Let’s do a Web-Content Audit on my Website

This will be embarrassing, but I will do it for us.  Let’s have a look at my website content and structure and do an audit. We’ll  identify the strengths and weaknesses and make a plan on how to improve things .  Sometimes it’s just easier to look at something and find problems than to come up with a plan of what should be there. That’s where that tired cliché about mistakes being 'learning opportunities' comes from. I like to live my life embracing all my flaws and mistakes.  Guess what? I’ve learned a lot of lessons with my ‘fools rush-in’ habits. 

What do the experts say?
If you’ve read my previous web content blogs you’ll see that I regularly refer to other experts who have good advice on offer. I'll always try to check-in with what’s happening in the web-content world, you can’t just write your website once and leave it that way forever.  Why reinvent the wheel when you don’t need to? You can either use other’s advice and replicate it, or you can put your own creative spin on it. Anyway, this blog post by copywriter Jessie Lewis tells you all about what you should have on your website homepage. And, we can’t just use one source of information so there’s also this comprehensive checklist detailing how you can optimise your website homepage by Stream Creative. So let’s assess my website homepage.

What is your home page doing?
Jessie Lewis suggests that your homepage should accomplish these four things: 

1. Communicate your offering and its value
2. Direct visitors to the desired next action
3. Offer basic navigation
4. Build trust

They seem like  pretty good suggestion to me.  I’d also suggest that as much of this story is told to your client in as short and easily accessible way as possible.  So, does my home page do this?
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Making my homepage great again!
Okay, well I guess you’d get the idea that I write stuff and my tiny little logo at the top does indicate that I have something to do with words.  Am I being intriguing? Or, am I pissing people off with my subtle hints about what service I provide? 

Here are the things that I need to change on my homepage
People should be able to tell in a matter of seconds what it is that I do and at the moment my website is not doing a good enough job of that. So I need to:

• Increase the size of my logo
  
• Come up with a strapline to easily describe what service I provide.  
  

I like the picture, so that’s staying, and my menu is accessible and visible (basic navigation) so that ticks a few boxes. 

We’re only part of the way through my homepage, so let’s move on.

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Is my web content working?
So this could be described as the part where I’m ‘communicating my offering and its value’.  It does look like a bit much writing though, and I’m not convinced it’s as impactful as it could be. 
Jessie talks about making value propositions.  Basically it’s a way of framing what you do to tell your clients what benefit your service will be to them. We are all pretty selfish people so most of the time what we want to know is ‘what about me’.  So, it’s time that I change my wording to reflect that.
  
Why would someone want to use my service?  
One reason is because I am great fun, and another is that I am an excellent writer.  Who wouldn’t want that? Some people do not want that actually, so should I tone myself down to broaden my appeal? Um, I don’t think so.  Let’s not get too far down the rabbit-hole of brand voice here, but I just want to say that my brand voice is articulate, sassy, and lots of fun and I only really want to work with people who are after that level of service.  Nobody puts baby in the corner. Last time I updated my website I did tone down my authenticity and made my web content more ‘professional’. I pretty much hate it.  

So, the task for this part of my home page is to:

• Change the tone to match my brand voice (sassy)
• Cut the writing down and make it appeal to my best clients (value proposition) 

​What is the purpose of your website?  
My purpose is to tell people what value I can add with my service and help direct them towards getting in touch with me so that they can start their ‘customer journey’ (this lingo for getting people to continually buy stuff from you is gold isn’t it?).  So I need a system that acts like a virtual usher to  push them through the whole ‘experience’.  

How to guide your customers towards your service
Here’s how I plan to do this:

• I’ll provide directions with a clickable link within each service description.  I’ll tell people clearly what they need to do or where they need to go next. Just like being a good host you have to anticipate your client’s needs and present them with it before they have to ask.
• I’ll package services like I have with my CV and Cover Letter links below and send them to my shop or a contact page. Jessie suggests that sending clients to your about page can be effective too as a way of building trust.

How to build trust
We’re nearly at the end of the homepage audit, hang in there!  As you can see below I’ve got a contact form which invites people to contact me.  Tick. I also have a testimonial slider that helps to ‘build trust’ because it shows why people love me and my work.    

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Club Cabaret Part Deux!
Centrepoint Theatre
Director: Dan Pengelly
 
Review Date: 21/09/2019
 
If you were lucky enough to catch Club Cabaret at Centrepoint Theatre last year, then you will be just as excited as I was to see ‘Part Deux!’ (if you’re scratching your head—it means part two) get brought back along with many of the same lovable characters and a seasoning of fresh ones.
‘Life is a cabaret’ and that is what we get to see at Club Cabaret Part Deux! All the messy and untidy real-life drama between lovable MC ‘Pierre’ played by Dan Pengelly and his wife ‘Darlene’ played by Darlene Mohekey spill out onto the stage. Pierre somehow manages to hold things together and keep ‘Club Cabaret’ moving along in an entertaining yet disintegrating way. 
Emulating the low-budget vibe of your average cabaret there was a very similar set to the last Club Cabaret and if I am not mistaken the sign above musician Kane Parsons had been dusted off and put back up in the same old position.  Clearly, they wished to be extremely authentic.
Darlene Mohekey graced the stage in a variety of different roles impersonating many cabaret stars.  Personally, I think she is bloody great (and I think I am in good company in that opinion).  On opening night Mayor Grant Smith was in attendance and that made him a prime candidate for being dragged up on stage by a drunk Shirley Temple impersonating Darlene.  How she managed to get his fingers in her mouth shocked both me, the audience, and Grant Smith I suspect, and gave me an absolute belly-laugh. I really hope she washed her mouth out after that.   
If my life is a cabaret it is certainly a cabaret with shit costumes. Darlene is an absolute darling and rolled out an exhausting number of costume changes which were all amazing.  Apparently, her Mum was in the audience on the night and is responsible for creating her many beautiful outfits, what a legend (I hope I heard that right). 
I’m considering changing my wardrobe at home to the ‘costume department’ and stealing the reused ‘Club Cabaret’ sign from Centrepoint Theatre after the show is over so I can hang it above my front door.  I’ve also talked to the hubby about installing a trapeze/swing in the front yard so that I can dress up from my ‘wardrobe department’ and swing like Pink and yell feminist rants at the top of my voice.   But this is not about me its about Club Cabaret Part Deux!, I was just getting carried away after all the inspiration on the night.
David Ladderman returns to the show with a personality that’s big enough to fill the room and the room next door and the one next to that.  He seems like the sort of guy who would be fun at parties but annoying all the rest of the time (I wouldn’t know cos I’ve never met him off-stage but if he brings that much energy to a room on a regular day—no, sit down.) David always enters the stage with a variety of regular looking props and somehow makes them seem like the most interesting thing you’ve ever seen.  You won’t need to see the show if I tell you what he gets up to, but I can promise his acts will keep you riveted.
David Heaphy is one of the fresh acts to join Club Cabaret Part Deux! and he gets up to some stuff that is both riveting and sickening.  It was a love/hate situation for me.  Every time he came onstage, I couldn’t help but wonder what sick shit he’d get up to this time.  I think I held my breath the entire time he was on stage, covered my eyes and mouth and squealed ‘no’ or ‘oh my god’ repeatedly.  What he could do with a tennis racket was mind-boggling.
Ellyce Bisson was also a new kid on the block at Club Cabaret Part Deux! and wowed everyone with her gravity-defying dance and aerial acts.  I’ve never been able to get my legs to do what Ellyce did with hers.  Seeing is believing and I believe I can’t.
Indy Henman is also new to Club Cabaret but not to Centrepoint Theatre where she has been involved in a number of excellent shows.  Indy plays an intern at Club Cabaret Part Deux! and is delightful to watch as she refuses to be deterred by Pierre from bringing her own act to the stage. As usual Indy’s charming personality is infectious, and her dance skills are impeccable.
Pierre is a lovely, stoopid, sarcastic character.  Personally I'd like to hug Pierre with my arms and legs wrapped around him.  Unfortunately that's unlikely to happen because Pierre doesn't look like he could hold that kind of weight, and I don't have the strength in my arms to hold myself up. However, if you feel compelled to leap at him and squeeze him hard with your arms and legs I reckon he'd appreciate it.
Maybe you think your life is complete without the sparkle and drama of a good cabaret— it’s probably not. When you go to Club Cabaret Part Deux! you get to laugh and see cool things, and if you don’t want that in your life you should really ask yourself—why not?   If you want to live life dangerously, I’d suggest booking one of the VIP tables at the front of the stage but if you’d just like to watch and laugh from a distance then the back row is a nice safe place to reside.