Do You Really Need a Website?
What Yoga Teachers and Other Wellness Pros Should Know!
Prefer to watch a video? I’ve got you covered with my companion video over on YouTube. Otherwise, keep on reading friend!
Do I even really need a website to run my wellness business? This is a question I often hear, so I’m going to answer it for you!
The Truth
So before you stress out, I want to put your mind at ease. The honest answer to this question is, technically no you don’t need to have a website to start or get your business up and running.
Insert reader’s sigh of relief…
Many yoga teachers and wellness pros get started with a list of clients, maybe a Facebook or Instagram page, and a link to Venmo or PayPal or a scheduling app. Others may work in studios/gyms or with other practitioners and rely them to market and book services.
And that's great! It's a perfectly acceptable way to get started building your business!
However, over time, and especially as your client base grows, or you begin teaching in multiple locations or even online, keeping track of all of this can begin to be cumbersome. Not only for you, but for your clients as well.
So when you’re ready and it’s within your budget, having a website where you have everything in one place to provide a functional and seamless experience for your customers is a great idea. And it doesn’t have to be super fancy or elaborate to be effective. You can even get started with a one-page website.
(Quick side note on budgets: I’ll address this in a future article/video, but don’t assume a website is out of reach. There is something out there for every budget!)
Why Having A Website is a Good Idea for Your Business
Now, I’m a website designer, so you may think I’m a bit biased in stating that I think you should have a website. Fari enough. But, I’m also a yoga and meditation teacher, and I know from experience how important having a website is for that business.
Your Digital Resume
Think of your website as an extension of yourself as your digital resume. It can lend a sense of credibility and professionalism to you that not only your existing and potential clients will respond to but also to potential employers down the road.
For example, you might be looking to teach at a different studio or work with some different practitioners. You go to inquire about a job and you hand them your resume, right?
Well what if that resume also had a link to your website on it, and they could go to your website and learn everything they need to know about you? They’ll get a really good sense of your vibe, who you are, your experience, and whether or not you might be a good fit for them. You might stand out compared to your competitors, so that’s something to consider.
Also, if a potential customer lands on your website, if it’s designed well, you have the opportunity to show them that you are a professional who’s got their *ish* together! You can show them what it’s like to work with you and what your specialty is, and offer them a seamless experience.
The Client Experience
Let’s talk more about your clients. If, for example, you’re currently using a few different pieces of software to manage your business and sending your clients to multiple places or different studios sites/links to book your services, it can get a little chaotic for you and for them too!
Think of this scenario: You reach out on your social media page and tell people you’re teaching xyz class at a specific location, time, and price. You then tell them to email you if interested, and then you send them a link to sign up and a link to pay, etc.
That’s several steps for you and for your clients! Over time as your business and client roster grows, it will get more challenging to keep track of all this information.
If you have everything on a website, you have one place that you can send them to find out when and where you teach and how to book your classes or services.
What if you're not just teaching in studios? You may have studio-based clients that want to work with you outside of the studio. Maybe you offer private sessions, workshops, or teach online. With your website, you can include all of those services there as well. So it's all in one cohesive spot.
Don’t Rely on Others for Marketing
So you may be thinking, but I work for studios or different practitioners, they take care of sharing my schedule and booking classes for me, I don't really have to worry about it. And that may be true now, but what if you decide to leave and go work someplace else, or maybe decide to offer online sessions also and not solely work in a studio? Then what?
You can't rely on a studio or practitioner to hand over their client email list so you can let all your clients know where you're going. If you're really lucky, they might, but that's their data and their client base. They may not so willingly give that out and risk having clients leave as a result.
For the most part, people fall in love with teachers not studios, so if people love working with you they are likely to follow you if possible. So if you have clients that you work with regularly, letting them know that you have a website gives them a place to go knowing that if you should move on at some point in time, they can find out where to work with you. It's great for the longevity and stability of your business from that perspective.
People Love Social Proof!
Another great thing about having a website is that it's a great place to share your testimonials. People love social proof and just having Facebook or Instagram isn't probably going to be enough. Remember, only a small percentage of your audience on social media will ever see your posts!
On a website, you can gather all the great things your clients say about you and put them on your home page. So potential clients, even potential employers, will see that positive feedback and that helps build your “know-like-trust” factor with potential clients.
Good Design & Maintenance Matters
A professional, functional and well-designed website is an opportunity to make a great impression. But the opposite holds true as well.
If it's poorly designed, out of date, or has missing or broken links, it will have the opposite effect. So when you decide to build a website or have someone build it for you, you need to take maintenance into consideration.
Keep your site simple, and ensure that you're logging in regularly and keeping your information up to date. You don't want to have a link to a studio that you don't teach at anymore, or have your schedule be for four months old, or worse not have a current schedule listed at all, or the link to your payment processor broken.
You need to be on top of keeping that information up to date. These are simple, basic things, but it does require a little bit of effort, so you need to take that into consideration when building your website. Knowing that you have to maintain it and how much you want to do or how much you may need to outsource is important to know.
And keep in mind that outsourcing this work is a perfectly acceptable solution. You don't have to do everything. There are people who can help you and make it as seamless as possible for you. You just need to be honest with yourself and budget accordingly.
Your Business and Website are Dynamic
So clearly, it's not just a set it and forget it kind of a thing. Your website is a dynamic thing that will constantly evolve, just like your business. It is something that can grow and evolve with you and your business.
You may start out with a simple one-page website with just the basics. But then you get more comfortable, or you have more services, or there's more information you want to share. Maybe you start to have more online offerings or offer memberships.
Maybe you want to start selling products or start a blog, or maybe you're doing a podcast. These are all things that you will be able to add to your website over time. It can grow with you and your business.
You'll change over time. Your website will change over time. You may redesign it a few times. That's all okay.
Take Ownership!
One thing that I want you to remember about having a website is not:
‘Oh, it's a lot of tech and too much work, or it's too overwhelming to think of trying to keep everything in one place.’
No. It can be done by anyone. You can do it, and it will serve you well in the long run because it's yours.
And that's what I want you to take away from this.
Once you build a website and put your business out there, that website is yours. You own it.
What you offer through it is yours. You're not relying on anybody else.
You're not relying on a third party or another studio or a practitioner or social media platforms to do that work for you. Or expecting that they're going to hand that stuff over to you. They own that, not you.
Your website is yours, and what you do there and what you offer there is yours. You have control over that.
As a business owner, whether you're a solopreneur or you work with a team, having control over your business and taking ownership of these assets is incredibly important, and a website is a great place to start.
