Shining Your Light Online
I write a lot in my work about the importance of knowing and owning what I like to call Your Unique Light. If you’re wondering what I mean when I write that phrase, to me, Your Unique Light is that special thing that you were brought here to shine into this world so that it could become a better, brighter place. I am really passionate about this concept because I believe that each and every one of us carries a Unique Light that we need to share with the world, and ultimately whatever this is, it is our purpose and ultimately our highest of callings.
But more than anything I speak about this concept because I often see a disconnect between the lights that we carry and the ways in which we share stories with other people about what those lights are.
One of the most common places I see this disconnect is on people's websites. The worst is when I know the person behind the site personally. I'll know their story and everything that they're passionate about, and then I end up going to their website and immediately my heart sinks.
Waaaaaahhhh. Waaaaaahhhh.
Rather than being a site designed to attract people who are compelled by their story, it's simply a mess of stock images of strangers, generic uncompelling language and a cornucopia of logistics.
What a missed opportunity.
You might see yourself or your site in that statement, which may be hard to hear. But know that I don’t share those words to hurt you. I’m saying them to help you.
I want to ask together, how can we do better?
Here’s the thing about having a website in 2020. It’s an absolutely essential and expected part of doing business. So much so these days can feel like one more box to check rather than a creative and compelling process. Here’s the tricky part about having a website though: It’s expected of you and although you can do it yourself, it's not necessarily something that the majority of us know how to do well.
But that’s because no one taught us!
However, on the other hand, most of us don't have the time or resources to invest in hiring somebody to do it for us, especially when we're new in business. So how can we build a website that is compelling and creative and calls out to the people we're meant to serve without wasting time & money in the process?
When it comes to building a website that truly shines & showcases your light to prospective customers, there are three things you must keep in mind:
It’s not about you, it's about them. This means that the purpose of the website has very little to with your own aesthetic. While your website should sound like a well-polished & edited version of you, it shouldn’t necessarily look like you. Because the purpose of your website isn’t to serve you, so it shouldn’t mirror your aesthetic. The purpose of your website is to speak to the customers or clients you aim to serve. It's very important that when you're creating your website, you create it through the lens of the customers you attract in order to create content that is compelling to them. If the things that you're creating feel a little edgy for you or feel like putting yourself out there in a new and different way, that's probably a sign you’re on the right track. It means that you're probably speaking more loudly and clearly than you have in the past. This may be a little jarring and uncomfortable at first, but ultimately is going to catch the eye and the attention of the prospects you want at a much greater volume.
PRO TIP - If you already have a site but it needs revamping, ask for critical feedback from either a current customer that you wish you could clone or if you’re feeling really brave, from a prospect you loved that chose a different provider over you.
When it has to be about you, make it about your values. Let’s be clear here, I know that your website can’t only be about your customers. You have to showcase who you are somewhere on there. But don’t just make this moment about listing your services, showing off your logo, and providing instructions on how to contact you via carrier pigeon. See this moment as a critical opportunity to showcase who you are. Although we live in a world where technology abounds, people still buy from other people, particularly if you're in a service-based business. This means that people want to know who you are and why you do what you do, and it means that our websites provide an important opportunity for us to showcase our values and share the things that make us stand up and stand out in this world. Whatever this is, of course, comes down to Your Unique Light and it also helps inform how you share about your unique areas of expertise and your own life without doing it in a way that is generic and uncompelling.
PRO TIP - Don’t just build your values to showcase them on a landing page on your website. Here at Fearless In Training, we believe knowing, owning & embodying your values is a critical part of building your brand. If you need help with this, we’ve got some.
Before you sell anything, show them what you’re worth. This rule is the most important one and it's the one that I often see people make the mistakes with. Folks almost always either do one of two things: They offer 0 Calls To Action + 0 ways to connect with them on their website besides their direct phone number OR they offer 7 calls to actions + 8 ways to contact them + 3 prebuilt services packages that they’re trying to sell to you right this second on their site. Both are equations the result in terrible sales outcomes. More important than selling anything on your website is showing people what you're worth by showing people your value. One of the easiest ways to do this is through sharing materials on your website that highlight a little bit of who you are and more importantly your areas of expertise. Even better is if you do so in a way that is designed to do some lead capture in the process.
PRO TIP - While everyone's website should have a call to action and a way to get in touch with them, not every person who lands on your website is going to feel 100% ready to pull the trigger and set up a free consultation call with you. However, if they like who you are, they may want to give you their information in the form of signing up for a newsletter or downloading a piece of digital content that is of value to them. This is a great way to show people the value of what you're bringing to the table while also collecting their contact details so that you can re-market to them down the road and so that when they're ready to buy your services, they'll come back your way.
Now, if I'm truly honest, I know this stuff because I've made all of these mistakes in my own website, which is why I've learned how to build in a better way. These are just three of the tips that I have to offer on this topic of how we showcase and share our light with a world through our websites. However, there are so many more tips and tricks to be had. Believe me, there are so many, little, simple, wonderful things that can improve your site in big, big ways.
But I'm not an expert on this subject. Websites are just something I dabble in on my downtime.
That is why I’m bringing in the big guns to teach on this topic. Luckily for me, I happen to know an absolute ACE and expert on websites (as well as branding & marketing), which is, of course, is Karen Reyburn of the Profitable Firm.
Karen will be joining our next live Learning Lab session to share with our members about What Your Website Is Saying About You. In addition to getting access to the session & Karen's wealth of insight, every participant will even walk away with a short video review of their own website so that they'll have customized & actionable feedback that they can take away to enhance their web presence. If you are somebody who is aspiring to build a better brand in 2020 and wants to establish a web presence that's truly representative of who you are & who you aim to serve, I would strongly recommend you sign up for this session by joining us in the Learning Lab.
It’s 2020, which means now more than ever before that your websites represents the virtual lobby to your office. It’s time to think about what people find when they show up on your online doorstep, and if it’s content that is compelling enough to keep them around and coming back your way. In a world where we are working more and more virtually, it's more important than ever to pay attention to the presence and picture we're painting for people by the way we present ourselves online. Together we can continue to grow & learn how to showcase Our Unique Light online so that we can let shine it brightly into the world.