Three Things Every Website Should Do
|
|
When I started my company in 2002, I knew I needed to have a website. Why? To provide credibility! How can a company be "real" in this day and age if it doesn't have a website? So, like many companies, I published an informational website that explained "here's who we are, and here's what we do".
I didn't spend a lot of time worrying about my website. I certainly didn't think of it as a strategic weapon in my company's marketing arsenal. That started to change in the spring of 2004 when a newsletter was forwarded to me by a fellow member of the National Speaker's Association. The subject of the featured article was something called "internet marketing".
The article caught my fancy, so I subscribed to the author's newsletter. Over the next month or two I picked up an eBook and a CD that were recommended in newsletter articles. The concept of internet marketing really started to intrigue me, so I decided to do some serious research.
During the next four months I invested several thousand dollars and a couple hundred hours learning about internet marketing. My conclusion? I was missing out big-time with my company's website! In fact, I concluded that just about every business website would be vastly improved if it was re-designed to do three things:
1. Help visitors RAPIDLY answer two questions:
- "What does this company do?", and
- "Is there anything here for me?"
This keeps website visits from being one-shot deals. If you offer visitors the opportunity to opt-in to receive free, value-added information, and you provide truly useful information on a regular and consistent basis, you will earn trust and build relationships. This increases the likelihood that your website visitors will buy from you over time.
3. Motivate Action
If a website page is going to motivate a visitor to take action, the focus needs to change from you, your company and your products and services to your visitors and their problems.
Web pages that motivate action are not distant and aloof. Instead, reading them feels like a one-on-one conversation between you and the reader. The copy invokes the reader's emotions, plus provides enough supporting details to enable the reader to feel comfortable making a decision to buy online or to contact your company for more information.
This very specialized form of copywriting is called a "sales letter". You have probably received sales letters in the mail, or seen a similar type of advertising in television infomercials. Some sales letters and infomercials sound pretty "cheesy"; yet, for decades sales letters have repeatedly proven to be one of the most productive forms of direct marketing.
The biggest criticism you'll hear about sales letters (usually from corporate website designers) is, "This copy is much too long! Nobody is going to take the time to read that much information!"
You know what? The critics are almost right. Probably 95% of readers will not read any given sales letter in its entirety. That's OK, because sales letters are not written to appeal to everyone! They are written to appeal to specific individuals that have the specific problems the sales letter addresses.
Most people will skim a sales letter...IF it has a compelling headline or sub-headline that catches their attention. They may read a paragraph or glance at a few bullets. If the paragraph or bullets are compelling, they may read another paragraph. Once they have read several compelling paragraphs, they may decide to go back and read the sales letter from the beginning. At that point it becomes much more likely the reader will take the action the sales letter recommends.
Conclusion
If you want your website to generate online sales and/or leads, it needs to do three things:
Change the focus of your website from you, your company, and your offerings to your visitors and their problems -- and watch the online sales and leads roll in!
Copyright 2005 -- Alan Rigg
Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople Don't Perform and What to Do About It. To learn more about his book and sign up for more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020performance.com.
|
|
|
Created & Maintained by Empower! CMS Web Sites
Host2Sell Web Hosting | Emarketing Workshops | Site SEO Review | FREE NewsletterTrinkets, Lockets And Empty Pockets
It never ceases to amaze me how many people set-up a website, without any type of plan or clue about how to promote it, how to write a sales letter, how to write an ad-- nothing!Even more amazing is how many people try to conduct business online without any money.The other day, I received an e-mail from a woman named Nadia inquiring about my E-mail Consultation Service.In her e-mail, she explained ...(related: Web Development)
Selecting A Web Content Management Product
So you want to take a look at a real Web Content Management (WCM) product. How do you go about evaluating all the different products and vendors? What should you be looking for in a WCM package? Is it better to build your own, buy or use Open Source?The best way to answer this question is to compare the products on an apples to apples basis. You can do this objectively by building a product evaluation matrix based upon your specific needs. The first column can list out the functionality categories...(related: Web Development)
Get Your Business On The Web
I can't think of any business alive today that couldn't benefit from at least a minor presence on the web. Now that I've made that statement, I'm sure someone will point out one. My point is, however, that having a web presence today is about as cheap as anything going and if you ever get one client or sale from the web you are way ahead.How many times have you come across someone who would be ideal as one of your customers. They have about a minute to talk to you and you don't happen to have a brochure in your back pocket. How easy it would be to simply tell them to "gotom...(related: Web Development)
Server Side Includes (ssi) With Asp
Server Side Includes (SSI) with ASP
People often have identical sections of code spread throughout many ASP pages, typically code at the top of the page (usually refer...(related: Web Development)Websites For Writers ? Why You Need One And How To Get Started Today
It may seem like the publishing industry's equivalent of Beanie Baby madness- everyone is talking about writer's websites. Freelancers and authors everywhere are jumping on the bandwagon, publishing sites to promote themselves and their work. This craze leaves many writers wondering if it's just a fad or if it's really worth the expense and effort. While it may seem like an overwhelming or frivolous endeavor, there are some solid business reasons why you should consider setting up your own website.? Editors Like Writer's Websites. When querying an editor for the first time, you can add credibility to your writing resume by referencing your website. Instead of attaching clips, you can provide a link to clips on your site. This minimizes paperwork and lets you avoid sending email attachments that can get sc...(related: Web Development)
Increase Your Affiliate Earnings With A Smart Webmaster Plan
Affiliate programs are a great way to earn an income online in a few easy steps. However, if you don't have a plan you are going to fail. A smart webmaster plan includes some pretty basic steps that you should follow every time.A...(related: Web Development)
Learn To Build A Better Online Business Website Using Keywords And Content
Are you aware that 90% of the websites on the Internet today are a waste of time and space. You have probably been on some of the sites I am referring to. You know the ones that when you arrive it really has nothing to do with your search criteria.Why do online business newbies create these websites?How many web...(related: Web Development)
5 Tips To Supercharge Your Website Sales Copy
The art of turning website visitors into paying customers depends almost entirely on good sales copy. What is that?Simply put good sales copy is the content of your copy and presentation of your copy put together in such a way that it increases your visitor to sale conversion rate on a consistent basis.It's an ongoing process in which you will always try to beat your "control". Beating the control is marketing lingo for engaging in a never ending process of constant improvement to your sales copy in order to bea...(related: Web Development)
Your Website Should Be Selling
It may come as some surprise to a traditionally off-line business that their website should be attracting new sales, or at least supporting the sales they have made. There is a common misconception that a website is more of a cost than an asset. When I ask companies why they would like a website the common answer is, "I don't know?" It seems to me that having a website is more of a reflex than something that is planned to help grow sales for the company. In other words, "Every business has one, I shou...(related: Web Development)
Ecommerce For Beginners
Like most average persons, I wanted some extra money to supplement my regular income. I had considered a part time second job at times, but hated that option because it would take me away from...(related: Web Development)
35% Revenue Increase? From Your Website!
2 Golden Rules for an Engaging Website35% of visitors fail to achieve their goal when they visit company websites! By following 2 simple rules, you can increase your web-derived revenue by 1/3 or more!Renowned website usability researcher, Jakob Nielsen, today (Nov 24) published results of his latest study. His test subjects used 139 websites. On average, they failed to find what they were looking for 35% of the time. Shockingly, 37% of users couldn'...(related: Web Development)
Making The Business Case For Web Standards
Through the explosive growth of the Web, companies have realized the benefit of building a strong online presence. By publishing a website to the Internet, companies are able to build their brand, market their products, support existing customers, release publicity pieces, and even take orders. Lost in the feverish pace of growth however, has been an eye on the effect that their current web-building practices have on the bottom line and the future of their online presence. Not only does ...(related: Web Development)
Web Development Processes And Technical Environments
The process of Web application development is critical to the success of web-based projects. The proper processes can not be enforced unless technical environments are properly setup. Technical environments are required for development, test and production.Web applications architecture ( http://www.sysoptima.net/architecture/technical_architecture.php ) is typically in 3-tiers. Applications are developed on NT platforms, and deployed to production on UNIX platforms. Without streamlined procedures and proper environment settings, depl...(related: Web Development)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Empower! Web Design | All Rights Reserved. | Web Development