Shownotes
Your “Contact” page needs to be written strategically. All too often, I see a lot of clients who will just insert the generic contact form element, use a header with words like, “get in touch” or “say hello,” and call it a day.
That's just not going to cut it.
And it might be enough to get your website off the ground, because, hello, we've all been there, but it's just not what I would suggest doing if you really want your website to work for you. In this episode, I share how to optimize your “Contact” page and really dig into why it matters so much for your clients.
03:30 — What your “Contact” page needs to do specifically for your business
03:53 — 4 different ways to optimize your “Contact” page
10:53 — How your “Contact” page can convert more leads and referrals
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Transcripts
your contact page really plays a crucial role in facilitating conversation
Speaker:and communication with a new client.
Speaker:It helps you to build trust.
Speaker:It helps you to enhance your client experience and customer service.
Speaker:And it creates that engagement that we all want.
Speaker:It's an important element of your website that you can't afford to overlook.
Speaker:You are listening to The Copywriter On Call podcast.
Speaker:I'm your most Sarah Gillis copywriter, word, magic maker, and owner of
Speaker:what Sarah said on this podcast.
Speaker:You'll feel empowered to show up online in a way that has you saying, that's so me.
Speaker:Let's get started.
Speaker:Welcome back to another episode of the Copywriter On Call Podcast.
Speaker:I am your host, Sarah Gillis, and I am logging some on call hours solo
Speaker:today to help you optimize what I think is one of the most overlooked pages
Speaker:on your website, the contact page.
Speaker:Now picture this, you find someone on Instagram that you would love
Speaker:to work with for your business.
Speaker:So you click the link in their bio.
Speaker:Scroll through their website and find yourself on their contact page.
Speaker:You're ready to inquire about their services.
Speaker:So you submit your name, your email address, and a brief description
Speaker:about what you're looking for.
Speaker:And then you click submit.
Speaker:What you see is, thanks for your message.
Speaker:And you're left with nothing else.
Speaker:Just a blank screen with a thank you message that doesn't give you
Speaker:anything else to do in the meantime.
Speaker:You're just waiting for that inquiry response.
Speaker:Now that is the reality of what your clients might be experiencing if you
Speaker:haven't taken the time to strategically write and optimize your contact page.
Speaker:Now this is a really common thing and it's a huge missed
Speaker:opportunity in my point of view.
Speaker:As one of the four core website pages, your contact page needs to be
Speaker:crafted and written strategically.
Speaker:All too often, clients will just insert the generic contact form element,
Speaker:use a header with words like, Get in touch or say hello and call it a day.
Speaker:But as your friend and copywriter, I've got to be straight up.
Speaker:I got to tell you, that's just not going to cut it.
Speaker:And it might be enough to get your website off the ground, because, hello,
Speaker:we've all been there, but it's just not what I would suggest doing if you
Speaker:really want your website to work for you.
Speaker:So if you want real leads to be generated, let's talk through how we can optimize
Speaker:your contact page and really dig in to why it matters so much for your clients.
Speaker:So let's think through a little exercise for a minute.
Speaker:If someone finds you on social media and then goes to your website, they
Speaker:want more information, so they're going to browse around for a minute.
Speaker:Maybe they'll look at your about page, maybe they'll look at
Speaker:your services, and then they'll probably glance at your portfolio.
Speaker:If they're interested enough in what they see, they're going to
Speaker:navigate to your contact page.
Speaker:And again, this is probably the last page that they're going to check
Speaker:before they say yes or no to inquiring.
Speaker:So let's not fumble the ball here.
Speaker:Let's go full on slam dunk.
Speaker:And again, I'm a hockey girl, so forgive me, but let's make
Speaker:sure that your copy encourages them to actually follow through.
Speaker:Again, packing in the personality on your home page or your about page or
Speaker:your services page, that's important.
Speaker:But we shouldn't leave your contact page behind.
Speaker:So to put it simply here are the things that your contact page is responsible for.
Speaker:Moving somebody from, hmm, I'm interested to an actual real lead.
Speaker:Building a relationship with them personally and not just,
Speaker:hey, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker:And actually giving them a reason to stick around enough to hit that
Speaker:send button on their inquiry form.
Speaker:All right, let's get to the meat of the episode.
Speaker:I've got four ways for you to optimize your contact page so
Speaker:that you can have better results.
Speaker:First, let's ditch the get in touch or say hello headlines.
Speaker:When I'm talking with my clients about creating headlines that will work for them
Speaker:across their website, generic copy phrases like, get in touch, just doesn't cut it.
Speaker:Your website copy should be packed with personality from the
Speaker:homepage to the contact page.
Speaker:And so it should sound like you.
Speaker:And I understand I'm a writer at heart, right?
Speaker:This comes easily to me, but it might not for you.
Speaker:And so let's think through some opportunities here.
Speaker:Even if you're DIYing your website copy, there is a way for you to say no
Speaker:thanks to the general copy that a lot of different people rely on and make
Speaker:it personal to you and your business.
Speaker:So how can you grab someone's attention on your contact page
Speaker:without saying, get in touch?
Speaker:Maybe you can put on your creative thinking cap.
Speaker:I know you have one and just think beyond what everyone else is already saying.
Speaker:Here are a few ways that I like to have my clients think through how to create
Speaker:a headline that really encapsulates who they are and what they do.
Speaker:Consider your ideal client's pain points.
Speaker:And then speak to that directly.
Speaker:So if you are offering up that solution, like a better photography
Speaker:experience right this way, that is better than get in touch.
Speaker:Keep it short and sweet, right?
Speaker:Headlines are Short and sweet for that purpose, they grab our attention
Speaker:and then allow us to move on.
Speaker:So make it creative, but don't make it complicated.
Speaker:Try and think through what kind of emotion you want to evoke.
Speaker:How do you want someone to feel when they're about to inquire with you?
Speaker:Excited?
Speaker:Eager?
Speaker:Relieved?
Speaker:Use your headline to point to those emotions.
Speaker:Then finally, point to that benefit.
Speaker:What is the benefit of saying yes and submitting this contact form?
Speaker:Even if they don't book you, they're taking one step in the right direction.
Speaker:So how do you communicate that?
Speaker:You focus on that benefit.
Speaker:So if you're struggling coming up with a headline, I'm going to put
Speaker:a link for you in the show notes to this really awesome headline analyzer.
Speaker:It can help you analyze your headlines, but also come up with some
Speaker:great new ideas to really freshen up and optimize your contact page.
Speaker:Here's my second tip for you.
Speaker:On your contact page, consider adding an FAQ section.
Speaker:So more often than not, when someone is contacting you for the first
Speaker:time, they probably have questions.
Speaker:I mean, we do a really good job trying to anticipate all of the
Speaker:questions that a potential client might have on our services page
Speaker:or our home page or wherever.
Speaker:But they might have more questions that are specific to them.
Speaker:And it's really true for people who are inquiring with photographers.
Speaker:Everybody wants to know all of the logistics, timing, pricing.
Speaker:location, And so you can get ahead of their potential questions
Speaker:by creating an FAQ section.
Speaker:Now you won't be able to anticipate all of their questions, but
Speaker:you can make a dent, right?
Speaker:So when you do this, the purpose is to have your potential client
Speaker:be like, Oh, I was thinking that and they already answered it.
Speaker:They know exactly what I need.
Speaker:That's a feeling we want people to have right before they hit inquire.
Speaker:All right, we've already covered the first two tips, which is all about that
Speaker:headline and creating that FAQ section to really anticipate your client's questions.
Speaker:Now let's move on to number three.
Speaker:How can you customize the actual fields, the questions you're asking in your
Speaker:contact form to better qualify your leads?
Speaker:We all know what those generic contact forms look like, name, email address.
Speaker:How can I help?
Speaker:But what do you really want to know from your people?
Speaker:How can you level up the way that your people interact with you by
Speaker:simply adding or deleting a few questions on your inquiry form?
Speaker:Here's some ideas to customize this.
Speaker:For your business, maybe you have a checkbox or a drop down list of different
Speaker:services that you offer so they can choose what they're most interested in.
Speaker:And that then provides you with a better idea of what they're inquiring about.
Speaker:It also gives you a quick clue as to what kind of email automations you
Speaker:might want to send, whether they're a newborn client or a family client.
Speaker:You can also ask them where they found you or how they heard about you.
Speaker:This is really important.
Speaker:This gives you some great insight into your marketing efforts and
Speaker:really helps you assess, am I putting my time where it matters most?
Speaker:You can also ask them to provide links to their social media platforms
Speaker:or to their website, or if you're serving, clients on a date specific or
Speaker:a time specific way, you can ask them things like, when's your due date?
Speaker:Or when's your wedding date, or what's your budget for this project?
Speaker:These are all great questions to ask.
Speaker:So you also want to be very clear when you're asking these questions, when a
Speaker:person can expect to hear back from you.
Speaker:So they are putting in the time and the effort to create this inquiry, and
Speaker:before they hit send, or after they hit send, or both, you should tell them
Speaker:when they can expect to hear from you.
Speaker:Maybe it's 24 hours.
Speaker:Maybe it's 24 business hours.
Speaker:Maybe it's I'm in the office on Mondays and Thursdays.
Speaker:Whatever it is, give them that clear identification of when
Speaker:they can expect to hear from you.
Speaker:The last tip is to give them something to do while they're
Speaker:waiting to hear back from you.
Speaker:Now, as a consumer, when we want to buy something, we typically feel
Speaker:excited, unless it's, insurance, but when we've been searching for a product
Speaker:or a service that will really solve a problem or bring delight to our lives,
Speaker:we want that immediate gratification.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:Inquiring through a form doesn't necessarily deliver that, and honestly,
Speaker:I don't necessarily believe that instant gratification is our responsibility
Speaker:as service providers to offer, but at the same time, what can you deliver?
Speaker:in a way to capitalize on that excitement.
Speaker:So let's think through offering additional resources, additional content
Speaker:to keep these potential clients excited while they wait to hear back from you.
Speaker:What might that look like for your business?
Speaker:Maybe you point them to a blog post or an Instagram series that you have.
Speaker:Maybe you point them to a podcast like this.
Speaker:Or you give them an opportunity to connect with you on social media,
Speaker:where they can DM you and say, I'm so excited, I just inquired.
Speaker:This can help to build the relationship, but also give them purposeful
Speaker:things to occupy their time while you formulate a great response.
Speaker:Overall, your contact page really plays a crucial role in facilitating conversation
Speaker:and communication with a new client.
Speaker:It helps you to build trust.
Speaker:It helps you to enhance your client experience and customer service.
Speaker:And it creates that engagement that we all want.
Speaker:It's an important element of your website that you can't afford to overlook.
Speaker:So I encourage you this month to take the time to audit your current contact
Speaker:page and see how you're performing.
Speaker:Are you giving this client the best experience they can have?
Speaker:If not, make a few simple tweaks and I bet your client experience will improve.
Speaker:As always, thanks for tuning in and this is your copywriter on call, signing off.
Speaker:Thanks for listening to The Copywriter On Call podcast.
Speaker:If this episode has you feeling all sorts of inspired to show up as yourself online,
Speaker:click that subscribe button so you don't miss my stories or practical advice to
Speaker:help you express your quirky, vulnerable, and authentic self online chat soon.
