GIVEAWAY! Making your website work

Ep. 72: The dos and don'ts of freelancer websites

Happy Tuesday!

Hands up if updating your website is *always* on your to-do list 🙋‍♀️

I’ve written before about how writing your own copy is somewhere between torture and fun, even as a pro copywriter. You set out to make a few tweaks to your home page, and then – BAM – you’re rewriting your entire business plan or getting distracted on a side quest for the perfect GIF for your 404 page.

But before you end up eyeballs deep on the 23rd page of Unsplash, allow me to take off the presh a little.

A website should be a work in progress. Your services, messaging and ideal audience are likely to evolve, and so will your website. Let’s not overthink it.

(You can change it later if you need to.)

Just focus on the questions a potential client will have when they come to your website, and answer them.

What do website visitors need to know before they’ll want to work with you? Now tell them that. No more, no less.

Gill Andrews (author of my favourite website copywriting book) calls this the minimum viable conversation: the smallest amount of information you need to give a website visitor before giving them a call to action. In other words, don’t skip to the “Contact Me” button if you haven’t given them a reason to contact you yet.

They need to know:

• Who are you and what makes you different from all the other freelancers offering similar services?

• What services do you offer and what problem do they solve for the reader? Got proof?

• What’s the process to get started?

Yes, there are more factors to consider, but this is a simple and effective starting point to help you overcome blank page analysis paralysis.

I know it’s easier said than done, which is why I asked the queen of website copywriting herself to join me on the podcast and answer listener questions about freelancer websites.

Oh, and what’s the book? Making Your Website Work.

You can get your hands on a FREE copy of this book if you listen to the latest episode of the podcast 👇

New episode: The dos and don'ts of freelancer websites (with Gill Andrews)

In this episode, Gill Andrews answers all your burning questions about the dos and don'ts of freelancer websites, including:

💡 The single most important section on your freelancer website

💡 What to tell readers about your experience + past projects

💡 To blog or not to blog?

💡 A freelancer's guide to SEO

💡 Why you might not want to use “Contact Me” as your call to action right away.

Thank you so much to everyone who sent in a question.

Gill has kindly offered not one but TWO FREE COPIES of her book, Making Your Website Work, to 15 Minute Freelancer listeners. Details on how to enter below.

Listen here »

🌟 Bonus clip: Are you making any of these common mistakes on your website?

➡️ 15 Minute Action: Well, of course your action this week has to be heading over to this LinkedIn post and entering the competition for a free, signed copy of Gill’s book, doesn’t it? All you have to do is share your biggest takeaway from the episode and we’ll enter you in the giveaway. Gill and I will announce the winner(s) at the end of Aug on a LinkedIn Live. Stay tuned! (Only open to listeners in Europe as stamps for further afield are a little outside our budget.)

Until next time, happy freelancing!

Louise xx