Today, I’m working on my consulting website. It’s something that I’ve neglected for a while now, as is often the case when someone is blessed with a full stable of clients to care for. Yesterday I spent most of my day working on the Echelon Front Case Study Document design, completing 3 additional spreads that I’ll share later. I also recently completed a Product Ladder for Fix My Website. This Product Ladder lists out the services that I will offer now, and in the future. It also lists my revised marketing plan. Tasks I will start to work on now, and – you guessed it – in the future. So I’m ready to begin a homepage overhaul, and the first thing I need to do is figure out what information my potential clients will be most interested in.

This means that all of the text on this page will focus on them, and what I can do for them, not ME.

My current website has a terrible hero section & headline:

I’m going to fix this first – before I do anything else.

The Lesson:

There is a magical formula that can help you create better headlines, better bullet points and better copy overall. That magical formula is to lay out the following:

Feature (what the product does) + Benefit (why it’s better that other similar products) + Meaning (what this means for YOU, the customer)

Example:

This toaster makes delicious toast using our secret heating element that is faster but never burns the bread, so you can enjoy delicious toast and take back your precious time every single morning!

I’m not in the market for a toaster, but if I were – that is the toaster I would buy even if it was a bit more expensive than the Toastmaster 9000 which features a 7-setting adjustment dial.

Are there other toasters with 7, 8, even 9 adjustment levels?

Absolutely.

Are there toasters that cost less?

Always.

But who else has a secret heating element guaranteed to give you back your time, with no risk to the integrity of your toast?!

Nobody.

$$$$$

So how does my headline look?

Awful. I have several (accurate) statements, but people don’t buy those – they buy the benefits a product or service delivers.

My headline does not explain what my services will do for the viewer.

I have a collection of services that help website owners generate more sales and cash, services that teach them skills to run a better business. I teach them how to grow without falling behind, and I sell peace of mind through ongoing consulting, training and updates.

That’s too much.

I need to workshop a new headline – and here is the process:

I have a folder where I collect (bookmark) great websites. When I come across a website that is really great (and I mean really great – not just “OK”) I’ll save it. I’m going to open every website in this folder (about 25) and inspect the hero section. I want to understand how it’s laid out, what they’re selling, and how they are pitching it.

Then, I will write a headline in the style of the website that I’m looking at, focused on one of the benefits that I offer my clients.

When this exercise is complete, I’ll have about 25 unique headlines. I’ll go back and compare them to the magical formula shown above, then select the most powerful, persuasive one.

Then I’ll move ahead.

This should be fun, because thankfully… I’m not selling toasters…

Need help developing headlines for your business? Let’s talk.

Have a great day – and get some work done!