[0:00] I think the internet has been around long enough for everyone to understand
[0:03] that if you want to have a profitable business, you need to have a website. But there's a good, better, best when it comes to websites and what they can actually do for your business. A few weeks ago, I somehow found myself auditing like a hundred brand and website designer websites just for my own information. And I want to share those takeaways with you. You're listening to Aesthetically speaking. On this podcast, we're talking about all things branding, logos, colors, fonts, and the strategy behind it all. It seems like these days it's easier than ever to build an audience, but harder than ever to stand out online. My name is Rebecca and I'm a brand strategist and designer. Together, we're going to talk about how to bring your brand to life.
[0:52] So a few weeks ago, I was scrolling through Facebook and in one of my business Facebook groups. You know the kind. It's the one that has like 50,000 people and it's for women entrepreneurs and there's tons of posts and questions all the time. And I do get a lot of value actually from Facebook groups like these. I like to network with people. I like to see what people are doing. I've been able to share my offers, to find links to things that are useful to me. So I like being a part of these groups, but I recognize that sometimes there are just so many people there that it's hard to find anything because there's just so many promos and questions and links and photos and memes and all those kinds of things. But on this particular day, I was on Facebook and in one of these groups, somebody said, hey, I'm hoping to rebrand my business. Do you know somebody who could help me? Let me know. Something like that, right? And that's like the golden question for a brand designer, right? Oh my gosh, somebody wants me to rebrand their business.
[1:53] And so within minutes, I'm not kidding, probably 30 minutes, there were almost a hundred comments from brand and website designers of all shapes and sizes saying, this is exactly what I do. I would love to work with you. Here's my link. Here's my website. And I have sometimes put my own website on posts like this, commented it. I don't do it all the time, I try to be picky about who I work with. I'm not desperate for clients. And so I'll do a little bit of research and see like, oh, is this something that I would really like to do? Is this something that's relevant to me? So I have done it before. I'm not saying it's a bad strategy.
[2:36] It's not my go-to strategy, right? But out of curiosity, I decided to look through the comments and I don't know what I was hoping to find, but I started just clicking on the links, every single one of them. And I kid you not, I probably had 75 tabs open on my computer with all of these different links to different websites, all for people doing the same thing, quote unquote, that I do. Okay. They do branding and they do websites. They design stuff. They make stuff look good. They work with businesses. They work with women entrepreneurs, right? Lots of similarities.
[3:09] And as I was going through these websites, every single website fell into one of these three categories. And I want to talk about these three categories because I think they are universal. I don't think it's unique to design companies. I think that they apply across the board and you really don't want to be in any of these categories. You want to be in your own category. So I'm going to talk through these. The first category was websites with problems.
[3:37] And this is like the bare minimum for a website. It should be usable, functional. It should have the correct name, the correct title. It should be free of errors. That's a very low bar. And I was astounded how many websites did not meet that standard. And these are people who sell website design, right? That's the worst part of this. But this applies to all businesses. So I would go to some of these websites and some of them had like a weird little piece of code at the top. Like the system that they were using was out of date or they had put a piece of code somewhere there was something embedded wrong. Hey, I actually see that a lot. If your website is on show it, I think there's some kind of significant coding issues with show it. I still love the platform, but I do see that a lot. I also saw a lot of buttons and links that didn't go anywhere. I would click on it and it wouldn't take me anywhere. Totally not functioning. Then there was a lot of filler text or, you know, hi, my name is, insert your name here. And this happens a lot if you buy a website template, because the template will put in filler text. It's typically, they call it lorem ipsum. It's like fake Latin text to show you what it will look like when you have your own paragraph in there. And so you're supposed to change it.
[4:55] If you don't, then it has this like, it just is like gobbledygook on the website. Again, I understand you bought a template, you have to customize it, totally fine. But like, why would you leave a link to your website when that's what it looks like? Then there were the other kind of thing that I saw on these websites with problems was they would have like horrible design issues, like things overlapping, text not being readable.
[5:20] Blurry, small pictures, icons that didn't match the subject was. Again, I just thought these are people who are offering website design. And I would never hire somebody to design my website if they didn't have an amazing website. And I know that that's unique to my industry, but I think it applies to everyone. I think you would be surprised how elevated your website could be if you just made sure it was free of errors. Like make sure that all the links go to where they're supposed to go. Make sure there's no typos. Make sure that anywhere that is supposed to be your name, it's actually your name and your picture and not somebody else's. That's the lowest bar. But there are a lot of websites and a lot of entrepreneurs who are not meeting that bar. The second category, and this was the largest category of businesses that I looked at, They had a functional website. I would classify their brands and websites as fine. Nothing wrong with them per se. And a lot of times, you know, they would have a couple samples of their work, a short explanation of what they do. And that was basically it. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing super compelling.
[6:35] And these websites, it was like, I don't even remember what their name was. Like there was nothing about it that stood out to me. They were just super basic. And I think that there's a place for a super basic website, especially if you are using social media as your primary marketing tool. So I don't want to diss on those businesses too much. But again, when you are actively looking for clients, I think you need a place where you can say, this is where you can find out everything about me. This is my hub. This is my go-to. and have it be well-designed, have it be easy to navigate, and have thorough information there. I was surprised how many people just had a very short paragraph about who they are. And I'm like, you want somebody to work with you, right? Tell them more. Tell them who you are in a deeper way. Show them some of your personality. Show them some of your perspectives. Nevertheless, that was the majority of the websites that I saw.
[7:36] They were fine, nothing to write home about. Then we have the third category. So this is kind of a good, better, best here. Everyone falls into one of these. There were a few websites that were beautifully designed, beautifully branded. They had great messaging. They had great copy. They had beautiful photos. But, and this is the big, big but, they were all exactly the same as one another. I cannot tell you how many of these websites I looked at that all said some variation of this crafting timeless luxury brands for fearless female entrepreneurs how many times have you seen something like that they all said that thoughtful purpose-driven strategic timeless.
[8:27] Luxurious stand out I'll help your business stand out they were beautiful they were stunning but they were all exactly the same even in the branding even in the visuals it was a lot of black and white with these serif fonts and sometimes some of the words would be in italics and they have kind of this editorial moody look every single website and they all said the same thing and it's like okay how are your websites more thoughtful and timeless than this girl's thoughtful and timeless websites like that is no longer a differentiator of your business and not to toot my own horn, but if you go to my website, my website looks different than everyone else's. It's professionally designed, of course, because I'm obsessive. It's free of errors and it says something. It says something unique. I am the only person who is talking about the connection between your brand and your business development and your personal development. And I'm saying that clearly on my website. So if you go to my site, if you consume my content, it's not just, oh wow, this looks really good. This looks really professional. This is like catchy, alliterative copywriting. No, it's like, this is actually saying something unique. And I have been saying this for a long, long time, right? If you don't know what makes your business unique, how the heck do you expect your ideal clients to know?
[9:53] Your ideal clients are going to explain it differently than you would. I doubt my ideal clients are out there saying, I just want to work with a brand strategist who will help me develop myself as I develop my brand. No, but they are saying, I want my brand to feel like a natural extension of me.
[10:11] I want it to be an accurate representation of who I really am, but I also want it to work for my business. They come to my website and that's what I'm saying. So I want you to be really honest with yourself and think, my website and my brand, which of these categories does it fall into? Is it basically dysfunctional? Instead of sharing a link to my website on a Facebook group, I should put up a coming soon page, right?
[10:38] Or is it functional and fine? but nothing special? Or have I put a lot of effort into creating a great brand that says something, but it's not my message? And I know how hard it is to figure this out on your own. It's one thing to share your expertise, to talk about the things that you're good at, to say, this is your problem and this is how you solve it. It is another thing to actually take your life and your ideas and make them your core message in a way that is authentic to you and also really inspires your ideal clients. And that's why I do what I do. That's why I have this personal process. Because I believe that when I can go deep with my clients, when I can really ask them like, what do you really want? What kind of business do you really want to have? I can help them create a better brand and a brand that feels easy for them to use Because it's so natural but also pushes them a little bit. I've said this before I really want your brand to feel like it's too big I want you to feel like you are stepping into a pair of shoes that are a little intimidating But you're going to grow into them and I can only do that When I get really personal with my clients.
[11:59] And it becomes this beautiful synergistic experience where your brand is beautiful and vibey and recognizable, but it's also completely authentic to you. And then your authenticity becomes your marketing strategy. And I don't say that lightly. I'm not like, oh, just be yourself and that's your marketing. I really truly believe that if you do the work of figuring out what you're really all about and why your work matters to you and to your ideal clients,
[12:30] that message will become so powerful and you'll be able to share it so naturally. So that is my lesson for today. Make sure that you are free from errors, that you're aiming for more than just fine and that you really know what makes you unique and that you can articulate it verbally and you can show it visually. And when you can do that, I promise, clients will start coming to you. You will have the confidence to share your life and share your message in a way that feels really good and your business and yourself will grow. Can't wait to talk to you guys more about this on Instagram and I'll talk to you soon. Bye. We hope you enjoyed listening to Aesthetically Speaking. If you want to support the podcast, please leave us a nice review or connect with us on Instagram at Rebecca Peterson Studio.
[13:21] Music.
