The personal touch – how to convert more website visitors into clients

Is your website failing to convert visitors into customers?

Your online presence could be missing its greatest asset…

You’ve carefully crafted a polished, professional, anonymous brand. Your perfectly optimised website portrays a glossy, efficient team, even if you’re a one-woman (or man) band. Your blog presents a shiny, go-getting, business powerhouse. You’ve reached page 1 of search engine results in your field.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is you. Or more specifically, the lack of “you”. Corporate gloss can actually be off-putting, especially for small businesses. You may have attained the perfect professional image but you have potentially lost your biggest asset in the process. Sales depend on relationships and trust, so by removing the human factor from your online presence, you may not be connecting with new prospects.

Don’t mistake impersonal for professional

Personality is what makes a business unique. But in our haste to look professional, we often eradicate it in favour of the impersonal. The less-glossy local favourite can actually prove more successful because site visitors can relate to their approachable image.

Faking it

I’m guilty of this. When I started my website, I thought no-one would take a one-woman band seriously, so I faked the image of a team by using “we” in all my copy and removing all signs of my personality. Big mistake. By doing this, I was setting myself up for comparison against all the other thousands of identikit copywriting sites out there. Standing out had become ten times harder.

The Revelation

So, my carefully crafted professional-yet-soulless website was yielding no results. I decided the problem must be my writing style – not sophisticated, quirky or skilful enough. All the other copywriters were simply better than me. I’d never be able to compete! Sound familiar?

The solution dawned on me over breakfast. A full English, of course, at my favourite local cafe.

This cafe doesn’t serve the best food. It doesn’t have the quickest service. Its chairs are not the comfiest, the sausages aren’t artisan and it doesn’t have wifi. So why do I keep returning? Because it’s run by the loveliest two women. They remember me when I go in and are never too busy to chat. Their business is built on personality – it’s what makes the place special, unique and therefore successful.

The penny dropped. This cafe had exactly what my brand lacked. I realised that in order to set myself apart, I need look no further than myself. My individuality would make me competitive, not my ability to mimic everyone else!

Now I no longer hide that my business is just me and my laptop. In fact, I’m proud of it. It takes a great deal of skill to run a business single-handedly, so I’m going to shout about it. Business owners are real people with real lives to contend with, and that’s what makes us amazing. So, I’ve replaced “we” with “I” throughout my site and added in personal details. Now prospective clients can see the real me.

Harness the power of personality and you too will stand out from the crowd.

Homework (once a teacher, always a teacher)

Take action today. Embrace the first person singular – I have! If you are a lone operator, try writing a blog about your personal or business challenges. It will make you relatable. If you are a larger organisation, why not feature one of your rising stars or key team members? Prospective customers will see you as human beings, and that makes them far more likely to choose you.

Not got time? Contact me here to discuss a website polish, or see my full range of services here. Together we can create effective copy that really resonates with your target audience.