Writing copy for photographers is a little bit like teaching a lesson in manners. Well, I should say, writing the home page of a photographer’s website is all about manners.
Envision someone walking into your home for the first time. As soon as they step foot through the door, you have a job: you have to tell them what’s next.
Do you want them to take off their shoes?
Do you normally take people on a tour of the whole house?
Do you welcome people into the kitchen for water/wine/beer/gin + tonics/hell, champagne?
Or do you gather in your very fancy sitting room?
The point is: they have never been there before. They don’t know the rules of your space or how you operate. It’s your job to tell them.
The same is true on your site. People land on your homepage, either from a Google search or through your social media or through a link someone sent them. They have no idea what to expect. So you need to lay things out clearly, concisely, and in a way that makes them want to stay.
You would (I assume) do everything in your power to make a guest feel comfortable in your home, so try to do that with the words on your site too. Welcome them by letting them know they are in the right place, that you’re happy they are there. Say it with a joke or two and a warm smile (like an actual photo of you smiling). Then give them some options of what they can do while they visit.
Now, unlike Mr. Fallon above, you don’t want to welcome eeeeeee’rrbody to your site. Because remember, if you write copy for everyone, you’re really writing to no one. What does that mean? It means that your site should be written to ONE person: the one that you want to book you. (I wrote a whole post about that too.)
So, yes, be welcoming. But only to the people who you really want in your house/on your client list.
P.S. Here’s an easy way to implement this immediately and make your copy better TODAY …
… go to your home page. How welcoming are your words? How clear are your instructions to your visitors? Are you giving them enough choices? Or maybe too many? It’s definitely a balance to strike, but try not to have several calls to action right next to each other. Give them one clear directive in each section, and make the most important stuff the easiest to find and read.
To The Point is a video series where I share copywriting ideas for photographers, posted to my Instagram account . It’s just a quick tip to make your copy better in less than 60 seconds. These blog posts are a little more in-depth, to really dig into those ideas. If you would rather watch the short video, click below.