Your Website Needs a Storyteller, Not Just a Designer
Your website is the hub of your online presence. It's where potential customers come to learn about your business and decide whether or not to do business with you. That's why it's so important to have a website that is both informative and engaging.
The problem is that most websites are designed with a focus on style over substance. Business owners create a great product or service, develop marketing strategies, and then hire a designer to create a gorgeous website to showcase it. They may add some pretty words and then eventually "SEO it all."
But this approach is a recipe for disaster.
Your website needs to be more than just a digital brochure. It needs to tell a story. A story that grabs the reader's attention introduces the hero (your customer), and shows how your product or service can help them solve their problem.
A good website storyteller will:
- Help you define your ideal customer and understand their challenges and pains.
- Develop a strong message of differentiation that sets you apart from your competitors.
- Write clear, concise, and persuasive copy that guides visitors on their journey to becoming customers.
- Create a visually appealing design that facilitates what people expect from the sites they visit.
When a first-time visitor comes to your site, your goal is to convince them to return. This is a conversion. When they come back, your goal is to get them to stay and read some more. This is another conversion. When they stick around, your goal is to interest them in specific information that educates them. This is yet another conversion.
Conversion is about helping visitors make the choice that seems right for them, not about forcing them through a funnel. To do this, you need to understand what's working and what's not on your website. This means tracking every activity, click, hover, page visit, and even time on site.
Great web design starts with keyword research. Keyword research helps you determine popular search terms, understand your ideal client, and get a deeper grasp on their problems and intentions. This knowledge allows you to create the right structure for your site before you ever start choosing colors and fonts.
In the end, your website is a container for your content. Nice packaging helps a visitor find and consume your content, but useful content is what drives the online machine. Your content must be designed with the intent to create awareness, build trust, educate, convert, and stimulate referrals.
To create a website that truly works for your business, you need to hire a storyteller. A storyteller who can help you develop a strategy, turn that strategy into a story and make your content the voice of your strategy.
