The demand for designing websites, especially for stores, has increased greatly; But does this guarantee your market share? No! This is where you should think about marketing activities for website design.
With a clear strategy in place, you can make sure you get noticed, get customers, and grow.
In this article, we are going to tell you how you can win in this competitive field by reviewing 12 effective marketing methods.
Marketing ways to get customers and website design projects
Marketing is not just for a physical product like washing machine or washing machine! You offer a service that has an idea behind it and you need to have a plan to market it.
It is not possible to choose a specific and identical basket for everyone; Because depending on the budget, the target market, the ability of each business, the goal it has, etc., the marketing strategy is different.
Read below 12 marketing methods for website design and choose the best combination depending on your situation.
1. Share your knowledge and expertise with others
We trust more those who show that they know what they are doing. Your way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise is to share it through content channels.
First of all, you need to have a website. The designer’s website is his most important portfolio; So do not ignore this step.
Now you can do 2 things:
Use the website as a portfolio. Introduce yourself and include past work portfolios
Find relevant web design topics and consistently produce high-quality and unique blog posts about them.The image below shows the blog posts of “hinet”:
Your content should be useful for the customer in the first place. You are not going to advertise yourself directly! Rather, you put different solutions in front of the customer, one of which is to use your services. If you plan to produce valuable content, we suggest you read the article “What is content production + content production process”.
In the next step, you need to make Google find your site. This is where SEO comes in. In general, by optimizing the website for Google, you are supposed to do something to appear at the top of the results when searching for terms related to yourself, such as “website design”, “online store design”, “website construction” and…
If you want to know how Google ranks the results, read the article “The most important Google ranking factors in 2023“.
Tip: When your content is among the main search results, you will be recognized as one of the experts in the field of website design.
Of course, most freelancers invest in Instagram, Telegram or LinkedIn instead of website design and content creation. They publish their content on these channels and acquire customers through networking – which we’ll explore later – and social media marketing (SMM).
However, for a web designer, nothing is her site!
2. Make networking your first priority
For a small business or freelancer, networking is a top priority. Your network can expand and turn even people you don’t know directly into customers.
Try the following ways to network:
- Participate in events
By participating in events related to website design, get to know colleagues and employers in your field and communicate with them. For example, the WordPress event is one of the events in this field in Canada.
Try speaking and presenting at events or talking to attendees one-on-one and handing out your business card to interested people.
- Creating a group on Telegram or LinkedIn
Create a group on Telegram or LinkedIn and answer questions related to website design. This is another way to share experience and expertise. Group members are your potential customers who will be their first choice when needed.
- Holding a workshop or webinar
Hold an in-person workshop or webinar. Its subject depends on your purpose of holding it. Here too, by providing valuable content, you attract potential customers and show that you are really professional in your work.
Keep one thing in mind: you are not going to teach website design! You can teach things related to the site and its maintenance.
Your foundation in networking should be on creating one-on-one and direct relationships to gain people’s trust. Get noticed at workshops, webinars, events and other networking channels by giving away giveaways. A small free service like a technical review of the applicant’s site or a free template will connect you exactly to the people who need your services.
Be social!3.
Here are 2 options in front of you: Instagram and LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a good space for businesses that offer corporate website design services. Through this platform, you have more access to decision-makers. Of course, Instagram has more diverse facilities and more capacity to get customers.
The image below shows the Instagram page of a freelancer who works for himself:
- The first step is content production; Content that is primarily entertaining. Training, introduction of tools needed for website design and appropriate content can be the subject of your social network content.
Use trends in related fields to create content. For example, artificial intelligence is a perfectly suitable trend for the topic of website design, which is also interesting for the audience.
Do not underestimate the video! People prefer to watch content than to read. Create rails with trending Instagram music, record an educational video or answer followers’ questions and…
What turns social media followers into customers is, in the first step, proof of your skills and abilities. Other than that, create the fear of missing out in the audience with tempting offers such as limited discounts; Also, post positive feedback and keep sharing your portfolio.
Do not neglect advertising. Advertise to well-followed pages that have a topic close to you or if you have a popular page, introduce their page instead of your advertisement; A two-way collaboration.
To get a website design project from Instagram, follow the following points:
- Have regular highlights that include customer satisfaction, self-introduction, tariff, communication methods, portfolio, etc.
- Choose the account name according to a specific pattern such as “corporate website designer” or “hinet online store creation” and…
- Have a consistent look for your account and use warm colors to attract attention
- Follow the eighty twenty (seventy thirty) rule in your posts; It means that 70-80% of the posts are interactive (educational, survey, entertaining, memes, etc.) and 20-30% are advertising.
- Respond to direct messages and comments in a timely manner
- To increase interaction, do not hide information such as price and tariffs so that the user will definitely message you in Direct! Instead, we suggest reading “15 Ways to Increase Instagram Comments” and “15 Ways to Increase Instagram Likes” to increase your account engagement 🙂
Attracting followers is not an easy task at the beginning; But it is possible!
4. Advertise on popular sites
Is. We at HiNet have made it very easy for you! All you have to do is charge your account after registering in Yektan’s panel and create an advertising campaign based on your goal.
To advertise on popular sites, you need 2 things:
Advertising content
Landing pageAdvertising content varies depending on the type of advertisement. For example, in banner ads, you need an attractive banner ad, and in video ads, you need a compelling and engaging video.
Do you have to have a website? No, you can use landing page builder services like Landin to create a click ads landing page.
But what does click ads help in marketing for website design? HiNet advertising campaigns are designed for different marketing purposes.
For example, with the help of targeted banner ads, you can inform the customers of a certain segment of the market (for example, business owners) about the existence of your services; But targeted matching ads (such as keywords and topics) are designed to attract leads.
The advertising mechanism is such that when your ad is displayed on popular sites, the person interested in your service and offer will click on it. After that, the person will be directed to the landing page and you can entice them to fill out the form (for example, a free consultation) by writing a compelling description along with the portfolio.
After receiving the information, the stage of converting him into a customer begins through a phone call. In order to go through the process faster, you can put attractive offers on the table like the following 3 items:
- Design packages such as design with free 3-month support and installment payment
- Designing several packages for different people such as novice, professional and store businesses
- Limited time discount for purchasing design packages
You also need another campaign: an awareness campaign (e.g. banner ads) and a lead capture campaign (e.g. targeted match ads or behavioral push notification ads).
Get customers from Google with advertising and not SEO!5.
In order to keep your business afloat when you are not yet known and have not gotten results from SEO, go for Google ads.
It differs from SEO in the list of words you choose. Here you only invest in the words that the user is searching for in order to buy or research.
For example, “corporate website design”, “building an online store”, “news website design price” and… are among the words that the buyer searches for.
The appearance of these ads is no different from other results except for a “Sponsored” label, which makes the user see it as an approved offer from Google.
In these advertisements, headline and description are very important. Try not only to use keywords, but also to mention your benefits.
6. Go to existing customers
No other way of marketing for website design works as well as the recommendation of your previous customers. Convince your previous clients to introduce and recommend you to others. There are several ways to do this:
- Ask them directly to express their experience of working with you in the form of text, audio or video; Put the produced content in front of people’s eyes on the website (like the image below), Instagram, Telegram channel, LinkedIn, etc.
- Ask your customers to comment on you on Google Maps, your site, the directories where you have registered your business, etc.
- Encourage people to refer you to others with techniques such as referral discount codes, Instagram contests, and special customer club programs.
Previous clients open for website maintenance services or new projects may need your work. Encourage them to come to you again with a discount, a cash reward in the form of a refund of part of the project amount, etc.
The following methods will help you get more profit from current and previous customers:
- Overselling
Encourage the customer to choose more complete packages that have more services and, of course, a higher price; For example, buy the premium package instead of the economy package.
- Complementary sales
Offer other services such as SEO, support and content creation in addition to website design.
Suggestion: When you don’t have a client at the beginning, ask your family, friends and acquaintances to introduce you to those around you.
7. Find local businesses
A simple way to get a website design project is to find and communicate with your potential customers directly. You can do 2 things:
- Print business cards and flyers and give them to local businesses like restaurants, cafes and supermarkets to give to their customers. You may need to pay for it. For example, you can design a simple digital menu for restaurants and cafes.
- Find local businesses on online maps and see which ones have social media accounts; But they don’t have a website. Find their contact information and visit or call directly.
Maybe this marketing method for website design is not everyone’s choice; But if you act correctly and positively, it will give an amazing result.
8. Prepare more video feed
It might be interesting to know that according to statistics, 64% of customers in the world buy after watching videos of businesses; So take video making seriously.
Video works great for both advertising and content creation. Give promotional videos to popular Instagram pages or publish them on social media and use their video ads; You can also use video ads on popular sites to make your target market aware of your services.
You can use other types of videos to attract audience and marketing for website design; Such as educational videos, explanation (service description) and even product demo, which is the format you designed.
You can also create a YouTube channel and start teaching your skills. This helps in branding, awareness and gaining the trust of the audience.
9. SMS is your strongest and cheapest weapon!
SMS marketing is a simple and cheap method that has a very high impact that you can use for advertising and customer return.
- Advertising
You use SMS to increase your brand awareness and attract customers.
For example, you can send an SMS with the topic of corporate or store website design to people working in the field of export and import or medical equipment.
Another way is to send text messages based on location (for example, for Canadians and Americans), which will help you attract local customers. In the image below, you can see 2 examples of advertising text for getting a website design project via SMS:
- Customer return
SMS is the cheapest tool to increase customer return rate; It means returning customers who have bought from you once and encouraging them to make a second purchase. The second purchase provides the basis for frequent purchases and customer retention.
To run these campaigns, you need your customer list that you have collected through various channels. You can even retarget people who filled out your click ads landing page form via SMS, this time making a tempting offer.
10. Be on the online maps
To attract local customers near you (region, city or province), register your business location on Google Maps and other online maps. When people search for a specific business, Google optimizes the results based on their location.
For example, when we search for web design services in Richmond Hill, we get different results than when we search for the same phrase in Ontario.
What you need to do is to register the location on online maps, put the address, phone number, email, website address and of course some pictures of your location and ask customers to comment under your location.
When you register your business on Google Maps, you will be seen on the Google map; Of course, you have a better chance to appear on the first page in the search results of local users; Like the picture below:
11. Have a plan for telemarketing
Telemarketing for website design is an attempt to communicate with potential website design customers through phone calls. If you act purposefully, you are less likely to encounter statements like “No, thanks, I’m not interested.”
For example, keep a list of people who have filled out the click ads form and contact them very soon.
You can also contact local or large businesses and make your offer over the phone.
Tip: Try to convey a good feeling to the audience during the phone call; Because when people are laughing and happy, they are less likely to say no.
At first, attract the customer’s attention and then make him interested in your service. Find out what he wants and give it a boost and finally tell him how he can use your services.
For example, the following sentences are good examples that you can use in conversation:
- I am calling from HiNet website design agency. Can you give me a few moments of your time?
- Be sure that by using our services, you will start your online sales without any problems and for every Rial you pay now, you will earn millions of Tomans.
- Don’t worry; Because there is support for up to 2 years in all our packages. You can completely leave the site work to our group
Use reassuring words and phrases and calmly talk about what you do for the customer while introducing your services.
12. Analyze and optimize
Choosing a marketing method for website design and implementation is not the whole task. You need to constantly measure your performance to make sure you are doing the right thing and your capital is not wasted.
For this, you need to measure the end result of your marketing methods, i.e. the conversion rate. The conversion rate is the percentage of interested customers who complete the final action of purchasing, filling out the registration form, etc.
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is what we do to increase this rate. You have to put yourself in the user’s place and accompany him on the path he takes to take action. See what triggers, barriers, etc. exist that make people take or not take the final action.
For example, if the ultimate goal of click ads is to fill out a contact form for a store website design, and only 10% of users fill it, you should see how you can increase this number to 15%.
Do you remember that in Google ads, some audiences were directed to pages other than the landing page, such as the portfolio? By examining the path of users, they came to the conclusion that people are interested in seeing these pages and portfolios and it plays a big role in increasing the conversion rate.
Another thing you should do is to optimize the pages of the site with the help of Google Analytics and Hotjar. For example, has the “news site design” page successfully converted visitors into customers? Can raising the free consultation form increase this rate? How about placing business banners at the top of the page?
In short, marketing for website design does not end only with the implementation of the methods and ideas we reviewed. By constantly analyzing campaigns and activity, you try to get a better result with a lower cost.
Now let’s see what tips you should follow to be more successful!
Tips to follow in marketing for website design
The set of things you do to create value for the customer, here for example designing a good site and proper support, to build a strong relationship with him in order to get value (profit or income) from him in return, marketing for website design is considered.
There are a few things to consider when planning your marketing strategy:
- What is your product or service?
Be completely knowledgeable about the product or service you offer. See what you have to offer. For example, do you only design a store site or do you offer a variety of services from site design to SEO?
- Who is your customer?
Who might want your services? For example, small business owners who don’t have a website.
- Why should they choose you?
What is your advantage over competitors that customers choose you? Are you closer to the customer in terms of location? Do you have better prices? Do you offer more diverse services? Do you have free support? Or have you envisioned different plans for different budgets?
- How much budget do you have for marketing?
Different marketing methods have different costs. Determine how much you can spend to determine what methods you can use. For example, if you don’t have enough budget, it is better to start with SMS ads and click ads than to go for influencer ads.
- Know the market capacity and opportunities?
You need to know what your competitors are doing, what is the market capacity and how suitable are you for that market? Also, what are the threats and opportunities in this market?
The answer to all these questions will clarify which method and idea is right for you.
For example, the potential customers of a business that operates in the field of store website design are online shops. Their main differentiator is offering dedicated, high-speed templates and free one-year support. Their budget for marketing is an average budget. Therefore, they go to the following basket:
- SMS advertising to inform and attract targeted customers
- Similar keyword ads targeting the terms “shop site design”, “online shop”, “online store launch”, “shop site construction”
- Continuous presence in social networks by producing content related to online sales
- Communicating directly with the owners of Instagram online shops through Instagram Direct
- Holding a webinar with topics such as “how to convert an online shop into a store site”, “increasing online shop sales” and… to attract potential customers
If you want to act smart to spend in the right direction, it is better to use software and data collection tools like Google Analytics and CRM software from the very beginning. To make your marketing strategy more targeted
Do targeted marketing!
In this article, we talked about the best marketing methods for website design; But as you read at the end, regardless of what marketing method you choose, it’s the targeting of your marketing efforts that will get you results.
What methods have you tried? We will be happy to read your opinion
