5 ways to use your client avatar to create a website that connects & converts

Mar 16

Using your ICA as the foundation for your webdesign process almost guarantees success! But it’s a commonly missed opportunity, with people frequently completing their client avatar exercise and then forgetting about it.

Here are 5 easy ways to use your client avatar to create a website that connects with the clients you want to work with and converts them into paying customers.

Let’s get cracking!

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What is a client avatar?

A client avatar, also known as an Ideal Client Avatar, Ideal Customer Avatar or ICA is a detailed description of the ideal person you want to work with. If you don’t have an ICA yet - take a mo and read this, and grab my free Ideal Client Worksheet to get started, then come back to this blog.

Why are client avatars important in webdesign?

Your website is your virtual shop front, and like all of the other outward facing parts of your business - your social media, actual real-life shop front, visual branding, publications, ads etc it needs to appeal to the people that you want to be working with.

Put another way, people make the decision to find out more about you and what you have to offer pretty quickly, and different people are attracted to different things.

If your site is created without your ideal client avatar in mind there’s a decent chance they’ll be more attracted to a competitors site that speaks directly to them.

Common mistakes people make with their client avatars

The most common mistake people make with their client avatars is not to use them! They go through the process of creating one, sometimes investing hours, but then when it comes to it, they have such strong ideas driven by their own likes/ dislikes that their website (and other parts of their brand & content) is more about them than their ideal client in the end.

I say this next sentence with love… your website is not about you.

If you can really connect with this idea - that your website is for your ideal client avatar and not for you, then you’re already a good step along the way to creating a website that attracts and converts your ideal clients.

For another common mistake that people make with their ICAs and how to avoid it - read this.

So now you’re clear on who your website’s for (which is half of the battle!) let’s talk about 5 practical things you can do today to create a site that connects with your ideal audience.

1. Create an inspiration Pinterest board as if you are your ideal client avatar

Using your client avatar, start the process of creating a mood board as if you were them. Use Pinterest to pin images of websites, brand logos, colours etc, but also make sure to pin lifestyle and other inspiration images to get a fuller picture of what they’re drawn to. If you know some of your ICAs in real life, get them to help you with this, and challenge you on things you’ve pinned that don’t speak to them (it’s normal that some of the things you love, and they don’t so much will sneak in there to confuse matters!)

Once your Pinterest board is done, you can look at it to draw out themes in colour palette, style, emotion etc, all informing your future website design.

2. Use your title and tagline to connect with their “why”

The title and tagline of your homepage is the most important piece of copy on your website (see more about designing a powerful homepage here). The fact that it’s the first thing that most people read on your site means that it’s an awesome way to connect directly with your ideal client avatar’s why.

Not sure what I’m talking about when I say their ‘why’ - read this blog.

It’s normal that this will take some time to craft, but to make it a little more concrete here are some examples:

Capturing Memories To Last a Lifetime - Photography for adventurous Texas families

The why? Memories to look back on

The what? Photography

The who? Adventurous families

The where? Texas

More business, less busy work

Dubsado helps your business stay in motion. Build relationships, schedule appointments, and create workflows to streamline your projects from start to finish.

The why? Save time on admin and grow your business

The what? Tools to streamline projects

The who? Business owners

The where? N/A

Pinterest Strategy for Online Service Providers

Through strategic, data-based Pinterest services, I help you harness the power of Pinterest to send dream clients straight to your inbox and start earning passive income on autopilot.

The why? Get more clients and passive income

The what? Pinterest strategy

The who? Online service providers

The where? N/A

Feel like a princess on your special day

Wedding hair and makeup for modern brides in Paris

The why? Feel like a princess on your special day

The what? Wedding hair and make up

The who? Modern brides

The where? Paris

In all of these examples, rather than just saying “what” they do, the tagline includes the why - showing the value add or life change that results from their work. It’s this that people are looking for!

3. Write as if you’re speaking to your ideal client

Teleport yourself into a pub, café, office and imagine you’re sitting with your ideal client avatar. Imagine a conversation with them. Even better, have a real conversation with them. Take note of your turns of phrase, lingo, analogies, formalities (or not), and of theirs. What words do they use, what cultural references do they make, what questions do they ask.

Use all of this throughout your website. The way in which you engage with your ideal clients IRL, should be the same as the way you write on your website. You’re talking to them - so write that way too.

4. Use pictures of your client avatar on your website

A really important thing to do to attract and engage your ideal client avatar on your website is to ensure they can see themselves there. If you’re targeting retirement age folks, make sure that you’re using images of people of a similar age to that. If you’re targeting families, make sure your pictures include families.

A note to add here, don’t forget diversity in your image selection. For example, people of retirement age can look many different ways - different fitness levels, different races and ethnicities, different sexual orientations, have invisible or visible disabilities etc. Try to include imagery that is diverse as well as targeted to your ideal client type.

Another way to do this is to include images in your portfolio of work done for other ideal clients (if you’re a webdesigner and your ideal client is a lifestyle photographer - make sure your portfolio is full of websites for lifestyle photographers - even if some of them need to be “passion projects”*)

*Passion projects are projects done “for yourself” as opposed for a real client, they’re a great way to showcase your skills and style if you’re just getting started.

5. Test your website with someone that matches your client avatar

As much as possible test out your site with someone (or several people) who fit your client avatar.

Do they get the in-jokes or cultural references?

Do they feel like the images speak to them and connect with them?

How do they feel when you’re on your site? (clue: you’re looking for responses like “at home”, “comfortable”, “happy place”, “like I belong”, “like you understand me”.

Don’t be afraid to test out your site with a few different people who fit your avatar and make tweaks based on their responses if necessary.

So there you have it, several high impact and easily implementable ways to ensure that your website connects and converts your ideal clients. The step from paper to reality is often a tricky one, but by making your avatar a living breathing part of your business decisions, marketing and communication you harness the power of this exercise and your business (and clients!) will thank you for it.