How To Build A Website That Sells Something (…and get it set up in 3

hours)

Will Ward @willward1

Why should you listen to me?

My Online Businesses:

About This Class:

• This is a test.

• This is a business class, not a web design class

• This is a 35,000 foot overview

• Money is attracted to speed

• Don’t get bogged down with technology. If you’re stuck:

1) Google it

2) Ask in a forum

3) Hire someone to fix it (I’ll show you where later)

Types of Selling Sites• Single Product eCommerce:

www.drinksoma.com• Multi-product eCommerce:

http://www.socksaddict.com/• Professional Service: http://19days.com/• Lead Generation (sales happen off-site):

http://www.maritimesales.com/

The Big Idea:

Creating a selling website is something you can do in a matter of hours, for less than $200

The Bigger Catch:Because making a site is easy, you have to

work much harder to stand out

Today, you’ll learn how to:Part II: Build Your Site

• Domain name• Install Wordpress• Find and install a theme• Customize theme• Integrate Paypal• Get more Wordpress help• Q&A

Part I: Create Your Strategy

• Free Legal Advice in DC • Target Market• Measuring Demand• Creating USP• Your Offer• Q&A

Part III: Promote Your Site

• SEO• Other platforms• Paid traffic• More resources• Q&A• Drinks?

Part I: Strategy

I’m Not A Lawyer!

You can get free small business legal advice through the DC Bar Association

Email dmaxwell@dcbar.org and ask to join the small business mailing list

Key Strategy #1Ultra Specific Target Market

• Who (two qualifier method)• Why (holiday gift, travel, life stage)• Psychographics (tribes)• Behavior (past customers or opt-ins)

Key Strategy #2Measuring Online Demand With Google Keyword Planner

Key Strategy #3Your Unique Selling Proposition

(USP)1) Buy this product for this specific benefit

2) This positioning is unique in the market

3) Strong enough to attract the right customers

Examples of USPs

• “Fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes – or it’s free”

• “15 minutes could save you 15% on your car insurance”

• USPs on the internet: http://fizzle.co/sparkline/10-examples-of-killer-unique-selling-propositions-on-the-web

Key Strategy #4 The Mouthwatering Offer

1) You give me $X, I’ll give you Y

2) Bonus / Free extras?

3) Guarantee / Risk Reversal

4) Call to Action “Here’s exactly what to do next…”

10 Minute Power Break:

Write Down:

1) Target market

2) Version 1 of your USP

3) 5 keyword ideas

4) Your about page: 5 sentences. Your story. Your product’s story. Your physical location. How to contact you

Part II: Build Your Site

The Minimum Costs Involved:• Domain Name: www.yourname.com

Cost: ~$15 per year

• Web Host: stores your website, sends it to visitors, provides email

Cost : ~$60 per year and up

• Wordpress Theme: software that controls the look and feel of your site

Cost: free up to $200+)

• Paypal: Allows you to accept credit card and other payments

Cost: ~3% of your sales and monthly fee for advanced features

Step 1: Pick Your Domain Name

• Use keywords you researched in Strategy phase

• Easy to remember and spell• See what’s available related to your

keywords at: www.NameBoy.com

Step 2: Hosting and Wordpress Install

A. Hosting Options• Hostmonster (lower end)• WP Engine (higher end)

B. Content Management System• Wordpress (Free, open source)

C. Log-on to your new site!!!

http://www.yoursite.com/wp-login

D. Configure your email (we will skip this step here)

Step 3: Install Themes & Plugins

Themes: The look and feel of your site• WooThemes• Theme Forest

Plugins: Extend Wordpress functions• Woo Commerce• Wordpress SEO, Backup

Step 4: Configure Your Site

• About Page => Home page• Quick and Dirty Logo• Gravitar• 2 products• Products to front page [?]• Currency & payment config

Getting Help With Wordpress

Fiverr.com• Cheap logos• Basic technical questions

Elance.com• Customizing your theme• Integrating credit card processing• Making your site faster (caching)

Part III: Promote Your Site

80/20 SEO for eCommerce

• Have a lot of content• Unique content: Do not copy anyone else’s

(or your own if you can avoid it) text• Target 1 keyword per page with the

Wordpress SEO plugin• Get links from other well-established sites

Steal the Traffic of Other Sites

• Ebay store => email list => your site• Etsy store => email list => your site• Amazon => email list => your site• In person => email list => your site• YouTube videos => your site• Pinterest postings => your site• Guest post on popular blogs => your site

Paid Traffic (advanced)

• Google Adwords• Google product listing ads• Google retargeting and • Facebook ads• Amazon product feeds• Banner ads

Here’s What To Do Next:

Go home and put up a crappy version 1.0 of your site• Commit to working on it for 30 days• Get 5 products listed• Get a compelling story on your “About”

page• Build 5 links to your site from other sites

Get these slides and videos at:willward1.com/kcdc

Q & A