Make Money Online Fast: November 2024

A business finds a web design agency looking for a completely new website. After months of design and development (and tens of thousands of dollars), their stunning new site launches. But six months later, the company comes to realize that the new site doesn’t meet their needs.

The site is beautiful, but traffic is flat. The few leads that are coming in aren’t qualified.

The company is stuck. Do they return to the same agency and pay more for updates? Do they start over with someone new? Why didn’t they get the website they hoped for? How will they get a return on their investment?

The fact is, some version of this scenario happens way too often. Maybe it’s even happened to you.

But it’s not your fault. The very process of redesigning a website is deeply flawed. And to understand why clients so rarely get what they’re hoping for, we have to start by looking at the process itself.

With years of experience working with businesses to build effective digital marketing strategies, we at IMPACT have seen firsthand why most website redesigns fall short of their goals.

In this article, we’ll uncover three common pitfalls in the common website redesign and share actionable strategies to transform your site into a lead-generating asset.

3 uncomfortable truths about website redesign that no one talks about

If you've got $50,000 to spend on a new website, agencies will line up around the block to take your money. There are even some who promise a brand new website in 30 days, start to finish.

It's tempting to be swayed by these offers, but there’s a big catch. Actually, there are three big catches.

1. A website redesign will ultimately fail without a strong business strategy

Think about why visitors come to a website. Unless we're talking about social media, visitors are not coming for entertainment. They want information.

Will your website provide them the information they need? Or, to back up, do you even know the questions they’re asking?

If your site is beautiful but useless, how many visitors will come and stay?

When an agency sells a new site, business strategy is rarely part of the conversation. That is, how will you use the website to market and sell more effectively? There's more focus on bells and whistles — and this is a big problem.

At most agencies, the web team is totally separate from the marketing and sales team. As such, your website redesign is not seen as a whole-business undertaking.

This is backward thinking.

After all, your website is supposed to attract leads with content marketing, right? It's supposed to help with the sales process. To talk about a website and not talk about broad strategy is like building an office complex without roads or a parking lot.

Sure, it looks nice, but how are people going to get there?

2. Ignoring user data in a website redesign kills lead generation

In the traditional redesign process, once a site goes live, the agency pretty much hands over the keys to the client and they go their separate ways.

This method completely disregards user data, which is critical to maximizing conversions.

Rather than building a site based on the way the agency thinks visitors will use your site, a better way is to launch the site and then test and adjust it. A/B testing, heatmaps, user pathways, and traffic data can enhance your site and create an improved user experience over time.

Unfortunately, agencies rarely invest the time or resources necessary to make use of this information. Once they’ve built the site and sold the site, they’re onto the next project for another company — and the client is left holding the bag.

3. The client team is never taught how to fully use its own site

Your business is changing all the time. New team members, new products, new messaging. Through it all, your website stays the same. Without in-house knowledge to make updates, build landing pages, change design elements, and perform tests, you’re stuck asking the agency or hiring a freelancer to make the changes for you.

Otherwise, your site quickly gets out of date, which is another problem.

You should have the internal expertise to be in control of your site so it can reflect your business today and in the future. After all, it’s your website. It should feel like yours.

Website Mastery: Strategy, data, and users

At IMPACT, we’ve never shied away from challenging the norms. We’ve loudly proclaimed that the traditional relationship between an inbound marketing agency and a client is broken, outdated, and inefficient.

We believe the same thing is true about the website redesign process.

The fact is, the traditional approach to website redesign costs companies billions of dollars each year, both in costs and lost revenue. First, clients shell out hefty sums for websites they might not even need. Then, they’re losing revenue because their shiny new site is not actually attracting traffic and qualified leads.

It’s time to imagine a better way.

Website Mastery overhauls the website redesign process, focusing on strategy, data, and the people who use the site — both inside and outside of your organization.

Informed by strategy

A website is a critical component of your marketing and sales plan — but it is not a strategy in and of itself. You need a robust business strategy before you need a new website. If you don’t have that strategy, we’ll work with you to build one.

Optimized with data

We build and launch the core elements of your site, typically within 4 to 6 months of getting started. This approach lets us gather valuable user insights early on, which we then use to continually refine page design, site structure, landing page performance, conversion pathways, and more.

Built so you can use it

At the same time, we train your team to take control of the website when they’re ready. Your team needs to know how to update the site, build and adjust pages, analyze website data, and test features.

This way, you have the expertise to guarantee that your site will serve your business for years to come.

So, will IMPACT build me a website?

Our team of experts can build you the exact website you need, but we never want to rip anyone off. Therefore, we likely won’t build you a new website right away. Too often, businesses get sold a new website when they don’t really need one, or before they’re ready.

If you come to us looking for a new website, you’ll fall into one of the following categories.

1. You may need a new website, but you need a business strategy first

(True for about 65% of all clients)

Yes, we can see a new website is in your near future, but you don’t yet have the strategy in place as a foundation. First, you need to work with our coaches and trainers to build a solid business plan. We’ll help you hire an internal team and learn to produce the content that will bring in organic traffic, build trust with prospects, and drive revenue.

If you start working with our They Ask, You Answer Mastery team, we can get going on your website once you’ve built some momentum and gotten things in place. This will likely be in a few months.

For this to succeed, it’s essential that your team has direct access to make updates and changes, rather than relying on an external agency each time you want to publish new content or tweak the site. However, many businesses don’t have a dedicated team member who owns these responsibilities or the technical setup to do this easily. We’ll help you put those structures in place so that your team can manage your website effectively, eliminating the need to pay for small updates or wait on someone else’s schedule to post content to your site.

Website Mastery — that is, the planning, strategy, design, development, testing and training of your new site — usually lasts between five and 12 months, depending on your unique needs.

Again, we want to make sure you’re getting the site you need, and we believe strategy comes first.

2. You need a new website and a new strategy — and we can do both at once

(True for about 30% of all clients)

This could be the case if you have the necessary budget and internal team structure already. If you can make a substantial investment in your digital sales and marketing and in your website simultaneously, we can work with your team to do both at the same time.

You probably already have a content manager on staff, for example, but maybe your inbound strategies are ineffective. Even with a team in place, you might still lack the capability to make changes on your website directly. In many cases, businesses don’t have a designated person to own website updates and manage content posting, which can slow down your team’s ability to respond and adapt. You’re ready for both of IMPACT’s training regimens at once.

This means you’ll get started working with IMPACT’s coaches and trainers for a 12-, 18-, or 24-month engagement. Simultaneously, you will begin working with a website strategist on our web team to start planning your new site.

Website Mastery will last six to 12 months, with your Mastery program continuing longer if you’re on the 18- or 24-month track.

3. You’ve got a fully-realized inbound marketing and sales strategy in place; Let’s build a website!

(True for about 5% of all clients)

Congratulations, your business strategy is sound! You’re keen on answering customer questions, providing value to your buyer, frequently updating your website with new content, and using this content in the sales process — and you’ve got the team in place to do it. This means you’re completely ready to get started on a brand new website where all of that content can live.

If you’re at this point, we can get started on your website right away!

And if you have a coach, they will ensure the new website fits seamlessly into your overall inbound strategy — and that your leadership is fully invested in website development and optimization.

Strategy first, website second

When businesses see their traffic or their leads fall off, they are tempted to move quickly to address the problem, which is the right instinct. However, all too often businesses reach for the biggest lever in front of them: I need a new website. They think this will solve all of their challenges, and they’re ready to invest heavily to do so.

The problem with this approach is that it’s putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. You might very well need a new website, but it’s almost certainly not the first thing you need.

Without a sales and marketing strategy behind it, your website is unlikely to deliver value to your customers. And, if it doesn’t provide value, those customers are going to bounce instead of converting — and you’ll be left with a very expensive, very beautiful website that doesn’t help you bring in revenue, which is the last thing you want.

For many of your customers, your website serves as their first introduction to your products and services. That site needs to be in lock-step with a broader strategy that helps you connect and build trust with those customers. Without that in place, your branding, messaging, and content could be adrift and ineffective.

At the same time, you want your site to provide the best experience possible for your visitors — and that assurance can only come if you use data to inform your site’s structure and content.

But strategy needs to come first. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not concerned with your organization's long-term growth.

Website Mastery will allow you to partner with IMPACT experts to make sure your site's design and development is based on more than just best practices and assumptions.

When we make decisions with data, when we are guided by strategy, we make the best decisions possible.

Your website is a big deal. You don’t want to get this wrong.

Author: jbecker@impactbnd.com (John Becker)

* This article was originally published here

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Friday, November 8, 2024

Instagram Expands Boosting To Include More Post Types

Expanded boosting options on IG.

* This article was originally published here

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Thursday, November 7, 2024

6 Smart Ways to Speed Up Your Content Creation with AI

Your content is the soul of your brand, and that’s not something to take lightly. For years, we’ve been warning businesses of the dangers of outsourcing content creation to an agency. When you do, you end up with a small volume of generic content that doesn’t capture what makes your brand unique.

If you’re using AI without a clear set of best practices, you could run into the same problem.

So, how can you benefit from AI technology without falling victim to its flaws? The key is to find ways to integrate AI into your creation process rather than building a process around AI.

Below, I’ll walk through the steps we teach our clients to follow — and we’ll see ways you can bring AI into the work you’re already doing.

This way, AI is a multiplier, not a potential liability.

1. Brainstorming with AI to spark new ideas

In our world, content always starts with a brainstorm. We tell our content managers to meet with other teams (sales, service, product development, etc.) to get a sense of what the customers are asking. Then, they use a tool like Semrush to do keyword research.

Here’s something else you can try. Use ChatGPT-4o, which is my go-to for most content needs.

Put in a product or service page from your website. Ask ChatGPT to generate a list of 50 questions your potential buyer might have who had just visited your site. Don’t forget to describe your ideal buyer to ChatGPT to make the output even more tailored to your needs.

As a bonus, this is a great way to evaluate your messaging. If AI is finding holes in your copy, you know what updates you need to make!

2. AI for SEO: Real-time keyword assistance

Once you’ve begun your writing, turn to SurferSEO for real-time AI-powered SEO assistance. Sure, you can do keyword research anywhere, but too often you end up with vague best practices or mountains of data that’s hard to sort through.

Surfer gives you real actionable insights delivered as you write. The software provides short- and long-tail keywords, along with the suggested frequency of use. You also get word length recommendations, tone suggestions, and an overall score that shows you if you’re on target.

Because the software is continuously updated and powered by current AI, you know you’re getting advice that applies today, not 12 months ago.

3. AI transcription tools that turn interviews into text

For content managers who rely on interviews, tools like Otter AI, Cockatoo, and Fireflies AI are lifesavers. You can get an accurate transcript in minutes, all for just a few dollars a month.

Two things to remember about these tools.

First, they have free versions for you to check out before you buy.
Second, they do other things too, like take meeting notes.

If you’re not sure about spending the money, see what else the tool can do for you and your team and decide if it's worth it.

4. Editing and fine-tuning with AI

If you need help with the actual writing, head back over to ChatGPT and try creating a custom GPT to match your brand’s style. My colleague Mandy York made one for content review, and she walks you through the entire process in a recent post.

There are tools like Jasper. Claude, and Content at Scale that can do this too, but I like the control you get in ChatGPT, so that’s where I usually go.

5. AI for keeping everything on schedule

Content marketing has a ton of moving parts. You’re scheduling interviews, brainstorms, publication dates, and more. At IMPACT, we’re big fans of Reclaim, which is an AI scheduling tool for your calendar.

Reclaim

Once you go through a few steps and it learns your preferences, Reclaim sits in your Google calendar and helps you schedule meetings and stay organized — while also making sure you have breaks and time for decompression.

For busy pros, it’s a must.

6. Content distribution: CRM and AI integration

Gone are the days when content just lived on your blog. Today one written blog post becomes a podcast, a social post, a YouTube video, and a newsletter.

When it comes time to distribute your content, having a CRM like HubSpot is a game-changer. HubSpot has made a big push into the AI space in the past 12 months, and they always seem to be rolling out new updates — including content remix, which is amazing! So, if you’re coordinating the publication of your article with a LinkedIn carousel and an email blast, HubSpot can help.

You can also use AI to help you tweak an email subject line, craft a meta-description, or even write a whole blog post. But just as with all AI, use it carefully.

Speaking of which…

AI best practices (for you to bookmark)

Our own Marcus Sheridan put together a full list of AI best practices and policies that your company should consider. You can read the whole post here, but below are the most important guidelines.

I’ve quoted them directly from Marcus:

If you use generative AI, these things must be true

Everything is edited by a human before it’s published. This is an absolute must for me, even with the best tools. You need real human eyeballs on anything that’s going out to make sure it sounds like you and fits with your goals. You want to stand behind anything you say, but it’s hard to do that if it was composed by an LLM.

We always fact-check every claim we make. AI tools “hallucinate.” This means they can make up facts — but they can also make up the sources of those facts. Scientists are not sure why. ChatGPT can cite research that never happened, reference books that don’t exist, and court cases that are totally phony. It’s up to you and your team to verify everything. This means rigorous fact-checking and a skeptic’s mindset.

We run a plagiarism checker to make sure our AI didn’t steal anyone’s work. This connects to the first two. Some tools have plagiarism checkers built in. Many do not. There are independent tools like DupliChecker and Plagiarism Detector where you can paste in text and get a percentage score for how much is plagiarized. Your standards for plagiarized work should be extremely stringent. You don’t want a machine to steal someone’s work and you end up passing it off as your own.

We pay attention to potential biases in anything AI-generated. This one is harder to check for, I know, but it’s good to have in the back of your mind. Remember, it’s great to share the opinions and insights of your team. It’s bad to inadvertently put out biased content you can’t back up.
We always keep our goal (and our audience) in mind. The goal of any content should be to educate buyers and build trust with your audience. AI can help you do that faster, but it’s just a tool. If it’s misused, it will hurt you more than help you.

For any AI that you use, keep these best practices in mind:

Evaluate any tool before you use it. New tools are emerging at an overwhelming rate. Not all are trustworthy. Not all will be around in six months You should test and evaluate any tool before using it for work. If you’re in doubt about it for any reason, don’t use it. There’s likely an alternative.
Protect company and client data at all times. Certain levels of ChatGPT and other tools are not secure places to put sensitive data — something certain businesses have found out the hard way. Be extremely careful about what you input, especially when it comes to financial data, employee evaluations, and other such material.

Become an AI-assisted content marketing master

For all the advances of AI, we have to remember that it is a tool, not a strategy. Even the most sophisticated tools are best used to enhance human creativity, not replace it.

The best way to move forward is to look for ways you can integrate AI into an already well-built process. Just make sure you’re ‘the human in the loop’ to second-guess, double-check, and run quality control.

At IMPACT, we train teams to market better — including how to use AI to build trust and improve outcomes. Want to talk further? Reach out to us at IMPACT and let’s chat!

* This article was originally published here

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Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Launching A Website? How To Make Your Website Your Best Sales Person [Endless Customers Podcast Ep. 75]

About This Episode

Many business owners invest heavily in their websites and then, well, assume they’re done. But launching your website isn’t the finish line—it’s actually the start of a continual process of optimizing and enhancing a critical sales asset.

If you’re a business generating $5 million or more in revenue, it’s likely that you already recognize the value of a website. But perhaps you’re grappling with how to keep it fresh, effective, and optimized to capture customer attention. Today, we’re walking through what Vin calls the “living, breathing” nature of a successful website—and how to give it the attention it needs to perform like the sales machine it can be.

The Common Misconception: Launch It and Leave It

Once a website goes live, it’s easy to feel the work is done. After all, you’ve put in the time and budget, and now it’s up and running, ready to attract customers, right? Unfortunately, that’s where most businesses get it wrong.

Vin explained, “Websites are not typically cheap things…they’re meant to be a phenomenal marketing and sales tool for the long term.” Yet so many business owners treat it like a static object, a one-time investment that should naturally generate leads without much oversight. But this approach fails to consider how rapidly the digital landscape and customer expectations change.

The Website’s Role as a Sales Tool

Here’s the fundamental shift that many companies need to make: Your website is part of your sales team. In fact, it should be your best salesperson.

Alex pointed out, “It’s an extension of your sales team. It’s a sales tool, so you need to look at it that way.” This mindset shift is critical to understanding why a “launch and leave” mentality holds your business back.

Imagine hiring a top-tier salesperson and then saying, “See you in six months—hope you’re closing lots of deals!” That would be absurd, right? Yet, this is exactly what happens with many business websites. By failing to check in, update, and optimize, you’re letting that investment stagnate.

Three Foundational Strategies to Make Your Site Work Harder

So, how can you ensure your website performs over the long haul? Vin offers three foundational strategies to keep in mind:

1. Shift to Sales-Centric Messaging

Most websites lean heavily on “we” and “our” language—big mistake. If your site’s content is all about your business rather than the customer, you’re missing the mark.

“A quick test,” Vin suggests, “do a ‘find and replace’ for ‘we’ and ‘our’ on your website. If those terms dominate, you have a messaging problem.” Instead, make sure your content speaks to your visitors, focusing on their needs, pain points, and the solutions you provide for them.

2. Structure Content to Drive Sales-Qualified Leads

Effective websites create a seamless path from awareness to action. The key is structuring your site to guide visitors to the right content at the right time. For example, if a visitor is just starting to learn about their problem, your blog or learning center should be their first stop. If they’re ready to buy, your primary product or service pages need to make it easy to convert that interest into action, whether that’s scheduling a consultation or requesting a quote.

3. Test and Tweak to Match User Behavior

“Everything we do with websites is based on fundamental assumptions,” Vin explained. But as with any hypothesis, those assumptions need testing. AB testing and other analytics tools like Microsoft Clarity and Hotjar allow you to see if your messaging, layout, or calls-to-action are resonating with visitors.

Even a small tweak can make a big impact, but without tracking, you’ll never know what’s working and what isn’t. “You need to treat the website like it’s a salesperson,” Vin said, adding, “This is the training—the testing to see what works.”

Embrace Data-Driven Decisions to Keep Customers Engaged

Your website isn’t for you—it’s for your customers. One of the biggest traps companies fall into is designing and updating their site based on internal preferences instead of customer needs. Data-driven decisions are the solution here.

Vin recommends asking these critical questions: Are users clicking on the primary call-to-action? Are they scrolling past your lead generation form? Do they respond to videos more than images? Armed with these insights, you can prioritize changes that align with customer behavior rather than just company desires.

“None of this matters until it’s proven,” Vin said. “I’ve done so many tests… I’m often shocked when something I thought would work doesn’t. But we learn from it, and that’s how we tailor the experience.”

AB Testing: Letting Users Drive the Direction

AB testing helps you let go of assumptions and let data lead. Whether it’s changing a headline, shifting a call-to-action, or updating imagery, AB tests can validate whether certain updates actually improve engagement. According to Vin, a test should run at least four weeks for best results.

“It’s essential to monitor tests over a full month to catch weekday and weekend variations, as well as any seasonal shifts,” Vin noted. These patterns give you a clearer picture of what works and how customers respond. Just be careful not to chase after every new trend or to over-test; prioritize meaningful changes that support your goals.

Giving Your Sales Team a Valuable Asset

When sales and marketing work together, they create a feedback loop that improves your website and the sales process itself. Sales teams can give critical input on what messaging resonates with leads, allowing marketing to refine the content accordingly.

As Vin puts it, “When your website becomes a true extension of your sales team, it changes the game. Stronger conversations, higher close rates, and less wasted time on bad-fit leads are some of the immediate payoffs.”

Keeping Content Fresh Through Accessibility

One of the worst positions a business can be in is having a beautiful, custom-built site that’s completely locked down. If you don’t have direct access to make updates or adjustments, you’re essentially stuck in a “launch and leave” situation, where small, necessary tweaks take weeks or months to implement.

When you launch a site, ensure you or someone on your team has access to make changes—this is essential for long-term success. Otherwise, you’re stuck paying for updates that could be made in minutes or missing out on opportunities to optimize based on timely insights.

Websites Need Check-Ins, Just Like Your Team

The heart of optimizing your website lies in continual attention and care, just as it does with any high-performing sales team. Vin advises regular check-ins, ideally in regular revenue team meetings, where data and site performance can be reviewed. Discuss questions like:

Are calls-to-action getting the attention they should?
Do visitors drop off on certain pages?
Is there a new pain point we need to address in our content?

Each of these questions opens the door to new ways of refining the site and improving the user experience. And if you’re nervous about the data, don’t be—there’s a lot to learn, and no change is ever wasted.

Your Website Is a Living Sales Asset

Ultimately, your website is not a one-time investment. It’s a continually evolving asset that represents your business to thousands of customers, day in and day out. Treating it like the “set it and forget it” project leaves your business vulnerable to missing out on sales, conversions, and the chance to build lasting customer trust.

To echo Vin’s final thought, “If we’re not coaching our sales team or optimizing and testing our website, how much are we leaving on the table?” When you treat your website like the living, breathing salesperson it’s designed to be, it starts working for you—bringing in more qualified leads, giving customers the information they need, and ultimately, driving greater return on your investment.

Connect with Vin

Vin Gaeta is IMPACT’s head of web strategy. He leads a team of designers, developers, and strategists to provide full-scale website redesigns for our clients.

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