Did you know I have a weekly newsletter that is packed with tips and tricks to improve your written content? Here’s a sneakity peekity at some of the goodness I send out each week (this one is from issue 12 of the newsletter), and if you’d like to subscribe, just click here! You’ll get a sweet freebie for joining the crew, and you’ll never miss another word. Now, back to the show…
People are always coming out with guides, podcasts, books, and courses on how to craft a “website that converts!” But here’s the thing…most of the website improvement tips they offer require hella long hours and an astounding writing ability to really execute. Sometimes even I — a person who writes for a living — feel overwhelmed and frustrated when I try to dive into this endless sea of tips and tricks.
Sure, there are a lot of things you can do to improve your website, but if you’re crazy freakin’ busy and don’t have the time to engage in a hefty revamp at the moment, there are three SUPER speedy things you can do to immediately improve your website:
1. Share the locations you serve. Repeatedly.
This is the number one mistake photographers make. So, if you’re looking to make website improvements, start here! I can’t even tell you the number of strategy calls and web rewrites I’ve done where the first question I have to ask is “so…what areas do you serve, anyway?” Nowhere on the website did it say! Forget about it being at the top of the homepage! It. Was. Nowhere!
This is an absolutely deal-breaking omission.
With the internet connecting us to businesses around the world, new clients can’t assume that you serve their area just because you popped up in a Google search. You need to tell them immediately and in no uncertain terms that you are the photographer they are looking for and that you are just around the river bend ready to snap their photos. So, put it in the first sentence on your site, in your footer, on your contact page, on your services page…put it anywhere you can!
2. Put your face on your homepage.
If your photo isn’t already on the front page of your website, open up your site in a fresh window and do it right this second! This is an insanely easy but super effective website improvement. If you are looking to build that kind of instant connection with web visitors that turns passersby into clients, this is the golden ticket.
Don’t believe me? Try browsing through a bunch of photographers’ websites. Look at some with photos of the photographer on the homepage and some without. You’ll notice that the ones with photos seem welcoming, cozy, and filled with authorial personality. The ones without look like an art gallery, empty of visitors, filled with pictures that just happened to take themselves.
Need a stronger analogy? Imagine showing up to a stranger’s house. Imagine knocking on their big fancy door, and the door just swings open like something out of a horror movie. NOW imagine the owner is there to greet you with a big smile and a hug. See the difference?
3. Add a contact email to your footer. Yes, even if you have a contact form.
This might seem like a really weird one, but let me share something you may not know. I write for a wedding website, and we are always, always, ALWAYS looking for vendors to interview and feature. We do articles on everything from how to find your perfect venue to how to shop for wedding dresses with confidence.
Want to know what else I’ve done multiple times? Featured hundreds of photographers on best-of lists and tip articles. But because time is tight and my questions never fit into the traditional contact form format, I quite literally ONLY contact photographers who offer their email addresses as a method of contact. You heard that right. I have passed over every single photographer who didn’t list an email on their website. And, if the email address was in the footer, I was far more likely to reach out because of how easy it was to find.
This may seem insane, but I can promise you that there are countless journalists out there right now looking for the next photographer to interview for a feature and, without an easy-to-find email address, they will likely pass you by. So, put this high on your list of website improvements today!
So there you have it! Three quick, simple, and game-changing website improvements you can make right now! No writing experience or web design guru necessary!
