3 Things Your Easter Egg Can Teach You About Website Marketing

They go bad, get over-decorated and get hidden so thoroughly they’ll never get found.

Do people still decorate Easter eggs? When I was a child, we had school projects about decorating.

Back then people were less sensitive to cultural differences, at least in my school. So everybody was expected to boil eggs and dip them in food coloring. We also didn’t have video games, so there was less competition for our attention among our young minds.

Since I don’t have kids I rarely see an Easter egg up close. But the analogy occurred to me when I was answering some questions last week from clients and prospects.

(1) Websites, like Easter eggs, must be used immediately or they’ll go bad.

After working with dozens of business owners to create a compelling, “stand-out” online presence, I’ve discovered that the most constant success factor is willingness to change. Your website may need change because …

…your market has changed. Your followers no longer respond eagerly to the promises you made a few years ago.

— You no longer have time to offer services that you happily delivered as recently as a year ago.

— You play on a bigger stage and your website needs to reflect your new role.

— New technologies allow you to manage your online presence more effectively.

(2) Websites, like Easter eggs, are fun to decorate, so it’s easy to forget what’s under the shell.

It’s not hard to find websites with magnificent design and the equivalent of an unsalted hard boiled egg underneath. After all, design is fun!

Clients often begin a consultation with, “I haven’t chosen colors yet!” The truth is, you’ll find your colors and logo as you create the content and work with more clients … effortlessly.
I wrote a whole blog post on this, which you can find here.

(3) Websites, like Easter eggs, can be hidden away and found only during a treasure hunt. Good for eggs. Bad for websites.

The most challenging part of a website is standing out from the pack and getting traffic. The truth is, you can get high page ranking and targeted traffic by creating compelling, relevant content. Some of my own sites and pages have landed on page 1 of Google for popular search terms … when I wasn’t even trying.

Finally, even when you peel a boiled, fresh Easter egg, you rarely have a meal. You need to supplement with side dishes or whatever people serve with boiled eggs these days (unless, of course, you are a body builder on a very rigid diet — I met one in my gym once).

Similarly, your website needs to be part of a strategic plan for online marketing.

It’s not enough to put up a site. You need to direct visitors so they can’t help tripping over it, instead of being forced to go on a treasure hunt. You’ll need to think of ways to get traffic.

Ready to plan a smooth website makeover? Download my free website planner. Just click here to claim yours.

I’m Cathy Goodwin, a former college professor who helps small business owners solve their toughest marketing challenges through storytelling. I work with clients through writing, consulting, training, and speaking. My website is http://CathyGoodwin.com