Sagara Development LLC

This week: the fifth in an eight-part series.  Read the other parts here.

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If you've read Parts 1-4 of this series I'm sure you can guess that the saying "If you build it they will come" does not apply to websites and online marketing.  (You did see Field of Dreams, right? Great movie.) It's a really common myth. Lots of people still think that if they get a website that's all they have to do, and it just ain't true!

Unlike a magical baseball field where a bunch of dead players show up, if you build a website, it will probably just sit there. Chances are, the world will not beat a path to your doorstep just because you put up a website, even one that is optimized for search engines (more about that next week). What you have to do is give people a reason to go to your website. That's where all the other marketing you do comes in.

An example I like to use is brochures and postcards. You can have them printed, but if they sit in a stack on your desk they won't do you much good. You have to get them out there. You're building relationships. You're generating exposure for your business. Same goes for websites and other online marketing.

So realize that the cost of a website, or the cost of any one part of your overall marketing, is just that, ONE PART and you'll need to budget accordingly.

Yes, you'll need a plan, and I'll say the dreaded "M Word."  "Marketing Plan."  It goes along with the "B word."  "Business Plan."  But really, you need them. And just like everything else here it doesn't have to be torture, it doesn't have to be a big, drawn out, painful thing.  I do my business and marketing plans on paper, even though I'm a total computer geek.  Sometimes paper napkins, in restaurants, over a meal. Bullet points, the big picture. It helps me get clear on where I want to go and what I want to do. It's a good starting point. And you can change and adjust as you go along. It's not written in stone.

But I digress. The point is that even if you have a website, a blog and printed materials, you'll need to somehow get people to look at them. That's where the multi-faceted approach comes in handy. Your mailing list, your newsletter, postcards, business cards, will all help people to remember you and to go look at your website, show up for your next event, or call you to talk about your work.

Next week: Search Engine Optimization: what's all the buzz about. 

All my best to you and yours, and have a very tasty Thanksgiving holiday!