Spending time and money so your website appears on Google's first page isn't necessarily going to get you good results. If you want your website to convert, you need to get THIS right first:
When someone lands on your site, they take 3 seconds to decide whether they are going to stick around or click away. Yup, it's a stat: three seconds!
If your website isn't speaking directly to them and appealing to them on an emotional level, they are going to click off into the abyss.
Our ancestors lived in groups where they relied on one another for survival. That need for connection is ingrained in us today; we feel connected to people who share similar values and beliefs to us.
And we don't want to just be another number. We want to feel special, looked after and cared for. We want to do business with people. People who get us. People we know, like and trust.
It's all about branding, your message. What impression are you giving off of your brand? How do you make your ideal client feel?
Good branding is the very foundation of any successful business.
You need to make your ideal clients feel like they're in the right place when they land on your website. Otherwise it just won't convert!
How narrowing down who your ideal client is can actually help grow your business
We live in a world of digital distraction with everyone vying for our attention. Our brain has to process billions of bits of information every second, and our reticular activating system filters out what's important to us and what's not.
So when a marketing message is vague and isn't speaking directly to us, we tend to ignore it.
Think about it: your ears prick up when you hear your name mentioned across a room. The same is true when we hear the words and phrases we use ourselves. There's a familiarity there. A connection.
When your marketing message is clear and speaking directly to your ideal client, they will pay attention.
Why do I need to get so specific? Aren't I leaving people out?
I knew you were going to ask that. I hear it all the time from clients. I know it sounds counter-intuitive but hear me out: the more you narrow down who your ideal client is, the more business you'll attract.
Finding the concept hard to grasp? I did too until I watched this interview with Ramit Sethi:
Why being specific can make your life easier
When you get clear and specific about who your ideal client is, you make your life a whole lot easier, too. You know what to write about on social media, you know what colours to use, what tone of voice, what imagery to use, what words and phrases to use... THE WHOLE SHEBANG. You know them inside out, like they're your best friend.
And they feel it too!
And when we work with our ideal clients, there's a happy synchronicity to it all. They value and appreciate our work, and are willing to pay what we're worth. There's none of this, "Okay let me under-value myself by charging you less so you'll like me more" nonsense we women often fall into.
Creating an ideal client avatar
To help you get clear about who you're speaking to, grab a piece of paper and create your own ideal client avatar.
An ideal client avatar is a single person who represents your entire brand.
You can base your avatar on someone you know, or create an imaginary person. Sometimes this avatar is an earlier version of yourself!
To help you get really specific, answer the questions below:
What's your ideal client's name?
How old is she?
What does she do for a living?
What’s her financial situation?
Does she have kids? How old are they?
What’s her day-to-day life like?
Where does she hang out online?
Who or what inspires her?
What big challenges does she need solved?
How do your products/services help her to solve this problem?
What keeps her up at night?
What's really important to her?
What triggers her?
What is her mindset like?
What are her world views?
Do her values align with your business values?
What hobbies is she into (TV shows, magazines, movies, books, music?
Now, whenever you're designing anything for your business, creating content, writing a blog or doing any marketing, keep this person in mind and pretend you're speaking directly to them, using the words they use.
In next week's post, I'll be discussing how you can get your message across to your clients to help them feel more connected to your brand and want to buy from you. We dive more into the subliminal levels of branding and explaining how to use colour psychology, pick fonts and use graphics and imagery that resonates with your ideal client and help give off the right impression of your brand.
Don't want to miss next week's post? Sign up to my newsletter here and be first to find out how to pick the perfect colours and fonts for your website!
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