Let Your Personal Brand Organically Speak to Your Ideal Soul Clients (in a little as 8 seconds!)

You know that feeling when you deliberately visit a website for the first time because you’ve made some sort of connection with the creator, and you stop and take a breath.

It’s like love at first sight. Or woah, what the heck is this beautiful place? Or OMG, that person is speaking directly to me! Or some other version (including shock or resistance!) that means you’re hooked, and they’ve passed the 8-second test and got your attention. (Actually, it’s now estimated as 3 seconds!).

 That first view a visitor gets of your website is the area known as ‘above-the-fold’ (before they start scrolling or clicking away). Every entrepreneur aims to make that precious screen space provoke an unforgettable impression on their ideal prospective customer—so extraordinary that they give you their email address or credit card!

If you don’t have the ‘je-ne-sais-quoi’ element that grabs and holds that precious attention in your Personal Brand and Image, you have effectively lost an opportunity.

In this article, we’ll go over the most vital parts of designing the above-the-fold section of your web page. Still, before we do, I want to share the idea that as long as you are online, your ‘above-the-fold’ image will follow you around. In other words, every time you go live or share a photo or video, the same dynamic is happening! 

Because (apart from full body reels) we are primarily visible only from the waist or shoulders up, that same dynamic applies to you as much as your website, if not more!

Your ‘above-the-fold’ image and social or actual appearance must convey the same powerful message as your website!

Nobody talks about this, but in an online environment where we circulate visibly on Social Media (and in networking), your personal ‘above-the-fold’ information counts for money!

Let’s start with the website and even your Social Media presence. I see many service providers who don’t optimise their personal pages (for example, on Facebook), which is not taking advantage of showing an image and message coherent with their professional page or website.

Believe me, people are always judging or appraising!

So, let’s break this down.

Engaging and valuable content above your website’s fold is the holy grail of website design.

 Whether it’s a stunning banner of you in your Personal Brand glory on a gorgeous landscape or a quality video, both must be representative of 3 things:

 1. Your Message – you are talking primarily to your clients’ heads

 2. Your Mission – you are talking to your clients’ hearts

 3. Your Persona – you are connecting with your clients’ auras

When it comes to messaging, most branding experts would refer to your text copy messaging. But here’s the thing: YOU are your messaging! An image of you paints a thousand words. You are the story, the system and the solution! 

It’s well known now that people need to be able to relate to you and that ‘know, like, and trust’ qualities are prerequisites to sales in the coaching and people-helping industry.

 I’ve seen many websites (even on branding) where I have yet to find a single picture of the creator/expert! This happens often with digital creators who hide behind the aesthetics of their creations, but I’ve also seen Pinterest consultants and even social media advisors. What the actual? You may be selling workbooks, but I still want to see you!

1.  Your Message –

Speak to their head. The key here is that you must be able to reply to the question they are asking themselves: What’s in it for me? 

But what does that mean? You must quickly satisfy the burning subconscious decision we all have when confronted with something new. Visitors will be laser-focused for those precious three seconds to see if you can answer that question, and they usually do that with their heads or reasoning.

Branding and Messaging Titan Brendon Kane says:

 “If this were the last video I was ever going to make, what would it say? If this is going to be the best video on this topic, how can I make it the best video ever? What will present the content in the best way it’s ever been presented before? Why do I share the content that I share? What do I like about the content I see? How can I make a meaningful impact on the world?” 

― Brendan Kane, One Million followers – How I built a social media following in 30 days

Marvellous questions right?

Many top marketers insist on using prospects’ pain points to grab their attention, in other words, targeting a challenge they’re trying to overcome. We all know how that goes…

“Are you done with spinning your wheels and confusion on the best way to market your offers”

“Are you overwhelmed and frustrated trying to manage work and home life and stay healthy and beautiful?” 

There are a million and one versions of this tactic but it is effective!

Others are advocates for the opposite approach, believing that it’s insulting to hassle people’s sensibilities!

They use the language of desire and possibility to touch on a visitor’s aspirational attention.

 This one goes..

 “Imagine working 5 hours a day from anywhere in the world as you serve your clients from your dream location”

Or “Are you ready to finally price your offers at the investment you deserve and enrol your perfect clients with ease?”

Different strategy but they all aim to answer the visitor’s question ‘What’s in it for me’?

 Both work, although the former is known to work more than the inspirational latter.

 I find that balancing the two approaches works beautifully in a succinct USP (unique selling proposition), speaking to both the challenge and the solution in one sentence or paragraph.

 Name the problem in words your ideal clients recognise, and tag on an aspirational and inspirational outcome.

In creating that USP, you must be crystal clear about your solution and why it differs from your competitors. A captivating (and original!) USP requires precision and brevity but should also use the vocabulary your ideal customers use.

This information must absolutely be ‘above the fold’. 

I love this info on your landing page banner, for there is nothing more personal than a fantastic picture of you expressing what is most important for your ideal customers.

2. Your Mission

Speak to their hearts:

There is nothing like a heart-stopping mission statement to capture ideal clients’ attention. In a well-written mission, you tune into your visitor’s values, and it is here that you will resonate emotionally or not. 

Your solution or message will already have stirred them (and hopefully your banner!), but following up that information quickly by communicating your ‘why’, purpose or values will ‘seal the deal’. 

This is where the emotional resonance of your personal brand speaks. It is the foundation of organic client attraction, but brevity is the key. Because you are already approaching the fold! 

Even a banner and a USP can take up that precious ‘real estate’ on your site. So I recommend having your USP on your banner and your mission or ‘why’ right underneath. That way, you sock ’em with the essence of your appeal and tell them directly what’s in it for them to hang around!

3. Your persona:

Speak to their future.

I have a key phrase I adhere to as much as possible. 

“Embody in your image, energy and message the outcome your ideal client desires.” 

What this means is that everything about your website, messaging, image and personal brand is not just speaking to the solution and resolution but also to the client’s desires. This is why, earlier on, I mentioned why speaking to the challenge and the solution in the same USP is powerful. This is what makes a good USP! Below is a classic formula on how to construct that.

You know when (insert an example of how your audience or ideal clients are feeling, behaving, or having a problem).

I help (insert description of perfect client/audience/ or avatar) so that they can (describe the happy outcome, results or benefits) 

When you get that right, you reverse the push energy of yang, go-out-and-hunt-for-clients, for the more feminine pull energy of ‘This is who I am and what I stand for’. And most women entrepreneurs prefer that version! 

Finally, your first call to action should be in the above-fold area. It could be a lead magnet in the header above your banner (this is a mighty place for a freebie!) or a compelling invitation right below or even on your banner.

You – Above The fold

Let’s transpose precious information above the fold into your image as you share content, reels, lives, classes, videos and connection calls.

Ask yourself how can I BE my banner? How can I BE my messaging?

How can I BE that solution? 

And this is a great question..

How can I embody the happy outcome?

The answer is in your Organic Personal Brand—it is your most potent Organic Client Attraction tool. Your image, energy, story, and way of communicating can convey your message, authority, and solution and speak to the hearts and minds of your ideal clients. 

So, since we can’t always see your whole image on screen (as you are effectively ‘above the fold’) because we can only see the top part of you, it is imperative to dress in your brand persona on your top half and show up polished. 

There are ways to do this:

By being true to your brand colour palette

By dressing coherent with its energy and vibe

By accessorising with scarves and jewellery

By wearing a brand top like a teeshirt with a logo.

By making an effort with your hair and makeup (even a minimal effort for the latter)

By ensuring your background is attractive and, if possible, on-brand too!

Your background is your most significant accessory online!

By making sure you fill your screen and that your camera is angled at the level of your eyes

By getting into flow or a high vibe before showing up – you could meditate, dance or look in the mirror and remind yourself how awesome you are

By ensuring there are no distractions around you.

Imagine this… you are effectively BEING the banner above the fold when you get on camera!

What does it take to do that?

It starts with really tuning into  how you want your perfect audience to respond to you.

Don’t just think about selling!

This is a subtle, energetic and emotional process that can influence visitors to say ‘yes’ to your freebie and subscribe to your email list, to encourage enrolment, get on a call, subscribe to your podcast or blog. This is Energetic Client Attraction at its best!

Seth Godin, another titan leader said this of our current marketing environment…

“The traditional approaches are now obsolete. One hundred years of marketing thoughts are gone. Alternative approaches aren’t a novelty. They’re all we’ve got left.” Seth Godin

Energetic Marketing and Branding IS THE alternative that will speak to conscious, spiritual, law-of-attraction-loving fem-preneurs. There are a lot of us! Plenty of clients for everyone.

Your Above The Fold website area is a precious asset: it’s your shop window in 1.8 billion to be precise. Your real live ‘Above The Fold’ you with your personality, image and content can multiply exponentially the chance of visitors to your site and the chance they’ll engage in some way.

Every time you show up is an opportunity for that to happen.

Will you make the most of that opportunity?

Then I invite you to snap up my FREE ‘Image To Income’ Bundle with  ‘Styled to Sell’ audio class.

It’s packed with insights and questions to help you craft the answer to the question

‘How can I be recognised by my ideal soul clients’ or ‘How can I retain ideal visitors to my website?’

Go ahead, click below and dive in! Enjoy! And upgrade your ‘Above The Fold’ everywhere you are!