The art of making a website isn’t just about uploading products and/or creating filters to make your website sell products. It’s also a process of creating a virtual environment for your business that your customers can connect with and understand.

With an ever-expanding audience visiting your website, it shouldn’t just serve as a portal for selling products alone. It should also sell (tell) your story.
When a visitor scrolls down your homepage, they should internally walk through your story. Your website should engage every visitor, introduce them to your business, and also establish your identity through the story you tell. Knowing how to describe it on your website is a fantastic tool you need for your marketing strategy. You can tell your story through text, visuals, animated interaction, and videos.

Why your website should tell your story

  • The story builds a connection. Big businesses can feel like distant entities. Telling the story of how you started, your values, your raison d’etre can bring life to your business.
  • Creates a shared experience. Use your story to relate to your audience. Your customers are part of your business, after all.
  • It wins hearts. Storytelling is an opportunity to create emotion in your audience. A well-told story makes us feel something. Your story gives your customers a reason to love and remain loyal to your business.
  • And finally, it makes you stand out. Your story could be what separates you from the competition.

Remember, the key factor that no other business has is your story.

However, having a website that tells a compelling story requires proper planning. It must be consistent and integrated within your web design, and the copy should be careful to not come across as over-sentimental or emotionally manipulative. When done right, good storytelling establishes a solid emotional connection between your brand and the visitor.

If you aren’t sure how to proceed we’ve got some tips on how to tell your story and, ultimately, make your website sell products.

    1. Know your audience

    Knowing your audience is key to understanding what messaging they will connect with them. Are they rationally or emotionally driven? What are their values, wants, and needs? Getting this right is key to shaping an effective story for your business.

    2. Be brief but informative

    A good story about you, your team, and your products must be quick, informative, subtle, and clear.
    Yes, you can communicate a lot of information through the smallest details.
    In fact, you can tell your story and make your website sell products at the same time without telling your audience that you are doing so.

    3. Be honest

    Authenticity is key. We’ve already mentioned how you should avoid coming across as emotionally manipulative. Misrepresenting your business is an absolute no-no.

    If you claim to have certain values, make sure they’re reflected in your work and operations. Not sure what your values are? Contact us for a free consultation. At jdp, we’re experts at unpicking what businesses stand for, even when they don’t realize it themselves. We’ll turn the values that you already espouse into a business language that connects with your audience.

    4. Spice it up with some personality

    Of all the facets that make up your virtual environment, your website is the one online property that enables full control over how your customers perceive your business. Consider your website as a tour guide that allows the audience to discover what your business offers. You want to write your content in a voice that conveys your personality and stick to it.

    5. Keep it consistent

    Your story should be consistently reflected across your entire virtual environment, and it should drive your business internally too. Your story should inspire your company culture as well as your audience.

Every business has a story, but sometimes it’s difficult to ascertain what it is from the inside. You need an outsider’s perspective. At jdp, we understand businesses better than they do themselves. If your business has an identity crisis, we’ll pop the hood and sort you out. Get in touch for your free 15-minute consultation today.