Your Website: An Experience or Could It Put a Rock to Sleep?

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by Skip Cohen

It's Marketing Monday! Even though we're in the heat of spring seasonality, that doesn't mean your "world" is perfect, and there's nothing more for you to be doing when it comes to building a stronger presence. If you're at least fifty, you might remember the old Ban deodorant commercial with the tagline, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression! Never let them see you sweat!"

Over the years, I've done a lot of website reviews, and so many of you are missing an opportunity to make a really good first impression. A visit to your website needs to be a great experience. Just like shopping at Nordstroms vs. Macy's - you've got a choice to make in the experience you give visitors to your website!

Here are some ideas, most of them easy fixes and things you can do regardless of how busy you might be with Mother's Day, graduation, prom season, and Father's Day.
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• Load Times: Don't just assume your website is loading the way you intend it. Check it on different browsers. Chrome is the most popular, with Safari second.
• Navigation: Is your site easy to scroll through, or do you need a team of miners to find the most important components and information?
• Mobile Compatible: Your website has to be accessible and easy to view on a phone as well as a computer. So, is it?
• Great Images: It's all about quality, not quantity! Stop showing images that anybody's Uncle Harry could capture. Every image you share, including your own headshot, should scream "PROFESSIONAL!" Stop filling up your galleries with average photos.
• Policies Don't Belong on Your Website: Too many of you have policies that would scare an IRS auditor. Save the policies on cancellations, refunds, etc., for the contract discussion, and stop scaring people away before they fall in love with your work.
• Contact Pages: Give people a way to contact you directly! There's no excuse for not listing your phone number! And make your phone a dedicated line for your business.
• Respond Quickly: If you're still wading through traditional contact forms from potential clients, you might as well go back to the "bingo-cards" magazines used decades ago. What's most important is that you respond quickly, making sure your clients know that you value their potential business.
• Continuity: Now and then, I review a website that looks like it was built by different contractors on a house. The home page has a distinct look, but the pages that follow don't seem to fit in. There's no excuse today for a website that's anything but upbeat and great-looking! DIY has its limits, and while some of you have the skillset, too many of you have been building things as you go along and need help.

While somebody will challenge me on this, you can't be in business today without a website. I also feel a blog is incredibly valuable. Why? Because your site is about what you sell, and your blog is about what's in your heart. Both work together, much like advertising and publicity. Together, a great website and blog can open doors, build trust, and help establish your reputation as a professional photographer.

Hate blogging? Then maintain your presence through consistent posts you share on social media, on your Facebook page, for example. The key is establishing a regular presence. Remember, you've got one goal with every contact - exceed expectations and make yourself habit-forming.

But just like discussions on Facebook forums about what photographers wear when shooting a wedding, you've got to dress the part. You've got to dress for success! ​ These days, your website is the equivalent of a bricks-and-mortar store - make a visit, starting with your audience walking through a front door that's memorable and a fun place to "shop."

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