Judy Garland
Getting Found vs Being Seen: How SEO Doesn’t Matter Without Your Tribe
If you have a website, you know what SEO stands for and chances are you even know a thing or two about precisely how to optimize your site for search engines, even if you outsource all the work.
But getting found is only the beginning. Because there are a ton of websites people could explore when they Google something, people are quick to leave your site if it doesn’t feel right.
You probably already know that you have mere milliseconds to capture a visitor’s attention or else they’re “bouncing” away from your site. And you probably also know that 94% of the time people close your site so quickly, it’s a design issue (Northumbria University).
So, it’s not enough to rank highly in the search engines. You’ve got to create chemistry once people are on your site.
How do you do create the kind of chemistry that keeps visitors around so they can join your Tribe?
- With great overall design.
Choose the colors that your audience loves (that reflect your brand), shapes that are a good fit for your message, navigation that suits your Brand Siren, photos that connect with your people, and typography that works well for your visitors.
A Formula for Coming out of Hiding
In the habit of hiding, I talked about how necessary it is to surrender to times of hiding out. Sometimes, hiding is a fundamental part of moving on to the next stage; sometimes you need to rest, be fallow, absorb, and go (relatively) unnoticed. For myself, I’m an expert hider. I can go months without visiting Twitter, blogging here, or logging into Facebook. Basically, the only inbox I can’t avoid for quite as long is my email inbox. And, even that, as close friends know… I have been known to neglect.
Sometimes, we just plain don’t feel like participating, and though the social media gurus of the world will probably disagree with me… I think that’s absolutely fine. I think we’re all entitled to be private when we want to be, whether that’s with certain sections of our lives or during certain times. It’s okay to step back and not participate.
But, sometimes we really want to participate. We’re eager for connection. We want to belong and jump in and conversate… But we don’t know what to say. We think we have to be _______ [witty or powerful or friendly or cranky or any one of dozens of other characteristics various social media folks proclaim are the core of connection], and we’re just plain not sure how.… Keep reading
Follow the Yellow Brick Road: How to lead your tribe when you’re a wanderer
(We’re currently profiling each of the five Brand Sirens, one by one. See the full series of Brand Siren Case Studies here. If you don’t know who your Brand Siren is, take the quiz to find out.)
When it comes to Judy’s work with clients, it’s always about the journey, not the destination. (In this way, she’s Edith’s exact opposite.) This means that a Judy’s relationship with her clients is deeply rewarding, and often very personal–she knows even the minute details of what her clients are struggling with.
Just because the journey is rewarding, though, doesn’t mean it’s easy for a Judy. Would-be clients can drag their feet getting started with a Judy because they don’t see the final outcome and are reluctant to commit until they do. This often leads to endless emails and pre-work conversations–if the Judy offers free consultations, she can expect people to ask for more than one before signing on the dotted line.
Also, Judys often add new services and skill-sets as they explore, which means even Judy herself isn’t always entirely sure what she does for her clients (or, she may not be able to communicate it clearly).
All of this tends to leave Judy struggling to charge the rates she deserves because she can feel like her skills aren’t up to par because she has less experience than the other types (because she’s always adding new offerings on the fly).… Keep reading
The Five Brand Sirens
Your Brand Siren is all about which classic Hollywood film star (or creative) best embodies your most client-attractive way of being.
After all, each of these five women built an audience of adoring fans by behaving in a specific (and different) way.
What’s great about this approach is that it means by following your role model’s style, you can easily connect with more great clients (instead of connecting with clients you’re not a good fit for).
Each of the styles is described below. To find out which best suits you, take the quiz.
You can also read my other blog posts about the Brand Sirens.
Edith Head
Edith Head was a master at creating transformations. Working with you is magical and your clients often remark (or you’d like them to remark) about how working with you seems effortless, transformational, and mysterious.
When it comes to your website, it’s crucial that you construct an entire, spellbinding experience for visitors. Not for you is the Seeker style of asking lots of questions, or the Ingenue’s style of gentle storytelling. Rather, you wave your magic wand, et voila! your web visitor feels the power of your abilities.
It can be tricky to really embrace who you are because there are so many guides steering you astray.… Keep reading
