The line dividing “what is your website” from “what is your business” is blurring more and more. Used to be a business owner had to ask the question: “Do I need a website?” And it seemed a legitimate question: what was the website supposed to actually accomplish for the business? Many never asked that question and simply did what everyone else was doing. The result? A lot of really ugly and useless websites made in Microsoft FrontPage 2000.
Today, it’s so easy to start selling directly to customers online that the distinction between “business” and “website” has all but disappeared. Remarkablogger is my business and without it and the effort that goes into it, I wouldn’t have any clients or customers at all. But some folks who already had their lead-generation processes in place before they really started marketing with a blog may be having a harder time transitioning.
Christine Livingston expressed difficulty in generating leads from her blog although her audience and traffic were growing. In fact, her post inspired me to write this one. Christine is a client of mine, so I received this information with mixed feelings. I’m telling you this in the interest of disclosure, but also so you know I’m not picking on her. 
You Must Make Offers
To be fair, the work that Christine and I have been doing together actually has been focused on getting exposure and growing traffic, and it’s worked. So what comes next? What’s good for her is good for everybody, so let me share: you must make offers. If you don’t make offers, you’re not actually selling anything. While you must have pages on your site for the services and products you sell, people ignore them most of the time.
As you build your audience, you want to remind them from time to time about what you sell. There are many ways to do this and they differ for everyone’s unique situation. That’s how I help with my blog consulting services.
You see what I just did, there?
In order to make offers, you have to have something to offer. Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious. A standard consulting package is not something you can throw at people repeatedly: repetition helps at first, but after a while people start tuning you out. The solution is to present unique products, whether your own or as an affiliate.
Another way to say this is that online lead generation is not passive. You don’t wait for people to come, you actively attract them. The actively part of that is what’s important. That means You Have to Do Things.
The Mechanics Must be in Place
Tied in with making an offer is the mechanics of how customers go through the process of taking you up on your offer, ending with them being happy and you having more money today than you did yesterday. This is part design, part technology.
- There has to be a place where people sign up or purchase.
- You need a way for people to sign up or buy, such as a form or a button.
- You need a way to facilitate the financial transaction safely and securely (PayPal is the big one to use for this).
- You need a way to deliver what was purchased (this differs greatly depending on what you’re selling).
All of this can be done in WordPress, which is one of the reasons why business blogging is not “just” blogging.
Blurring the Lines Boosts the Bottom Line
If you do this, chances are excellent you’ll really start seeing new business come in directly from your blog. Now you see how, if you’re doing this and you’re growing an audience of qualified readers, you’ll be getting more people to present offers to, which of course can massively boost your income. If you’re doing other things right, like getting testimonials and moving customers along a course of greater programs and higher price points, you can create a near-perpetual sales machine.
How to Find Out More
There is much to share with you about this, and the best way to do it is to follow my own advice and present you with an offer that will help you more fully develop the lead and sales generating aspect of your blog.
I’m going to do this as a teleseminar by conference call one week from today: Wednesday, April 21 at 8pm Eastern. The call will last 90 – 120 minutes. There will be no fluff and no pitching during the call, just me teaching and answering your questions.
I’m calling it Business Blogging 101. We’re going to cover the specifics of what I only mentioned generally in this post, and I’m going to take your questions, which is something no blog post or ebook could ever help you with.
The teleseminar will be recorded so if you can’t make the live date, you’ll be able to download the recording afterward. You can also submit your questions to me in advance through my contact form.
The investment for this teleseminar is $99 and you can sign up by clicking the safe & secure PayPal button below:
If you can’t see the button or it doesn’t work because you’re viewing this in a reader or an email, please visit the post on the web to sign up.
If you don’t feel you’ve received tremendous value from this class, let me know and I’ll be happy to give your money back. There are no time limits or other conditions on this. I assume all risk. If you’re not happy I could never feel right about keeping your money.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment or contact me privately and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.
Well, I certainly hadn't imagined an online coaching session following my post today, but thanks for it nevertheless. It seems you know me well enough to know that I'm no shy, retiring wallflower
Two things:
First, you're right, the strategies that were put in place to build traffic have been very successful. Without a doubt, my blog is an ocean apart now from where it was 6-8 months ago.
Second, to make money – or to convert my traffic – it needs to be clear what I'm selling. It's currently not clear. Lesson learned: build products and stop prevaricating about putting them out there!
As I've been reflecting from the comments I've had on my own blog about my post, there's another lesson to be learned around pacing and setting expectations accordingly. I really did always know that this was a slow burn, and so for me to expect to be making significant money from it at this stage is not actually helpful. But there's a key lesson in me (and others I guess) not psyching themselves out unnecessarily.
Finally, I like the way you've taken your mixed reactions to my post to make a point.
And I didn't charge you, either… although if you want to be in on the
teleseminar, you'll need to pay for it just like everyone else. You have to
earn it!
Hi Michael, your advice is simple to understand and follow.
It was not that long ago when the word was not to try and sell via your blog. Now it has of course changed as unless you make money a blog becomes a very expensive hobby.
Large business have always known this and they plan and execute offers throughout the year to ensure sales come in. For small business this is not always easy in the beginning and I think by tracking, taking the time to understand your customers and getting feedback you can refine the offers and timing to get better results.
Have read your blog for a while and thought it time to comment instead of just reading. BTW your videos for Headway have been very helpful.
Susan, there's a real difference between making offers and “being sales-y.”
The former is perfectly fine, the latter will not win you many friends.
I agree Michael and I was not saying being sales-y is the way to go. Sorry if you thought I was.
Oh no I didn't think that, but I wanted to make the distinction because I
felt that's what others might be thinking.
Hey Michael,
Thanks for the perfectly time post, and informational as always – this is something I am really struggling with as well. And yes, part of it is due to the very obvious: I don't have time to take on more clients, and yet at the same time, I haven't made a premium product available yet.
I'm looking to remedy that though – especially after some fantastic advice you gave me, things are really coming together and I aim to have my product out this summer =)
That's great to hear, Sid! Looking forward to seeing what you do.
Hey, Sid,
Glad to know I'm not alone with my challenges. It IS a struggle to balance existing client work and develop products. But, if people like you and I can't crack it, Sid, who can?!
Looking forward to seeing your offering this summer and wishing you well for its development.
“have to have to have” – Ha, I can't tell if you're really emphasizing the point here or if that was just a typo
.
Reminding your readers about your services is indeed important. You need to tell them that yes, you're providing good content, but you also want their support in terms of getting your service. I like the idea of gently promoting your services in your posts.
We started blogging in February. I must admit apart from a post on what we have done for a client in the web marketing sector our posts have generally been quite techie and industry focused, rather the salesy, and, they have been few and far between! We’re trying to blog more often and having read this I think it is essential to try and sell from some of the posts especially as our services and how we blog about them are somewhat intertwined with blogging.
We started blogging in February. I must admit apart from a post on what we have done for a client in the web marketing sector our posts have generally been quite techie and industry focused, rather the salesy, and, they have been few and far between! We’re trying to blog more often and having read this I think it is essential to try and sell from some of the posts especially as our services and how we blog about them are somewhat intertwined with blogging.
[...] you had been promising to offer they might never return to your website again. So, read though this article and find out different ways in which you can convert visitors into [...]
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