These days the traditional home page often appears as a page that’s heavy on visuals that makes a statement. Even if your page is beautiful, you still need to send these three messages:
Message #1: “You’ve come to the right place.”
If you’re looking for stress relief, you want to be sure this professional really addresses stress – not headaches or anxiety. You also want to know if you’re being offered a service compatible with your value system.
You might get advice to focus solely on the benefit you offer. But some people will tune out if you say you’re an aromatherapist, chiropractor, massage therapist, or psychotherapist. It’s possible that you’ll change their minds with your website, but you will get a better return on your website investment by reaching out to prospects who already recognize your value. Often these prejudices are irrational and emotional.
Message #2: “You’re my kind of client.”
If you’re a fitness trainer, do you work with world-class athletes or unfit beginners? (If both you need separate pages and maybe separate sites.) If you are a financial planner, do your clients struggle to get out of debt or increase their 7-figure portfolios?
Prospects don’t want to be intimidated but they want to be sure you’re big enough for them, too.
Message #3: “I’m the best solution for you at this time.”
Share just enough about your background to motivate prospects to keep reading. Your “About” page tells the full story.
There are many ways to get these messages across.You’ll find many templates. Some people claim that your template changes based on your goal, but most business owners find their goals overlap. Sure, you want people to call you for a consultation and buy an ebook, but you also want them to sign up for a giveaway to get on your list.
One way to communicate all these messages is to write what many coaches call “pull questions.” When you visit a website with a handful of questions, you’ll know that’s the goal of the website owner. You’ll sometimes see these questions in a video rather than text on contemporary websites.
Good questions will resonate strongly with the prospect (or be a total turnoff, which means you’ve been saved from a curiosity seeker, tire kicker, or mismatched client who will end being more trouble than she’s worth). The challenge is to write questions that are easy to “get,” evoke emotions, and don’t sound as though they’ve come from the same cookie-cutter as everybody else’s.
If you’d like to explore options for your own home page and website, let’s start with a Strategic Intensive. Click here to learn more.
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