August 25, 2025 • 35 mins
Discover how a powerful, strategically designed website can transform your business and boost your confidence. In this episode, website designer and brand strategist Jenny Belanger joins Misty Lynch to break down exactly what makes a website work for you.
Where to find Jenny Belanger
Website: jennyb-designs.com
Facebook: @thejennybdesigns
Instagram: @thejennybdesigns
LinkedIn: @jennyb-designs
Where to find Misty
Websites:
- Why your website is your most valuable 24/7 business asset and how it should evolve with your growth
- Common mistakes that make websites look outdated and drive clients away
- The key steps in creating clear, results-driven website messaging and branding
- How working with the right web designer can streamline the whole process
- Actionable tips to keep your website fresh, relevant, and bringing in new clients
Where to find Jenny Belanger
Website: jennyb-designs.com
Facebook: @thejennybdesigns
Instagram: @thejennybdesigns
LinkedIn: @jennyb-designs
Where to find Misty
Websites:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the demist Defying Money podcast, where each week
you will hear unforgettable conversations with expert guests about success, money, business,
and small steps you can take to elevate your life
and wealth. Now here's your host, Misty Lynch.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hi everyone, thank you so much for joining this week
for this episode of Demistifying Money. I'm excited today to
talk to Jenny Balanger. She's a website designer, brand strategist,
and the founder of Jenny B Designs. I heard her
speak at one of my networking groups, and I was
really interested in what she had to say about website
design and how it can help businesses reach their ideal
(00:40):
clients and all of the things that are really really
important that sometimes maybe we either focus on too much
and never get started in business, or maybe it's something
that we thought about when we first started our business
and then things have been moving along and we haven't
revisited it since. So I think it's a great idea
to talk about really websites today, what they can do,
(01:02):
how important they are for businesses, and how she helps people.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
So.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
She has a background in nonprofit marketing and a passion
for empowering women led businesses, and she also hosts the
podcast website design Made Simple, which shows design tips and
helps business owners confidently show up online. Jenny, thank you
so much for joining me today.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Thank you, Miste, I'm excited to chat.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
This episode of Demystifying Money with mis Dy Lynch is
proudly sponsored by Soundview Financial Advisors. Visit www dot Soundview
financial Advisors dot com to learn more.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I talked a little bit about your background with the
nonprofit marketing, but can you tell me how you went
from that to launching Jenny B Designs while you were
expecting your first child. Good question.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well, I do come out from the nonprofit world, and
if anyone is in that world, they know you have
to wear so many hats at the same time. You're
doing lots of different things. And one of the things
that I was doing was building the website for the
nonprofit that I was working at, and I loved it.
This was back in the early two thousands, so a
(02:14):
while ago, and I was figuring out how to design
and then really figuring out how people use the internet
because it was so new, and what do we need
to share as the organization and what do we want
the person to do when they visit the website. It
was a passion of mine, and once I designed the
nonprofits website, other nonprofits asked me if I could help
(02:36):
with theirs, and so it slowly became a side business
for quite a while, and when my son was born,
I decided that I wanted to focus full time on
the design. It was my passion and I wanted to
have my own business work, my own hours, be with
my kids. And that's when I fully stepped into the
full time role of Jenny B Designs and it's where
(02:58):
I've been ever since, serving nonprofits, but then mostly since
the pandemic, a lot of online women based businesses and
then local businesses as well.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
During the pandemic, how important was the website? I know,
business wasn't being done the exact same way. We were
all home, we were all online. What happens to businesses
that had a fantastic website versus the ones that maybe
you were scrambling.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
That was such a great time for us web designers,
and I think a great time to be online. People
started to realize, we need a website that actually works
for me, and what I mean by that is that
it makes money for you. It encourages the action you
want someone to take to book a consultation caller to
buy the product. And those businesses who realized that and
(03:46):
either created a new website or rebuilt their existing website
to better serve the audience that they wanted to attract
really up leveled them. And I think they had such
a more powerful impact during that time than those who
didn't actually make changes to their websites.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, no, it's it's interesting, you know obviously how business changes.
But I do think you know, when I first joined Soundview,
we had a website, but it hadn't been looked at
in a number of years, and in my mind, I
saw the website as being like my employee that was
always working. So and you've talked about that being a
(04:25):
money making you know, employee twenty four to seven. How
does that mindset kind of map into a business owner's
relationship when it comes to marketing their own assets.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
You actually hit something on the head. A lot of businesses,
and legacy businesses. By that, I mean someone who's been
around for a long time. They sometimes build that website
and then leave it alone and they're just continuing about
their business. They're getting referrals and just trucking along. But
the thing is is that your website needs to change
(04:56):
as your website ship, as your business shifts and business evolve,
and it's important to look at your website and make
sure that you're speaking to the ideal clients that you
want to work with at that certain point in time,
and that you have imagery that reflects who you are
as a business, and that it's set up to encourage
people to take that action. And so it's an important
(05:18):
asset for your business. In my opinion, I think it's
the number one asset for your business because it is
it's working around the clock for you twenty four to
seven to encourage that action and to book those consultation
calls or to have someone reach out to you and
book business.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, and a lot of the businesses that you help,
I know you mentioned like nonprofits. I know there's people
who are starting their own business. You know, we might
be selling something that our ideal client might not know
who to go for it and they might go straight
to the Internet or straight to a search. So I
think in that respect, the website is super important because
(05:53):
maybe it's not the traditional I'll ask mom and dad,
who is your doctor, who is your this They might
be looking for a business as coach, or a financial
adviser for the first time, or all these other types
of businesses that maybe the first place we're going to
check is typically going to be searching it up on
our phones. And so I do think, what are some
of the you know, what are some of the things
(06:15):
that you've seen on websites that you've maybe taken over
or redone that give that impression that this is outdated
or this isn't really somewhere. What are some of the
off putting things that you've seen that some people might
want to take a look at their website and see
if they notice.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
The first one is probably not having an up to
date brand, a visual brand that represents you. And by
brand I mean your logo, your colors, your fonts. Perhaps
you have a logo that you created a number of
years ago that you know, is this square logo with
the white background. I probably can picture what I'm thinking about,
But logos need to evolve, and from that visual branding
(06:53):
then comes your website design. Everything flows from that brand,
and you can tell pretty quickly when you land on
a website if it's older, there aren't full with pictures.
Maybe the messaging the copy on the website was written
a long time ago. It doesn't really align with the
visitor who's visiting your website today. Maybe the photos are
older and you haven't refreshed them in a while, and
(07:15):
the user experience it's not clean and smooth and quick.
And I think that's a big change from a few
years ago to now. People need to get what they
need answers to immediately, like very quickly, and when they
land on your website, if they don't know that they're
in the right place that you can help them, they're
going to leave. So I always say your most important
part of your website is that hero section. When they
(07:37):
first land three seconds or less. You need to make
sure the person understands that they're in the right place
and that you can solve the problem that they have immediately.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
I was just interviewing someone yesterday, Lasatapiven. If you haven't
listened to that, he's a business coach, and he talked
about the importance of being clear and concise and compelling
and that with confidence. I think that that is so
true with what you just said about the website, because
if it's not clear and you mentioned three seconds. If
(08:06):
it's not concise, people leaves. We don't have a ton
of time or opportunity. They're going to scroll to the
next thing. And that's just kind of the world that
we're in right now. What is your how do you
help your clients with that clarity piece? If they're like
I do all the things and this is important, I
think this is important to me. How do you help
(08:27):
them get that clarity? That's super important to build trust
with your audience.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
As part of the strategy process, we talk about your
overall business goals, but also identify who is your ideal
client or actually I listened to your interview with Beth
and she said you you're Bullseye client, which was really cool.
I like that. But you need to have that person
in mind, and then when you're thinking about the copy
(08:55):
on your website, you're speaking.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
To that exact person.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
That's how you can make sure that you're not using
too much jargon and that it is clear. I always
say clear over clever. It's clear, and that someone knows
that they're being called in because they read your words
and it represents what they have in mind.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, no, that was I'd like that point that she
said about the Bullseye client, because I got a lot
of people that are like, but I want to help everybody.
I can help everybody. It doesn't mean you don't help
other people on the board. It's just and I think
we've all done this when we've gone to a business
and we feel like, yes, this is exactly who I need,
this is who I want to talk to, or ones
where we say nope, that's not for me. It's nice
(09:34):
to almost be able to have people opt in or
out if they're really not a good fit. And I
think the website can do that so much easier than
being on the phone with somebody and discovering that. So,
what are some of the ways that you make people
connect quickly? You mentioned the you know, the hero section, Like,
what are some of the ways that you can kind
of visually bring that quick decision making process by knowing
(09:59):
kind of what the client's goals.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Are that hero section, making sure that there's a picture
when someone lands on your website that shows the results
that you're going to give them. I tend to use
the example of a dentist's office. You don't want to
have a picture of someone sitting in the dentist's chair
for the dentist website, you want someone smiling running in
a field with like straight white tape. That's the transformation
(10:21):
that you're bringing and keeping that in mind in your visuals,
ensuring that your visuals match your brand colors, everything is
very similar, and that it's personable pictures of you, of
your team, of your space if you have a physical location,
and then weaving in the words that is speaking to
that ideal client in a way that's guiding them through
(10:45):
their website journey. You might start on the home page
and then you would be leading them to the services page,
and then ensuring that you are leading them to that
contact page or to that phone number that you want
them to call, whatever that action is you want them
to do. Ensuring that everything flows in a way that
it's just visually and educationally easy for someone to understand
(11:08):
what you want them to do on that website.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I think that's I think that's super important about you know,
the team and the space and kind of weaving that in.
I think that we do kind of we do kind
of make these decisions really quickly. But I feel like
sometimes people I know this has happened with like the
old the firm that I was at before I was here,
and I love the guys that ran it, but they
(11:33):
wanted they changed the whole branding to like black and
white with like a mountain lion and the hero section.
And it was like, but their goal they liked working
with like CrossFit athletes, you know, probably like you know
more I mean, and there were two men who were
in their you know, early forties, So I feel like
that was really their target. And so I was like,
(11:56):
I don't want to send my people here because it
and it wasn't me. And I was thinking about that,
and that was one of the things that I thought
about when I left, was like, they don't need to change,
like this is what they this is working, because it
would probably take some of the women I work with
or some of the couples and they might be like, no,
(12:17):
it's to album too aggressive, like I might not have
enough money for this, like and so it was just
interesting how that was like to me, it just made sense.
I couldn't really explain like why. It just was like
a feeling when you look at something. So I think
that's so and it's kind of a cool thing to
work on. But I will say that it's hard to
(12:39):
figure out if it's perfect or right. So what do
you say to business owners who were constantly trying to rebrand,
redo all the design stuff because that feels like progress
when maybe they're not making sales or they're not like
the businesses and they think that that's the trick. Is
(13:00):
too much that you can do when you're trying to
figure out, you know, this piece of your business.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
I think there's absolutely too much you can do. If
you are putting effort into a redesign project and you
start with your visual branding, you put a lot of
thought into that, and then you translate it into the website.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
That's just step one.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
You're creating a space that you are wanting to share
with your ideal client to attract them and then repel
the ones that you don't want to work with. It
works both ways. But then after that, I see a
lot of times where people will, you know, play with
their pictures or move some words around, or shift some
things here and there, and I think that that is
(13:41):
a little bit too much emphasis on your website. Perhaps
putting a little bit more emphasis on maybe adding some
blog posts or some content to your website and doing
so you are increasing your authority, you're sharing it with
the world, but you're also telling Google this is what
I like to talk about, this is my expertise, and
(14:02):
therefore you can be found more easily on Google. And
then getting people to get to your website. I love
meeting people in person and sending it to my website.
I find that that's a large piece of the puzzle,
and networking with people and sharing out your site. Once
you build it, they don't immediately come. It's a work
in progress, so you always need to get out there,
share the world the word, and send people back to
(14:24):
your website whenever possible. And that's another way to gain
traction with the search engines, getting that traffic over there.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Right because that piece is important too. And so once
the website is built, how important is that ranking or
making sure that things are still going to it. I
know some people may be pay to rank higher, but
what are some ways if you have like a more
limited budget, that you can make sure that the website
is fresh and that people are seeing it.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Like I mentioned, writing content, blog posts, it still matters.
That's a big piece of the puzzle. If you have
a podcast like you do, I know you put your
episode on your website. That's another form of content or
just having some regular content scheduling as well as thinking
about your Google Business profile. And I find this goes
(15:11):
adjacent with your website. Okay, that is another avenue that
you can update, add posts, to add content to and
it just pays Google because you have your URL over
on the Google Business profile that matches your website. You know,
this is my website. This is what I like to
talk about. And that's another way to help increase your
(15:33):
search engine rankings when you actually focus on that Google
Business profile.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Okay, yeah, because I think that we all are familiar
with these terms, but sometimes it might be a where
do we start? What's the most important thing to focus on?
And so I think that that that's true though about
content creation, like if you are making things, or if
you have things you could share on the website, I
think that's constantly kind of going to keep things fraash,
maybe you get new eyes on it, which is really
(15:59):
really important for people as we're growing our businesses. And
so I wanted to I wanted to ask you another
question though, what is important when you're working with somebody
when it comes to choosing a web designer. I know
I've talked to some people that think that you are
just going to create it, know their business, figure it out,
(16:20):
and they don't want to in this This was something
that Beth mentioned too, like there's a lot of intake,
there's a lot of things that you have to do
in order to get the process. So what should people
expect when they're either trying to choose a web designer
or like what that process will look like once you
find somebody who's work you really like.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
The process I think varies greatly depending on who you
work with. I know a lot of fantastic web designers
and we all chat about how we work with their clients,
and we're all very different. I think at the end
of the day, it's you need to find someone who
you get along with, who you like their style, so
going to their website and seeing some of their work
(16:57):
and that you can envision yourself be in a collaborative
relationship with because it is a collaborative process. From my clients,
we do a strategy call that deep dive into understanding
how your business works, how you make money, and then
aligning everything on top of that, and I tend to
(17:18):
I have a very quick turnaround for my projects. Typically
it takes me four weeks to design a website start
to finish, and I like to simplify the process as
much as possible, so I don't have added things here
and there, just streamline it, make it as easy as possible.
But I tend to take everything that I hear from
the client, and we talk about their visual brand and
(17:38):
they collect some content for me, and then I design
it based on that feeling and the strategy behind their business.
And that's how I tend to work with clients. But
I know that there are other web designers who do
it other ways, and I think it's just finding someone
whose process you align with and whose personality in relationship
that can you can make it work for them.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, because I think if you have to obviously, like
you said, the collaboration piece, because I think that some
people might have hired a web designer and then kind
of turned over the reins and gotten back a product
that they didn't really like or they didn't feel like
it it worked for them. So I think that part
is so important to work with somebody and understand how
the process is going to look and what your input
(18:20):
has to be. Because it's really hard for I'm sure
for someone like you to understand exactly what this person
wants to achieve without knowing them very well. So that
part is super important. But four weeks, I feel like
that could be quite a quick turnaround for a lot
of businesses who might think that this process takes six months,
or it's too it's going to cost you much money,
(18:42):
or it's going to be too much work. I think
that that's important to kind of understand how a web
designer works, what their processes, what their fees are, and
just you know when you're making those decisions because it
is difficult for some of us to build. I know,
you can build a website on your own, and you
might have been really good at this when you're in
your nonprofit role in order to take it, but for
(19:02):
some of us, it's a little bit complicated. So what
are some of you mentioned some of the most important pages,
but like what are some of the things, like what
are the moving parts that go behind the scenes in
a website If you have an old website with a
ton of content, like what kind of work goes into
like refreshing something like that. Maybe if you've been in
business for a while, but you haven't really fixed anything
that's been broken.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
Sure, and yeah you said it. You can create your
own website, But understanding the strategy behind the website, I
think is the most important piece for business owners who
have a website that they've built, maybe they've had it
for a while. I tend to see a lot of
times the navigation has gone a little bit too big.
One of the things I like to see is a simple,
(19:46):
clean navigation, typically with five items or less. For service providers,
I love about page because that actually is one of
your highly visited pages on your website. A services tab.
You have a blog or a podcast, that would be
a tab if you have both. Think about bucketing that
(20:07):
under resources using that drop down, and then a contact page.
Finally with a button in the upper right hand corner
of that action that you want people to do. And
a lot of websites sometimes are missing this button. What
do you want someone to do when they do you
a website, book a call, buy that product. Make sure
there's a button in the upper right hand corner. That's
(20:27):
something that I see a lot of websites kind of
let get out of hand just because we want to
share all the things like we got this new program.
We put it up in the navigation. It just starts
rowing across. So thinking about how to streamline that so
that you're driving people to take that action you want
them to take.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
I think, what about like when you want a call
to action? I remember I used to go to it
and I don't know if I've seen this as much anymore,
where like things would pop up or every time you
would get to something, you would pop up. Is that
something that's still you know, useful or is that helpful
or is that something that deters people now that are
on a website from you know, continuing to stay on
(21:04):
that page.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Pop Ups are annoying, but they work.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
They've worked, Okay, they work.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
I don't typically use pop ups on my website. I
tell my clients if they have something that's time sensitive,
or if they are a product based business and they
have like that fifteen percent discuss code to like, that's
a really good use they work. I guess I'll leave
it at that, and I'll I let the client make
the decision if they want to.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Give it a try or not.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Yeah, I didn't usually like click out of them when
I see them. I don't leave the website, but I
click out of them. Yeah, but again a lot of
people don't and they put their email in, so we
think about what works for you.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
That's true because I feel like you're right on some
of the stores where it's like spin this wheel and
get your discount already this, but then it's like, Okay,
give me your email, now, give me your phone over
to text you. You're just like sometimes you say or not,
But I guess it definitely depends on the kind of
business here, and if it's a service business, that might
not be unless, like you said, you have an event
or something where people want to register right away. But
good to know because I wasn't sure if those were
(22:04):
still inflective anymore, or if it was good to have
like book, book, book, a console all over your website,
or if it's really strategic, which might be something that
a web designer would be helpful with.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Yeah, you want to have those calls to action at
least every other section, every other section of your website,
and they don't have to be all the same, just
guiding people to take that next step, whatever it is,
through your website.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Are there any examples of you know, clients you've worked
with who's either their confidence or maybe their results have
you know, kind of climbed after going through this process.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Yes, I actually I got the nicest email yesterday from
a client who I worked with a few months ago,
and she just reached out and said, I'm just loving
my brand and my website. It makes me happy every day.
Thank you. She was a psychiatrist and she had a
therapy website. I think that there's some therapy software they
give you a website you can build yourself. But it
(23:02):
didn't reflect her brand. And together, we designed a new logo,
came up with some beautiful colors and fonts that matched
who she was and who she wanted to work with,
and she had a photo shoot, she got some new
pictures done, and we created a beautiful, like beautiful website
that truly speaks to her ideal client and calls them in.
(23:25):
And her confidence has gone through the roof. She's attracted
more clients that she wants to work with versus those
clients who just got referred to her.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
And so she's a.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Great example of one of those results that you get.
It increases your confidence and you want to tell people
about your website and share it out and there's no
disconnect between meeting someone in person and having a warm
personality and then you go to their website and it's
like sterile and old. Now everything is the same and
it has that continuity to it.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
And you mentioned the confidence, and I feel like that's
something that you know, business owners like as they you know,
as they get to work in their business. It can
be nice to have that confidence boost or kind of
a refresh every once in a while. Do you work
with a lot of different professionals like photographers and things
like that, videographers on these on these more personal parts
(24:17):
of the website that I feel like sometimes Like I know,
when I bought my house, you know, ten years ago,
the picture of the real estate agent who was selling
it on the poster was very different than the man
that showed up, so it felt a little strange. But
how important is it to kind of invest in those
things in your business? And how frequently do you think
that people should think about updating their pictures?
Speaker 3 (24:40):
It makes all the difference in the world. And Christy
is a prime example who I just worked with. I
just worked with the Family Legal Services and they had
photos done and it just brings everything to the next
level because you're seeing photos of yourself. And when I
stay photos done, I don't mean standing against the wall
with like your arm cross wearing a suit. I mean
(25:02):
out talking to people, or walking down the road, or
sitting at a desk, just very casual, beautiful personality. Pack
photos and your visitors will feel that when they come
to the website, they will just feel that openness, that lightness,
and they will relate and make that emotional connection. And
so I believe that having branded photos of you, your team,
(25:23):
your space is essential to a beautiful website that actually
gets the job done.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Yeah. I think so too. I think it's important. I
think that every time I've like refreshed pictures, I've always
felt kind of excited about it, even though like I
don't love getting my picture teaken, Like I feel like
once they're done and you kind of can refresh things
on the website, it's almost like when new chapters start,
new people join the firm, new things happen. It's a
good way to kind of capture that and keep things going.
(25:49):
What are some of the mindset shifts of messaging and
design you know that you might have for a new
client when it comes to like standing out in the
crowd if they're really not either comfortable with it or
not really sure how to do that, if they maybe
have never created a website or a brand before.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
You do need to make yourself known, and you need
to bring out your personality now more than ever because
everything is like AI written, and you can tell when
you read words that were written by AI. And it's
important to find your voice. Maybe you haven't prevected it,
maybe you don't know exactly who you are speaking to,
(26:32):
but you have a really good idea and it's not
just the everyday, same old jargon. There is something about
you that you can write that sounds like you, and
same with the photos bringing that out in the imagery.
It's important to make sure that your space online really
reflects who you are, so that, like I said, when
you're offline, that it matches that personality in that person.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Yes, definitely. And I think I was speaking with somebody
in a networking event and I think she was like
a foot reflex off, but she didn't like any pictures
of herself. She didn't want any pictures of heru on
like her website, and I'm like, I would want to
see you before I show up.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Kind of would want to see who you are, and
like I think that it was just one of those
things of being like I don't want to, I don't
like it. It's more about like this is the work
and this is the technical stuff. And I was like,
I really feel like you should put some videos or
pictures off of like your clean space or something that
would help people like decide that this was good instead
(27:31):
of just being like an informational website like I learned stuff.
Where do I want to go from here? Right?
Speaker 3 (27:38):
You need pictures of yourself and and I see that
a lot in financial companies or legal companies or maybe
consulting groups, larger companies where you don't know who is
behind this brand, and so it's important to make sure
that you're showing your face or your team space or
(27:59):
even just you know, was something of the physical space
that tells people this is who is behind the business.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
It's very important. Yeah. No, I've definitely seen some financial
advice like somewhere there's no visuals at all, and some
like I have a friend and she's very like you know,
the like hile shoes, like suits. It's just like but
that's like the energy that she that's her, and like
some people are going to like love that, and I
love that she like puts that out there. And then
(28:25):
like we're not going to go there and inspect someone
to show up in like sweatpants or like laid back,
like you know exactly what you're gonna get. And so
I think it's just important because it might not be perfect,
it might not be like what you're seeing out there,
but I feel like not everybody wants perfect. They probably
just want especially like you said with AI, like authentic real,
how much more of like you know, where do you
(28:48):
think that that's going to be going next as far
as you know, with all the filter and everything that
we're seeing the you know, chat epee things being like
copy like you know, copy being you know, very easy
to tell. Do you think it's going to make it
harder for people to stand out or you know, maybe
an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
I think it's definitely an opportunity. And we can tell
when you're reading AI copy.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I love AI.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
I think it's such a helpful tool, but then you
need to refine it and make it sound more like you.
And it's such a great opportunity to actually write content
that is your own ideas, written in your own voice,
and it will stand out. And I think Google is
going to take notice as well. There's so much content
that's just written by the AI bots, and I think
(29:34):
that Google is going to start understanding and like you know,
in encouraging people to go to the real content versus
the AI generated content. So now is the chance to shine.
And I love fun personality pack content, especially written by
a copywriter like Beth or so many others that I
work with. It makes all the difference.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, I think it definitely does make a difference. And
you're right. I think it's a tool. I think it's helpful.
It can help with like, you know, things like even
with the podcast, like podcast title, those ideas like stuff
like that that I feel like could be you know, perfected.
But it's not necessarily going to replace you know, really
feeling like you can connect with somebody, which is probably
going to be a little bit different than you know,
(30:15):
what a computer might spit out if you said, you know,
create this copy to get people to go, you know,
buy my book or do that. How has your podcast
helped your firm grow?
Speaker 3 (30:26):
The podcast has been great. I am not a blog writer.
I don't enjoy writing, and I wanted a way to
share content, long form content with an audience, so I've
turned to creating my podcast, and for the podcast, I
do show notes that are in the form of blog posts,
and it's been really fun sharing. It's mostly a solo show,
(30:48):
so typically my episodes are about ten to fifteen minutes long.
I share easy ways that small businesses can up level
their websites with a few changes, and I've gotten a
lot of feedback with people who listen religiously and make
all the changes. I've also had clients come to me
from the podcast, and what's cool is that they understand
my philosophy. They understand everything that I'm saying, so when
(31:11):
we do have that strategy call, we're both like in
sync and we make a beautiful product together. And it's
been a great avenue to just meet new people and
to be able to have a place that I can
share out and send people to learn more to help
them better their businesses.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
I think that's that's great, and I feel like there
is something about when people listen to you and they
hear you. I feel like they do get to know
you in a different way. And I agree I couldn't
stand writing a blog. I did it for an entire
year and it was painful, and talking to people so
much more, it's so much easier. I think for me that, yeah,
writing the blog writing was it felt like work, but
(31:48):
like work for sure. What if somebody is thinking the es,
this is something I need to do. What should people
you know estimate as like a range for a budget
in order to work with somebody professionally who can help
them with their web design.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
I think it depends on if you are doing a
visual rebrand component, so if you're going to redo your logo,
colors and fonts, or if it's just a website, or
if you're going to use have a copywriter get involved
as well. I do offer all three of those options.
For just getting a website built, I would estimate between
you know, about round five thousand four to five thousand,
(32:24):
and then it can go up to eight if we're
going to include copy and logo, but that's working with
someone like myself who's focused on marketing and strategy. You
can also get a website designed for months.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Much less and less expensive.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
But I think that it's just getting a website built
for you, It's not one that's built in strategy and
with marketing first in mind. So it depends on what
you want that final product to be.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
No, I definitely think it's important. I think it's important
for people to invest in something like this because if
you're doing it to check a box, yes you can
do that just signed, but if you really want it
to work. And I do feel like people I barely
go to a restaurant without looking at their website and
looking at the menu anymore, Like it's just it's just
what we do. So I think that is one way
(33:11):
to get people to kind of you know, maybe they
hear about you or they learn about you somehow, and
then the first thing they're probably gonna do before they
call you is look you up. And that's a great
way to I think, communicate who you are, what you do,
how you can help people. And I think the investment
is certainly worth it, and I think that most business
owners who have a beautiful brand and a beautiful website
(33:33):
would agree. So thank you so much Jenny for joining
me today. How can people find you if they want
to listen to your podcast or learn more. I'm guessing
you have a beautiful website. If people are just curious
to check it out. Where should they head?
Speaker 3 (33:45):
Sure, well, we're on the podcast app, so if you
want to hop over to my show, it's website design
made simple, and then you can find me online Jennybdesigns
dot com and I have all the resources and all
the things there.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Thank you so much for joining. I think this is
I think, you know, as we're thinking about business, as
we get into you know, Q three, Q four, you know,
maybe this is something that you've had on your mind
for a while, But I do think that it's a
it's a great investment sometimes to make in your business
that can really help either reboost your confidence or help
you relaunch on the air, or create something brand new
(34:18):
and share it with people. So thank you Jenny so
much for joining me today, and thank you all so
much for listening. If you're looking to learn more about
working with me or listen to more episodes of the
podcast like some that we mentioned today, please head over
to Misty Lynch dot com. I'd love for you to
check that out and I would look forward to talking
to you all again next week. Thank you so much
(34:39):
for joining. Thank you for joining us on another insightful
episode of Demystifying Money. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate,
and leave a review. Stay tuned for more engaging conversations
on our next episode, and remember knowledge is the key
to financial empowerment.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
First one fe
Welcome to the demist Defying Money podcast, where each week
you will hear unforgettable conversations with expert guests about success, money, business,
and small steps you can take to elevate your life
and wealth. Now here's your host, Misty Lynch.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hi everyone, thank you so much for joining this week
for this episode of Demistifying Money. I'm excited today to
talk to Jenny Balanger. She's a website designer, brand strategist,
and the founder of Jenny B Designs. I heard her
speak at one of my networking groups, and I was
really interested in what she had to say about website
design and how it can help businesses reach their ideal
(00:40):
clients and all of the things that are really really
important that sometimes maybe we either focus on too much
and never get started in business, or maybe it's something
that we thought about when we first started our business
and then things have been moving along and we haven't
revisited it since. So I think it's a great idea
to talk about really websites today, what they can do,
(01:02):
how important they are for businesses, and how she helps people.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
So.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
She has a background in nonprofit marketing and a passion
for empowering women led businesses, and she also hosts the
podcast website design Made Simple, which shows design tips and
helps business owners confidently show up online. Jenny, thank you
so much for joining me today.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Thank you, Miste, I'm excited to chat.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
This episode of Demystifying Money with mis Dy Lynch is
proudly sponsored by Soundview Financial Advisors. Visit www dot Soundview
financial Advisors dot com to learn more.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I talked a little bit about your background with the
nonprofit marketing, but can you tell me how you went
from that to launching Jenny B Designs while you were
expecting your first child. Good question.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well, I do come out from the nonprofit world, and
if anyone is in that world, they know you have
to wear so many hats at the same time. You're
doing lots of different things. And one of the things
that I was doing was building the website for the
nonprofit that I was working at, and I loved it.
This was back in the early two thousands, so a
(02:14):
while ago, and I was figuring out how to design
and then really figuring out how people use the internet
because it was so new, and what do we need
to share as the organization and what do we want
the person to do when they visit the website. It
was a passion of mine, and once I designed the
nonprofits website, other nonprofits asked me if I could help
(02:36):
with theirs, and so it slowly became a side business
for quite a while, and when my son was born,
I decided that I wanted to focus full time on
the design. It was my passion and I wanted to
have my own business work, my own hours, be with
my kids. And that's when I fully stepped into the
full time role of Jenny B Designs and it's where
(02:58):
I've been ever since, serving nonprofits, but then mostly since
the pandemic, a lot of online women based businesses and
then local businesses as well.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
During the pandemic, how important was the website? I know,
business wasn't being done the exact same way. We were
all home, we were all online. What happens to businesses
that had a fantastic website versus the ones that maybe
you were scrambling.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
That was such a great time for us web designers,
and I think a great time to be online. People
started to realize, we need a website that actually works
for me, and what I mean by that is that
it makes money for you. It encourages the action you
want someone to take to book a consultation caller to
buy the product. And those businesses who realized that and
(03:46):
either created a new website or rebuilt their existing website
to better serve the audience that they wanted to attract
really up leveled them. And I think they had such
a more powerful impact during that time than those who
didn't actually make changes to their websites.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, no, it's it's interesting, you know obviously how business changes.
But I do think you know, when I first joined Soundview,
we had a website, but it hadn't been looked at
in a number of years, and in my mind, I
saw the website as being like my employee that was
always working. So and you've talked about that being a
(04:25):
money making you know, employee twenty four to seven. How
does that mindset kind of map into a business owner's
relationship when it comes to marketing their own assets.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
You actually hit something on the head. A lot of businesses,
and legacy businesses. By that, I mean someone who's been
around for a long time. They sometimes build that website
and then leave it alone and they're just continuing about
their business. They're getting referrals and just trucking along. But
the thing is is that your website needs to change
(04:56):
as your website ship, as your business shifts and business evolve,
and it's important to look at your website and make
sure that you're speaking to the ideal clients that you
want to work with at that certain point in time,
and that you have imagery that reflects who you are
as a business, and that it's set up to encourage
people to take that action. And so it's an important
(05:18):
asset for your business. In my opinion, I think it's
the number one asset for your business because it is
it's working around the clock for you twenty four to
seven to encourage that action and to book those consultation
calls or to have someone reach out to you and
book business.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, and a lot of the businesses that you help,
I know you mentioned like nonprofits. I know there's people
who are starting their own business. You know, we might
be selling something that our ideal client might not know
who to go for it and they might go straight
to the Internet or straight to a search. So I
think in that respect, the website is super important because
(05:53):
maybe it's not the traditional I'll ask mom and dad,
who is your doctor, who is your this They might
be looking for a business as coach, or a financial
adviser for the first time, or all these other types
of businesses that maybe the first place we're going to
check is typically going to be searching it up on
our phones. And so I do think, what are some
of the you know, what are some of the things
(06:15):
that you've seen on websites that you've maybe taken over
or redone that give that impression that this is outdated
or this isn't really somewhere. What are some of the
off putting things that you've seen that some people might
want to take a look at their website and see
if they notice.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
The first one is probably not having an up to
date brand, a visual brand that represents you. And by
brand I mean your logo, your colors, your fonts. Perhaps
you have a logo that you created a number of
years ago that you know, is this square logo with
the white background. I probably can picture what I'm thinking about,
But logos need to evolve, and from that visual branding
(06:53):
then comes your website design. Everything flows from that brand,
and you can tell pretty quickly when you land on
a website if it's older, there aren't full with pictures.
Maybe the messaging the copy on the website was written
a long time ago. It doesn't really align with the
visitor who's visiting your website today. Maybe the photos are
older and you haven't refreshed them in a while, and
(07:15):
the user experience it's not clean and smooth and quick.
And I think that's a big change from a few
years ago to now. People need to get what they
need answers to immediately, like very quickly, and when they
land on your website, if they don't know that they're
in the right place that you can help them, they're
going to leave. So I always say your most important
part of your website is that hero section. When they
(07:37):
first land three seconds or less. You need to make
sure the person understands that they're in the right place
and that you can solve the problem that they have immediately.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
I was just interviewing someone yesterday, Lasatapiven. If you haven't
listened to that, he's a business coach, and he talked
about the importance of being clear and concise and compelling
and that with confidence. I think that that is so
true with what you just said about the website, because
if it's not clear and you mentioned three seconds. If
(08:06):
it's not concise, people leaves. We don't have a ton
of time or opportunity. They're going to scroll to the
next thing. And that's just kind of the world that
we're in right now. What is your how do you
help your clients with that clarity piece? If they're like
I do all the things and this is important, I
think this is important to me. How do you help
(08:27):
them get that clarity? That's super important to build trust
with your audience.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
As part of the strategy process, we talk about your
overall business goals, but also identify who is your ideal
client or actually I listened to your interview with Beth
and she said you you're Bullseye client, which was really cool.
I like that. But you need to have that person
in mind, and then when you're thinking about the copy
(08:55):
on your website, you're speaking.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
To that exact person.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
That's how you can make sure that you're not using
too much jargon and that it is clear. I always
say clear over clever. It's clear, and that someone knows
that they're being called in because they read your words
and it represents what they have in mind.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, no, that was I'd like that point that she
said about the Bullseye client, because I got a lot
of people that are like, but I want to help everybody.
I can help everybody. It doesn't mean you don't help
other people on the board. It's just and I think
we've all done this when we've gone to a business
and we feel like, yes, this is exactly who I need,
this is who I want to talk to, or ones
where we say nope, that's not for me. It's nice
(09:34):
to almost be able to have people opt in or
out if they're really not a good fit. And I
think the website can do that so much easier than
being on the phone with somebody and discovering that. So,
what are some of the ways that you make people
connect quickly? You mentioned the you know, the hero section, Like,
what are some of the ways that you can kind
of visually bring that quick decision making process by knowing
(09:59):
kind of what the client's goals.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Are that hero section, making sure that there's a picture
when someone lands on your website that shows the results
that you're going to give them. I tend to use
the example of a dentist's office. You don't want to
have a picture of someone sitting in the dentist's chair
for the dentist website, you want someone smiling running in
a field with like straight white tape. That's the transformation
(10:21):
that you're bringing and keeping that in mind in your visuals,
ensuring that your visuals match your brand colors, everything is
very similar, and that it's personable pictures of you, of
your team, of your space if you have a physical location,
and then weaving in the words that is speaking to
that ideal client in a way that's guiding them through
(10:45):
their website journey. You might start on the home page
and then you would be leading them to the services page,
and then ensuring that you are leading them to that
contact page or to that phone number that you want
them to call, whatever that action is you want them
to do. Ensuring that everything flows in a way that
it's just visually and educationally easy for someone to understand
(11:08):
what you want them to do on that website.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I think that's I think that's super important about you know,
the team and the space and kind of weaving that in.
I think that we do kind of we do kind
of make these decisions really quickly. But I feel like
sometimes people I know this has happened with like the
old the firm that I was at before I was here,
and I love the guys that ran it, but they
(11:33):
wanted they changed the whole branding to like black and
white with like a mountain lion and the hero section.
And it was like, but their goal they liked working
with like CrossFit athletes, you know, probably like you know
more I mean, and there were two men who were
in their you know, early forties, So I feel like
that was really their target. And so I was like,
(11:56):
I don't want to send my people here because it
and it wasn't me. And I was thinking about that,
and that was one of the things that I thought
about when I left, was like, they don't need to change,
like this is what they this is working, because it
would probably take some of the women I work with
or some of the couples and they might be like, no,
(12:17):
it's to album too aggressive, like I might not have
enough money for this, like and so it was just
interesting how that was like to me, it just made sense.
I couldn't really explain like why. It just was like
a feeling when you look at something. So I think
that's so and it's kind of a cool thing to
work on. But I will say that it's hard to
(12:39):
figure out if it's perfect or right. So what do
you say to business owners who were constantly trying to rebrand,
redo all the design stuff because that feels like progress
when maybe they're not making sales or they're not like
the businesses and they think that that's the trick. Is
(13:00):
too much that you can do when you're trying to
figure out, you know, this piece of your business.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
I think there's absolutely too much you can do. If
you are putting effort into a redesign project and you
start with your visual branding, you put a lot of
thought into that, and then you translate it into the website.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
That's just step one.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
You're creating a space that you are wanting to share
with your ideal client to attract them and then repel
the ones that you don't want to work with. It
works both ways. But then after that, I see a
lot of times where people will, you know, play with
their pictures or move some words around, or shift some
things here and there, and I think that that is
(13:41):
a little bit too much emphasis on your website. Perhaps
putting a little bit more emphasis on maybe adding some
blog posts or some content to your website and doing
so you are increasing your authority, you're sharing it with
the world, but you're also telling Google this is what
I like to talk about, this is my expertise, and
(14:02):
therefore you can be found more easily on Google. And
then getting people to get to your website. I love
meeting people in person and sending it to my website.
I find that that's a large piece of the puzzle,
and networking with people and sharing out your site. Once
you build it, they don't immediately come. It's a work
in progress, so you always need to get out there,
share the world the word, and send people back to
(14:24):
your website whenever possible. And that's another way to gain
traction with the search engines, getting that traffic over there.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Right because that piece is important too. And so once
the website is built, how important is that ranking or
making sure that things are still going to it. I
know some people may be pay to rank higher, but
what are some ways if you have like a more
limited budget, that you can make sure that the website
is fresh and that people are seeing it.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Like I mentioned, writing content, blog posts, it still matters.
That's a big piece of the puzzle. If you have
a podcast like you do, I know you put your
episode on your website. That's another form of content or
just having some regular content scheduling as well as thinking
about your Google Business profile. And I find this goes
(15:11):
adjacent with your website. Okay, that is another avenue that
you can update, add posts, to add content to and
it just pays Google because you have your URL over
on the Google Business profile that matches your website. You know,
this is my website. This is what I like to
talk about. And that's another way to help increase your
(15:33):
search engine rankings when you actually focus on that Google
Business profile.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Okay, yeah, because I think that we all are familiar
with these terms, but sometimes it might be a where
do we start? What's the most important thing to focus on?
And so I think that that that's true though about
content creation, like if you are making things, or if
you have things you could share on the website, I
think that's constantly kind of going to keep things fraash,
maybe you get new eyes on it, which is really
(15:59):
really important for people as we're growing our businesses. And
so I wanted to I wanted to ask you another
question though, what is important when you're working with somebody
when it comes to choosing a web designer. I know
I've talked to some people that think that you are
just going to create it, know their business, figure it out,
(16:20):
and they don't want to in this This was something
that Beth mentioned too, like there's a lot of intake,
there's a lot of things that you have to do
in order to get the process. So what should people
expect when they're either trying to choose a web designer
or like what that process will look like once you
find somebody who's work you really like.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
The process I think varies greatly depending on who you
work with. I know a lot of fantastic web designers
and we all chat about how we work with their clients,
and we're all very different. I think at the end
of the day, it's you need to find someone who
you get along with, who you like their style, so
going to their website and seeing some of their work
(16:57):
and that you can envision yourself be in a collaborative
relationship with because it is a collaborative process. From my clients,
we do a strategy call that deep dive into understanding
how your business works, how you make money, and then
aligning everything on top of that, and I tend to
(17:18):
I have a very quick turnaround for my projects. Typically
it takes me four weeks to design a website start
to finish, and I like to simplify the process as
much as possible, so I don't have added things here
and there, just streamline it, make it as easy as possible.
But I tend to take everything that I hear from
the client, and we talk about their visual brand and
(17:38):
they collect some content for me, and then I design
it based on that feeling and the strategy behind their business.
And that's how I tend to work with clients. But
I know that there are other web designers who do
it other ways, and I think it's just finding someone
whose process you align with and whose personality in relationship
that can you can make it work for them.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, because I think if you have to obviously, like
you said, the collaboration piece, because I think that some
people might have hired a web designer and then kind
of turned over the reins and gotten back a product
that they didn't really like or they didn't feel like
it it worked for them. So I think that part
is so important to work with somebody and understand how
the process is going to look and what your input
(18:20):
has to be. Because it's really hard for I'm sure
for someone like you to understand exactly what this person
wants to achieve without knowing them very well. So that
part is super important. But four weeks, I feel like
that could be quite a quick turnaround for a lot
of businesses who might think that this process takes six months,
or it's too it's going to cost you much money,
(18:42):
or it's going to be too much work. I think
that that's important to kind of understand how a web
designer works, what their processes, what their fees are, and
just you know when you're making those decisions because it
is difficult for some of us to build. I know,
you can build a website on your own, and you
might have been really good at this when you're in
your nonprofit role in order to take it, but for
(19:02):
some of us, it's a little bit complicated. So what
are some of you mentioned some of the most important pages,
but like what are some of the things, like what
are the moving parts that go behind the scenes in
a website If you have an old website with a
ton of content, like what kind of work goes into
like refreshing something like that. Maybe if you've been in
business for a while, but you haven't really fixed anything
that's been broken.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
Sure, and yeah you said it. You can create your
own website, But understanding the strategy behind the website, I
think is the most important piece for business owners who
have a website that they've built, maybe they've had it
for a while. I tend to see a lot of
times the navigation has gone a little bit too big.
One of the things I like to see is a simple,
(19:46):
clean navigation, typically with five items or less. For service providers,
I love about page because that actually is one of
your highly visited pages on your website. A services tab.
You have a blog or a podcast, that would be
a tab if you have both. Think about bucketing that
(20:07):
under resources using that drop down, and then a contact page.
Finally with a button in the upper right hand corner
of that action that you want people to do. And
a lot of websites sometimes are missing this button. What
do you want someone to do when they do you
a website, book a call, buy that product. Make sure
there's a button in the upper right hand corner. That's
(20:27):
something that I see a lot of websites kind of
let get out of hand just because we want to
share all the things like we got this new program.
We put it up in the navigation. It just starts
rowing across. So thinking about how to streamline that so
that you're driving people to take that action you want
them to take.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
I think, what about like when you want a call
to action? I remember I used to go to it
and I don't know if I've seen this as much anymore,
where like things would pop up or every time you
would get to something, you would pop up. Is that
something that's still you know, useful or is that helpful
or is that something that deters people now that are
on a website from you know, continuing to stay on
(21:04):
that page.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Pop Ups are annoying, but they work.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
They've worked, Okay, they work.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
I don't typically use pop ups on my website. I
tell my clients if they have something that's time sensitive,
or if they are a product based business and they
have like that fifteen percent discuss code to like, that's
a really good use they work. I guess I'll leave
it at that, and I'll I let the client make
the decision if they want to.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Give it a try or not.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Yeah, I didn't usually like click out of them when
I see them. I don't leave the website, but I
click out of them. Yeah, but again a lot of
people don't and they put their email in, so we
think about what works for you.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
That's true because I feel like you're right on some
of the stores where it's like spin this wheel and
get your discount already this, but then it's like, Okay,
give me your email, now, give me your phone over
to text you. You're just like sometimes you say or not,
But I guess it definitely depends on the kind of
business here, and if it's a service business, that might
not be unless, like you said, you have an event
or something where people want to register right away. But
good to know because I wasn't sure if those were
(22:04):
still inflective anymore, or if it was good to have
like book, book, book, a console all over your website,
or if it's really strategic, which might be something that
a web designer would be helpful with.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Yeah, you want to have those calls to action at
least every other section, every other section of your website,
and they don't have to be all the same, just
guiding people to take that next step, whatever it is,
through your website.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Are there any examples of you know, clients you've worked
with who's either their confidence or maybe their results have
you know, kind of climbed after going through this process.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Yes, I actually I got the nicest email yesterday from
a client who I worked with a few months ago,
and she just reached out and said, I'm just loving
my brand and my website. It makes me happy every day.
Thank you. She was a psychiatrist and she had a
therapy website. I think that there's some therapy software they
give you a website you can build yourself. But it
(23:02):
didn't reflect her brand. And together, we designed a new logo,
came up with some beautiful colors and fonts that matched
who she was and who she wanted to work with,
and she had a photo shoot, she got some new
pictures done, and we created a beautiful, like beautiful website
that truly speaks to her ideal client and calls them in.
(23:25):
And her confidence has gone through the roof. She's attracted
more clients that she wants to work with versus those
clients who just got referred to her.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
And so she's a.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Great example of one of those results that you get.
It increases your confidence and you want to tell people
about your website and share it out and there's no
disconnect between meeting someone in person and having a warm
personality and then you go to their website and it's
like sterile and old. Now everything is the same and
it has that continuity to it.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
And you mentioned the confidence, and I feel like that's
something that you know, business owners like as they you know,
as they get to work in their business. It can
be nice to have that confidence boost or kind of
a refresh every once in a while. Do you work
with a lot of different professionals like photographers and things
like that, videographers on these on these more personal parts
(24:17):
of the website that I feel like sometimes Like I know,
when I bought my house, you know, ten years ago,
the picture of the real estate agent who was selling
it on the poster was very different than the man
that showed up, so it felt a little strange. But
how important is it to kind of invest in those
things in your business? And how frequently do you think
that people should think about updating their pictures?
Speaker 3 (24:40):
It makes all the difference in the world. And Christy
is a prime example who I just worked with. I
just worked with the Family Legal Services and they had
photos done and it just brings everything to the next
level because you're seeing photos of yourself. And when I
stay photos done, I don't mean standing against the wall
with like your arm cross wearing a suit. I mean
(25:02):
out talking to people, or walking down the road, or
sitting at a desk, just very casual, beautiful personality. Pack
photos and your visitors will feel that when they come
to the website, they will just feel that openness, that lightness,
and they will relate and make that emotional connection. And
so I believe that having branded photos of you, your team,
(25:23):
your space is essential to a beautiful website that actually
gets the job done.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Yeah. I think so too. I think it's important. I
think that every time I've like refreshed pictures, I've always
felt kind of excited about it, even though like I
don't love getting my picture teaken, Like I feel like
once they're done and you kind of can refresh things
on the website, it's almost like when new chapters start,
new people join the firm, new things happen. It's a
good way to kind of capture that and keep things going.
(25:49):
What are some of the mindset shifts of messaging and
design you know that you might have for a new
client when it comes to like standing out in the
crowd if they're really not either comfortable with it or
not really sure how to do that, if they maybe
have never created a website or a brand before.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
You do need to make yourself known, and you need
to bring out your personality now more than ever because
everything is like AI written, and you can tell when
you read words that were written by AI. And it's
important to find your voice. Maybe you haven't prevected it,
maybe you don't know exactly who you are speaking to,
(26:32):
but you have a really good idea and it's not
just the everyday, same old jargon. There is something about
you that you can write that sounds like you, and
same with the photos bringing that out in the imagery.
It's important to make sure that your space online really
reflects who you are, so that, like I said, when
you're offline, that it matches that personality in that person.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Yes, definitely. And I think I was speaking with somebody
in a networking event and I think she was like
a foot reflex off, but she didn't like any pictures
of herself. She didn't want any pictures of heru on
like her website, and I'm like, I would want to
see you before I show up.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Kind of would want to see who you are, and
like I think that it was just one of those
things of being like I don't want to, I don't
like it. It's more about like this is the work
and this is the technical stuff. And I was like,
I really feel like you should put some videos or
pictures off of like your clean space or something that
would help people like decide that this was good instead
(27:31):
of just being like an informational website like I learned stuff.
Where do I want to go from here? Right?
Speaker 3 (27:38):
You need pictures of yourself and and I see that
a lot in financial companies or legal companies or maybe
consulting groups, larger companies where you don't know who is
behind this brand, and so it's important to make sure
that you're showing your face or your team space or
(27:59):
even just you know, was something of the physical space
that tells people this is who is behind the business.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
It's very important. Yeah. No, I've definitely seen some financial
advice like somewhere there's no visuals at all, and some
like I have a friend and she's very like you know,
the like hile shoes, like suits. It's just like but
that's like the energy that she that's her, and like
some people are going to like love that, and I
love that she like puts that out there. And then
(28:25):
like we're not going to go there and inspect someone
to show up in like sweatpants or like laid back,
like you know exactly what you're gonna get. And so
I think it's just important because it might not be perfect,
it might not be like what you're seeing out there,
but I feel like not everybody wants perfect. They probably
just want especially like you said with AI, like authentic real,
how much more of like you know, where do you
(28:48):
think that that's going to be going next as far
as you know, with all the filter and everything that
we're seeing the you know, chat epee things being like
copy like you know, copy being you know, very easy
to tell. Do you think it's going to make it
harder for people to stand out or you know, maybe
an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
I think it's definitely an opportunity. And we can tell
when you're reading AI copy.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I love AI.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
I think it's such a helpful tool, but then you
need to refine it and make it sound more like you.
And it's such a great opportunity to actually write content
that is your own ideas, written in your own voice,
and it will stand out. And I think Google is
going to take notice as well. There's so much content
that's just written by the AI bots, and I think
(29:34):
that Google is going to start understanding and like you know,
in encouraging people to go to the real content versus
the AI generated content. So now is the chance to shine.
And I love fun personality pack content, especially written by
a copywriter like Beth or so many others that I
work with. It makes all the difference.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, I think it definitely does make a difference. And
you're right. I think it's a tool. I think it's helpful.
It can help with like, you know, things like even
with the podcast, like podcast title, those ideas like stuff
like that that I feel like could be you know, perfected.
But it's not necessarily going to replace you know, really
feeling like you can connect with somebody, which is probably
going to be a little bit different than you know,
(30:15):
what a computer might spit out if you said, you know,
create this copy to get people to go, you know,
buy my book or do that. How has your podcast
helped your firm grow?
Speaker 3 (30:26):
The podcast has been great. I am not a blog writer.
I don't enjoy writing, and I wanted a way to
share content, long form content with an audience, so I've
turned to creating my podcast, and for the podcast, I
do show notes that are in the form of blog posts,
and it's been really fun sharing. It's mostly a solo show,
(30:48):
so typically my episodes are about ten to fifteen minutes long.
I share easy ways that small businesses can up level
their websites with a few changes, and I've gotten a
lot of feedback with people who listen religiously and make
all the changes. I've also had clients come to me
from the podcast, and what's cool is that they understand
my philosophy. They understand everything that I'm saying, so when
(31:11):
we do have that strategy call, we're both like in
sync and we make a beautiful product together. And it's
been a great avenue to just meet new people and
to be able to have a place that I can
share out and send people to learn more to help
them better their businesses.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
I think that's that's great, and I feel like there
is something about when people listen to you and they
hear you. I feel like they do get to know
you in a different way. And I agree I couldn't
stand writing a blog. I did it for an entire
year and it was painful, and talking to people so
much more, it's so much easier. I think for me that, yeah,
writing the blog writing was it felt like work, but
(31:48):
like work for sure. What if somebody is thinking the es,
this is something I need to do. What should people
you know estimate as like a range for a budget
in order to work with somebody professionally who can help
them with their web design.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
I think it depends on if you are doing a
visual rebrand component, so if you're going to redo your logo,
colors and fonts, or if it's just a website, or
if you're going to use have a copywriter get involved
as well. I do offer all three of those options.
For just getting a website built, I would estimate between
you know, about round five thousand four to five thousand,
(32:24):
and then it can go up to eight if we're
going to include copy and logo, but that's working with
someone like myself who's focused on marketing and strategy. You
can also get a website designed for months.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Much less and less expensive.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
But I think that it's just getting a website built
for you, It's not one that's built in strategy and
with marketing first in mind. So it depends on what
you want that final product to be.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
No, I definitely think it's important. I think it's important
for people to invest in something like this because if
you're doing it to check a box, yes you can
do that just signed, but if you really want it
to work. And I do feel like people I barely
go to a restaurant without looking at their website and
looking at the menu anymore, Like it's just it's just
what we do. So I think that is one way
(33:11):
to get people to kind of you know, maybe they
hear about you or they learn about you somehow, and
then the first thing they're probably gonna do before they
call you is look you up. And that's a great
way to I think, communicate who you are, what you do,
how you can help people. And I think the investment
is certainly worth it, and I think that most business
owners who have a beautiful brand and a beautiful website
(33:33):
would agree. So thank you so much Jenny for joining
me today. How can people find you if they want
to listen to your podcast or learn more. I'm guessing
you have a beautiful website. If people are just curious
to check it out. Where should they head?
Speaker 3 (33:45):
Sure, well, we're on the podcast app, so if you
want to hop over to my show, it's website design
made simple, and then you can find me online Jennybdesigns
dot com and I have all the resources and all
the things there.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Thank you so much for joining. I think this is
I think, you know, as we're thinking about business, as
we get into you know, Q three, Q four, you know,
maybe this is something that you've had on your mind
for a while, But I do think that it's a
it's a great investment sometimes to make in your business
that can really help either reboost your confidence or help
you relaunch on the air, or create something brand new
(34:18):
and share it with people. So thank you Jenny so
much for joining me today, and thank you all so
much for listening. If you're looking to learn more about
working with me or listen to more episodes of the
podcast like some that we mentioned today, please head over
to Misty Lynch dot com. I'd love for you to
check that out and I would look forward to talking
to you all again next week. Thank you so much
(34:39):
for joining. Thank you for joining us on another insightful
episode of Demystifying Money. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate,
and leave a review. Stay tuned for more engaging conversations
on our next episode, and remember knowledge is the key
to financial empowerment.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
First one fe
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