Why is your online sales copy--your 24/7 salesmannot doing his job? Does this scenario ring a bell? You worked hard to get your traffic. You have watched your visitor rate climb higher and higher. But your visitors are leaving empty-handed. They are virtually leaving without buying. Many service business owners, infopreneurs and writes fail to sell online. In fact researchers say only 3% of online retailers actually sell anything to speak of. You may be making the same top mistakes in web sales copy that 97% of online etailers make. Correct these top mistakes and prosper: 1) No Regular Content. If your website is static (non-changing) then it will not entice your audience to visit again. Unless your site's purpose is to get a direct response, it should have regular content changes. Create a target newsletter for your audience. Send it out regularly to build trust with your visitors. Consistency builds trust. People like to know what to expect. 2) No Compelling Reason to Keep Reading. You may have been just awarded for the most beautiful site. Congratulations! But if your copy is weak it may not translate to sales. Check your copy for dud phrases, deadwood and driftwood. Are you using trite phrases like Welcome to the official site of _____, to find out about ME, MY Company, My Achievements click here, or Sign-up for my FREE ezine. Use wording that will convince your prospects to keep reading, trust you and take action. Insert benefit loaded headlines, bullets and even links. 3) Too Hard to Buy. Believe it or not people are still reluctant to buy online. A Boston Consulting Group Consumer Survey found that 70% of respondents worry about making purchases online. Seek to help calm the fears of your prospects. Make your ordering process easy and straightforward. Limit the amount of forms they have to fill out. Insert a paragraph of explanation of your credit card processing system in your sales letter. There still are a lot of people that are not computer savvy. Offer all of the options you can make available: mail, fax, 800 number, and of course credit card. Remember to test your process. 4) No Heading to Lead the Way. Develop the skill of writing headlines. Provocative titles will stir interest. Provocative statements capture our attention like a fish on a hook. They throw out the baited hook and reel a captive audience in every time. The shocking statement 'Wives Who Don't Want Sex' even if they don't have this problem will get the attention of the curious. Rewrite your headlines. Make sure they lead your prospects to your sales page. 5) No Evident Benefits. Promote with benefits instead of your bio, your credentials and even the features of your product/service. Don't get me wrong; put them in their proper place on your site. But your audience will most want to know the value of your product to them. You must answer questions like, "Will it solve my particular problem?" "What will I gain?" "What will I lose if I don't use your service?" Some universal benefits answer the how tos of: getting more passion, more energy, less fatigue, more money, good relationships, more time, less trouble, less stress, less drama and trauma. 6) No Help Visualizing Outcome. Be specific. List specific benefits. Describe how your customer will feel after buying your product. For example, after you buy my service of teeth whitening, you'll look and feel 10 years younger without plastic surgery. Then post a picture of what your client looks like before and after the teeth whitening service. Let them see how happier and more confident they look with whiter teeth. Make your page magnetic with specific benefits. 7) No Compelling Call to Action. Many website owners lose countless opportunities to make a sale or capture a lead because they fail to ask something of their visitors. Call your visitors to a specific action. At the end of every page use the power of the direct command whether it's simply directing them to contact you for further information or a directive to browse further into your site. For example, instead of "If you would like this beautiful travel brochure, we will be happy to send it" use "Sit down right now and fill out this form to start planning your vacation.' Or instead of "Call us to purchase your widget" use "Dial this number 877-846-9908 to purchase your widget today." If you are serious about making your website a more effective marketing tool or converting more visitors in customers, begin by correcting the top seven mistakes above. Even one or all of the principles in place will help make your website one that your visitors will buy from, proudly refer, and come back to over and over again. Write compelling copy and prosper. ======================= |
