190: Personality is Your Secret Weapon: Website Edition
Are you tired of blending in online? Ready to make your website pop with personality? Then you won't want to miss our latest episode of the Creators MBA Podcast!
In "Personality is Your Secret Weapon: Website Edition," I chatted with web design guru Christina Marie Anderson, founder of Wondersoul Co. Christina spills the tea on how to transform your website from bland to grand by infusing it with your unique personality.
🌟 Here's a taste of what you'll discover:
Why your DIY website attempts aren't wasted effort (and when it's time to call in the pros)
The number one mistake most entrepreneurs make with their web copy (hint: it's not what you think!)
Christina's unconventional method for capturing your authentic voice
How to balance automation with personal touch for a website that works hard AND feels human
Whether you're just starting out or looking to revamp your online presence, this episode is packed with practical tips and heartfelt advice to help you stand out in the digital crowd.
🎧 Tune in now and learn how to weaponize your personality for online success!
Key points discussed:
[00:03:15] When to launch your website and the benefits of DIY attempts
[00:04:44] Common mistakes in self-built websites and how to avoid them
[00:06:13] Christina's unique process for infusing personality into websites
[00:09:13] The importance of automation and streamlining in website design
[00:12:16] Christina's top tip for enhancing user experience on your website
Mentioned in this episode:
Christina's free gift: The Lead Magnet 🧲 Lead Magnet
Mastering Website Design for Digital Entrepreneurs: Insights from Christina Marie Anderson
Having a strong online presence is no longer optional—it's essential. But what separates a good website from a great one? How can you ensure your digital storefront truly reflects your brand's personality while also serving your clients effectively?
In a recent episode of the Creators MBA Podcast, Dr. Destini Copp sat down with Christina Marie Anderson, founder of Wondersoul Co, to unpack these questions and more.
Christina, known for crafting personality-packed websites, shared invaluable insights on website design, client experience, and the delicate balance between automation and personalization. Let's dive into the key takeaways from their conversation and explore how you can apply these principles to your own digital presence.
The Journey to Website Excellence: When to DIY and When to Hire
One of the most pressing questions for many entrepreneurs is when to launch their website and whether they should build it themselves or hire a professional. Christina's perspective might surprise you. While many web developers advocate for hiring a professional right from the start, Christina sees value in the DIY approach—at least initially.
"I actually like when my clients have done it themselves first," Christina explains. "That shows me that they have fortitude, that they meant it when they started their business. But it also gives them perspective."
This DIY phase helps entrepreneurs understand the complexities involved in website creation. It's not just about making things look pretty; there's a lot more that goes into creating an effective online presence. However, Christina suggests that the ideal time to hire a professional is typically 1-2 years into your business when you have a steady income and are ready for growth.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Website Design
When it comes to self-built websites, Christina points out a common mistake: talking too much about yourself. It's easy to fall into the trap of making your website all about you, especially when your personal brand is your business. However, the key is to focus on your audience and how you can help them.
"The number one mistake that I see people who build their own websites and write their own copy is talking about themselves too much," Christina notes. Instead, she recommends focusing on connecting how you can help with the people you serve. Your website should be about the transformation you offer your clients, not just about selling yourself.
Infusing Personality into Your Website: An Unconventional Approach
One of Christina's unique strengths is her ability to infuse personality into websites. Her approach? It's all about capturing authentic moments. Rather than relying solely on questionnaires and forms, Christina draws much of her inspiration from the initial discovery call with clients.
"I pull a ton of information for my clients' websites from the initial discovery call I have with them," she reveals. This approach allows her to capture clients at their most candid, before they start overthinking their responses. Often, the headline she writes for a website comes directly from something said in that first conversation.
This method ensures that the website truly reflects the client's personality and values, creating a more authentic connection with their audience.
The Power of Automation in Website Design
While personality is crucial, Christina also emphasizes the importance of automation and streamlining in website design. Contrary to the belief that automation and personality-packed websites don't mix, Christina argues that strategic automation can actually enhance the client experience.
"Automation can be used strategically to better serve your clients," she explains. By automating certain processes, you can save time and provide a smoother experience for your website visitors. The key is to find the right balance—use automation to handle routine tasks, freeing you up to add personal touches where they matter most.
The Golden Rule of Website Design: Never Leave Your Audience Wondering
Perhaps the most crucial piece of advice Christina shares comes from her background in luxury client experience: "Never leave your audience wondering what comes next." This principle should guide every aspect of your website design.
Every button click, every form submission, every interaction should lead your audience seamlessly to the next step. Provide clear information, anticipate questions, and guide your visitors through their journey on your site. This approach not only enhances user experience but also builds trust and credibility with your audience.
Putting It All Together
Creating an effective website is about more than just attractive design or clever copy. It's about striking the right balance between authenticity and professionalism, between automation and personalization. It's about understanding your audience and guiding them through a seamless experience that reflects your brand's unique personality.
Whether you're just starting out or looking to revamp your existing online presence, remember these key principles:
Don't be afraid to start with a DIY approach, but know when it's time to bring in a professional.
Focus on your audience and the transformation you offer, not just on yourself.
Let your authentic personality shine through your website.
Use automation strategically to enhance, not replace, the personal touch.
Always guide your audience clearly to the next step.
By applying these insights from Christina, you can create a website that not only looks great but also effectively serves your clients and grows your business. Remember, your website is often the first impression potential clients have of your business—make it count!
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Transcript:
Dr. Destini Copp [00:00:07]:
Welcome to the Creator’s MBA Podcast, your go to resource for mastering the art and science of digital product entrepreneurship. My name is Dr. Destini Copp, and I help business owners generate consistent revenue from their digital product business without the need to be glued to their desk, constantly live launching, or worrying about the social media algorithms. I hope you enjoy our episode today. And my special guest today is Christina Marie Anderson. Christina is the founder of Wondersoul Co, a brand strategy and web design studio known for crafting personality packed websites. With a background in luxury client experience, Christina helps second career women turn their expertise into education by designing and building high performing WordPress websites that act as an on brand experience. And, Christina, I am super excited to chat with you today. But before we get into all the questions I have about you and your business and how you work with your clients, just can you tell us just a little bit more and a little bit more about your journey, your background, and how you got to where you are today?
Christina Marie Anderson [00:01:32]:
Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me here today. It's very exciting for me to be here. As you mentioned, I help second career women turn their experience and expertise into education for the next generation. And I'm super passionate about helping women build something for themselves. A lot of women, you know, get tired of the corporate careers at some point. And I hope that they find me when they do, because I really love helping my clients take what they know and turn it into a profitable profitable business through their website.
Christina Marie Anderson [00:02:10]:
And as you mentioned, I have a background in luxury client experience. I actually started out working at luxury resorts all over the country. It's a very long story on how I got from there to building websites. But that background, that, you know, true foundation and luxury client experience really is a foundation for everything that I do now in my business and for my clients.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:02:33]:
So tell us a little bit more about the kind of people that you work with. I know that all of us, you know, we're all online business owners, and most of us have digital products or we want to have digital products. So having a website in our business is is crucial at some point. Some of us, you know, might go for a little while without having one, but, eventually, we're all gonna wanna have a website. Kind of walk us through when we should launch our website, and should we try to do it ourselves, or should we jump right in, hire somebody? What are your general recommendations there?
Christina Marie Anderson [00:03:15]:
You know, I may go a little bit against the grain on this one. There are a lot of web developers out there who will tell you that you should hire a web developer right away. But I actually like when my clients have done it themselves first. That shows me that they have fortitude, that they they meant it when they started their business. But it also gives them perspective. So people who have not previously tried to do their website can sometimes think that it's not that hard. It's difficult. Anybody who actually has tried to do their own website can tell you from their experience that there's so much more that goes into it than just like what looks pretty on the page.
Christina Marie Anderson [00:03:54]:
So I love when my clients have already tried it themselves and they know that they are over it. But so in terms of hiring a web developer, I do think that that's, you know, maybe 1 to 2 years in the business, you have income coming in. You're not putting your website on a credit card. Of course, your website should have a return on your investment, but I really want my clients to be in a safe and comfortable financial position for them and know that their business is ready for growth before they're saying, okay, Christina, like, I'm ready to invest.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:04:27]:
So majority of the people that you're working with, they've had they have some type of website out there. They've maybe been doing it themselves over the years. I'll put myself in that category. I do all of my own websites there. What kind of mistakes are you seeing that they have made?
Christina Marie Anderson [00:04:44]:
You know, the number one mistake that I see people who build their own websites and write their own copy is talking about themselves too much. I can usually pinpoint if someone has done their own website, written their own copy when in the, you know, the hero section, that very top section of your website, their headline starts with the word I, I help you do this. And this is a really common trap to fall into. We feel like our websites are about selling ourselves And they are about selling ourselves, especially when your personal brand is your business, but it's more about connecting how you can help with the people that you help. So it really needs to be more focused on them and how they see themselves and the transformation that they are looking for.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:05:42]:
So I can definitely see that. I'd that I've made that mistake at some point in the past myself. And one of the things that you do is help people kinda get their personality out into the world or let their personality shine through their site. And you have a little bit of an unconventional process to do this. So can you walk us through that, and should we, as business owners, want that personality to shine on our website?
Christina Marie Anderson [00:06:13]:
Of course. So first of all, I'll start kinda with the tail end of that question there, why you should want yourself to shine through your website. These days, people are buying from people. They need to know you. They need to like you. They need to trust you. Yes. That sounds like a marketing cliche, but it is still the truth.
Christina Marie Anderson [00:06:32]:
And when you can show who you are through your website and really create what feels like a personal connection, despite the fact that it is a digital landscape, you haven't actually spoken to your website visitors yet, but it really should feel like that when your website launches. It should feel like you're starting to have that personal connection with your audience. And in terms of my unconventional process, this may be the first place that I'm really sharing this. So this is my little trade secret. I pull a ton of information for my clients' websites from the initial discovery call I have with them. And this might sound a little counterintuitive, but once I start sending my clients forms and questions, they start to think too much about what I'm asking them. And this is something that I see across, you know, different businesses, different types of business owners is we're too close to our own business. So when you ask us to think critically about our business, we don't really have the perspective to do so.
Christina Marie Anderson [00:07:40]:
But in that discovery call, people are incredibly candid about who they are, what they do, who they help, and like the hills that they will die on, the things that are important to them, their values in their business. And more often than not, the headline that I write for any given website is pulled directly from something that was said in the discovery call before the person was started to clam up and, you know, think too critically about what I was asking them.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:08:15]:
I think that's brilliant. Because I've been thinking I went through a website design earlier this year, and I was thinking about, yeah, when I started writing or filling out all of those forms or the Google Docs, I'm like, she's right. I had to really start thinking, and then probably my personality wasn't coming through. And it really wasn't giving her the information that would be necessary to kind of communicate my message, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. So it's a process that you're that you're doing there. So, Christina, the next question I have for you has to do with the process that you have of emphasizing how important automation and streamlining is with our website and our business. And I know that when you're going through this process and you're working with your clients to do this, this is something that you focus on. Can you walk us through this and you how this helps your clients with their website?
Christina Marie Anderson [00:09:13]:
Absolutely. So as we all know, you know, in the year 2024, a website can't stand alone in your marketing process, in your client pipeline, your client relationship management. And so when I start a website build with any new client, I like to take a holistic look at all of the different tools that they're using in their business and how they're using them. And it's not just about making sure that they have a great website that converts, but it's also about understanding what happens when someone clicks book a call or sign up here for this free gift and making sure that all of those pieces are working in tandem. And I'll give you a really simple example of a project that I am working on quoting out right now. And this is for a woman who offers zoom yoga classes. And on her existing website, there is a button to email her for the links to the classes. My understanding is that these are free classes.
Christina Marie Anderson [00:10:19]:
So someone just needs to reach out, say, Hey, I'm interested. And she will send them the link. But I saw a really great opportunity to automate that using email marketing. And now we think of email marketing tools like MailerLite or like Mailchimp or ConvertKit as being these tools to send our lead magnets and then market to our audience. But they can also be used really strategically in a situation like this, where someone hands over their email address in order to get those Zoom links, and then they are sent to that website visitor, that potential client automatically through something like MailerLite, ConvertKit, Mailchimp. And that literally saves time for the, like, the person who is my client in this scenario. Instead of her receiving an email, having to add it to her to do list, send the links back, it happens in the background automatically. And that's just one small example, but this is how I look critically at all of the different actions that are gonna happen on a website.
Christina Marie Anderson [00:11:25]:
And some people see automation as a bad word that, you know, automation and personality packed websites don't necessarily go together. And I would argue that automation can be used strategically to better serve your clients. I think there's certainly a line where it goes too far and where it can feel inauthentic. But as long as the intention is to serve the client, the website visitor, then automating and streamlining these processes through your website is not just essential. It's a smart idea.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:11:59]:
I I would agree with you. It's I would say it's definitely essential. And for us to have businesses where we can serve our clients, we need to have these automations in place. Now, Christina, any last minute tips for the audience?
Christina Marie Anderson [00:12:16]:
I'll take this one back to my luxury client experience days, and this is, like, a core tenant that I live by in my own business. And it's to never leave your audience wondering what comes next. So anytime they click a button, what information do they need on the other end of that button to make a choice? Anytime they are receiving, you know, something from your client relationship management system and automated email or, or even something that's not automated, something that you're sending out, Are you giving them all of the pieces of information that they need at this time? Are they going to come back to you with questions or can you add more information? Not to be overwhelming, but to clarify things upfront so that they are never wondering what comes next. And again, I think this applies to everything we do in business, but certainly on your website where if you confuse people or they don't have the information they need, they're likely to click off and not come back. So it's incredibly important to make sure that you're giving all of that information, thinking through all the scenarios of what someone could expect on the other side of whatever action you're asking them to take.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:13:31]:
And that's just a good suggestion in marketing in general is knowing that customer journey. When somebody just first gets to know us, what steps and actions do we want them to take?
Christina Marie Anderson [00:13:44]:
Absolutely.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:13:45]:
That is a great tip there. Now, Christina, if anyone would want to go and look at some of these luxury websites that you have personally designed, where would they go and how would they find them?
Christina Marie Anderson [00:13:59]:
Yeah. Absolutely. People can look at my portfolio, which has some really great case studies in there of the websites that I've worked on. They can find me at wondersoulco.com, and my portfolio in there really helps show the transformations that I have given my clients showcasing some of my favorite products.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:14:18]:
Perfect. Thank you. We will make sure that those links are in the show note, and you have a free gift for them also.
Christina Marie Anderson [00:14:24]:
I do. I just released a new lead magnet. Just released this when shortly before this podcast was released. It's called the lead magnet lead magnet, and it is a lead magnet template pack. There are 3 lead magnet templates that are built in Canva for the 3 most popular types of lead magnets for podcasters, keynote speakers, consultants. And inside of there, there are also copy templates to help you write it. So really all you need is an idea, a thread of an idea, and everything else is inside of that free gift to help you build the lead magnet and then also a welcome email that you can use to deliver it to your audience once they sign up.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:15:07]:
Wonderful. And we will make sure that all of those links are in the show notes. And do you have, like, an Instagram account, or what social media do you use?
Christina Marie Anderson [00:15:16]:
Threads is my favorite place to be. I'm, at wandersoulwebdesign on threads. I share all of my thoughts over there whether they are weird or not. So if you really wanna get to know me and understand my personality, my perspective as a web designer, as a business owner, that's where you should find me.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:15:34]:
And I'll include that link also. And I know a lot of people out there are really loving threads.
Christina Marie Anderson [00:15:38]:
It's so much fun. It's It feels more authentic than any other social media that I've been on recently.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:15:46]:
I love it. So, Christina, thank you so much for joining me and sharing all of your wonderful knowledge with us.
Christina Marie Anderson [00:15:53]:
Of course. Thank you again so much for having me, Destinyi It has been a real treat to be here this morning. Thank you.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:16:02]:
Thanks for listening all the way to the end. I hope you enjoyed this episode today. If you love the show, I'd appreciate a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. Have a great rest of your day and bye for now.