Your top questions answered

You might think that the number one question  people ask me is “so how can I start a business and spend time with my baby?”

Actually, I’m mostly asked questions about internet marketing, blogging and creating information products! So here are some quick tips that will answer your most pressing questions.

I’ll be talking more about all of these in my new Thursday Night Webinar series – click here and I’ll tell you all about it.

Question 1: How can I get my website to the top of page 1 of Google?

First, you need to know what your potential customers are typing in to Google. There’s no point in being number 1 in Google for a keyword that your customers would never use!

Start by thinking about what your customers would type into Google if they needed your products or services, then look up those keywords using the Google Keyword Tool to see what people are actually typing. And how many people are using those words. Also look at how competitive those keywords are and what you see when you type those keywords into Google yourself.

If your keywords are very competitive – ie being targeted by many other businesses – then you can use longer, less competitive keyphrases instead.

For example, I knew that people who may want to read Business Plus Baby would need a business bank account and may be searching for info about this. There was no point in trying get on page 1 of Google for ‘small business bank account’ because there was WAY to much competition, so instead I thought about the question my readers would type into Google. I wrote a post around “do I need a business bank account?” instead and I’m currently at the number 2 spot on Google for that phrase.

…I’m currently at the number 2 spot on Google for that phrase

Then use those keywords or keyphrases in the body of your blog posts, the titles of your blog posts, web page titles, categories and tags (if you have them). Don’t stuff in as many keywords as you can, just use them in a natural way.

Of course this only scratches the surface of SEO, but it’s a good place to start. If you’d like to know some more, take a look at my SEO Crash Course webinar which is happening on 15th November.

Question 2: How can I start using a blog to promote my business?

If you already have a website, see if you can add a blog to it. This could mean speaking to your web designer, or if you use a website builder then you might need to upgrade your package to include a blog. If you don’t have a website at all, consider starting a self-hosted WordPress blog and then adding a static homepage (that will give you a blog which has content you update regularly, but with a ‘normal’ non-updating page for your homepage, plus any other pages you may like to add.)

That way you have all the benefits of a blog and a website in one, and you can update it whenever you want, too. A web designer can set this up for you if you don’t feel confident doing it yourself.

Then think about the top questions that your clients ask you and create blog posts offering tips and advice. There’s no need to give ALL the details or they may not call you! The blog post could be text, video, audio, pictures or a combination. Try to include some of your keywords and keyphrases in your posts, but make sure this sounds natural.

There’s no need to give ALL the details or they may not call you!

Promote your blog and posts wherever you can – on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms that your audience read. Also offline on your business cards, flyers, when doing presentations or appearing in trade publications.

Try to publish posts regularly, but it certainly doesn’t have to be several times a week. Several times a month will still bring you benefits.

If you’d like to know some more, take a look at my Blogging for Business Crash Course webinar which is happening on 22nd November

Question 3: How can I get my first e-book written and sold?

E-books are the best way of getting started as an information product creator. But your first one can be tricky because you need to a) sit down regularly and get that book written when your life will keep getting in your way and b) you could find yourself writing a book that nobody wants to buy unless you do some research first.

If you’re writing for pleasure then you can write on the subject of your choice, but if you’re writing to sell then you need to write a book that people want to buy. So look at the subjects areas where you have some knowledge, then do your research.

you could find yourself writing a book that nobody wants to buy unless you do some research first.

Check on Amazon to see if there are already books on this subject – if there are then that’s a good sign there is a market. Then think about how you could put a different and interesting twist on what is already selling. Solving a problem faced by your readers is a good angle to take, for example a ‘How to…’-style book.  Or you could combine two popular subjects together e.g. fast recipes on a tight budget (cooking and saving time).

If you already have a community such as a group of clients or  your blog’s readers, then think about the questions they ask you the most and think about writing your book to answer one of those. Or look at your most popular blog posts. Gather your information from people’s needs and wants rather than just coming up with ideas on your own.

When it comes to writing your book, it helps to have a goal in mind of how much you’re going to write each week. How much you write per week is up to you, but if you have a goal it’s much more likely to get completed! You could aim for 2000 words each week, a chapter or if you’re writing a ‘100 tips’-style book you could aim for 10 tips per week.

You’ll also need to think about how to sell and promote your book. Will you publish on Kindle? Or create a PDF and sell it from your own website? Or both? A blog is a great way to promote your book, by the way!

If you’d like to know more, take a look at my Write Your First e-Book webinar which is happening on 29th November

Question 4: I’ve just got a brand new website. What should I put on it?

First, start with the purpose of your website. What do you want it to do? What do you want visitors to do when they get there? Who are your visitors?

E.g. “My visitors will be pregnant women looking for antenatal classes in Bedford. I want them to read my website then call me to book a place on of my classes”.

Then you need to design your homepage so that it encourages your visitors to take that action. In our example, that would be to pick up the phone and book a place.

You can use many different elements to do this. The graphics, logo, colour scheme and text will need to appeal to your visitors and project the right image. For our antenatal teacher, that could image should be reassuring, friendly and welcoming and at the same time professional. It could include photos of happy mums and babies or even a video of one of your classes.

This approach is far better than the “I’ve got five webpages to fill, what shall I put on them?” one that businesses often use 🙂

Make sure that you have a call-to-action too. E.g. “Call us now on 01234 123456 to book your place”. It sounds obvious, but people really do need clear instructions on websites!

This approach is far better than “I’ve got five webpages to fill, what shall I put on them?”

After that you can add other elements such as a contact page, blog and mailing list. But always keep your website’s purpose in mind.

If you’d like to know more, take a look at my What To Put On Your Website webinar which is happening on 6th December

If you have another burning question, please leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to answer it 🙂

To find out more about my Thursday Night Webinars, click here. They are just £10 each for a seat and if you grab a seat at all four I’ll give you access to a closed Facebook group where you can ask questions and get feedback until the end of December.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

 

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