In this post, I will discuss how to market your service-based or web design firm without having to make any sales.

1) Show Your Work, first

I don’t want to get you guys into any kind of buffer before we immediately begin. Showing your work is the first and most important step you can do to get clients on autopilot. Three words: Austin Kleon wrote a book titled Show Your Work in which he outlines in detail how you can promote your work as you go along.

Without disclosing information to the customer, you can maintain transparency while establishing a daily procedure that allows others to understand exactly what you’re doing.

As a result, they are always witnessing what you do on a daily basis in addition to knowing that you are a web designer. As a result, you begin to develop a value-based identity.

People will now automatically think, “Okay, whenever I need web design or development projects, I’m going to hit up Harrison and his agency, because I’m seeing his content on a daily basis, I’m looking at his processes, his systems, the quality of his work,” when they see your content, it keeps you in their mind.

You finally establish yourself as a thought leader in the field. You can easily create user-generated content, by using Instagram to share your work in this way, explaining the process to viewers, and making it seem incredibly simple and easy.

They will want to collaborate with you because they will either;

1. Ask you questions
   
2. See you as a thought leader in the field and would want to patronize you.

2) Produce Social Evidence

You must begin generating social proof. As a result, you must first create a folder called “Notion whenever” on your Google Drive before gathering any client testimonials. Create a repository or folder of all the documents you receive from clients or other people you work with. This could include screenshots of conversations you’ve had, direct messages you’ve received, or even Slack messages.

You may use that on your website, in social media posts and tweets, and in tweets and posts, so make sure you learn how to use it because social proof is essential if you want to attract customers automatically.

The following action you should take is to establish a Google reviews page. How many agencies don’t even have one of these? I have no idea. Therefore, you may use Google to generate a listing, and as you gain local authority, you’ll start to appear in organic search results.

Google offers what they refer to as a “five map pack.” The top five organizations or businesses in that region will also be included in that map pack. Now that you have that listing, you can still get some local clients even if you work with clients across the country and compete with large agencies.

You have five agencies, let’s say. You’re more inclined to choose the option with the most reviews, whether it has seven, thirty, or three reviews. Now that we have a lot on our agency website, it actually helps us attract more clients because it serves as social proof that people can see, read the reviews, and understand exactly what we offer.

So once more, be sure that you’re:

1. Compiling all of your references and data into a Google Drive or Notion document to create a repository.
2. Ensure that you register for Google reviews, and ask your clients for reviews without a doubt.

3) Participate in Communities You Can Find

Finding communities and being involved in them as much as you can is the final step—and this is the secret ingredient right here.

First and foremost, Facebook groups are fantastic spaces for collaboration. By responding to queries, you can demonstrate that you are an industry thought leader. So once or twice a week, check out your favorite Facebook groups, then just talk to people there, right?

Respond to inquiries and people- Twitter and Facebook groups are gold mines for this. Just be careful to only join communities that you already belong to. Therefore, I enjoy participating in UI/UX forums, Webflow, and design, and I’m happy to jump in and answer questions if they are asked.

By consistently offering that extra benefit, you frequently start to establish yourself as a thought leader in the field. And as soon as you establish yourself as a thought leader, leads begin to pour in like crazy.

Conclusion

Just to summarize everything for you, there are three techniques to approach potential clients without having to sell:

1. Publish your work.
2. Verify that you are using social proof.
   
3. Engage in group communication, community involvement, and question-answering to assist others.

I promise that if you stick with it for 30 days, leads will begin to come in. Then, as those leads increase and you begin to receive referral business, you’ll watch as it all grows into a fully-fledged, prosperous agency.

I hope this was helpful, and I wish you the best of luck. Until next time. Peace!

Neglecting or running an outdated website is one of the top mistakes that organizations make nowadays.

Just having social media accounts won’t cut it if you want your business to succeed online; you must step it up and provide your clients a well-maintained website that they can browse and interact with.

What’s your apologies?

Typical justifications given by website owners for not redesigning their outdated sites include:

1. I appreciate the existing design, but in reality, what matters is what is “effective” or “essential,” not what you “enjoy.”
2. I routinely update the information on my website: People are either drawn to or turned off by a website’s design before they read any information.
3. Design is irrelevant: Design does, in fact, matter. According to research, 38% of users will quit interacting with a website if the design or content are unappealing.
4. My website is superior to those of my rivals’ Even if this is the case, a well-designed website can help you do far better by significantly raising your conversion rate.

If the design or content of a website is ugly, 38% of visitors will stop interacting with it. So let’s go through 5 valid signs why your website needs a redesign.

1) Your website appears dated or jumbled

Does your website resemble a design from the 1980s? Your website is undoubtedly out of date if it was designed at least three years ago. Because websites deteriorate with time, think about redesigning.

To draw in and keep visitors on your website, it must appear sufficiently contemporary. Additionally, it must have a visually pleasing design.

Regularly check the copyright (©) year at the bottom of your website to ensure it’s the current year. A past date makes it look like your website has expired or isn’t active.

Your new site ought to:

• appear tidy and less cluttered;
• have content that is organized well;
• Be appealing to visitors’ eyes;
• a menu with clear navigation;
• contain the proper pictures.

2) Search engines do not give your website a high ranking

You should absolutely think about a thorough overhaul if search engines aren’t picking up on the existence of your website.

You would have the chance to reconsider your content strategy and rewrite your content in a way that is search engine friendly if you redesign your website.

If you are serious about success online, SEO is no joke. With this advice in mind, a fresh and contemporary website should be created.

Your new site ought to:

• Feature informative, well-written material that is packed with relevant keywords;
• employ headings and meta tags appropriately;
• contain pictures that have been search engine optimized;
• a sitemap in XML;
• being put up on search engines;
• Adapt to mobile devices (more on this below).

3) Your website doesn’t aid in lead generation

A well-designed website is an excellent marketing tool that should aid in the expansion of your company. Your current website should absolutely be redone if it doesn’t support your company’s objectives.

Your new website ought to include:

• clear summons to action
• Easily accessible contact details
• attractive landing pages
• brief and powerful forms
• No links are broken

39% of people will stop engaging with a website if images won’t load or take too long to load.

4) Your website doesn’t support mobile devices

A mobile-friendly website is not only fantastic, but also essential given that 40 to 60 percent of website visitors utilize mobile devices.

If your website isn’t “responsive,” a revamp is overdue.

A responsive website is one that adapts seamlessly to the screen sizes of the device being used by a visitor. This kind of website resizes, hides, shrinks, enlarges, or moves the content to make it look good on any screen.

If you still aren’t persuaded, it’s crucial to understand that mobile friendliness has a significant impact on how well your website performs in search results. Google normally ranks a mobile-friendly website higher than one that isn’t when a user searches on a mobile device.

Your new site ought to:

• Be receptive;
• quickly load on mobile devices;
• present content in a way that is simple to read;
• Have obvious, large enough to tap calls-to-action (CTAs) on mobile devices;
• Have images that are the right size.

5) Out-of-date features, capabilities, materials, or images

1. Is your information still current?
2. Is your website still effective at conveying your current core beliefs and objectives?
3. Do all of your website’s features function properly?

Consider eliminating certain elements from your website if you find that they are out of date or not functioning properly. However, if they make up a significant portion, redesigning is your best choice.

Maintaining a properly functional and pertinent website is crucial for attracting website visitors.

You may even come to the realization that your company has outgrown some features or content on your website and that a redesign is necessary to both refresh the material and make room for new and essential stuff.

As a result…

Please notice that not all of the aforementioned offenses must be present on your website in order for you to think about redesigning it. We advise that you redesign your website if any of the aforementioned situations apply to you.

You may also think about occasionally visiting the websites of your rivals to see what they are doing in terms of website design that you are not doing, to learn from them.

Your website is a visual representation of your business and as such it must be excellent.