Do you have a website? Of course, you do. And chances are, you thought about the look and feel of your site well before you began to think about the content on your website.
Am I right?
I get it. You want your website to look good to the reader. After all, your website is often the first point of contact a prospect has with you and your business.
A clean and easy-to-navigate website gives a great first impression if it includes things like:
All of those components work together to make the user’s experience on your site better.
But there’s one critical component that we are overlooking, and that is the content on your site.
Your site can be the prettiest, coolest site on this planet but if it provides no value through its content, then it doesn’t matter.
So how do you provide value with your content? Here are a couple of ways.
OK, content that’s about the reader. What does that look like?
For starters, it should talk to them and about them, not you. While it’s true that your website visitors are there primarily to learn about you, what they really want to know is how you can help them.
That means speaking to your readers about their issues and challenges. And you know what those are because you’ve helped others just like them.
Let them know you understand their challenges. Talk to them about how you’ve helped businesses just like theirs who’ve faced the same ones. Answer the questions they have before they even ask them.
Tell stories about other customers and the benefits they’ve received as a result of working with you.
By focusing your content on your reader in a way that helps them see that you understand their issues, you will also help them understand that you are a good fit for their situation, and that's a big barrier to overcome.
Of course, at some point, you do need to talk about yourself, and don’t worry; there are places where you can - and should - do that.
The most effective place on your website to write about you is the About page. Many About pages are boring; yours doesn’t have to be.
This is a great place to show off your personality and what makes you unique. It’s a place where you can share your passion for why you do what you do and give the reader a chance to really connect with you.
It’s also a great spot to showcase how you work with your clients, the care and attention you pay to them, and what they can expect in their experience working with you.
Other great content that’s about you isn’t actually written by you. It’s written by your happy and satisfied clients.
That’s right; I’m talking about testimonials. You should aim to have some on your website, but don’t confine them to one spot. Sprinkle them throughout the site rather than on one page devoted to testimonials.
Other content that you want on your website includes clear calls to action and an easy way for people to contact you.
Let’s talk about your calls to action first.
A call to action lets your reader know exactly what step you want them to take next. Maybe you want them to contact you, or perhaps you want them to see a blog article you wrote on a specific topic they’d be interested in.
Your call to action can be anything really. But whatever it is, be sure to make it clear and stand out on the page, with a nice button and the words, “Click here to _________.”
And yes, each page can and should have a call to action.
Your Contact page should provide your reader with different options to get in touch. If you include a form to fill out, think about also including your email address for those folks who don’t like forms.
One thing that needs to stand out on every page of your website is your specific tone and voice. This is something that you own and is uniquely yours. It should be clear and confident, but not arrogant - you don’t want to turn your audience away.
It also should be empathetic and demonstrate that you understand the challenges and problems.
If you combine great design elements with valuable content that speaks to your reader in a way that they understand and in a manner that compels them to take a next step with you, then I'd call that a win.
To see if your website has valuable content for your reader, please contact me. I'll take a look at no cost to you.