The #1 Mistake You’re Making on Your Website

When people book an initial consult with me, the very first thing I do is get to work doing some lite internet stalking before we chat. 

So far I'm still waiting for something truly shady or weird to pop up. I mean, is no one linked to the mob anymore? Or even a failed pyramid scheme? One of these days...

Anyway. What I do see again and again are two website mistakes:

1. Sites with no clear CTA (call to action) *or* it's buried so far at the bottom you need a damn shovel and wheelbarrow to get to it

2. Sites that are all about the business instead of the customer

Let's focus on #2 for now (I have thoughts on #1 but there's only so much time today, ya know?)

It's tempting to think your website needs to be all about you. You're the one providing a service so surely you need to dedicate the majority of your website to telling your life story, convincing visitors why they should hire you and generally bigging yourself up, right?

Nope. 

Repeat after me: in the client's journey you are not the hero. Your client is the hero. You, my talented friend, are the sidekick your hero's been looking for. 

When Nemo goes  missing and Marlin sets out to find him, Dory shows up to guide and support him along the way. Sure, Marlin is the hero on a quest but he can't do it without Dory (she speaks whale, remember?).

So how do we position you as the Dory to your customer's Marlin?

One thing you can do right this second is go check out your website and make sure your homepage has these two things:

• A powerful tagline (right at the top!) that says in 1-2 sentences what you do, followed by 1 sentence explaining the result your customers get. For example, mine is:

  • Radically simple marketing + killer copy <--- this is my tagline

  • "so you can grow your business without complicated tech, paid ads or hours on social media" <--- this is the result I get for peeps, listed directly below my tagline

• An empathetic mirror statement that helps customers to see themselves. These statements often start with "I know where you are right now;"  "___ shouldn't be so hard;" "I understand how it feels to ___;" "you might be frustrated by ___"

Nail these two things and you'll communicate that you have the experience AND the heart to help your customers overcome their challenges.