Following on from last week’s Leader in which I included tips for getting the best from your websites, (whilst also highlighting some of the pitfalls potential buyers face – hope these are now checked and sorted!) I thought it would be timely to share advice on how to get potential buyers or partners to visit your website in the first place. 

  

Some of the tips I gave don’t just apply to websites themselves… journalists tend to rely on press releases so please keep them coming! Remember though to make sure we have everything we need. Do include a picture or two, (‘before & after’ or ‘in use’ shots are great if you’re selling products and equipment or a cleaning service) along with full contact details for use by potential buyers or partners – not just for journalists who may need to clarify something in the release. Yes it’s handy to know who we need to call with these, but this isn’t any good for our readers who may already be sold on your offering from what they’ve just read and are keen to arrange a demo or place an order. I also mentioned how useful case studies are and the same goes for press releases… a case study can do most of your work for you, not only selling features and benefits but also talking about costs cut and time saved in tangible terms. It’s frustrating to find these on your websites and know that I wasn’t given the opportunity to include them in one of Cleanzine’s broadcasts when they first surfaced. 

  

Social media brings its own issues… I’ll see things posted – it may be a picture or even a short video with a few words of description which really sings your product’s or service’s praises. This will reach your network if - and only if - members of your network happen to be scrolling when your post appears. Your good news - most of the time - will be buried. In the early days of social media there was a 'good time' to post stuff for maximum exposure, i.e. early morning, lunchtime, early evening and late at night. Now so many of us trade globally and have global networks, this 'trick' doesn't work. Whether it’s your social media posts or your employees’… Send me your post and picture too along with further information about the product or service featured – or a link to where I might find it myself and I’ll do the rest. It doesn’t cost you anything other than a minute of your time. And if I subsequently ask you to expand on or clarify something, or if I come across something myself and ask if it’s OK to reproduce it, please do get back to me! 

  

Finally, don't 'assume': If you're familiar with what you're saying, it's easy to think everyone else will be, which isn't always the case. Explain what things are or what they mean. Don't go straight in with an acronym and expect everyone to understand its’ meaning. Always spell it out the first time you use one. And check your spelling! One of the first things I learnt on my journalism courses was to always get someone else to read what you've written, since, as you know in your head what you've meant to say, you automatically read it that way even if you've misspelt something or what you've written is ambiguous. Going back to what I said last week about how a case study subject becomes part of your extended sales team, (but without the company car and expense account) so can Cleanzine, so do please keep us updated!