How your online presence can cost you clients before they ever call. 

As a first-time author, I’m realizing how much more there is to publishing a book than just writing one!

After more than 25 years working in the digital marketing industry, I’m quite comfortable making my way around websites, CMS platforms and the various technical decisions that come with running a business.

But publishing a book? That’s a different story.

When I decided to write Position Strong, I knew I wanted to self-publish. I liked the idea of having control over the process, even if it meant more work for me and my team.

And for the most part, since I love to learn, I’ve enjoyed seeing how it all works.

I’ve had to consider things I’d never given much thought to before. Should I offer a hardcover edition? Go with just a paperback? Have a Kindle version? What about an audiobook? Yikes!

Then there are all the decisions involved in actually getting the book into readers’ hands.

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform has its own requirements for uploading books, setting prices and selecting categories and keywords. There are ISBNs to figure out, along with print-on-demand options. Even figuring out which publishing requirements apply to each book format has been a learning experience!

And that’s before figuring out audiobook production and distribution through platforms such as Audible and Spotify. I hear recording in the car gives the best acoustics?!

I found myself going down one research rabbit hole after another, realizing how much I still had to learn.

I can just hear all you authors reading this, chuckling at my revelations. Go ahead, I deserve it!

Eventually, I reached a point where I decided I’d rather hire someone who already knew how to do all this.

My team and I had handled the book design and formatting, so I didn’t need someone to take over the entire publishing project. I needed a specialist who understood the publishing and distribution side, particularly Amazon.

Simple enough, right?

Well, here’s where this whole experience became unexpectedly relevant to the work I do with my own clients.

A Recommendation I Was Excited About

We started by exploring Upwork and found some promising candidates.

The challenge was that many of them offered services we’d already completed, such as cover design and interior formatting. They could certainly help, but I wasn’t finding the specific expertise I wanted.

So I decided to ask a few authors I knew.

One of the first recommendations sounded perfect.

I was told this person was excellent at what they did, knew the publishing business and charged reasonable rates.

Wonderful! I thought I might have found exactly who I was looking for.

Naturally, the first thing I did was visit their website.

My enthusiasm disappeared almost immediately.

My first impression was that the website looked dated and homemade. It didn’t have the professional appearance I was expecting from someone I might trust with such an important project.

Then I read the main headline.

It focused on multi-author books.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with that specialty. But I wasn’t creating a multi-author book, and the headline made me wonder if that was the type of work this person primarily did.

As I looked around, I couldn’t find a clear explanation of the Amazon publishing services I needed.

The homepage seemed focused on encouraging people to become authors. That would be helpful to someone just considering writing a book, but I’d already written mine.

I was looking for someone who could help me take it through the publishing process.

Ultimately, I couldn’t tell whether this person had the particular expertise I needed.

And because they’d come so highly recommended, I kept looking.

I Really Wanted to Find a Reason to Contact Them

Normally, I probably would have moved on after visiting that website.

But I trusted the person who had given me the referral, so I decided to investigate further.

I searched for the publisher on social media, hoping to find more information about their services, examples of their work or something that demonstrated their publishing expertise.

Unfortunately, that didn’t help either.

Their social media presence was inconsistent. Much of what I found consisted of other people tagging them, and the descriptions of what they actually offered were vague.

There weren’t even useful links directing me somewhere I could learn more.

After spending all that time looking, I still didn’t feel confident that this was the right person to help me publish my book.

And I started wondering something that may sound familiar to anyone who’s researched a service provider online.

If their own business wasn’t presented professionally, how confident could I be about the work they’d do for me?

I realize that’s not necessarily a fair assessment of their abilities.

They could be incredibly talented and may have helped hundreds of authors publish successful books. They could have been the best person for the job.

The person who recommended them certainly seemed to think so.

But I couldn’t find anything online that reassured me.

And when you’re about to hand over a project you’ve spent months working on, you want to feel confident you’re making the right decision.

I needed to know this person had the specific expertise I was looking for.

I considered booking a free consultation anyway.

Then I realized I was already anticipating that the conversation might be disappointing.

So I didn’t book it.

Think about that for a moment.

This person had received a glowing personal recommendation from someone I trusted. They had an interested potential client actively looking for the services they might provide.

And they lost the opportunity before we ever spoke.

Not because I knew they weren’t qualified.

Because I couldn’t establish that they were.

The Difference Was Immediate

I went back to my network and asked another author for a recommendation.

Once again, I received an enthusiastic endorsement.

And once again, I went straight to the website.

This time, my experience was completely different.

The site looked polished, organized and professional.

Even better, the homepage headline immediately told me this person specialized in publishing and promotion through Amazon and IngramSpark.

Ahhhh. Now we’re talking!

There it was, right in front of me.

The services I was looking for.

I could see that this business offered other services too, but the different areas of expertise were clearly explained. I didn’t have to work to figure out whether they could help me.

Within moments, I felt far more comfortable taking the next step.

So I booked a consultation.

And I’m happy to report that it went very well!

The conversation reinforced the positive impression I’d formed from their website. They understood what I needed, had the experience I was looking for, and gave me the confidence to move forward.

So we’ve decided to hire them to help bring Position Strong into the world.

Looking back, I find it interesting that both experts came highly recommended. Both may have been perfectly capable of doing the job.

But only one gave me enough confidence to take the next step and discover whether we were a good fit.

What Your Potential Clients See Matters More Than You Might Realize

I’ve spent years helping business owners understand the importance of brand positioning, and this experience reminded me how quickly we form impressions when we’re on the other side of the buying decision.

I wasn’t studying these websites as a marketing strategist.

I was a potential customer with a very specific problem, hoping to find someone I could trust to solve it.

I didn’t want to spend hours figuring out what each business offered.

I wanted to see evidence that they understood what I needed and had the experience to help me.

And I suspect your potential clients are approaching your business in much the same way.

You know how good you are at what you do. You’ve spent years developing your expertise, and your existing clients know the value of working with you.

But someone who’s never worked with you doesn’t have the benefit of knowing all that.

They only have what’s in front of them.

They’re forming opinions based on what they find when they search for you online. That might include your website, social media profiles, client reviews, or even an AI-generated summary of your business.

And they’re looking for clues that tell them whether you’re the right person to help them.

All of those things influence how they perceive your business before they ever contact you.

And this is where I often see business owners underestimate the importance of their online presence.

They’ve been meaning to update their website for years.

Their business has changed and shifted over the years, but their messaging still describes the services they offered when they first started.

Many assume that people will contact them if they want more information.

Some will.

Others will do exactly what I did.

They’ll look for someone else.

Your Referral Can Only Take You So Far

What stands out most to me about this experience is that both providers came with strong personal recommendations.

And in both cases, those recommendations worked.

They got my attention. They made me interested enough to investigate further. In fact, the first recommendation was so positive that I spent more time researching that person than I normally would have.

But a recommendation can only take someone so far.

Once I started looking into each business, I was forming my own impressions about whether they could help me.

And that’s something I think business owners need to consider, especially if referrals are one of their main sources of new clients.

Someone might be recommending you enthusiastically, yet you could still be losing potential clients because what they find online doesn’t give them the confidence to reach out.

You would never even know those opportunities existed.

Until next time, I’m Susan Friesen, your small business brand positioning strategist, inviting you to stay clear, stay focused, and stand out.

P.S. When you’ve worked in your business for years, it can be difficult to see your website and messaging through the eyes of someone discovering you for the first time. My free Brand Clarity Audit can help you identify where your positioning may be creating confusion or uncertainty, so you have a clearer idea of what deserves your attention.

About the Author, Susan Friesen

Located in the lower mainland of B.C., Susan Friesen is a visionary brand strategist, entrepreneur, and founder of British Columbia’s premiere boutique web development and digital marketing agency, eVision Media.

With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she is an expert in helping businesses establish their online presence and create a strong brand identity.

Her passion for empowering entrepreneurs and small business owners to succeed in the digital world has earned her a reputation as a leading authority in the branding and marketing industry.

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