Comments on: Do Professional Organizers Need a Website?

By: Janet Barclay

Janet Barclay — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:34:00 +0000

Ooh, great point! Plus, wouldn’t she want to put her website address on her brochure?
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By: Melanie Dennis

Melanie Dennis — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:00:49 +0000

An organizer I know was working on a brochure and THEN she was going to get around to a website. She asked me about my brochure and I said “Giving my clients MORE paper is not a goal of mine. They can’t lose my website!”

By: Janet Barclay

Janet Barclay — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:22:25 +0000

Alex, that is exactly the type of person I hope to help via this blog. Unfortunately, they probably don’t use the Internet to get information either.

By: Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome

Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:15:43 +0000

I wonder if it’s because a lot of organizers aren’t that computer/Internet savvy. I know when I was interacting with organizers on a regular basis even as late as 2006, a lot of them had no real idea about computers or the importance of the Web.

Just today for example I went looking for an organizer in Montana (for a potential referral) and the person I wanted had no Internet presence at all other than a yahoo email account.

By: Janet Barclay

Janet Barclay — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:55:29 +0000

Alex, some of those sites are probably what inspired my comment about not letting your child design your website. Although it’s important to have an online presence, if your website is unprofessional and full of errors, it’s not going to do a good job of promoting your business!

By: Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome

Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:26:59 +0000

The number of atrocious organizer websites I’ve seen over the years astounds me. Every once in a while I take a look around at sites just to keep up on what’s going on in the industry and I think that the option of no site would be better for about 80% of the sites out there.

And I don’t think I have that high of a standard!

By: Janet Barclay

Janet Barclay — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:51:19 +0000

Julie, that’s an interesting point about not wanting to “accept as clients people who would feel comfortable hiring someone based solely on a phone number tab on a bulletin board or a listing in the phone book.” I hadn’t thought about that, but I’ve had a listing in the Yellow Pages for several years, and although it has generated calls, I don’t believe even one of those callers has actually done business with me.

What you’ve said about voicemail is another great point – maybe even the subject for another post!

By: Julie Bestry

Julie Bestry — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:23:25 +0000

I couldn’t have said it better myself, Janet. You’ve pinpointed it with the key word: credibility!

Doing business without a professional-looking web site is like doing business with voicemail recorded by your children with that says “You’ve reached Mom, Dad and CutiePies 1, 2 and 3…oh, and Mom’s business, too.

A solid site is what stands between a hobbyist/dilettante and a true professional. I certainly wouldn’t consider doing business with a bank, CPA, or any professional service provider who didn’t have a professional, detailed, and informative web site, and I’m not sure we’d want to accept as clients people who would feel comfortable hiring someone based solely on a phone number tab on a bulletin board or a listing in the phone book.

If we are to be trusted as professionals who will treat our clients with integrity, we have to treat our reputations with integrity, as well. If we don’t protect our own confidentiality (rather than running crazy photos and spewing embarrassing talk on social networking sites), how can clients imagine we will know how to protect their confidentiality? Our public personas, which begin with our web sites, are key to building and maintaining our professional reputations.