What’s the difference between a $500 and a $5000 to $10,000+ website?

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

 

Hey everyone, Trina here. I want to talk to you a little bit today about websites, and specifically the difference between a DIY website and a professionally designed website that's going to cost you $5000 - $15,000. The reason for this is because I see all too often comments, similar comments and posts similar to the one behind me, which is, “I have a website. I get visitors, but I can't get people to buy from me, how do I get them to buy from me?”

 

And that right, there is the difference. It all comes down to strategy and the strategies in place on your website. Not that long ago, you couldn't build yourself a website, you had to pay somebody, a developer specifically, to code your website and code your website to have something functional that actually worked and worked well. But over the last several years There's been an increase in DIY website builders that are so ridiculously easy to use that anybody can build a website.

 

There's no reason why you can't build a website. They're so simple. They give you all the tools you need to build a really beautiful, well designed website.

 

Now, the problem with this, and there is a problem, the problem with all of these websites and how easy and accessible it's become to have a website means that people are paying a little bit less attention to websites, which is really, really shitty.

 

Now, there's never been a better time to start a business really there isn't; you can build a business out of anything. Anything that you're passionate about. I know somebody who has made a million dollar business out of selling crickets.

 

Crickets. For real.

 

She's quite amazing woman and she never thought she would get into this but that is exactly what she does. She sells crickets online to reptile owners. And she's built a million-dollar industry out of it. So there's really no better time to start a business and there's no easier time and more accessible time to create a website associated with that business.

 

However, this is where these things come into play, where we have people that go, “I built this website and I have this business but I'm not getting any sales.” Because they're missing the key strategies involved in building a website. You can't just build a website and expect people to come to you. The days of just putting a website out there and having people buy from you are long gone. They haven't been around for several years now. And a lot of that is market saturation.

 

So you have to be able to set yourself apart from the from the crowd a little bit. Now, when it comes to the strategies that you need to have on your website in order for it to make sales, there are five key strategies at play here, six if we really want to get technical, but I'm going to leave the sixth one out for another video.

 

The first strategy involves your SEO, Search Engine Optimization, which allows you to get seen, it allows you to get visitors This is where people find you and it involves setting your metadata page titles, page descriptions, keywords and key phrases, and building quality links, both internally and externally to your website.

 

These things all impact how visible your site is when people are searching for you. Because if people can't find you, they're never going to buy from you.

 

But once they get to your site, if you're not clear on what you want them to be doing on your website, the first thing they're going to do is leave because they need a guided trip. You need to think about your website as it an excursion that people are taking and you're guiding them along their journey, it should be engaging them and converting them along the way.

 

So the second strategy that you need to implement is an education and engagement strategy. This is where you educate your audience a little bit about who you are, what your business does, and what your products are. You need to make this really, really special. And I'm not gonna lie, it's really difficult to do yourself. It really is. I struggled with it myself, but I have no problem doing it for other people. I've made a business out of doing it for other people, but I still struggle with doing it for my own website.

 

It's human nature: when we have to talk about ourselves, we struggle. So if you can afford to hire somebody else to create that content for you, I suggest you go and do that. Pay for a good copywriter to create that content for you because your education and engagement strategy is what's going to set you and your business apart from your competitors, and it's gonna make people want to buy from you.

 

But once that's not enough; once they've been educated and go, “maybe I might want to buy from this person…” you have to give them the tools to actually purchase from you. And this is done through a conversion strategy.

 

So a conversion strategy is really what gets your educated and engaged visitors to purchase from you. And it does that through a series of calls to action and guiding them to where you want them to be, which products you want them to purchase. So if they've landed on this particular page, you need to tie a product or service into that page. So your conversion strategy is really, really key. You can't just plop a bunch of products down or services down and expect people to actually buy from you Because there is some some emotional distance between buying from a website and actually talking to a person. You have to have a sales conversation with them on your website, before they ever have a sales conversation with you in person. So your conversion strategy is really, really key. And if you don't have one, you're going to end up just like this person here, frustrated with your website because nobody's buying from you.

 

Now, there are two other key strategies involved in a website that actually aren't on the website itself. They're taken off through email. One is an abandoned cart strategy. And this is the strategy that's  involved when people sign up to buy your product or service and then they walk away before they actually pay for it.

 

This is where we follow up with them via email, and go, “Hey, you left this here. Do you still want it because it's waiting for you? If you want it, it's right here. All you got to do is click this little button and we'll send it to you.”

 

An abandoned cart strategy works to actually increase your conversions because all too often people get distracted or they look at something else, or they're unsure in the moment. And a solid abandoned cart strategy is a really good way for you to cover off on any objection somebody might have about buying your product or service and, and make it a little bit easier for them to buy from you.

 

Now, what happens when people actually become your customers or your clients? You don't want to be leaving them in the lurch just because they've purchased from you. You should have a solid follow up strategy.

 

A solid follow up strategy is key because it is infinitely easier for you to sell to people that have already purchased from you than it is for you to create new clients or customers. So having a good follow up strategy is really going to be key Making sure that you're making sales. And your follow up, your follow up strategy isn't even about sales. It's about customer satisfaction. This is where you're going to put on your best customer service face. And you're going to be sending them emails that are geared towards making sure they're happy with your product or service.

 

So those are the five key strategies that are absolutely essential to a successful website that is generating sales. Without a single one of them. You're leaving money on the table. Now, if you're paying somebody to design a website for you, when we have all of these super simple, very, very reasonably priced, website, DIY website builders, and they're not implementing these strategies for you. I don't care if you're paying them $200 you're overpaying when you can do this yourself.

 

Because you have to have these strategies in place, you have to have a purpose for your website. If your only purpose is to have a web presence, and I can't believe I'm going to say this because if you've been paying attention, you'll kind of picked up on the fact that I have a hate on for social. But you don't need a website, you can do, you can have an online presence with a Facebook page, you can have an online presence in your social media. You don't need a website if it doesn't have a purpose.

 

So I do want you to think about how to develop a website that actually serves a purpose. Because the last thing I want you to do is end up like this lovely person here and be frustrated with your site. So some things to think about, okay. If you're paying somebody to design a website for you, expect to pay at least five to $5000 - 15,000 for strategy, not for the design. Any monkey can design a website. I hate to say it, but yeah, any monkey can design a website.

 

You're paying for strategies.

 

The more strategies you want to implement, the more you're going to pay. If you're paying a designer, and they are not implementing strategy, you're paying too much. You're overpaying. Even if you're paying them $10, you're overpaying because what's going to end up happening is you've paid for something and you're not getting your money's worth.

 

NOTE: This video mentions a DIY website design course that is no longer available.