I am a social media snooper, there I said it. When people follow me on social media, I click their profiles to see if I want to follow them. On Instagram, it is mainly women business owners (or future business owners) who follow me. One of the most recurring aspects of their pages was, that their bio said “comingsoon.com” for the url. This is a huge problem. My first issue is, someone already owns this domain, but you can buy it. I thought about buying it. Second off, this doesn’t help you capitalize on building a community.
A community is an audience that lands you sales on the first day. That is something I teach my clients. You want sales on the first day. If you lack sales on that day, your confidence will exit the stage left. We want you to be confident and fearless when running your business. Here is how you can leverage your website before you sell even one service, physical product, or digital product.
Create A Landing Page On Squarespace
If you are utilizing Squarespace, they have introduced cover pages. This is their solution for creating beautiful landing pages for their users. You can upload styled stylish photos as your background, add social media icons, email, and options for email marketing. Learn more about cover pages on Squarespace.
Create A Landing Page on WordPress
If you have a self-hosted WordPress site you have a couple of options for creating a landing page. The first thing you should make sure of is that you have your domain + hosting. I prefer Go Daddy; been using them for the past six years. They have a Go Daddy x WordPress hosting package you can use.
Option 1 For WordPress Landing Page
You can purchase the Seedprod Pro Plugin to design your landing page. I am currently using John’s plugin for my other company’s website, that I will be launching in the Winter of 2015. It is really simple to set up.
- Log in to your WordPress website
- Click Plugins
- Click Add New
- Search For “Seedprod Pro Plugin”
- Activate Seedprod Pro
- Follow the steps on dashboard to upload your background, link your email marketing, and social media.
It will take you less than 20 minutes doing it this way. I actually communicated with John about my thoughts on purchasing his plugin, as well as, after I bought it. He was super responsive and helpful.
Option 2 For WordPress Landing Page
This is what I was doing prior to finding Seedpod. I was on websites searching for coming soon or landing page templates. I was super overwhelmed by all of the options out there.
Here are some simple options:
You can also utilize the Hello Bar or Mailchimp Top Bar, if your template does not specifically link to your newsletter. This is a simple solution.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s discuss how you can grow these communities through landing pages. Establishing a free opt-in for your subscribers is key.
Free Opt-In For Boutiques
- Guide to Trends
- Shop This Look For Less
- Guide To Styling Outfits With 10 Basic Pieces
- Style Guide To Your Products
Free Opt-In For Service-Based Businesses
- 10 Facts About Your Industry
- How-To Guide
- Teach The Basics
- 4 Ways To Achieve XYZ
These opt-ins do not have to be a full-blown eBook. They can be a two-page PDF file. You can create these opt-ins on Canva or Indesign. If you need more ideas, go check out the “45 Passive Income Ideas For Business Owners” post, to help you think of some things you can specifically do for your business.
Automation Of Opt-In
I am a huge fan of Mailchimp. If you do not have a Mailchimp account, I suggest signing up for the $10 account today, so you can automate your opt-in. They actually provide you with a free guide on how to set up automation with them. When your audience opt’s in provide them with a discount code or freebie as a way of thanking them.
Utilizing Your Email Marketing
Now that you have everything set up. You have your launch date and your audience is growing, send out information to them bi-weekly. Quick and simple emails. Let them know what is going on with the company, the progression of the website, and any other pertinent details. This is all about showing your work and connecting on another level.
Articles on Email Marketing.
Bonus Step
Create a private Facebook group for your audience to interact with you. Yes, you have a business one. Yes, you have a blog coming soon. However, you need to facilitate a community now. This is where you can show off your expert skills and knowledge. Even as a product-based company, you can have knowledge and expertise.
You are not selling to them, you are connecting with them. By doing this your audience is going to trust you and they are going to want to support you.
Photo by Proxyclick Visitor Management System on Unsplash
