Ep. 31 | Making Your Website Work For You with Brittany Miller

Websites... Do you need one? What platforms should you be using? What are the key elements you need on your website to make it work for you and to turn those leads into clients?

Today on the podcast, I'm chatting with Brittany Miller. Brittany is the owner of Sage and Frank. She is brand developer and website designer who uses brands, messaging and marketing to help people move forward in their marketing with clarity and confidence. We are talking about all things website and branding so be sure to tune in!

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Transcript

spk_0:   0:08
Welcome to the brain your way. Photography podcast. I'm your host, Bert Jefferson. I'm a wife, Mama to two and full time photographer in business. I created this podcast with the inspiring photographer in mine to bring you inspired stories. Strategies to help you go from zero to mostly figures and tips and tricks to get one step closer to work. Life harmony. Are you ready to bring your way to your dream career? Let's dive in. Welcome back to another episode of the frame your way. Photography podcast. Today I am joined with an expert that I can't wait for you guys to hear from. We're talking all about websites and branding today, and this is definitely an episode you're not going to want to miss out on. So Britney Miller, will you please introduce yourself to my listeners?

spk_1:   1:05
Hello, I am Britney Miller and I own Sage and Frank. It's Agent Frank. I'm a brand developer in a website designer. We used brands, messaging and marketing to help people move forward in their marketing with clarity and confidence. When they have that kind of support, you can actually learn how to grow your business instead of just being stopped in trying to figure out what to do next. So really, it's all about clarity and direction, and that affects every part of your marketing.

spk_0:   1:35
Absolutely. So Bernie and I've already been chatting for quite some time before we hit record, which is always my favorite thing. Unfortunately, you guys don't get to hear the fun conversation before, but you do get to hear all of the awesome advice and tangible action steps that we're going to cover today. Now I Robert de on because this month, you know, we've got all of these experts that are outside of the photography industry that have experience working with photographers like us. And the goal is for you to be using these episodes and working on your business in your off season for whenever that is for you. I know for me it will be the winter, and it is upon us faster than I wish. Itwas But that is a goal. And I Robert me on today because I really want to talk about the Web sites. Do you need one? Should you have one? Can you get by without one? What are the platforms you should be using and What are the key elements that you need on your Web site? To make it work for you and to turn those leads into clients? And that is why Britney's here. So I'm gonna let her kick us off. And first tell us, how does a website fit into this whole branding scheme of things? I

spk_1:   2:54
love it. Thank you. And you know, you guys have heard about funnels already. So you think about your website really is kind of a hub for your business. It's part of your funnel and that you want people to go to it and then take very specific steps from there. So I think it's really important on a website to have a goal. A very specific goal of what you want people to d'oh. And to use that to your benefit. Um, when people land on a website, they don't wanna have to think like they need you to tell them exactly what you want them to dio. And if you're not clear on what you want them to D'oh, you need to get clear on. That s so it could be a really, really useful tool in all areas of your mark getting on. Like I said, it's really at the hub for your business. And it's something that you own, unlike social media, where Facebook owns that and you know, Instagram or Facebook also owns that, too. But you own this and you get to make the decision and what role your Web site is gonna play in your business.

spk_0:   3:59
I love that. That's one thing that about my Web site in particular just going back to making sure there's always one goal or one clear direction. I think I repeated this to my website designer 1000 times, but I was like, I want the buttons to be super clear. I don't want a menu on the top anymore. It is all these things because I want Thio hone in their attention is our attention span is awful, especially when it comes to visiting websites. But don't let that scare you, because Britney is gonna tell you how you can keep their attention there. But for me, one struggle that I have and I'll just kick us off with this question is I'm talking to multiple people, two people in particular. I'm either talking to the mom that I want to hire me for her family photos or I'm talking to the photographer much like this audience on my podcast, You know, either giving them resource is or having them work with me. So does that play a role? Should I have multiple options? Or because right now, the way mind set up is you come to my home page and all the only option you have is to scroll. The first thing you see is me, you and it takes straight to the about Paige or righ underneath it. It targets that mom who wants her pictures done or the photographer and they take them to their own separate page. So tell me, critique me and not doing it right about doing it wrong. Tell me, you know,

spk_1:   5:23
and so that's great because you're leading them down a very, very Pacific path. Like if you go to your website and, like, those are your options, those air, the actions you're giving them, that's where you want them to go. They're not gonna, like, end up on your instagram or something, because you're like who flashy this. Everyone has this on their site rate like that's taking them away from it. I think that it's a great idea to have a very specific path that you want people to take. So one thing that is really big for me on efficiency and sites is having very simple navigation, very clear page names and no more than three lines in paragraphs. People are not going to read giant chunks of copy. If you have a complex navigation system, they're going to be overwhelmed. Andi, if you don't have clear page names, they're not gonna understand what they're looking at on DWI. We literally have five seconds right now. Thio get people's attention and keep their attention on a website. There's a really great five second test that in new one all listeners, you guys can do this five second test. It's super super fast. But send someone to your website and without scrolling, they should be able to answer these three questions. What problem is being solved? So your visitor has a problem? They wouldn't be at your website if they did not have a problem they wanted to solve. Um, you need to answer. How is it being solved? So what is the solution? But you're offering them what is your service that is gonna solve this problem. And the third thing is what you want them to do. So if you do not have a button there telling them exactly what you want them to do whether that's book a session, um, contact me, go to my about Paige, like whatever it is, it needs to be there. And so those are the three things that someone should be able to answer in five seconds on your page. So super easy. Just send it Thio. Some brings family whatever strangers Facebook group and have them answer those three questions about your Web site.

spk_0:   7:32
I'm totally doing this today. I already got my three people I know. I'm gonna go ask these questions to that. Those questions were powerful. I mean, because I'm thinking quite a lot of us are gonna fail that first round until we make sure that what we want them to do is very clear and without scrolling. And I think that sometimes might be the hard thing. And I know for me having a show it website, you're able to build the mobile differently than the desktop. And so it will be cool because I know that the majority of my leads are on their phones viewing, and it's a lot easier to see more content on your phone than it is on the desktop. So that is super Super Gold. I'm so glad, so glad that you gave us those three questions to ask, because that is a tangible activity, that we

spk_1:   8:22
could be super easy that gives you so much direction and speaking directly to, you know, like thinking about your target audience when you're building your website. Um, you know, in in branding there's kind of two schools of that one that your brand is supposed to be an authentic expression of you and like it's more about you expressing your solving your business. And then there was the school about that. It's like all about your target audience, and it should only be about them. And who cares if your favorite color is orange? If your audience doesn't like boring, just don't use that type of thing. But what I think is that you're messaging really comes from where those two things me. It is definitely you in an expression of you and what solution you can offer to your clients It is also where your clients are, in what problem? They need salt and how they're gonna come to you. But your messaging really is like a bridge between two of those things. It's the communication that happens between your solution and their problem. So you have to keep both of those things in mind when you're building your website because your website is not a bio website like you know what? They're going to hire you and they're going to love you. But when they come to your website, it's not because they want to meet you as a person. It's because they're like I have kids that are growing up way too fast and it scares the crap out of me. And I really want to document this before they grow up and are you know, all of a sudden in college that's where they're coming to your site. They're not coming to your site because they want to read your bio or read all about you. That will definitely come layer in that relationship building, but your website needs to speak directly to your client and what they're feeling at the time of coming to your site. on so that I usually have people dio a big brand questionnaire and you can actually find on my site. I give out the target audience question there and brand discovery questioners that I use with my branding and website client so you can grab those from sage and drink dot com and use them for this. But you really have to tap into what kind of person your most perfect client is. And this is someone that values your work, sees what is really special about what you offer and the really into your style and what you're doing and would be a blast to work with. So you come up with that person who that is, and that's who you speak to throughout all of your Web site. And I am sure you guys learned about this in the copy podcast, but that's who you're speaking thio on your sight, and your copy has a lot to do with that.

spk_0:   11:03
Yeah, this ties right back into this topic that we always go back. Thio niche ing down because you have to talk to that one person that you would work with over and over and over again. So if you are a photographer and Europe the very beginning of your journey, you haven't even had a paying client yet. I want you to think who is in your local area that you would jump up and down if they messaged you and ask you to take their picture. Who is that person and start writing to that person. If you're further along in your journey and you've had a handful of clients to look back on, who is your favorite? Why were they your favorite? Why do you want to photograph them again? And then all of their friends who are just like that is your one person. Now you're going to get other people. But the whole point here is quit talking to everybody because if you get a client who is going Thio want Brighton airy images, and you are a bold and moody photographer. It just is not going to work. So if they come to your site, they don't see one Brighton area image and they still want to hire you. Then there's something in that messaging that still spoke to You know what I mean? But that's that's the whole goal. I mean, That's what we've been talking about this month. Is that one person with one goal and leading them down that one path? So I just had to reiterate that for everybody and show you how everything we're talking about ties in together and why you just you just can't be afraid to teach down. You can't, because ultimately you will see it. Increase your profits. And I promise you, you'll look back a year from now on. Be like, Well, I'm so glad I listened to that podcast episode and really listen to broken Trusted her. So yeah,

spk_1:   12:50
and there's a saying, if you have huge prey and speak to everyone, you're going to end up speaking to no one. If your message is way too broad and you're just like I don't really know, I don't wanna single out any one person that like they might hire me. And I'm really scared too, Mitch done. Because then they're not gonna hire me. But, you know, if you if you make it to Brad, you're gonna lose people because they're gonna be like I don't really understand. Does she have a style? Is she like a corporate cryptographer? Is she a family photographer does. She could weddings this, you know, breathing. Like if you'd make it to Brad. People aren't going to know that you're over them in. That brings me to another topic of if you are photographer with multiple different specialties. So you do weddings and brand photography and newborn photography or something. It's definitely OK to have those different things on your site in different sub pages. And you can speak to those individual clients on those different pages so that you're still talking directly to that target audience, even though they might be three different people just like you broke. We're talking about how you have two different people that you have service is for, and you direct them to where they are supposed to go so you can actually talk to them about why they're at your website. Because if you try and do it all on the same page, people are gonna be like Wait, what? She's talking about teaching me photography things, but I'm here for Lake Family Portrait. I don't know what the girl was talking about, so having a really basic home page is a great idea. If you have multiple different kinds of service is you offer, and I can give you guys seven different things that your home page absolutely has to have. Number one a clear mission. You guys have to know why you're here and what you're doing. It's essential in converting, Ah, your visitors to actual clients on when they know why you're doing this. They know who you're doing photography for. Then they're going to be able to be converted on your site instead of just drop off and go to the next photographers site. The second thing that you really need on your site is stating the problem that they're having. You have to speak to that initial challenge that brought them to your site. So that's what we talked about. You know, the mom that's afraid her kid's gonna grow up and she's not goingto have these special memories or the woman who is getting married. And she's like, Oh my God, I really want to be able to look back on this and I'm having the perfect wedding and I'm so excited. I want to be able to document this on, so you have to have the problem stated another thing. That you have tohave is saving the solution. How does your service is? Actually neat their problem and take all the stress and worry away from the problem that they're having. The poor thing that you need is that c t a. The call to action. What you want your visitor to D'oh! It needs to be very clear, and it needs to stand out from all the rest of the stuff. It is on your site. Um, the next thing you need to have is your contact information and your social links, and I will sand social links. A lot of people like to put their instagram ticker at the bottom or make a huge call to take them off of their websites and to social thinking. Oh, if I can get them everywhere, then you know they're gonna see me more, and it's gonna be better. And they're gonna hire me. Really? What it does is just take someone off your sight. And if you're using your sight in a strategic way, then you don't want them to leave your sights. You want to give them the option to go find you on Facebook and like you, or go to instagram and follow you. But that's not your main goal. Your main goal is to get some books. Another thing is showing your authority so you can do that through testimonial statistics. Uh, other businesses. You partner with the words that you've won things like that, and the last thing is a clear brand. So your brand, you know, people think a latte. Oh, my brand is just my fonts or my brand is just my color palette or my logo. But really, your brand is a whole set of things that communicate a message for you is your brand voice, so that affects your copy. Um, it is your colors and your function, your logo, all of that. But it's also your style and what kind of feelings people get. Run your style so your brand should go with your style of photography. Like you were saying if you had a really dark, moody style and, like your brand visuals, your logo, where your hands are really like early and cute, sea and bright and light. People are not gonna understand that, and they're gonna be like. But way is she likes super flirty and bright or issue dark and moody because I'm really confused here. So having a very clear visual brand as well as your voice on your website is another really important part of having a website that converts visitors to client.

spk_0:   18:09
I'm loving these seven things and I'm following along and, like checking the boxes office saying them and faithfully, I pass this test on and I have to say, my logo was actually born out of like It just fits perfect. So everything about my brand totally fits me. It's my favorite color, and it's funny cause you'll find my brand All around my house. You'll find my brand in my closet. I'm always going for those like dark and moody, and mine always is fall like those of a fall theme, which I think is great. But yet it translates perfectly for other seasons, too. But But yeah, like those seven things You guys use that as a checklist for yourself and just make sure that everything is aligning. I think sometimes as photographers, we get caught up in just the visual aspect, which is why I had all these professionals come in for the whole month so that we make sure we were covering all of our bases and not just the visual or just the coffee. I really wanted to tie it all together. So you know, my biggest views of advice for you guys is Thio, you know, take this. Take notes. Um, you know, visit her web site and the link she's gonna leave for you guys to use her resource is so that you could really implement what we're talking about. Because at the end of the day, we truly want to see you converting more leads in the clients. Like I Haram Missy, we're all cheering you on. I want that for myself. Britney wants that for you guys. And it's just I mean, these seven things are super tangible. I mean, even if I didn't have a website designer, I could probably still implement these on my own. And then once I saved up money, go and make it even better. And I'm sure that's what you would say to Britain s Oh,

spk_1:   20:05
yeah, Totally. And you know, that's a thing a lot of people are like. Do I need a website? Do I need a perfection? Aly Done what? I can I hire someone for 500 bucks. Can I hire someone for $10,000? Like you know, you can do any of those things when you're just starting and you don't have a lot of cash flow to put into your business. It is totally, you know, you're able to do that on your own. If you follow good strategy and you make it clean and professional, that's great. You can totally do that and then hire someone wants Your business is building up and you have the capital to invest. Some of the the site platforms that I recommend is going to be Show it that is my absolute favorite, not only for photographers, but for everyone. You do have to be a little bit text daddy. It doesn't take a lot. It's not WordPress, Um, but you know, you do have to have a little bit of design knowledge to be able to produce something really great. But even if you don't, they have amazing templates that you can use, and so it's more, you know, plug in. But if you want something custom, it does take a little bit of work. Um, I also recommend square space for people if they're really just like I am just not tech savvy. I have the great eye and I have some amusing clients. But like building a website isn't my jam, Then I'd recommend squarespace then, Of course, WordPress is a great option for you if you ah tech savvy and know what to do with it or have a great thing like be rebuilder to be or something like that. But I usually recommend show it especially for photographers. No Wicks, no Weebly.

spk_0:   21:48
Yeah, I was gonna say That's so great. I have a lot of website experience and they're not all great. I went from WordPress, Thio Wicks because I was working for a company at the time and they were just handing them out for super cheap. And I was like, Oh, yeah, let's do it. They're beautiful. Little did I know they're just not functional on the back end. And so finally I found my way over to show it, and I will tell you I'm never looking back. It would take a lot like it would take a brand new platform to common, be 10 times better, but I think show is amazing, and I absolutely love all the different features that you can have on it. And so I will forever be a show it girl on. Yeah, And for those of you that just want to see what it looks like, I know Britney has tons of examples, but you can also head over to my website, which is just Brooke jefferson dot com. Just check it out. Look at that features. It is custom. I did hire somebody to do it. Um, so good luck copying the line, and please don't call it, but I totally up for, you know, inspiration. And speaking of this is kind of off the wall question. But I'm just curious. When you have people tell you, you know, or give you inspiration for their own website, do you recommend that they go to other websites? Or do you have I mean, like, how do you do that without people just copying ideas?

spk_1:   23:13
Yeah, what I do with my clients, Usually when I do a web site, we usually start from the brand up because your brand your messaging affects all of your website. So when I asked them to give me specific inspiration, I will have them send me three competitors sites. So I went to see in their area who they're actually going to be competing with. Then I have them send me three websites of brands. They're like, Oh my God, this is my jam. I absolutely adore this, and I haven't tell me why. So I never look at their inspiration and say whom I really liked. The design of this I'm looking more at What did they like about this? What was it that if they're like, Oh my God, this white space is amazing. So we definitely take inspiration from the specific things they like, but never, ever, ever the specific designs of a sight.

spk_0:   24:13
Okay, I like that a lot because when I am linking to someone's website, it is typically not like, Hey, I love everything about this. Copy it. Let's use it. It's typically I'm saying, I really like the way that they're blonde post show up here. I would like something similar to this or I really am loving again the white space A lot of times. That's what captures my attention. Ah, lot of a lot of white space that draws that I end to what you're wanting them to look at now for me. You're not gonna go to my site and find the color white, because that's not me, But the whole idea, you will find a solid color of where

spk_1:   24:49
the one I get in. Okay.

spk_0:   24:50
Yes, I get this is there we go. Um, yeah. And so I'm looking at things like, uh, and I realized that some things are not original, like there's only so many ways you could do a menu, you know what I mean? And so you just have thio find the parts of a website that inspire you, tell your designer or design it yourself, just like she said. There's also templates on every platform. So if you don't want to take our advice on a platform and go do it yourself, then you can definitely, you know, purchase the template, and they just, you know, plug and play as much as it'll let you. But yeah, these were these were great tips because I just I want people to know, like, don't just rip off a design. I really dig in. Why do you like that so much? Like, why does that capture your attention? What about it. Make notes and then try to trends like that wind designing your own website or when outsourcing the design of your website. So that's super awesome. Super great tip there. I really like your process to It's good from that. E

spk_1:   25:54
have to say so myself.

spk_0:   25:56
I love it All right. Well, where can my listeners connect with you on social media? Where can they find you on the World Wide Web?

spk_1:   26:05
Yeah, you can visit me at sage and drink dot com. And like I said, I have those brand questioners and also target audience questioners that you can grab and those air ones that I use with my branding clients. It's the exact same thing that I use with them so you can get that. Use it to your benefit, um, and use it when you're thinking of those must haves on your website. You'll get so much information from those. I also have a Facebook group called The Nurtured Circle, and I do brand yourself challenges there. We talked about things like Web sites a couple months ago. I did a whole week of websites where we just talked about websites the entire week, and I get out a new tip and what to do with it every single day. So the nurtured circle unfazed fudge and sage and strength dot com.

spk_0:   26:53
I love it. Thank you s so much. I'm obsessed with Facebook. Groups of people have not figured that out. In fact, I spent the weekend leaving groups because I just found myself joining them. You know, much from listening to a podcast. They mentioned it one time. Unlike let me check this out, and then it ends up being really great that you, but not for me. And so I had to do a nice little spring cleaning and get out of a lot of those grips. But yours I will be entering. Now that I have, you know, let myself out of 50 groups, I quote, I will add one to my

spk_1:   27:28
Well, we would be glad to have you.

spk_0:   27:30
I love it. Awesome. Well, thank you again So much for your time and your expertise and being on my podcast. We so appreciate it. And I hope people will reach out to you, maybe show you a tip that they know that was their favorite. Or we would love if you guys would screen shot this to shared on Facebook shirt on instagram tag us and we would love to answer any more website or braiding questions that you have. So thank you so much. Britney, Thank

spk_1:   27:58
you for having me.