STEPS

smallfarmnation.com

to creating a farm marketing website

THAT CONVERTS!7

• WHY are you creating a website

anyway? Sure, almost every business

needs a website, but what are your

specific goals? Do you want to sell

food online, build an email list or

what? Creating a website without a

clear & quantifiable goal is like

clearing a field, tossing out seed and

expecting a profitable harvest. Good

luck with that.

• WHAT exactly do you want visitors

to do? Conversion is everything in

web design, so your goal should be

to either get a sale or build an email

list. Make it easy for visitors to do

what you want, and each page of

your website should have a specific

conversion goal. Lead your visitors

to the actions you wan them to take.

• WHO are you trying to attract?

Don’t sweat over trying to define

your ideal customer, because they’ll

come in all shapes and sizes. But

realize that your customer is not

you. So ask yourself, “Do I know

who would buy from me and why?”

If you’re just starting out, you’ll need

to either take a cue from competitive

websites or design your copy, colors

and graphics around your values.

After all, you started this venture

because of your passion and beliefs,

right? So share...but don’t preach

them. When you get customers,

survey them to find out why they

bought. Then, incorporate what you

learn into design & copy tweaks,

because what converts a young,

urban professional is different than a

rural, retired baby boomer.

• HOW will visitors view your site?

You’re thinking, “on their computer,”

right? But 60% of search engine

queries happen on a smartphone or

mobile device. That means it’s

critical that your site uses a

responsive design that displays well

on any device. No exceptions.

• WHAT keyword or phrase do you

want to own? Here, complete this

sentence: “ I f someone types

____________ into Google, I want to

be the first listing they see.”

Whether you want to rank #1 for

“Raw Milk Texas” or “CSA Farm

Boston,” you can achieve it if you

design it in. It all starts with defining

what you want to rank for, and that

starts with knowing what your

customers will likely type into search

engines.

KNOW YOUR WHY, WHAT, WHO & HOW1STEP

CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORM2STEPWordPress, Squarespace, Weebly,

Wix…the list of available platforms goes

on and on. Each of these platforms are

Content Management Systems, or CMS.

A CMS means that you can create and

update web pages on your own,

without knowing any coding language.

And that’s great, because we all have

enough to do already.

• Each of these CMS platforms has its

own strengths and weaknesses, but

WordPress is far and away the most

popular platform. The Wall Street

Journal, Forbes, The New Yorker and

even The Roll ing Stones use

WordPress.

• WordPress is an excellent blogging

platform (great for SEO) and has

thousands of plugins, such as

WooCommerce (for ecommerce),

Yoast SEO (to target keywords) and

CoSchedule (which automatically

shares content across social media

accounts) to save you tons of time. I

also use plugins to automatically

compress images (so pages load fast,

which Google really likes), as well as

for podcasts and list building.

• I’ve built sites in Squarespace,

Weebly, Wix and WordPress. For

me, WordPress is the hands down

winner because of the customization

options. There are even plugins that

make it easy to customize CSA sign-

ups, payment and delivery choices.

• But, like any farm tool, WordPress

has a learning curve, so I get it if

you’re overwhelmed. Don’t worry,

I’ll be back later with more tips on

plugins and platform options.

• Also, with Wordpress, you’ll need to

set-up a hosting account. By

contrast, Squarespace, Wix &

Weebly are self-hosted options. But

setting up a hosting account is a lot

easier than plowing a field. Here, I

created a video that shows you how.

• Regardless of what choice you make,

you’ll likely want/need help along

the way, and the best way to get that

help is from people successfully

doing what you’re trying to do. And

connecting with like-minded folks is

the premise behind Small Farm

Nation.

Let’s say the objective is to build your

email list, and your specific goal is to

add 50 subscribers per month.

Basically, there are two parts to this

equation: 1) getting visitors to your site,

and 2) converting visitors to subscribers.

Great...so how do you get traffic?

Getting visitors to your site can be

accomplished in one of two ways;

attracting them or driving them.

Attracting visitors is accomplished

through organic search results, which is

why it’s critical that you target the right

keywords and design your pages with

that in mind. How do you do that?

You...

• Choose Your Words Wisely - Always target the keywords you want to rank for and include those words in the URL, header tags and body copy. Here’s what I mean...

• The About Page - A pet peeve of mine is the “About” page. Go to every “about” page and what does the Header (H2) tag say? “About Us.” And the URL for the page is likely myfarm.com/about-us. This does nothing to help you rank for your target keyword. Instead, how about a URL of myfarm.com/about-texas-raw-milk, and the H2 tag as “About Our Raw Milk Farm in Texas?” You get the point.

• Choose Specific Keywords for Each Page. And do the same for each blog post. Don’t just start writing, “Update from the Farm” and provide a rambling update. Well--not if you expect search engines to

HOW TOATTRACTTRAFFIC

know what you’re talking about. Instead, choose a specific keyword or phrase that you want to rank for. Put that in the URL, your H tags and in your copy. Then, when people are searching Google for that topic they’re more likely to find you.

• Take a NAP! Your business is, by definition, a local business. Right? So how do people find local businesses...with the Yellow Pages? Please! Maybe a few decades ago, but now 92% of consumers use the Internet to find a local business. As a local business, local S E O i s o f h u g e

importance. So how can you be sure you’ll show up? Your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) is critical to rank well in geo-targeted searches. What this means is that yo u r NA P n e e d s t o a p p e a r consistent across the web. Put your NAP on your site, your social media pages and get listed at Google My Business.

3STEP

Driving visitors is accomplished through

either advertising (paying for Facebook

ads, Google AdWords, print ads, etc.) or

social media posts (with an incentive to

visit your site).

1. Ads cost money, but save time and

expand reach. But, if you have the

budget, ads on Google, Facebook

and other platforms are a great way

to build a following quickly. An

added bonus, at least with Facebook

a d s , i s yo u ’ l l g e t va l u a b l e

demographic data about who’s

responding, helping you to better

nail down your target audience.

2. Social media posts on Instagram,

Twitter, Facebook and “the next big

thing” can eat up your entire day,

but may save you some cash. But be

careful...you don’t own all those

fans you’re so proud of--Facebook

does. So,...

• Don’t Build Your House on Rented

Land - Many small businesses build

Facebook and other social media

pages, but, let’s be clear...you don’t

own that site. It may sound good

that you have 10,000 fans, but

unless you pay Facebook and other

social platforms, your message won’t

reach 95% of them. That’s why I

recommend you prioritize building

an opt-in email list that YOU own

(more on that in the next section).

• Show Your Personality - You have an awesome personality (right?). So let

HOW TODRIVETRAFFIC

it show by using your own quirky language & images on your site and in social media. Remember...you may run a business but YOU are not a business. You’re a person trying to connect with other people. So write conversationally, like you’re talking to the person over a cup of coffee. That way your copy will resonate with visitors, you’ll stand out and you can use your words to drive traffic to your site. Just try to...

• Avoid CopyCat Language - Non-GMO, pasture-based, beyond organic...everyone says the same thing. These words are the “features” of what you do, not the “benefits.” Think about the experience from the customer’s point of view. What benefit do they long for? Do they long to enjoy non-GMO food (no) or do they long to have a trusting relationship with a local farmer to grow safe, healthy and delicious food for their family (yes)? So be different...share why you’re doing what you do, how it benefits, how it can benefit others and improve their lives.

4STEP

An email list should be regarded as your

highest-value marketing asset. Whether

you want to drive subscribers to sample

your fare at a restaurant, meet you at a

farmer’s market or purchase a product,

the surest way to reach people pre-

disposed to buy from you is via email.

So, marketing priority #1 for you (and

the main objective of your website) is to

build an opt-in email list. Here’s how.

1. Regardless of how they get to your

site, focus on CONVERTING visitors

into subscribers. Do that by offering

an incentive...a call to action.

2. Once visitors hit your site, draw

their eyes to a clear, actionable and

visible Call to Action (CTA). Now,

it’s very important that this CTA is

not only in the header on the main

page (“above the fold”), but also at

the top of the sidebar on secondary

pages and at the end of each post.

3. “Above the fold” is an imaginary

line that indicates the bottom of a

visitor’s screen, whether

a d e s k t o p o r ,

increasingly, a mobile

d e v i c e . B e s u r e t o

present an actionable

CTA above the fold to

invite visitors into a

relationship with you, as

you can see in the

example to the left on an

iPhone 5. Since “above

the fold” is where you

m a k e y o u r fi r s t

impression, use headers on pages

and blog posts that clearly explain

your offering and value.

4. Create a Lead Magnet - Don’t just

have a link that says “sign-up for

DESIGN FOR CONVERSIONupdates.” That doesn’t work well

and hasn’t for years. Instead, give

them a lead magnet of value. Of

course, this guide you’re reading is

an example of a lead magnet, but

you’ll need to create your own.

Staying with the raw milk example,

h o w a b o u t , “ C L I C K T O

DOWNLOAD, How to Make Raw

Milk Blue Cheese in 6 Easy Steps.”

Or something similar.

5. Deliver Value..Quickly - Your lead

magnet should offer real value and

be closely related to what you offer.

But that doesn’t mean it has to be

long. Many of the best “lead

magnets” are one page “cheat

s h e e t s . ” S o m e t h i n g l i k e ,

“DOWNLOAD MY CHEAT SHEET,

5 PROVEN TRICKS TO GET YOUR

KIDS TO EAT BROCCOLI.” That

could be a one-pager you could pull

off in an hour.

5STEP

KISS (Keep it Simple, Sammy :-)

Sure, the look and feel of your design is important. But visitors aren't coming to your site to see how slick your design is. Remember, you’re developing this site to accomplish your specific goals! So there’s no need or room for design elements that aren’t related to those specific goals. Just keep your design clean, crisp and as fresh as a summer tomato. Here are some tips on how to do that:

• Colors - Don’t use too many, and be sure the ones you do use go well

together. Check out coolors.co to create your own coordinated palette or to choose from popular ones.

• Typefaces - Why have a website if your content is virtually unreadable? Make sure you use easy to read typefaces and comfortable font sizes, that your text colors contrast well with the background colors, and that you have enough “white space” around your texts (vertical spacing and padding).

• Graphics - Only use graphics if they effectively draw attention to help a visitor perform a specific function. You may love that picture of your farm, but many pictures on websites are grainy, out of focus and connect only with the site owner, not the visitor. Just remember, everything is a b o u t T H E G O A L . A n d , CONVERSION is always the goal, whether to convert visitors into a customer or a subscriber. So, lay off the elements that distract your visitor from the ONE THING you want them to do- -opt- In or purchase.

BE EASY ON THE EYES

• Easy Navigation - Is it easy for visitors to contact you? To find your location? To see your menu, price list, products or delivery points? Simple and easy navigation means visitors will interact more with your site. The result? They’ll come to trust you, find you easy to work with and be open to a relationship.

• Be Creative - Just because I suggested you focus on simplistic design doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be creative and stand out. In fact, a simple design is one way you CAN stand out, since so many sites are boxy and clunky. So take some time to examine competitor’s websites, but also look at other sites related to your market...perhaps leading retailers, restaurants or distributors. See what works, what doesn’t and ask yourself the following three questions. Then incorporate best practices into your design:

1. “Where do my eyes go?”

2. “Does their design compel me to ACT?”

3. “Why or why not?”

6STEP

Just as it’s unwise to set a price for your

woodlot pork without knowing what

your real costs are to produce it, it

makes no sense to not know if your

webs i t e and soc i a l med ia a r e

performing for you. Because all this

marketing takes time you could spend

elsewhere, right?

So how do you measure success with

your website? It starts, of course, with

establishing specific goals, such as:

• rank in the top 3 on Google and Bing for the words ______ by this date ____

• attract ___# of organic visitors in the first month, and increase organic traffic by X% each month thereafter

• maintain an abandonment rate of under 10%

• convert X% of visitors to subscribers in the first month and each mon th the rea f t e r (percentages may decline over time as repeat visitors have already opted-in)

• b e g i n a n e m a i l c o m m u n i c a t i o n program, and achieve an open rate of ___% and a clickthrough rate of ____% in the first month. Increase both numbers until I achieve a constant open rate of 25% and a clickthrough rate of 4%

Of course, there are many other aspects

of your business that you’ll want to

measure, such as customer retention,

average purchase price, frequency of

purchases and so on. But we’re talking

about web design and list building here.

Here are 5 ways you can get started on

your marketing dashboard.

1.Set-up a Google analytics

(GA) account on day one.

This will make it easy for you

to measure web traffic,

abandonment rates, most

popular pages, etc.

2. Set-up a Facebook pixel on

your website...you’ll need this

down the road. (setting up

Google Analytics, Facebook, etc. is

easy with WordPress plugins)

3. Use SERPs to see where you rank

for your chosen keyword.

4. Measure monthly conversion rates

by comparing the monthly # of site

visitors (from GA) to the monthly #

of new subscribers to your list.

5. U s e y o u r e m a i l p r o v i d e r

(MadMimi, MailChimp, etc.) to

measure your email sign-ups, open

and click-through rates.

7STEP MEASURE SUCCESS

This is meant to be a super quick, tightly focused review of what you want to accomplish with your website.

If anything is confusing or doesn’t make sense, don’t fret about it.

Small Farm Nation is all about us working through these and other marketing opportunities together, so that we can all Get Growing!

I’ll be back soon with more great stuff to answer any questions and make this whole business of marketing very simple and crystal clear.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS FREE WEB DESIGN GUIDE!

THAT’S A WRAP

Tim Youngsmallfarmnat ion .com