SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL SITE BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS Gordon Plant
Do you remember your first date?
Do you remember the excitement? The Anticipation?
Maybe it turned out well, maybe
not so well but either way you can
probably remember it.
Mature hosting company seeks young
SMB for long term relationship. Must
have computer and enjoy reading help
docs. Sense of humour essential.
No mobiles.
DESPERATLY SEEKING SMB
What would happen if you were dating a
hosting company?
What would a dating advert for hosting
company look like? Actually most
hosting companies
really are trying to find customers for
a first date.
And that takes us to secret #1…
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First dates have many uncertainties
Will this be the start of something beautiful? Or will you need to keep looking?
Do you have what each other are seeking?
Or is it going to get complicated?
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First date tips
• Keep it simple
• Get the site builder
Talk site builder early – show that site building is an integral part of buying a domain
No jargon and no questions that can’t be answered from memory
right up front
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Avoid tears
Don’t let your first date
end with an unloved
and unresolved
domain
Unresolved, unloved and unlikely to be renewed – a
terrible fate for any domain
A domain attached to site is
better renewals with more
chances to upsell
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Improve your chances:
Swing both ways
People often assume a free trial is the only way to go, but we think there are more possibilities
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Domain-Led Free Trial Buy Now
Free-for-life 1 page site attached to every domain
Time or feature limited trial with every domain
Purchase sitebuilder direct from website
Onboarding flows
Many of our partners use all three of these flows so that different customer entry points are well covered.
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Happy Ending
The happiest ending is a domain attached to
published website close
to the point of
purchase.
Choose Domain
Get Content
Site Design
Publish Site
Purchasing a domain and attaching a site to it can all be done on the first date if you keep things simple.
I’ve shown it a phone because I can’t think of any reason why you’d turn someone away just because they aren’t using a computer
It’s Not Just For Kittens
Many businesses use social media long before they get their first domain name, so that’s where SMB content goes first.
Content, like water, always follows the path of least resistance
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SMBs start talking business from their social apps
Why do we care where the content goes?
Where content flows most easily, that’s where your customers are
Getting content to flow in the direction of a recently purchased
domain is part of a good onboarding flow
Facebook is the biggest pool of content
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Content and search are in different universes
So all the content ends up on Facebook… …but search happens on Google
…and increasingly on mobile
A domain attached to a site that offers social import is the best solution
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ONBOARDING needs SOCIAL
and
SOCIAL is mostly MOBILE
so
ONBOARDING needs SOCIAL & MOBILE Onboarding = social that’s where the content is
And Social = mobile – people update from their on phones
So a great onboarding flow should bring all these together
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Old Stuff Has More Buttons Than New Stuff
This is true of almost every new product More buttons = more learning
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Q What’s the easiest way to tell the age of a site builder? Count The Buttons
When you’re looking at sitebuilders, here’s a simple test for telling their underlying age: count the buttons Young and beautiful software appeals to a far wider audience than old and complex software.
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You can’t be too simple You can’t be too mobile
All SMBs are busy, and many are busy away from computers. They won’t touch a PC and this means they will never touch a website either unless the entire stack is mobile
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End To End Mobile is Inevitable
Responsive websites were just the start All Small business software needs to work everywhere Onboarding needs to work on all devices, no install required. It’s the simplest way to do it
Onboarding is like a first
date
Facebook isn’t just for
kittens
Keep young and
beautiful
1: Keep things simple and get the sitebuilder up front. Most importantly, don’t let it end with an unloved domain
2: Social integration is important. Make it easy for your customers to bring their social content to your site.
3: Your software and your onboarding flow need to be young and beautiful and work everywhere.