Mistake Two: Your Website Copy Is Not Strong
If you're an Influencer or Creator then it likely means you're an authority in a particular niche. Whether it's yoga for beginners, vegan recipes, or even underwater photography, we can guess that your following and audience comes to you for something special that they are interested in which is the content you create on social media.
A big mistake Influencers and Creators make on their website is not positioning themselves as an authority or expert in their specific niche and industry as well as not providing clear calls to action throughout their website. Yes, visuals, branding and design layout are very important, but how you talk about yourself and the words you choose matters too because it helps a person viewing your website understand that they should pay attention to what you have to say!
Let's go over an example. Jennie creates vegan recipes and posts them on her website. When someone comes to her website the first line says "I love cooking and I hope you like my recipes." That really doesn't tell us anything about Jennie because many people like cooking and create recipes. On the other hand, Jared also specializes in vegan recipes and, the first thing you see when you go to his website is "Professional Chef and Dietician specializing in Vegan Recipes For A Healthy Lifestyle." If you had to choose between trusting Jennie or Jared without knowing more, which one would you choose? We're guessing Jared.
This example is to show you that the copy you have on your website and what you include is very important and it's essential you optimize it for people to easily understand what you do, why they should trust you and what action you want them to take next. Having clear calls to action will also help the website viewer navigate your site and get to the pages that you think are the most important for them to see based on your business, services and goals.
Next time you see Influencer website examples you'll see what we mean and now that you know this major Influencer website mistake, you'll be looking extra closely at the words they choose to put on their site and also notice how they can improve.
Mistake 4: Doesn't Have The Right Pages For Your Business
Many creators when starting out just buy an Influencer website template and fill it in without thinking what should go on their website that is specific to them and their business. A website should be personal and unique to what you and your business have to offer. With custom pages that communicate exactly what you need to tell someone, it should be easy to navigate. Most of the time you have one shot to communicate what you need to before the person leaves your website and frankly, may never come back.
For example, if you're trying to make money as an Influencer or Creator, do you have a Work With Me page to let people that come to your website know all of the ways you can work together? If you're a photographer, do you have a portfolio showing the best samples of your work and the diversity of shots you can take? If you're an Influencer, do you have links out to your Amazon shop of products you recommend or an About page that shares more about your journey and how you got to where you are today to connect more with your audience?
Every Influencer and Creator business is different. That's why your website should be custom to your brand and have the pages you need for your follower or client to find exactly what they are looking for and also what YOU want to tell them. Buying an Influencer website template and not customizing it for your business is a huge mistake that Creators make. But the fix is easy because websites are not set in stone! You can add the pages and information you need easily by modifying the design.
If you need help brainstorming what information and pages would be great to showcase for your particular business, you can book a private coaching session with one of our experts and we can do a website audit and help come up with a game plan for you to optimize your site to be up to date and have everything you need to set yourself up for success.
Mistake 5: Influencer Website Is Not Maintained
This may sound like a surprise to you, but one of the ultimate Influencer website mistakes is that the website is not maintained. Building a website is a long process and once it's completed many people just make it live and never look back. But the thing is, just like if you were a store owner, a website needs to be maintained for it to run properly and look good for customers. We can't even count the number of times we've gone to look at an Instagram Influencer website and clicked the Instagram icon or Services page and it displayed an error or broken link message.
When that happens, the ramifications can be more serious than you think because unless someone is really interested in finding out more, they are just going to leave and never see what they were looking for to begin with. That means it could lead to missing new followers on Instagram or even worse, a missed sale or new client.
Another thing having broken links or outdated information on your website can signal to people is that either you don't care or maybe you're not in business anymore. Serious businesses maintain their website because it's their virtual storefront. A potential brand might think that you don't have attention to detail or that you do this as a hobby and are not serious, which could also affect their perception of you when evaluating if they should choose to work with you or someone else for a brand campaign. If you can't even care about your own business, how can they feel confident and trust that you will care about theirs?
A great way to fix this is to set aside time to go through your website and check all the links yourself. If you think you may miss some, ask a friend or family member to do you a favor and check for you and send a list of what they found. That way you can make simple fixes to ensure the navigation works perfectly and people are finding what they are looking for easily and want to come back!
An Easy Solution To Fix Your Influencer Website Mistakes
If you have an Influencer website and identified that you're making some (if not all) of the mistakes we cover in this article, not to worry! The first step is to identify that you have these problems so that you know yo find a solution and put your best foot forward as a Creator. As a quick recap, here are the top 5 Influencer website mistakes that we help our Creators fix:
1) Your website is outdated: A website that is outdated either doesn't keep up with current standards or no longer matches your brand. An out-of-date website can drive visitors away or be misleading if your branding as changed.
2) Your website copy isn't strong: If you're an authority in your niche, you need to let people know that. What can they expect from you as a Creator? If you don't tell them and speak to them in a way they'll understand, you miss out on attracting your audience.
3) Your website doesn't use SEO: Search engine optimization helps your website get ranked on Google and seen by the right people. Without considering this, your content's visibility will pay the price.
4) Your website doesn't have the right pages for your business: If you're a photographer, you most likely need a Portfolio. If you're an Influencer, you probably need links to your Amazon shop. Don't forget the pages that people will expect to find as they navigate your site!
5) Your website is not maintained: A website takes a while to build, so it is so common for one to be built and then forgotten about. You need to set aside time to check links and maintain your website's health!
There are many options to fix them - you can hire someone to re-design your site or you can take on the project by yourself and try to re-design your Influencer website. We offer website design services and can help from start to finish, including the re-branding process, so you can have a website that you're proud to show off and that people are excited to visit.
If you feel confident in your website design skills, we can also help with the planning process in a private coaching session where we can brainstorm all the pages and information you need that's specific to you and your business.
While creating a new website may be a lot of work, it will pay off in the long run if you're serious about your Influencer or Creator business being around for years to come!
