Everyone talks about crafting that illusive tagline or main message that makes you stand out from the rest. But how? What exactly are you suppose to say?
This is what you is what it comes down to.... "This is my business and this is what I do" of course that's an oversimplification!
SIT DOWN, GRAB A GLASS OF WINE (OR COFFEE) AND START WRITING
When you first sit down to develop your main message for your own business, no matter what type of business you run, the people that are visiting your new website don't really know anything about you!
Your job is to inform them. Educate them about who and what you are about,what your passion is and how you can provide your service. You need to make sure that most of the information that you're displaying to your visitors makes it very clear what type of business and values you want them to know you for. Jot down a list of keywords that describe your industry, what you do and how you can serve. They don't have to make a lot of sense right now but it's a great exercise so that you can start brainstorming your final message.
USERS HAVE A SHORT ATTENTION SPAN
Your users will come in and do a quick glance, that's all it takes, just a FEW seconds to lose someone and have them bounce out of your site. Since the first thing that most business owners work on is their home page, I always suggest to put that main message right there on display for everyone to see.
Your designer should help you come up with a beautiful way to display that message. Not only making it appealing to the eye but also taking into consideration ways to optimize it when it comes to the actual design (in example: using h1 and h2 tags!)
Yes, if you are a photographer or an event planner, you definitely want to showcase your work of course, and have it shine, but you also want to make sure that you are giving your consumers a quick tidbit of what your business is about and how you can capture those amazing moments of their life, or how you will make their next event a day to remember.
HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
This can be as simple as two sentences the first one being the "headline", for example, you are a wedding photographer and you just use film because that is your go to medium. Perfect. By now you probably have a list of keywords that are in reference to this.
Does that mean you just go with "Film Photographer"? No.
Think a bit more. Ask yourself: Who is your ideal client?
Let's say, the young hip millennial, or that romantic southern bride. Ok so we are now going somewhere with this. Let's say it's that famous modern millennial (I'm one of those by the way!) everyone keeps talking about. You can now add a bit more to your headline, "Film photographer for the modern bride". See where we are going with this?
The goal is to craft a main message in a way that it's concise and to the point. It doesn't have to be super long it can just be three to four words that explain what you do.
DIG DEEP!
If we have worked together, you probably know about my long questionnaire! Why do I do this? Because without a good understanding of someone business, goals, passions, and background, there's no way you can create a cohesive brand and message.
Think about it a bit longer. Why do you do what you do? Let's tell your prospective clients (and Google for that matter) more about your business and services. Here's where that subheadline comes into play.
Just like the headline, the subheadline is a crucial way to educate your client even MORE and also provide that strategic content that Google needs for it's search results! With the subheadline, you are just building from your previous message. In example:
Why your service is different from others? what makes you unique? What areas do you serve? Do you travel?
The idea here is to be as clear as possible letting people know what your main goals are with your site and your business. Yes, you can have these details on your about page, and just have your prospective client look around, but in this day of age, people want instant content, they want their questions answered as fast as possible, and you risk losing the prospective client FAST if you are not clear.
Look at your site. Is your message clear as soon as you hit your homepage? If not, then start working on your content as soon as possible. You will definitely see the benefits of crafting an enticing, informative message that will make those visitors want to learn more about you and hit that contact button to inquire about working with you!
I would love to discuss more about this topic so if you have questions, or new ideas, don't be shy and comment below or message me!
