Pro Makeup Artists: Planning & Building a Website That Brings Clients To You

Once you’ve created your revenue earning portfolio you are now ready to start attracting your niche market clientele.

The first thing you’ll need for clients to BOOK YOU is a gorgeous website.

I’ll let you in on a secret….

If there is one area that new makeup artists fail at, it’s planning and implementing a gorgeous website.  I’ve spoken to many new and not so new makeup artists that feel having a portfolio displayed on Facebook or Instagram is enough to get them business.  Wrong, wrong, wrong!  Although social media platforms are necessary for your business success and growth (as we discuss later in this post) they simply won’t get you the ‘right’ type of business or enough regular business.

Remember that if your goal is to build a long term successful and rewarding mobile makeup business you need to think strategically.  A good website demonstrates to your clients that you are a professional makeup artist who takes their business seriously.

Think long term when planning your business website

A website that is well planned out and packed with useful information and that also displays gorgeous images of your work will attract the right clientele.  How you go about building your website will depend on…

1. Your budget

A good website is an investment.  There are lots of free templates you can use to build a website but like everything else in life,  you get what you pay for.  If you want quality clients who will pay ‘your worth’ you need to invest in a gorgeous website design.

2.  Whether you’re a little tech savy, a lot tech savy or not tech savy at all

Are you able to build your own website or will you need to pay an outside company to build it for you?  How much control do you want over your design and your business message?

Vicki’s coaching advice:

When I decided to build my current website I knew I had to be the only one to control it.  I had a very bad experience with my previous website designer.  I had hired a company to build a business website for me because I felt I didn’t have the time to do it properly myself.  When all was said and done, I didn’t like the design they created and I wasn’t able to get them to make the changes I needed.  I was stuck.  It was very frustrating!  That website devastated my business revenue!  I only had that website online for 1 year and within that 1 year my revenue dropped by close to 50% from previous years!  That should tell you a thing or two about how important a good website really is!  If you choose to hire an outside company to build your business website be very VERY sure they are in tune with exactly how you want your site to look.

3. The time and effort it took to build my current website was significant but I did it!  I now have complete control over the message I am sending out to my niche clientele.

Not to mention, my business exploded with this current website to the point where I needed to bring others in to help me service my clientele.  Win, win!  Whoop, whoop!!

 

What’s Google All About Anyhow?

It’s impossible these days to have an online website presence without considering the impact that Google plays on your overall business success.   Nowadays Google has the ability to make or break a business.  Where your site places within Google rankings is something many business owners struggle with.  Algorithms, google reviews and the ever changing concepts of what Google demands in a website can be challenging to keep up with.  Keeping up with all the information out there can be a job in itself.  You need to start. Here is a website that I use to help me determine Google’s ever changing algorithms.

Many factors will influence how and where your site ranks within Google’s search.  Here are just a few of those factors:

• age of site
• overall ease of useability
• mobile friendliness
• keywords/long tail keywords
• SEO
• your site’s overall speed
• internal and external links

Social Media and the Role it Plays in Your Business

The absolute best way to demonstrate your talent to your potential clients is through stunning photographs.  Marketing beautiful images of your work on social media channels is an absolute must these days and it’s impact cannot be underestimated.

Think strategically when posting on social media:

• post gorgeous images on various social media platforms that ultimately bring new clients to your website for bookings ($$)
• allow your followers a glimpse into what makes you and your business different from the others
• interact with your social media fan base in a way that demonstrates a clear consistent message about you and your business

The most popular social media platforms for makeup artists are Instagram, Facebook, Snap Chat and YouTube.  A really unique and personal way to share in real time with your followers is through Instagram stories and Facebook stories.  Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and Tumblr are also popular within the makeup industry.  You don’t need to overwhelm yourself and create profiles on every social media platform.  Instead focus on a handful that you can monitor and keep up with regularly.

Interested in learning more about softwares and planning tools I use for my business success?  Get in touch with me to set up a coaching session today.

You can follow me on social media by clicking the social links on the top right side of this page.  Introduce yourself to me and I’ll follow you back!