Getting ready for your website launch

Because I realize that not “all” of my listeners have pulled the trigger, and launched their business, I thought it would be a great idea to have a website launch expert on the show. In fact, this episode answers a very important question: What makes a website “launch-ready”? And what if you’re not yet at the point where you can outsource your website copywriting and design to a freelancer? What are the absolutely essential components that you need to attract clients?
What this episode covers:

• What this week’s guest, Liz Theresa does
• The copywriting masterclass Liz just launched and what it covers
• The similarities between the personalities of Liz and her clients
• How a job interview for a job that involved writing product descriptions for an E-Commerce business that sells wigs, led to an important “ah-ha” moment about what her business should cover.
• How an amazing word of advice from her mom to not wait to get permission to do what she wants to do was the push she needed to get started
• How I can so relate to Liz’s story of how she got started and the tough dilemma of taking a stable job or starting something new.
• We both talk about why we didn’t really know that we’d become an entrepreneur but ended up doing that anyway!
• Why so many people at first didn’t seem to think it was going to work at first, but it did anyway!
• The reason why…no matter what stage of their business Liz’s clients is at, going online creates thousands of different fears.
• Why Liz feels like she’s different than her clients…in a sense that she didn’t feel like she had to worry about appearances, but she understands why that’s an issue anyways.
• The reason why Liz starts by asking her clients what they’re afraid of and forcing them to choose which life they would rather pursue
• Why she’s not a fan of the words “I just do…whatever”, and why building relationships with her clients are about a lot more than just that.
• The reason why what makes your business special is about you as “you”, and how this makes “DIY” web copy challenging
• Why being proud of what you put online is key when it comes to hitting “publish”, but if you just find it okay and you’re doing it yourself that’s alright too!
• The reason why Liz thinks Squarespace is a better option for those who are going the “DIY” route with their website than something like Wordpress or Bluehost
• Why she’s a huge believer in taking courses to prep you for launching a business, in the areas you’re not already strong
• The importance of making some entrepreneur friends in the process, because well…yeah, entrepreneurship can be lonely!
• My story of how co-working has helped me work around that.
• I admit that I underestimate the value of Wordpress, simply because that’s the medium I was trained in, and how I really realize how that’s something others might find challenging
• How taking a specialized course that benefits your business can really help
• How it can be really hard to write and create your own web copy, even if it’s what you specialize in, and the workaround: getting an objective eye to look at it can help
• The tendency to overinform on websites, if you’re the one doing the work on your own brand.
• The most common problems with web copy: saying too much or being too abstract.
• The value of saying what you mean when it comes to web copy, and how both our experiences working in customer service informed both our belief in that.
• How what’s valuable has changed since Liz first started
• Why it’s more important than ever to make it clear who you are and what you do
• How it’s now more powerful than ever to have a very “real”, authentically your voice. See my solo episode on customer loyalty to see why I’m a huge believer in this
• The value of getting someone that doesn’t know your business at all to look at your website and determine whether or not what you’re saying makes sense.
• Why Liz believes that putting everything from your site into a word doc and getting rid of everything you hate is a great idea.
• The reason why you should focus just on who you are and who you serve.
• The value of also including details about who you are and what you do, and how that can help…getting straight to the point is important.
• Why people get a bit afraid talking about their ideal customer, and the importance of telling your authentic story.
• Why being authentic about your story can be so important…because it’s what you’ve got!
• How exercises that get in the head of the target audience really help, and why we’re both not fans of customer avatars
• An example of how Liz’s “I really get you” exercises work: we use the example of a for-hire firefighter as an example…
• How the point really is just to focus on people’s problems and how you can solve them.
• Why you actually don’t have to be a great writer to have great copy.
• The problem with flowery copywriting: “clarity over cleverness” being the key objective.
• Why clarity is so important.
• Liz’s most important word of advice re those who are launching…. you already have all the answers, stop looking at your competition!
• The importance of focusing on what makes you excited about this, and looking at things from the point of view of what you want out of your ideal customer
• How talking about your business, the same way as you would talk about it to your friend is so important
• My additional tip on this subject: how learning how to explain things to people who don’t understand my industry has taught me a lot.
• Why we both agree that people need to stop asking others for opinions about small things like their logo in Facebook groups
• However, they’re great for support and relationship building!
• The hundreds of ways to get help for free, and why Facebook shouldn’t be one of them.

About this week’s guest Liz Theresa, business coach and founder of LizTheresa.com, has been helping entrepreneurs find clarity and uniquely market themselves with confidence for the past 7 years through her strategic website design and clever copywriting services. She wants every entrepreneur to rise and be the star of their own business. She’s also the creator of Concept to Creation™, her flagship branding and web design program and you can download a free copywriting training video from her at freecopyvideo.com.
Where you can find Liz online:
Check out her website: https://liztheresa.com/
Like her Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/liztheresa
 Listen to her podcast: https://liztheresa.com/podcast-archive/
 Sign up for her copy masterclass: https://copymasterclass.com/
How you can follow this podcast (and learn more about its host)
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