Do your website, materials and presentation project the expertise you have and the message you intend?
Professional Speakers and Digital Course Creators
Your website is your hub and reliable connection to your market.
A website for speakers and Course Creators must:
- Build credibility
- Provide value
- Cultivate new opportunities/students
Professional Speakers
You need to a site that demonstrates your expertise in the subject matter and how you captivate and inspire your audience. Is your site working for you in this way? Or, is it lazing on the job?
Digital Course Creators
Whether or not you host your digital course on your own site or another platform, your WordPress website can grow with your business and help you connect with potential students and nurture them through your sales process.
Mozak Design (.com)
Knowing you need a website and getting one that works for you are two different things.
Where do you start? Start with arming yourself.
Start by learning some of the more technical aspects so you can speak confidently with potential designers and developers and avoid the greatest mistake–not getting the site you need that works for you.
The link below will take you to the Web design page, where you can share your email address in the pop-up form to receive your download.
Prepare materials that demonstrate your expertise.
Jocelyn Mozak, a business coach for creative professionals, uses an opt-in download that:
- Trades her guide on Overwhelm for the visitor’s email address.
- Demonstrates that she knows and understands her clients’ struggles and needs.
- Allows her to continue to court them through a thoughtful thank-you page encouraging them to schedule a strategy call (some site owners use nurturing emails to continue that relationship and courtship).
These materials can then be designed in a way that enables the users to easily print, follow, and apply them. Design can facilitate the usability and the memorability of your materials.
Don’t forget, you’ll also need handouts as part of your presentation or course.
Create a presentation that’s engaging, not death-by-Power Point.
We’ve all seen them. If you’ve been anywhere near the military, you’ve experienced it. There’s nothing like a Power Point presentation from most military officers to put people to sleep. I’m surprised it’s not become one of their WMDs (weapon of mass distraction).
Your slides don’t have to have everything you’re saying–just the main idea or takeaway. Your voice is the captor! Use it! Don’t let your audience get lost in reading when they should be listening.
After you’ve written the presentation, you and your designer/strategist can work on how to:
- create the slide deck you need,
- determine what kinds of notes you’ll need to prompt you during the presentation,
- address how the audience might use it should they have access to it, and
- discuss what other materials might be necessary instead of access to the slides.
Before and after
Jocelyn’s presentation was unusually clean and good to begin with. But, even the small changes we made make a big impact, especially when we compare the top left (before) and top right (after) slides. The audience can quickly glance at and digest the key points and then refocus their attention on her and what she’s say. There’s not competing against the text on her own slide.
The bottom left (before) and bottom right (after) demonstrate a small change with big impact, slightly altering the design and adding in an actual community photo. This helps the audience see the real people she’s connecting in in the community.
Before (left) and After (right)
Website, handouts, and presentation
It starts with solid branding. Now that you’ve got a career as a speak or course creator, it might be time to rebrand. You’ve tested the market and your materials. You know it’s needed and desirable. But, to reach that next level and authority, rebranding starts with confirming your “why”; identifying your brand attributes and your ideal client; and using all of this as filters for anything you create for your brand.
Once the foundation has been laid with rebranding, all other materials and your website need to be integrated with the new message and style.
Fat Dog Creatives can help you create the visuals and consistency you need to shine and stand out!