Make your website your best salesperson
Love cold calling? Can’t get enough of networking? Adore writing endless proposals? Nah … me neither. I’m here to make your website more magnetic, so enquiries from your ideal clients turn up in your inbox on the regular. Sound good? Read on …
How d’you know it’s time to refresh your website copy?
Well mostly you just know because your site’s outta step with where your business is at. Maybe your site’s dated. Maybe your market focus and your services have evolved. Maybe it just doesn’t feel like you anymore.
All those are great reasons to go for a glow up. But the biggest reason is this.
Your site isn’t bringing you leads. Because your site should be your number one salesperson when you’re not in the room. And if you’re not getting regular enquiries from people who’ve visited your site, then your site ain’t doing its job.
Is your website costing you business?
Your site’s the first-place people go to check you out when they’re considering whether to work with you, so it’d better make a good first impression. An effective consultant’s website has eight essentials. Grab this handy checklist (I don’t ask for your email) and see how your site measures up. If you’re doing great, high five. if not … keep reading.
Your website project process
1. Discovery WORKSHOPS
We look at the market you serve, the problems you solve for them, the benefits you deliver, and dig deep into services and your story.
4. Website structure
We agree the structure for your site. I create really ugly site maps in Word that tell you what content will go on each page (and why).
2. interviews WITH YOUR CLIENTS
Understand why your clients hire you, what they value most and how they talk about what you do. Gather content for testimonials and case studies.
5. Sample pages
I’ll write a couple of sample pages to make sure you’re happy with the vibe and voice.
3. Research YOUR MARKET
I audit your key competitors ’websites, along with a few brands you admire, to discover opportunities for you to do a better job with your website.
6. Website copy
Once we’re on track, I’ll write the rest of your website copy using simple wireframes so your developer knows how content sits on the page.
THE whole process IS A PARTNERSHIP
I ask lots of questions, share work in progress for feedback, and always work until you’re happy with the result.
Your website copy investment
The cost of your website copy depends on the scale of your business. The more markets you serve and the more services you offer, the more pages you’ll need. My smallest projects start at around $3,775 + GST. I quote for each project individually, but here’s some tiered pricing to give you a feel for what your project might cost.
SALES PAGE
You need a sales page to sell a service.
Discovery call
Research
Write sales page
Write meta data
One set of edits
$1,200 + GST
+ transcription costs
SMALL SITE
You need a simple site to sell one core service.
Discovery workshops
Client interviews x 3
Research
Site map
1 x Homepage
1 x Sales page
1 x Case study
1 x About page
Write meta data
One set of edits
$3,775 + GST
+ transcription costs
LARGER SITE
You’ve a larger business with three key services and you want case studies for each service.
Discovery workshops
Client interviews x 3
Research
Site map
1 x Homepage
3 x Sales pages
1 x Services page
3 x Case studies
1 x About page
Write meta data
One set of edits
$6,975 + GST
+ transcription costs
Your website copy FAQs answered
-
Maybe. It depends how modular your website design and content management system is.
As a general rule of thumb, get clear on your website structure, have a content strategy, and write (or get me to write) all your website content BEFORE you approach a website designer.
This is because your website is a sales tool. So, content should always come first because your content makes the sale. It doesn’t matter how beautiful a site is if it doesn’t give your clients the information they need to choose you.
A website designer’s job is to take your content and make it easy to navigate, easy to read, and visually appealing. A good website designer will suggest ways to make your content even more engaging with layout and by layering visual elements like imagery or infographics into the mix.
It’s a bit of a red flag if a website designer doesn’t ask for content before they start work on your site. This indicates they’re purely considering the visual aesthetics of your site, not thinking about how it will serve your customers and grow your business.
Because I’ve studied and written so many successful sites I know what content to include and the order it should appear in. So, when I write website content, I use wireframes to show how the content should be organised on the page. Designers take their lead from me, and I’m also delighted to collaborate with experienced web designers who know their stuff. But I’m not your writer if you simply need someone to plug the gaps in a design with words. That’s just a waste of your money and my time.
-
If you’ve done client research recently and you know:
1. Why your clients come to you.
2. The problems they want you to solve.
3. Why they choose you.
4. What they value most about your service.
Then nope. We don’t need to do client interviews.
Share all that information with me and we’re away laughing.
But if you’re shaky on any of those four points, then client interviews will give you so much more clarity on your value proposition.
Not only that, but you’ll gather valuable insights in your client’s own words that will help me make your website copy more powerful. The way your clients talk about your services will always be more compelling to prospective clients. You may also find your clients talk about the work you do in a different way to how you do. Client voice is a very powerful tool.
And of course, client interviews also do double duty because they’re a rich source of testimonials and case study content.
-
Yes. Yes you do. And here are four reasons why putting your prices on your site is a great idea.
1. Your clients want it.
2. You get more qualified leads.
3. Your conversion rate increases.
4. You don’t waste time on bespoke quotes.
Reason 1 should be enough. If your clients want pricing (and they do), give them pricing. Not having pricing on your site is more than a barrier for potential clients. These days, it disqualifies you as an option.
People can’t be bothered to email or call for a price anymore. That’s old school. In this digital age, we want instant gratification. If we’re comparing service providers, we want to benchmark prices and work out if we can afford them. So, if someone doesn’t have a price on their site, we don’t get in touch to check. We just move on and find someone who does. So, if you’re not putting your prices on your website, you’re losing potential clients.
Clear pricing is also a sign of professionalism. If a consultant has priced their services it shows they’ve invested time defining their processes and know how long a service takes to deliver. Working with them is likely to be a smooth, easy process. Conversely, if a consultant doesn’t disclose prices that can ring alarm bells. Will they do the hard sell? Do they really know what they’re doing? Do they charge everyone different prices?
Putting your prices on your site makes your life a lot easier.
I don’t know about you, but I find doing proposals really boring and a waste of time I could be spending eating cake. So, I put my process and price on my website, and send people there first. As a result, I have an 84%+ conversion rate on proposals because people know how I work and how much I cost.
Gonna leave you with this thought. If your price is premium, be unashamedly premium. Put that premium price out there and be proud. Don’t make people fall in love with you, reach out to you, and realise they can’t afford you. That makes people feel bad and wastes everyone’s time.
-
As long as it needs to be to get the job done.
It can help to think about the four key types of pages you find on most effective consultant’s websites.
It’s important to understand the difference between these pages because each performs a different role. Knowing the difference between these pages also helps you understand how long your copy should be.
The four types of pages on your website are.
1. Hallways.
2. Sitting rooms.
3. Market stalls.
4. Laundries.
1. Hallways
Hallways are pages you pass through on the way to somewhere more specific to your needs.
We’re talking homepages, service pages, and resources sections. These pages tell your ideal clients your business has good gear for them and give them a curated range of options to choose from.
See each option as a doorway in a hallway with its own alluring sign. Keep your copy focused and snappy.
2. Sitting rooms
Sitting rooms are pages you visit, sit, and stay a while.
Think case studies, useful resources, and blog posts. They add value to your ideal client and establish your expertise by answering FAQs, solving problems, and telling stories about how you helped businesses like them achieve their goals.
These are rich, detailed resources, often upwards of 1,500 words, where you go deep into a topic.
3. Market stalls
Market stalls are sales pages. We’re talking service pages, offer pages, or product pages.
These pages show your ideal client that you get their challenges, and you have the perfect solution. They’re personal and persuasive. They also tend to be longer because a strong sales page covers a number of important topics.
4. Laundries
Laundries are pages where people go to accomplish a task. We don’t hang around in laundries. We wash our undies, and we get out.
These are pages like contact pages, e-newsletter sign up pages, and any tools you’ve created to help your clients solve their problems, e.g., currency converters, price comparison tools, etc. Generally, copy on these pages is short and to the point. This doesn’t mean devoid of fun and character.
-
I write meta data as part of the work I do for you, but SEO is a super specialised area, so you need an expert to help you research keywords and develop an SEO strategy.
I collaborate with SEO experts to layer SEO keywords into the content I create, so I can refer you to SEO experts if you need that support.
In DIY mode and can’t afford me to write your website copy?
Sweet as. We all start out bootstrapping. Have a perv at the resources below.