2. Pick your kind of business and your place
“Local businesses” is too wide to talk about. One kind of business, in one place, is not.
This chapter is thinking and a little phone time. No app yet. You will end with one line you can say out loud.
The idea
An owner is more likely to read a note from someone who knows their kind of work. That is my view from 15 years in this business. It is not a promise of anything. So pick one kind of business and one place. Learn what their day looks like.
Step 1. Pick a kind of business
Pick one that passes these four questions.
- Can you talk about it? If you know how a roofer gets a call, you will write a better note to one.
- Do their customers use a phone to find them? Most people look up a local business on a phone. Think about how you would find one.
- Are there enough of them? Search Google Maps in your town. You want a long list, not three names.
- Is a good site useful to them? Think about how a new customer finds this business. If the answer is “they search for it,” a site matters.
Here are some fair first picks. They are my examples. They show the shape of a good pick. They are not orders.
| Kind of business | Why it is a fair first pick |
|---|---|
| Roofers | People search for one when they need one. |
| Plumbers | Most calls start on a phone. Owners are busy on jobs. |
| Heating and air | People search for one when something breaks. |
| Dentists | New patients look up a dentist on their phone. |
| Hair salons and barbers | People book from a phone. A site with hours and a way to book helps. |
| Auto repair | Owners are under a car, not at a desk. A site that works on a phone helps them. |
Step 2. Pick a place
- Start where you live. You can say “I am local.” You also know which streets and shops are real.
- SiteRevive asks for a state. A city is optional. Add one only to make the search smaller. At launch, SiteRevive finds U.S. businesses.
- Not enough there? Use the state, or a bigger city nearby.
Step 3. Test your pick on your phone (10 minutes)
- Open Google Maps. Type your kind of business and your town. Example: roofer Boise.
- Tap five businesses. Open each website.
- For each one, ask: can I tap the phone number to call? Is the writing easy to read? Does it load fast? Does it show hours or a way to book?
- Count the ones with a problem you can name.
Three or more of five have a problem? Keep this pick. One or none? Try another kind of business or another town. You lose ten minutes, not a month.
This is a quick look, not proof. SiteRevive does the full check for you in chapter 3. One more thing to look for while you are there: does the site show an email address? SiteRevive only uses an email that is on the owner’s own website.
Step 4. Write your one line
Fill this in. Say it out loud once.
I help [kind of business] in [place] get [one thing they want].
Samples. These are made up, to show the shape.
- I help dentists in Tampa get a website that works on a phone.
- I help roofers in Boise get a site that shows their phone number.
- I help salons in Austin get a site where people can book online.
Could an eight-year-old repeat your line? If not, make it shorter.
Too wide. “I help businesses grow” tells nobody anything. Pick one kind.
Too many at once. Do roofers first. Add plumbers after you have sent your first emails.
A kind of business you would never talk about. If it bores you, your emails will sound bored.
Waiting for the perfect pick. You can change it next week. A rough pick today beats a perfect pick in a month.
Check yourself
- I picked one kind of business.
- I picked one state, and maybe one city.
- I opened five of their websites on my phone.
- I wrote my one line.
Ready? Chapter 3 is where you press the button.