Three quick tips for business owners

The average amount of time someone will spend on a website is three seconds.

Time and time again I come across instances that could be hindering your business, rather than helping it, so I this month I thought I'd share three simple tips you can put into action straight away.

Tip 1 - Please don't welcome me to your website

Starting off your website with 'Welcome to my website', means absolutely nothing!  It's fluffy, empty and of no purpose.

If this is the first line of text on the Home page of your website then get rid of it immediately!

It really isn't necessary to welcome visitors to your website and as it's the first line of text they see it's very important to use this space wisely and for something they will find helpful, e.g. a list of your services, 'whats in it for them', something that will solve their problem.  

Did you know that the average time someone  will spend on a website is 3 seconds?  So your goal is to get your prospects interested as soon as possible so they will stay longer.

Tip 2 - Please don't 'Like Us' on Facebook

Okay, so you've added a little blue 'F' in a box to your newspaper advert, brochure, flyer or maybe to your email signature, along with a message that says 'Like us on Facebook', but is this really going to help people find your business Facebook page?  Probably not!

It's time you got yourself a Vanity URL for your business.  A Vanity URL is a unique identifier for your business enabling people to go straight to your Facebook page.

For example, the Vanity URL for my business Facebook page is www.facebook.com/myvirtualassistant and I can simply display this URL link on any printed matter, (just as I would with my website or email address), enabling potential liker's to find my Facebook page instantly, rather than hoping people will spend their time trying to find my page before they can 'like' it.

To discover how to set up a Vanity URL for your Facebook business page, visit:  www.facebook.com/username

Tip 3 - How organised is your inbox?

Email can be a huge drain on your time and focus and depending on your business you could receive hundreds of emails per day. Here are a few ways to help keep your inbox and email under control:

Set a schedule for checking your email.  For instance, set appointments on your calendar to check your email  four times a day, e.g. morning, lunchtime, mid-afternoon and at the end of the day.

Create email folders to store client or project related emails - keep all emails and file them by each client.

Create labels or categories to easily colour code or label emails by client or project.  This allows you to organize the emails in your inbox by label or category.

Flag urgent emails so they are easy to find in your inbox.

Move completed items out of your inbox. At the end of each day move the completed emails out of your Inbox into the appropriate folder.  This way you know that anything left in your Inbox needs your attention.