Did you know that 80% of business-to-consumer customers and 90% of business-to-business customers start with an online search? No matter what your business and no matter who you sell to, your customers are looking for you online.
I’m talking to you, freelance editors.
It’s all well to say that you don’t do marketing and instead grow your business through word of mouth. That may be true, but when those words reach your prospective client’s ears, research shows the first thing they’re going to do is look for you online.
Will they find you?
Having a LinkedIn profile and entries in professional directories can help, of course. Those are part of a strong professional web presence. But if your prospect doesn’t go there first, how will they find you?
When we’re looking for something, most of us head straight to a search engine. Whether we have a specific name or just a query, we’re seeing what comes up in the search results.
If you don’t have a website, how will you come up in the results?
A website signals professionalism and credibility. As a business owner, you’ve taken the time to put together at least the basic information prospective clients need to decide whether to contact and perhaps hire you. Sure, there are a lot of questionable businesses that also have websites, but that’s because they know people value those sites.
Let’s say a friend recommends a plumber to you but doesn’t have their contact information handy. You search online for this plumber and can’t find them. How can you contact them? And how confident are you that they run their business in a way that won’t make them a pain to work with?
A website also gives you an opportunity to persuade prospective clients that you’re the right editor for them. It does that by educating them on what services you offer and how they help your clients, showing them how skilled and knowledgeable you are, and demonstrating how you stand out from all other editors. Achieve this, and you’ve likely persuaded them to contact you!
The potential clientele gained from creating a website is too important an opportunity to ignore. It’s a necessity for your freelance editing business, especially if you’re just starting out.
If you don’t yet have a website or you want to improve the site you have, I can help. On Saturday, February 24, I’m teaching Build Your Freelance Editing Business Website for the British Columbia chapter of Editors Canada. This three-hour course will cover:
- Website technology
- Website content
- Website goals
- Core website pages
- SEO
- Website security
- Website backups
- Website maintenance and updates
The handout includes tons of helpful resources and a worksheet to help you plan your website.
Can’t make it that day? Sign up anyway! The course is being recorded, so you’ll be able to watch it at any time!
Sign up now for my course Build Your Freelance Editing Business Website on February 24 and start building your online presence!
