But don’t feel bad. Mine doesn’t either.

A sizable portion of my business is getting small business owners online exposure for the first time. And naturally, the first step most of them want to take is to get a website going (natural because it usually stems from a fair percentage of their customers asking them, “Do you have a website?”). It took me a while to learn, but now I have a standard disclaimer/speech I give every prospective client. I think it’s good advice for everyone in business, especially newcomers to the Web:

Once your website is live, don’t expect it to perform miracles. You’ll be disappointed. It won’t lure new customers the next day. It won’t get your business into Forbes or the Wall Street Journal. It will be a very tiny needle in a very, very big haystack (a haystack that’s growing every day).

In fact, your website isn’t going to do anything. It’s just a tool. And like any tool, it won’t do anything if it just sits there. If you were building, say, a deck, you wouldn’t get frustrated with your hammer if it didn’t pound in all the nails by itself, would you? You pick the right took, and then you have to use it.

You’re trying to build your business. Don’t get frustrated with your website (or with me) if it doesn’t do anything. You have to use it. Get the word out about it. Let people know it’s there, and why they should visit it. Put your URL on everything you send out, put up and give away. Put it on the side of your car. Put it on the top of your car. Put it on your wall. Put it on your bags. Ask everyone you know to tell everyone they know – by word of mouth, by phone, by e-mail, by news release, by Facebook, by Tweeting about it, by blogging about it.

In other words, don’t look at getting your website up as the end of your online marketing campaign – look at it as the beginning. If you don’t use it, it’s a wasted tool (but at least your neighbor isn’t likely to ask if he can borrow it).

One Response to “Your Website Doesn’t Do Anything.”