One site or system doesn’t fit all. When a client asks me that question, I have a long list of questions in return, and those help inform my recommendation. I am very aware of the capabilities and limitations of each system at this point, and it is still not an easy choice.

Building a website though, is a key foundational piece in your marketing. It is something that you need to own and maintain control over. I always recommend that whichever system you do decide to go with, that you at least buy your own domain in you or your company’s name, even if it means opening your own account on a service like GoDaddy, at least you can login and change things should you decide to move website services later on.

Admittedly I do love WordPress, and with reasonable hosting plans through trusted sites like Hostgator and Bluehost, it can be an affordable option to setup and host your own website. However, when you host your own website you do need to consider other factors and costs, including:

• Website development costs (if you are not doing it yourself)
• 3rd party costs (payment processors, newsletter services, premium plugins, support subscriptions)
• Hosting costs
• Domain purchase and setup
• Is your site secure?
• What happens if the website / hosting service goes down?
• What happens if the website gets hacked?

Will you have enough know-how to manage, or do you need to hire someone? If so, what is your budget? It is all a consideration.

And yes there are many very legitimate sites like Squarespace, GoDaddy, Shopify and even now Mailchimp offer website builders that make it even simpler and will even host your website, plus provide you with support to help you through. Here’s the kicker… even though these things are supposed to be easy, I have many many many clients that pay me to navigate these platforms for them. So is it worth it to go with an ‘easy’ website builder? Again, it really depends on your goals, your growth and how comfortable you are with what you will be able to do. Often clients get part way through and realize that they can’t do it on their own and reach out to me. Sure, I can fix it or maintain it, but it’s so much better to be in with them when they begin it.

So if you are thinking about developing a new website or business, feel free to reach out and I’ll give you a few recommendations based on what you need to do to get started and ensure you have a growth plan for your website too.

That moment of completion.

Or not.

Creating was just the first step, then you have to move into some sort of production, followed by distribution and of course sales.

Most can agree that everyone has their own set of skills and when you take the time to develop and hone those skills, you can eventually master it. Some are born with a gift and it takes no time to create a masterpiece, however, most are not masters of it all.

This is why we create teams. Bring together all of the skills we need, not to mention thoughts, ideas and inspiration that you can gain from another perspective or two. We are here for you.

When you decide to publish your first book yourself you automatically become an entrepreneur with a product to sell. Being an entrepreneur is more than writing a book. It means publishing and printing. It means advertising and marketing. It means investing your time and money into something.

It can be overwhelming.

It can be expensive.

It can be exhausting.

And most likely, you’ll experience a little of each along your way. Know that it is okay. There is help out there. You can keep it simple and create a small team. Yes, it’s an investment, but you want to succeed.

We’ve been through it, with many authors and we can help you sort it all out too, so keep it simple for yourself and hire an assistant to assist you.

What is important to look at?

That’s a great question, and although it is unique to your goals (NOTE: you really need to have your goals down first, or the analytics are just a waste of your time), here’s a few things that I like to pay attention to and why.

Where do the users go and what do they do?

What is the flow of user activity? Are they all leaving on a certain page, or after a certain amount of time? Are there any favourite pages?

Follow-Up: Are the favourite pages optimized for activity? Meaning, do you have a call to action on those pages to reach your end goal?

Where has the feedback been?

Not only do I delve into visitors on the website, but look beyond at the social spectrum and see which posts were ‘liked’ the most, and on which networks.

This gives us a great idea of what people are reacting to and which platforms are effective for which messages.

What did the dollars do?

Both spent and brought in. What and where are the sales? What was spent to get there?

Understanding where your money is coming from and where it is going, is so very important.

This is to help you start thinking about your analytics in a new way – a way that is useful for you.