Entertainment companies and entertainers get dragged into this idea of making a super great website because they think it will open the money faucet for their biz. This is not true. You don’t need a website at all to close a deal in 2020.
“But what if the prospective client googles you and finds no website? Isn’t that a red flag?“
– the logical part of your brain
The answer to that question is YES! For most businesses it’s a red flag to not have a website at all. Avoiding red flags sounds like a fear-driven approach but, most of the time this is the best way to build a small business website.
If you go the no-red-flags approach, you are NOT:
- trying to be a superhero
- trying to close a sale
- trying to give everyone all the info about your business
- trying to automate the process of working with clients
?? look at all the time you just saved in development. You don’t have a big responsibility anymore.
The Two Mistakes
1. Show too much
If you show too much on your site, you might show something that is a red flag — like you list your whole resume and it includes something offensive to the client.
Another scenario where showing too much can be detrimental is … someone recommends you for a gig. The prospect looks around your website, feels the need to really dig in and find out more, gets a phone call, switches browser tabs and doesn’t return.
2. Don’t show value
Show as much value as you can in your site immediately. What will the client be pumped about? You can be wrong. As long as it’s not a red flag.
I see dead sites
I see bad sites with 8 pages of nothing all the time because someone gets on wix or they grab a wordpress template and think they need to fill up all the pages that are included. That’s not how to make a thing. Make your minimal viable site (usually one page) and be done with it. Move on to work that gives you a return on your investment.
Basic no-red-flags format
- Headline : “Our value is this”
- Quick Description of what you do “We make this thing and that thing”
- Call to action “Contact us now”
- Image of you looking valuable
- More value
- More description
- More value
- More description
- More value
- Repeat Call to action
There are other types of sites
There’s also an information site if you run a company where people will need to be able to search on their own to find tons of information. This might include user manuals and stuff like that
A tool site is a tool for the user to do something that’s automated. A good example of this is an airline website which is mostly used for booking flights directly through it.
A sales funnel site would be a site that is meant for closing a sale or taking the potential client on the next step of the sales journey. Many people mistake their website purpose and think they need to close sales, but it’s impossible to have a site that’s a sales funnel and it’s for the general public. These sites are very specific to an audience who has a particular interest, fits a demographic, and is already partially on-board to buy.
A portfolio site is a site that shows some past work. It’s useful if you’re being compared to other creators in a controlled environment, but will be too dry for a normal visitor and will not show the value that you have. Like the funnel, it’s for a specific part of the sales / job getting process.