1. Identify Your Target Audience

This is so overlooked in the health and fitness industry… The biggest mistake is trying to cater for all…and this then does exactly the opposite as it wont attract anyone.

Who is going to be interested in your offering? Is there a clear USP for your business versus the competitors in the same space? Is there enough room in the market for a "me too" model?

Get this defined first before even thinking about your website.

2. Develop A Clear Business Model

Have you considered all options for your business model and decided on a clear winner? A well thought out business plan based on tangible metrics will help you succeed.

Try to think what other things your audience would benefit from. Technology is so easy to use nowadays that you can achieve a lot with a very small amount of investment

Options include selling products, monetising visits via third partys and affiliates, providing information in return for high value customer data or by generating sales leads for a high value product or service.

3. Make Sure Your Website Meets Your Business Needs

It's likely that you will want to update your website regularly with fresh content. If this is the case then ensure you have a suitable content management system to allow for this. Likewise, if you are planning on selling products you must have a secure and reliable payment system in place to make this viable.

You can use reliable payment gateways like paypal, worldpay, sagepay, smartdebit, or securetrading together with a shopping cart such as Amazon, Magento, Prestashop, opencart, Zend cart, Google checkout

Using the right specialist or website designer for the job will help you to produce a site that fits your business requirements.

4. Design Your Site To Attract Free Traffic

More than 47 million new websites were created in 2010 alone, so you need to think carefully about how you're going to attract visitors to your site. If it's a new site then you have the opportunity to get it built with SEO in mind and attract some free traffic, so make sure you get some recommendations from an SEO company and benefit long-term.

5. Increase Visits With Targeted Paid Methods

PPC (paid search) can generate instant visits to your site. However it can be easy to blow a lot of cash on clicks that fail to turn into revenue so it's important to get an expert on board.

Anyone who has heard me rant will note that I only recommend this when you have a system in place already to guarantee a return on investment.

Email and direct mail are perfect for one-off blasts to a targeted audience and are designed to quickly pull in new customers…but again have a plan to turn these leads into cash

6. Think About Your Brand

When you're setting up a new site in a competitive space then it's essential that your brand communicates how you stand out from the crowd and conveys the values that your company encompasses. Your target audience may be over 50s, but your brand may appeal to the under 35s.

Branding companies can help you to get this right by developing a brand that fits with your offering, plus provide you with guidelines to help you keep your branding consistent across all marketing mediums.

7. Ensure Your Website Is Focused On Your Conversion Point

You've spent time creating a website that fits your brand values and you're satisfied with the overall look and feel. The question is does the site encourage visitors to do what underpins the success of your business?

For example, is it easy for them to view and purchase a product? Is it clear what information they need to provide before being able to access password protected content? Are they encouraged to consume more content? A website designer or ecommerce web designer will help you to achieve this.

8. Use CRM Tools To Increase Sales And Build Relationships

Good CRM (Customer Relationship Management) allows you to know your customers inside out and tailor your service to them. CRM software collects data about your customers, tracking their preferences, decisions and responses at every stage of the buying cycle. Studies have shown that a tailored CRM system can increase your sales by 40-50 percent…now that’s smart investment!

9. Go offline to win clients online

Even though I thrive on winning business online there comes a stage where your sales will be turbocharged with going offline.

I try to develop a sales journey which at least brings in either a phone/call or a skype call (technically still online - ha ha!) or even a face to face meeting or a group presentation to bring human interaction in before I then go back online to transfer the prospect closer to a sale.

If you're looking to have appointments set or simply find the right person to contact, a telemarketing company can handle your contact generation and you can keep your sales people doing what they do best: selling.

10. Use Web Analytics Tools To Track Visits And Conversions

If you don't have access to web analytics data for your site then you're effectively driving blind. GO SORT IT OUT RIGHT NOW!

Sorry for shouting….Web analytics can help you to gain answers and solve problems. Answers can include, where your visitors are coming from, how visitors are responding to your site, and if visitors are exiting the site before reaching your money pages. There are lots of packages to choose from - some paid, some free. Google Analytics is a good package to use if you're just starting out…. But if you are serious about increasing your client base online then the mindset must be to test and refine the content and process on an ongoing basis, the market place is a very dynamic place so we must have the finger on the electronic pulse.

To your business success