MJTVGirl's Constant Client Stream Guide

I know this sounds like, “duh, MJTVgirl….you into the wine a little early today?” — but, in reality, many of us have this issue. Any of these sound familiar?

• “I don’t want to put prices on my page – each client is sooooo different,”
• “I will put up ALL the things I could ever conceive of doing for a client on the website. They will find what they are looking for,”
• “A website is the place I can showcase everything….that way, everyone will see how incredibly talented I am!”

OK..no. No. And most definitely NO.

Let’s address pricing: do you realize that you are missing a HUGE SEO opportunity if you don’t talk about pricing? What if you wrote an article that addressed “How Much Does it Cost to X” – fill in your specialty or product. Wouldn’t that be an article you think a LOT of your prospective customers would be searching for? Particularly if you are in a business where the pricing is not necessarily so available? If you are clear about your pricing, say it.

In terms of a business that custom-fits the product or service to the client need, that is fine, however, I would recommend you come up with “products”: packages that you know many of your target customers would want. This is a great way to show them the product/service you are offering can be boxed-up in a meaningful way — and they can get their heads around what you do. If you are so vague about how everything will work, they won’t trust you and will go elsewhere.

Next – there is not really such a thing as a competent generalist. Most of us do some sort of specialized work. Whether it is for one or two industries or within one category. For example, both of these could be true: “I build pools” OR “I build high-end, custom pools.” If you have a beautiful mansion and are looking for something really unique, who would YOU call? The point is, be specific to what you’re offering. The narrower (narrower?) you can be, the more expressive and the more you can address specific issues — these are your clients.  Searching for help and finding that level of specificity feels like slipping into a warm bath. Ahhhhhh……

One more little point on this: If we are the pros, why would you leave it up to those who seek the help to “figure it out” on your website what you do and how you can help them? I would never want to leave it up to a customer who is looking for help to accurately diagnose what type of help he or she needs. In a service industry, that is my job. All they know is “something isn’t working and I need help.” For god’s sake, help ‘em find help.

The third no-no is really just an ego issue. Remember — the best copywriting, the best kind of content addresses the NEED – and it’s not “hey, wonder where I can find a guy with a HUGE ego to help me?” No one is searching for that. They need your help. Let them find you. OK?