Personal Websites And Employed People – Your Content

Hornet and flower

You are employed. You intend to stay employed. You know that having a personal website will almost certainly advance your career, if you can get it right. Please note that, this article is not about how to build your website. It is about your content for your personal website and how to use your content in the context of your career.

If you are not convinced that, as an employed person, you need a personal website, read the previous post: Do Employees Need Personal websites? 

Your Personal Website And Your Career

Your personal website is NOT about you. Just as people running businesses write for those they want to attract to their websites you must do the same.

Here are two examples of personal websites that work.

The Hornets’ Nest

Consider this example. I learned about an employee of a pest control company who has posted a video on YouTube about how he removed a hornets’ nest from a bush right outside the lounge of a home owner. The video showed a step-by-step process. It showed the right equipment to use. It showed what to wear when completing this task and how to dispose of the nest.

Hornet

This short and simple video has had many, many views whilst it was on YouTube. It also drove traffic to the person’s website.

The person who posted the video works in the field of pest control. His personal website is all about his expertise and how he acquired it. The website also indicates a range of the problems the website owner had dealt with. He used his workplace contact details on his personal website. Lots of people who got in touch with his employer wanted “the man in the video” to come and deal with the pests in their gardens.

On his personal website he also explained which pests are more common in winter and which pests are around in summer. He used sketches and images to underline his points. These pages, along with the guidance he gave about how to deal with such infestations, did very well online. People found this personal website using their favoured search engine.

On the site the main message was not: Buy From Me.

It was: How to get rid of pests and infestations in easy stages.

To someone searching for help on  dealing with pests, or an employer looking for someone to hire to undertake this sort of work, the personal website was really of value. It showed enthusiasm, it showed technical skills at work and communication skills which helped people overcome their problems.

Antiquities And Your Website

ArmourAnother example of a personal website that works  is that of a museum assistant whose personal website showed her knowledge of all the families that were key players in The War Of The Roses and other medieval conflicts. In particular, she knew a lot about armour and how it developed between 1066 and 1600. She dealt with these subjects on her personal website and told the history of the period via the developments in the armour worn.

She had lots of feedback about her website. Visitors found her insights helpful. When she applied for a promotion, she referenced her website in her application and took examples of people’s thanks to her for all her work to interview. Yes, she got her promotion. Now she has another web project to work on.

What Will Make Your Personal Website Successful?

You can see from the examples above that having a personal website helped both people mentioned  in their careers. Think now about creating a personal website that will help your career.

Think about where you want to take your career. Think about the skills you have and those you are developing. Then, start to think about your personal website. Remember the following:

  • Be helpful to every one who gets in touch.
  • Be generous with the information you share.
  • Write clearly. Give advice. Upload relevant videos.
  • Encourage interaction about your subject. (Which online forum would suit you best?)
  • Make sure you deal with the problems people bring to you.

WarringtonIf you would like to see my first venture online, back in 2008, take a look at Achieving The TQS.  (The TQS was The Training Quality Standard.)

Achieving The TQS was the blog I created about this standard and it is where I learned how to work online.

However, it also brought in lots of business to our company.

Above  is an image of me delivering a Training Quality Standard Workshop. The screen shows a Training Quality Standard slide. It underscores my expertise.

Finally . . .

Remember you are in control. You can have as many pages on your personal website as you wish. Just make sure you stick to your main theme. Do not confuse website visitors by writing just for experts. If your website is too complicated, people will go away.

Get your personal website online in the next few weeks – and let me know about it.