Complete Guide To Launching A Website In 1 Week (and You Don't Want To Pay A Web Designer
Welcome friend!
Am so honored to spend this time with you! So, you want to launch a website and a blog? Awesome!!! But you don’t want (or can’t afford) to hire someone to do it for you?
No problem!!! I have been an online entrepreneur since 2010 and have been down just about every DIY online marketing rabbit hole there is. I myself either didn’t have the money to invest in paying someone to create a website for me or I wanted the personal satisfaction of being able to do it myself so know friend that I feel you!
When I first entered the online world I was trying to build a network marketing company as an introvert and full time working mom. I knew that in order to be truly successful, I needed a way to reach people outside of where I physically lived and unfortunately the MLM company I was partnered with was teaching those icky “belly to belly” strategies like hitting up perfect strangers in line at the grocery store about my business opportunity.
My very extroverted hubby might be able to pull off something like that but trying to hit up a perfect stranger with kids in tow is a big fat Nooooooo. So I channeled my inner rebel determined to do things my own way and fumbled my way through hours of online research about how to set up a website and declare myself a blogger while trying to juggle a full time job and motherhood.
In 2010 I lost my corporate job and turned my attention to building my blog and network marketing company full time into a 6-figure income (which sounds all amazing and it while it was a blessing it also came with its share of hardships). By 2014, my soul was severely burned out with MLM and the revolving door of recruiting people so I made the decision to leave the network marketing industry and the income that came with it to focus on building something of my own (branding and business coaching).
This abrupt directional change meant there was a huge sense of urgency for me to rebrand and and I was overwhelmed with the constant learning curve with my existing website so I was essentially starting over. I could not afford to procrastinate for I had up and walked away from my residual income after 4 years and not only a full time income but my only source of income. I also could not afford to pay someone to do it for me so needless to say, I was highly motivated to get up and running quickly.
What I did have going for me was a business game plan and strategy. I knew my vision, purpose and message which was to share my experiences and show other creative women and mompreneurs how they could personally brand themselves more authentically and I also knew without hesitation that I wanted to continue to build my business 100% online.
I knew that in order to launch my coaching business successfully I needed to get laser focused on certain tools to help me create and deliver valuable content that would attract my online audience and people to work with as coaching clients. I still use these strategies as a social media manager and website designer so know that whatever your niche, these strategies are designed to work for you too.
While creating a website and blog sounds super simple, if you have ever started researching Google for "how to start a blog” the information out there can be overwhelming but it’s my goal with this guide to break this down into simple strategic steps you can implement in a week to get up and running quickly and generating an income. This post is long but very detailed so be sure to bookmark the link in your website favorites it so you can easily reference it as you work through this process.
I hope it will lessen the pain of Google overload and provide you with a clear direction and tasks to focus on so take a deep breath and let’s dive in!
1. KNOW YOUR GOALS
Before you dive into creating a website you have to understand what your immediate goals are. As a blogger I am sure your goals will change and evolve so just think about over the next 6 months to a year, what do you hope to accomplish with your website?
• Share your story and encourage others?
• DIY Projects and How-To Tips?
• Monetize it with affiliate links?
• Work with bigger brands as an influencer?
• Sell physical or digital products?
• Build an email list so you aren’t relying on one social media platform for sales and leads?
Once you clarify your goals, you will have something solid to build your website around. When I first started my website my immediate goals were to:
1. Work with coaching clients 1 on 1
2. Work with clients through a group coaching program
3. Sell digital products like eBooks for a passive income stream.
4. Build an email list
It’s important to keep in mind that your website is there to serve an audience and to give value. Don’t expect to create a platform where all you plan to do is share what’s going on in your life without there being a purpose behind it to serve others. People will follow you and read your content when there is something in it for them. I see so many bloggers make the mistake of creating a website so they can just blog about their everyday life.
While we need to share and be relatable, we also need to use our platforms to serve and inspire. How can you bring aspects of your story into your content?
• Maybe you have battled with your weight and found a lifestyle that works for you. Share that with your audience through recipes, grocery lists and meal plans.
• Maybe you have a talent for swinging power tools to remodel your home on a budget and don’t have a very handy hubby. Share your practical how-tos with other budget conscious women and moms.
• Maybe you have a passion for being earth friendly. Share those tips with your audience, your favorite products, resources and how-to be a responsible human of the earth.
• Maybe you are a homeschooling mom and love to help others who are just getting started to help lessen the burden of overwhelm.
When I first started my website and blog, I knew that I wanted to help women who were just getting started with launching an online business. I had 8 years of experience to share so as I mapped out my website I knew I needed this framework:
1. a home page to serve as the primary landing page for my website
2. a blog page to share and give free value through articles
3. a services page to share how clients could work with me
4. about me page to share a little more about me and what drives my passion for helping others
5. an eCommerce page where people could purchase my digital products
Knowing these goals helped me to map out my website in an organized manner.
What does the basic framework for your website and blog look like based on what you will offer?
2. CHOOSING A DOMAIN
Out of all the steps of taking a business online this can be one of the trickiest because it’s getting harder to find available .com websites. The first question to answer is “Am I building a brand around my name or a business name?”
Let me give you a few familiar examples. Martha Stewart brands herself under her name. So does Oprah and so does Ellen. Ree Drummond on the other hand brands herself under The Pioneer Woman.
There is no right or wrong answer here. It’s all in personal preference and availability. If I could have branded myself under April Williams I would have but April and Williams are both very common names. Owning my name as a .com is not possible because a realtor in California beat me to it. Even if I could own my name as a domain duplicating that consistently on social media would be impossible again because my name is very common so having @aprilwilliams on Instagram, facebook.com/aprilwilliams etc is just not possible and when it comes to branding consistency should be priority number one.
If we look at the examples I gave you Oprah is Oprah across her website and all social networks. So if you are fortunate enough to have thought about that years ago and secured a website and social networks to go with it, awesome you are good to go but if you are like me and did not then this will require some work and research.
So let’s say you want to create a blog called The Rambling Vine (I am just throwing this out as an example). Your first stop is GoDaddy. Is theramblingvine.com or ramblingvaine.com available? If it is and it’s affordable, meaning it’s not listed as a “premium domain” that someone is trying to sell for $8,000 (the exact problem I ran into with beautifullyrooted.com and why my domain is beautifullyrooted.co) then your next step is to do some research before you pull the trigger and purchase the domain.
Start by Googling the name you want to use, like in my example “The Rambling Vine”. What I am looking for is if someone is using it for their brand already. Am I finding a lot of activity online for it. Chances are if the domain is not in use then probably not but you never know. You especially want to do some research and make sure someone has not trademarked it. The last thing you want is to get a cease and desist letter from someone’s attorney saying you are using a registered trademarked name.
The next thing you want to do is go to social platforms you plan to use for your business and see if you can secure the name. @theramblingvine on IG (or @ramblingvine, facebook.com/theramblingvine and on Pinterest, etc.)
Whether you have “the” in front of it or not you want to have it consistent as much as possible, that is the goal. It makes your brand easily recognizable.
Last year I worked with a client who was wanting to launch an online boutique. We tossed around some names based on what she wanted to convey. She loves birds and one of her favorite quotes is “His eye is on the sparrow” inspired by Matthew 10:29-31. She is also a free spirited personality type. We started putting these elements together and The Spirited Sparrow was chosen for her shop.
We next went to GoDaddy and the domain was available. Check!
We started researching Google and couldn’t find a lot of activity or someone already building a business around it. Check!
We next went to social media and no one was using @thespiritedsparrow on social networks. Check!
So she bought the domain, I created her social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest) and we got to work building out her Shopify website.
Yes it’s okay for these accounts to sit created with no content while you work on your logo, website, etc. Don’t run the risk of someone beating you to it. You may get lucky your first time out and be able to secure a domain and the social networks, but if you can’t do some more brainstorming to see what you can come up with. You can try things like adding “blog” at the end ramblingvineblog.com but be careful to keep your domain to 2-3 words if possible. You don’t want long wordy domain or social network names.
Don’t get discouraged through this process. When I created CreativeBrandista.com I got lucky and was able to secure websites and social platforms, when I rebranded to Beautifully Rooted, the .com is currently listed as a “premium domain” for $7,995 and the social platforms I had to tweak. My website is a .co (beautifullyrooted.co) My social networks are IG @beautifullyrootedcasa (@beautifullyrooted is taken by someone not even using it, not one post, just created an account with that name and is sitting on it which you may run into which I know is frustrating), FB is beautifullyrooted and so is Pinterest.
Just try to do the best you can to take your time and do some research so you can be as consistent as possible. If you find the name that you want is taken, for example, if you see that theramblingvine.com or ramblingvine.com is taken, go to the website and look around. See if they have the social networks to go with it. If it looks like an established brand you are better off trying to come up with something else than to “piggyback” off of someone else’s.
Like you wouldn’t want to do theramblingvine.net or ramblingvine.org (.org are usually used by non-profit organizations) It can have a copy cat vibe to it so I would recommend moving on. If beautifullyrooted.com was currently in use by another blogger and they had all the social networks to go with it I would have moved on and chosen something totally different. You have to be really careful with this. Bossmom.com is not only a website but is also trademarked.
I have a friend that was sued for using thebossymom.com. She had to take her website down and pay damages to the woman who owns Boss Mom® because her website is too similar to what has been already been trademarked. So hear me on this, do your research before purchasing a domain.
3. CHOOSING A PLATFORM
Your website acts as a central hub for your business. Where all of your information, resources and content can be organized in one place. A website gives you a professional edge over those who do not have one. A blog allows you to create consistent value driven content for your audience and attract the right people to work with (otherwise known as "attraction marketing"). Giving value builds trust and trust earns you business, clients and sales.
Several years ago when I had first attempted to build an online business, I jumped in with both feet with a Wordpress website and I spent more time learning all the ins and outs of a theme (paid theme v. a free one), which plug-ins I needed, which ones I should pay for and which freed ones are okay to use, (and what on earth is a widget?!) than I did actually growing my business.
When I rebranded I knew without a doubt it was time to find a new platform. Now I am not here to dog Wordpress users. Plenty of people use it and like it but I want to spend more time creating content and growing my business than I do learning the technical aspects of running a website. I also did not want to pay someone a quarterly maintenance fee to keep the theme and plug-ins updated (because when they aren’t your website is a total glitchy hot mess) so at the end of the day it was time for a change.
I was determined to find an alternative that was just as good for SEO (“search engine optimization” - how Google searches for and ranks your website and content) and ran across Squarespace. I did my research and loved everything I read about it.
Squarespace can also be a great platform to help you get up and running to get your products and services out there NOW and as your budget allows and your needs grow to have someone design a Wordpress site for you if down the road you feel that you will need a more robust website. My mantra is progress over perfection. Do what you can do now v. needing it all to match the perfectly designed picture in your head which usually takes more time, resources and a larger budget.
I have LOVED Squarespace and been on it for 6 years now and can't say enough great things about it. Below are some tips to help you learn the platform quicker.
• It is very user-friendly with templates, plug-ins and hosting is built in.
• They have 24/7 support if you get in a bind and different plans to choose from depending on the needs of your business but the average will run you about $16 a month (or you can save money by purchasing the annual plan). I would suggest paying monthly for it the first couple of months to ensure you understand which plan you need and then paying the annual fee.
• Rally is one of my favorite templates for Squarespace and the one I use for my website
• Squarespace has a free 14-day trial so you can try it out
• Squarespace offers how-to tutorials to help you
• You can also find free “How To Set Up A Squarespace Website” tutorials on YouTube
• I absolutely adore Lauren Hooker with Elle & Company. She is running her design business on Squarespace with a wealth of informative blog posts about how to use and optimize the Squarespace platform as well as tips for the design of your website. She is my go-to Squarespace guru.
• Of course if you get into this and find that you just can’t do it yourself and ready to hire me as Squarespace website designer you can reach out to me at aprilsociallytailored@gmail.com and mention code DESIGNED4U for $200 off my design fee.
If you plan to sell physical products Shopify is another great platform too. Definitely compare the cost of Shopify v. the Squarespace eCommerce option. Shopify has a lot of cool apps that you can integrate like shopping your Instagram feed and creating shoppable pins on Pinterest and they give you a discount on shipping rates too. You can find great tutorials for how to build a Shopify website through their platform and on YouTube as well.
A good friend of mine and I had a coconut oil company for a couple of years and we had our shop on Shopify. I will be honest, it was cumbersome to learn and we paid for things that we didn’t need like a customized theme (there are hundreds of free themes out there) but for selling a physical product that was consumable, on the heavy side in a glass jar, required product packaging like an oversized box and bubble wrap, Shopify was definitely the platform to be on for our particular business.
There are also other platforms like Wix but please avoid things like Blogger and GoDaddy. I am all about being budget aware but quality matters too.
4. SETTING UP YOUR WEBSITE
Remember we talked about the goals you have with your website? This is where they come in. Regardless of what platform you choose, at a minimum you need a:
1. home page
2. about me page
3. contact page
4. blog page for your blog content
But what are your other goals? If you are selling a service you will need a page for that, if you are selling products you will need an eCommerce page. These are the pages that will appear in your main navigation of your website to make it easy to navigate your site and see what you offer. As you grow and expand your business you can add other pages but these are the basics for your website to get up and running. You will also need a Terms and Conditions page and a Disclaimer page, these are the pages that appear in your website footer usually. They are important pieces of your website and you can read more about these website policies HERE.
5. LOGO AND BRAND
This is an area of your business that you can blow a ton of time and money on but when I first got started I was trying to launch my business as quickly as possible so I could start making money, not go into debt while I waited weeks for a $350 customized logo. While I am the biggest snob when it comes to design I also know that the perfect fancy graphics are not going to explode my business.I needed a cost effective quick turn around solution and Etsy is an amazing place to connect with logo designers that range in $20-$150 depending on your budget. When I first launched and needed a logo for my Creative Brandista website I paid $18 for this simple logo that I still love even though I rebranded to Beautifully Rooted.
Whether you are branding yourself around you and your personal name or creating a name for your blog, work to create a logo that makes sense for your brand. Using The Rambling Vine example, obviously incorporating a vine in the logo somehow would tie it together. Maybe a circle logo that is in the shape of a vine with my name in the center.
Using The Pioneer Woman as an example, her logo is pretty simple with The Pioneer Woman in a cursive font that has an old western type vibe to it. After all, she does live on a ranch so that lifestyle is of course incorporated into her brand. Be sure to do the same.
How can you bring in your style into your branding and website?
Think of some ideas for the style of logo you are thinking about. This will save you a ton of time and narrow down your logo search. Maybe you love arrows, so search for "arrow logos" in the Etsy search bar or maybe you love a certain style like bohemian, then search "bohemian logos" or "boho logos". Be okay with choosing something that you can love for now. It may not be exactly what you had envisioned or see using for the long term. The idea here is to get up and running as quickly as possible without breaking the bank.
The logos you will find on Etsy are template style logos meaning they will not be unique to you. They are inexpensive because the logo designers are using a template to create them which means you can make simple changes to them like the name of your website, year it was established, the tagline but you won’t be able to make a ton of design changes to them like fonts or colors but be sure to reach out to the Etsy shop owner before you purchase and ask about what changes can and cannot be made.
I have found all of my logos to date on Etsy. I have a beautiful cow skull logo adorned with roses for my first brand and for Beautifully Rooted I have a tree to symbolize being Beautifully Rooted in Christ. Etsy can give you a ton of ideas for logos so write down some keywords that describe the style of logo you are thinking and see what pulls up on your Etsy research.
One thing to keep in mind for your logos is a variation for your social media websites. While a very long horizontal logo will look great for the header of your website it will be difficult to fit it into a small round or square social media icon. So be sure to talk about that with the logo designer. For a little extra fee, they may be able to create a more social media friendly version of your logo (like pulling it in and making it round or square).
6. BRANDING COLORS AND PHOTOS
If you are new to the world of web design and blogging, choosing images for your websites that are cohesive to your brand and speaks to your target market can be very time consuming. I know the old saying goes "don't judge a book by it's cover" but when it comes to photography, colors, style, logo, design (what is known as your brand identity) the cover of the book really does matter.
Truth be told I am a huge snob when it comes to imagery. If I don't like the style of a website or blog I will bounce off quicker than a cricket in a fire. Does this mean you have to spend a fortune on imagery to make it look nice? NO. A clean design with good images can still create a high end look if that is what you are going for. The key is to be consistent with your style.
If you have high quality and high resolution images for your website’s homepage and about me page that is awesome. If you don’t, get outside where there is good lighting and have a family member take a few images of you. Some things to keep in mind:
• What are the colors you are going to be using for your website? Are they neutral or bold? Earthy or whimsical? If you envision a website with soft neutral colors then you wouldn’t wear hot pink for a photo shoot. You want everything to have a very cohesive look to it.
• Not sure what color palette you are thinking for your web design? Take to Pinterest and create a mood board. Start pinning images that really speak to you. After you pin about 75-100 go back through them and see what color palette has emerged. This inspiration will be a huge help not only in creating your website but also the images you will use for things like blog posts and product photos.
If you don’t have a lot of personally created photos to use right now, no worries. There are free images available to use from the internet but I don't mean free as in some random Google search. You can only use photos on a website, blog, product photos, social media etc that you have permission to use. Using photos that you do not have permission to use can get you slapped with a huge copyright fine to the tune of $8,000 per violation (yes friend that is no joke), but imagery that is legal to use can also be very time consuming.
I can spend an hour or more looking for just the right image to use for a client’s home page banner if they don’t have one or for a blog post.
Below are some good resources for imagery (part of this list are free resources and some are available at a cost per image or via monthly subscription). Go with what you can afford. I try to use as many free images as I can from websites like Unsplash and then if I can't find exactly what I want by digging a little using creative key word searches then I will bite the bullet and pay for one from Adobe Stock or Shutterstock.
Pixabay
Pexels
Unsplash
Shutterstock
Adobe Stock
Haute Chocolate
Twigy Posts
Stocksy
Try to stay on brand with your style and design when picking images. The more of a theme your website and content has the more relatable it will be to your niche and the more recognizable your brand will become. For example, if you love retro style stick with that theme in every way or if bold rock-your-edgy-side type colors is your style find images with that color scheme. Maybe you like a more earthy vibe, then find images like that.
As you search for images on these sites, it’s helpful to create a folder on your computer or external hard drive like “Website Photos” and save them all under there so you can easily find them later when you get ready to use them in your website design, blog posts, social media graphics, etc.
7. BUILDING YOUR WEBSITE
With your domain name, website goals, platform and images it’s time to start pulling all of this together into a website!
HOME PAGE
Your home page is the first page your audience will land on. It will likely be the most visited page of your website so it’s important that your audience understand who you are, what kind of content they can expect to find and clear calls to action to keep them on your website. I am not a fan AT ALL of websites where you land on the home page and the first thing you see is blog posts. You have approx. 5-10 seconds to capture a person’s interest and attention.
A home page should have a banner image, a photo of you with a little snippet of who are and copy that will clearly convey the kind of content your audience can expect to find (also known as a tagline), call to action graphics or buttons that invite your reader to dig deeper (if you go to www.TheBossyBeauty.com this is a website I created for a client and you can see on her home page how we have directed people to other areas of her website like her blog etc.), a call to action to join your email list or download a freebie that you have, followed by other content like your Instagram feed (In Squarespace this is known as a summary or gallery block that pulls in your Instagram feed once you connect your IG account).
On my home page you can see how I direct people to my services and my shop with clickable graphics that have buttons on them. The worst thing you can do is have a messy home page that does not clearly tell your audience who you are and why they should be on your website and quickly give them direction to stay on your website and check out more of what you offer.
80% of users are on mobile view of your website and the navigation is not always as easy to see as it is on desktop view so you must take that extra step on your website through imagery and visual cues to keep your reader engaged.
BLOG PAGE
Your blog page is of course where you are giving your reader free value. Google loves content. The more you blog and provide content that more Google will crawl your website and the higher it will rank. Blog posts are great opportunities for you to share value through your story and experiences, how-to tips and monetize your blog through affiliate links and highlight your own products and/or services. There is no magic number with blogging but consistency is key. Think quality over quantity. You are better off putting together a high quality blog post with at least 800 words (that seems to be Google’s SEO sweet spot) and packs a lot of value than to crank out 5 short ones that aren’t really that great.
I teach my clients to shoot for launching a website with at least 3 blog posts ready to go so they have something of value to share. I can not tell you how much of a pet peeve of mine it is to see someone post “Heyyyyyy everyone I just launched my blog go check it out!”
“Ummm, okay I am really happy for you that you launched a blog but what does that have to do with me?”
I can promise you that is what 95% of your audience is thinking. “I am happy for you but why should I care?”. The people that do hop over will spend all of 1 hot minute clicking around and say something nice like “wow looks great!” and be on to something else.
So that little bit of traffic did you a zero bit of good. So please hear me on this, don’t be that person. With blog posts you have something valuable to share like “I am so excited to finally launch my blog! Be sure to check out my latest blog post How To Restyle A Bedroom In Under 5 Minutes Without Spending A Dime. Would love your thoughts and feedback!”
Okay, now you have something powerful to share and you have people’s attention. You have let the world know that you have labored to create a website and you have important how-to information to give them. Now people will not only hop over to check out your website but they will spend time there reading your blog post (and Google is tracking readership) and who knows they might just share it with their audience too!
If you are feeling stumped on what to create blog content around, go look at your social media pages for inspiration. I am sure you will find posts with awesome how to tips and information that you have shared that can easily be expanded upon and turned into blog posts.
ABOUT ME PAGE
This page helps to highlight you, a place to share your story and how people can connect more with you (maybe through social media), collaborate with you or work with you. It’s important to put 1-2 high quality images of you on this page, maybe with your family if you are comfortable doing that, your pets, you decorating a table, sitting in a cool retro car, at the farmer’s market, holding balloons (make it fun!) etc.
Be sure to convey to your audience how you are passionate about serving and helping others. This will help them relate why they should be on your website and want to come back. You don’t want to write a novel, most people are skim readers so stick to important facts and points that you want to share while letting your reader know that you are so grateful to have them there. Be sure to include call to actions at the end to invite them to check out other resources like your blog, join your email list, follow you on Instagram for more tips and conversation and even highlight your media kit here (I get asked a lot about these on IG from decor type accounts and influencers. Need a media kit? Canva.com has awesome templates for free!)
Think about the type of content you find most inspiring on someone’s about page and incorporate that into yours. Make your about me page fun and it’s best to write it in the 1st person. I find it awkward to land on someone’s website and go to their about page that reads like a press release “Sally Jones is an accomplished writer who spent 5 years teaching…” I want to connect with someone who is relatable and writing a bio in the 3rd person is just weird.
SERVICES PAGE
If you are offering services then you need to highlight what you do on a separate page where you can go into more detail. If you are a coach what kind of coaching you do, how people can work with you, book a free call, download a freebie to build your email list (freebie’s need to be placed all throughout your website not just on your home page).
PRODUCT PAGE
If you are selling physical or digital products you need a products page so people can see photos, read the product description, return policies and how to order.
8. OPT-IN
Throughout this guide you have heard me mention “freebie”. Email marketing may be a strategy that you are ready to jump into or need some time to think about, either way I want to at least give you some guidance so when you are ready you can tackle it no problem!
While social platforms are a great way to build a following and share information it should never be the primary tool you use to build a list. Every day people lose their Instagram accounts so putting all of your audience eggs in one basket is never smart and with organic reach so low, why would you ever put all your time and effort into sharing content that is only seen by a few people at a time?!
When you build an email list, you build a list of people who with the touch of a button you can reach. Email is not limited by algorithm. If you have a person’s email address you can reach them. To build an email list and capture leads you need a resource that solves a specific problem for your network also known as a freebie or “opt-in”.
Gone are the days where people will enthusiastically pop in their information from a call to action like "join my mailing list" (yawn). People want a compelling reason to give up their email address when they land on your website, they want something that will solve an urgent problem they have right now. So think about an eBook or how-to guide you can put together as a freebie and deliver automatically to their inbox when they enter their email address. Think about an immediate problem you can solve right now for people. Here are some examples:
5 Ways To Create A No Sew Pillow CoverThe 10 Colors I Used In My Modern Farmhouse” (I see people asking about colors on IG more than any other question. “What color is that wall, what color are your cabinets. It’s crazy!).
15 Ways I Healed My Adrenal Fatigue if you are into health coaching.
10 Tips To Save Money Every Week On Your Grocery Bill
When I first launched my site, I wanted to think outside the box and create something fun. People in general love quizzes so I put together a branding archetype quiz for my opt-in using EmailMeForm, an online survey and web form builder. So if you are looking to put together something fun and out of the box it worked well for me the first year of my business. I have since created other opt-ins and disabled the quiz but it was an awesome list builder for me while I had it active.
You could put together a fun skin care or style quiz as a freebie. You can also do something simple like create a free how-to guide that solves an immediate problem for your target market as a Word document and provide it as a .pdf download. That is how I deliver most of my content. Fancy graphics are great but the more graphics the larger the file is to upload and download and I don't like my readers to have to blow through an entire cartridge of ink to print out a document so I like to keep my documents pretty clean and simple.
You could also create a free audio training through FreeConferenceCall.com or an app like Soundcloud or a video through YouTube or a webinar that you can record through Zoom or Google Hangout if that is more your style where you deliver the resource link to your subscriber after they confirm their email address. Do what works for your personality, what you feel would relate most to your audience and tweak it as you go.
9. EMAIL LIST BUILDING
To dive into this process a little more, your website is like a funnel. As you create content to drive targeted traffic back to you it becomes critical to capture that traffic in the form of leads so that you can continue the relationship trust building process turning those priceless leads into clients and/or customers especially if you are selling a service or product. You need an email service to help you capture those leads when they visit your website and opt-in to your list.
When I first started out I was using Mailchimp because it is free up to 1,000 subscribers. It worked out okay as I was on a tight budget and did not want to pay monthly for a service until I had some income from client work coming in. There is a learning curve with Mailchimp but there is an abundance of tutorials on YouTube and it easily interfaces with Squarespace so that is a bonus.
I eventually upgraded to ConvertKit about a year and a half into my business and loved using it. At $29 a month I eventually decided that it was not worth the cost as I am not emailing my list that often. My open rates and click throughs were higher with ConvertKit but it’s okay to start out with something free like Mailchimp or MailerLite (the email platform I use now) until you get a rhythm and strategy going in your business.
If you are looking for a service with more bells and whistles you can also research other options and their cost. This blog post by Capterra does a great job of giving you a quick overview of the different email marketing companies with their respective pros and cons.
10. CREATE GRAPHICS LIKE A PRO
As you work to create content for your website, blog and social media, you will probably see an increased need for graphics. I use Canva to create custom graphics for my website and social media pages for my own brand as well as for my social media clients to give it a cohesive branded look. Its free, there are done for you templates for every social media platform and its very user friendly. Spend a little bit of time to get familiar with it and you will look like a graphic design pro in no time.
You can also use PicMonkey, Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator depending on your level of expertise. Some of my favorite mobile apps for quote photos are WordSwag and Rhonna.
11. ONLINE CALENDAR
If you have a service based business, having a way for your audience to connect with you through a more personalized approach like calls may be important to you. To kickstart my coaching business and help get the word out about the services that I offered, I set aside a 2-3 days a week to provide free 20 minute coaching calls. In order to do this effectively and keep my sanity intact, I used an online calendar tool (ScheduleOnce) to make it easier for my clients to schedule a call.
I simply sent the link to the page of my website that outlined what they could expect from a free coaching call and added a button to that page that would click through to my online calendar. I was able to schedule days and times during the week on the back end of ScheduleOnce that worked with my schedule.
I found ScheduleOnce the most user friendly for me personally but there are several similar services out there available. Some are free and some have a monthly fee associated with it depending on functionality. This blog post by Zapier does a great job of breaking down many other services, options and price so you can choose the one that is the best fit for you.
HOW I LAUNCHED MY WEBSITE IN ONE WEEK (7 DAYS)
DAY 1
I got laser focused on my branding and choosing a domain name. I researched social media platforms to ensure I could use the domain name I chose on social media. I purchased my domain name and created my social media accounts. Some things to consider:
• It’s a good idea to purchase the privacy option for your domain to protect your name and physical address. This is public record UNLESS you pay for privacy.
• GoDaddy will try to upsell you on all kinds of extras, all you need right now is your domain nameI got on Etsy and researched logos until I found one I liked, purchased it, worked with the logo designer to make the changes I wanted knowing that it would take them 24-48 hours to get me a proof to approve for the final logo files.
DAY 2-4
I buckled down hard for 3 days learning Squarespace. I watched tutorials and implemented as I went. During this process you will need to choose progress over perfection. You can always make changes later, you can always hire a website designer later when you have more money to create the website you want, you can always watch more tutorials and tweak as you go.
If you wait for it to look exactly like you picture it in your head to call it “finished”, you will be right here a year from now no closer to your goal. Start where you are with what you have. I focused on the pages I needed to create like my home page and about me page, set aside a couple of hours to research them specifically and then implement what I had.
For example "how to write a compelling about me page" If this feels like a huge undertaking and you don't even know where to start, here are two really good blog posts on how to write an epic about me page by The Sits Girls and Postach.io.
Hear me now on this, you do not need to be some super expert writer or copywriter to create website content. Just start writing and write from your heart. I promise that if you will just focus on starting, the words will come easier than just blinking at a blank page waiting for magical text to come out.
If I ran into a snag, I Googled a how-to or I reached out to Squarespace support for help.
DAY 5
I worked to put the final touches on my website. Adding the logo from the logo designer (they will email you your logo in different file formats), testing the mobile view and desktop view. I moved images around and tweaked copy until I had my primary pages completed (home page, about me page, services page, etc.)
DAY 6
I added my blog content. I focused on 3 really good blog posts that I knew I could write about easily. I took posts that I had made on social media (called content repurposing) for inspiration and this made the process a lot easier to expand them into blog posts. Remember for the best SEO, you want your blog posts to be 800+ words.
DAY 7
I set up my freebie that I was going to use to build my email list and tested it and mapped my Squarespace website to the primary domain I purchased from GoDaddy. The Squarespace admin panel makes this super easy to connect your primary domain to your Squarespace website but if you run into any problems remember that one of the beautiful things about Squarespace is they have 24/7 support either by email or through website chat (you need to be logged into your SS account for the online chat option).
HOW ON EARTH DID I DO IT IN 7 DAYS?!
• I stayed away from time sucking activities like scrolling through my Facebook and Instagram newsfeeds. Like completely stayed off of them. Not to scroll, not to post, nothing and you know this strategy can actually be great content for when you resurface. “Heyyyyy gang, I know I have been MIA this last week BUT I was working on launching my website and I am so excited (and relieved) to have it done! I’ve got a great blog post for you if you want to check it out 10 Simple Ways To Declutter Your Farmhouse For Spring because clutter is never good for the soul! Would love your feedback!”
• I created daily action items for myself, broke my goals down by day and put them in my desk planner. I stayed laser focused on getting my to-do list done for that day.
• When I started to feel restless like I needed to get out of the house (yes us introverts do need to get out...every once in a while) I would take my computer and to-do list to my favorite local coffee shop, find a cozy corner and lose myself in "getting it done" while sipping on a hot peppermint mocha. A change of scenery was good when I put some earbuds in and stayed focused.
• I let go of perfectionism and got okay with not needing to have it all figured out. If I got stuck on something like finishing my about page, I pushed through it knowing that if I didn't like it after reflecting on it for a couple of days I could change it. That is the beauty of the edit and delete button. Nothing we do is etched in stone, except, of course, doing nothing. Nothing, always looks the same, like a whole lot of nothing.
• I kept it simple. I needed a website that clearly conveyed who I am, my passion for helping others and what I offered. This was critical to the goals I had. When I found myself overthinking something or getting way ahead of myself, I re-focused on the priority of finishing what I needed to get done that day.
• Yes, there were some late nights to get my to-do list done. I had to tell my family that I was working on something important and that I would so greatly appreciate it if they could bare with me while I got it done. There were some eating cereal for dinner nights too and that’s okay. There can’t always be progress without sacrifice.
• When I ran into something that I couldn’t work through, I found a tutorial to help me. YouTube is full of them. How to create a form in Mailchimp was one of my biggest hurdles. Took me a couple of videos but then I got it and was able to move on to the next item on my list.\
WHAT’S NEXT?
• Stay focused on your goals and the immediate task at hand that will get you there. Yes, it's always going to feel like you have 1,435 things to do and not enough hours in the day to do them but what are the top 5 most important items that need to be done over the next 2 days? Break those action steps down and stay focused on what’s a priority (and what’s not) to keep the process and the progress flowing.
• Fire your fears. I know it feels scary to put yourself out there. I know it feels strange to "just do it" even when you don't really feel like you know what you are doing (I think Nike was onto something when they chose that as their tagline, don't you?). I get it. I deal with all of that myself too, the fear, the self-doubt the uncertainty, the moments of "What on God's green earth am I doing??!! Am I crazy?? Is there really where I need to be spending my time and energy?!?
• Be okay with feeling like that and working through it anyway. I can't tell you that it will be easy because there will be times when you feel like it’s too overwhelming but I can promise you is that in those moments when you decide to do it even though you are a scared hot mess ball of nerves who is about to fall apart and lose her ever loving mind any minute you will discover how strong, confident and capable you truly are and THAT is always worth fighting for.
• If you have come this far and feel like this is just not for you, that your time is worth a lot and you just can’t see yourself trying to learn everything that I have covered in this guide, reach out to me at aprilsociallytailored@gmail.com and mention code DESIGNED4U for $200 off my design fee and I will work to get your website created so you can focus on other areas that need your time and attention.
• If you successfully rocked this out and created a website using this guide please be sure to shoot me an email or connect with me on Instagram @beautifullyrootedcasa and share it with me! I would be so excited and honored to see what you created and give you a shout out in my IG stories. Remember friend, you have God given talents, gifts and powerful story to share with the world. I know God has great plans to use you!
Thank you for trusting me with your time and allowing me to guide you through this process.
