7 Quick Fixes When Your Website’s Brand Messaging Fails

How often have you stumbled upon a beautifully crafted website, only to feel disappointed with its lack of valuable content? Who would you trust more: a provider with a flashy site and subpar content, or a provider with a simple website and valuable content?

Unfortunately, many coaches today prioritize aesthetics over the quality of their brand messaging. Are you among them?

There's no denying the importance of exceptional website design. Yet even the most stunning website would be ineffective without high-quality brand messaging. Balance design and copy to ensure your website's success and uplevel your business.

Still skeptical?

I've outlined four reasons why your website copy is just as crucial as your design. And more importantly, I've offered 7 quick fixes if things aren't up to par.

The importance of brand messaging in website design

Your website copy serves as a window to your brand. It provides visitors with essential information about what you offer.

Yet, its significance extends beyond that. It plays a crucial role in helping search engines comprehend your website.

Sure, images and design help your site look "pretty." But they ain't got nothing on the value of well-crafted website brand messaging.

As you increase the volume of written content on your site, you also elevate its quality. In fact, the more content you have, the more likely strangers will be able to find your site.

Having standout brand messaging also helps:

Establish trust and credibility.

Brand messaging builds trust and credibility for your website. Effective messaging communicates your expertise, experience, and unique approach. It helps visitors feel confident in your abilities to deliver valuable services.

Connect.

Through compelling copywriting, you can connect emotionally with your target audience. When you show people that you get them on a meaningful level, they trust you. They like you. They believe you empathize and understand.

Communicate value.

Well-crafted brand messaging communicates the value and benefits of your services clearly. It showcases how you can address the specific needs and challenges of your clients. In short, it gives potential clients a reason to choose you over others.

Drive conversions.

Effective brand messaging also leads visitors to take desired actions. When you've nailed this skill, people will want to book consultations. They'll want to subscribe, sign up, or share. With the right words, you can easily turn visitors into engaged leads and paying clients.

So, what challenges are you having with your website and brand messaging?

Let's look at some common ones and what you can do to fix them.

Symptom #1: Low conversion rate.

Solution: Craft drool-worthy headlines and subheadings.

Here’s a fun fact: While 8 in 10 people will read your website’s headlines, only 2 in 10 will go beyond that. Approach each element of your writing as though it has one purpose only – to get people to read the next sentence. If they don’t go beyond the headline, your content will quickly sink rather than swim.

To make jaw-dropping headlines and subheadings, ask yourself these questions before hitting “publish”:

Does it include a keyword(s)?

Does it feel useful to the reader?

Does it evoke a strong emotional reaction that inspires your reader into action?

Does it promise a reward to the reader for consuming your content? (Free coaching session, anyone?)

If the answer is a resounding, “yes!” then it makes sense to continue.

Symptom #2: High bounce rate (readers leave after visiting only one page of your website).

Solution: Use precise and engaging brand messaging.

Start by identifying exactly what makes you and your service unique.

Think about what makes you stand out from the crowd. Identify what sets you apart. Reflect on why your offering is the perfect solution for your clients.

Once you’re clear, it's time to make sure your brand messaging is as well. Check that every word connects with your readers and communicates your worth. You want readers to recognize the value you bring to the table. You want them to understand how you can solve their specific needs or challenges.

Here are some examples of poorly written, vague website descriptions. Notice the difference between those and their powerful, engaging alternatives.

I offer one-on-one coaching to support your growth. Call me for coaching services.

Experience the power of personalized one-on-one coaching to foster your growth and self-discovery. Reach out today to find out if I’m the right person to support your transformation.

Together, we can achieve greatness and overcome any obstacle.

We'll develop a clear path that you can follow to overcome your specific challenges.

Welcome to my coaching website. I'm here to help you achieve your goals and find your true self.

I work with every client to identify their unique goals. Then, I walk them through a proven process for achieving their goals in a way that feels manageable.

Symptom #3: Visitors feel overwhelmed when on your website.

Solution: Sell the hole, not the drill.

Shift the focus from features to benefits and outcomes.

Harvard Marketing professor Theodore Levitt said, "Sell the hole, not the drill." His underlying point was that people aren't interested in purchasing a product for the product's sake. Instead, they "hire" it to fulfill a specific job they need to have done.

Take the example of a drill. Customers aren't buying it just to own a drill, but to create a quarter-inch hole in their wall.

By embracing this wisdom, you can better position your services and connect with potential clients.

Focus on selling the results and solutions you can provide to your clients. Avoid focusing on the features. Instead, emphasize the tangible benefits and outcomes that clients experience.

Feature-focused: "Receive email support between sessions."

Benefit-focused: "Our ongoing email support provides continuous accountability, motivation, and answers to your questions.”

Feature-focused: "Weekly group coaching sessions.”

Benefit-focused: "Having a learning community increases the likelihood of success by 500%. Through our collaborative model, achieve accelerated results and breakthroughs. Stay on track and achieve your goals faster than ever before."

Feature-focused: "Access to our online portal with 50+ coaching resources."

Benefit-focused: “Access content whenever and wherever you want it. Our on-demand resource library lets you conveniently optimize your productivity and effectiveness.”

Symptom #4: A lack of consistency or cohesiveness across different pages.

Solution: Develop a brand style guide.

One quick-fix solution is to create and put in place a style guide for your brand messaging.

A style guide outlines your preferred tone, voice, and writing style for your website. It includes guidelines about formatting headings, font styles, and other visual elements.

By following the style guide, you can ensure that all website copy is uniform. This allows you to uplevel your business from an aesthetic and stylistic perspective.

Symptom #5: Visitors don’t take any action.

Solution: Incorporate persuasive call-to-action statements.

In marketing speak, your call to action is part of your text that tells your readers what they should do.

There are really two parts to the call-to-action: The text on your link or button and the text that precedes it.

The more information you can offer people with your CTA, the more likely you are to get the click. You need to clearly communicate the value of taking action. This is where the text that precedes your button does the heavy lifting.

The actual link itself should be concise and direct. Use a powerful command verb as the first word for your button. Get straight to the point and let your audience know exactly what you want them to do. Consider words like Download, Discover, Subscribe, and Schedule.

Here are some more tips to increase conversions:

• Provoke emotion or enthusiasm. The more excitement you can generate, the more likely you are to get action. Consider the difference between, “Shop Now” and “Plan Your Dream Vacation Today!”

• Offer up a reason for people to take action. What’s in it for them? Be clear in your brand messaging about what people can expect in working with you. A good example of this is, “Make My Life Easier Now.”

• Make FOMO your friend. FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out, is an exceptional motivator. If people feel like they may miss out on an opportunity that won’t come around again, they’re more likely to take action. You’re probably inundated with messages all the time. “Sale ends Monday!” and “Grab Your Discount Today!” are some examples.

Symptom #6: Low organic traffic.

Solution: Optimize your website for keywords and phrases.

One big symptom of an unoptimized website is the lack of organic traffic from search engines.

When a website doesn't have relevant keywords, search engines don't know what the site is about. Because of this, it ranks those websites lower in search results. As a result, the website misses out on valuable traffic and potential visitors.

To fix this, follow these steps.

Step 1: Research keywords. Conduct keyword research to identify the most relevant and high-traffic keywords. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or UberSuggest. You can use them to find words that people search for related to your niche.

Step 2: Define target keywords for each page. Assign specific keywords to different pages based on their relevance and focus.

Step 3: Optimize page titles and meta descriptions. Include the target keyword in both the title and meta description.

Step 4: Integrate keywords into content. Incorporate your target keywords naturally into the content of each page.

Step 5: Optimize URLs. Ensure that your website's URLs are descriptive and contain relevant keywords.

Step 6: Use header tags (H1, H2, H3). Structure your content with header tags (H1, H2, H3) to create a hierarchy of information.

Step 7: Optimize image alt text. Include descriptive alt text for images on your website. Incorporate relevant keywords where appropriate.

Step 8: Build high-quality backlinks. Reach out to others and network to secure high-quality backlinks. You can uplevel your business when links are from reputable websites.

Symptom #7 Visitors spend little time on your website.

Solution: Improve readability and engagement.

Long paragraphs and sentences can overwhelm visitors, leading to reduced readability and engagement.

Yet, what constitutes “too long” when it comes to content on the Web?

Unsurprisingly, there isn’t one hard-and-fast answer. But there are suggestions.

• Limit your paragraphs to five lines – not sentences.

• Keep paragraphs short – no more than 2 or 3 sentences.

• Consider adding an indent of several spaces on the first sentence of every paragraph.

• Make blog articles approximately 1,600 words (a 7-minute read).

Exceptional brand messaging on your website can uplevel your business and increase conversions.

Remember, your website is a powerful tool to communicate your brand's essence. It allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Invest time and effort into crafting precise and engaging brand messaging. It will pay off in the long run.

Would you like help rewriting your brand messaging or website copy? I’d love to help! Simplify your life and schedule a call today.