Secrets to Online Success

An Interview with Jonathan Hinshaw, web strategist and co-founder of EBWAY Creative Solutions and Certified ADOBE partner. EBWAY is a digital design agency based out of Colorado, USA - with a network of people around the world and sites serving up pages every second, we asked them to share their wisdom and successes with us...

Interview By: Mike Hinshaw of SIP Training

Q: Before we get started I'm sure everyone wants to know - what does EBWAY mean?

EBWAY is actually pig-latin for WEB. I always wanted a cool name like Google or Yelp, so I sat down for an entire weekend and did nothing but write down short words. It kind of happened by accident when my son started to say something to me in pig-latin… the rest is - as they say, is history.

Q: Well, let’s start off with the big question. What is the secret to website success?

Ha ha, the secret is this: there’s no secret. It boils down to hard work and experience. It’s a constant effort to improve what doesn’t work and maximize what does. If your site is going to be successful, then it’s got to be “Sticky”. Your site must get visitors to stick to it long enough so they can make a buying decision. A successful website will always have a proven strategy behind it. A strategy that puts the visitor into the content. Giving them something to hold onto, so to speak. Something to Stick too.

Q: So, how do I get my website to become “Sticky”, how do I get visitors to stick to my website?

Well, it won’t miraculously happen overnight but a site can improve its stickiness with visuals, branding and its structure. The basic rules of thumb are this: balance, structure, and experience, you must create something people will want to come back to time and time again. Here's a tip, you can't do that by talking about your products and services all the time - today's website visitor needs more than features and benefits - know what I mean. They need good, quality content.

Q: Can you talk more about Content? Our customers ask us about content all the time, Can you tell us the secret to Content and why it's important?

No one will visit your site more than once if it has poor content. People want to be met with inviting, helpful and useful information. They don’t want to be faced with a site full of dull or poorly written content. Make it fun, entertaining, and useful. But don’t overwhelm your users with pages and pages of text – keep it short and sweet.

It's actually harder to write less. Give users the key messages they need, or their attention will go bye bye. Without nailing this, the other factors to achieving site stickiness are pointless. Poor content will distort your website.   - It’s important to remember that not only do you need to create good content – you also need to regularly update it – this will help make your site sticky by offering visitors an incentive to keep coming back. Write about what you know, the services and products you offer and the industry they fall into.

Q: OK, with that in mind, how do I give them what they want - I mean, how do I know what Content will work?

It's really quite simple. Carry out research on what your audience wants from your site and gather as much information as you can (without being annoying). This is what I do at EBWAY all day long. I research and analyze things that will either help or hurt my customers. Part of my job is knowing what works, the other - finding out what doesn’t.

Don't make the mistake of writing your own content to save a buck - hire a copywriter. Then, let the designer and copywriter work together to create product visibility with functional interactivity; this gives your user a more fulfilling and engaging environment they will want to return to. Most professional web design agencies either have a copywriter in house or a relationship with someone they trust.   - Remember: Engagement is key to site stickiness. You can’t get that with the same old babble everyone else is using.

Q: This might be off topic but, does Social Media help, if so, why?

ABSOLUTELY! Yes. and It's not off topic.

Fact. Social media is huge. Make the most of platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. If done right, the benefits for your brand are endless. In its simplest form, social media is a quick and cost effective way to engage with your target audience. People have become accustomed to real-time conversations that they can tap into and take part with at any time, and they will expect this from you as well. But, here’s come that word again - “Content”. Have a professional help you the descriptions and content you put into Social Networking sites. Again, content is key.

This is a "NOW" internet. No one cares about yesterday anymore, they want to know what's hot now. And Social Media provides just that. In short, you get to communicate with your customers outside the typical "Sales" scenario - this makes them more open to talk about what their really looking for. In a way, their guard is down.

Q: Let's talk a bit about the design. Is there a "Perfect" way to design my website?

YES. and No. - There is a perfect way to "Design" your site - if we're talking branding. If we're talking functionality and/or coding, then the answer gets a little tricky.

For starters, the idea that a website could be perfect needs to be thrown out the window right now. All websites develop new weaknesses over time. As content is added, structure is changed, and designs are tweaked, we introduce problems into our sites that were not previously there. And let's not forget the ever changing browsers and new devices that your customers are using. Each new device is a chance to show your customers whether or not you are serious.

The Truth is, there is only way to "design" your website. And that depends entirely on your brand, your goals, and your budget. But, the perfect website… Well that is a myth.

Q: I’m just wondering, all this talk of content and design and strategy - could I just get a couple of books and do this myself on the weekend? Is it possible?

YES. It’s absolutely possible. However, it takes a huge commitment to learn this stuff. I mean, forget about color theory and layout design - even throw out web design all together. It took me 3-4 months just to learn how to use DreamWeaver and Photoshop together, then they releases CS4 and now CS5 - I’m stuck in a never ending learning cycle - the difference is, I love it! The amount of software and the knowledge it takes to run that software is enormous (we’re talking professional web design). Sure, now it’s easy - I can do stuff in 5 minutes that used to take 3 hours. But it took me 7 years to get here. I think it would be better to just let the guys who loves to design build your site, unless you’re one those guys - then, more power to you. But get ready for some serious study time, your first website will be better served as a picture on your Moms fridge - don’t use it for your business!

Q: So, it sounds like I need to find a pro, can I just hire someone and forget about about it?

Absolutely Not. We’ve been talking here about how to be successful online, basically about successful websites. It’s your business and it’s you website. You have to be involved! I tell our clients all the time, get ready to work - we put our clients to work because we need them. Running a successful website is a lot of work for the business owner. The site needs to be constantly updated and then there’s the Social Marketing and the Email Marketing, and all those other ingredients that require research, input, and don’ forget typing “ugh”. But, someone has to do it.

Q: Would you help me to outline some sort of Success Strategy for our readers? Something they could use to get them started down the road to website success?

I would love to!

Do some research. Don’t do anything until you learn a little something about websites. I’m not talking wen design now, I’m talking web business. The first thing to do is to purchase the book called “Website Owners Manual” [http://boagworld.com/websiteownersmanual/], written by Paul Boag - one of my heros and probably the best web strategist in the world. It’s the best $35 bucks you’ll ever spend. Then, read it. Twice! This will become your website Bible, take it everywhere!
Start a list of web design agencies you’d like to work with. This is the tricky part! Don’t just click on the top Google add for web designer. First decide what type of website you want, then find designers that specialize in that type of design. Let’s say you want to have a website with a really strong blog - well then, find a WordPress designer who has done work that suites your needs. Look their portfolio and ask for example sites.
We actually offer Web Consultancy [http://ebwaycreative.com/web-consultancy/] at EBWAY for this very thing. We consult with Business Owners all the time, helping them find the perfect agency. Not even EBWAY is perfect for everyone. Most of all, just talk to people in the industry.
Start looking at your competition. Do this now! What they doing right? What are they doing wrong? Get a list of your top competitors - both online and offline.
Content Planning. You can never start this too early. Here’s a great blog article that covers planning in much greater detail than we can do here - Smashing Mags, Content Planning.
Secure your domain names. Purchase all the domain names for your company in the .com, .net etc. Then, make sure you secure your business names in the social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Don’t get stuck with "AcmeCompany2846377" - that just looks lame.
Set up professional email accounts. That should go without saying. "GoFastGuy3857@aol.com" doesn’t say professional, it says lazy.
Get a journal started. This could be digital or printed - whatever you like. And start writing down your ideas. You don’t have to be a web designer to have great ideas. Many of the webs most successful apps were created y guys that couldn’t write a lick of code. Journal your keywords, industry info, start to sketch out who you are and how you want to present yourself.

That’s it, for starters. The funny part if this. After you get through with Step 1 - the purchase of the Website Owners manual - everything will simply fall into place. The truth is there’s no secret - it’s just dedication and patience. I wish you and your clients the best of luck.

By the way, The Website Owners Manual is not an EBWAY or SIP product, it is the sole product of the author and should be treated as such.

Thank you Jonathan Hinshaw! I though I would plug Jon's sites as they are a great resource too. Actually Jonathan just re-designed EBWAYCreative.com, so check it out. Also - take a look at EBWAYDev.com, his Adobe Partnership site.