The Foundation of Building an Effective Site Lies in the Clarity of your Website Purpose.

Clarity is the Key to an Effective Website

Online, who do you trust? Which forums do you participate in? Which newsletters do you continue to subscribe to? Whose products/services do you buy? Do you know why? You read what you read and you buy from whom you buy because you believe they will help you solve your problems, and they will help you achieve your dreams. You use job boards (i.e. eLance, oDesk, LimeExchange, Freelancer) because you believe they will help you get more clients. You read someone else’s newsletters because you are hoping that in so doing, you will also become successful like they are. You participate in forums because you are hoping to get free answers to your most burning questions or to possibly get some client leads. You continue to trust these websites because you find that they provide valuable content to you by :

Addressing your problems (i.e. pain points)
Helping you achieve your dreams

Having a clear understanding of your target Client’s needs and dreams, and the role you play in addressing these, is the key to an effective website. The more clarity you have, the higher your chances for success. On the other hand, no matter how fancy your website, if you are unable to deliver the content that resonates with your client’s needs and wants, your website will still fail. Presented below is the actual map used to develop this very website that you are reading. Read it and then develop a similar map for your own website.

Web001 Website Planning Worksheet

In the above map, 6 critical questions were answered. Ask yourself the same questions and try to develop your own map for your website. MindJet was used in developing above map. However, you may use this worksheet to guide you Web001|Website Planning Worksheet (PURPOSE).pdf, or if you are feeling creative you may use your own hand drawn map.

6 Critical Questions You Need to Answer Before You Build Your Website

Who is my ideal client?

What are her most pressing problems?

What are her dreams?

What are my strengths and expertise which can help address her problems?

Given above 4 information, what is my proposed solution that can be the focus of my website.

What then is my value proposition?

If you are not clear on the answers to these critical questions, you may want to do your due diligence. Your website’s purpose is the foundation of your site structure, site pages/posts. Do not proceed without being clear on these. You are merely setting yourself up for failure.

VA-Centered Website | A lot of Virtual Assistants make the mistake of posting generic bio/resume online. These prove to be major time-wasters as far as clients are concerned. Your clients don’t care about your previous stint as data entry clerk, customer service representative nor about your other around-the-www-niche-trip. All a client cares about is whether, given your past relevant experiences, you are able to help her solve her most pressing problems. The key term here is "Relevant". What are your strengths/expertise/experience that is relevant to your clients’ needs? Put those on your website. Leave out the rest.

”You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough people get what they want” | Zig Ziglar

Greater Empathy Solicits More Trust | One thing you need to understand is that people don’t always buy/hire for rational reasons. More often than not, clients hire because you are able to connect with them at a deeper level. And the better you are able to articulate their dreams and their problems, the greater empathy you’ll get. The more likely they’ll trust you. Read thru their forums and understand what they are trying to say, and what they are not trying to say. Articulate it for them. If possible, use the very same terms that they use. Don’t use "Tired" if most of them feel "Overwhelmed" or "Drowning with paperwork". Now what are some of the most common "pain" terms that your clients’ use? Use these on your worksheet (i.e. Client’s most pressing problems)

Learn From Others| OutsourceAndDelegate.com

Here’s an example of a webpage that banks on empathy to appeal to people who outsource their tasks. Visit OutsourceAndDelegate.com. Ignore the aesthetics. Observe the verbiage. | Do you get a sinking feeling when you ask yourself, "Is this really what I signed up for?" Have you noticed how you now feel chained to your computer…you have the freedom to enjoy quality time with family & friends … you’ll discover how to delegate the time-sucking, energy-draining tasks of your internet business to an enthusiastic, hard-working team of people who will free you up to build the business of your dreams!

This selling page targets the very same potential clients you are after. Expensive copywriters are hired to develop effective websites like this. Save yourself tons of time and money and learn from what they’ve already done. By understanding what “ticks” your clients, you can dramatically improve your websites’ success.

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Establish Your Website’s Purpose

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to think thru the major purpose of your website. Again, whatever your answers, will be the foundation of your site structure. So make sure you give it enough thought. And if necessary, do a bit of googling and forum research to validate your assumptions. If you find you have too many scattered answers, consider narrowing down your target niche. You can easily create your sub-sites for your sub-niches later.

Download| Web001|Website Planning Worksheet (PURPOSE).pdf

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Establish The Foundation of Your Website

The Foundation of Building an Effective Site Lies in the Clarity of your Website Purpose.

Clarity is the Key to an Effective Website

Establish Your Website’s Purpose

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