Do your photos sell your business?

A picture is worth a thousand words.*

OK, I’m craving some cinnamon rolls as I sit here writing at dinner time. In marketing, emotions respond quickly to images. Likes, wants or needs driven by the viewers perception of products and services. If you have a product or service that highlights photos, I want to talk to you!

Don’t overwelm your audience with too much. Layout your images that highlight your business or projects simply. Headers, images and clickable buttons go hand in hand. Buttons that tell the reader what to do. Buy now. Pick up today. Call us. Get something at no cost. Free estimate. Free consultation. Keep in easy and safe for the reader to follow through. What is their hesitation? How can you ease their minds. Develop trust to make taking the next step easy.

Answer your customer’s questions as much as possible through unique photos!

* For an understanding of where this phrase originally came from, CLICK HERE.

The Staying Power of Websites

by Nancy Johnson | Website Trends

The creativity of social media

Hours spent scrolling! Social media posts are so entertaining. I’ve set myself limits on the phone to cut me off! And I’m a gramma of 3. I’m not in any target audience for what I watch. I dance like that in my dreams.

Love the creativity, singing, dancing, fashion and health tips, wisdom put out by financial institutions about what we should all know by 25 years! I follow a broad range of influencers!

So what about websites?

Clearly don’t give the adrenaline rush as social media. So why bother?

Websites have staying power. They don’t disappear down the unending social media page. They speak about who you are and what you offer the marketplace. And they offer great search opportunities through the pages but as importantly through posts and projects. The posts and projects pages have as much impact as the typical page.

Current trends in websites

1. The navigation at the top of the site

Keep it simple so as to not overwhelm. Gone are the days of putting as much information as possible at the top of the site hoping to capture the customer. It’s like overwhelming a person at a networking event. You need to take your time!

2. Large headlines

Readers will scroll down your website page looking for what is interesting. Make it easy for them to find where they have an interest.

3. Much white space

In combination with the large headlines, white space helps the reader relax and not overwhelm.

4. Provide a face for connection

Readers want to know who is behind this business. A picture tells them much of what they want to know.

5. Professional design

Make sure that typography, colors, and quality of images are all very pleasing to the eye. No typos. The website should look good on all types of screens.

Understanding Emotion in Decision Making

by Nancy Johnson | Website Strategy

“Sell the sizzle, not the steak” ~ Elmer Wheeler

“What’s Makes Me Say YES?”

Look at your business from your customer’s point of view, not yours!

That emotional component that compels your customer to buy. Guess what? We all buy for emotional reasons. And then we back up our decisions with logic. It’s simple psychology. We want our decisions to make sense to ourselves and others.

At the same time, we want to feel good! What feelings do we all want to experience?

Respect
Trust
Admiration
Hopeful
Confident
Healthy
Loved
Confidence
Pride

The Difference Between Features & Benefits

“Features tell, benefits sell!”

FEATURES

Think about the products or services you sell. Features are those surface statements that tell someone what you do. I create websites. You may cater food, sell cars, take photographs, sell children’s clothing… What someone asks you the question of what you do, it is likely your answer. I have a store and I sell shoes. I sell newspaper advertising to small businesses.

BENEFITS

For my business my feature is a service, creating websites. My benefit is for a small business owner to feel professional and be confident in their online presence in the eyes their clients or customers. My clients know that decisions are made based on what someone sees online. The last thing they want is to be embarrassed that their website does not measure up to their in-person presence and their professionalism. Their website needs to reflect the experience of visiting their business.

A Few Examples:

A wedding photographer takes pictures and sells them. The benefit is the customer’s need for sentimentality. They want the memories to live on even for generations.
A jewelry store sells customized rings and necklaces to a husband. The benefit is the husband’s desire for his wife to feel loved and to feel like a great husband.
An attorney focuses on estate planning. What the client wants is to have peace through the process (experience a caring professional) and trust that his wishes will be put into place and carried out.

Benefits include the following emotions: providing increased feelings of confidence, increases their sense of identity, fulfills a desire to stand out, provides a solution to a feeling of fear, or meets a need for independence.

A successful marketing strategy focuses on knowing the customer’s feelings and aligning the marketing strategy to those feelings. By taking the time to understand the “feelings” that your customers experience, you will be better able to connect them to what you sell.

Identifying 8 Characteristics of My Ideal Clients

by Nancy Johnson | Website Strategy

The best way to define ideal clients may be to sit down and think who they are solely from your experience.

No outside influence. No list of questions. No distractions. No trying to fit information into some defined format created by someone else.

When I first started my business, I fell into the same trap that most people do at the beginning. We are new and are anxious to start working. And in my case, there are many marketing services which I could provide.

My business changed when I decided to focus on one area. Websites.

The following is a list of descriptors that I put together for who my ideal clients are. At first, I fell into the same trap as most businesses saying yes I can do many things.

And many businesses provide a wide range of marketing services. But my experience taught me when I was taking on the wrong projects; I was not happy. And the outcome was not satisfying. And finally, much time was wasted. I experienced the “if you are selling to everyone, you are selling to no one” wanting to say yes to all.

My Ideal Clients

Serious about their reputation online
Successful in their chosen field
Often not tech-savvy or limited on time to devote to their website
Want their website to reflect what makes them stand out
Desire input into their website
High level of self-awareness and what is right for them
Understand the value of updating content regularly
Want value for the money they spend

How do you find your clients or customers?

The best way for me is to have a strong presence online. Connecting through my websites, blogging, email marketing, Google places, and social media work well. And I back that up with building relationships in my community through memberships in Chamber of Commerce groups, Rotary, and non-profits. Getting out of my office is also beneficial to my mental health!

My clients are like me. Passionate small business owners growing businesses. They are the same group that I coached in business planning and marketing for many years. All different industries but very similar needs. It is a benefit when you relate well to your clients or customers.

Market to the needs of your customers!

An Example of My Ideal Client

Great websites come together best with the availability of great content.

Jenny Chambers, owner of Down on the Farm Preschool and Child Care, had been in operation for many years, stood out in the childcare industry, had a depth of knowledge about their business and worked hard on developing written copy for their website. had great facilities along with images and testimonials of the families they have served.

Now My Questions to You?

Who do you want to hear from today? Whether you are business to business or business to consumer, how will you connect today? And how will they find out about your reputation and the work you do?

Develop an understanding of your customer and continue to delve deeper. Learn how to address their challenges and solve their problems. Make their lives better!

Nancy Johnson

Website Designer

Nancy loves working on all kinds of projects partnering with clients to create concise and creative websites that are easy to navigate and welcome users.

email: nancy@nancyjwebdesign.com
phone: (586) 817-9196

That’s You? Oh my!!!

by Nancy Johnson | Personal

“That’s YOU???

The eact words from my granddaughter, Joss, when flipping through a very old (falling apart) leather scrapbook from my grandparents. The scrapbook contains letters from my dad during his college years from the late 1930’s. There are also Western Union telegrams from his experience fighting in World War II.

Stuck in the pages were a few pictures of my younger self. The “Is that you followed quickly by…wait a minute…who is that?” Great fun as a child starts putting together family relationships. Learning grandparents weren’t born this way.

“So my dad is your son???” That’s really weird. And the questions start flowing directed by a little pointed finger going around the room connecting the generations and relationships. With love and a smile, the conclusion is, “you look different!”

This blog is focused on a business called StoryWorth branded as “the most meaning gift for your family”. A gift to share memories between generations.

But first, I want to tell you about the best conversation I had with my grandmother. She was born back in the 1890s living a life we would not recognize today.

My Grandmother’s Story

I had a driver’s permit back in the 1960s and would drive my dad through city streets (Rochester, New York), across town every Sunday to visit my grandmother to practice my city driving.

One day, she shared a story from the early 1900s. As a young girl, she was out riding a horse and in a mood of rebellion (which happened rarely in her long life) switched from riding side saddle (which was the custom for girls at the time) and decided to swing her leg around to ride like the boys. Obviously a much better way to ride a horse. But a moment of cherished rebellion.

In those days, girls wore long dresses every day. NEVER pants! Must have been part of the reason for the ladylike style of riding that was required for her.

She lived a life as a dutiful minister’s wife who spent many years as a missionary in Brazil where my father and her children were born. Her oldest child, a daughter, passed away in Brazil. My dad spoke of a desire to return to Brazil to find where she was buried. She lived a life of sacrifice. And likely a life of judgment as the minister’s wife.

My reaction to her story was “way to go Gramma!” A reminder to me that she was once youthful with a spirit to have fun.

A snapshot of lives from the early 1940s

Photo from left: Rev. Albert McClements (my wise grandfather who delivered fiery and long sermons), Florence McClements (the conservative horseback rider and proper minister’s wife), Edith Macpherson (the not so conservative grandmother who loved working in the business world), Jean McClements (a young bride about to say goodbye to her husband after wedding for years because of World War II), George McClements (a new husband ready to board a ship to cross the Atlantic and defend his country).

Ages in this photo: Grandparents in their early/mid-fifties and parents 21/23 years old.

Sharing stories today

My 2019 Mother’s Day gift was a subscription to StoryWorth from my son and daughter-in-law.

Each week, questions come through email. At the end of the year, we will have a collection of 52 answers printed in a keepsake book. Some examples of questions…

Have you ever won anything?
Who is the funniest person in your family?
Describe one of your most memorable birthdays?
What is one of the bravest things you have ever done and what was the outcome?
What is your idea of perfect happiness? (the answer to this was captured in a photo)
Are you more like your mother or father? In what ways? (Still thinking about this…)

Some are easy to answer and others deserve some thought. And with that hopefully comes greater wisdom and self-awareness with a better understanding of how quickly the world changes.

So, the answer is yes, Josselyn, that was me!

That was me at 20 years old looking out at the Pacific Ocean with a camera in hand! My love of capturing pictures goes way back. And this is long before I could have ever imagined the family we would become.

My hope with answering the StoryWorth questions is to share small bits of my life that bring my family smiles and understanding of growing up in a different time and much different world than today.

And to my grandmother, thanks for reminding me that you also were once a young girl who had those spontaneous moments of real fun. It was my favorite conversation with you!

Much thanks to Brian and Jen for this gift and the opportunity to share my life and tell my story!

Visit StoryWorth at https://www.storyworth.com/ and give this gift to someone you love. I am not an affiliate or in any way connected to Story Worth. Simply sharing a way to tell stories between generations.