We would all like our websites to become the next Amazon, but until that happens, our websites can still fill a valuable role. Regardless of what kind of site you have, it can provide a secondary purpose. Your primary purpose may be to sell your product, create a platform or provide a service, but it has a secondary value: it is an expression of who you are.
When you understand this, you can use your domain name as a way to promote yourself as well as your product, service or platform.
We are often single-minded in the primary goal of our sites. We focus on the selling of our products and services, but we are also selling ourselves. If we want to cultivate trust and connection we must personalize our sites. To do this, a simple start is to introduce yourself.
This doesn’t have to be complicated, but put your face on your product and let people know that you are a human. By doing this, people feel a stronger sense of loyalty and desire to support you. This also turns your website into a platform that you can reference while networking or seeking employment.
People want to feel confident in their engagements online. By highlighting your experience, you give people a sense that they are dealing with a quality company or person. By doing this, people are more willing to pull the trigger on purchases or place value in your message.
Remember, there are many choices online and making customers feel like you provide the appropriate experience shows them they are choosing well. Additionally, this makes leveraging your site as support for your resume easier. Your experience is already explicitly provided on the site. Therefore, future clients and even employers can clearly see your experience.
It’s often taken for granted that we have the skills that we’ve developed over years and through training and education, but that must be made obvious to your audience. By highlighting your skills you tell people they are in good hands and that you provide something uncommon and not easily accessed without professional help.
If you don’t do this, you open the door to the idea that people can take care of their issue themselves, without skilled help. This is also an easy way to showcase your skills for clients and employers.
Too often we assume our message is clear. Often, it’s not, at least not to the extent we desire. This must be addressed through the content on your site. You want quality writing, clear messaging and comprehensive content. Additionally, quality content provides value in search engine optimization (SEO) through increased searchability and potential for external sites to link back to your site.
This increases the signals to search engines and makes your site more findable by those looking on search engines like Google. By producing quality content you indicate a skill, writing, and an understanding of the more sophisticated workings of the internet, SEO. These skills are valuable and should be showcased on a resume and certainly your site. This is also an opportunity to self-advertise. Use your words to signal that your site and your products are the right choice. This will also be important if you are trying to sell yourself and get a new job.
It’s often tempting to hide from putting ourselves out there on the web. People fear for their identities and becoming vulnerable, but by personalizing your site, you give people an idea of who you are. This is not only good for the confidence of potential customers, but it gives you a sample of who you are for potential employers and clients. Your site is an expression of yourself and when you are authentic, that comes through, creating trust, loyalty and a sense of authenticity.
ABC in business stands for Always Be Closing. Make sure your site utilizes the techniques that close the deals. Ask for the sale. Make it easy to say yes. Provide easy access and easy justification for choosing to buy. Make the choice to buy an obviously better choice than not buying. Be thankful for their patronage and use positive images, like smiles and photos of happy people. Use language that directs customers to purchase, “CLICK HERE” or “ADD TO CART”. These direct browsers to buy. Also, use assumptive sales language. Like “You’ll love your purchase”.
Ultimately, it is key to remember that your website isn’t merely an online store, but a reflection of yourself. This can be very powerful and positive as you can use it to show the world who you are and what you are about. This is an easy sample for networking because it shows who you are and provides a real-world example of your work. So take full advantage of your site. Leverage it to showcase who you are, what you can do and why you are valuable.
