So you’re in the development game, but are you at the top of your game? It might take a bit of hard work (as anything worth having does), but being among the best of the best is well within your grasp.

Now, obviously ‘leading’ isn’t a claim to being the number one WooCommerce developer in the world, but it does mean you’ll likely be customers’ top choice to work with, and more clients = more profit!

The advantage here is that, as a niche market, it’s relatively simple to rise to the top; you’ll likely already have specialist skills that are in high demand and thus can command higher rates. By contrast, it’s much harder to carve out a place for yourself as a top ‘IT expert’.

So that’s the first step, carving out a niche, done for you, just by virtue of your having chosen to pursue that most exciting of platforms, WooCommerce. Well done you. What’s next?

The second most important thing to achieve, after making sure you’re really great, is to make sure people know that you’re really great. Here, existing customers are key. Get in touch to ask for a testimonial, maybe offer a discount on their next project, buy them a coffee, take them to lunch, pay for their summer holiday, whatever it takes to get a glowing review up on your site. This provides invaluable evidence and reassurance to prospective clients that your existing clients are happy, and would recommend you – after all, everyone wants to keep up with the Jones’! You might even consider completing projects for key players in the industries you’re targeting, in return for a recommendation on their site, which will also add to your portfolio of work, advertise your services to your target market and allow you to show off your skills – a win-win. When it comes to marketing, nothing beats word of mouth – so pick up the phone and work your charm!

Once you’ve got those all important testimonials, shout about it from the rooftops! Not literally, this might attract the wrong kind of attention, but set up an area on your website dedicated to customer reviews and testimonials. Make sure there are a lot – don’t worry about any repetition, this just drives the point home for the reader, and suggests a consistently strong performance, very reassuring for a would-be purchaser. Make sure the page is easy to find and you feature projects that will catch the attention of potential customers from all kinds of industries – you could even consider setting up multiple pages for specific project or industry types. However you organise it, make sure that it is clear, and easy to find – some choice quotes from your very best reviews on the home page wouldn’t hurt either!

Finally, promote yourself! You can have the best website in the world with the most gushing reviews, but if no one can find it, no one will know. There are so many tools and services that you can utilise to promote your business – Facebook, Google Adwords, direct mail, leafleting – all of which can be targeted towards a particular industry, demographic, service or geographic area. You might also consider cross-promotion by partnering with someone in a relevant industry or providing a complementary service.

In essence, to rise to the top you just need to do more of what you’re good at – completed projects will grow your portfolio and show off your skills, but to do this you need customers. Get yourself some cracking testimonials and make sure anyone who visits your site will see them. Then, it’s all about driving traffic, so look into marketing services and solutions to drive online footfall, and watch those projects roll in!