Reason 9: Seizing Opportunities as They Come Along

If you’ve spent any time reading my emails or participating in my webinars, you know that I emphasize how fast the Internet moves, and how important it is for you to be ready to seize opportunities as they come along. Being able to manage an existing website is great; being able to create one or more pages or even a whole site when you need it is even better.

A couple of years ago (before I really knew what direction my business should take), a colleague of mine from the National Speakers Association invited me to deliver a teleseminar as part of another association’s series. I immediately agreed to participate, and we worked out a series of interview questions. I had one problem though; I didn’t have a website for this particular area of expertise. None of my existing sites were really suitable. I was going to need a website, and fast!

Once I had the teleseminar content worked out, I devised a small website to accompany that content. I didn’t have a product to sell, so a salesletter wasn’t going to work. What I planned to do was provide a special page of resources connected to that content for the teleseminar attendees. I needed a multi-page website that listed my services and pointed to the websites I DID have. The resulting site became www.Tooliedotter.com.

Is it an impressive site? No, definitely not my finest work — in fact, I debated about showing it to you at all. Did the site provide the intended information? YES, it did, including the hidden resources page. The site also included links to 2 online demos I already had, an opt-in box for my webinars, a working contact form for future inquiries, and my Live Chat button in case someone wanted questions answered real-time. The site provided evidence that I had consulting expertise, and provided a destination for consulting inquiries.

How long did I spend on this website? Less than eight (8) hours: in fact, I put it up overnight. It has my colors, my fonts, and a simple design I can expand and update in the future. Did I get visitors to my website as a result of the teleseminar? You bet. Did I get business from it? Indirectly, yes, through my webinars and coaching. Am I going to leave the site like it is now? NO! I’ll be revamping it when the time is right. The important thing is that I was able to produce the site when I needed it.

Most of you won’t need to create an entire site to seize an opportunity for exposure and future business. But wouldn’t be great if you could put up a dedicated web page specifically for an opportunity for acquire new clients? With a little HTML and CSS knowledge, you can do exactly that, any time of the day or night. My new training product/coaching program/membership site will show you how.

Tomorrow: Reason 8 – Branding and Creativity Applied Online

Toolie®

This IS the year you can learn to manage your websites and blogs yourselves. To give you a little food for thought, I’ve devised my “Top Ten Reasons to Manage Your Own Websites and Blogs.” I’ll reveal them one day at a time, leading up to the launch of the product I’ve created that can help you learn to do exactly that! I’ll keep these emails focused and to the point, but you’re not going to want to miss any of them!

I decided to set these reasons up in an order going from “somewhat esoteric” to “down to brass tacks,” so if this first one doesn’t impress you, stick around. I’ve got many more concrete reasons (and some true stories) why THIS is the year to finally learn how to manage your own websites and blogs.

Reason 10: It’s One Less Thing to Be Afraid Of…

In 1991, I was laid off from a job in a new career with only 18 months’ experience. I was devastated emotionally, psychologically, and financially. My marriage had ended just 2 years before and I was getting back on my feet from that when I lost my job. McAlister and I had been together only a few months when this happened, and after seeing me sob and moan day after day, he finally turned to me, exasperated, and said, “You’re just out of a job, you’re not out of talent.” He was right, of course. I was letting my fear paralyze my future.

When I came out the other side of that experience (still not understanding why I was meant to endure it), I finally came to the conclusion that having been through it, I was in a position to no longer be afraid of difficult economic times in the future. I wasn’t wishing difficulties on myself or anyone else, but I didn’t have to be afraid of them because I now knew what to do.

There are a lot of frightened people in a similar situation right now, especially entrepreneurs. We often live “promotion to promotion” anyway (instead of paycheck to paycheck), and if we had staff, we might have had to let them go. Now we have to do some of that work ourselves, and much of it involves wrangling our websites and blogs to best effect.

Our websites and blogs are our lifelines to future income. Without a solid understanding and skills to operate them, we’re forever stymied and frustrated because we let our fear of web technology govern our actions. The good news is that having an effective website doesn’t mean you have to learn everything there is to know about HTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). There is a reasonable subset of information that will get you about 80% of the way, and the rest you can learn only IF and WHEN you need it.

It’s your chance for a sense of empowerment, of having one less thing to be afraid of…! And I’ll be here to show you want you need to learn to make it work.

Tomorrow: Reason 9 – Seizing Opportunities When They Come Along

Toolie®