23. Her’s looks better than mine.

I recently finished another website for a professional coach.  Before she made the decision to use The Rebel Geek, I showed her Jessica J's site, and she loved it.

At the start of the project, once I learned what she wanted to accomplish with her website and her business, I immediately suggested she choose an image of herself as the home page's hero image.  She listened quietly, and seemed to agree.  But then proceeded to tell me she wasn't comfortable putting herself front and center on the site.  Which isn't uncommon.  Many who are new to marketing themselves and their businesses feel like they're screaming, "Look at me, Look at me," with a big image of themself on their website.  But if it's your website, and you want them to look at you for your services,  and your expertise who do you want them to look at? If not you, than who?

But I digress.

Fast forward weeks later, and my client's site is complete.  I've given her exactly what she wanted.  She even cried when she saw it coming to life.  But later, during a Zoom call when we took another look at Jessica's site, she said, "Her site looks better than mine."

Wait.  What?  Weren't you just crying about how happy you were with the new site?  I didn't actually ask her this but I was thinking it.  Unfazed, I simply reminded her that she did not follow my original advice.  Use an amazing image of yourself to sell you and what you do.  Because you are your brand.

The reason Jessica's site looks so good is because she's got great imagery.  Just to prove my point, here is Jessica's imagery before and after her rebrand.

Doesn't even look like the same person.

Depending on your industry, good imagery will change the perception of what you have to offer.  The wrong imagery can change the value someone places on you and your services.  Imagery has the power to cheapen your products, turn people off, or lead people away.  It can also draw people closer.

When I worked with Wendy Meluch, I was challenged to take her text-rich information and make it look interesting.  She's a data specialist.  Sexy, right?  But she is the brand.  So I put her image front and center, instead of hiding it in some bio section, where site visitors aren't able to make an immediate connection.  And we love the end result.

I used to do the same thing.  Hide behind illustrations or text treatments instead of putting myself out there.  Not letting people get to know me.  When you invest in great imagery and actually use it, you would be amazed at how good it feels to show it to the world.  And often, its just the professional thing to do.  I had to get past this fear.

And so did my newest coaching client.  She ultimately took my advice and invested in a professional photoshoot.  I'm currently waiting on the final image to replace what we used to launch 

We can't be afraid to put ourselves out there.  You have a vision for your business and your brand, but if you want to get in the game you can't  just dip your toe in and hope for the best.  Out of fear, you can be married to a vision that doesn't showcase you in the brightest light.  But when you hire a professional to help you, trust the process and you might just get something better than you could have imagined.