The 4 website mistakes you are making that are costing you clients
Have you ever wondered why the website you put so much time and effort into "looking pretty" is not converting your audience into paying clients and customers? That's because designing a pretty website is not enough for a successful business. You want your website to do more than just "look pretty" on the Internet. Most of all, you want your website to CONVERT and turn your audience and readers into clients and customers. The design decisions you make when developing your website will directly impact how well your audience converts. In this post, we will go over the 4 mistakes you are making in your website that are costing you clients so you know how to correctly structure and design your site and generate higher audience-to-client conversions.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am a designer after all and I know that having a beautifully designed website does contribute A LOT to how your audience sees you as a professional. It is a fact that when you put effort into how your brand looks and flows your audience will see you as a serious professional. They will assume that the same amount of time and energy you're putting into your business you also put into your one-on-one work with them. The goal of this post is not to say that having a pretty website is irrelevant and we should just forget about it. The goal here is to talk beyond just aesthetics and cover the things you might be doing that are potentially costing you clients and customers. Let's dive in.
M I S T A K E O N E
You are not being intentional
with your copy
What to do instead:
If writing the copy for your website is something that sounds daunting and you're not really excited about it - I hear you girl! I'm just like you. I don't love writing and copywriting is definitely not my forte - especially because English is not my first language. But I'm here to tell you that the copy of your website really does matter when it comes to converting your audience into paying clients and customers. So how can you be intentional with the copy on your website?
First, you want to talk directly to your ideal client. Every part of your website should be addressing your ideal client directly. You want to touch base on their pain points, talk about how much better they will feel after working with you, and how you can help them improve (fill in the blank). They should feel as if you are inside their heads and you know exactly what they are going through and you have the tools to help them reach their goals.
Now, there are two places where I want you to focus special attention when being intentional with your copy. The first place is the copy that appears on the "above the fold" section of your homepage. What does "above the fold" mean? That's the section of your website that appears on the homepage as soon as you go on your site before you scroll down. That first top section is called "above the fold". Your website's "above the fold" section should have an image of yourself or something else that correctly represents what are your business is all about. Along with that banner image, you should have a piece of text (2-5 sentences) outlining who you are, who you serve, and what you do.
An example of a good above the fold sentence would be:
"Hi, I'm (your name). I am a (what you do) and I work with (your client) to help them achieve (end result) ."
An example from my client Sabrina's website:
"Hi, I'm Sabrina. I help women heal digestive & hormonal disorders with Ayurveda, an ancient and 100% natural healing therapy."
The next place where I want you to be extra intentional with your copy is in the headings that you use throughout your website. Headings are larger in size compared to your main body text, therefore they are attention-grabbing. People often don't read all of the text on your website but they will scroll through and scan your pages and just read those headings. Therefore you want to be extra intentional with them by using keywords that summarize your overall message while keeping it short and simple to encourage them to read more.
M I S T A K E T W O
Your website pages don't lead your clients anywhere
What to do instead:
Picture this: you are ready to place an order on your favorite restaurant's website for a pickup order. You're going through their website and you're starting to salivate at all the amazing dishes that they have. But when you're ready to order you can't find a "place your order" button anywhere on the website! You feel disappointed because you were so ready to eat that food but you can't seem to be able to place an order anywhere?! You don't want your audience to feel that way when they are on your website! You want to make it easy for your client at any point to get in touch with you and work with you. That means that on every page of your website you should have a call to action guiding your potential client to the next step of their journey inside your website.
Here's an example: Normally you would think about the About Page on your website as a place where you talk about yourself and share your story. But you don't want a reader to go, reach the end, and not know what to do from there because you didn't tell them where next. What you want to do is add a section at the bottom of that page that says:
"Now this is my story and I want to hear yours! Head over to my services page and fill out the contact form about what YOU are going through and how I can help you in your wellness journey. Let's get your transformation started!"
That is just an example. Make it feel personal and sound like you so your audience can truly connect.
Here is an example from the bottom section of my client Brooke's About page. It leads the reader to her Services Page:
M I S T A K E T H R E E
You are keeping your services too vague, which doesn't encourage them to reach out to you
What to do instead:
Let me know if this ever happened to you? I was recently looking for a virtual assistant to help me with some back-end business and I found one on Instagram that really clicked with me. I liked her personality, I liked the things she talked about on her Instagram stories, and she just seemed really knowledgeable about what she does. When I went to her website to read about her services and how she structures her work with her clients I was a little disappointed. Because what I was looking for was a somewhat detailed explanation of why my experience working with her would include. I wanted to know how many hours a week she will be available for me, in what areas of my business she could contribute to, how much does it cost to work with her every month. But instead, I saw a very vague explanation of what her services are with no pricing included.
While I don't think that you need to go super-specific and write out every single little detail about what your coaching program includes, I do believe it's important to show your potential client what it looks like to work with you. That may include an outline of how many coaching calls they get with you during the program, how are you guys going to communicate during your calls, which resources are you going to give them throughout their journey, to name a few. You don't want to leave room for ambiguity because that might cost you a client. You do want to be clear and specific enough that the person will say "Yes, this is exactly what I want I'm going to fill out the contact form because I want to work with this coach".
Here is an example from my client Amy. She kept it short and simple but outlined what her programs include:
Or you can be more like Brooke and share what your service includes in a more detailed list format:
M I S T A K E F O U R
You are not positioning
yourself up as an expert
What to do instead:
Lastly, let's talk about how you might not be positioning yourself as an expert on your website and this is costing you conversions. What does that mean? Positioning yourself as an expert shows your potential client that you know what you are talking about and you have the experience and the knowledge to guide them through whatever service you are selling. Now, there are different ways to do this. A popular way that works is to have a blog. In it, you get to showcase your expertise and knowledge through writing. Why does that matter? When a potential customer or client comes through your website they can go to your blog and read all of your articles and it will be very clear that you know exactly what you're talking about. It will reinforce the image that they have of you as someone who knows about (fill in the blank), that you are passionate about it, and you want to share and help.
Another way to establish yourself as an expert is to have a freebie on your website that really gives immense value to your customer. A freebie is something that you give out for free on your website in exchange for someone signing up for your newsletter. That could be a PDF with really great information on how to sleep better, or it can be downloadable meditation they can do every morning to increase their energy throughout the day. Whatever it is you will show your audience that you know what you're talking about.
For more tips on freebie ideas, read this blog post.
Here is an example of a freebie from my client Alex’s website:
And one of the best ways to position yourself as an expert is to share testimonials from your past clients. Testimonials are the best way to create credibility around your work. Potential clients will have a first-hand insight into how your services have helped others. It will help them see themselves in the journey of your past clients and see that healing and better health are possible for them as well.
Testimonial tip: people respond really well to written testimonials when a photo of the client is next to it. It makes your audience make the connection between the words and the real person behind them. So when you ask your clients for testimonials at the end of your journey together also ask them if you can share the testimonial with a photo of them along with it.
Here is an example of testimonials from my client Teresa's website:
There you have it! You learned four no-nos you might be doing on your website right now that are costing you clients and affecting your audience-to-customer conversion. You now have the building blocks to build your new website knowing what mistakes to avoid, or to go through your already live website and make those changes to make it even better! Let's do it, eh?!
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