What Comes After Your Homepage
When someone initially visits your website, they scan (note: don’t read) your homepage to determine if you can solve their problem. If you quickly tell visitors the problems you solve and how you make your customers' lives better, they may hang around to learn more about what you offer and why you’re an expert.
Your homepage is the first glimpse into who you are as a business, and it needs to reflect your business's personality, the customers you want to work with most, the challenges they face, and ways you can solve their problems. Other pages of your website, including Services and About pages, provide the story to your homepage's headlines and your ideal customer is at the center of it all.
Next stop…. Your Services page.
This is where would-be customers will learn more about what you do. But hold tight… the story STILL isn't about you. It's still focused on your website visitors. They’re looking for more details about your products or services to understand better if it’s the solution to their problem as your homepage hinted. So how you position what you have to offer still needs to be done from your ideal customer’s point of view.
You should begin by restating the problem/s your customers' experience. Then you can talk in-depth about the work you do and how it provides the solution and RELIEF to their greatest pain points. So often, people speak in great detail about their work but never focus on the results it brings their clients. And ultimately, that's what your clients want to know most. That you will SOLVE their problem, so don't allude to it. Or assume they get it by detailing your services. Talk specifically about the fantastic results you bring your clients.
And don't be afraid to speak to the pain you help them avoid. People are nearly 3x more motivated by the fear of failure than they are by the thought of succeeding, so help them understand the pain they will experience by NOT using your product or service.
What's the best way to do this? Of course, describe it in your copy. But nothing convinces a would-be customer of the success you can bring faster than past customers who've already experienced this success. On your Services page, you will want to proudly and prominently display past customer reviews to help those considering buying from you that you can, in fact, solve their problem. We all love to read reviews before we make a purchase, so place reviews where they matter most!
We don't recommend putting a list of reviews on their own page of your website because this has less impact. Instead, place them next to the copy that it speaks to. So when you're visitors read a claim you make and wonder, "can they really do this?" and then immediately next to the claim is a past client review that details their success, your claim is validated and the impact is much more significant!
Now It's About You
Your About page is finally the opportunity to share your story and demonstrate your knowledge and experience. Because your prospective clients want to hire an expert who knows what they're doing. But ultimately, it's still about your client. Your About page isn't as much an opportunity to be self-indulgent as it is a time to share how your experiences, knowledge, and certifications will solve your clients’ problems.
It's about you… but how you can help them.
When writing about yourself, always frame it from the perspective of your ideal client. How does my background help them? How do my past experiences benefit them? What do my certifications mean concerning the work I do for them? Remember, it's about "you" but the "you" that can help solve your clients’ problems.
Sure, you can get personal and fun on your About page, as it helps to connect when we let people learn more about us. But it's less about you choosing to show this side of yourself and more about your potential customer WANTING to see this side. Will they be more inclined to buy from you if you establish a personal connection? Remember, your website's job is to provide the right amount of information your clients need to make an informed buying decision.
Successful website copy always focuses on your ideal customer and keeps their pain points top of mind with your product or service positioned as the solution. Continue to position all content from your would-be clients’ perspective and they will feel a deeper connection because unlike many of your competitors who talk about themselves, your copy will connect and move the sale forward.
PS - Your homepage is only the beginning when it comes to providing website visitors the information they need to make an informed buying decision. Your Services and About pages are equally important. Always ensure your website's pages are focused on your ideal customer and their problems. Position your message from their perspective even when you're talking about yourself. Because in the end, it's still about them.
