I coach people who want to become website developers. When they ask me “Do I need a photo of myself on my website?” I always answer, “Yes, of course!” and “Without your photo on your website, you’re at a sales disadvantage.”
That’s when I hear something like, “Really? I really have to?” or “I don’t know. I’ll think about it. I don’t like photos of myself.”
When I walk into a brick-and-mortar store, I expect to find a person there to greet me.
Likewise, when I visit a website, I assume there’s a person behind that website to help me if I need it. I’ve come across many “vending machine websites”—websites without any information about who owned them, sometimes not even a way to contact someone. Instead, the sites were all about prices and transactions.
You’ve heard the old axioms, “People do business with people, not companies,” or “people do business with people they like, know, and trust.”and while they’ve become clichéd, they’re no less true.
Yes, put a photo of yourself on your company website.
The internet is cold and impersonal. A simple photo goes a long way toward building trust. Show your prospects you are a real person.
Use your website to build trust.
The more your customer feels they know you, the more likely it is they will trust you. The more your customer trusts you, the more willing they are to take a risk with you.
Here, “risk” means establishing a business relationship, or buying from you or even just giving you their email address. If your website visitor likes and trusts you, they are much more willing to become your customer.
Photos as first Impressions
Choose a photo that shows who you are in a way that’s relevant to your business.
Recreate the natural setting of a face-to-face interaction. If you’re meeting someone for the first time, you will smile, and (if you’re wearing them) you will take off your sunglasses or your hat to better show your face.
The same etiquette applies to your photo. Ask yourself, is this how I would want to meet my customers for the first time? Is this how I would greet them in person?
Who Will See Your Photo?
Plenty of people—most—will want to use your website just to get something done and move on with their day. But the About page is the first place a person will look when they want to spend a little more time on your website.
So ask yourself, why wouldn’t you take that opportunity?
Wrong, wrong, wrong, bad, bad, bad. Especially for female hosts.