you benefit from not just understanding the problem and pain of your niche, but also the words and phrases they use to describe their pain.

For instance, instead of “women 18-34 who are single,” you might define your market as:

Women who feel they are reaching their prime years for having a child and they want to find a relationship and start a family. They say things like, “I feel the clock is ticking,” or, “I feel incomplete without a family of my own.”

OR

Women who hate being alone on weekends because they feel isolated and stigmatized without a weekend date. They say, “I feel like I’m the only person in town without a date on a Saturday night.”

As a relationship coach you’d have a separate marketing campaign for each target.

So how do you find out who they are?

Interview your current clients as well as prospects you would like to have.

Ask a handful of prospects and clients if you can call them to ask some questions to help you in your business. The responses will surprise you. For instance, you may find that your prospects who insist they can’t afford your rates are actually hiring your higher-priced competitors. Or you may find that they want a service you could provide if you knew they wanted it.

Read forum posts.

Many of your prospects will be searching for help in online forums. But you have to be aware that this help is free. Some of these forum users are not looking for someone to hire. They are looking for a place to vent or a source of free or low-cost help.

Listen to prospects who actually call you. 

Often your best source of information comes from existing clients who call you to ask for an appointment. What do they say when they call?

For example, if you are a prosperity coach, do your callers talk about getting out of debt? Do they talk about wanting more income from their business? Or do they talk about issues that are close to life coaching and business coaching?

These folks often are really seeking solutions and are willing to pay for them.

Finally, it is important not only to understand your niche’s problems, but also who they regard as the source of solutions. A person with back pain may be determined to see a physical therapist, a massage therapist or a chiropractor … or conversely, may be determined NOT to seek help from any or all of those sources.

Movies have trailers so I want to offer one to my readers. I’ll be starting a group for content creation in 2012 and want to take a test run on
Tuesday December 27th at 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific. It’s like a group coaching program: limited participants, working with each person on every call. I will be delivering just
a little information but mostly we focus on *your* topic areas.

For the test run, I want to hold a group coaching call to create content for your sales letter. In the full course we’d spend a whole
month – 3 calls – doing this. You’ll just get a taste for the low price of $37. Spaces are limited so I can work with each person.

If you are just getting started with a Report or program, you will find this time valuable, as I recommend writing your sales letter first.
You are asked to send ahead either a detailed summary of what you want to sell OR the URL to a page online OR a Word version of your draft.
Send them ahead of time so we can jump right in.

If you are interested, please send me an email: CopywritingWithCathy (at) gmail.com

What you will get:
Steps to begin creating your page
Guidelines for headlines and bullets
A critique on the call (which will be recorded)

If you are interested in a Thursday class instead (or in addition) send me a note and if there’s enough interest I will add one.

That phrase, “Use it or lose it,” echoes through my mind a lot these days, for both copywriting and possessions.

If you’ve been following me awhile, you know I moved to Philadelphia last June. Originally I planned to stay for a year but … hey, there’s a reason this is my third time to move to Philadelphia.

So I bought a pet-friendly condo and am sorting through my possessions. Fortunately the Seattle movers destroyed several pieces of furniture, so I’m working with less.

“Use it or lose it” can be read as a warning. If you keep saying, “I can’t wear this because it’s too special,” soon it’s out of date and ready to be retired. Useless!

Reframe as a guideline: “Use it or get rid of it.” That’s what my organizer friends say, so I am ruthlessly giving away lots of things that sat on a shelf for a year. Some of my possessions are old enough to buy their own beer.

And for copywriting …

When we’re writing copy, reports, articles or books, we often get ideas that seems truly magnificent. “Too good for what I’m doing!” we think.

Professional writers are taught to think differently. When you don’t hold back, you keep getting more ideas and better ones. “Give it all you’ve got!” applies whether you’re writing a flyer for a small one-time event or a website for a significant business entity.

And when it comes to copywriting skills, the adage “Use it or lose it” also makes sense. My copywriting mentor, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, used to tell her students, “Write every day.” That’s what she learned from her own mentors.

It’s true. When I write frequently, the words flow more easily and I produce better copy. That’s one reason a copywriter can get your project out the door so far: we do this every day … okay, some of us may take off for a birthday or Thanksgiving. But *almost.*

In next week’s workshop I’ll be sharing many tips to multiply your content so you complete your projects faster for stronger rewards. You can still qualify for a 20-minute consultation when you sign up today only: http://www.CopywritingWithCathy.com/multipliercourse.html

So many of my clients and workshop participants say, “I hear what you say about creating online content. But who’s got the time?”

As a copywriter, I write a LOT. I can’t afford to get writers block and I need a steady stream of ideas. Therefore I’ve put together this 5-step system.

Step 1: Write a comment to a LinkedIn group or post to a forum. Choose your topic and style to become the basis for future content.

Step 2: Create a feature for your opt-in list. They deserve to get your ideas first! Add a hook to make your feature timely and/or especially relevant to your target market.

Step 3: Expand your feature into a blog post. If you’re really busy, you can post your original thought with just a few tweaks.

Want to blog your way to a book? With just a few strategies, you can create a system so you write your book without giving away your book before you are ready.

Step 4: Your blog post can be repurposed as an article.

Step 5: Your article can be repurposed in at least 5 ways to create giveaways, Reports and programs that you sell.

Learn more on today’s FREE teleseminar (we will be recording if you prefer to listen later): http://budurl.com/chatdec6

I am always amazed by how many time-starved entrepreneurs will insist on hiring themselves as copywriters. To get some perspective, I just saw an excellent article by Brad Schorr, a copywriter specializing in mid-size manufacturing.  His article promised to share info about copywriting, but really is about How To Hire A Copywriter … Even If You Hire Yourself. Read his original article here: http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/internet-e-commerce-social-media/16740561-1.html#ixzz1fOD558dW

I would add that it doesn’t have to be a complete either/or. Some of my clients enjoy do-it-yourself copywriting and hire me as a copywriting coach them to fine-tune the process.

Here are the 5 tips from the original article on hiring a copywriter – modified and extended by me:

(1) Copywriting is a skill. It’s not like writing a brochure, business letter or (I would add) a technical report or user manual.

(2) HIre a  copywriter  with  SEO copywriting skills. I’d add that esoteric SEO techniques are overrated. Your copywriter should understand about things like backlinks (used to be good, now they’re bad), keywords (use judiciously) and more. I’ve found that my clients and I often get more traffic  without effort when we post copy that is  high quality, targeted, and easy to read.

To optimize your business blog, the author recommends a few basic steps that anyone can use. Research your keywords. Optimize each  post rather than the blog as a whole. Choose just ONE category per post (I’ve heard pro and con on this one, but the “one category” rule makes sense).

(3) Here’s a tip I love: ” Do-it-yourself copywriting can be far more expensive than hiring a copywriter. ” Your web designer will stop a project, mid-stream, if the copy isn’t ready – and you often end up paying extra.

Besides, if you’re earning $150-$200 an hour or more, it doesn’t take many hours to realize you’re taking money off your own table.

I’d add: “Be sure you are hiring a REAL copywriter.” I’ve seen designers and even techies offer to “help out” their clients. “I will just write the page for you,” they say. One techie griped, “It took me EIGHT HOURS to write this one page. I HAD to charge.” Well, he ended up charging more than a copywriter would have and the client got techie copy, not copywriter quality copy.

Don’t fall for the ploy, “We don’t have time to choose a copywriter and get someone on board.” If you begin the project with a copywriter, you’ll be ready for the designer. And experienced copywriters don’t take that much time. They know exactly what to ask – fast.

(4)  Decide if you need a generalist or a specialist.  Writers can specialize narrowly. I’ve heard of copywriters who write nothing but autoresponder campaigns. Some specialize by industry.

My recommendations: If you have a small but steady need for a copywriter, choose someone who isn’t too narrow a specialist. Once your copywriter understands your business, she can usually generate press releases, special reports, and more.

If your business is highly technical or specialized, I still recommend a copywriter who doesn’t specialize in your industry. Why? Well, you aren’t targeting other specialists. You need to reach an audience that doesn’t know buzzwords and jargon…like your copywriter.

(5) Choose a writer who doesn’t have a big ego and a small view of the world.  Copywriting requires communication. You’ll be talking about your business to your copywriter, so you’ll need to feel comfortable with the process.   You’ll need someone who can accept your suggestions and even criticism without flinching or getting bent out of shape.

This post was inspired by an article  by Brad Shorr,  Director of Content and Social Media for Straight North, a Chicago web development agency. The company has a strong specialty in middle market B2B firms, with clients in businesses such as a truck tracking system company and a fire retardant clothes manufacturer.

[Guest Post by Famous Copywriter Dan Kennedy]

Many years ago, I took over a business with mammoth collection problems: almost all of its customers had open accounts and paid their bills ten to sixty days late (except those who didn’t pay at all). We quickly instituted a number of corrective measures, including tighter credit controls and policies, interests charges, a sequence of past-due notices, and collection calls.

However, we also instituted a positive strategy. We started sending hand-signed thank you notes for prompt payment to anybody who did pay on time…those who were almost on time…and even late payers who responded to a past-due notice.

Guess what happened? Those customers who received thank you notes became better paying customers.

I know a Doctor who started a procedure of giving fresh, long-stemmed red roses to his women patients who showed up for their appointment on time, or paid their bills on time, or referred another patient. “Funny thing,” he told me. “We no longer have patients missing appointments. Our collections have improved. Referrals are up. And, some guys are asking how they can get roses, too! Here are a few specific ideas you might adopt, as ways of saying thank you:

• Keep customers’ birthdays on file and send cards and/or mail gifts.
• Send Thanksgiving cards or letters. * Make it a habit to drop a personal thank-you note in the mail each day, to at least one customer.
• Send a gift certificate or discount certificate to a customer who makes an unusually large purchase.
• Host a “Customer Appreciation Event” – a Christmas party, a backyard bar-b que.
• Have an occasional closed-to-the-public, preferred customer sale.
• Drop in personally on your best customers, with a surprise gift.

I figured it up just the other day; last year, personally and for my various businesses combined, I signed checks for well over one million dollars, in payment for goods and services to all sorts of people and companies. And I don’t care what anybody says – a million bucks is a lot of money. Yet, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of the recipients of all that money who have expressed any gratitude in any formal kind of way. Only one of them found out and recognized my birthday. Just saying “thanks” is a big step ahead of the competition today.

DAN S. KENNEDY is a serial, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; highly paid and sought after marketing and business strategist; advisor to countless first-generation, from-scratch multi-millionaire and 7-figure income entrepreneurs and professionals; and, in his personal practice, one of the very highest paid direct-response copywriters in America. As a speaker, he has delivered over 2,000 compensated presentations, appearing repeatedly on programs with the likes of Donald Trump, Gene Simmons (KISS), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and many other celebrity-entrepreneurs, for former U.S. Presidents and other world leaders, and other leading business speakers like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins, often addressing audiences of 1,000 to 10,000 and up.  His popular books have been favorably recognized by Forbes, Business Week, Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine. His NO B.S. MARKETING LETTER, one of the business newsletters published for Members of Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle, is the largest paid subscription newsletter in its genre in the world. Learn more here. 

Recently I presented a webinar on 5 basic steps of copywriting. You can listen to the audio portion here.

One question from the audience was, “What’s the difference between content writing and copywriting?”

I have to admit I was stopped cold for a moment. As a copywriter, I write almost everything my clients need to create a successful online presence: websites, sales letters, video scripts, FB bios, even the “10 questions” set for being a teleseminar guest. Was I copywriting or just creating content?

Well, I said, I believe every time you create content for an audience you are copywriting. When your prospect sees what you write, after all, you are trying to make a sale. You aren’t writing just to educate, inform or inspire (although it’s nice if you accomplish those goals). And if you do want to educate your readers, you’re hoping they’ll be motivated to work with you in future, inspired by the quality of your content.

Therefore, everything you write is copy: ebooks, class learning guides, blog posts. social marketing posts … everything!

Copyblogger’s blog (which usually has gems that deserve attention) seems to be agreeing with me. They came right out and said:
CONTENT WITHOUT COPYWRITING IS A WASTE OF GOOD CONTENT.

Read the full post here.

I say – yes!

Of course, they go on to say:

COPYWRITING WITHOUT CONTENT IS A WASTE OF GOOD COPY.

Also true: readers want to get value from your message, not just a hard sell. Who likes to read ad copy? Just people who write ad copy.

If you’d like to talk about creating content under the influence of copywriting, let’s talk!
Start with the Laser Marketing Makeover.

Just what is an online presence, anyway? Is it just a website?

If you’re a busy professional, your online presence becomes a way of extending your marketing power without investing additional hours. You market more productively without reducing your billable hours or your personal life.

I used to encourage readers to think of the effect they created when they walk into a room at a networking event. Your movement style, walk, clothes, hair and general aura all create a professional presence.

But now I think your online presence goes deeper.  Let’s think of your presence as having  dimensions.

Depth - This is the element of presence that’s like walking into a room. It’s sharp, immediate, focused and subjective as well as objective. You create this depth by the look and feel of your materials: your header graphic, type face, colors and (if you add one) logo.

Those are the obvious components of depth. Your words also become your signature. Think of people you follow on the Internet. If you had to describe their conversational style, you probably could.

“Girl next door.”

“Edgy.”

“Sarcastic.”

“Light-hearted.”

“Always serious and businesslike.”

Breadth - This dimension refers to the distribution of your online presence. Do people say, “You’re out there in a big way?” Are you everywhere, within the realm of your target market? Do a lot of people know about you?

I recognized my own breadth when I went to a conference where I knew almost no one. Several people came up, saw my name tag and said, “Cat Chats! I’ve been there.” Love when that happens.

Height - This dimension refers to your status or stature. Does your online presence signal credibility? Are you seen as strong, powerful and competent?

I just heard from someone who heard me speak on a teleseminar a few months ago. She remembered me and she wrote, “I was impressed. I will want to work with you soon.”  That’s my dream version of height.

If you like this topic, check out my free Report: 3 Essential Steps To Create Your Fabulous Online Presence.

Schedule a Laser Marketing Makeover to transform your own online presence – fast!