One thing that websites can be used for is building lists of prospective customers and clients.

As I mentioned earlier, marketing is a process. You don't very often go from meeting a complete stranger to you or your business, to having them buy from you right then and there, unless they are urgently in need of what you have to offer.

But since the more usual route is that people need to get to know about you and what you have to offer, what can you do to facilitate that?

There's a phrase in marketing that says, people buy from those they know, like and trust. So that's what you want to accomplish as part of this process.

Okay, so how do you do that?

You do that by providing a way for them to get to know you. With websites and the internet a good way to do that is to offer people something of value that they have to sign up for. This is done by setting up an e-mail list that they sign up for or opt into.

So what can you offer them?

The simplest and best thing on the internet is to offer information. In digital format - an e-book, a newsletter, a report, a video or mp3 audio. What you want as the business person is something that you can offer that doesn't cost you much, if anything, to provide. Which is why something in digital format is the best. It may cost you some time and effort to create it upfront, but the delivery of it can be extremely simple.

What you do want to make sure of, is that what you provide is in fact something of value. Don't just try to foist off on people something cheap and useless - make sure that it is of value to them.

Once people have opted into your mailing list, then you have an opportunity to build a relationship with them, to show them what you know, and to show them what it is that you can do for them.

I won't go into details here, but would suggest that you check out the Marketing Planner Dashboard for more information on marketing.