You slave away for hours, days and weeks building the best web
site the world has ever seen. You master the art of HTML, learn
how to upload it to your server, promote like crazy. You're
going to make a fortune.
Then you wait for the orders to roll in.
But they don't.
You see ads all over the Internet from people who claim to be
able to convert 5%, 8% even 30% of visitors into sales and
wonder what the *big secret* is. But you've spent your budget
buying a domain name and hosting services. The little that you
have left over is earmarked for buying traffic - or paying the
rent. Tempting as it is, spending $47, $67, $97 or more just may
not be practical right now.
***ASIDE***
Incidentally, have you noticed how many Internet products are
priced ending in 7? Sevens sell. Don't ask me the psychology of
it, but it seems to work time and time again. Try it out for
yourself.
***********
I'm going to tell you a big secret. And I won't charge you a
cent. Not even 7 cents.
Here are the 5 secrets that have made a lot of successful
Internet marketeers very wealthy.
Secret #1. Simplicity Secret #2. Personalization Secret #3.
Attention to detail Secret #4. Capture Secret #5. Ease
Summed up by the easy-to-remember acronym, SPACE.
Before I explain what these elements mean, and how they apply to
you, let me digress for a moment. What are we actually talking
about when we discuss web sites?
There are 4 main kinds of web presence:
Offline companies who want a web site as a shop window.
These can be huge corporations or Mom and Pop corner shops. They
may sell product or not. But the key point is that the Internet
is not their main business.
Internet mega companies who have complex and long term
business plans. Companies like Yahoo and Amazon.
Personal web pages that have little or no commercial intent.
Web sites run by individuals to make money. I call these the
'no fall-back' sites. If they don't turn a profit, they wither
and die.
We are concerned with the last of these. It is these sites that
SPACE can be the most help to.
Apply SPACE to your site and you really will be seeing it
through buyer's eyes.
Simplicity ----------
Layout. Not everyone can be a top graphic designer - in fact,
many of the graphic designers I have worked with seem to find
effective web site design very difficult. Look closely at your
site design. Is it cluttered? Have you tried to get everything
except the kitchen sink onto your homepage?
Back to the drawing board. Think of your home page as an
extended classified ad. It has to please the eye, grab the
customer's attention and compel them to take the next action -
move on to the next part of your sales story.
Another thing it has to do is to satisfy the demands of the
search engines. It is often said that your homepage text should
contain all of your main keywords within the first 250 words.
That is a good target to aim for. And it helps you focus on what
your most important keywords actually are.
Personalization ---------------
Your site will not get sales without it. It is as critical as
that. Every copywriter in every ad agency in the world knows
this secret. In case you can't afford a copywriter, I'm going to
tell you what I have learned in 25 years working with some of
the biggest advertisers around. And it is so simple you will
wonder why so few writers do it.
************************** *** They Want Benefits ***
**************************
They want benefits.
They. Not you. Your visitors are only interested in themselves.
A reader of a newspaper ad is only interested in himself. A TV
viewer is only interested in herself. Tell them about
themselves. Sure tell them about your company and great
products, but do it in a way that is relevant to THEM.
Benefits. In the first 200 or so words of an ad (and start
thinking about your homepage as an ad), the reader could care
less about the range of sizes or colors. They are not interested
in how much meat goes into each pie. They are bored by details.
Features kill your message.
What they want to know is how the product is going to make them
feel better, be slimmer, be more popular, be attractive, earn
more money. How your e-zine is going to improve their lives or
businesses.
*** Sell them the sizzle, not the sausage.***
Once you have got their attention, tell them about every feature
under the sun. By now they are so excited they will eat your
words like candy.
While we are talking about personalization, remember, your
visitors are only interested in themselves. So humor them. Do a
word count of your copy. If you don't have at least 5 instances
of 'you and your' for every one 'me, mine, my, I, our or we',
rewrite it until you do. The higher the ratio the better.
Attention to detail -------------------
So many sites are badly programmed. Before you upload your site
always check:
1. Spelling. Every word. Twice. Then get someone else to check
it for you. Unnecessary spelling mistakes give an impression of
sloppiness. Would you willingly buy from a sloppy shopkeeper?
2. Links. Do they all work. If not, fix them. They must all work.
3. Does it work for the majority of viewers? Have you checked
how it looks on small monitors and in old browsers? There are
still lots of people using older equipment. Try not to offend
them.
4. Does it load quickly? One of the biggest turnoffs for
visitors to your site is a slow loading homepage. Optimize those
graphics.
5. Since we are talking about graphics - do you really need all
of them? One good picture can be more powerful than ten bad ones.
When you have checked and double-checked, upload it and then
check again. It is amazing how many links go dead after the site
is uploaded. And get into the habit of checking your site
regularly.
Capture -------
This is so important, Moses should have carved it in stone:
"Thou shalt not let thine visitors go without first getting
their email address."
Statistics show that it can often take up to seven (that magic
number again) communications with a visitor before they are
willing to buy from you. It's all about building trust and
developing a relationship.
So how do you get them to come back once, let alone seven times?
By offering them something of value. That could be a newsletter,
a special report, a free consultation, a free gift voucher, a
tips sheet. You decide what works best for your business. But
ensure that you get their email address AND permission to use it.
Whatever you offer them must have a high *perceived* value.
Armed with their email address, you can send them news of
changes to your site, special offers, 'I heard about this and
thought you might be interested' affiliate offers. Anything to
keep you and your business top of their mind.
If you are careful, and don't overdo the mailings (no more than
once a week), AND ensure that you are seen as honest and
reputable, they will come back and buy.
********** The mailing list could be the most valuable thing
your business produces. **********
Ease ----
This shouldn't need to be said, but so few sites do it: make it
easy for the visitor to do what you want them to do.
If you are capturing their email address, don't ask for anything
else (maybe not even their name). Make it a no-brainer. There
are loads of free resources on the Internet that will let you
have simple scripts to get the job done. Try
http://javascript.internet.com/
To make a sale, you have to make the process as painless as
possible. Don't ask for pages of personal information that you
don't really need.It should go without saying that you must
always reassure customers that your payment process is secure.
Always remember that your visitors are never more than a click
away from leaving you forever. Do everything you can to make
staying easier than leaving.
So there are the big secrets. SPACE. Not so hard, are they?
Follow these principles and your web site will look better and
work better. And you will make more money.
There is one other *secret* which deserves to be put into a
section all on its own as without this, nothing else matters:
Focus -----
Focus is critical. Focus on who you are talking to. Focus on
what you are trying to say. Focus on what you want the visitor
to your site to do.
Too many web sites lack focus. The webmasters know what they
want, but totally fail to communicate that message to their
visitors.
If you want to get an order - everything on your site must be
focused on delivering the visitor to your order page in the
right frame of mind to buy.
If you want to get their email address (highly recommended),
focus on that as your prime objective.
Don't run off on sidetracks and tangents. Don't waffle about how
great your company is. Focus your mind on your customers and
tell them exactly what they want to hear.
Then they will do exactly what you want them to do.
About the author:
Martin Avis publishes a free weekly newsletter: BizE-Zine - your
unfair advantage in Internet marketing, business and personal
success. To subscribe, and collect 4 great free gifts, please
visit http://www.BizE-zine.com
