Why you Need a Website (not just Social Media)
In our first post, Publisher’s Edition 1.0, we talked about how a domain provides you with ownership, control, and professionalization. Your own website acts as an anchor to where you can link to from any other social platform. When a brand or agency sees your content and wants to work with you, the first thing they want is a link to learn more. That’s your website! In this post, we’ll focus on how a website opens up avenues for monetization beyond brand deals and sponsored posts.
I. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Your own domain allows you to tap into the power of SEO. By optimizing your website for SEO, you can attract organic traffic from search engines. This means widening your audience beyond the scope of your social media following and translates to selling products, courses, and premium content, directly from your site.
II. Analytics
With your website, you’ll have access to in-depth analytics. These analytics provide insights into your audience’s behavior, preferences, and how they engage with your content. You can then customize your marketing efforts in a more targeted way to sell product to those who really want it, or suggest it to those who don’t know they want it yet. This helps you develop your brand as a creator and problem solver.
III. Email marketing
With your website, you can start building an email list. Email marketing is a powerful tool for keeping your followers engaged and updated about new projects, content, collaborations, and product releases. The idea that email might disappear with the rise of social media has been disproved. Everyone still has email and email marketing has been proven to be one of the most lucrative channels for creators.
IV. Media Kit
One of the most important things you can have on your website is a Media Kit. It’s a lighthouse that signals to advertisers searching for collaborators out on the open water of affiliate marketing that you are interested in talking with them. A media kit should contain past collaborations, engagement metrics, press releases, bio, social media accounts, and, most importantly, your email address. Feel free to structure it so it’s anti-robot, but don’t make it hard for people to contact you. (We don’t love contact forms).
V. Final thoughts
Having your domain doesn’t mean abandoning your social media platforms. Instead, it’s about complementing and boosting your online presence while retaining full control of your personal brand. You can (and should!) continue using social media platforms to engage your audience, drive traffic to your website, and extend your online reach, just don’t only use socials! DMs are a last resort. Give us a place to go learn all about you, and if that’s a professional looking website, even better.
