I think the only people who love the word “traffic” is online entrepreneurs.
I posted a poll on my Facebook page asking my community whether they wanted to learn more about “How to get Massive Traffic” or about “How to Validate your Business Idea,” and my mother-in-law (bless her heart) chose Idea Validation only because she hates traffic!
She’s not even in my target audience, but you gotta love the family support!
In the online universe, traffic is a beautiful thing and we always want MORE of it!
Every time someone hits your landing page, it’s like a breath of fresh air. It tastes like opportunity.
Unfortunately, many in the online space do not prioritize traffic in their business.
Why Traffic?
Are you too busy to work on getting more traffic?
Or perhaps you believe that getting just enough clients to fill your schedule will get you more money, more flexibility, and more happiness. The online stuff is just gravy, so it sits in the backburner.
You’d be surprised to hear that the exact opposite is true.
When you neglect to create an online community in favor of having one-off clients, you are putting your business at risk in multiple ways.
What does traffic have to do with it?
You may be wondering “What does traffic have to do with creating an online following? And what does creating an online following have to do with the success of my one-on-one client work?”
In one word: everything.
When we talk about “generating traffic” we are specifically referring to you creating valuable content that attracts your ideal client, and posting it on your website (or other social media portals).
The worst thing that can happen is that someone finds you, gets your content, and never comes back.
Once your ideal client has become aware of your existence through your amazing freebies, or simply happened to land on your website, you want to make sure to hold onto them for dear life.
Your goal should be: for every person who becomes aware of you, direct them to your mailing list or to your Facebook group.
As you can see, generating massive amounts of traffic will inevitably lead to you creating an online community with you as the expert at the center.
In this article, I lay out 5 ways that creating an online community (by way of prioritizing traffic to your site or content) can springboard your business in ways you never imagined.
Ready? Let’s go:
1. Have a waitlist of clients
In any service or coaching business, you always run the risk of clients falling off the face of the Earth.
In most cases, it’s not as dramatic as that, but it does happen that clients get busy, deprioritize your meetings, or simply choose to go a different way.
Suddenly, your calendar opens up and you are left scrambling to fill the gap.
If you have prioritized generating great content, driving traffic to it, and growing a community, you should have no problem reaching out to your own tribe and establishing a waitlist of ideal clients who can’t wait to jump at the chance to work with you.
And just like that, you will never be afraid of losing another client ever again.
2. Establish yourself as an authority in your field
Put yourself in the shoes of your next ideal client.
They found you because their friend recommended you, and they hope you will work out.
Some of the time, potential customers who find you through word-of-mouth will hire you simply because you are the lowest hanging fruit: they didn’t even have to research other options, and they will just “give you a try” and hope for the best.
Other times, these same referrals do their due diligence. They will visit your website and that of your competitors. They will check out your Facebook page or Yelp reviews.
What happens next, you will never know because you never find out.
That same discerning customer found this other business which seems to be a little more “legit.” They have a huge following on Facebook, they have a lot more 5 stars reviews than you do, and it seems like other people are talking about them.
As you can see, this customer you never even knew was considering you made a judgment on the value of your services based on popularity.
You heard me: popularity.
When you have a fired-up online community, you become the authority in your field that everyone wants to work with.
You don’t want to be the business that gets passed up. You want to be the one everyone gravitates towards.
Traffic does this for you. An online community does this for you.
3. Charge higher prices
Consider the same scenario as above.
This potential customer is comparing you against someone else who has a larger following and a better-looking website.
Which of the two options do you think the client will assume is more expensive?
Hint: not you.
When you have an online following, you raise the bar in terms of expectations.
The rationale behind it is that: if so many people like her, then she must be the best!
And people will pay more for the best.
The larger your online following, the more your potential clients will be willing to pay for your services.
4. Be featured by other inspiring entrepreneurs
This is a bit of a circular reference, in that it is an opportunity afforded only to those with a large following, and it also helps you build an even larger following.
When you have created an online community that swears by your content and your services, other entrepreneurs will want to talk to you to tap into your audience.
This is a normal practice among entrepreneurs: help each other out, and grow each other’s audiences in the process.
When you first start out, you may be hurting to be featured in other people’s forums so your audience can grow. But once it’s made it to a certain level, you will attract feature opportunities like bees to honey, further cementing your authority as an expert in your area.
5. Open up unimaginable opportunities
This is the hardest benefit to describe because you don’t know what it will be.
When you put yourself out there and start engaging with other entrepreneurs and potential clients, your future opens up to a world of opportunities that you cannot imagine.
Many of us go through life calculating the ROI on our investment before we actually put our money down.
The truth is that most times it is impossible for us to know what the return will be on an opportunity we have never jumped into in the past.
This reward can take the shape of growing your audience, meeting amazing people who will change your life, or open up the chance to travel opportunities.
Jump In. Make Yourself Known.
The benefits of jumping in and making yourself be known in your industry are simply impossible to predict or to measure, and that is the definition of a wild adventure.
Does this article make you want to prioritize traffic and build a community? Leave us a comment and tell us what you are going to do in your business today!
You might also like:
Seth Godin on Leadership in the 21st Century
How to Make More Money: Do This One Thing
How to Turn Your Coaching Gig into a Passive Income Goldmine
