Francesca Marano - Websites for freelancers 101

Ten years ago, when you started a business, the first thing you took care of was making business cards. Today your first thought goes to a website. Often freelancers create their websites without a clear plan. It's true that WordPress makes it relatively easy to build a website on your own, but it's a good/recommended practice to start such a project by asking yourself some questions before embarking in this adventure (trust me, it is epic and no, you don't need to learn to code).
- Do all freelancers need a website?
- If you decided to build one, what pages should definitely be there?
- What information is useful to your readers? What is worthless?
- And by the way, who are your readers? What and how do you write for them?
In this talk, I'll explore common questions that freelancers have when deciding to build their own websites, and give some answers that will help you on your journey.

Transcript

1. WEBSITES FOR FREELANCERS: ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF BEFORE BUILDING YOUR OWN WEBSITE @FrancescaMarano
2. Francesca Marano @FrancescaMarano WordPress Community Manager at
3. Keyword: awareness
4. Ask yourself many questions before you start
5. 1. Why 2. For whom 3. Content 4. Design
7. Everyone needs a website I want to rank first on Google Any reason not supported by a goal and a strategy
8. Brand awareness, reputation Sales Reasons supported by a goal and a strategy
10. Buyer persona Customer journey Real people, real problems, real solutions
12. It’s not about you It’s about the reader
13. What’s in it for me?
15. Say no to lipstick on a pig Make it easy to navigate, easy to understand Unambiguous instructions
16. Must Have • About Page (it’s not about you) • Sales Pages (it’s not about you) • Contact (this one is about you) • Legal stuff (check with a lawyer) • In a blog: search, tags, categories
17. One million bonus points if you add a price range
18. Nice to Have • Mini bio • Links to social media • Testimonials • Newsletter signup form • Popular posts
19. Example #01 Before & After Paul Jarvis
21. Example #02 Before & After Find another example
22. It’s not about you It’s about the reader
23. Example of a website where the freelance is portrayed with other people and not on his own like a rock star
24. Every page or blog post is a potential landing page
25. Example of a good after entry footer, page, etc...
26. GRAZIE! @FrancescaMarano Photo Credits: Brad Neathery, Emily Morter, Galymzhan Abdugalimov, Mike Wilson at Unsplash