Your Website is Essential to Your Marketing Strategy
This is the second of a 4-part series called “The Role Your Website Plays in Your Business.”
Be on the lookout for the follow-up posts:
I. Does Your Website Need to Evolve With Your Business?
II. Your Website Is An Essential Part of Your Marketing Strategy
III. How to Talk About What You Do in a Heartfelt Way (That Connects Immediately With Your Ideal Clients)
IV. Key Ingredients Your Website Should Have
We tend to build a website and forget about it. We discussed this is in the last article. Websites need to capture attention quickly, but you have more flexibility than in an email or social media post. There are no formatting or character limits. It’s not through someone else’s platform with their branding splashed everywhere. Websites are flexible but do have best practices and a framework that you can either use or discard to suit your purposes. People land on your website because they want to learn more about your business. You need to have copy that gives them all of the information that they need to take the next steps.
I’m just going to be upfront - strategy is my jam. I love thinking about the big picture and it’s where I thrive. Your overarching strategy expresses your core message: who you serve, the problem you solve, and the results that your clients achieve through your work together. It’s your value proposition– what sets you apart from others doing similar things. It’s the reason why I gravitate to writing website copy. Your website is a microcosm of your holistic marketing strategy. When people want to learn more about your business, these aspects of your messaging are what they’re looking for. The key is to say it succinctly while holding attention and in a heartfelt, sincere way.
Your website is the public space that you have control over
I know this might be taboo for a content marketer to say, but social media is one of the most frustrating parts of my business. For most of us (depending on the industry), it’s necessary. But there’s a difference between something being a necessary part and a fundamental part. Many people go all-in on their social media or at least focus the majority of their marketing energy and resources on their social platforms. As we’ve seen with privacy updates and constant algorithm changes, this lands the major risk of the carpet being pulled from under you. Your energy in social should be secondary to the platforms and tactics that you have ultimate control over.
And on a psychological level, your website is mentally easier to use for promotion. People are on social to scroll, find memes, and learn new things. When creating content for social, the ratio of engaging/education posts far outweighs the number of posts that are promotional. I think because of this, we tend to feel weird about putting our services out there on our social channels. Out of fear of looking salesy. While you shouldn’t feel that way, a website has an admittedly different vibe. You’re on a website for a specific reason: learn more about this person and what they do. You still need to be writing copy with your client in mind, but it’s not only okay to talk about your service and how it can help them achieve the outcome they’re looking for, it’s encouraged.
Your website should reflect your business goals
A website isn’t static, it’s a living, breathing document that should reflect our current goals for our business. And I don’t just mean updating opt-in forms with your new freebie/lead magnet, though this is included. Let’s say that your current goal is visibility, specifically, you’re pursuing more podcast interviews. You may have a press page, but is it easy to navigate to from your home page? Can people access your previous interviews from your website or do they need to try to find it from their podcast app? Help people find what they’re looking for. For me, my main call to action (CTA) is getting on a call with me because my goal is to continue to fill my copywriting client docket. My website supports my goals and every week I look at not just my traffic, but what visitors are doing once they land on a page.
If you’re building a community, is there a way to join it from your website? If you’re shifting towards holding live events, is there a schedule or calendar located somewhere accessible? If you’re in a pre-launch or pre-promotional phase, is there updated content or opt-ins that educate your audience on the new offering? I know this is a lot of questions, but I feel like that’s the point. Think through what your strategy is: growing your audience, nurturing a community, in launch mode, shifting into a new way of working with people…and then think about if it’s obvious what you’re currently focusing on from looking at your website. It’s okay to have more than one CTA, but it’s easy to go overboard and it can make your visitor overwhelmed and confused.
Your website’s navigation should be easy and intentional
When developing website copy, it’s not just enough to describe your business and the problem it solves. Though, if you do only that and explain it clearly, you’re already doing more than many others. Your website should have a clear path and the next steps should be made explicit. Working with you shouldn’t be a whisper of “hey I can build a website if you want.” And the path shouldn’t necessarily be “hey I know we just met but give me 2000 dollars” either. More often than not, someone lands on your website and looks at it for a few seconds (if you’re lucky, maybe 30 seconds to a minute), then leaves. And they’re likely going to forget how to get back to your site without intervention.
You may have heard of sales funnels before, but it’s really just a tech-focused way to discuss a simple marketing concept– the customer journey. People are not usually ready to invest in working with you after one visit. You may have seen this statistic, but it bears repeating. It takes an average of eight touchpoints before someone buys from you. But we also are busy and forgetful. If we click away, there’s no guarantee we’ll know where to find you once we’re ready to invest.
We need a way to nurture that relationship. The main ways I see this being done online are through email newsletters, podcasts, and on social. Think about your own recent purchase decisions and how each service provider nurtured that relationship. For me, the last three courses/masterminds I purchased are split evenly between the three so there’s no wrong answer here. Chances are you have one of these strategies already figured out (whether or not you’re consistent is a whole other story).
Conclusion/Next Steps
Marketing strategy is a big, overwhelming concept. It feels nebulous because we often see it in abstract terms like our positioning statement or a SWOT analysis. These things are needed for a marketing strategy, but then it needs to be implemented. If you haven’t taken the time to update and revise your current strategy over the last few months, now’s a good time to do a self-audit. Look through all of your marketing materials: your website, your social platforms, your emails, your opt-in freebie, your workshops/webinars, and any other asset in your business. What’s the CTA on each page of your website? How will people remember to find you after they leave the site? For resources such as workbooks, interviews, or videos, how often do you promote them? Are they hidden or are they accessible? Do they still fit with the services you offer?
Once you have that understanding of how your website can support your marketing strategy, you can jot down how you can weave that through your home page and navigation so it flows easily and is clear for your visitors. From there, you can work it into the other main pages on your website such as your about, services, and pricing pages. If you’re finding it hard to communicate some of these high-level concepts in a way that’s straightforward, that’s okay. In the next post in this series, we’re going to dive into “How to Talk About What You Do in a Way That Connects Immediately With Your Ideal Clients.”
Max Sheffield-Baird is a Narrative-Focused Copywriter + Content Strategist. Max helps thought leaders, service providers, and impact-driven organizations connect and grow their audience and confidence with clear and emotionally resonant copy with a holistic marketing strategy rooted in justice and empathy. You can find them on Facebook,Instagram, andTwitter (rarely)
