Brand your Website for Success
We all know how important branding is for a business.
In fact, it’s probably one of the most important steps in creating a purposeful and profitable website that converts leads to clients.
But how do you brand your website for success in a way that resonates with your target audience?
By following this guide and answering the subsequent questions with intention, purpose, and most importantly, from the heart.
Branding goes far beyond picking out fonts, colors, and a logo.
When done correctly it becomes the heart and soul of your business and speaks to your target audience in a way that resonates with them at an intrinsic level.
In order to bring the right visitors to your site, we need to start at the most fundamental level.
Together, we’ll walk through exactly how to get to the heart of your business by clearly and consciously identifying your target market and developing your business mission, creating an emotional (and lasting) connection with your community.
1. Understand your Industry
In order to position your business as the leading industry expert, we need to understand your industry and how you fit into it.
Think about the work that you do, products you sell, services you offer, or content you create.
List out each service you provide and be as detailed and specific as possible.
Now let’s look at others in your industry and analyze why your services stand out.
Focus on your top three leading industry experts you admire.
In comparison, are you a newcomer or an established business?
We’re going to drill down to what sets you apart from others in your industry soon so keep this at a high level.
For now, we just want to understand who they are, what services they’re offering, and their price point.
2. Defining your brand
In other words, how do you want to be seen?
Your brand is the lifeblood of your business.
A well-crafted brand will help attract your dream clients and illicit immediate trust in you and your services.
Branding goes beyond your logo, fonts, and colors—it represents the heart and soul of your business.
When leads resonate with your brand at the most fundamental level it builds immediate trust and becomes effortless to convert them to clients.
As you answer the following questions it’s important to remember that your business is an extension of you.
When we step into our power we elevate our business, taking everyone on our path (including our clients!) higher right along with us.
When we get clear on our purpose we attract and appeal to the exact audience we want to serve.
Identify your purpose, values, and what sets you apart so you can spark an emotional, lasting connection with your target audience.
What is unique and desirable about working with you? How will you leave a positive impact on your clients and your community?
Know Your differentiators.
Each of us, and the businesses we’ve created, have a unique gift only we can offer this world.
What gift do you have that makes your business appealing to work with over others in your industry? How do you stand out?
Knowing these strengths, also called differentiators, will give your business an edge in the market you serve and will be the reason your clients consistently choose you over others.
Do you offer a niche service? Do you work with industries that require extensive knowledge or are you in a highly technical field?
Answer carefully and dig deep.
Your differentiators are what sets you apart and will be the cornerstone of your brand's identity.
Your Core Values
What are your core business values?
Being crystal clear on these helps ensure everyone on your team is working towards a common goal and shares the bigger picture of where you want to take your business.
Your core values also help potential leads know if they're in alignment with your business.
Moreover, as you scale your business your core values will guide the increasingly difficult decisions you'll inevitably need to make.
How will you make this world a better place?
Write down your core values.
Define Your Purpose
Your core purpose is your unique and highly inspirational reason for being. It’s the drive you have to serve others and why you took the leap to start your own business—the intrinsic and indispensable spirit of your brand compressed into one succinct sentence.
Before completing the questions below it’s absolutely essential you watch this 18-minute TedTalk by Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action.
It’s one of the most watched TedTalks in history for a reason; to skip it would be a disservice to yourself and your organization (seriously it’s that good).
Remember, when you have a clear purpose, no one can stop you (not even yourself!).
Write Your Vision Statement
Creating a vision and bringing it to life is one of the most rewarding experiences of the human existence.
Your Vision Statement is the audacious goal that defines exactly what you’ll achieve when your company accomplishes its mission.
It literally moves humanity forward.
Use our Vision Statement writing process to help get you started.
3. Identify your Design Details
What do you want your site to look and feel like?
As a Website Design Agency in St. Louis, creating custom designs for clients is the most fun aspect of any project.
We catch our visitor's eye with the design but we convert them with the copy.
The two play off each other and both are vitally important to creating a website that consistently turns leads into dream clients.
The overall look and feel of your site will draw your visitor in while the written words will get them to take action.
As you begin the process of figuring out what you want your site to look like remember we want to evoke feelings and emotions in your visitors that will resonate with them at the most fundamental level.
Consider both the overall design of the site and the way it makes your visitor feel.
Is it clean? Easy to navigate? Intuitive? A good user experience? Etc.
With that, let's dive into identifying your favorite designs.
What are your top three favorite websites and why?
Remember, it's just as important to identify what you like about a site as much as it is to identify what design elements you don't like.
If you need design inspiration, start here.
Next you’ll need to pick out your branding colors.
A good rule of thumb is to have no more than four primary colors you use on your site.
Visit mycolor.space to find your perfect color palette if you don’t have one already.
4. Establish your Strategic Goals
Who do you want to attract?
The more you know about your ideal client the easier it is to strategically design your website to get them excited to work with you.
Getting clear on who your target audience is and what makes them tick is important so you can appeal to them at the most fundamental level, inspiring them to want to work with you before they even reach out.
Furthermore, identifying your target audience will help foster intention as we craft your perfect brand message that resonates at the heart of your ideal audience.
As you answer the following questions think about your favorite clients you've had the privilege of working with.
And remember, the more specific you can be the better chance you'll have at attracting exactly who you want to serve.
What does the ideal visitor to your website look like? Are they men or women? Where do they live? How old are they (give a 10 year range)? Are they married or single? Do they have children or are they grown?
Getting down to the nitty gritty will help attract the right visitor to your site.
What social media accounts do your ideal clients use? Are you interacting with them on these accounts? What groups can you find them in on Facebook?
Knowing where your target audience hangs out makes it much easier to find them and interact with them.
When your ideal visitor stops by your website, what is the MOST important thing they should do before they leave? Call you? Email you? Make a purchase? Subscribe to your newsletter?
We can strategically lead visitors down a user journey that gets them to take action when we know exactly what we want them to do.
For example, we want leads to book a call with us.
When a lead connects with us over the phone (or zoom) they immediately pick up on our relentless passion for wanting to help them achieve their goals.
But before they schedule a call with us we want them to learn more about us and what sets Be Aligned apart from others in the industry so by the time we talk they’re ready to make an investment in their future and are excited to work together.
5. Craft your Mission Statement
It only takes three seconds for someone to decide if they’ll stay on your site or bounce like a fat kid on a trampoline.
Meaning, your brand statement should be the first thing visitors see when they land on your site.
We want people to know exactly what you do, who you serve, and the life-changing benefit they’ll get from working with you so they know immediately they’re in the right place.
In order to firmly bond visitors to your brand, you need a clear and concise mission statement that resonates with the heart of your target audience.
But don't stress!
Use this simple formula to perfectly craft your mission statement and position your brand for success:
What you do + Who you serve + What they’ll get from working with you
Make sure to add power words throughout to take mission statement from mediocre to downright majestical.
Here are some examples we’ve used with our clients:
“Creative Web Designer for boss ladies looking to increase business online and make more sales so you can finally quit your day job.”
“Passionate Professional Organizer for busy moms who want to clear clutter and transform their homes and lives in the process.”
“Inspiring Life Coach for individuals looking to raise their consciousness and awaken their potential so they can live the life they were created for.”
Once you craft your perfect message you can use it across all your marketing channels so dream clients know instantly that they're a good fit for working with you.
Ok, let's do this!
What is a unique adjective that sets your business apart from others in your industry? For example, talented, passionate, creative, innovative, essential, playful, strategic, etc.
Who is your target audience / who you want to attract? For example, boss ladies, lightworkers, first-time home owners, busy moms, etc.
What’s an immediate actionable step you will achieve for your clients? For example, increase business online, make more sales, attract the right audience, capture every moment, navigate the confusing home buying process, clear clutter, etc.
What is the life-changing long-term benefit clients get from working with you? For example, quit their day job, live abundantly, transform their life, find peace within, find their dream home, etc.
Great! Now put it all together for your killer mission statement.
6. Free Be Aligned Guide
We hope this post has been as been impactful in branding your website for success.
You can download the Be Aligned Guide that we use with all our clients below.
The 20+ page guide is jammed packed with incredible, actionable steps that walk you through all the questions we addressed today and so much more!
Be Aligned Guide
Interested in a Strategically Designed Website with Website Copywriting that Converts?
We’d love to help!
