3 Good And Not-so-good Ways Your Website Might Resemble An Easter Egg

When I started out in copywriting, we were taught to work special events and holidays into our copy. I wrote blog posts around Easter Eggs, Mother’s Day, basketball, and more. Some seem truly cringe-worthy now, as the world changed and I learned more about copywriting. Every year I dust off the posts that still seem worth sharing, tweak them a little, and publish them again. Let me know what you think of this one.

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Do people still decorate Easter eggs? When I was a child, we had school projects about decorating. Back then people were less sensitive to differences in culture, at least in my school. So everybody was expected to boil eggs and dip them in food coloring.  It wasn’t about celebrating Easter as a holiday. It was just something we did in school.

We also didn’t have video games, so there was less competition for attention among our young minds.

Nowadays,  I rarely see an Easter egg up close. But when I get asked website questions, I can’t help thinking:

(1) Websites, like Easter eggs, rarely last forever.

After working with dozens of business owners to create a compelling, “stand-out” online presence, I’ve discovered that the most constant success factor is a willingness to change. Your website may need change because …

…your market has changed. Your followers no longer respond eagerly to the promises you made a few years ago. Sometimes your services become obsolete or attractive only to a specialized segment.

— You no longer have time to offer services that you made available when you started. For instance, many consultants and coaches no longer offer free “Discovery sessions” to anyone who asks. Some screen prospective clients; offer no free sessions at all.

— You added larger-scale services you didn’t know how to offer at an earlier stage.

— You want to play on a bigger stage and your website needs to reflect your new role.

— New technologies allow you to manage your online presence more effectively.

For instance, WordPress used to be the baby chick of the online world. You’d use WordPress for blogs and small, start-up websites. The idea was that you would graduate to a real, full-blown HTML website.

Nowadays, you can create anything in WordPress that you can create in HTML. I recommend WordPress because it’s so easy to get help.  Not only will you pay less for tech support (and you’ll rarely need it), but also you’ll find qualified low-cost resources luring on fiverr.com and other low-cost centers.

(2) Websites, like Easter eggs, are fun to decorate, so it’s easy to forget what’s under the shell.

It’s not hard to find websites with magnificent design and the equivalent of an unsalted hard boiled egg underneath. After all, design is fun! Clients often begin a consultation with, “I haven’t chosen colors yet!” The truth is, you’ll find your colors and logo as you create the content and work with more clients. I wrote a whole blog post about this, which you can read here.

(3) Websites, like Easter eggs, can be hidden away and found only during a treasure hunt. Good for eggs. Bad for websites.

The most challenging part of a website is standing out from the pack and getting traffic. Surprisingly, you can get a high page ranking and targeted traffic by creating compelling, relevant content. Some of my own sites and pages have landed on page 1 of Google for popular search terms … when I wasn’t really trying.

Finally, even when you peel a boiled, fresh Easter egg, you rarely have a meal. You need to supplement with side dishes or whatever people serve with boiled eggs these days (unless, of course, you are a bodybuilder on a very rigid diet, like the one I met in the gym three years ago).

Similarly, your website needs to be part of a strategic plan for online marketing.  It’s not enough to put up a site. You need to direct visitors so they can’t help tripping over it, instead of being forced to go on a treasure hunt.  You’ll need to think of ways to get traffic.

You can download this free guide to website planning here.

My favorite copywriting gig: Writing websites for small service-based businesses. Learn more here. 

I also love reviewing websites: often just a small. tweak can make a big difference. Learn more here.

When I work with private clients, often we discover the plan as we create the content. There’s something about creating the copy that makes the rubber meet the road (if you’re following me, you know I love this phrase). Ideas start bubbling. If you’d like to get started, join me for a Story Consultation. You can deduct the cost when you follow up with a copywriting project.