Find Your Why

Last fall was one of the busiest ministry seasons ever, and in the midst of it all I launched a new personal website. In retrospect, I should have planned a little more space for such a big project, but I didn’t realize how much mental space the work would take on my part. In the next 8 weeks, I’m going to write about steps to creating your own blog or website.

I need to start by saying that although I know more than I used to about using my computer,  I’m still a relative non-techie. So this series is officially titled “Creating a Website (for the Non-Techie).

Here’s what I’m afraid of. I’m afraid some of you are going to check out because you’ve already got a website or you don’t have and/or don’t want a website. Can I ask you to hang in there with me? I am going to attempt to write helpful posts for those of you in the process as well as the other two groups.

This week I’m going to give you a simple assignment. Before you ever start picking color palettes, having professional photography done or writing bio content, I want to challenge you to ask yourself some basic questions:

  • Why do I want or need a website?
  • Why do I want people to come to my website?

There are lots of people talking about seeking your personal “why”, but I believe the champion of this concept is Simon Sinek author of Start with Why. To grasp the concept and hear a great message, I urge you to take a little time to watch his excellent TED Talk.

Identifying the why for your website is absolutely crucial for building a foundation for your vision. Without your why, you’ll be adrift without a vision. My friend and Next Step client Cheri Gregory helps tremendously in this blog post to find our why by giving us some key questions to ask ourselves. In the paragraphs above, I’ve referred to this process of finding your why as “simple”. I think it’s worth saying that it might be simple, but it’s certainly not easy. This process of finding the why for your website will need to be steeped in prayer, time and reflection.

Once you’ve found it, use your why to work toward developing a tagline . You can click here, and here to get more instruction. Writing a tagline is a process with much more powerful purpose than simply having the product of a tagline. It will cement your why for your ministry and website and give you clarity and purpose.

I’d love for us to use this spot as a forum to discuss as you work toward creating or updating your website. Feel free to ask each other questions, share tips or tell  us about your discovery of your why!

For those of you just starting a website…This week pray about your personal why and please share here. 🙂

For those of you with a website…Do you know the why of your website? Can visitors tell what it is?

For those of you without a website…Do you know the why of your ministry? Is it apparent in your messages?

Last scary questions…Would you visit my new website and weigh in? Can you tell what my why is?

Amy

 

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6 Comments

  1. Gayle Haddock says:

    Amy – I LOVE your new website! The clean look and bright colors are so inviting! One of my favorite things about it are the different pictures of you on every page – some fun, some a little more serious, but all very warm. They do a great job of capturing your personality. The format flows well and is very easy to navigate.

    My take on your “why” is that you want to lead ordinary, everyday women to an extraordinary life through learning from and loving God’s word. You build trust with your subscribers by admitting some of your own vulnerabilities, which makes me say “Hey – I relate to that!” Your heart for ministry, mentoring, and connecting generations is clear by browsing through your speaker topics. I love how you have bridged your coaching ministry with your speaking ministry by providing awesome resources. Over the last year, I’ve discovered my “why” but I haven’t started any kind of marketing. A webpage and bio sheet are definitely on my “To Do” list and I’m praying over hiring a coach to help me with accountability. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to your series on building your own webpage in the coming weeks.

    Thank you once again for a job well done. I feel very inspired!

    1. Thanks for the time you took to give such specific and encouraging feedback, Gayle. I’m so happy you could see my “why.” I hope we’ll get to work together some day soon!

  2. Amy,

    Loved the look of your new website. The colors, the layout. It was warm and inviting. It did not shout at me, but calmly invited me in. Really like it.

    Enjoyed your post today. Am listening to those who read my writing. Trying to discover the “why.”

    Anne

    1. Anne, what a great way to find your “why.” Sometimes we’re really clear about how God is using us, but sometimes we can gain great insight by listening to what others have to say. I even encourage my clients who are developing a tagline to ask questions like, “What do you see as my greatest passion?”