Brand Yo’self
Making Your Website an Online Version of YOU
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I don’t know about you, but I only on very rare occasions go to a restaurant that doesn’t have their current menu available on the website.
Partially this is because I like to know what I’m getting myself into, and partially because I try to avoid gluten whenever possible.
Any restaurant worth their salt knows that in order to stay relevant and bring in new business, they need to have a great website.
Whether it’s tempting a potential guest with mouthwatering pictures of the food or advertising their latest specials — the website is a crucial piece of the business, even though the real focus of the restaurant is serving great food.
This same concept applies even more strongly for modern entrepreneurs who run their businesses completely online. Word of mouth and social proof goes a long way — but if you don’t have an online presence, no one is going to hire you.
And here’s the thing I want to talk to you about…
Your website should be the online version of YOU.
‘You’ is in capital letters and bolded because I want the emphasis to be on you. There are successful people who you can model…but you can not copy them.
I was watching Chase Jarvis’ interview with Seth Godin yesterday, and at the end of the interview, Chase asks if Seth has a morning routine.
Seth’s reply was perfect. He said that he does, but he’s not going to share it — because it doesn’t matter. His process is not going to work for anyone but him — and if he tells everyone what it is, they will just copy it and expect the same results.
Ditto for your website.
If you want the people who need you to find you, you have to show up as you, not as a copy of someone else.
One of the things I see most entrepreneurs struggling with is their branding. They have no idea who they really are, let alone how to brand their website, offerings and social media.
I see a whole lot of copy-catting.
No offense if you’ve been doing that, it’s okay, we all have to start somewhere. And if we’re really honest, everything kind of starts off because you saw someone else doing something (if you haven’t read Steal Like an Artist, you should…) and it inspired you to do something else.
That’s how this works…but emulation is not the same as replication. Emulation should be the goal. Take the good things and put your spin on it.
If you aren’t quite sure how to do that, I’ve got something just for you.
Brand Yo’self is a totally free little project I put together to help you figure this stuff out. (http://amandakrill.com/brand-yoself/)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AMANDA KRILL
With the exception of God, my man, my kids, and family + super close friends — I love nothing in the world so well as Baseball.
That’s not even an exaggeration. I have a deep abiding love affair with the Pittsburgh Pirates (30+ years) and the Cleveland Indians (25+ years) — and while neither has won the World Series in my time with them, I still hold out hope.
I have a bit of a gypsy soul — unable (and unwilling) to stay in one place (literally and figuratively) for very long. I come from a long line of moonshiners and actual gypsies (of the Scots-Irish variety) combined with a few protestant ministers. The combination is…well, let’s just say, it’s interesting.
I met my husband at a Christian College, spent a couple of years there and then transferred to the (actually very nice) University of Toledo where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English and a minor in History.
You might note that both of those are virtually useless.
No matter. I taught myself how to design websites (I can do it on any platform, but I like WordPress best), and that’s what I do now.
That sounds pretty matter of fact…I design websites. But that’s not all there is to it.
I don’t just design websites. I take you…the essence of you…and turn it into a website.
So that when your ideal client lands on your website (by whatever means they found you) and they instantly sigh and think, “Ah, this is the person I’ve been looking for.”
THAT is what I do these days.
Originally published at http://badasserymag.com/brand-yourself/
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