This podcast has been recorded to give small/local businesses some ideas on how they can reach out to their audience/customers on a personal level.

This is a low tech high touch style of marketing that is catching on very quickly.

SoundCloud offers a few hours recorded/uploaded audio time for free. You could upload multiple short episodes talking about your products/services. This is a great way to get started in podcasting and find out if you can use this strategy.

Why Local Businesses Should Use SoundCloud

Welcome to a quick and insightful episode of Ilkeston Web Design! I'm Darren, and today, we're tackling a website debate often seen on forums and social media: WordPress or custom-built websites? 

First things first – why are you building a website? How big is your business and what's your average turnover? How many customers do you have or want? Depending on your business objectives and budget, the choice between WordPress and a custom build may become clearer. 

WordPress, with its vast community and versatility, is our go-to platform. A whopping 810 million websites (about 43% of the entire internet) are built using WordPress as of 2023. Now, that's a number that speaks for itself.

From forums to meetups, there's a wealth of free resources available on the topic of WordPress. And if you ever need to hire someone, finding a WordPress specialist is a breeze compared to dealing with outdated software.

If you're just into casual blogging, WordPress.com might be a good start. But for serious businesses with future aspirations, the self-hosted WordPress.org is the way to go for ultimate control and ownership.

Before making a decision, it's crucial to research thoroughly. While platforms like Wix or Squarespace might seem tempting for a quick start, we'll focus on the heavyweight champion: WordPress. 

Press the podcast play button to find out why it's a favorite among website builders.

Read more about WordPress and custom build websites at the link below:

https://www.ilkestonwebdesign.com/business-website-wordpress-versus-custom/

What Kind of Website? Wordpress Vs Custom Build

You might have or want a website, but if it’s trite, you’ll never be in the business fight.

I don’t wanna make light of the fact most are crap. Don’t wanna be “talking left while walking right”…

So, I humbly suggest you plan to have the knack to attract, engage, sell and retain – over and over again, always solving problems, always fixing pain – 

without the typical written drivel, you know what I'm on about... the classic sort of incoherent chest-beating corporate-sounding abstract word salad claptrap that has no value to add.

As you can tell, I like to rhyme and rap. You might think I'm a twat, but, look... lighten up... yes, business is serious, (but people are weary with this) and people like to laugh!

What I'm saying is: drop the big business act and just ask, "What does the customer want and need?" You build the mousetrap to get decent leads, but don't be so stingy with the content please – that's the cheese!

Use words to heed, words that feed, words to help, words that sell. Lean in, Listen, reflect, repeat back and be heard.

Communicate, disseminate, persuade, build trust but don’t just take.

Prove your worth and educate, strategically, fearlessly, for there’re opportunities in all industries, yet rivals are often only about survival, so get busy thriving or dying on vines with the passage of time like all the has-beens we’ve seen get dealt the death blow before, cos they chose to snore rather than roar.

Oh my!

Also... fuck the price war!

No one profits as the “cheapest” AKA  weakest, trying to stick out meekly instead of standing up uniquely, so give quality, take pride, don’t hide, step out from behind, keep the key questions always in mind: for whom and for what purpose do you have or want this website?

Find reasons why then kindly design for digital versions of real life online, first discovering how audiences love or hate to browse and use, research and choose, buy and behave, say, think, share, recommend and review with the ultimate goal of driving your business revenue… cos if you don’t know where any one is going, any old website will do.

By the way: although it's important to have search engine success, think beyond being top of Google, since their future direction is anyone's guess. You'll do best wearing your wholistic marketing head instead of being overleveraged on this predictable algorithmic roulette. Yes.

See below if you wanna talk and say hello, I’ll gladly chat with you to tell and show stuff I like to learn and know. I’ll give you the business  website “how” if you describe your ideal “who” and “why”.

Gotta run, so until next time… bye!

https://www.ilkestonwebdesign.com/why-and-for-what-purpose-does-your-website-actually-exist/

Business Marketing Goals: Why Exactly Do You Want a Website?

Cybercrime stats are staggering, with an expected cost of 8 trillion in 2023. Strengthening passwords is crucial in the age where our digital and real lives are intertwined.

Cybercriminals employ phishing, guessing, and brute force attacks, with "social engineering" playing a significant role in compromising passwords.

Choose strong passwords with a mix of characters, symbols, and respelling. Password generators can aid in creating complex, difficult-to-crack passwords.

Online password management services may be vulnerable; consider alternatives such as saving passwords as a dgitial notepad to a password-protected USB drive for added security.

If you really do need to remember the password, use three random words from your surroundings as a password.

Avoid sending passwords in plain text via email.
Consider using QuickForget by Automattic for secure password sharing. This is brilliant tool and totally free, with the ability to attach full documents as well as plain text.

Remember, your digital security is in your hands – be vigilant against hackers and stay proactive in safeguarding your online presence.

Create Strong Passwords and Share Them Safely

Lack of confidence and/or a fear of upsetting customers often leads businesses to hunker down in silence and ignore marketing. 

It’s an odd thing, and yet, because everyone has adopted this mindset, it’s become almost, well… normal.

Yes, a website in the technical sense may be online, accessible, fast and optimised, but generally speaking, nobody will be paying much attention to it. 

On the other end of the spectrum are websites chock full of low quality drivel that exists for the sake of it and might as well have been vomited up by AI tools or monkeys with typewriters. 🙈

When economic shifts occur, the poor communication becomes a hindrance not just for businesses but also for their customers. Warren Buffet said something to the effect of “only when the tide goes out do you see who has been swimming naked.”

Communication through marketing is not just about getting attention. It’s also about supporting networking as well as both inbound and outbound sales.

If you’re a small firm operated by a skeleton crew of staff, can you honestly afford to be fielding enquiries or attending appointments that don’t turn into business? 🎲

Do you want to waste an hour on a lead that hadn’t been sufficiently warmed up by the content of your website? ⌛ 

If this describes you, there’s a good chance the same principles apply to your competitors’ marketing. They are missing out on all the same opportunities, so act soon, or another year will have gone by with no improvement.

Good marketing can bring in business for months and years. It's initially hard, which is why no one bothers to do it, but basic keyword research and data insights will help you figure out what potential customers care about and where to put your effort.

You might even be able to sell your business if you're able to transform it into a fine-tuned lead-generating money machine. Otherwise, it’s just another website banking on chance encounters with the target audience.

Just another brand with the same bland taste as everyone else’s...

Local Businesses: Crush Your Competitors!

9 Ways To Promote Your Website

Whether you’re running ads or trying to rank in search engines, think about what exactly it is you want people to feel when they interact with your business. Getting people onto your website is one thing, but converting those people into a qualified lead is another.

Let’s talk about your customer/client for a moment…

The main reason people buy is because of problems/pain they have TODAY. Most businesses are in the “problem business” which means the solution is the thing that’s for sale.

For this reason, writing about problems and solutions should be your focus – not the fancy awards you’ve won or other stuff that customers don’t care about.

99% of business present their wares like it’s a high street shop window. Said another way: it’s all very passive and a bit wet behind the ears.

Therefore, it’s highly likely that your problem (and the biggest issue blocking success) is an inability to talk about the problems your customer/client has and the solution they need.

Make sense? Listen to the recording for a total rundown on writing for your business.

https://www.ilkestonwebdesign.com/services/nottingham-derby-business-website-content-writing/

Business Writing Services To Help You Sell

Audio doscussion between graphic designers about a logo for the benefit of the client

Kitchens Bathrooms Bedrooms Logo Discussion

The logo for our client is brought to its conclusion as Darren and Lee from Ilkeston Web Design give a few useful pointers regarding how a vector logo is superior to all other graphics formats.

Midland Damp Doctor - Final Logo Discussion With Lee & Darren

Provides internet marketing and web design to small/medium businesses in the Derby and Nottingham area of the East Midlands, England.

Ilkeston Web Design

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