7 Tips for Making Your Website Non-Obvious (and Interesting)

Updating a website is one of my least favorite things to do as an entrepreneur. It just takes so much time. But if you’ve ever had to do it, you’ll understand the moment that I’m having right now.

The new www.rohitbhargava.com website just launched and so I really can’t help starting this week’s newsletter by sharing it with all of you! Aside from spending months just refreshing the design, there are a few non-obvious strategies and guiding principles we used for the content on this new site that may inspire ideas for you the next time you’re working on updating or launching a website yourself:

Focus on personality – From the photos of me rocking my yellow Non-Obvious glasses to my very visual About page with lots of photos (including a baby pic!) to my quirky “Cauliflower Policy“—one overarching mission of the site is to offer a window into my personality. For a personal brand site, I think this is key.
Think like a library – This site has everything someone might want to know about me in one place. We are still working on adding some things, like a page for each of my books and a page for each podcast episode, but the site has more than 2,000 blog posts written over the years as well as links to books, videos, podcast episodes and lots more.
Avoid stock photography – Stock photography on a personal or small business site is just plain lazy. Hire a photographer or take some photos yourself. You’ll see across my site; every image is personal and customized. I think it makes a difference for how authentic the site feels.
Answer the biggest questions – People go to my site for useful “non-obvious” content or as they consider hiring me as a keynote speaker. All the content on the site is tailored to answer the biggest questions these audiences are likely to have—such as what topics I speak about or my latest trend insights/videos.
Offer unexpected transparency – How big, exactly, is Rohit’s ego? Yes, that’s one of several questions from my brutally honest FAQ section at the bottom of my speaking page. I also have a link on that page to see LIVE unfiltered feedback from more than 7000 attendees who have seen me speak at 23 recent events. The goal of all this is to offer a totally truthful look at who I really am and what others share about me.
Never compromise utility – There are always people who will visit my site for a specific purpose, like to download my bio+ headshot or to contact me. There’s a section of resources for event planners with easy downloads as you scroll down my speaking page. Early feedback on this feature specifically has been amazing. It’s their favorite thing about the site.
Include easter eggs + surprises – As you scroll down my Speaking page, near the bottom is a section called “Shhhh, This Is What Most Speakers Don’t Tell You!” along with a button inviting someone to “DOWNLOAD SECRETS.” What they get is a PDF ebook recap of my 25 favorite (and least favorite) things I’ve seen from past events. It’s a bonus piece aimed at event planners but also meant to demonstrate how I’m a speaker who is constantly thinking about what makes events better.

If you get a chance to have a look at the website, I would love to know what you think about it. Any other non-obvious ideas for me to try or feedback about what you think is working (or isn’t) with the site? Any and all feedback would be very much appreciated!