Karyn Paige 00:00
If you are someone who is struggling to book clients consistently struggling with financial consistency, struggling to make connections, like you’re not quite in the flow in the momentum, you might be very tempted to build out that full five page website and say I need all of the things. So I look really good. And I’m, I can attract people who want to work with me, etc. But what’s happening is, all of that is delaying your ability to go out, make those connections, get on those calls, and book projects. So it’s, it’s delaying you from getting to the money making money generating activities, right. So having a simple Coming Soon page is actually a faster or more efficient way to just get something out and then get out there and start making that money.

Sam Munoz 00:50
Welcome to Making website magic where we empower women to step boldly into their web design, businesses follow their intuition and claim the success they’re worthy of. I’m Sam Munoz.

Karyn Paige 01:01
And I’m Karen Page, where the Tech Wizards behind Sam Linnaeus consulting and the making website Magic School of Business. Were two women here to talk about what it actually takes to run a web design business that’s aligned with your vision.

Sam Munoz 01:13
Spoiler alert, it probably isn’t what you think it is ready to hear about everything from refining your business vision, networking with intention and creating a magical client experience.

Karyn Paige 01:23
Let’s do it. Hey, Erin, Hey, Sam, how’s it going?

Sam Munoz 01:33
It is going super well. We’re talking today about the power of the Coming Soon page. And I feel like we’re both extremely passionate about this. So it’s going to be a fun conversation. And I’m excited to shift some minds. I think that that’s what’s going to happen and give some strategy and I got lots of things to say I know you do, too.

Karyn Paige 01:52
Yeah. Okay. So to be clear, we’re talking about the power of the Coming Soon page for your web design website for your business. Yeah, for our clients, right. For us as web designers.

Sam Munoz 02:05
Yeah, thank you for like, putting a fine point on that. Because that is the key of what we’re talking about is that we spend so much time thinking about websites for other people. And so today, we’re talking about our own website. And of course, we like to give context for why we have these conversations. And so one of the reasons we’re talking about this is that something that we have observed in our mentorship in conversations that we’ve had with people and just like seeing web designers and developers out in the wild, if you will, is that women are getting stuck trying to make their website perfect. And so that is preventing them from moving forward in their business. So that’s one reason.

Karyn Paige 02:44
Yeah, okay. So this whole idea of having a coming soon page for your own business, as web designer is really like a shift in the mindset, right? Of what you actually need, as a web designer to promote your business,

Sam Munoz 03:00
which might be different. And it’s kind of what we’re getting at today, it very well is different than maybe what you see or hear promoted, yeah, on social media and in courses about how you have to have like, five page website, it has to have this, this, this and this in order to move forward in your business. And in order to have a quote unquote, online presence. But what we’re talking about today is actually no, we like reject that idea. We’re gonna throw out the rulebook, and say, What if instead of spending all of our time trying to make this five page website, which of course is going to have copy and photos and all these, like pieces that we’re gonna have to pull together, right? What if instead of that, we shifted our mindset around what is actually required to run our business and make money and say, Hey, why don’t we just have this fantastic coming soon? Page?

Karyn Paige 03:50
Yeah, even the idea like the language coming soon page, right? Like you, you can change that language, if you want, you can call it a landing page, you can call it a one page website, you can call it a temporary homepage, whatever feels good for you. But at the core of it, it’s really this idea that what you see now, on your website, when someone visits your domain is just the minimum viable that they need to move forward. And then if you want to move forward with a five page, you can go down that road later. So but for all intents and purposes, we’re going to refer to it as a coming soon page.

Sam Munoz 04:22
Yes, exactly. And this is making me think of other episodes that we’ve had in the past. And number one, being embarrassed of your own website. If you haven’t listened to that episode, it’s episode nine. We talk about just that concept of like, I’m nervous to send people to my website, because I am a web designer or developer and I’m embarrassed about what I’ve presented. And so therefore, I don’t send people to my website, which is, in turn preventing me from having opportunities. So this is actually a potential solution to that because instead of having to spend hours and days and weeks building out a full website, you can start with something simple or you can really Find what you got to something simple like a coming soon page landing page, one page, whatever you want to call it.

Karyn Paige 05:06
Yes. And this also refers back to a previous episode number 16, which was called your copywriting is not the problem, right? Because then there’s this other piece of getting stuck on what you actually put on your website, what text is there, like what sales copy you have, right? That is inextricably linked to, you know, being embarrassed about your website, or getting stuck in the five page format? Rabbit Hole, because it’s like, well, the copywriting is the thing that’s preventing me so I got to keep working on that. So all these episodes, Episode Nine, Episode 16, and this one you’re listening to right now. They’re all connected. And really what’s at the core of it is shifting that mindset to what is essential, what is required on your own website to promote your web design business, and really thinking about what can we let go? And what do we need so that we can go out and shift our focus to like, money making activities?

Sam Munoz 06:01
Absolutely. So let’s talk about the solution, one solution of all of those things, all of those feelings of being embarrassed and not having the copy and feeling like you have to have everything perfect. The potential solution is creating something simple, like a one page or Coming Soon page. And let’s start with like, who this actually works for. So it does work for designers and developers, designers. Because if you are feeling like I need to make my website absolutely perfect, I have to know exactly what colors I have, I have to take the perfect headshot, I have to write the exact copy. And like I need my website to be the most example of my work that I possibly can provide. We get stuck there, it is hard to build something for yourself, because we’re so close to it anyway. So this is a perfect solution for the designer who is trying so hard to get her voice into her website. And it is preventing her from booking projects because she is spending so much time focused on her own website.

Karyn Paige 07:04
Yes, this is also a solution for the developer who doesn’t really feel very strong about her design skills, right. So there are lots of people who consider themselves web developers, they collaborate with designers on projects, etc. So if you feel like you don’t have a knack for picking colors and fonts, and all that kind of stuff, and you can build it, but the aesthetic piece is not where you’re at, then having a really simple Coming Soon page, like one page website is a solution for you. Because again, it frees you up from all of the struggle of trying to make your website look as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

Sam Munoz 07:48
Yes. And that’s I mean, they’re both connected, right? It’s like both of these types of people are stuck in this idea of like I have to make it perfect in order for me to move forward in my business. And that’s not really the point here. And so let’s talk about why the Coming Soon pages of solution, because it’s not I think like we have to really spend some time there talking about this, because this might be a total like, Wait, I’ve heard for years that I have to have all these other things. And I have to have all these pieces. But if you recall, I think it was episode one right care where we talked about what’s actually required to run a web design and development business we talked about like, you don’t have to have social media, you don’t have to have freebies, you don’t have to email us. And so today we’re unwrapping and uncovering and unlearning even just like the you have to have a whole website in order to book clients. So let’s talk about why this is a solution.

Karyn Paige 08:40
You’ve heard before on this podcast and we’ll you’ll hear it again, minimum viable and simple way. If you are someone who is struggling to book clients consistently struggling with financial consistency, struggling to make connections like this is not, you’re not quite in the flow in the momentum, you might be very tempted to build out that full five page website and say I need all of the things so I look really good. And I’m I can attract people who want to work with me, etc. But what’s happening is all of that is delaying your ability to go out, make those connections, get on those calls, and book projects. So it’s it’s delaying you from getting to the money making money generating activities, right? So having a simple Coming Soon page is actually a faster and more efficient way to just get something out and then get out there and start making that money.

Sam Munoz 09:37
Right? Yes. And I love that you use the word efficient because it is it is just like, get it out there. Go do the things that actually bring money into your business. And we have to talk about the fact that there is something mindset related here that is preventing women from going out and doing that in the first place, right because it’s safe and it’s easy to work on. your own website, it’s almost the safe and easy to be stuck in your own website and be stuck in the colors and to have that almost as an excuse as to why you can’t make the money. Why you can’t book a project. It’s like, oh, but I don’t know what my colors are. Okay, that’s fine. But like, first of all, your business isn’t even really about you. It’s about your clients in terms of how we’re going out and finding clients, right? When we’re spending so much time on our own website, we’re not even giving ourselves the opportunity to make the connections to go and find client opportunities. Does that make sense?

Karyn Paige 10:32
Oh, yeah. And so I want to paint this picture in no uncertain terms. So if you’re someone who’s like, I just, I need my website to just look really good and look really perfect. And then I will start, you know, networking, and then I will start asking people on Discovery calls, what I want you to replace that thought with is, if I’m just perfect enough, if I look perfect enough, someone will choose me. Because that’s what really what’s happening, right? So what you were talking about just a moment ago, was getting something up efficiently. So you can go out and initiate and engage and be direct and be proactive with all of these different activities, right. But what’s happening when we get stuck in the perfectionism of our website, and we let that prevent us from moving forward, we’re actually getting stuck in is really like indirect activities, right? In the safety of if I’m perfect, someone will choose me instead of me saying, you know, I just need this roll thing. Let me slap this up real quick. It’s good. And I’m going to go out and get it.

Sam Munoz 11:29
Yeah, I think that this is the advice we would give to our clients to, we would say, Hey, we’re like working on your website on the back end. But we don’t want to stop you from getting clients in the meantime. So we’re going to put this great Coming Soon page up, right? Like, even if it’s a coffee shop, we wouldn’t just like let their website just chill, you know, like coffee shop.com. And it’s just a blank parked domain. No, we’d make them an awesome Coming Soon page as we’re working on the backend of their website so that people can go find them and get their coffee. It’s the same concept for us.

Karyn Paige 12:01
Hello, like we this is the other piece like we know this, because we do this for our clients, right? We do this as a way to assure them, hey, you’re not going to miss any opportunities while we’re building this thing.

Sam Munoz 12:15
Exactly. Oh, my gosh, yes, exactly. Like we give that exact advice to people. And yet we spin and spin and spin. And we’re like horrible clients to ourselves anyway, right? Because we don’t give ourselves a copy on time, we’re not getting those headshots. And when they’re supposed to be, this project is dragging on for six months, and then all of a sudden, it’s six months later, you still don’t have a client and your website is still not finished. Because you can’t decide between this pink and this pink. And I have to tell you, it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. I’m like really on fire about this. Yeah, I’m

Karyn Paige 12:51
like, I’m just gonna let that one sit there for a second.

Sam Munoz 12:56
So the other part of the Coming Soon page specifically is that if you do want to, you know, spend your off time or like you’re in the business time, making your website awesome, because Hello, like, there’s nothing wrong with having a fantastic website, as a web designer, that is cool, that does explain and showcase your work. But you can be doing that kind of on the back end as one of those indirect activities. As you have something up that is actually helping you get on Discovery calls and show off your work in just a simple, again, minimum viable way.

Karyn Paige 13:31
Oh, yeah. So I’m coming in right now as the voice of resistance, right? Because I know there’s someone listening to this who’s like, I hear what you’re saying. But I totally disagree. I do not want to let go of the concept of like the five page website, I really need it. This is very important to me. Okay, we hear that we receive that. So this is what we’re saying. You can use your Coming Soon page, and then be building that amazing five page website that you’re incredibly dedicated to on the back end. So you’re still out there like, you know, doing direct money making activities, giving people who visit your website an opportunity to move forward and get on a discovery call. And you’re doing this on the back end. And let’s put ourselves in like a real life example. This kind of stuff happens all the time in like brick and mortar shops, restaurants, stores, whatever you go in. And there’s like scaffolding on the sidewalk, but they have a sign that says we’re still open. Come on in, you know what I mean? Like, thank you, sorry, for the inconvenience or whatever. It’s like, patrons are fine with that, like, you’re fine going into the store and being like, oh, yeah, there’s scaffolding like, you know, maybe this section is like, taped off because we can’t go there. But the thing that I need the thing that I came here for I can still get that right. Put yourself in the shoes of this ain’t nothing new. The rules aren’t different for you. Right?

Sam Munoz 14:45
Yes. And I feel like you know, this is making me think that there also might be resistance to because someone might be hearing this and saying, but I already have a five page website. So what I would say is, is your website helping you book clients because if it’s not then you may want to refine it. And in the meantime, as you are refining it, this is a great temporary solution. Because if your website has a ton of copy, if it’s something that you’re embarrassed about, if you don’t feel like it’s reflective of the types of people you want to work with, if it doesn’t have the portfolio pieces that you want on it, if it’s leading to an email list that you thought you wanted to create, but never actually got around to doing, those things are not really helping. I mean, you got the five page website. Cool. But is it really helping your business, better solution better option, something simple, reflective. And the thing is, that’s the power of this coming soon page is that it is not going to take you a week to create this, you can create this in like a day. And you can still make it awesome, right? This is this does not have to be lame. And we’re going to talk about like the strategy of like what to include. But this can be really freaking cool. And it can take you like a day to build it. And then you go out and share it. Oh, and by the way, this is an example of your work too. Because you do a little screenshot you show that on Instagram stories and say, hey, check out my coming soon. Page. Do you want one of these? Let’s talk?

Karyn Paige 16:11
Yeah, I would actually like wager to bet that you probably already have some kind of design of like a coming soon page, because you’ve probably already created one for a client. So liat, what might take you a day could actually take you less than a day because you’ve already done the work to make it happen. So and

Sam Munoz 16:31
then you don’t have to feel scared of like sending people to your website anymore, because you have something that you’re proud of. So let’s talk about how we create that powerful coming soon slash landing page. And what really, from a strategic standpoint makes sense to include. And again, we’re talking Minimum Viable keeping it simple. No, we’re not asking you to go out and write 15 pages of copy. If anything, less is always more you we know this too, as, as designers and developers, when we receive a bunch of copy from clients, it’s like, okay, how am I going to make this work? Why are we doing that to ourselves anyway, so let’s talk about what to include.

Karyn Paige 17:08
So right out of the gate in a simple identity statement, or a mission statement, right? Like, who you are, what you do, and who you do for

Sam Munoz 17:16
web designer for coffee shops, like boom, simple, easy, clean, obvious.

Karyn Paige 17:22
And then if you wanted to expand that a little bit more, you could include an example or multiple examples of your work, right. So and again, this can be simple, a screenshot like a full page screen capture, or if you already have a mock up, or something that you’ve used on social media, like repurpose what you have, and put up an example of your work.

Sam Munoz 17:40
Exactly, just something simple, just something that says, Hey, I am a web designer for coffee shops. Here is an example of a website I’ve built for coffee shops. Cool. And the big, big important thing is the CTA, right book, a discovery call, or you know, book, your clarity call, fill out this form, whatever way you accept new prospects, have them do that and have that be like the only call to action, we don’t need them going to Instagram, we don’t need them filling out an email list. We don’t need them popping over to these other places. This can truly be like a hey, this is what I do. Check it out. I’ve got examples or an example. Here’s a picture of my face. Maybe I’m a real person, and then boom, let’s work together. Here’s how you do that. Okay,

Karyn Paige 18:27
so you brought up a really good point right about the CTA. And like how you don’t need to send them to other places. Because here’s the thing, I feel like the person who could really benefit from a simple Coming Soon page like this is already maybe making connections like on Instagram or something like that. So this is where people are coming to after that initial point of contact. And like, again, that’s why maybe you have the fear is like, well, when they get here, I need them to see this amazing five pay site, right? But like, perhaps you’ve already connected with him on Instagram or at an event. And so this coming soon page could be like, I already know, you just go to my domain and boom, there’s a button right there to get on a call.

Sam Munoz 19:07
Yes, yes. And I guess that’s something that is kind of like swirling around in my head right now is just that concept of where is someone coming from to get to your website? It’s a question that I always ask our clients in general, right, like, how do you promote your business? Where are people coming from? Because that also contributes to how we display the website, right? Maybe? I think we’re all on the same page here. And so taking that same concept for us is like, really, how are people getting to our website probably in two specific ways, through some sort of social connection, right? Social does not mean social media. It can mean social media, it could mean networking, it could be handing someone your business card, right. So some sort of social networking type interaction or referral. So you get you know, someone sends an email about you and says, Hey, this is Karen, check out her website. I’ll let you take it from here. They go to your website. It’s an awesome Coming Soon page shows an example. Have your work boom, they can book a call. Why? overcomplicate it? Yeah, I feel like there may be a little bit of internal pushback a little bit just, it cannot be that simple. And I just wholeheartedly disagree, it can. It really, really can. It doesn’t have to be complicated. We don’t have to have funnels and you know, all these different things happening on our website in order to make them impactful and high converting. Again, we know this, we advise our clients in the same way, no, you don’t need 15 calls to action. The same applies to your own website, we can make it simple to make it easy. And the whole point, the whole point of your website, your website, as a web designer developer is to get you hired. That is the entire point, right? We want to make money, if the way that you make money as a web designer developer is by booking client projects, or booking a new maintenance project or something like that, our goal is to have them inquire with us, that is the only thing we want them to do on our website. So adding extra stuff can be fine. But with this kind of concept, it is so dead center aligned on that goal and purpose. And that is why this works so well because it is so streamlined and simple.

Karyn Paige 21:20
And again, in honor of like simplicity, right and really understanding like where people are coming from when they land on your website, who you’re trying to work with all of those things, right what your business model is. That is why like having a very simple website, as a web designer can be really impactful. And also improve your conversion rate of getting people on calls, because we’re not online business owners who are trying to sell via email marketing. So all of our sales happens in the copy on the sales page, right? We might be trying to position ourselves to work with the types of clients who are willing and interested in paying high ticket, which might also mean that they ain’t got time to be sifting through five pages, they just want to click the button, but the call have their assistant book the call and then keep it pushing, because they’re not making like money moves. Right? You know what I mean? So we have to take all of this into consideration of like, who we are what we do, maybe a mock up of design that we’ve created a sample of our work, an image is more impactful than five paragraphs of text trying to convince somebody why they need a website like that is just a conflict of have so many things in terms of business positioning, and all of the like procrastination, etc. Right? So this is really again, like, take a deep breath, maybe reset, do a little Google Earth, zoom out for a second and be like, what do I really need? What am I really trying to do? What is my business all about? Oh, she’s somebody has to know that I’m a web designer and developer. This is the type of service that I provide. They might want to see sample my work, and they need to book a call with me. All that other stuff is just philosophy feel good, fun, warm, fuzzy things that again, if you’re like, No, I’m really, I really want this, you can still have all of that you can still have all the fluff and all the warm, cuddly fuzzy goodness. And also, we need you to be making money. Because otherwise, you’re going to get frustrated that things are not happening. And at a certain point, you’re going to like well, I got to pick a struggle. Do I want to be here in my website, tinkering around and feeling really good about getting that perfect shade of pink? Or do I want to be out here making money and having financial consistency? So I don’t have like anxiety in my stomach every morning?

Sam Munoz 23:39
Absolutely. Yep. And I’m thinking back to like the first website ever built Smith munoz.com. It was basic. It was simple. And it was like, This is how you hire me. Yeah, that’s it. Just this is what I can do. This is how you get started with me. Why any extra is necessary. I don’t think we’ve ever really expanded the website. beyond that. And now we have a one page website. So you know, it’s, you can take this concept and apply it across the board on your website. If you decide you know what, I want to start with a coming soon page and then I’m just gonna work up to like just a nice landing page, almost like a full just a resume. Just an online resume of the awesomeness that I can do with that fantastic call to action of come hire me. I mean, what else do you really need?

Karyn Paige 24:28
Yeah, after all, that this could be working so well for you. If you’re like, I’m just gonna add like two more portfolio samples and like maybe a paragraph about me. And that’s it like this is really working, I’m never turning back.

Sam Munoz 24:43
And then you’re gonna have to log into your website all the time, right? You’re logging into client websites, because that’s your what you’re doing. You’re spending your time doing the work. So I hope that you feel inspired after listening to this episode. If you are thinking to yourself, I really, really want to refine my website. someday but I know that that’s not my number one priority and I think a coming soon page would work really well I actually think would be super fun if you decide to do this. tag us on Instagram at making website magic and we can see your new Coming Soon page we’d love to see that right Karen and just cheer you on from making the moves.

Karyn Paige 25:19
Yeah, I live for coming soon pages so please, we want to see it. We want to cheer you on