Spontaneous Coaching™ Program: Monetize Your Expertise to Make EXTRA Money With LESS Effort by Creating Cash Flow Generating Assets (CFGA)™

Learn How to Create Cash Flow Generating Assets (CFGA)™ to earn you income [Below: Downloadable Flyer Image]…

(1) even on public holidays

(2) even when you have no client projects in hand

(3) even when you’re on annual leave

(4) AND…even when you’re ASLEEP!

Just Like I’ve done for YEARS!

MonetizeYourExpertiseCUT202

In July 2015, I came down from Cotonou, to deliver the first of several 1 hour talks (which ALL lasted over 2 hours due to attendee interest) on Passive Income Generation to entrepreneurs and career persons in Lagos.

Most bought my 2 hour Autorun Audio DVD  – in which I narrate powerful practical examples of ways to monetize your expertise to generating passive income at low to zero cost, even if all you have is a primary school certificate!

The DVD is now available as a bonus for persons who signup for my “One Year Web Marketing Support Service” in addition to enrolling for THIS Coaching Program.

In this program, I will share experience based information and education about how to review, analyse and compile what you know about your field of proven knowledge and expertise, into marketable digital and/or physical products to EARN PASSIVE INCOME in 3 proven ways I have used for YEARS.

If you follow my guidance diligently, you WILL end up able to generate multiple Streams of Passive (or Residual) Income even when you do NO work, and also while you sleep.

I’ve been doing EXACTLY that since 2006, selling my custom Excel-Visual Basic software (via www.excelheaven.tayosolagbade.com) and multidisciplinary Infromation products (via www.lulu.com/spotlight/sdaproducts) to buyers within and outside Africa – while traveling as a Location Independent Multipreneur!

lulu-tayo-shot

Coaching Option1:

Learn to Do-It-Yourself from Me. I tell/show you ALL I know, and
then support you via email, phone/Skype, online chat to get it done by yourself.

Program Duration: 4 Weeks

Fee: N50k

Coaching Option2:

Learn to Do-It-Yourself from Me While I DO IT FOR YOU:

I still tell/ show you ALL I know, but you end up with a product ALREADY on sale in both digital and print formats, in YOUR OWN online store.

Program Duration: 12 Weeks

Fee: N150k

*Call Tayo on +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic)

[*If you can’t reach me on one line, I may have moved to the other country. Try that number or email tayo at tksola dot com]

*Spontaneous Coaching™ is a trademark of Tayo Solagbade’s Self-Development Academy.

Attend Tayo Solagbade’s FREE 4 Hour Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation Workshop [Get Home Study DVD Video: How to build an automated Cash Book with Bank Reconciliation table, Debtors/Creditors Schedule etc]

NB: At the bottom of this post is the transcript of a message I sent (with download link to my NEW VIDEO titled “How to build an automated Cash Book”) today to members of my Excel-VB Club in continuation of their home study coaching.

 Join 3 accountants and a university professor in my NEW MS Excel-Visual Basic Automation Club, to attend this FREE workshop, and also start downloading my step-by-step tutorials on automating your daily tasks in MS Excel using Visual Basic Macros.

Highlight: Get a Step-by-Step video tutorial on best practice worksheet design and Excel Visual Basic coding using a real life spreadsheet software I built in 2007 for a popular Lagos based hospital with over 120 staff.
1. Each club  member wishing to attend, gets FREE access to my forthcoming FREE 4 Hour Practical Introduction to MS ExcelVB Automation Workshop.
Attend Tayo Solagbade's FREE 4 Hour Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation Workshop [Get Home Study DVD Video: How to build an automated Cash Book with Bank Reconciliation table, Debtors/Creditors Schedule etc]
2. ALL attendees will get a DVD containing my Home Study Step-by-Step Video Tutorials.
3. Non-club-members wishing to attend simply need to join the club by paying the membership fee.
Details, with links to relevant additional information provided below:

Date: Saturday 19th March 2016

Attendees: Tayo Solagbade’s Excel-VB Club Members ONLY. [Not yet a member, click here to let request signup and other details]

Venue: TBD

Admission Fee: FREE – for ALL Members [NB: Every tuition or training centre that joins the club automatically secures FREE access for ALL its students/learners, to the workshop, AND also to my step- by-step tutorials]

AS A MEMBER, YOU CAN ALSO INVITE ME TO CONDUCT MY FREE EXCEL-VB WORKSHOP AT YOUR TUITION CENTRE!

Signup and invite me to conduct the workshop on YOUR tuition centre’s premises, on a date convenient for YOU and YOUR students.

First 5 tuition centres to signup pay N10k (instead of $65 USD or N13k) to join. All club members get to attend my FREE 4 Hour Introduction to Excel-VB workshop.

1. To learn more about how to join the club or compete, OR to be a SPONSOR, click the link below to download the 9 page slideshow that offers FULL details:

http://www.tayosolagbade.com/uploads/xlhcluboffer.ppsx

2. Introductory Videos Club Members Need to Watch

Welcome to my MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club [Introductory Videos You Need to Watch] | SD Nuggets™

Transcript of Email message sent to club members today…

Hi,
Click the link below to download PART 1 of the new video tutorial:

http://tayosolagbade.com/—link disabled—.zip

TITLE: How to build an automated Cash Book with Bank Reconciliation table, Debtors/Creditors Schedule etc.

It is a Step-by-Step video tutorial on best practice worksheet design and VB coding using real life spreadsheet software I built in 2007 for a popular Lagos based hospital with over 120 staff.

INSTRUCTIONS

Download the zipped folder linked ABOVE to your desktop and unzip the contents.

2 files will emerge. Double click on the web page file to launch a browser window in which the SWF video file will playback/

Note that if you see THE browser prompt shown in the linked PNG image below, all you need do is simply click “Activate Adobe Flash” (or the equivalent linked text displayed in your browser), and follow the instructions to get the video to display and play.

http://tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/fbsc-video-tip.png

Let me know if you need help.

In your service.

Tayo

You Cannot Sell Web Marketing as a Commodity (Hint: Suggestions to SEO Service “Sales Persons” and Those Who Buy From Them)

[Update – 5th March 2016 at 19:28: Click here to listen a short audio recording I did on this subject BEFORE I wrote this article]

The views I express in this piece may rub some hard core SEO practitioners the wrong way. However, I urge you to keep an open mind as you read, so as to appreciate the often missed perspective I offer.

A few days ago, I got a call from a young lady who boldly announced the name of the company she worked for, and then asked:

“Are you Tayo Solagbade, the owner of thefarmceo.net?”

When I replied in the affirmative, she said “We can get thefarmceo.net to appear in the number one spot on Google. What do you think about that?”

At this point, I understood where she was headed with her line of questioning, and sighed as I realized the nuisance I’d endured for years via email, from so called SEO providers had come to me via yet another channel.

I proceeded to calmly and politely explain to her that thefarmceo.net was one of 5 domains I owned, and that I had no need to get it to appear in number one spot on Google.

I explained further that I did not do SEO in the conventional sense she proposed, where one aimed to appear on number one, for a fee. Instead I use(d) a zero cost Web Marketing System to achieve the search engine visibility I needed (via multiple sales pages indexed) , in a manner that brought me a regular stream of high quality prospects via search engine queries.

She asked some more questions, in a way that indicated she was trying to wrap her mind around the unusual point I was making. How come I did not do SEO?

I replied that I did some basic SEO, but that I focused more of my efforts on using my Web Marketing System to get noticed in a favourable way by the engines and my target audience. For instance, I told her thefarmceo.net, for me, does not need to appear in Google’s SERP at number one, because I use it mainly as a forwarder to a sub domain on my flagship website i.e. www.iff.tayosolagbade.com. I therefore place greater priority in getting TayoSolagbade.com top visibility in search engines results pages.

At that point I heard a click, and the line went dead. She was gone.

Whether she’d cut the call, or had run out of airtime, I had no idea. One thing was certain though: she would not be calling back, because all I’d said clearly indicated I would NOT be interested in buying the “commodity” of number one position in Google for a fee, that she wanted to sell.

It is my considered opinion, that outside standard SEO that most website owners know/do, the smartest, most effective way to attract attention from potential buyers online, is intelligent creation and propagation of useful, value adding and interesting content, on a regular basis.

I believe many supposed SEO service providers focus on selling commodities instead of solutions. That often serves them, with little or no benefit to clients.

For those who still don’t get it, here’s why an offer of that kind should NOT win you over easily:

1. Getting into number one can be achieved, depending on a variety of factors.

But that has to be done within a defined context relevant to your unique needs. Since they come telling you they can do it without even knowing what you’re about, how can you be sure they’ll make it happen in a way that will attract the right kind of people, you need to buy from you?

Getting into number one MUST be a means to an end YOU want to achieve.

If you get into number one for irrelevant search strings, you’ll make little or no sales. And if you get into number one for the wrong reasons, or you get into number one in the wrong “niche”…then you’re on a wild goose chase!

Those are the fine details these “vendors” never tell most uninformed clients (Sometimes I suspect even they (the SEO “vendors” – as I like to think of this breed – do NOT know those details themselves!)

They simply play the trick of massaging people’s egos.

Showing up on Google’s number 1 placing becomes a bragging right they encourage the client to aim for. The client is made to forget that THAT appearance is supposed to translate to quality sales leads can result in actual buying transactions taking place.

2. Staying at number one in the manner they propose will require that YOU pay THEM money to keep it so

It becomes a recurrent expenditure, once they lock you in. I say your money will be better spent most times!

There are website owners caught in this trap now, paying to stay in their so called number one placing, even though their leads generations is showing no significant improvement.

3. Web marketing when done right, can deliver timeless returns on your investment.

A person who comes offering to get you into number one, without asking for information to evaluate what your brand is about, does NOT care about you.

S/he is hunting for money.

Choosing the right expert, and paying him/her to handle your SEO can yield good results. However, it can be hard to find experts with integrity, and competence, who will not be a bit pricey.

So, when you get offers of quick-fix SEO solutions, at “low prices” consider such offers with a big spoon of salt.

4. One more thing. I don’t know if I’m the only one who has noticed this…

When I was trying to reinvent my website marketing i.e. when traffic was close to nil, and I was starting this blog in 2012, I got few offers from these SEO guys.

But as soon as things began moving up for me traffic wise, especially from Google and You tube, in late 2013. When I’d built up some critical mass of blog posts, I suddenly started getting a rash of almost daily email offers to help me get more traffic and page 1 SERP placings!

That’s like offering me medication for an ailment I already cured myself of!

Apart from a few articles (like the one here and this one here) I’ve ignored them for the most part – until this phone call incident from a few days ago. The former link leads to an article titled “Open Letter To Intending SEO Service Providers – From Tayo Solagbade of the SD Nuggets Blog” in which I PREDICTED that I would succeed with my web marketing WITHOUT using their services, or adopting their methods.

I’ve since been vindicated many times over – including the time my domain got poached and I rebuilt my brand to even greater search engine relevance on a brand new domain less than 6 months! (Read A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name)

Here’s one of several analogies I use to drive home my point about the power of original and useful content in web marketing

Imagine putting up a (never-before-seen) page with a link to watch a video showing Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi trading tackles in a secret one-on-one match up, to see who could score more goals against the other, on a web page with ZERO SEO done to it!!!

I’m sure you’ll agree with me that THAT video will chalk up a massive number of views from soccer enthusiasts in no time – regardless of what platform the page owner chooses to announce it from.

Why?

Because the target audience, who are die hard soccer lovers, would watch and then tell one another, and possibly keep coming back to watch.

In the process, Google and other search engine robots would follow the “traffic” of visitors to that page and the video, and it would climb right into page 1 of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). And it would begin trending, then more people would get to know about it, and the cycle would continue.

We all know this is what happens. And that’s why I believe sometimes we go overboard in the way we talk about SEO.

Having said that, some highly competitive markets do require extra and more sophisticated SEO efforts to gain the slightest advantage.

However, those tend to be in the minority. Especially in my part of the world. The degree of needs sophistication regarding web marketing is much lower in Africa, compared to what obtains in developed societies.

A large majority of website owners out here are not so technical minded.

My experiences and observations also indicate that few are willing, talk less able, to pay competent hands to to do it for them. And that’s if any worthwhile returns – measurable and sustainable – can be had.

Unless it’s not too pricey and a one-off expense (both not likely) most of them would balk at doing it.

For me, as far as today’s web marketing goes, my experiences tell me once you know the demographics of those you want to attract, the rest is easy.

You would begin by doing
the standard SEO stuff e.g. add keywords, title and description tags to articles, images plus submit your domain to directories and search engines.

You would also follow key Google webmaster tools recommendations. Setup profiles on Google plus, You tube, and other social media platforms you consider relevant – being sure to use RSS feeds and URLs to link the aforementioned with your website and blog.

Such standard steps generally suffice.

Next you would focus on churning out useful and interesting information via
as many channels and in as many formats as possible, to meet your target audience’s needs

As you do that – and continue to do so – simply watch Google’s fair play algorithms do their magic in your favour. Your webmaster tools account would offer more insights into analyzing your performance, and you could use that to improve your efforts.

Apart from attracting a larger number of potential buyers to you, this approach also ensures they are more profitable as well!

Unfortunately, Africans in general, and Nigerians in particular still need to learn to NOT be so
egotistical and negatively competitive in both business as well as personal life.

Our way of life too often encourages people to think and act from Win-Lose (instead
of Win-Win) perspectives in relating with one another.

As a result, trust is a stranger amongst us, as is the true spirit of excellence
that thrives where negative competition is absent or minimal.

The above is why we often find ourselves looking to others from Europe and America
to help us develop, since our best people often find it hard to come – and stay –
together in lasting collaboration to make desired results happen.

In this field of Web Marketing for instance, this problem is one that I have
pointed out many times.

It is why too many web development practitioners in these parts still continue
selling web marketing to clients as a “commodity” with a shelf life, when in fact it
needs to be delivered as a self-sustaining “solution” that is timeless in its
impact.

Since their clients don’t know better, they accept this inefficient and more
expensive approach until they can no longer afford it and/or the results no longer
justify the continued monetary investment.

These developers see a person preaching low to zero cost timeless marketing
strategies like me as a threat.

They believe I want to make them do more work for clients than
they are willing to. So, rather than reach out to learn from me, they begin to look
for ways to discredit me before clients who are often not savvy enough to see
through their antics.

And that’s why:

1. I offer web marketing educational resources for CEOs – to over time arm them with
insights to be more discerning in terms of what they accepts from providers –
including me!

2. Once in a while I also offer messages to other web development service providers
fitting the description given above, about the need to invest quality time to learn
better ways to serve clients improved results.

The pod cast I will publish on this blog tomorrow, offers content catering to both groups, that I believe they
will find to be a wake up call of sorts.

Related Articles

1.Can Competitors Trick Google Into Penalizing Your Website Wrongfully?

2. 3 Reasons to NOT Pay for Facebook “Likes”

3. It Takes Proven Know-How to Achieve Repeatable Web Marketing Success [True Story: How My 9 Year Old Domain Got Poached In May 2014, and I Used My Web Marketing System On a NEW Domain, to Build My Online Brand/Sales to a Higher Level Within 6 Months]

4. 5 Reasons Why Buying Facebook Likes Is a Waste of Time and Money for Your Business

5. Why Article Marketing Is Still Effective

6. Open Letter To Intending SEO Service Providers – From Tayo Solagbade of the SD Nuggets Blog

7. A Website That Works Wins You Repeat Visitors, Leads, & Sales: NOT Admirers & Compliments!

8. PII 003: Proven Web Marketing Ideas Your Travel and Tourism or Hospitality Business Needs

9. A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name

 

It Takes Proven Know-How to Achieve Repeatable Web Marketing Success [True Story: How My 9 Year Old Domain Got Poached In May 2014, and I Used My Web Marketing System On a NEW Domain, to Build My Online Brand/Sales to a Higher Level Within 6 Months]

Two great quotes by a great man, who achieved great results in his chosen field of expertise:

It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am” – Muhammad Ali

It ain’t bragging if you can back it up” – Muhammad Ali

Quote - 'It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am' - Muhammad Ali : Click to download Wallpaper from source website

Image Source: http://orig06.deviantart.net

To paraphrase Ali with regard to BOTH quotes, on behalf of many competent experts, I’d say:

It’s hard to to be humble when you’re SURE you can deliver solutions that work!(That’s why experts who know their stuff rarely have difficulty CONFIDENTLY seeking out and telling potential clients what they can do for them).

Are you a cost-conscious and results focused business owner? This article explains why my ideas about Making Money Using Low to Zero Cost Web Marketing to Attract Profitable Buyers, should SERIOUSLY interest you.

For starters, the increasingly international recognition I enjoy (along with sales I make) today, as a trusted provider of multidisciplinary solutions, is based 100% on MY diligent use of the exact same strategies I advocate for adoption by others.

Not all of us can earn “super star celebrity” mentions that transform us into household names. In my opinion, NOT all of us need that kind of exposure to achieve our own definitions of success. But in the various niche markets we serve, we can achieve decent levels of “fame” that command reliable returns in form of new clients/buyers.

For instance, I am a practitioner, and advocate, of what I call “Silent Success”.

Briefly, by that phrase I mean achieving your set goals (financially and otherwise) without soliciting undue publicity. There are people wealthier than “celebrities” we see showing off riches on TV. They just don’t feel a need to tell the whole world, to prove it (Read “The Millionaire Next Door”).

That’s the philosophy I subscribe to – and it’s working for me.

My primary target audience preferentially get told what I’m doing and how it’s working well, for me, so I can interest them in getting similar results.

The result is that an increasing number of people in my growing network – especially on social media – are actual clients, or persons who discovered my work and chose to subscribe to my website newsletter. Most go further and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google Plus, Youtube etc.

I am getting the notifications on an increasingly frequent basis. Every now and then there’s a new follower, new friend request, new like, multiple likes and page views etc.

It was NOT this good 3 to 5 years ago.

Just 3 years ago, most of the platforms I was on yielded little or no returns similar to the above. They were close to being dead. It was mainly my website and Youtube channels that delivered a decent stream of pre qualified prospects to me via search engine results.

Today, I can tell you that I continue to win more subscribers and clients who discover and reach out to me via Facebook, Twitter and Google plus. That is, in addition to the continued traffic of enquiries from my website and Youtube videos.

In other words, this is proof that I’m proficient at getting it right – and I continue to improve. My hard work of carefully studying and investigating and testing various experts’ ideas is paying off.

I must however add that it was NOT easy to get this far…and it’s NOT easy to keep it going either

Indeed, I would say I took a major leap forward as a direct result of a major crisis in my website ownership 2 years ago, that would ordinarily have killed my brand off completely.

Here’s what happened…..

In May 2014, my 9 year old website, which had garnered hundreds of quality back links (via my diligent article marketing syndication) and enjoyed quality traffic of pre qualified prospects was taken over by my former web hosts.

Suddenly, typing that URL led ALL the links to it (dating back 9 solid years) to a holding page. Next thing I knew, I was getting offers from the hosting company to buy my domain back at $75 USD!

What they did not count on was that I had been a diligent student of web marketing, checking what had been working for me, since 2005, and narrowing down to the truths about what was required for reproducible web marketing success.

By the time they pulled their stunt (read full story here), I had already come to the firm conviction that a domain name NO LONGER determined web marketing success – or failure.

So, I responded by laughing in the web host’s face, telling them to KEEP the domain, and announcing that TayoSolagbade.com, which I’d registered a year before, would be used to host all my website files.

Since I had over the years invested BLOOD tinged hours of sleepless nights learning web development, and using it to serve clients, for a fee, I naturally had the skills to carry out my threat and implement my plan.

Less than a month later, my website was back up – but on the new domain, and I proceeded to predict that it would turn out to be a reincarnated version of Spontaneousdevelopment.com on steroids. Within a period of 6 months, I’d recorded results proving that I was right.

Today, the massive visibility my web marketing system is giving me is apparent.

Indeed, it is likely that YOU, reading this, most likely found me via a search engine or other marketing platforms. Only few visitors to this website can claim to have been directly invited by me to visit.

Except those I go out of my way to offer what I consider potentially useful information or resources, I generally let my Web Marketing System do its work of attracting people who fit my target audience profile to contact me on their own.

For the uninitiated, a lot of the claims I’ve made here would probably sound like magic – or lies. Well, I’m sorry if you refuse to accept the reality of Web Marketing success that can be yours using proven strategies like mine.

However, I refuse to let your unbelief, or unwillingness to believe, keep me from letting others know they can dramatically boost the marketing reach and impact of their business promotion efforts, at a fraction of the conventional costs.

That is what the system I use, and which I recommend for adoption by others, does.

The best part is that there is NOTHING haphazard about my methods.

I know exactly what to do, and how to do it to get the same or better results. Even if I have to start all over again from scratch, it would only be a matter of time, before I begin getting the results all over again.

This is no exaggeration or attempt at bragging, but simply a statement of fact, based on my years of proven expertise.

There are certain things one can simply NOT afford to be shy about.

This is one of them.

People need my help, and it’s important that I make it available to as many as are willing to take it.

If that interests you, click here to contact me.

PS: In tomorrow’s article, I’ll explain why “You Cannot Sell Web Marketing as a Commodity!”…and how too many website owners – especially in Africa – are letting their web development service providers under-serve them by doing just that!

 

A Website That Works Wins You Repeat Visitors, Leads, & Sales: NOT Admirers & Compliments!

For some time now, I have had the opportunity to discuss extensively with many entrepreneurs and business owners(some being clients for whom I had to build websites) about what kind of online presence they need to have for their businesses.

In many cases I have found these individuals to be MORE preoccupied with the aesthetics of the site, than they are with the “selling” ability of the site.

And yet, there is hardly any business owner who does not know that increasing marketing reach and effectiveness – which a website can greatly facilitate – is crucial for continued growth and profitability.

This article outlines essential features of a website that works(and potential key benefits to be reaped) , which any business owner should aim to get if s/he hopes to maximise returns from investing in a website.

You Cannot Cash “Compliments And Admiration” In The Bank!

Sorry about this one. I know it’s obvious, but when you go by the number of people who think it is the volume of “Ooh’s”, “Aahs”, and “Wows” that their website brings out of people, that proves it’s working, you will understand why I choose to include it here.

Otherwise intelligent business owners that I have had to work with in building their sites, obsessed so much on the colors, image effects etc of the site. Ignoring repeatedly every attempt I made to get them to answer my queries about – and focus on – how their content could be crafted and evolved over time, to get visitors to do what they as the business website owner NEED.

And what the latter needs is increased business marketing outreach to a larger pool of potential buyers at lesser COST, with lesser effort, in less time, while using lesser resources!

The Best Judge Of A “Good” Website Is The Target Audience/Customer & YOUR Pocket

Only the reaction of those you aim to reach out to using your business website(i.e. potential customers) will be a VALID assessment of how “good” your website is.

If they visit it,and do what you want (e.g. stay long/return, to read/click on article links and your Google ads etc) then your website could be said to be “working”. If they go further and use your website contact form to submit requests for more information or if they signup for a FREE offer or newsletter, your site would also be working.

If after they contacted you using your website form in a bid to buy from you(or if they made a purchase from your site using secure purchase tools you provided), the website would DEFINITELY be working.

But then even if you do not make a single sale online, but you find you are able to cut down on your daily offline business marketing expenses because the website offers tools you can use to achieve the same results online, then your website would be working.

Simply put, any website that enables you to do MORE of what you do to win SALES, while helping you EXPEND LESS time, effort, resources and especially MONEY(so that you retain MORE of your income in your “pocket” as profits), is a website that works.

A Website That Works Will Pay For Itself – AND Do More!

The challenge therefore for you as a business website owner is to find out HOW you can make your website do the above(i.e. helping you EXPEND LESS time, effort, resources and especially money).

Does your website already do this for you?

If NO, then a simple cost-benefit analysis is likely to reveal to you the sad fact that your website is nothing more than a drainpipe for your hard earned profits – since you must annually renew your domain name and hosting accounts.

Your website must not only pay for its own maintenance, but it must also help to make your business MORE effective, efficient and therefore profitable.

If that is not currently the case, then I have a sneaking suspicion that when you had your website built, you did not get a Web Marketing Strategy developed along with it. That’s not too good.

A web marketing strategy will influence the Search Engine Optimization(to make search engines find your website when the relevant search strings are used by your potential customers) that will be done for the site.

It will affect the decision about the site layout and logic. It will affect decisions about content copy writing for the site etc. And it will guide the owner on what to do daily, weekly, monthly in order to make the website deliver the results s/he wants when and how s/he wants it.

If you don’t have a web marketing strategy, it means you have been (or will be) working in the dark, and are not getting as much out of your website as it has the potential to deliver.

But thankfully, you can always remedy that problem. But this time, you must do it right. For one thing developing your web strategy if done properly could end up requiring that you make one or more changes to your website design.

That’s the price you have to pay for putting the cart before the horse as it were. I suggest you conduct a careful search for a good web designer who demonstrates a willingness to educate and guide you(while building a website that does what you NEED for your business) by helping you develop a Web Marketing Strategy to use with it.

Read my article titled “How to Choose the Right Web Design Service Provider(4 Tips)” to learn more. You will also gain additional insight into why having a Web Marketing Strategy developed for your website is crucially important for your website’s success.

Like A Business Plan, Your Website Marketing Strategy Will Evolve Over Time

Business plans ideally are used as tools to manage the running of a business. A business plan serves as a guide to the owner, and s/he will periodically refer to it in order to assess how well the business is doing relative to the initial plans upon which the operation was launched.

The Web Marketing Strategy is the business plan for a website. Aside from defining clearly the objective(s) to be achieved, it outlines a plan of action to be implemented by the site owner in order to achieve the defined objectives.

Over time, and depending on changes that occur in the business environment, the owner may have to modify aspects of the web marketing strategy, to ensure continuity. Some people start out with a web strategy comprehensively documented in print or on paper.

Over time, they would have internalised most of it to the point that it resides literally speaking in their “heads”. Then needed tasks, changes and actions would be taken on the spur of the moment, within seconds. If go about having your own web strategy developed right, you will also get to that level of competence at some point.

Essential Features Of A Website That Works

1. Visually Appealing, Fast-loading, And Interactive Pages.

This is fairly self-explanatory, but I’ll elaborate a bit. Your website must look nice enough to make visitors want to explore it. The pages must not take too long to present something for the potentially click-happy visitor to read(when s/he clicks to “learn more” for instance). And you should provide as a minimum, a means for him/her to easily and quickly send you a message directly from your website. Typically you would use a simple contact form like the one here.

2. Response-Generating Copy.

Visitors who fit the profile of your target audience or ideal customer should “feel” a need to make contact with you regarding what you offer when they read your website content. You must say what you do, or what you CAN do in a manner that makes it immediately obvious to them that they NEED you and will benefit by engaging your services or purchasing your product. if you do not know how you can write such compelling copy for your website, PLEASE hire a competent web copy writing professional to do it for you.

3. Optimised for Search Engines.

Actually, having a web marketing strategy should make you identify a need to do Search Engine Optimisation for your website. You might also find it useful to do articles marketing/syndication(like I do) as part of your strategy.

Key Benefits Of A Website That Works

1. Gets You Name/Brand Recognition.

This is actually one of the main objectives of my web strategy – especially for my parent domain: spontaneousdevelopment.com. I aim to make it synonymous with high quality performance enhancement information and education based on authentic real-life experiences.

You can do this for your business and use it to launch a series of branded products and services – for instance learning events like seminars etc – that people who have encountered your widely syndicated content online will be readily drawn to, because they “recognise the name/brand”.

2. Affords You Marketplace Credibility.

Many times people “feel” they know someone they have never even met simply because they have continually read or heard about him or her regarding what s/he does for a long time. Market place credibility will be – in part – a fallout of Name/Brand Recognition mentioned above. However, the quality of your website design and especially content/presentation will add to the “believability” of your offer.

3. Helps You Make Profitable Sales.

When your website is able to earn you benefits 1. and 2. above, that would over time, with your continued effort translate to profitable sales for you online and/or offline as may be relevant to your type of business. If you sell products online, there is a good chance that MORE visitors will decide to buy from you as they get more convinced.

Same applies to the potential client who needs to decide whether or not to hire you – or the one who needs to convince a boss or partners that YOU are a better choice than the next service provider.

A website that works will “sell” you effectively in a way that your most marketable offerings are instantly made obvious to the potential client, making it seem logical for them to choose you over others.

What I like most about this website benefit is that most times you will not be there physically with them when they will be contemplating choosing you.

So ALL the “talking” you would have had to do will be done for you by your website! If you have done a good in building your website so that it works, chances are high that you will get picked.

BUT even if you do not get the job, you are likely to feel reasonably satisfied with your efforts, knowing that you could not have done a better job than you did in trying to win it. Sometimes that’s good to know, and helps one to move on.

4. Saves You Significant Time, Effort & Money.

A before and after comparison could help here. For instance BEFORE you started using the site, much time, effort and money did it cost you to get your products/services noticed by potential customers, to the extent that sales leads resulted?

How much were you losing in expenses on hard copy proposals sent out to prospective client companies, compared to what you now spend doing say website/email marketing?

Receiving payments via credit cards etc is of course a must if products are to be purchased from your site. Again, the convenience for you/your customers, and potential savings arising from incorporating e-commerce payment processing on your site are quite significant.

Final Words: If you have gotten this far, chances are that you fall into one of the following categories:

a. You are considering building a site for yourself/business.

If so, then keep all that I have said here in mind and(request your web designer to) apply them where appropriate to increase your chances of getting the results you want right from the start.

b. You already own a site for yourself/business.

In that case do a through check and ask yourself hard questions based on what I have said in this article. Wherever you find that you come up short, make a note to effect needed changes as soon as possible.

c. You are a web designer curious about the subject discussed.

For you the challenge will be whether you can be open minded enough to look at the issues I have raised from the perspective of your clients.

Typically they will hire you because they think building a website for their business will help them spend LESS time and effort while making MORE money, so they can ultimately make MORE profits.

By doing everything possible to deliver a website that meets their needs (and not just their expectations), you stand a chance of having them enthusiastically refer others to you without your asking!

A website that works is good for everyone – the owner, the customer/client and the web designer. It makes them all look good in the long run.

Most importantly, for you, the business owner, the survival of your enterprise in today’s highly competitive markets is greatly dependent on how well you are able to integrate your business operations, with the use of computer/Internet resources, and NOT on how any admirers & compliments you get for your website!

Getting a website that works in the manner that has been described in this article is therefore a good starting point.

Related Articles

1. PII 003: Proven Web Marketing Ideas Your Travel and Tourism or Hospitality Business Needs

2. How to Choose the Right Website Design Service Provider (4 Tips)

3. Now That YOUR Website Is Up, What Do You Do Next?

4. You-Cannot-Beat-Competitors-If-You-Keep-Doing-The-SAME-Things-They-Do

PS: The original version of this article was first published online on Spontaneousdevelopment.com (now defunct) and Ezinearticles.com in January 2007