Let me guess, you think an elevator pitch is a weird, old-school marketing thing. You don’t ride elevators frequently, and you’re certainly not talking to anyone inside of them, right?

You absolutely do not need to talk to people in elevators (I know I don’t) but you should be armed with a clear way to sum up what your business does – whether you ever speak it out loud.

To sum it up, this is why you need one: an elevator pitch FORCES you to think of a clear and concise way to explain exactly what you do so that others can understand it. (Seriously the amount of people that can’t sum up what they do in a few seconds is alarming)

When I’m writing copy, providing feedback on copy, or helping a client organize their copy one of the biggest mistakes I see them making is that they go right into introducing themselves on their home page or outlining their galleries or packages. Which is good, you need that info, and it should be readily available. But as the first thing on your site? No thank you.

I always recommend a few things above the fold (that’s the part of your home page you can see before you start scrolling)

1. Easy navigation with just a few options and a contact button that easily sticks out

2. An image that represents your work well

And finally… 3. Your elevator pitch and an easy call to action

Why do you need all this right at the top instead of just getting into your prices or work?

• You’ll stand out from the competition because trust me not too many of your competitors are making their message so clear
• You’ll see an uptick in people contacting you because they understand what you do, who you help and how they can work with you
• You let people know right away if they’re in the right place and deter the people that aren’t

To break it down simply, try this formula: I help (people you serve) (success they will have working with you) with (service you offer).

So mine is: We help female entrepreneurs grow and scale their online businesses with a clear message and branded online space.

It lets you know right away if we’re the people for you, if we can help you get the success you’re wanting, and what we offer to help you get there.

This is a simple change that you can do right now to uplevel your website. Is your home page hitting the mark as it stands now?