Day Eight – Website

We all have to have them – if you don't, it's like owning a business without a telephone – but it's extraordinary what barriers of mind appear when the thought comes "I need to make (update) my website." I am not immune to this disease – I suffer from it. BodyChance's website in Japan is long overdue for renewal. I made a big push and finally got a quote: $45,000. I thought "That's ridiculous." So I went to the States, found another vendor, asked for the same thing: $43,000. "Impossible. I am not paying that." So I kept muddling about and finally found a guy in Romania who could do the same thing for $5,000. God bless eLance. Today's Mission – Nichify your Website

I know many of you will groan on reading that and think: "But I don't have my niche yet." Well, yes you do. You have your avatars, right? You've done that exercise, or at least you have thought some about the kind of people you have (or want to have) and have been able to generate a generic image of a person (or persons) who symbolize those people. Your avatar(s). It isn't perfect. It's not a power niche, it's more multi-niching. But our 30 Day Challenge is to work with what we have, and plan for what we want. The ideal long-term niche is a person with several problems in a large moneyed community that is focused on some kind of movement activity. If you have that (cycling for example) you've hit pay dirt. You can work that into a long term retirement plan. Just saying: have that objective front and centre. So back to the multi-nichers: based on the people you have coming – what kind of things link them together? You. That's the obvious first answer – at least for the ones that stay, and they are your best students. Best students here means those that stick – and actually that's as true pedagogically as it is financially. What is it about the people who stay? They like the work, but more importantly, they like the way you teach the work. They like you. They trust you. So you need to be present on your website. Not Alexander Technique. So if you are a still a multi-niche teacher, struggling to find a message that will bind together a disparate group of people, then you are the glue you are looking for. You are the niche. So make the website about you. It's called celebrity niching, and it usually comes at the end of niching process, not the start. But what the heck. Personality-centred selling has taken over these days: it is something people understand and respond to. Front page, dead centre, is your story. Your story will authentically weave in the problems you've had that you know your avatar(s) will identify with. Ideally you'll pick the most prevalent avatar and talk to him or her – same principle: sell to one person, not several at once. The students who will stick with you are the ones who will feel comfortable with you – so better they find out now who you are. In sharing yourself, you are pre-qualifying people for your lessons. These must be people are not financially challenged, trust you, are willing to work on themselves, and see the value in sticking to something. Which of your avatars best fits that description? Next: Watch and Wonder… Sit down with a note book, thinking about your avatar, and imagine how (s)he will respond to your current website? Where is it working? Where can it be improved? If you don't have a website yet, then imagine what it is they want to see, and sketch that out in your note book. One thing to note: testimonials from like-minded people will go a long way to convincing them. So make sure you have those – if you have a problem selling you, then let your students sell you. If they love you, they will be happy to do that. (If you can't find any willing to do that, maybe celebrity niching is not your thing either? Keep wondering…) You want your avatar to have an integrated experience: from how they first find you, your website, your product, your service – everything along that chain is logically linked to fit the kind of experience you understand they want. Today – wonder how your website can fit into that?