I decided to launch at quick Pinterest Marketing Makeover crash course that will benefit anyone selling products online. It will be fast and very valuable as what I will show you is exactly how I help clients at my agency.
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Business Life
Avoid These 3 Mistakes When You Create A Website for Your Agency
About 2 years ago, I decided to launch my own eCommerce agency. The need came about when I was being asked numerous times after speaking engagements if I’m willing to help businesses improve their online presence.
At first, I was ignoring the whole idea. I honestly felt it was a waste of time since there were already many agencies out there. Why would anyone want to hire me? (I’m sure you’ve told yourself the same thing)
As the years passed and the fact that I was speaking more often at eCommerce conferences, I started considering the idea.
First, Here’s How I Realized I Needed A Website
I really had no idea what I was doing since this was my first attempt at launching a service based company rather than the typical online retailer that I’m used to (similar to what I currently do at iNetVideo.com).
I needed a website simply to showcase myself and my services.
Nonetheless, nothing would stop me from doing what I felt was the right thing to do. I got excited and immediately launched a website under the name of Troolyworks.com (still points to an inactive account on Hubpsot).
I decided to create a simple page where I offered my services in terms of eCommerce consulting, development and online marketing.
I was able to get my first 2 clients (friends of mine) within days. It was a great way to test out what I was planning on offering to businesses. Didn’t charge much since it was a valuable learning experience and obviously, those clients would benefit from my work as well.
From there, I simply started using that site as my hub and sent all new prospects to it. But here was the problem: My agency website sucked big time!
How can I possibly help companies improve their online business if I wasn’t able to do it for myself?
Here are 3 mistakes you should avoid making
1) Never Launch a Website Without An Online Strategy
Yup, I made that mistake and I learned the hard way. I went too fast and made some bad decisions in terms of investing in the wrong software, advertising on the wrong channels and simply not able to target the right clients. You need to sit down and write things down! I’m not talking about a business plan.
2) Stop Jumping & Take One Step at A Time (Don’t Lose Focus)
I decided to stop for a moment and re-evaluate exactly what I was trying to accomplish. I was wasting time, money and most importantly, losing interest in what I was doing. I was skipping crucial steps that would improve my chances of succeeding thinking that it won’t affect me. Your strategy should be implemented and must be followed.
3) Never Stop Getting Inspired
Launching your own business is stressful and requires a lot of patience. I had to continuously get motivated. I started following numerous people that have been successful & read their blogs for inspiration. You will be surprised to see how many people are sharing their experience online.
I also decided to attend events not as a speaker but as an attendee. Something different, something not related to eCommerce, somewhere new & some event where I can meet new people.
That’s when I decided to attend Inbound Conference Hubspot. That was indeed a life changing event in my business career. Also, that’s where I met head of eCommerce at Hubspot Sam Mallikarjunan – what an amazing person!
What happened next?
I plan on blogging about this experience. Stay tuned!
The Power of Saying Thank You To Employees
2 simple words…a powerful combination….can be used anytime….with anyone….anywhere.
Yet, people forget to use them. And I forgot to mention, free to use.
THANK YOU! (even sexier when capitalized!)
Sometimes, all an employee wants, is being recognized for great work & appreciated by his superiors (supervisor, manager, boss, owner, ceo)
It’s not always about getting a raise, a bonus or any other sort of compensation. All he or she wants to hear is a THANK YOU.
TRY IT! But don’t exaggerate. Use it when needed.
Please, try saying thank you to employees more often. You will notice how the mood will change within your team.
Thank you for reading my post 🙂
The Worst Thing You Can Do Is Quit Trying
It breaks my heart whenever I hear someone recently or wanting to quit.
Quit what exactly? Anything really. Just about anything.
Quitting is like losing hope. Quitting is like giving up. Quitting is……such a negative action. But sometimes, it can be positive such as quitting smoking.
I just don’t like it. There’s nothing wrong with failing at something but that doesn’t mean you should quit.
Some of you might not agree with me because sometimes, you really have no choice but to quit because what we’re doing is simply not working.
How to Avoid Quitting
In this situation, I would consider the following:
- Re-evaluate your goals & objectives
- Re-evaluate your strategy
- Try getting some guidance from someone who achieved what you’re trying to do
- Hire a professional (advisor, consultant, coach) to help
- Hire an outside company (agency) to help
See! You have a lot options other than simply quitting.
But I do want to be honest with you.
Sometimes, I just feel like quitting myself. But when I do, I take a break from whatever it is I’m doing so that I can think straight. It helps me reflect back and remember why I decided to do whatever it is I’m trying to do in the first place. Try it yourself! It works 🙂
Tell me, what have you quit on recently? Why?
Why You Should Observe Your Customers
Today I spent over 6 hours watching videos!
Some of you might believe I’m one lucky person but guess what, those weren’t Hollywood movies or Youtube videos. They are recordings of users actually shopping around a website.
Whenever I do any conversion research for a client’s website, I provide them with 10 videos (approx. 20 minutes each) of actual people who are getting paid to browse the site and perform specific tasks I’ve setup for them.
Users tasks include:
- Describe your first impression
- Try searching for a product
- Find out how much is shipping
- Buy something
and so on.
When I gather 10 tests, I start watching each one while taking notes of all that is being said and whatever I see worthy of noting when observing how they’re using the site.
Why is it important to watch customers?
The ultimate goal is to eliminate bottlenecks (friction).
Some benefits include:
- Figure out what’s stopping people from doing what you want them to do on your site
- Improve how they use the website by updating some design or processes
- Remove any distractions
User testings are very important and must be carefully planned out using the right tools &asking the right questions to testers.
Gather all the results, analyze and start tweaking changes & most never forget to test!
Who Are the Experts in Conversion Rate Optimization?
One of the best ways to learn about a new topic, an industry or a specific trade is to learn from the top experts living it day by day.
I decided to search for those experts out there using one of the most powerful tools available to all mankind…..Google.
Here’s what I found on page 1 of search results:
(I searched “Conversion Rate Experts”) & found a great post by Crazy Egg
List of CRO Experts
To make it easy for everyone, I created a list of the top CRO to follow on Twitter from that blog post.
Enjoy!