Personal websites for professionals are becoming the norm, as individuals look to stand out and capture more traffic from prospective buyers. At our marketing agency, the list of professionals we see interested in personal websites is growing rapidly. To name a few:

• Financial planners and advisors
• Real estate professionals
• Legal professionals
• Medical and healthcare professionals
• Creative professionals
• Consultants
• Tutors and counsellors
• Personal trainers and fitness instructors
• Event and wedding coordinators
• Public speakers
• Performing artists
• Marketing professionals

And there are multiple categories for each of these professions, of course. Financial planners and advisors, for example, can be expanded to include financial consultants, wealth managers, investment advisors, retirement planners, and insurance brokers.

The list is long and growing quickly.

Why personal websites for professionals are becoming more popular

We’ve been privy to this trend for a few years already, but maybe you’re asking yourself why personal websites for professionals have become popular recently. In our opinion, it boils down to four key factors.

1. Continuation of services

We’ll use professional real estate agent websites as an example for this one.

Studies and industry reports indicate that a relatively low number of real estate agents will work with only one brokerage throughout their career. Agent turnover is fairly high.

As agents gain experience, they often seek opportunities that better align with their new client base and expertise. Which makes sense.

If an agent only ever used the website provided by their existing brokerage, they’d be starting from scratch when they made the switch. New website, new search engine optimization (real estate SEO) work, new seller’s guides to create, new branding, new everything.

With a custom site you get more customization, more traffic, and the continuation of your brand, no matter which brokerage you end up working with. And, like investing with compound interest, your site’s SEO will continue to grow.

A personal website puts you in control for the long haul.

2. More business and authority

If you’re a personal trainer working for a company, how do you currently recruit new clients? In-person, via referral, and through your company itself, most likely.

When you build yourself a professional personal website, you’re exposing yourself to a wider audience, and giving yourself more opportunities to make that first introduction.

Building a website gives you lead-generation opportunities, and it’s often the low hanging fruit. Ask yourself if you’d rather have a lead come through your business or through you directly? If it comes through your business, that client is going to associate his or her relationship with your business. If it comes through you, that client is going to further associate their relationship with you directly.

That’s huge in all industries.

Make the bet on yourself and establish your name in the industry with a personal website. It's always best when your clients contact you directly.

3. We’re seeing buy-in from the top

The funny thing is that we haven’t seen pushback from companies or employers when it comes to personal websites. In fact, leaders are encouraging their employees to embark on the journey.

They understand that more business is good for business, full-stop.

If individuals can begin participating in marketing and bringing in new leads, that’s a win for everyone. We’ve even seen cases where leaders have purchased custom websites for their team members, broadening their team’s reach and taking lead generation efforts wider.

It’s a great strategy.

4. An affordable cost coupled with great value

Last but not least, the price is right. Custom websites often end up costing $5,000 to $10,000 or more, but not personal websites for professionals.

We work with dozens of financial planners, for example, all of whom have paid a fraction of that for their personal websites, depending on the amount of customization required. Here’s a template we built as an example to showcase what your website can end up looking like.

It’s the kind of low-cost, high-reward brand and marketing initiative that pays off for years to come. If you’re interested in exploring options, book a call with us or fill out our contact form. We'd love to chat.