The Smart Guide to Knowing When to Invest in Your Website
As a coach, consultant, or course creator, you know you need to reach a wide audience to drive growth in your business. A beautiful, strategically-designed website is a powerful support tool to showcase your expertise, connect with potential clients, and elevate your brand.
There is a right and wrong time to invest in a website, though. In this post we’ll explore some markers to consider before investing in a new website – whether you’re DIYing your site with a template or hiring a professional to build a custom site for you.
I’ll also take time to go over how a website fits into a comprehensive marketing strategy so you can really get a great return on your investment when you’re ready to purchase.
2 Benefits of a Great Website
Establishing credibility & professionalism 24/7
Your website acts as your digital front door, providing a central hub for potential clients to learn more about how you help people and make a difference in their lives. This virtual home is always on, and when designed well it can educate visitors on how to work with you and hand-hold them into taking action. This is crucial, because if website visitors can’t easily figure out what you do or how to connect, that reduces their confidence and your credibility.
Reaching (and helping) more people
A website is an interactive platform where you can share valuable content, resources, and insights to help solve problems today. When you invest in a website, you can start writing blogs, hosting webinars, and creating downloadable PDFs that foster a deeper connection with your audience and position you as an authority in your industry.
When should I invest in a website?
No matter your budget, a website is a great investment for your business.
If you’ve got a smaller budget, start with a professional website template for your industry and grow from there. I recommend a DIY platform like Squarespace so you can easily see what you’re building and never have to use code if you don’t want to.
If you’re looking for a custom solution and are ready to upgrade your website, book a call with a professional web developer who can help you stand out and see the true impact you make in the world.
I still recommend building on a DIY platform like Squarespace so you or a virtual assistant can take the reins after the major custom work is complete. You’ll want access to your site so you can update it throughout the life of your business! Many big companies like Pixar build their websites on Squarespace exactly for this reason.
A great website is just part of a comprehensive marketing strategy
I made this graphic to help you understand where a website can fit inside your larger marketing strategy.
Your new website isn’t going to save your business all on its own, but a good website can really catapult you to new heights when used with other marketing tools.
Let’s start near the bottom of this triangle.
Bottom line up front: Invest in a website if you already send great emails to potential customers OR if you want to start having email conversations with potential customers.
A new or refreshed site will help existing people you’re connected with share you with others. If you want to turn current customers or contacts into referral machines, a website and email strategy will help them share your magic with the people in their networks and puts your best foot forward.
The honest truth: The majority of people who land on your website aren’t ready to buy right away (Seriously! The number of people who won’t buy right away is a staggering 90% or more). If you want to turn website visitors into potential customers, you’ll have to enter into conversations with them. This means starting email marketing campaigns or email automations that continue the conversation you started on your website.
If you don’t want to have email conversations with customers, you may not get the most value out of your investment in a website. Don’t worry, I can show you how to design and send automated email campaigns to feel just like you and not spammy!
Now, let’s return to the top of the triangle.
Bottom line up front: Invest in a website if you already have tons of traffic (from a social media account, for instance) but nowhere to send people OR if you’re ready to bring more traffic and visitors to your content through organic search, social media, or ads.
A new or refreshed site will help guide all traffic to your site into taking the action you want — like purchasing a product or signing up for a call with you. Invest in a website when you already have traffic or are ready to drive traffic to it. Integrative traffic generation strategies include things like, like SEO (Search Engine Optimization), social media marketing, and content marketing.
The honest truth: Once you write a few emails to your email list, you’ll start to notice something… Some people will unsubscribe, and some won’t ever open an email from you. You’re not doing anything wrong when people unsubscribe from your emails — it’s normal because not everyone needs what you offer. But you will need and want new people looking at this beautiful creation all the time and seeing if you’re a great solution to their problems. If you aren’t committed to driving new traffic to your new website, you may not get the most value out of your investment. Don’t worry if you’re an introvert (like me)! We can design a traffic generation strategy that avoids putting you on TikTok, I promise.
The best website return on investment
Once traffic, your website, and emails are in place, all three components start working together.
Traffic gets sent to you website → Your website converts visitors into potential customers by capturing emails → Emails conversations get started, and some people will choose to work with you or buy from you. You’ll also foster great long-term relationships along the way that could turn into other opportunities to cross-promote your work and reach new audiences.
Hopefully understanding the bigger picture will help you know if investing in a website is the right fit for you right now and how to get the most return from your investment. If you’re ready to elevate your online presence, it’s definitely a strategic move that I’ve seen produce fantastic results.
