3 Must-haves to Turn Your Visitors into Clients on Your Coaching Website - International Coaching Federation
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3 Must-haves to Turn Your Visitors into Clients on Your Coaching Website

Posted by Vibeke Foss (Spain) | May 23, 2018 | Comments (17)

To turn your visitors into clients on your coaching website, you first need to get their attention. It’s a challenge because people are saturated with information online these days and attention spans are very short.

To get their initial interest, you need to know how to communicate to connect with your ideal client on your website and have a strategy in place that keeps them wanting to read more and take action.

We achieve this with a combination of three elements: technology, emotion and strategy.

Technology

First of all, let’s make sure our tech tools work. The best way to lose your visitors’ attention is to have a website with functionality issues. It doesn’t matter that you have the best content and strategy in place if you can’t answer yes to the following questions:

Does Your Website Load Quickly?

Websites or pages that are slow to load get abandoned quickly. Nobody wants to wait for anything online. There can be many reasons for a site to be slow, from bad coding to using large-sized images. Ideally, your site should load in three to five seconds. (You can find website speed tests online. Make sure you have a good internet connection when you do the test.)

Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?

Every page needs to be easy and nicely displayed on desktop as well as from any size tablet or mobile device. The font size needs to be big enough to read comfortably, and the design needs to be clean and uncluttered. Look at all your website pages from a mobile device to make sure they look good.

Do Your Forms Work?

Regularly test your contact forms and sign-up forms. If someone is willing to leave their email address and a message, but encounters a technical problem in the process, 99 percent of the time, they won’t tell you about it. You will lose potential clients.

Once you know that your tech is under control, then it’s time to connect with your visitors.

Emotions

The best way to grab your visitors’ attention is to have key messages that create an emotional response. When people see their problems and feelings reflected, they stop and pay attention. Let your visitors know that you understand and can relate to their situation. This makes them feel connected to you, and as a result, they are intrigued to learn more. You especially want to have these kinds of key messages on your home page because this is the most visited page. Then, you can continue using them throughout your copy.

How do you come up with magic messages that create an emotional response? First you need to be clear on what exact problem you solve and who you do it for—your target market. Then go out and talk to these people. Ask them about their problems and their feelings around the problems. Take note of the words they use to describe it.

Keep in mind that when potential clients come to your website, you want their reaction to be “Yes, that’s exactly my problem” or “Yes, that’s exactly what I feel.” After you have achieved such reaction, they are so much more willing to listen to your solutions.

Got that sorted? Then to the last point: How do you make sure they read what you want them to read?

Calls to Action

You have got your visitor’s attention. Great, but then what? You don’t want them to randomly click around on your website, missing out on information you really want them to see, or leave your site without leaving some kind of trace that they were there.

We always need to consider our visitors’ short attention span, so we better be one step ahead! What will be the natural next click for our visitors and what will benefit us as well? People don’t want to think, so we have to do it for them. We do that with Calls to Action (CTAs). CTAs are simple, clear messages about what we want our visitor to do next.

Here are some very common CTAs:

  • Click here to read more
  • Check out my services
  • Sign up to stay updated

CTAs need to be strategically spread out on our website, guiding visitors through the pages, with the final goal(s) of them contacting you, getting onto your mailing list, etc., so that you can stay in touch until they feel ready to contact you.

Ensure you have these three elements in place, and your website will be ready to receive visitors and convert them into clients! Leave a comment below to let me know which parts of your website you plan to improve!

Vibeke Foss

Vibeke Foss (Spain)

Vibeke Foss is the founder of Gorgeous Geek - Web Design & Online Business Consulting. She builds professional websites for female coaches and entrepreneurs, guiding them on how to create website content and strategies that convert visitors into clients. She also supports female entrepreneurs with free tech tips and business inspiration in her online community, Biz Ladies.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts featured on this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the International Coach Federation (ICF). The publication of a guest post on the ICF Blog does not equate to an ICF endorsement or guarantee of the products or services provided by the author.

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Comments (17)

  1. Laura says:

    Great! Information easy to read and digest written in a fun, non stuffy way. Love it. Thank you Vibeke!

  2. Niamh says:

    You speak the truth, gorgeous geek! So many elements combine to make a website “work”.

    • Vibeke says:

      Yes, exactly Niamh! It’s not only the technical part that people struggle with, it’s transmitting their business purpose and learn how to truly speak to their client in a way that makes them connect and engage on their website.

  3. debbie says:

    Thank you Vibeke. Your tips have been invaluable to me as I write the content for my website. Slowly but surely I’m getting there! And, thank goodness you are building the website so that I don’t have to worry about all of the technical stuff that is way beyond my know-how. I love your work! My website will be awesome!!

    • Vibeke says:

      Yes, you are absolutely getting there Debbie! Your website will indeed be awesome thanks to our great teamwork 🙂

  4. Niamh says:

    Thanks for the great, actionable tips Vibeke.

  5. Omozua Isiramen says:

    Fantastic article. The valuable insights certainly make a difference when heeded.
    I am a real fan of actionable tips and this comes timely in every manner. Thank you for sharing this. Another value-filled article.

  6. Roberta says:

    Great article! As soon as I will get my own website, I will take in my mind this suggestions
    Thanks ?

  7. Jeff Carbine says:

    I loved it when you said that to turn your visitors into clients on your coaching website, you first need to get their attention. My wife plans to open an online dropshipping business. I will share this post for her to learn where to find an online business mentoring to equip her with all the knowledge in making business online.

  8. MECLABS says:

    This is a very well-written article! Putting your customer first when designing a website can indeed help it become a success. You have to make sure that your website is functional and catches the visitors’ attention. Among all the strategies being used to catch their attention, which one do you find to be the most effective?

  9. Caitlin tech says:

    oh finally find it, i am searching to best post for many months !
    Your material is very useful. Thanks for sharing !
    A better move is to frame things from the client’s perspective.

    Showing success stories of others who you have helped.

  10. Caitlin tech says:

    oh finally find it, i am searching to best post for many months !
    Your material is very useful. Thanks for sharing !
    A better move is to frame things from the client’s perspective.

    Showing success stories of others who you have helped.

  11. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us .such an informative article and really I would like to appreciate you for taking your time to share this information with us.thanks for posting

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