Starting out in business? Launching a new business blog? Great. You’re joining 27 million other small businesses in the U.S.  Want to avoid being among the 40 percent of small business failures each year (per CNN Money stats click here)?  Even better.

 

My top recommendation for newbies starting out in business: Create a standout, customer-friendly website and business blog. 

 

Staying in Business

You have three key tasks to accomplish in order to stay in business.

•  Make it easy for customers to find you on the Internet.
• Once your customer finds your website, keep her there.
• Have a compelling offer for your product or service.

 

I’m sure you’re working hard on item number 3.  I can help you with the first two.

 

Your Website’s Purpose

While you need a professional design, the make or break aspect of your website is your information and content.

Legendary business leader, Peter Drucker famously said, “The purpose of a business is to create a customer.”   

With apologies to Mr. Drucker, here’s my take:

Your new business blog or website has one purpose.  To help you create a customer.  And then another…

 

You’ll save time and effort with your new business website or blog by avoiding these common mistakes.

 

Top 9 Mistakes to Avoid with New Business Blogs or Websites

 

1. Hiring a web developer before doing your homework. You’ll be miles ahead if you prepare a business website game plan. I’ll offer you pointers for yours in a few days.

2. Not profiling your top ideal buyers.  Clarify exactly who your best prospective customers are. You’ll have a head start on attracting them to your website.  Click here to learn more about ideal buyers.

3. Not zeroing in on your customers’ biggest problems. A website that doesn’t highlight your customers’ problems and priorities is a waste of time and money.  You’ll be more successful by talking about your clients’ priorities.  Not simply about your products and services.

4. Not preparing a job description for your website.  (Never thought about a job description for your website? Check back in a few days and I’ll show you how.)

5. Not using your customers’ own language on your blog or website. Your prospective customers have words and terms they use everyday.  Learn them.

6. Not studying your competition.   It’s easy to discover what other businesses like yours are doing right and doing wrong online.  Find out.

7. Not learning how to find customers using a business blog. According to studies from marketing firm Hubspot:  Businesses are now in the minority if they do not blog. From 2009 to 2011 the percentage of businesses with a blog grew from 48% to 65%.”

Here’s another Hubspot finding: Businesses are increasingly aware their blog is highly valuable: 85% of businesses rated their company blogs as ―useful, ―important or ―critical; a whopping 27% rated their company blog as ―critical to their business. You can locate the study by clicking here. http://www.hubspot.com/state-of-inbound-marketing/

8. Not setting aside a budget for your website. You can use free or low-cost website and blogging software programs like WordPress. You’ll still need some professional help unless you’re pretty technical.

9. Not learning how to research keywords for use in your site’s content. Check out the excellent keyword tutorials that Google publishes.

 

Put deep thought into exactly what you want your website to say about you.   Prospective clients will form an immediate impression about your business from your website.

If you’re starting out in business, take a deep breath. Promise you’ll avoid rushing to just-get-a-website-up.   Learn about your customers.  Put what you’ve learned into your website and business blog content. Track it.  Improve it.  track it…

And check back to get my recommendations for avoiding each of the above mistakes.

Image: iStock

 

Other posts on this topic you may like:

Top 11 Ways to Use Business Blogs to Find More Customers

How to Plan Content for Your First Website