When I was a little girl, my mom would make wedding cakes. (Bear with me here.) I remember watching her as she carefully measured out the right ingredients and frosted each cake very carefully, making sure to get the portioning on the ingredients just right. Every cake, though, when it was done, was different and decorated in its own special way.
One day recently when I was reminiscing, it suddenly hit me: that’s actually what I do now. I make logo ‘cakes’ – I make website ‘cakes’! It’s important to get the ‘science’ of the ingredients just right, but it’s just as important to make each one special, beautiful, and like no other. So I take my understanding of the basic essentials that need to be present in any design (be it a logo, a brochure, or a website), but then I blend them together and apply them in a way that’s specifically right for you. No templates. Just completely customized design that accurately reflects your business.
Each ‘cake’ is different in its own special way, a perfect blending of science and art.
The pay-off for you? You get to share who you are with the people that matter, without saying a word. Long for someone to pinpoint everything that’s special, different and (frankly) awesome about your business? Find out more about working with me.
Even more about me: When I’m not designing, I love going on driving adventures to cozy, quaint towns around New England. Or you can often find me curled up with a book and a tasty mocha at one of my favorite Rhode Island cafés.
7 things your website needs to convert casual users to paying customers. *7 -What’s the latest.* If your website is going to be static, meaning you’re not going to add new content regularly, you need a blog for SEO reasons. Google and other search engines like to see fresh content added once a week. If that seems unreasonable, post once a month at the minimum, 600-900 words preferably. Long term, you’ll see more traffic with regular blog posts. If this seems daunting (and I know, I’ve been there!), consider hiring a marketing strategist or a copywriter to help write and shape new content for you.
7 things your website needs to convert casual users to paying customers. *6 - How to contact you.* Depending on the nature of your business, it's usually appropriate to share your phone number. If not, an address or general location is almost always needed. Think of it this way – if you went to a website and all you saw on the contact page was an email, wouldn’t you be a tad skeptical? The contact section of a website is very important and it must be clear. Check out the Brown School of Professional Studies website. I've put their street address, email & phone contact info for multiple types of inquiries, AND links to all their social pages. If you're looking to jumpstart your MBA or get that degree in cybersecurity, connecting with them is a breeze! 😀 @brownsps
7 things your website needs to convert casual users to paying customers. ⠀ ⠀ *5 - What the call to action is.*⠀ ⠀ A ‘call to action’ is the main step you want potential clients to take when they come to your site. Do you want them to join your email list? Do you want them to make a purchase? Do you want them to post to your Instagram with a particular hashtag? Sketch out your top call to actions, then be brutal: narrow it down to one (and only one) call to action.⠀ ⠀ --TIP! With each additional call to action, you dilute the strength of all your call to actions, making it increasingly likely that no one will act on any of your call to actions.⠀ Make your numero uno call to action easy to spot and easy to act upon. Fact: the fewer clicks involved in completing your call to action, the greater the number of people that will finish the process. The same goes for form fields the user has to fill in. Maybe you can settle for just capturing emails, and ask later for demographic info.⠀ ⠀ On the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket website, the call to action is clear: give to save young lives.⠀ ⠀ What’s your call to action? I'd love to hear it!
7 things your website needs to convert casual users to paying customers. *4 - How you ‘Voice’ it.* Voice is one of those abstract concepts that simply translates to the tone and style of your website. Your tone may be formal and reserved, casual and playful, or sophisticated and avant-garde. Your word choice, your topics, and the style of your visuals all add up to the voice on your site. Remember that message you want to send to your clients or customers? Determine the best answer, then reflect it in your website’s voice. A marketing strategist and a copywriter can help with the sometimes overwhelming task of actualizing your voice.
7 things your website needs to convert casual users to paying customers. *3 - How you Visualize it.* Photos and videos engage readers at many times the rate of written content. I love using professional shots of you and/or your team because it promotes authenticity (it demonstrates that you want to share who you are) and sends a reassuring message to skittish clients: "I’m real. I’m friendly! I'm reliable. And I’m here to help! " Chat up your professional photographer or videographer ahead of time so you’re on the same page with the message you want to convey. Plan it out, because chances are you’ll use that image for a long time, and visuals send a powerful message about who you are and what your business represents. By the way, if you're looking for a great corporate accountant, you can't do much better than Carl Weinberg & Associates in Warwick. They know a thing or two, and they'll work to make your business as strong as it can be.
7 things your website needs to convert casual users to paying customers. *2 - How you solve their problems.* Close your eyes and put yourself in the shoes of your customers or clients. What are their needs, truly? Why are they coming to your website? How are they hoping you can change their life? Take time to identify and describe what specific problems they might have. Then speak directly to their need and how you can solve those problems. This exercise is similar to how you'd articulate the difference between features and benefits. A feature is “12-setting nozzle.” A benefit is “sprays with exactly the force you need.” See this example from my clients over at #northeastfleece - Need a quality, comfy fleece blanket? They are your people!!
7 things your website needs to convert casual users to paying customers. *1 - What you do.* The initially viewable screen area of your homepage (or ‘the fold’ as it's called in web design) should contain at least one sentence or short phrase explaining what you do. Think it's already pretty obvious to your customers? Think again. Try explaining what you do or sell to a 7th grader. Boil it down to as few words as possible. “Superior roofing + repairs for your home.” “My social media strategy gets you noticed.” “Robust + affordable commercial engineering in Rhode Island.” Check out this example from my awesome client @skinprosinc - when you land on their homepage, you understand their offerings right away with images and easy-to-read headlines. Check out their multiple locations in the Rhody area if you're looking for a top-notch skin doc!
Visitors see a lot of images on my site, but most aren’t of me. That’s changing in 2020, and here’s why: I want photos showing me working and who I really am while I’m working. So here I am, drinking delectable coffee and working with my awesome clients. Happy New Year to everyone! Thank you to Brittanny @thebrandingedit for the 📸
Loving this super tome by @donmilleris. It does a remarkable job of breaking down the critical elements of how your business can make powerful connections with customers that lead to wildly successful conversions. Oh, and if you work with coach @nikkigroom, she definitely knows which books to gift you. (Link to post in profile)
