In a previous post, we talked about when you would need a website. Ultimately, they are becoming less and less important because funnels done right work amazingly well.
When is a website important? For social proof, authority and nurture. You need a platform for sharing who you are, your mission and more.
What I’d like to do now is switch gears and start talking about the key components of a good and well-branded website. These key components are there to build a relationship with your audience, allow you to create content, share who you have worked with, and build your list.
Necessary Website Components
Your About page should describe your mission, who you serve, and why you’re doing what you’re doing. It is important to express your why because this will be the opportunity to show your vulnerability and more importantly, relatability. How you relate to people and your own journey will bridge the gap of impersonality that can be found online. Your own story and growth process will give them hope of their own path.
Who’s talking about you is extremely important to express. If you want to position yourself as an authority, one of the best ways to do so is to highlight publications and any media you’re found in. It doesn’t have to be a major publication. It can be anything that helps with positioning your expertise and likeability. It can be a small podcast all the way up to getting international news coverage. Whatever mainstream or value based source that has talked about you makes you that much more credible to your audience.
What they said about you can often times be the best marketing you will find. This is where in your site you want to highlight what people have said about you. Not just who is talking, but how they are talking is super valuable. Authorities that are speaking fondly of you as I said can be your best marketing. You shouting how awesome you are from the rooftops won’t convince anyone, but someone everyone trusts raving about you can literally build your brand and integrity.
Have a Product or Service page, because hey, someone might just be coming to you to learn more about your products or what and how you make a living. This is where you want to have a product listing available to them. Also, this helps because you are back-linking to your other pages and sites.
What Do You Solve for People?
If you aren’t building your subscriber list to get more qualified leads into your business than to me, you don’t have a business. Sorry. I know that some folks in my community are authors, artists, and entertainers, but the old way of building your audience is dead. You don’t necessarily have studios propping up your brand. That is why you need to work to build your own audience. With that in mind, your own audience comes from building your list. You should definitely be doing this from your website just like you should be doing with your landing pages.
Create killer content and have it shown from your home page. Link your home page to any blog, podcast or other form of content you are creating so that you use the power of your own content to literally lock in your audience. Yes, curating other content is okay, but personally, nothing beats connecting to people and helping them in your own voice.
Expert tip: I like to take my live video or videos and repurpose them as blog posts and audio podcasts!
Finally, invest in a photo shoot. Having a professional photo shoot can do wonders for your brand. A professional photographer can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000. Last photo shoot I did was $1,000 and it was top quality—but the photographer was a friend of mine! Your photo shoot should exemplify every part of your brand. For instance, I would suggest five looks to go for.
Email from Photographer for Photoshoot Ideas and Items Needed
When I did my photo shoot I decided on:
This look expresses tech—so I had shots of me in the office and behind the desk in work mode.
This photo is me in my living room with the dog just to show the lighter side of me.
Another look here is me at the beach with my wife and dog to show family values.
Speaking from a stage expresses that I am a speaker/author and that is part of my brand.
Lastly, this shot is me in a very artist/modern feel because I want to be seen as relevant and part of my brand in doing so was showing me in action. I am not really a suit guy, although I have images of me in a suit. I was more interested in showing the artist and bohemian and more approachable side.
This is an example of what a photographer can do. Capture many different aspects of who you are as a brand in one photo shoot! Then you can have different images expressed on the different pages found in your site. For instance, on my about page I have images of me with my wife and dog to show that this is what I am about. Family.
A quick tip is that your web designer and photographer should be on the same page in terms of color and style of your brand. Make sure you save your branded colors, fonts, and logos to stay brand consistent.
To summarize, having a funnel is huge for your business, but also having a website can help to solidify your brand. Both are designed to grow your overall business and revenue. I suggest you create a landing page and funnel first, build your internal community and then branch out to start creating a well-branded website.
So what were your thoughts on this post? Are you still wondering more about a funnel?
Post in the comment below your thoughts! And please do share with your friends, followers, and fans if this post could help them!
Also, check out http://CaseyZeman.com to check out how my personally branded site looks to get an idea of how I built out the site.
Want to learn more about website vs. funnels? Click here to read our other article.
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