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Luxury Car Marketing Lessons, Job Hunting Trends, and Unveiling Ancient Scrolls

Author

Ian Crafford
February 11, 2024

Yesterday I was in a coffee shop and had one of those serendipitous encounters that ended with me asking for a fellow’s business card. He handed to it me with the comment I hear all too often:

“Uhh…my website is…umm…not quite up to date. Please just email me.”

I’ve done it, too.

(And then I’ve wasted so much time and money trying to update it to speak to all people and fit any situation. Rookie mistake.)

Why is this so common? I suspect some combination of the Cobbler’s Children problem, the horror show that is the agency space, or simple lack of clarity and alignment on the purpose of the website within your business model.

If you’re in this situation, what is it for you?

After that encounter and because it’s top of mind in some client projects—and often top of “funnel” in your customer journey—here’s a quick PSA on showing up like a pro on your website:

  • You have 3 seconds to capture attention…and you’re competing with Instagram crack, overflowing inboxes, and 14 app notifications.

  • Don’t mess it up. Your site doesn’t create clients or prospects (this is not Field of Dreams), but it can make them disappear.

  • Your color scheme and logo matter…with consistency mattering most of all.

    • Color schemes are free: check out http://colormind.io/bootstrap/ among many others.

    • Perfectly serviceable logos for less than $100. (I’ve use Looka.com in 7-figure projects…no one cares that the logo cost 50 bucks.)

  • Invest in a real website, not squarespace or wix. Focus on UX and a simple workflow. Build it for now but on a foundation that will serve you later (otherwise, plan to do it all over again in 12ish months).

  • Don’t do it yourself. You probably could because you’re smart. Which is exactly why it’s not the best use of your time.

  • You should not pay more than $5k unless the website is the product. If your site sells your services, keep it simple, on solid infrastructure you can use and grow. (It’s possible to get it done well for much, much less).

  • Avoid freelancers and marketplaces like Upwork. Like the plague. You will either have to micromanage the project, be ghosted, or left with some technical monstrosity that no one in future will want to touch. In the end it costs you much more, but at least it’s a miserable experience.

If you’re stuck on the website part, hit reply and I’ll point you in the right direction. I’ve done the trial and error. I don’t recommend it.

Websites are just one (very) small part of the larger problem…

There is far more information than attention in the world. It’s a problem for everyone as consumer. It’s an urgent problem for you (and me) as service provider.

Our job is to build trust. And that’s more and more difficult in a world where information drowns attention (and often precludes insight).

This week’s roundup has some links with useful tactics for winning attention, some links that illustrate the absurd result of so much information, and some links that make me pine for the days when information was a scarce and valuable thing.

— Ian
Founder, The Pro Solo

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