Every website has a home page- but does yours welcome people in, or shut people out?
The art of making someone feel welcome at a party is skill, for sure. We’ve all been to parties where the ambience is a little frosty, or awkward. People chat idly for a little while, drink your sparkling water, and leave.
You don’t want that happening on your website.
So, what do you put your home page?
Time to make your home page truly welcoming.
Do you say this at the top of your home page? “Welcome to XYZ, Inc.”
You call it ‘welcoming them in.’ I call it ‘the Kiss of Death.’ Your visitor doesn’t call it anything- she simply clicks away.
Like many people, you’ve probably agonized over how to start the home page of your website. What will really catch their attention, without being full of hype or manipulation?
When you first walk into a party, what do you do?
My wife and I had the pleasure of going to a friends’ party recently. Now, I’m not a big party person, but I do like hanging out with interesting people and eating good food.
The party was already in full swing when we got there. I could hear music and voices as I approached the door. Knowing our friends, anyone and everyone could be there- they know so many different people from so many different walks of life.
I have to admit I felt ever so slightly apprehensive. Was I going to know people there? Was it going to be easy to make a connection with people I didn’t know?
The first thing I did, unconsciously, was to start to look for people I either knew, or thought I could feel comfortable with. I realized that until that moment when I saw someone I knew, which happened immediately, I was a little nervous and holding my breath. When I saw our friends, I could breath again, settle in and enjoy the party.
It takes a LOT of gumption to crash a party.
Although I can be an extrovert, it’s a pretty rare moment when I’m comfortable in a place where I don’t know ANYONE.
When someone comes to your website, the first thing they are looking for, unconsciously, is whether they belong there. They are asking, ‘Do you know who I am? Am I going to be comfortable here?’
Your job is to make them feel welcome. And, saying ‘Welcome to my website,’ in bold at the top of your home page just doesn’t do it. Why not?
Have you ever seen someone looking your way, and asking you a question: “Want to come to a party?”, and then you answered them… only to realize they were talking to someone behind you. How foolish did you feel?
Your visitors have experienced that also- yuck! So, simply saying ‘welcome’ doesn’t let them know you are talking to them. They let the ‘welcome’ slide right over them.
The other big mistake with visitors? The Third Degree
Some people take a stab at creating empathy by asking questions. Have you ever seen a website, or flyer, that starts out like this:
“Are you struggling with a crying baby?
Are you exhausted from not enough sleep?
Do you want more from life than round-the-clock baby care?”
This is what I call the “Third Degree Syndrome” as used in marketing. Someone walks into your website, and before they can even take a breath- BAM- you shine a bright light in their face and start barking questions at them: “Where were you on the night of April 12? Did you kill Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick?”
Your visitor’s instant reaction: “Ahhh! I don’t know! It wasn’t me! (I’m getting out of here.)”
So if a big welcome doesn’t work, and the Third Degree doesn’t work, what does do it? How do you help a new visitor feel welcome, so they take off their coat, and stay awhile?
Keys to Welcoming Strangers to Your Home
• Instead of questions, or words of welcome, they need empathy.
Think of who your business serves, and what problem they are facing before they get help from you. Then, describe it in a few clear sentences.
“Is caring for your baby a far cry from what you expected?”
“As a new parent, all the advice in the world won’t prepare you for the helpless confusion you may feel as you try to understand your baby’s needs.”
“As you struggle to satisfy those needs, you may be operating on limited or no sleep, arguing with your spouse, or irritable with your other children. This can make it even more difficult to understand why your baby behaves in unexpected ways.”
A headline and three sentences is all it takes, and if you are a parent with a baby, I bet you are going to feel welcome and comfortable.
(This example, and the two below, are from a website someone in my marketing class developed: www.whatyourbabyknows.com )
• What are they looking for?
This has to be in their own words. What, in their own words, are your clients looking for? What kind of results and outcomes do they need?
On the home page, don’t tell them how to do it. Don’t give them any big expositions or much detail. Just give them reassurance that they can get what they want. When we showed up at our friends’ party, I wasn’t informed as to how the food was made, or what food was there. I was just told, ‘Come on in- we’ve great some great food here.’
That was enough for me. I could stop worrying about dinner, and relax into the party.
Example:
“But you want to KNOW – and CAN KNOW, not guess – what your baby needs.”
On the home page, that’s enough.
• The way in.
Many websites leave you hanging. If they’ve managed to engage you at all, you’ve read down to the bottom of the page, and the original navigation bar has scrolled out of sight, and… bam! They leave you at a dead-end.
When someone comes into your home, there aren’t a dozen doors out of your entrance-way- maybe there’s one or two. In our home you can either go to the left into the living room, or straight ahead into the dining room. Once you are in those rooms, there are other choices. But initially, only two.
At the bottom of the home page, suggest where you want them to go next.
Example:
“Click here(link) for my complimentary guide, “When Your Baby Cries: How To Support Yourself and Your Baby”
Not sure I can help your particular situation? Click here(link) to find out more.”
Empathy. Reassurance. The way in. With these three you have some of the most elemental parts of an effective home page, that leads people where you want them to go, because they want to go there.
And you’ve done it without hype, and without manipulation. Just caring, clarity, and love.
[audio:http://heartofbusiness.com/podcasts/homepage.mp3]
Option or right-click to download.
Time to get your home page written, right?
39 Responses
Thanks Mark,
I’ve just discovered your site and wisdom and am thrilled. Realized I was using the 3rd degree, ouch…that’s not my intention! I’m rewriting the home page now, thanks to your great advice. I also greatly appreciate your knack for creating wonderful visual images with your teachings, thank you.
.-= John´s last blog ..Thought resistance is futile =-.
@John- Right on! I’m glad that you’re thrilled. This stuff totally thrills me, so it feels good to resonate like that.
And, I love the work you are doing. I just took a peek at your website- and if that’s your re-written home page, it rocks. I think you’re dead-on.
The empathy thing is going to be especially important for your clients, who, as you already explained, don’t need to be yelled at any more.
I remember, back in the 90’s, reading a book on men and porn. There was an essay in there that really moved me- it was about how porn wasn’t about objectification- it was a desperate crying out to be really seen and witnessed- and feeling too scared to risk that. The fantasy of porn, he wrote, was more about fantastizing someone who would accept him completely, without judgment.
Just to say I’m rooting for you to be far-out successful.
Mark – I am just now finding about the incredible work you do. What’s supposed to go on my home page . . . WOW! I’m going to be rethinking everything. I have way too many doors. Thanks for doing what you do! Hazel
You’re so welcome, Hazel. Glad you dropped by. 🙂
Thanks Mark and for your kind words and feedback on the site, you really caught my intention. And the essay about porn you referred to is in line with what I teach.
BTW, I’m also on day 2 of the 14 day challenge and was blown away by the Jewel exercise. We will be working together.
Namaste,
John
.-= John´s last blog ..Crash your self-pity parties =-.
@John- Woo-hoo! And thanks for connecting on Twitter, too. Glad you’re in the world.
Mark, I just subscribed to your website today and wanted to tell you that I am in love with it!!
I have much to reflect on here, but I just wanted to say how refreshing it is to know that you’re out there.
Best wishes
Christine
Mark,
I love this!
The laundry list of questions has been one of my pet peeves and something I urge my clients away from as they develop and express their message.
The way you expressed it here was perfect. I describe it as making your reader work a little too hard.
Isabel
Exactly, Isabel- why make anyone work that hard? 🙂
Beautifully told, Mark! You led me {through my new subscription to your e-newsletter} to this post at exactly the right time. I’m launching my new site in about three weeks and need to write just a bit of static copy for my content-driven landing page. You helped me answer the question I didn’t know I was struggling with: “How much to tell at first glance?”
Now it seems so simple. When you invite a guest in, the last thing you want to do is confuse them, overwhelm them, or try too hard to impress them. You want to make them comfortable and make them feel glad they’re here. I appreciate you. Thanks.
You are so welcome- I’m grateful that it’s brought some ease into your writing. It sure did for me. 🙂
Hi Mark
I’ve just reconnected with you after unsubscribing from everything for a while to see what comes into the space (after a session with Corrina Gordon Barnes)
Just read this blog piece and listened to the cast … and I get it. Welcome and feeling ‘at home’ are sooo important – maybe it’s what I need to shift my site to reflect more! Something around how to be a strong, full self-expression individual AND be deeply connected with a loving and supportive community and ‘home’.
And, before I forget – I LOVE the sea foam picture banner on your site here – oh I so love that feeling of the foam gently lapping my feet and pulling the sand between my toes. YES!
Home …
.-= Annie’s lastest post: Affection Creates Positive Effect =-.
@Annie- Can I tell you how happy I am that you unsubbed from everything to clear your space? And honored of course that you came back to us.
I’m glad this article helped so much- and thanks for your kind words about the photo- we love it, too. 🙂
You’re welcome Mark 🙂
.-= Annie’s lastest post: Affection Creates Positive Effect =-.
Mark!
thank goddess I found you again. i came across your website like a month ago and then lost it in the void. then magically, you showed up again today with just a few clicks.
loved this post. i am in serious need of re-writing my home page even though i just “birthed” it over the last 4 months, and with much effort and labor!
anyway, yes and yes to the empathy and reassurance. back to the drawing board.
many thanks,
Maira
Oh goody! That psychic-magical-lost-person-finder WordPress widget I installed last week is finally working! 😉
Glad we could be of service- have fun with your home page!
I am enjoying what I am finding here so much. Thanks for your heart-centered twist on how to put our best foot forward (as a good host or hostess does) on our websites. Mine, too, is new but I am always the pilgrim and find your approach and attitude so refreshing!
Right on, Monica. Glad it’s helpful!
Hi! I’m a little late to this party, being a new subscriber. A friend forwarded your site to me last night, after hours of pouring over less-than-soulful marketing blogs and books. And this post showed up in my inbox following a big burst of brainstorming about my site, and drawing out a new version of the homepage. So far, the synchronicities are lovely and the content inspiring! One comment: my business is that of selling essentially a ‘luxury product’. It satisfies an identity need, but there is no clear problem-solving solution I offer to my visitors. I find it challenging when trying to follow the advice of many marketing mentors who primarily focus on problem-solving physical or informational products, such as in your example. I’d very much appreciate examples of less-than-dire-need-solving products, or specific advice about fun/luxury-type products. Thank you, and I look forward to reading much more!
Hi Leslie- thank you for your kind words. And yes, “problem” is usually interpreted to be “dire-need.” But I define “problem” more broadly- problem is anything you want to do that you can’t solve on your own. Say a millionaire who can’t decide what yacht to buy. Or someone who loves the beauty of the sea and lives far inland- and a faux painter could recreate a seascape for them in their living room.
Generally if you do for the essential qualities like Love, Beauty, Wisdom, Compassion, Strength, etc- you can connect with the needs and wants around your luxury item. Does that help?
Thank you for a great article Mark! I just re-wrote my home page following your guidelines. Let’s see what happens! 🙂
I was told several times that I need to have a “Buy Now” button on my homepage or it’s a real wasted opportunity to have people ‘take action’ immediately. That seems to counter what you are saying about welcoming people in without overwhelming them. What do you think?
Sophie- it depends on your business. If you have a product that is position and priced to be an impulse buy- say under $10 or $20 and is food or something instantly consumable, a buy now button may make sense. Otherwise, I think the equivalent is the “subscribe now” button. You definitely want some kind of call to action, for sure. And good luck with the home page!
Thank you Mark.
Thanks so much for this great blog post. I definitely needed these words of wisdom!
You are so welcome, Monick. 🙂
Thanks Mark for such a great article relating to websites, I’m in the progress of making a few site for curtain niches and i been focusing on pictures in content i found helps out a lot. bookmarked your website.
Thanks for the article,
Tony.
Glad it was helpful, Tony. You are so welcome. Good luck on your niche sites.
I’ve been looking for a way to add more empathy to my information pages and your blog post has given me “permission” to do. I put the word “permission” in parentheses because I know I don’t need to ask anyone to be myself and to do things my own way, but it’s great knowing that I have validation.
I’ve started my pages with the heat seeking questions (that’s what marketers call the third degree), but my pages tended to evolve into scaring the person into taking action. I don’t want fear cluttering up my funnel because I live my life in a peaceful way and I’d like to continue to attract peaceful clients.
So thanks Mark for challenging me to write my pages a little bit differently so I attract using empathy and not fear.
Leesa- I’m honored to be of service to you- so grateful it helped.
This is so timely. I’ve agonized over my sites for 2 years and changed them a dozen times..when this comes from you, it’s like, ‘Well of course it should be like that!’
Bless you again and again.
Jenni P
Hi Mark! I’ve been a subscriber for about a month, and I love the content! I just put up a website about a month ago, and with a rather “different” business (heart-centered transcription), trying to figure out what to put on my webpage was (and still is) a challenge. These tips will definitely help me redo my homepage on my site. Thank you so much for the great info!
I foudn this really helpful as I’m not happy with my homepage but didn’t know quite why – now I know and will re-write with the intention of being more open.
thank you
Thanks for this thought-provoking home page advice, Mark.
As a visual artist who can definitely invite with visual images to create
positive impact, I am still a little stumped here on what I can do with words to help a potential customer solve a “problem.” I wonder how you would address this?
Hi Maria- art definitely solves problems! Look into what kind of experience people have with your art, and what that experience gives them/changes about their lives. Sometimes people are struggling with a lack of beauty or inspiration, or needing refuge or comfort, or other critical qualities that artwork can provide.
thanks so much for these tips. I have improved my homepage after reading this and will keep improving it over time
Mark, thank you so much for this article. Every time I need to rewrite my home page or a home page for a new product or service, I come back to it, and every time it helps me to calm my anxiety and relax into empathy with my clients.
Elinor- so glad to hear that. And thanks for letting me know!
So I got a little confused when you said to not ask questions, but then you started with a question hahah. But I’m beginning to see what you mean. I’m going to remove “Welcome” right away and reevaluate my home page.
Hi Williesha- Hahha! It’s not that you don’t ask questions, it’s that the series of three questions right at someone’s tender spot isn’t so helpful. 🙂