Tell Them More: Your Website Bonus Page

This week in our series on How to Create and Write a Great Website, we’ll cover the Bonus page. This is the place to go in depth about your process, answer FAQs, tout your upcoming events or, (Dare we suggest it?), blog!

The 'Bonus' Page

While the other pages we’ve talked about so far in this series – Home, Services, About and Proof – are needed by almost all small business websites, we also recommend allowing room in your website navigation for a "Bonus" page. This page clearly won't be called “Bonus,” but think about what might be missing on your website that would make it that much easier for someone to decide to hire or buy from you. The subject of the Bonus page should be determined by the needs of your business and the audience you’re speaking to:

If your business is well established, you might need to separate some of the aspects of your Proof page into a separate page. For example, your website might have both a Testimonials page and a Portfolio page – like ours!

• Similarly, you might decide to spin one aspect of your Services page off into its own page. For some businesses, it might be important to dive deeper into your process or method. Or perhaps you have a longer FAQs section that deserves its own page.
• If you regularly hold events or workshops, your website could benefit from a separate Events page – and your site visitors will appreciate being able to quickly find what’s up and coming from your main site navigation. Similarly, if you have a host of media mentions or you’ve been profiled in newspapers, magazines, blogs, podcasts or other websites, a Press page is a great way to show that you – or your products – have been publicly recognized.
• You may have plans to blog. Blogging helps further your credibility and positions you as a thought leader in your space. But the benefits actually go beyond that. Blogging can help boost your site’s SEO by creating a steady supply of fresh content and keywords.

If you’re thinking about blogging, remember that this is a major, ongoing commitment. We've seen too many blogs start strong but then get abandoned when the business owner runs short on time or inspiration. To keep this from happening to you, we recommend taking the following steps before you blog:

• Develop a long list of topics that cover information valuable to your target audience. Think about the questions you get asked most often by potential clients and what’s on their minds.
• Make sure you content is actually valuable or helpful to the people you want to work with. This is your chance to show your audience you know your stuff. Use this opportunity to position yourself as an expert within your niche, and potentially get more business from the right people.
• Set a schedule for blogging and commit to it. A good pace for a business that’s just starting to blog is two posts per month. Your schedule should also include plans for promoting your blog articles on your social media accounts.
• Block out time for writing your blogs or enlist the help of a professional writer. Remember that a blog can play a big part in your business development and reputation, so high-quality content and consistency is key.

DesignGood Pro Tip:

On the fence about whether or not you actually want to have a blog? Here’s what we always tell our clients: It’s actually pretty rare that someone will go to your site and just start reading your posts. But a blog does give you content to send out in a newsletter via email, or it can become an article you can share on LinkedIn or Medium. You can also usually break up a single blog post into three or four social posts, so consider where you might be able to reuse or repost your blog content to give it greater reach.Your blog is also a really great place to start talking about subjects you can eventually turn into a workshop, a book, an online course, or speak about at a event. So don’t think of a blog as just a blog. Think of all the other ways you can use that content to promote your businesses and call in future opportunities!

Resources:

These articles from the DesignGood blog include additional tips on launching your own blog and managing your email marketing:

• How to Create an Editorial Calendar For Your Brand
• ‍4 Ways to Conquer Blog Writer's Block
• ‍How to Get Help Creating Content For Your Business
• ‍Why Email Marketing is Still Important – and Always Will Be

Questions To Get You Started:

Consider these questions when thinking about your Bonus page.

1. What additional services could I consider as part of my future business? (For example, teaching workshops, speaking engagements, guest writing, etc.)
2. What can I commit to keeping up with now? Blogging and email marketing? Holding events? Sharing articles on LinkedIn or Medium?
3. What else might be missing on my site that people need to know about to hire me or buy from me? Can it be included in another area, or does it need its own page?

As always, if you need pro guidance on branding your business and creating a great website, the team at DesignGood is here for you. Schedule a call with Kristin to chat about what it means to have an effective website and a brand that supports your business dreams.