How good does your website need to be?
So, after going through everything you need to make your email signature pop last week, which included adding a link to your website, this week we’re going to talk about how good your website needs to be.
So let’s get into it!
Understanding what journalists are looking for will help
Firstly, let’s explore why journalists are looking at your website. The answer is pretty simple, really - they want to find out more about who you are, what you do and how qualified you are to be an expert on the topic you’re pitching. That’s it. So as long as you have clear links to these topics, you’ll be golden.
It needs an ‘About Me’ section
I’m not going to go into what your ‘About Me’ section needs to include, because I already covered that in this newsletter a few months ago, so you can read all about that there. But this is the fundamental thing, really. Your website needs to include this, and it needs to be easy to find because it’s likely where a journalist will head first.
It should include a ‘Services/ Products’ section
Essentially, somewhere people can read about what you offer to clients and customers. This could be a simple explainer page or links to other pages with more details, but it should make clear how people can work with or buy from you.
The type of website should depend on what you offer
If you have several career strands, it should be a website personal to you - one that includes your name and explains clearly all the different aspects of what you do. This is ideal for people who perhaps run consultancies, sell products and digital courses but are speakers too, for example. In fact, this is exactly the kind of website I have for myself at www.biancabarratt.com (which you can take a look at if you need a concrete example). On that note, if you can secure your name as a domain name, that’s even better - having a succinct, clean website name gives off a professional, slick air to journalists.
If, however, your whole business is selling one type of product, just having an ‘About the Founder’ section on your online shop is sufficient enough.
It should include any press, podcast, or speaking events you’ve secured
If you’ve already had some success in this area, include a section (or at least a banner at the bottom of your online shop) where this is flagged. This is often called a ‘Press’ section or ‘As Featured In’ banner and is essentially where you can showcase any public attention your work has already had. This is also a great place to include gallery showings or any books or research papers you’ve published or been featured in.
It should be easy to follow
Journalists don’t want to follow the link you’ve sent to them and find a payment page for a course you’re selling, a broken link or a website that’s in such disarray there’s no way for them to glean more information about you. There has been many a time I’ve gone to find out more about a possible feature source only to find that they don’t have any explainer pages at all. It doesn’t need to be a super costly site designed for you by a web developer - as long as it’s clean and easy to follow, they’ll be happy.
It should be in line with your branding
This is something I’m sure you know already but let’s reiterate anyway. Last but not least, your website should show consistent branding with your social media and with your business. This gives the impression that your messaging is coherent across all platforms and will assure the journalist that your business and expertise are coherent, too.
