I am trying to write the homepage copy for the English version of my new Website, and I’m grappling with a serious case of writer’s block.
Maybe I am putting too much pressure on myself to write something so brilliant and irresistible that every single potential client that stumbles upon my homepage will magically be converted into decades of signed translation contracts worth millions…When you sit down and really think about it, maybe it isn’t really that difficult. Or is it?
Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest. Homepage real estate is scarce. Which means you have to painstakingly select each word and distill your message down to its essence (hence the writer’s block). And yet, a homepage has to accomplish a number of vital tasks if it is to successfully channel visitors to you and your services (that’s when those signed contracts and megabucks start flowing in, right?).
- First, it has to grab readers’ attention long enough to keep them from leaving your website (with a headline that expresses your passion and personality, is catchy and clever — yet descriptive, straightforward and not too sales-y sounding…hmm).
- It also has to clearly state what you do (but in a highly differentiating way).
- It needs to point out what benefits clients will get from your services (using language that resonates with your potential clients and not necessarily the language you would naturally use to talk about what you do).
- It should direct visitors on a clear a pathway as possible to the information they are seeking or to answers to their questions. (Who do I call? How much does it cost? Where are they located?)
- And it must establish your credibility (by listing a physical address and phone number, including a photo of a real person, linking to professional memberships, or highlighting customer testimonials).
For now, my homepage is a blank slate. But watch this space for updates (and ideas for your homepage…if I manage to get over my writer’s block, that is!).
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Sara,
It sounds to me like you are putting too much pressure on yourself to publish a faultless text. I do the same – I’m seldom happy with what I write. Maybe you have writer’s block because you are so overwhelmed by the task in front of you? I would suggest that you break it down into small, bite-sized chunks, such as:
Day 1: jot down in bullet points what you want your home page to convey e.g. who you are, what you do, your mission statement, a dry, purely professional site vs a more personalised site etc. Then put your pen and paper away and go and do something else.
Day 2: find a couple of homepages that impress you. Identify what it is you like: the informative style, the persuasive style, the personalised approach, the impressive list of references and credentials? It could be anything and that is what will define your on-line persona. Once you have made your notes on why you like certain sites, put them away and forget about it.
Day 3: Let your pen loose on paper (or fingers on the keyboard, whichever you prefer!) Write as much as you can about your company, why it is good, why clients should pick you. Write, write and write. Then go and do something else.
Day 4: Read over what you wrote yesterday. Are there any nice phrases that hit the mark? Copy and paste them into a new document. You can use them as the framework for building your text around…
I could go on but my comment will end up being longer than your post
I have days when I suffer from writer’s block, and I use methods like these to get past it. If all else fails, write about a completely different subject just to get your creative juices flowing. Once you take the pressure off yourself, the words will pour out onto the screen….
Emma,
Great ideas! I am (sort of) doing that already — but still avoiding the actual writing part, ha ha — by working on a grid where I have listed all of the possible visitors to my website (translation agencies, communication agencies, direct clients, other translators seeking work, contacts who have heard of me elsewhere but want to “check me out”) on the vertical axis and all of their potential concerns, information they may be seeking, tasks they would like to complete, questions they would like answered, etc.) on the horizontal axis. The goal would then be to address their concerns on the homepage, either by featuring the information, or very clearly pointing out the pathway to that information elsewhere on the site.
Right now, the big thing that pops out on my grid is rates. To be realistic, it’s what most people want to know first. But since every project is so different, I prefer not to publish standard rates. That’s right, I prefer not to publish…So I am making the shift right now from what little ole’ me prefers, and what visitors are really looking for. I have a couple of potentially good ideas about how to address rates, but that will be the subject of another post, another day….
You notice how I cleverly steered the conversation off topic…as my homepage continues to sit there staring blankly back at the world…
See, I think you went too far on the day 1 task
) I’m impressed by your market analysis grid, but I think by having it, you are putting too much pressure on yourself to make each sentence you write cater for every possible need of every potential client that may come across your site. As great as it would be if this were possible, I just don’t think it is realistic. You run the risk of sounding generalist, a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, and I don’t think that is in keeping with who you are.
I personally think that by narrowing down your potential client reach, you will win more clients than if you try to cater for every potential client? Why? Because if I needed a translation in waste management, I would pick a translator that specialised solely in this field, rather than a translator who had that in his/her list of specialisations. Ok, the translator that specialises solely in waste management has eliminated 99% of possible clients from the outset, but if you work in the business, imagine your joy at finding a specialist who *only* does what you do, all day every day. The terminology would be accurate, the translations would be excellent…. If you cared about your business you’d probably get out your credit card out on the spot…. (hence a website that converts…. our mutual goal!)
Check out this site: http://www.printtranslations.com/ I find it inspiring that Abigail has chosen to focus purely on environmental translation to the exclusion of everything else. The advice above is advice I have given myself too. I am in the same position as you, trying to find my focus, find my voice and market my services so that I drive my business in the direction that I want it to go. My long-term aim is to go in Abigail’s direction, by publishing a site as a highly specialised translator and using her tactic of focusing on very few clients, but excelling in any business I bring in.
I’ve gone way off-topic here haven’t I? But actually, what I have to say about rates links in with what I have written above. I think clients who see translation as a commodity, don’t understand the quality issues at stake and are interested in negotiating your prices down are the clients who will want to see your rates posted on your website. Clients who are interested in quality and a highly professional service are more interested in what you can offer them than how much of a hole you will burn in their pocket. No other profession seems to exhibit their rates in the lamentable fashion that we translators do. You won’t find rates sheets on websites such as Latham & Watkins, or Ernst & Young, so why should we feel impelled to post our rates?
Ah, you’ve set me off on one of the endless debates I have with myself! We really should get in touch because we seem to have a lot in common! My website is only half-baked because I am grappling with the same problems as you! Perfectionism got the better of me and I have put off the task of finishing my website indefinitely!
Emma,
Thanks for the comments and the link – which I will take a closer look at this weekend! I don’t want to cater to everyone, of course. But what I do want to do is for everyone to find the information they are looking for quickly. For instance, a generalist translation agency (not in my marketing target) should understand fairly easily that I’m not their “man”. And a Chinese translator looking for work should also come away from the site knowing that it makes no sense to send me a CV. Likewise, a corporate marketer or a project manager at a comm agency frustrated with literal translations that do not convey their marketing messages should immediately “get” that I am the person they’ve been looking for!
As for specialization, I could not agree with you more. The trouble for people like us is that “rédactionnel” is very hard to sell. It is a word that does not resonate with clients (even marcomm professionals) so we need to find other words that do resonate. So far on my French site, I have come up with “pour vos projets de communication stratégiques”. That will probably evolve! A small business website is never quite finished, IMO. We are always honing our positioning, and as we listen to our clients, getting increasingly in touch with what resonates with them *in their words*.