Every retail owner knows that Christmas has the biggest potential for sales for the entire year. But what about those of you who are starting a new business and planning a launch for the fall?
The myth – if you build it, they will come.
Building a website isn’t a magical event in which, when it’s live, everyone will be able to find you simply by googling or tripping over your website. It takes months and years of hard work to build up a customer base, and the work is two pronged: SEO and Marketing. Remember that in Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner built it and no one came, he almost put his family and farm under. It just takes time, sweat, and maybe a few tears to get you there.
SEO
Let’s pretend that we built your website. If this is or could be the case – or if you use a database driven system with an admin - it should be plumbed for SEO. I’ll be writing up an big, fat, crazy thread about SEO another time, so stay tuned for that. So, since your site has the tools to help you be successful on Google, YOU need the tools (knowledge) to be able to write and enter in content in the most efficient way into these tools in your website. Once you have everything set up and your site launches, it will most likely be a few weeks before it even starts showing up on google searches for your own business name, nevermind for keyword phrases that you’re going after (if you’re launching a brand new store). So keep in mind, launching in November, people will barely be able to find you for the holiday season.
Marketing
The most instantaneous thing you can do to get traffic is to market your website. Start building a client base by getting ads on other websites/blogs. Take out ads in magazines. Run a solid social networking campaign. The thing is – if you’re really trying to get Christmas sales after launching your site for the first time in the fall – it’s going to cost so much money to market yourself to get sales that you’ll most likely barely break even.
Another common thought is – why not start marketing before the website is live?! The answer – there are a gazillion things that could happen to stop your project from launching when you think it will. The web design process is truly a gigantic flow chart – there isn’t a clear start to finish when there are so many subjective decisions that need to be made.
What will really happen
Chances are, everyone will be insane trying to get your store up and running. It’ll launch, you’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief. Then you’ll see very little, if any, traffic. Chances are, your first Christmas season will have your family and friends buying from you…which is great – but most likely not what you were looking for.
Expectations are key
Be realistic about your first Christmas. Keep in mind all of the work it takes to build a business, to build a customer base, to learn the ropes yourself. It’s a lot to absorb, and if you’re only giving yourself a few weeks – it’s most likely not enough time to really be over the moon so quickly.
Be smart about when to start your website
I can’t tell you how many people I have come to me in September with the expectation of having a full on, gorgeous, thoughtful website before Christmas. There are web designers out there that can promise you a website in 2-3 months, but they’re handing it over to you empty – you then need to load all of your content in. We know how long it takes for you to not only learn how to use the system, but to enter in all of your content. We’ve seen over 200 clients go through it, not to mention I’ve personally done it myself a dozen times when my baby store was still open. It’s not hard, but it’s time consuming. There is so much for you to do, from sizing your photos, to building a successful site map, to entering in every single product, page, and setting in your shopping cart system. Part of why our services are so unique is that we step by step, hand in hand walk you through every single step of the process, so by the time your website is designed and installed, you’re finished loading your content and ready to go live.
I tell everyone to give yourself at least 6 months to build a beautiful, well branded website. It can happen faster, and it can take longer. It’s really all up to you. Just be realistic about the amount of time it will take.
If you really want your first Christmas to be successful..
Start on your website in January or February. That means that you have plenty of time once your site is live to go crazy on marketing and build up a huge client base. If you’re already in progress on a website, be realistic with your expectations of the holiday season. Be smart, use your common sense, and take a deep breath – starting a new business is fun and exciting but it’s also stressful and a lot of work, so make sure that you’re as zen about it as possible.
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