Does the thought of 60 second pitches in a room full of people make your blood run cold? Do you come up with plenty of things to say in your head and wonder how to share them? Do you want to manage your energy so you show up in person as your best self?

The business world can feel like it’s set up for extroverts. But I’ll tell you a secret: I have met so many people running businesses, who, when we get talking after following each other online, turn out to be introverts. In this article, I’m sharing how a website helps you put yourself out there as an introvert business owner.

1. Your website does the talking for you

Think of your website as your spokesperson. All that knowledge and expertise you keep in your head can go onto your website.

Need to know how to introduce yourself? Use what you put at the top of your homepage. It should be a clear, quick sentence about who you help and what you do for them.

Wish people knew more about your background? That’s where your About page comes in. You can share all the things you’ve done that build your authority.

Want to talk about a new development in your industry or share your thoughts on a key issue? Use your blog! It’s designed for you to create helpful content based on your knowledge and experience. What do you want to tell people about? Use that to develop your articles.

2. Your website enables people to recognise you

You might not be going to lots of events but when you do walk into a room, people will know who you are because you’ve got photos of yourself on your website.

Ideally you will have photos of yourself on all the key pages. That idea might make you feel uncomfortable but remember: your website isn’t for you, it’s for your clients. Your clients want to know what you look like!

3. Your website shares your personality

You can talk about things that make you, you on your website. You can reference details like your love of theatre, or that you’re a keen swimmer. You can build in stories from your outside interests that enable you to share wisdom about your specialist area.

Your tone of voice can show people what they can expect when they talk to you. Are you funny or serious? Do you like puns? Have you got a Schitt’s Creek quote for every situation? Are you nerdy? Quirky? Matter-of-fact? If I sat on a sofa with you and you were feeling happy and relaxed, how would you talk? And what would you talk to me about? Your website enables you to show up as you, the you people would get to know if they gave you the opportunity to speak.

You can also put things that matter to you in your photos. Props are a great way to show people more about you without you having to tell them.

You’d be surprised what people start conversations with you about. It could be they’ve spotted a box set on your shelf that they own too, or that figure you keep on your desk is from a series they love, or they like a particular shirt you wear in the photo on your homepage.

4. Your website enables you to share your values

From your brand colours to the language you use, to sharing how you approach your coaching or consulting work, your website can tell people a lot about you. You can write about what matters to you and what your values are.

This can be in the language you use when you talk about what you do and how you work with people. It can be in the topics you write about on your blog. It can be in the client projects you showcase in your case studies.

Your website acts as a beacon for the people who share your values and wards off those who aren’t a good fit.

5. Your website enables you to look like you’re everywhere, when really you’re at home

Your website gives you a huge bank of material that you can share on autopilot and on repeat. I call this your Business Resource Library.

You can share:

• Guides taken from your blog
• Lists taken out of blog posts
• Photos of yourself
• Quotes from articles you have written on your blog
• Links to your article and sales pages
• Snippets from your About page to introduce yourself
• Graphics you have made

You can turn all these into LinkedIn posts, LinkedIn articles, tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram posts, carousels, stories and reels, and Pinterest pins.

You can also use your blog posts as the basis for newsletters to your email list.

When someone asks a question in a forum, if you have written about that topic you can say, ‘I’ve got a blog post about that, I can share it if you like’.

6. Your website gets you discovered by new people

As you build up your blog you will start to attract organic traffic to your website. The people coming to your site have searched for a topic on a search engine and your site has come up in the results.

If you have written something they find interesting then they may well look around to find out more about you. And if you sell a service for something they are interested in, they could sign up to your email list and in time, become a client.

7. You can use your blog to help you share your thoughts

I’m one of those people who thinks by writing. Your blog enables you to work out your response or view on a key topic. You can use it to build your approach.

Our businesses and ideas are not fully formed when we start out and they keep evolving. Your blog enables you to think through new developments and share your thinking with the outside world.

Your website lets you be yourself and show the outside world who you truly are

I’m an INFJ according to 16 Personalities. I’m an Advocate, which means I’m insightful, creative and enjoy learning about new topics while helping others – but the only way to find that out is to talk to me. That’s tricky when I find networking really difficult and will generally stand in a corner of the room! My website enables me to be me. I share what I’m thinking, I create helpful content, and I drop in references to things that matter to me. You can do the same.

If you feel like you wish people knew you better and you could put yourself out there more, then a website is a great asset for you. It makes marketing your coaching and consulting services a whole lot easier.

Would you like help to write your website or to start blogging? Then get in touch with me.