What is your site for?
Simple Question
What is your site for?
It is a simple question though too many folks work themselves so hard in the wrong direction.
I have found excellent training, tools and especially an great community here at Wealthy Affiliate though once in awhile I see folks leading themselves down a path that, if continued, will negatively affect their website and eventually their business and reputation.
What sparked this post was a comment in a blog I was recently part of where a member wrote something to the effect of, It's my site and I will make it what I want. This doesn't sound so bad out of context but in context the person was not at all thinking about what their site was for.
The Problem and The Answer
The answer to the question is simple, or should be if you plan to make a business of your website or in more pure form wish for folks to want to visit and stay on your website.
Your site is for your Audience.
I cannot see why anyone would create a site for no one to look at or visit or interact with or learn from or buy from. These are just a handful of the deeper reasons folks build websites.
The problem is us, the website owners and builders. We too often misplace our intent and focus. We like what we want and how we want things and lose sight of what our audience wants and mostly expects from us.
Answer this question for me - do you want people to visit your site, stay on your site, learn from your site, buy from your site or anything like this?
If your answer is yes, then you must make your website for your audience and not for yourself!
The Fix
Stop thinking of what YOU want for your site and start thinking in terms of what your AUDIENCE wants on your website.
Put yourself into your audience's shoes. Look at your site as if you were visiting it. Build your site with your audience in mind.
- Be Selfless not Selfish.
- Give to your audience don't take away from them.
- Help your audience don't show them how great you think your site is.
- Forget the gadgets, gizmos and latest fancy fads (unless of course your audience is looking for them).
- Build for them not for you.
What is YOUR Site For?
Sometimes it's hard to look in the mirror, and that is the same for anyone. I know I've had to take a few good looks in my past and it is certainly humbling though it was always the right thing to do.
Honesty, Integrity and Reputation should be of utmost importance to anyone trying to build a business or anyone who owns a business. Don't compromise these by not paying attention to your audience.
And if you are building a site without making money in mind it is also wise and mature to present yourself honestly and with integrity to build a good reputation with others.
So, I ask you, my peers, What is your site for?
ROCK ON!
E
Recent Comments
82
E
Great post and so enlightening. I also have to take time and look in the mirror at myself and ask the same questions you just asked us.
Wonder and thanks
Sheila
We all start out the same Sheila and that is friendly, social and giving.
Then we are affected by life and things change. It's important to take that look in mirror now and again. If you do, and your honest with yourself, you will be a better person. I know I am.
E
Great blog and you are so right the customer always comes first but sometimes it is hard to find something to blog about because people have so many interests. You want to write about something that interests you because that is what you know about but will it interest your audience and will they learn anything to make them want to come back because isn't that what you want it all comes back to The customer and their needs not yours. Tha'ts where research come in you need to find what your customer needs and wants and then go from there. Thanks and is that a Gibson Les Paul and yes I am a guitar player too!
You're onto it Scott!
We all write articles for our won interest at times, or do we, or should we?
This is the point I am attempting to make, we need to think about audience always, not ourselves. If we write articles about something to keep our interest how do you think it will keep our audience's interest? This sounds like a situation where the wrong niche/audience was chosen to begin with.
I do understand a bit of writers block once and again but that's a good time to not write and instead do some research to re-identify with your audience.
Thank you for your insight Scott.
Oh yeah, that is one of my guitars (I used to have 2 like it) and it is a Les Paul, awesome plank for sure! What ride do you saddle up with?
E
Hi E I have a Les Paul custom Prophesy, A SG style Les Paul Custom, A fender strat, A Hamer Prototype, an Ovation glen campbell 12 string, Takamine 6 string, and Ibenez thick custom hollow body and my favorite is my Hamer or my Strat and my SG has a Roland syn pickup in it. I have a Marshall stack and a couple of Line 6 amps and a Carvin 100 watt all tube blues master. Is that enough! LOL
Excellent point Eric. I want to start my site out with just short comments and then have the public tell me what they want/think and develop my site from their comments.
Good stuff!
That's a great idea Mike. The hardest part will be identifying with your audience to get them interested and gain their trust to provide you with what they want. Then your golden. :-)
E
It's a dandy way to prepare the audience a long time ahead. Eventually it doesn't need much promoting anymore and just put up the sites with a small write-up and our links in it. Or we could put small articles out on the social networks leading to our link-pages. But that would be a long way down the road. If we now just could "convert" the rest of our audience her and make them understand the benefits. I have a few comments on that but won't voice them here!
Right on Eric, you caught on, contrary to many other members here! I am intent on giving us, the ones who have problems with niches a leg up on promotion and most of what I get is none understanding comments. Am I so hard to understand?
If you say so Eric! Yu are the only one in the whole bunch that got my idea of promoting WA and building a better customer base, With my idea, I do believe, we could increase our member base from just about half a million to probably three quarter million within two years. There is a lot of room yet with having two billion potential customers out there. Even if with divide this figure by 100 there still are a lot of customers there that will be tapped very slowly through our present promotions. If done right, many of our members could get rich by just promoting WA and never mind that niche business.
But thanks for your confidence and understanding. No pun intended, but it shows!
I fully agree Eric. It would be disastrous for me, one bottle gets me giddy and i am not use to it anymore. But I have an ounce or two of whiskey instead! Problem is, we are at least a couple thousand miles apart and I would have to make some money first!
But it's a good idea and then there is DAN he want's to do the same thing with me! I am not sure where he is from exactly.
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If I was honest I would say that the main purpose of my site is to make money, BUT, that does not mean that I don't want to help the people I'm targeting. It seems to me that that would be the reason for the site in the first place otherwise what's the point. Totally agree, if it was just about the person and their opinion, (and I'm not saying there isn't a place for that sometimes), then I would say that is selfish. The internet is an awesome thing and used the right way can do a lot of good when used the right way. What we write about only works if it relates to the experiences of others, otherwise how can we hope to help them. I think that is what WA tries to teach here. Anyway, thanks E, great post.
I understand your perspective Wayne. I wonder, how do you talk to your neighbors, friends, family or other audiences.
You don't need to say it, I know that is not comparable to a website audience but it is not that much different either.
We can dig as deep as we need but the fact remains, and it is FACT, that you will get less "money" if you focus is not in the right place, on your AUDIENCE.
Thanks for your insight man!
E
You are right, It really is all about the AUDIENCE in the end, or like I said, "What 's the point?" Helping others is always better whether it's at home or your neighbor or on the Web. The best to you E and Happy Christmas.
Right back at you Wayne, best success and Christmas wishes to you and yours! :-)