Meet our instructors: April Hiatt

Since joining the FTO team as an instructor, April Hiatt has shared an incredible amount of knowledge with our subscribers. Check out her Build Your Website course, her How to Grow Your Email List Masterclass and her Lead Magnets & List Building course. Today, you have the opportunity to learn a bit more about this inspiring woman!

So, ‘websites that WOW and convert’ - does this mean you build these websites for businesses or do you teach people how to build them themselves?

Several years ago when I needed help for my teenage son, I did what most mothers do... I started searching the internet for specifically what he needed.

I spent hours trying to find the right person to help him with some mental health and other related concerns.

And I found NOTHING! Well, that’s not true – I found lots of websites for coaches and therapists but none of them gave me the confidence to actually call or looked like they could help us..

A few weeks later I was talking to a friend and mentioned what we were going through and how I was looking for help. She recommended a company to me that she had used and loved.

So I looked up their website.

And it was so awful I had no confidence in their ability to actually help us, so I didn’t call.

A few weeks later the same friend asked me how it was going, and I mentioned my continued frustration at finding the right help.

She asked if I had called the company she recommended, and I confided that I hadn’t because I couldn’t tell from their website what they actually did or how they could help us.

She assured me that they could, so on her recommendation only, I called.

And they were EXACTLY what I was looking for. But, I never would have found that out based solely on their website.

So I told this to the owner (after a couple of months of my son getting the help he needed).

And the owner agreed.

He said that yes, their website needed help, but had no idea how to go about fixing it.

He continued by saying he had talked to a few companies about an upgraded site, but none of them understood his company well enough to actually be able to speak to his target audience, and they all wanted to charge him $10,000+. He just didn’t have the budget for that.

He asked if I wanted to do it since I understood what people were actually looking for on the site and needed to know.

I had never built a website before! But, I said I would love to!

(Scary moment!)

I was totally transparent in the fact that I didn’t (yet) know what I was doing, but he said he had complete confidence in me and my being able to figure it out.

So I did!

I learned all I could about websites and rebuilt his main website. He loved it so much he then hired me to build the websites for 10 other programs he had. Then other therapists and coaches who worked with the company asked me to build their websites. And my business grew.

I had found my passion in website design and helping others succeed in businesses that served individuals, families and children. I was getting so many referrals to work on other sites that I turned it into a full-time website design business. That was six years ago.

Over the next several years I was on a mission–to help other coaches and therapists have really helpful, clear websites that others who were looking for help could not only find it, but know they were in the right place to get the help they needed for their loved ones.

Now, I specifically help coaches, consultants, therapists and other service-based businesses create not only great looking websites, but ones that speak to their ideal clients, give clear information, and grow their businesses (convert!)

Hence, “Websites that WOW… and Convert!”

Because a beautiful website doesn’t do you any good if it doesn’t grow your business! Your website should be your favorite employee and actually work for you and bring in new customers!

As my business has grown over the years, I have realised that I can’t help everyone one at a time. So, I offer two services –

DONE FOR YOU website packages where I literally do everything for you to set up your website AND set up your lead conversion funnel. I put all the pieces together on your website (branding, lead magnet, email automation, professional business email, and online scheduling calendar) so you save time and money trying to do all those individually. I then empower business owners by training them how to make updates to their sites themselves so they never have to rely on me or anyone else when changes come up.
DIY Website Course: For those that want to learn to DIY their website and save some money, I have the Done Right Website Academy where you learn to do it all–create a brand, build your website, add your lead magnet, connect to your booking calendar, and set up your lead and sales funnels…. all in one place! My goal is to empower more service-based female business owners to get their businesses off the ground, AND GROW THEM!

What are the three main things to pay attention to/be aware of when creating a website that will work for you 24/7?

You have to be very clear about what you do and who you help. The biggest problem most websites have is that when someone gets to it, the visitor can’t figure out what exactly you do and how you solve a problem. A classic example is someone that just says they are a 'life coach.' No one knows what that means exactly or how that helps them. Be sure your website is very clear and tells visitors WHO you help and the problem you solve.
Every website should have a lead magnet or a way to capture leads (email addresses of those that come to your site.) Some visitors will come and be ready to buy right away, but the vast majority of them want to 'check you out first'. So you should have something on your website they can sign up for where you collect their email address and the person can learn more about you as you nurture them through emails.
Have a very clear Call to Action on your site and let people know what they’re supposed to DO and how to contact you. When I get to your website, if I am interested in talking to you, how do I do that? Is that information easy to find? Do you have Call to Action buttons that tell me what to do? Buttons that link to a free consultation or instruct me to call or text you. Your website should tell people what to do, and then give them clear instructions on HOW TO DO IT!

And what mistakes are the most important to avoid?

Putting information too far down the page. When someone lands on your website, do they know in the first 5 seconds who you help and how you help them? Don’t make people scroll to figure out if you are the person to solve their problem – tell them right in the top section.
Don’t try to be clever or use jargon words – just be clear and concise in your wording so everyone quickly understands what you do.
Not having a way to collect email addresses on your website so you can get leads from those visitors, even if they don’t buy from you right away.

You’ve created a whole course on Lead Magnets for focustribe.online – what is it about this aspect of building your online business that interests you?

One mistake I see business owners make is that they wait too long before growing an email list. They feel like they aren’t techie enough, or everything is overwhelming, or they don’t have a website, or they just don’t know HOW to do it.

Creating a lead magnet (something you give away for free that visitors have to sign up for to get) should be your priority when starting a business. This will begin to grow your email list and get you leads that later may turn into paying customers.

Here’s the bottom line – as much as I love websites and think every business should have one, you CAN start growing your email list without one – all using FREE tools. Then later down the road you can add what you created to your website.

The Lead Magnets course walks you step by step through exactly HOW to do this using only free tools.

Then, as you grow your email list and nurture it, you can get feedback from those people on what things they actually want, and use that knowledge to grow your business.

You can also have your lead magnet opt-in, built on a landing page, working for you everyday, growing your email list of potential customers while you work on other parts of your business.

Don’t miss out on growing an email list with a lead magnet because you are working on setting up the rest of your business. That should be the number one thing you start with. THEN work on everything else.

Now, I love social media and think it’s great for growing your business but you don’t own it or your followers. You own your email list. So, use social media to promote your lead magnet and grow your email list so you can nurture them to become customers when you have services/products ready to offer.

Why should everyone have a great Lead Magnet on their website?

The reality is that most people who come to your website are not quite ready to buy from you. They want to check you out first, get to know you and see if you are the person for them.

A lead magnet lets people make a small commitment first and learn more about you before spending any money.

It’s a great lead magnet, one that your potential clients will want, that grows your email list with people you can help. It doesn’t do you any good to grow an email list of men if you serve only women. So a great lead magnet filters out those you can’t help and fills your email list with people you are a perfect fit to work with!

By putting a link to sign up for your lead magnet on your website and everywhere you are, you are able to grow your business in the long run as your email list grows. And, the larger your email list, the more chance you have of those people signing up for your paid services.

Who is April Hiatt outside of her business?

Outside of business I LOVE to be outdoors and either walk or hike. I walk every morning while listening to various podcasts, and on the weekends, my husband and I like to explore different hiking trails in our area.

For the most part, I only work Monday to Friday and leave my weekends open for other things and down time.

I have been married for 28 years and we have 3 children. They are all grown and out of the house, and my husband and I are loving the empty-nester phase. Our two oldest children are married, but we don’t have any grandkids… yet! (Totally looking forward to that someday!)

April with her family on a vacation in Yellowstone. From left to right: her son, Braxton, and his wife, Darcy, behind them is Tyson's mom, Sue Hiatt, The tall guy in the back is Trazer and his wife (April's daughter), Kiera, is in front of him, Hiatt is in the striped shirt next to her husband, Tyson, and their daughter, Olivia, is on the end.

We currently live in Lehi, Utah, and being here has been full circle for us. I am originally from California and went to college in Utah where I met my husband. We got married in November 1994, then both graduated in December 1994. We have lived in Utah, Alabama, California and now are back in Utah closer to family.

Other fun things about me: I make amazing chocolate chip cookies, love to fish, love to be out on the water on a boat, and enjoy connecting with and teaching others. I have a secondary education teaching degree, but much prefer teaching adults (no discipline issues!). And my favourite thing is always hanging out with my kids and trying new foods! We love trying new places to eat.

Find April Hiatt on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest. And check out her website!

Categories: : FTO Instructors