Page 12 - Payout Magazine Online Volume 8.2

Update Products and Services
12 PAYOUTMAGAZINE
response to these questions helps you develop
your online brand and find success.
Making minor tweaks to products and services
helps you get ahead of the competition. If you
Design Is everything
want to succeed online, you need to know what
your competition is doing in terms of their
To be noticed amongst the competition, take
offerings. If you can offer speedier or cheaper
the time to really focus on web design and
shipping, do it, and if you can make it easier
content creation and organization. Consumers
to receive updates on products prices, do it.
love witty blurbs about businesses, and they
Consumers are looking for easy and painless
love when websites or directories are easy to
ways to invest in products.
search and understand. If there are one too
many hurdles to jump through, people will leave
Back Up Your Information without engaging. Investing in professional
images, media and design contributes to your
It is great to use automated emailing or online brand.
databased for customers’ buying history and
contact information. However, you need to
Listings and SeO
back up this information so that you do not
have to start from scratch. It could be hard to
The Internet is a spider web of connections.
lose all of your important sales information
If you want to be noticed, then you have to be
and could end up costing not just time but also
listed on other directories and websites and use
money. Invest in regular back-ups so that you
the right key words to enhance search engine
never have to worry about this.
optimization. For example, if you do not list on
the first two pages of Google, then consumers
Patience Is Key may not find you. Take the time to really pay
attention to how web pages are labeled since
Business takes time to develop. Rarely can you they are in many ways their own mini website
expect to find overnight success online. If you that can be linked to. Make sure content is
practice smart business practices and take care relevant, interesting and uses keywords that
of customers, word of mouth buzz will soon allow search engines to index and note them.
travel. It pays to really be on top of the details:
making sure directories or websites are error
Use Blogs
free, consumers are responded to quickly, and
that you have a social media presence, among
Whether you are running a directory or
others. If you have a vision and stick to it, you
website, you want to engage with consumers
are sure to eventually get noticed. Do not give
in a genuine way. Blog posts can teach people
up in just a few months if you have not gotten
about different things, highlight industry
enough return on your investment. It can take a
information, or simply be fun and quirky.
year or more to really grow an online business
Including a regularly updated blog helps you
or presence.
maintain your online presence and also makes
you seem more relatable to users. No matter the
Know Your Worth content, make sure it is high quality and useful.
People love videos, infographics, webinars and
A value proposition is basically what makes more. Be creative when thinking about how to
your online business or brand marketable and reach a wide variety of people.
valuable. Take the time to assess what value
you have. For example, do you have a strong Here’s to a great 2018!
following on a forum or social media, or do you
see a lot of traffic to your website or directory?
Are your products or services unique? You
should be able to explain why a consumer
should come to your website, use your directory
or follow you on social media. Having a clear