Do you remember your first website building experience? I remember mine. I asked around at my networking events for a referral for a web designer. After interviewing 3 different ones, I finally sat down with Scott to talk web design. I was so excited …. Soon I would have my website!!! Scott and I talked for about 15 minutes before he asked me the #1 question that stopped me dead in my tracks…….
So – where is the content for the website? What is it going to say?
I had no idea what my website should say or what it should include – being a newbie to all of this, I assumed he would write the content!
Over the years, I’ve learned that a client-attracting website absolutely needs these CORE COMPONENTS:
1. Great Pictures, videos, graphics
Visuals are so important to a website because they instantly convey a story without words!!! So yes, great pictures, but not common stock photos that everyone sees everywhere.
Your pictures should relate to either happy clients or results that you create. You don’t need pictures of someone climbing a mountain if you’re a financial planner. Remember the picture on your header (that part of the website everyone sees immediately when they go to your website – that part they see without scrolling) – your header is your first impression – make sure it’s awesome!
Looking at the header below – we might think that Carrie cleans buildings! But no, she’s actually a professional dry cleaning service.
2. Calls to action (CTA)
Most websites don’t have easily identifiable CTA’s and they don’t nearly have enough of them! Your CTA should be powerful i.e. Buy Now; Schedule a Call versus Check this out or Let’s Chat! On your home page, you might need as many as 8-10 of the same CTA!!! If you look at the CTA’s in the example below – it actually gets lost in the navigation bar.
3. Effective Lead Magnet (Freebie, Opt-in)
Today it’s not good enough to have a sign-up box inviting people to join your newsletter! Unfortunately, no one wants ‘just another newsletter’!! They want high-value content.
Two important things about a lead magnet:
- it should help your prospect get a quick win
- it should be in alignment with your Compelling Core offer. In other words, you wouldn’t have a lead magnet that helps your prospects get a better night’s sleep if you were a productivity coach.
Want to learn a simple List-Building Lead Magnet Blueprint? — download this free guide here!
So why do you absolutely need a lead magnet? Because 97% of your prospects will not purchase from you the first time they land on your website; or the 2nd or the 3rd!!! You need to nurture that relationship and we do that through email marketing. Your lead magnet gives your prospect something of value; and in return, you add them to your email list. The money is in the list!!!
BTW- there’s a BIG difference between just having a lead magnet and having an EFFECTIVE lead magnet. It often takes time to monitor and tweak to get your conversion really great!
4. High-Value Content
It’s an information world and your prospect knows that there are many places to get ‘information’ including Google, YouTube, etc. So we have to ensure that our content positions us as the solution to their problem – in other words, ensure that your content isn’t just the same old familiar stuff! Endeavor to have your content new and relevant to their problems! Hint: High-value content is often your own intellectual property.
Remember last week I introduced you to the concept of the Marketing Proficiency Effect and websites? That’s my intellectual property made relevant to you! If you didn’t read last week’s blog – find it here!
5. Story Layout
You want your prospects to stay on your website as long as possible. Actually, what you want them to do is to read ALL of your homepage and sign up for your lead magnet. In order for them to do that, they need to read a story – something that flows and creates innate curiosity that will propel them to continue reading! During my upcoming Website Make Over Bootcamp, I will help participants write their ‘story layout’ to create awesome client-attracting websites! Here are some websites that have great story layout and flow: https://speechsisters.com; https://egobooks.ca
6. Positioning Lingo
Prospects purchase when they hear or read words that inspire them to purchase!! So….. do the words on your website inspire them to hire you OR do the words only talk about you, your credentials and your solution! Remember in any marketing, it’s all about the prospect’s problem and we are only the guide to help them solve that problem!
Your website MUST position you as the only logical solution for your client’s problem! Does it? (More on this next week)!
There we have it – 6 Core Components of a Client-attracting website.
Which ones will you implement?
Did you know – many of these changes are just words, which means that either you or a good virtual assistant can make the changes! Don’t wait.
YOU CAN DO THIS
Diana
If you want to dive deeper into creating a client-attracting website, I invite you to join me for WEBSITE MAKEOVER BOOTCAMP, February 25th where I’ll help you actually ‘wireframe’ – that means layout & write the words – for your website so it works while you sleep! Register here!
