Checklist: 7 Things Influencers Need On Their Websites
Influencers. Brand ambassadors. Social media marketers. These folks have become the new face of successful advertising in recent years, and there’s a good reason for it.
“An influencer is someone in your niche or industry with sway over your target audience. Influencers have specialized knowledge, authority or insight into a specific subject. Their pre-existing presence in a niche makes them a useful launching pad for brands in search of credibility.” (Sprout Social)
So in other words: influencers are folks who have built a relationship with their audience in a way that brands…well, can’t. We may love a brand, but there is something about getting a feel for a person — their vibe, style, demeanor, sense of humor, and overall personality — that feels more legitimate and even safer to us than a company or business. And thanks to social media, we can certainly feel like we know folks even before we’ve met them.
What it boils down to is this: humans dig that one-on-one feel (that’s why I use it in the way I work with clients…I dig the bond 🥰 ). When we feel like we know someone, we’re more likely to trust them, and when we trust them, we’re more likely to, say, invest in the things they invest in. Like kickass brands!
So, as an influencer, you may be thinking: “The value of my relationship with my ahh-mazing audience lies in my social media — why would I need a website?”
Great question, with a few great answers:
LEGITIMACY. Squarespace has a tag line that says, “a website makes it real,” and they’re right in more ways than one. A website makes a business venture real for the person starting the business and it makes it real for folks who may be interested in investing in said business. And if you’re an influencer (or working toward becoming one), it absolutely IS a business.
A HUB FOR IMPORTANT INFO. Yes, your social media is where brands and potential collaborators can get a feel for you and your vibe, aesthetic, etc. But what are they going to do next? (Spoiler alert: research.) They’re going to want to know more about who you are, who you work with, what your engagement is like, how many people you reach, what your availability is, what your rates are, and more. Being able to send them to your website (which already houses alllll of this info, of course) makes life easier on them AND on you.
A PLACE TO DISPLAY YOUR BEST. Your feed is intentional (usually) and perfected (somewhat), but what about that one really great picture from a few weeks ago that is now 6 rows down on your feed? Or that photo shoot from last year that really captured your aesthetic but takes a LOT of scrolling to reach? A website gives you a place, not only to store all of the information brands could want or need to hire you, but also for you to display your favorite posts, images, press and photos. Minimal scrolling required 😉
So now that you know a website is a must-have for a badass influencer such as yourself, let’s dive into the gotta-have-it’s of a brand ambassador website.
By the way, you can sign up for a free trial of Squarespace here, and I also snagged you a lil’ deal so use code PARTNER10 for 10% off your first year of Squarespace!
Who you work with & How
Referring to the quote above, we know that influencers “have specialized knowledge, authority or insight into a specific subject” — meaning you’ve already got a narrowed focus for which brands you’d be willing to represent.
PUT ‘EM ON YOUR WEBSITE IN A BIG BOLD WAY.
Whether you’re in fashion, the outdoor industry, a health & exercise guru or a mama bear with oodles of parenting know-how, you’re going to have your niche — and putting it out there from the get-go will actually help you work with brands you love.
Grizel Williams happened upon influencer-ship for ourdoor industries and is ROCKIN’ IT. We built her website in August 2019.
The “how” portion can be as short as a bulleted list (or as long as you want it to be, I’m not here to police your choices, boo). You just want to give potential collaborators a snapshot of the kind of work you do and what platforms you work on. After all, they may have found you on YouTube without realizing that you actually do some wildly popular promotions on Instagram — this is your place to tell them and grab their interest!
IG: @_grizel_ // Website: Grizel Caminas
Don’t forget to list any/all brands you’ve worked with before, too. My advice for this section: only list previous brand partnerships if you would like to work with other brands that are just like them. You’ll attract who you display (sometimes all a collaborator needs is to see that you’ve worked with other folks like them to know that you’d be a great fit!), so choose wisely :)
Most times, a gallery of logos is more than enough — and it looks pretty neat, branded and professional when done right. But in a pinch, even a simple list of the brands you’ve worked with is enough!
IG: @_grizel_ // Website: Grizel Caminas
Media Kit
There are several other blogs that denote what can go into a media kit (this one is my fave and it’s packs in a lot of good info AND a free media kit template!), so I’ll just touch on the basics.
A media kit is where you house all the little details of your influencing experience; think of it as a resume and a portfolio mixed into one. It’s usually a PDF so that it can be downloaded by potential collaborators or interested brands, but if you’re feeling really comfortable with your website platform, you could even design as a page on your actual website (this makes it simple to edit, too!).
Usually media kits include some version of the following:
An intro/bio/about me page
Your social stats (i.e. followers, traffic, engagement rate, overall reach, etc.)
Your audience stats (i.e. age, gender, location, etc.)
Your blog or website stats (another great reason to have one!)
Previous collaborations & testimonials
If you decide to make your media kit a page on your website, make sure it’s easy to find. If your kit is a PDF (I recommend you have a PDF version for download regardless, btw), make sure it’s linked on your “work with me” or “contact” pages!
Press page
Brag about those press features, baby! Your Press page is where you can link everything from interviews and articles you’re featured in to long-term partnerships you have with brands you l-o-v-e.
IG: @_grizel_ // Website: Grizel Caminas
Basically, a Press page is a place where potential collaborators can go to learn more about your from someone who isn’t you — and getting that third party perspective can be helpful for them because then they get a glimpse of you through your audience’s eyes (and that’s who they’re trying to reach anyway!).
It’s also helpful for them to see what kind of publications, podcasts, sources and interviewers have featured you because they’ll want to make sure those folks are in line with their goals and target audience too.
Long story short: this page is another great way for you to link up with the brands that are right up your alley (and ward off the ones who don’t jam with the people you jam with, ya know?).
Press you link to can include:
Podcast interviews
Magazine features
YouTube guest starring or channel takeovers
Q&A’s on someone else’s blog
Basically anything that has a permanent link online!
Affiliate links
If you’ve got promo codes that get you a monetary kickback, naturally your social media is your first stop. Toss your promo codes in your posts, in your bio, on your stories, in your videos, everywhere you can! Your website, though, provides extra room and staying power for those affiliate links you’ve got.
Quick definition: affiliate links are special URLs that you can get from companies who sell products of some kind; when someone clicks on YOUR specific link and purchases something, the company is “alerted” that your link is the one that got them a new customer and you get a payout (without costing the new customer anything)! Neat, right?!
When you’ve got a website, you can have entire pages dedicated to the affiliate links you’ve racked up (the Amazon affiliate program is a popular one, but lots of smaller companies have them too!).
For example: If you’re a photographer, snag affiliate codes from your favorite camera company (or Amazon) and then set up a page where you link all of the camera gear you use. When your followers dig your shots, you can send them to your “gear page” and they can purchase the same gear using your affiliate links. Win for them (because they get to use the awesome products you love and recommend) and win for you (because you’re putting your affiliate links to use)!
IG: @_grizel_ // Website: Grizel Caminas
There are versions of this for almost every niche, and having a home on your website where you can bring in a little passive income is gold (literally).
Photos, of course!
No matter what your social media platform of choice is, brands 👏 want 👏 to 👏 see 👏 photos. Even if you’re queen of the written word on Twitter, all marketing has a visual element to it, so photos are essential.
Luckily, most influencers live in the visual realm anyway: Instagram feeds, Pinterest boards, blog photos, professional shoots, willingly (or not) recruited husbands, friends or family members…when you’re an influencer, photos are not in short supply. And that’s GREAT because websites are also visual platforms and your website will need images you want brands and collaborators to see.
There are several ways to sprinkle photos throughout your site (like, unlimited ways. Like I’ve been design websites for years and I still haven’t used all of the ways), but I’ll list a few favorites below:
BANNER IMAGES
IG: @thebucketlistfamily // Website: The Bucket List Family
Banner images are be-yoo-tiful and — since they take up the full width of the screen — they really make an impact on viewers.
Pro tip: While all of your photos should be good quality, it’s especially important for images this large. Also make sure they’re not too busy (or if they are, that there’s an overlay color) so that any text on top of them stands out!
THE MOSAIC GRID
IG: @_grizel_ // Website: Grizel Caminas
IG: @noel_russ // Website: Noël Russell
Mosaic grid layouts are great because you can display LOTS of your best/favorite photos — yes, it’s a grid similar to Instagram, BUT the mosaic aspect adds variety while still looking organized.
Pro tip: The “mosaic” part is what really adds the cool factor to your grid — to get this effect you can lay the images out one-by-one (a slow process but SO worth it) or, if you have a Squarespace website, you can add your chosen images to a separate gallery then use the “Wall” summary block to have your website do the work for you!
STATEMENT IMAGES
IG: @christinagalbato // Website: Christina Galbato
Statement images are similar to banner images in this way: they’re BOLD and really make an impact. While you can’t feature as many images as you could if you went the mosaic grid route, a few well chosen (high-quality!) pictures can do a lot of the talking for you.
Pro tip: Make sure you can see the entire photo without having to scroll. The awesome impact of statement photos can get a little lost if you have to scroll to see the bottom of the photo — the full wow-factor comes from being able to see an amaaazing photo in full!
Contact Page
This seems intuitive, but I had to put it on the list just in case. All of this fabulous website work is for naught if brands can’t get in touch with you afterwards to ask if you’d be interested in repping them! (Which they will 100% be doing once they see your fabulous, informative site.)
Have an easily visible, simple contact page with a form that can be filled out (or at the very least, have your email address front and center and LINKED so that when they click on it, a “compose” email box addressed to you pops right up).
IG: @_grizel_ // Website: Grizel Caminas
Bonus: Squarespace has a “form” block that builds it for you and makes it easy for you to add fields — you can add a drop down one titled, “What are you getting in touch about today?” where they can choose options like “Just saying hi!” or “I have a question” or “Interested in collaborating” so you know what an email is about before you even dive in! Hello convenience…
IG: @_grizel_ // Website: Grizel Caminas
Social links
And of course, for your final website must-have (though you can probably guess…): links to your social media!
On the chance that a brand or potential collaborator has found you through good ol’ fashioned web surfing, you want them to be able to get to your gold mine (i.e. your Instagram, your YouTube, your Pinterest, you name it) ASAP.
Most brands look for social links at the top or bottom of a website, so make sure to put them in at least one of those two places (along with sprinkling them throughout your site too…couldn’t hurt!).
If you put your links at the top of your site, you could either use icons OR you could have a “Follow” tab with a drop down list of your various social media accounts (or have the “Follow” button link directly to your #1 performing account). I usually recommend the latter since the icons can look cluttered if you have more than one in your header navigation.
If your put your social links at the bottom of your site, I recommend icons since they’re so easily recognized — plus you can make them bigger when they’re in the footer of your site. Though of course you can always type out “Instagram,” “Pinterest,” etc. if that floats your boat.
Pro tip: If you have a Squarespace website, you have the “Instagram” block feature that allows you to connect your IG feed to the site, so that your most recent photos will automatically appear on your site! This is a must for Instagram influencers — that way brands can keep up with you in real time AND get to your IG feed easily. (And Squarespace makes it so darn simple to do!)
IG: @thevanlifers // Website: The Van Lifers
Keep in mind
BE AUTHENTIC
You’ve got a unique voice and a unique perspective and a unique style; there may be influencers abound, but no one is YOU, and that is your super power.
Channel that energy you put into your posts — your uniquely you posts with your specific and special voice — into your website when you’re pulling it together. People are drawn to your content for one central reason: it resonates with them. Who you are, how you are…that’s what makes your followers feel connected to you and that’s what enables you to build the relationships you have with them.
Your website is no different — consider it an extension of you. Stay authentic to your message, your goals and your purpose and your website will simply be another wonderful way to connect people with you and brands you love.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO NICHE DOWN (OR SAY NO)
The phrase “stay in your lane” comes to mind…though I think of that more when it comes to brands than when it comes to influencers.
You know who you like to work with. You know your area of expertise. You know what makes or breaks a partnership for you. (And if you don’t, spend a little time marinating on it…it’ll make weighing the pros and cons of a partnership much easier down the line.)
So it’s the brands that need to stay in their lane — brands who aren’t “you” or don’t reflect your style, vibe, morals, mission and more should start sniffing around other trees (I’m all about metaphors right now, apparently).
If you go into inquiries with the mindset that YOU have the power, it will empower you to stand firm in that authenticity we just talked about, which will allow you to work with brands you truly love…and say no to brands you’re really not feelin’.
Read their mission statements. Ask them questions. Stick to your niche (you know it best, after all). Only promote products you love (your authenticity won’t work otherwise) and by all means, HOP ON the partnership train with brands who get you excited!
WEBSITES AREN’T AS TOUGH AS THEY SOUND
This list of must-haves for your website might have seemed long or short to you (if it’s the latter, what are you waiting for?! Go do the thing!). But if it seemed long or complex or tiring or overwhelming…that’s okay. Honestly, everyone feels that way about their website at first. It’s hard to imagine conveying who you are as a person over a piece of technology.
But you do it everyday 😊 And you can do it here.
That’s the beauty of websites — if you do as I say above and consider it an extension of you, keep in mind that (just like you) it can grow and change too! That’s one of my top reasons for building all of my client’s sites on Squarespace: it’s intuitive, easy to use, easy to teach (and I teach ALL of my clients how to use their site once I’ve built it for them) and easy to edit. Squarespace also does a killer job of making their site mobile-friendly with basically zero effort on your part and that’s super important for influencers with mostly mobile-using audiences.
Nothing is set in stone. Change your text, swap your pictures, hide old pages, create new pages, replace outdated info, post new blogs…the possibilities are limitless. And that’s half the fun of it, right?
Need a little (or a lot of) help with your Squarespace site? Take a peek at my two-week design services and Squarespace Lesson options!
