Answering your "Why" questions!
But....why?
Some people start a business knowing that there are some things that are non-negotiable, like ordering business cards, advertising, investing in a professional website, creating a Facebook Business page.
But then there are those who go into business thinking they can do it without spending a dime. Oh - you're just selling online, made to order? Yeah, you could just get a Facebook page for your business and try to keep up with all the random messages and orders, and - oh! You forgot an order?
But it's too bad you didn't have something at your fingertips that can alert you of late orders, tell you when you need more materials, and even calculate taxes, shipping costs, and so forth.
Oh - you do want something like that? It would make your life a lot easier, that's for sure!
Well, that's where STC comes in! Come on in! Make yourself comfortable! How can I help?
WHY SPEND ALL THAT MONEY FOR A WEBSITE WHEN
THERE'S FACEBOOK AND ETSY?
Yes, Facebook can be amazing for your
business in the first few months when you're trying to gain a following. The
thing is though, that Facebook is missing so many things that make your business
seem credible. Not only that, but you can't do any payments securely.
So when a potential customer messages you and asks where they can buy your product, you
tell them they simply have to order over Facebook message. And then they ask how to pay and you say, "Email Money Transfer is fine." If they're anything like me, they will be running the other way.
Eventually, you'll run out of Facebook friends, and their Facebook friends, and you will have to turn to actual strangers for customers. They won't trust a product they have never seen in person. Mixed with the fact that they have no payment security? That's a tough sell.
And don't even get me started on Etsy! Yeah, Etsy is cool because they already have a massive following so all you have to do is ensure that you have a good SEO and that your product(s) loos nice in pictures, but let's do some math, here.
Let's say you have 60 products you want to display on Etsy - whether they're examples of what you do or actual products you want to sell. Each time you do a listing, Etsy charges you $0.52 to post it. And then every time you make a sale, you pay ETSY 3.5% commission. Then, after 4 months, each listing has to be renewed, so that's, again, $0.52 per item.
So -- doing the math (and take into account that I am a writer, not a mathematician - simple math is the best math). We are going to calculate the cost per year.
1 product
x $0.52 per product
x 3 (you renew every 4 months, so that would be 3 times per year)
$93.60 PER YEAR JUST TO LIST YOUR PRODUCTS!
Now, let's say your average product costs $60 and let's say you have 60 products currently sold.
60 (dollars)
- 3.5% (etsy commision)
x 60 (products)
$210.
OK so now let's say that you're only selling 60 products per year - that's $210 you're giving to Etsy PER YEAR for their commission. Alright, one more calculation - you still with me?
93.60
+ 210
$303.60
Wow! $303.60 being, literally, taken from your bank and going to..to what, exactly? Because it's not going into your business. It's going to another company who is "kind enough" to "allow" you to post your items on their website. That's $303.60 that you could have used to invest in your company, your success, and YOURself.
And - let's not even mention the headaches created by this mega-giant selling conglomerate! What with missing orders, orders not being registered properly, and the burocracy!
If you ask me, there is no question here. Creating an online store that doesn't charge you to post, doesn't take a percentage of your profit, and allows you to advertise the way you want (without 100 other people offering the same product as you, merely one click away). And yes, there are websites that may charge you for any payments you make... BUT NOT MINE.
Your profit is ALL YOURS. You pay one time to have your website built, and then a tiny fee per year to continue with hosting and security. THAT'S IT! Now how can you argue that?!
why is it only a website that will help my business?
Well, it's not just a website that will help your business. It's a mixture of smart advertising, smart social media management, an amazing product or service, and a professional website. I cannot stress the word "PROFESSIONAL" enough. To be honest, in this day and age anyone can make a website, it's making one that looks professional; like you know what you're doing.
A professional-looking website does 3important things for potential clients:
-
Builds credibility
-
Makes it easier to find information on your products or services without getting frustrated and overwhelmed.
-
Builds trust - that you're an established business who isn't going to scam them.
A professionally-built website can do 3 things for you:
-
Track your orders and payments so you don't forget or miss orders, lose money, or make you feel like you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off.
-
Allow you to track your inventory and ensure you always have what you need.
-
Create a booking system that can severely organize your life.
Watch this video for more info:
why do you keep emphasizing the word "professional?"
I'm going to answer this question with pictures and you can tell me what you think. The first image is an outdated website that has not been properly maintained in a long time. It's functional, but if you were looking for a business like this one, would you choose it based on its website?
The second image is the same company, but with a professionally developed website.
Does that answer your question?
WHY should i have a mobile site?
When you put so much time into building your website, its easy to overlook your mobile site. Although designing your mobile site isn't as complex as your desktop version since all the bones are there, it's still tedious to do. But in this day and age where EVERYONE is on their phones, making your mobile site as functional as your desktop site is mucho importante. If not more so. If your customers can't access your site on their phones, or your mobile site isn't properly set up, it can give your business a sense of ill professionalism. Not many people will look at your mobile version and say, "I bet their desktop version is better." They just won't bother and go to your competitor whose mobile site works.
WHY should i HIRE A WRITER? iT'S NOT HARD TO STRING
TOGETHER SOME WORDS...
You're right; it's not hard to string along some words. But what are the words? Are they just a bunch of incoherent babble you put together hoping to sound professional and knowledgeable? Are they empty, meaningless words with a bunch of keywords you use on a daily basis? Are they a bunch of long-winded industry words no one who isn't in your field would understand?
In my opinion, as someone who knows how to be a customer and who has been trained to write for consumers, writing isn't exactly for the purposes of making yourself sound knowledgeable in your product or service, it's about making people understand your product or service. It's about writing (ie: speaking) in a way that makes you seem knowledgeable without confusing your audience, it's about making them feel comfort in asking you for help or in purchasing a product. Although writing is mostly subjective (everyone has their own style and preferences), moving words around without changing the meaning can make a huge difference in how your present yourself as a business.
Here is an example of what I mean:
Now, again, I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad; you don't know what you don't know, but this is the difference between writing something for your own business - for which you are very close - and allowing someone who does this professionally do it.
As a side note, I wanted to point out that her slogan, or motto, for her business was:
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
This statement could not be more true, however, that's not what a slogan is, or should be. A slogan should be a motto or phrase associated with a business and what it does. For example, mine is "So you can focus less on the behind-the-scenes and focus more on life" because I want my clientele to understand that my goal for working with them is to make their lives easier, to allow them to focus more on their passion, than the intricacies and nuances of advertising, marketing, and procedures.
Thus, still using the general idea and pulling from other little phrases she'd written here and there, I came up with this slogan:
"My business is your business. My passion is your peace of mind"
Now, I won't go into why all of this works for a business like hers because this isn't marketing class, but there are some key elements in there that will make people think that hiring her will make their lives easier, and "peace of mind" is a very comforting phrase.
I could go on for days as to why it's smart business to hire a professional writer rather than cheap out and try to do it yourself, but I think you get the gist And, please, if your first language is not English, but you're creating English copy or content, at least get someone to proofread your content before publishing. Unfortunately, although this is unfair, but still accurate, if you have language or grammar errors in your content or copy, it makes you look sloppy as a business owner - either you don't pay attention to detail, you don't take the time to read through your content before publishing, or you just don't care; all of the above are bad for business. Have you ever gone onto the Apple store website and seen a typo? Probably not.
Before
After
If you have any more Why's, shoot me a line and I would be happy to add it to the list!
Please note that I am in no way affiliated with the making of this video. I simply agree with the content. The video was made by Primex