Being Who You Are Online is Crucial
I am inspired by the book Get Different: Marketing That Can't Be Ignored! by Michael Michalowicz. He’s a smart and funny author who gives many great real-life examples of how simply being different has made all the difference for notable companies. He gives the example of the Geek Squad, a tech service company that Best Buy bought. The Geek Squad stood out with its uniforms and attitude yet on paper wasn’t that much different from other similar services.
I get you to also get different by simply being yourself. You are a unique human being and just by being unafraid to showcase your true spirit through your Squarespace website will get you ahead.
Don’t worry about pleasing everyone. As you know already trying to please everyone means you won’t really please the sector that is aligned with your values. We all know that working with people who have a similar attitude about life as you do will yield better results.
So think about how you want to express yourself and thus your brand online. Be brazen. Be forward. Tell the world how you approach your work.
I’m all about minimalism. I believe that stripping a problem down to its barest elements is a better way to focus on what needs to be solved. Writing your about page copy usually means getting it down to as few words as possible. This is not to be brief for being brief’s sake, it’s an attempt to use the most effective words to express yourself.
I’m a sports nut and at the elite level, it’s more important to double down on your strengths rather than shore up your weaknesses. Your strengths are what got you to where you are. It’s your hallmark. Go stronger in that area and thrive.
I am not a Search Engine Optimization expert. I know the fundamentals because it’s important to know how Squarespace websites interact with search engines, but it would be dishonorable to claim that I know as much about SEO as someone who digs into the multiple components of improving search engine rankings.
What are your points of difference?
So what? Who cares? Why you? These are the three questions that always kickoff my website projects. It’s a framework created by Wendy Kennedy to unlock the potential of ideas.
These are important questions to answer before heading into your Squarespace website design. These help clarify what your unique offering is to the world. How do you do things differently and how do they impact the experience of customers working with you?
For many of us, it’s our collective experience that builds these traits. I was a former newspaper reporter and editor, which allows me to bring project management experience and storytelling skills to the table. I have the vision to tell whether or not a website is doing its job of telling a compelling story about a brand.
What makes your experience unique? Was there a significant event in your life that altered or informed your career path?
Write down what makes your approach different and why someone should use you over others. Have that information ready to apply to your site.
Be true with photos of yourself
While you might want a professional headshot, you may not want one. Perhaps a less stereotypical corporate shot is better for you. I know it is for me. In real life I don’t wear a suit and turn my shoulders a certain way and smile. It’s just not me.
Don’t let the images on your website not reflect who you are. Be proud of your hobbies and how you present yourself in work. I show my interest in health and fitness and also have photos of myself wearing clothes that I would wear when meeting with a client. While I am a traditionalist, I don’t believe that a creative person needs to wear classic office wear. I don’t work in an office. But I remain neat, a hallmark of my personal presentation.
If you love dogs or off-road vehicles, show yourself with those interests depicted. People want to work with real human beings with emotions. Being too buttoned-up in your presentation doesn’t reveal enough about your personality. No matter what your personality comes through in work matters, so there’s no point in hiding yet. Better yet, you want to project it.
What are your values?
Standing for something is important. I’m not suggesting that you have to showcase your politics, but that could be an aspect of your brand that you do project. I value an individual’s right to happiness and I put health, physical and mental, at the forefront of how I choose to live. Living a life that is full of experiential learning is one that I’ve grown to value as I get older. Being a parent is also important to me, which goes hand in hand with leading by example.
Some of my key influences include the practice of Stoicism and the concept of cultivating a growth mindset. It starts with the books that I read and I highly recommend getting introduced to Stoicism through the work of author Ryan Holiday. “Obstacle is the Way” is a book that has heavily influenced how I run my business.
One key principle of Stoic philosophy is to pay attention to what one can control and let what can’t be controlled not influence one’s day to day. If you work with me this is how I’m going to approach a Squarespace website design project: I’ll focus on working towards solutions.
Examples of how websites add personality
I just finished an extensive project for a breeder of a hunting dog, the Llewellin Setter. Throughout the site, we showcased how passionate and detail-oriented the business is when it comes to providing the best dogs for its customers. The photos display the beauty of this breed and also how loving they are with family members of all ages. There is a heart and soul that permeates this website along with a wealth of information that a user will find useful.
For a medical malpractice law firm I created a Squarespace website design that projects their warm and depth of knowledge in their area of expertise. This is depicted through the body language of the photos to the choice of softer colors throughout the site. Strategic placement of client testimonials also helps the site visitor understand how the firm gets results and supports its clients through difficult times.
I created a site for a psychotherapist who is an excellent writer and painter. Both of these elements of his life are subtly showcased on his Squarespace website, adding a dimension that goes beyond basic design. His personality is infused into the site and it doesn’t feel like an afterthought.
Getting them hooked
Be unafraid to show the world who you are. Apple, for example, is clearly the choice for those who identify with being on the cutting edge even if the brand is mainstream. Since its early days, Apple has been perceived as the choice for people who are more upscale given the heftier price tag. Today in spite of not having the most features, the iPhone remains a top choice for a certain sector. I, for one, have been ingrained in the Mac OS world and will continue to buy Apple products. I’m hooked.
The same goes for Nike products. Their shoes don’t fit me well as they are too narrow generally, but I go out of my way to find models that do fit me better so I can tap into the nostalgia the brand formed with me at an early age. A lot of innovators have come along. Allbirds is one of these brands that offers sustainability, practicality and comfort, but I don’t identify with their plain designs. They do cater towards a large population of buyers who value what they represent. There are enough people in this world to support multiple brands with distinct value sets.
It's your mission to get people to buy into your personal brand. So start with Why (as described in the book “Start WIth Why” by Simon Sinek) and form your brand identity based on the reason you are doing what you do.
What is your mission? Mine is to help people launch their businesses with an online presence that communicates their value proposition. A lot of people do not know how to get started. I want to make the process easier for them and demystify website design.
I want people to feel energized when visiting their own website and excited to share it with prospective customers. This enthusiasm carries through to every aspect of their business. It’s an online business card that offers more depth than a piece of paper can. It’s how one gets dressed in the morning: a choice to show the world who you are.
Not caring about your appearance is a mistake. People judge you at every level. Make your website a reflection of your best version.
Your About page
First of all, the photo of yourself is crucial. Are you casual? Smiling? In action? Choosing the right photo is key to what you are conveying for your brand. Be natural and don’t compare yourself to others.
Write your bio with a story about the Why behind your business. While education, professional certifications and other credentials are important I don’t believe these are the first things a site visitor should read. Tell them why you do what you do. Showcase your passion for your profession.
Besides the photo of yourself, add additional photos that display your work and interests outside of work. Provide a vibrant look at who you are. Write in plain language and humanize yourself within a sea of stiff corporate bios. Perhaps add a quote or evoke an author that has helped you along the way.
Do the same for your team members. Bios are quite often an afterthought, a cut-and-paste job from LinkedIn. Be conversational and draw in the reader as if you were speaking to them in the same room.
Word choice
Being an effective communicator means being choosy about your words. A simple exercise is to make your sentences shorter, eliminating any weak words. Write with nouns, not adjectives and get specific.
Creating copy that resonates with your target audience is crucial. Be weary of cliches or phrases that are too trendy. If you aren’t a natural writer try creating a voice memo and then transcribing it using one of the widely available transcription tools.
Get your thoughts down first and then go back and refine your messaging. If you need a place to start on getting better at writing, check out the classic tomb “On Writing Well” by William Zinser.
Being different is freeing and effective
A brand that definitely does not speak to me is Trader Joe’s. I don’t like shopping there. I don’t like that the employees wear Jimmy Buffet-esque shirts and I prefer supermarkets with better produce. I don’t buy into what I perceive is preservative-laden frozen foods masquerading as healthy choices.
Who cares what I think. Trader Joe’s is so decidedly different that people who love what the brand represents look forward to going there and are evangelists for the company’s products. I don’t admit I love their Dragon green sauce and the Everything But the Bagel seasoning, but I will never set foot inside a Trader Joe’s store to get them. Thank you, Amazon.
On the other hand, I am a Whole Foods customer. Yes, it’s an expensive endeavor to shop there, but if I am selective and what I choose to buy from the store, it is a fruitful choice for me. I identify with the brand, the green, clean look and implied promise that everything sold in the store is of the highest quality.
Two completely different brands with strong identities with distinct loyal followings. Of course the same individual may cross shop between the two brands, but each has a clear purpose to the consumer.
You have to be different, not middling. Go out and decide and project what it is you stand for.
