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What goal do you want your website to accomplish? Make more sales, generate newsletter sign-ups, get people to download your podcast? Listen in as branding designer and creative director Sara Schultz shares how to strategically build a compelling website for your audience.

Sara Schultz is a Brand Designer & Creative Director helping powerhouse dreamers and doers brand their business to captivate their dream clientele.

Website // Instagram // This Fem // The Merry Hour

The episode:

Katrina Widener: [00:00:00] Hi everyone. This is Katrina. And today we have Sara Schulz on the podcast. She's going to be talking to us all about branding and particularly the idea for a framework of a brand centric and compelling website. So thank you so much for coming on today, Sarah, and I'd love to hear a little bit more about what you do and everything that you've got going on right now for your business.

Sara Schulz: [00:00:24] Thank you for having me. This is so fun. My name is Sara and I am a brand designer and a community builder and a cheerleader for small business owners. And my goal is to really help you all, who have these big dreams bring those into reality. And so I coach and consult and create the brand assets that bring your brand vision to life. So everything from logos, brand patterns, font, pairings, colors, those core foundational components that build out your brand, the visual components of your brand. I create all of those pieces. And then we can talk about creating collateral, like a website, business cards, marketing materials, both print and digital -- all of the guest-facing touchpoints that really bring a brand into that reality, bringing in the visual and compelling, beautiful things that really get consumers bought into whatever your brand vision is or whatever your business is.

Katrina Widener: [00:01:21] Thank you so much for explaining that because I've also seen your stuff and it's beautiful. So I love looking it all the time. But I feel like a lot of times people are like, so branding is a logo, right? That's it? That's everything? Which like, definitely is not the case. So how did you get started with branding? How did you get started in all of that? 

Sara Schulz: [00:01:40] I got started by learning how unfortunate it was that so many people thought branding was just a logo. I actually have a background in stationary design and I started my business in the wedding industry, which was fantastic and magical at the time. But what I quickly discovered was as my brides were coming back to me for more design work after their wedding sharing, "Hey, I'm starting a business, I'm starting a nonprofit. I've got this new project. Can you create a logo for me?" One, it was so fun to work with other entrepreneurial spirits like me. So where I was running my own business working with brides, those brides and I were on different pages, doing different things. Then when the brides came back to me saying, "Hey, I'm a business owner now, too. And I want to create XYZ and bring it out into the world. Can you help me?" I loved working with people like who are listening to the podcast right now. We're a little nuts, we're a little out there,  our deep belief in our ability to succeed in this very trying environment in a naturally,  more difficult career path is just I'm, I get so much energy from working with people like us. And so those initial clients came back asking for logo work and I would create a logo. And then I would see that I had not armed them at all to be successful with what they were doing. I was not giving them any sort of visual framework for success.

I wasn't helping them establish their true brand identity. And tell their story this is all about storytelling. And so the more clients I was working with who just wanted a logo, "It'll be easy, I have this idea. Can you make this?" Like all of those, "it's just quick and dirty. I promise it won't be hard." But what I quickly learned from all of that was that I had, an opportunity and like a calling to help educate people on ways to make their brand experience a significantly better one. And so as as I kept evolving my process, my services and my core packages evolved into now something that I feel is quite simple, that there's two core packages that you can fit into, but both really arm business owners with the ability to create that brand identity, that visual brand that they're really proud of.

Katrina Widener: [00:03:56] That's awesome. As a coach, I also see oftentimes like when I work with business owners, It's always like I have all of the pieces, but I don't exactly know how to put it together. I know how to do this. I know how to do that. I have this resource, I have this creative, but what do I do with it once I get it. And I really love when like a service provider or someone who works with entrepreneurs in general can be like, look, I'm not only going to give you the thing, but I'm going to give you how to use the thing. Yeah, I'm going to be like, yes, here's copy for your website, but this is also how it's laid out. Like, here's like a logo, but here's also the other branding elements you need in order to make up full picture, because it really does, like you said, come back down to storytelling. Whether it's marketing or branding, social media, whatever it is, it's all about telling your story and having your clients connect to that story. And I always say the secrets to marketing is allowing your client to see themselves in you. 

Sara Schulz: [00:04:52] Yeah, I got goosebumps. 

Katrina Widener: [00:04:54] Yes!

Sara Schulz: [00:04:54] I suppose anyone that's listening can't see I'm showing my goosebumps. That's exactly what it is. And my goal, which was very similar to yours is how can we make the people we work with, how can we make their jobs easier? How can we make better for them? How can we ensure that our piece of what we're doing for their business helps their business be successful. And it's a lot, it's a lot to take in when you're getting something off the ground, but some of these foundational things are just to me non-negotiables that really accounted for whether that's with your time, if you're going to DIY or research or your money, and you're paying a coach or you're paying a designer, you're paying like all these different components need to come in to make a really strong business,right. And so I think for both of us it's about storytelling the best way for that consumer and how can we help that person , our client, so that they find their dreamy clients.

Katrina Widener: [00:05:50] Exactly. I'm sure that the people who follow me are like Katrina, stop talking about alignment already, but it's just it is my thing. It's like what I nerd out about so much. It's just if you're doing something or if you're approaching something and it's not aligned with who you are and therefore not aligned with your business, or if you're putting shoulds or I need tos or whatever into it. And it taints the story also, if you're trying to tell your story, but you're adding in like, I saw my competitor doing this, or, and I'm sure this happens with branding a lot, all the time, too. Like, Ooh, watercolor is super popular right now. Or these fun poppy colors are what everybody's doing. And it's like, I know for me, myself, like I'm not a fun puppy color person.  That's just not how I show up. I'm like I'm normally in black and neutrals and that's just like how I like read my life. So for me to have something in authentic, and for me, I really think of inauthentic as just out of alignment and not aligned with who I am or not aligned with who my clients are, then that story doesn't get told correctly. And that's one of the many reasons why branding is just so, so important and integral to the process. 

Sara Schulz: [00:06:57] You could just have done this podcast all by yourself. That's you got it. You're nailing it. 

Katrina Widener: [00:07:02] I can talk about alignment all day, but the branding stuff is not my area of expertise. But that's okay! Again, alignment , everybody has a thing that they're here for, and that is just not what I'm here for. So let's talk a little bit about something that people can take away and learn about branding from this episode. And that is really the idea of having a framework for really brand-centric and compelling website. So I'm going to let you share a little bit about that because as I said, that's just not my area of expertise.

Sara Schulz: [00:07:35] Sure. First and foremost, one of the other key points that I think consumers are confused about is that a website is their branding and that's not true. Your branding comes first and your website would be a piece of brand collateral. Your website is a marketing tool or a landing page for people to come and take action to interact with you. So I'll just level-set real quickly there that we will be talking about a piece of brand collateral today called your website. And there is some really amazing kind of rules that should be followed when it comes to building out your website that like you said, is very brand centric and compels the audience that you're interested in targeting. So typically I'm always working with a client on branding and the next thing we do is our website, which is why oftentimes they're lumped together in one conversation, which is why I'm very okay with talking about this website focus today because it's such an important tool.

We all need to have a home on the internet that is owned. I know that you share a lot about this with your platform too, and I'll just support some of the evidence you provided, but instagram is not owned by you. It's owned by Instagram. Facebook is owned by Facebook, but your website is yours. Your email list is yours.

And so if you're pouring your heart and soul in some of these platforms that aren't yours, I would like to just encourage you to think of ways that you can simply shift some of some of those assets into owned assets instead of rented assets. 

Katrina Widener: [00:09:08] Yes, I can't snap my fingers, but if I could snaps for you.

Sara Schulz: [00:09:14] That's always one thing I'm talking to my clients about. So when it comes to a really compelling, brand centric website, the number one place you need to start is... you guessed it, your branding has to be rock solid. And one of the reasons your branding isn't just a logo is because when you're working with a brand designer or an artist who specializes in branding -- notice I'm really throwing that branding word out a lot -- it's not just graphic design. There's strategy that comes into play. There's a deeper level of understanding regarding the marketplace, how you're connecting with your core clientele, the demographic you want to talk to, how you're talking to that demographic, having conversations around why you're talking to that demographic, all of those components inform a brand designer or a branding designer as to what needs to be made to bring your brand vision to life.

And ultimately that's where that alignment comes from. That's where success comes from. And if you don't have that foundation, nothing you build is going to be as effective as it potentially could be. It could work for a little bit of time, just like Instagram can work for a little bit of time for skyrocketing a business. Is it going to work for all time? No, because they could decide to switch it off one day. Or they could decide that they're going to do an update and the algorithm changes. Oh, wait. That happens all the time. So having those foundational components to really build something that you are strategically targeting your audience for is key and branding can be an incredibly effective component for that.

So that's my number one on a compelling website. You have to have strong branding. Now 1.A, Let's just touch on what good branding is. It's not just an amazing logo and color palette and font pairings, patterns, graphic elements. It's also really great brand imagery. I think sometimes those are thought of two different things. So if you're investing in really good branding, I also encourage you to either work with your branding designer or find a photographer that you love, who is on brand with the brand you're building and make sure that you've got really fantastic on brand imagery as well, because something as image-centric as a website is really going to suffer. Even if you have the most beautiful brand assets, if you're missing photographic brand assets, that's a huge gap. So that's my 1.A.

Katrina Widener: [00:11:29] I love that so much because I also think that If we go back to what I was saying about people are trying to find themselves in your brand, or they're trying to see themselves reflected in that. And you don't have any photography of yourself, of what you do, it's really hard for them to imagine what they've never seen. So the way the brain works is it's like I'm trying to complete these patterns of things I've already seen happen in my life. And if they can't see that photo of you working with a client, it's hard for them to picture themselves working with you. It's just like really basic of how the brain works. So I love that so much. 

Sara Schulz: [00:12:01] It's fascinating how interested people are with who built the brand. So if you're a service-based business, you don't have an option, you have to show up like your face literally needs to show up in your marketing materials. You have to be the face of your marketing materials. In general, I would say a vast majority of service-based businesses, your face is in your feed. Your face is on your email campaigns or face is on your website because your service might not be unique, but you are unique. So that needs to get really, called out and highlighted throughout any brand collateral that you're creating. And sometimes that can be a little uncomfortable but consumers are very interested. Even product based businesses, there's I see huge benefit for product based businesses to do the same thing. People like to know their makers, especially people that support small business owners. They want to know that there's a name and a face behind the business behind the brand. So that can be like a little bonus compelling website builder. Make sure that you're not just having brand collateral imagery taken, but get your face in those photos, too.

My second little note is to have very clear calls to action. Again, if you're a service-based business, what is the one action you want them to provide, you want them to execute when they come to your website? So do you want them to book a call? Do you want them to schedule a zoom meeting? Are they clicking through to actually purchase something from you? Or are they buying time with you or are they buying a product? Those calls to action need to be streamlined, very crystal clear with key buttons or large links that almost make it foolproof so that you're almost spoonfeeding them the action that you want them to take. Yes. There's a few different strategic ways you can do this, but I always like to think of the homepage as the preview of the menu. It's like your tasting platter. So on your homepage, you're going to sprinkle a little bit of everything that they're going to see throughout that entire site. But those calls to action are clear. Work with me, book a call, whatever it is, you will not overwhelm by asking the same thing multiple times. And that's basic marketing as well. How many times you see the same commercial during any TV broadcast or whatever you're watching you see that same ad over and over. It's the same thing. We have to really encourage people to take that specific action that you want them to use. And it's one of those things where, like we say it out loud and it's kinda like, "Oh, duh," but you need to think strategically about what that looks like. 

Katrina Widener: [00:14:27] I wish you guys could see me cause I'm just like nodding along like yes. Yes. 

It's real. That's really important. So clear calls to action and whatever that means for you and your business. Make sure that it's crystal clear. And then the third thing, which is hard for me, because I just spent a long time telling you to have a really clear call to action. Use less words. I think we get quite invested in telling very thorough stories on our website, and we feel like it needs to be this novel about who we are and how we got to where we were. No, that's not the purpose of your website. The purpose of your website is not your tell all. It is tell them enough so that they take action and then you get them on a call or you convert the sale or whatever that looks like. Whatever the purpose of your platform is, your website is, but you want to just intrigue them enough to take that action. So that's not giving away the farm. That's just telling them a little bit of information enough to get them interested in compelled to take that action. Less words is really key when it comes to trying to truly compel and convert somebody into working with or buying from you and your business.

It's also so interesting because I see a lot of times people try to keyword stuff like I need SEO. Or they're writing their About Me. I'm a former journalist. I worked in the magazine industry for a really long time and I was professional writer and then a professional editor .And a lot of the About Me... like, I need to tell you every single place that I worked before I got here, and then I need to tell you all about low. And my first year of business, I did this and then my second year of business, I did this. And it's just one of those super, super important things of turning that around and makin45g sure that you're not just writing just to write. You're writing with a purpose and with intention.

Sara Schulz: [00:16:15] That is so important and it is so hard to do it. It's hard to do well. Yes. Same with your brand assets. I say this all the time to my clients. One of the things we always talk about as a consumer, I need your consumers to close their eyes and hear your message. And then plug their ears and see your message and they have to get the same message. Yes. I love that so much. That is what is missed so frequently in this world of DIY design. Easier now than ever to do things yourself. And I think that's fantastic. I love free resources like Canva. I think Squarespace is a fantastic tool. Most of my client builds are on Squarespace. I think it is a great way for not a ton of money to get a beautiful website launched. And there are fantastic templates out there. However, doing it well is the key piece that's often missed. It's you can do it because the tools are there, but can you do it well?

Katrina Widener: [00:17:14] Totally. It's one of those things where honestly, that's part of why the group coaching exists is because, and I actually, I just realized, I never mentioned this at the beginning. Sara is our February expert. She's going to be coming and talking all about branding, but it's one of the reasons why it exists is because a lot of people are like, I am listening to every podcast. I am downloading every freebie. I am buying every single, like $30 course, trying to get all of the pieces of the puzzle, but you need to know how to put those pieces together. And sometimes just a blog post, isn't actually enough to tell you everything that you need to know about something.

Sara Schulz: [00:17:48] It's so true. It's so true. And the market is evolving at a rapid place. So now maybe you've finally DIY'd enough that you've mastered like a stagnant graphic. You can post on Instagram. Guess what? Video and animation is everything now. So go ahead and start studying and learn how to animate that. Like that's so overwhelming. I've hired someone. I brought someone on my team that can help me with those components because there's constant evolution in the marketplace. Consumers want to decide faster than ever. You have such a short amount of time to compel them. You might not even have enough time to have them read one of your words. They might need to decide just by looking at whatever colors you've chosen, your logo, the photos you've selected and curated. That might be all. You get to get them to say, thumbs up, I'm choosing you. Thumbs down. And so it's so, so important to, again, I love how you said, that alignment to you, that intention, that authenticity, genuine, whatever that word is, it can be really overwhelming to have that strategy behind that visual look, the voice. All of those things that it can be pretty, a big project to undertake you're on your own. 

Katrina Widener: [00:18:51] Oh, definitely. Definitely. Thank you so much for sharing all of this too. And for coming and talking about what is going to make your website super compelling. And if you guys also are curious for some examples, Sara is going to have some that she will share with me that we'll put in the shownotes on the website. So you can come and get an idea of some of the things that she's been talking about here, but thank you, Sara so much for coming on here. How can everyone find you? 

Sara Schulz: [00:19:16] 'Thanks for having me. I am on the gram like everyone else's @sarachulzco and I have two other businesses, this femme @thisfem on Instagram and thisfem.com is a brand that believes a quality is a no brainer and everyone can be a feminist. And then I also co-founded The Merry Hour, which at the end of the day is a networking group for badass entrepreneurs who are excited to make an impact and connect. Find us on @themerryhour or merryhour.co.

Katrina Widener: [00:19:44] Thank you so much, Sara. And I am so excited to have you come join us in February to teach all about this in group coaching! 

Sara Schulz: [00:19:52] Thank you. Thank you for having me. This is lovely. I hope everyone learned something new and I can't wait to see some compelling websites popping up

branding examples:

Badass Business Squad Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/badassbusinesssquad/

Katrina Widener Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/katrina.widener/