No website? Make a landing page!
I know you may be thinking, "Rachel, what the heck is a landing page?"
Simply put, it's a page visitors "land on," especially when you are specifically marketing something. The goal of a landing page is singular: engage the visitor with whatever "Call to Action" (also known as CTA) you've put out there.
Why have one? Because if you're not in the position to invest in a website, a landing page is typically a free alternative that focuses your targeted market to one thing. They can be utilized to:
give something away for free (in return for their email, of course - also known as gaining a "lead")
sell a specific item, like an eBook or other digital product
gain subscribers to your blog
join a online community
register for an event
Landing pages can do all of the above, and more! However, though the purpose may be different, the outcome is the same: the presumed customer/client has engaged with page for one reason and you have gained their email in exchange for it (even if you were selling something).
Why is this important? The two primary reasons are:
having your customer/client's email allows you to communicate and sell directly to them in their inbox. This gives you ownership. You don't own Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or any other platform. Should any of them crash - which they have - you're screwed and likely missing out on money for the duration of their crash.
you know what's working/selling and what isn't. Landing pages are designed with one purpose in mind - you decide what that purpose is. Say you've created two landing pages and put both in your Instagram bio via a service like Linktree (not an ad, just happens to be what I use). If one is getting more traffic than the other, you can start analyzing what's working and what isn't. Analytics are bae, and we can engage in verbal altercation if you think otherwise. What's more is you're figuring these things out PRIOR to spending on a website.
Listen, I know it may be hard to resist splurging on a website so that your business feels "legit," but trust, there are a lot of "legit" businesses out here that have no cash flow and sites with no traffic. I'm not saying don't get one, I'm saying do so when it makes sense financially to do so. In the interim, use a landing page as a way to have a place for customers/clients to go, to gain email addresses, and to figure out what works and what doesn't. Doing this will prepare you to properly guide your people to your website when it launches!
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