Did you know that 95% of small sized businesses fail because their owners don’t pay enough attention to sales copy? Whether you are a professional speaker, coach, or entrepreneur, every business wants more clients. Even more, they want to entice clients to stay a while, and continue an ongoing relationship. Your Online sales copy matters.
The biggest mistake your Web site or other sales messages may make, is that they don’t really serve the needs and desires of your visitor. When we don’t convey our convincing message of why they should choose us, we lose another potential client.
The second biggest mistake is that your sales copy and links don’t transition easily to make it easy for your client to buy. Discouraged at your disorganization, they will leave and try some other service.
Ask yourself these questions, “What does my Web site say about me? Does its messages take my readers by the collar and convince them to read more?”
Do your words inspire your readers? Will they know what they should know to arrive at an educated decision? Will they be eager to contact you and buy?
Online Choices to Promote your Service
1.Create and send a targeted ezine regularly.
If you are a professional counselor, consultant, coach, speaker, seminar leader, author or other business professional, you need to develop and offer one of the most powerful Online marketing tools around–the eNewsletter or ezine.
Your ezine’s purpose is two-fold:
One-it should give your clients and potential book buyers something that benefits them-tips, articles, resources and special offers. Subscribers want information and they love a bargain. Your ezine will offer all former clients, present ones, and potential ones particular how-tos and other useful free information. In turn, your subscribers will become your loyal supporters.
Two-Because of your generous sharing with your subscribers, they will support you in turn, by forwarding the ezine to their associates, thereby helping you sign up new subscribers. They will also buy your books, attend your seminars and check out your other services. The more targeted your subscribers, the more chance you have of selling your products and services.
2. Create a Web page with key words (benefit driven) that convince your potential clients to keep reading, to gain trust, and to take action.
Think about the headlines you have placed on your home page. Are they so powerful and convincing they force your client to click to your sales letter? Do they describe benefits your potential client can see, hear and feel? Or are they wishy-washy saying something like: “Welcome to my site. My bio is …, or “click here” to subscribe to my fabulous ezine?
The second biggest mistake is that your sales copy and links don’t segway easily to make it easy for your client to buy.
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made is not checking my links or having my web master check them to see if they are totally clear and working. Not only did these confuse my wonderful potential clients, it cost me sales.
3. Make it easy for your clients to buy.
Some people hate to buy Online because they fear the security of their credit card information. Give them several options, including a coupon they can print and either send by regular mail or fax to your free 800 number.
4. Model your Web pages After a Successful Coach’s Pages.
For instance, her pages made 30X the original sales in just seven months. Why? Because her headline with these results seduced her Web visitor to go to the sales message about the eBook she was selling.
The original first month’s profits–$75. At the end of seven months, they added up to $2250. Amazing to some to grasp, but totally possible for others. And, those numbers kept climbing the next year to over $3000 a month. What did she do to get those results?
5. Visit other Web sites and observe.
Your site shouldn’t just be a virtual brochure with your qualifications and offerings. Your home page should have only “Passion Headlines” that pull sales, one outstanding testimonial, and a few questions from your reader’s point of view that leads them via a link to your service information and bio.
Put just a few words about you on the home page. People don’t care about you; they want solutions for their challenges.
6. Realize the power of the written word: 4 Writing Exercises
If your Web site has been up more than a few months, and you haven’t gotten any business, consider reconstructing it so it pulls sales. Here are four writing exercises your must do before you hire anyone.
1. Know your specific audience, their needs and desires. This profile needs to include their problems, interests, values and how they like to receive a service.
2. Use a worksheet to preplan your Web site. You must include your purpose. Do you want to make money, gain credibility, share your unique message?
3. List at least 10 benefits your service provides. Discover the five best benefits. Too many coaches and speakers don’t know how to talk sales language for their services. They mistake features for benefits. Features don’t sell, benefits do.
4. List 10 features too. These are features:
-you offer phone sessions for the convenience of the client -you email back up support and information to help solve a particular problem -you take quick phone questions in between coaching sessions -you give a specific strategy session to accomplish a client’s goal
5. Connect your five best benefits with your best features–the how you will accomplish the benefits. Includes: 5 Tips to, 7 Steps to, 9 Ways to.
Create a variety of headlines that have marketing pizzazz. They can be in the form of a question, a command, a shocking statement, but they are all full of specific benefits. “Quadruple your Online Income” is not enough. You must show how much time that takes.
Create a picture of the outcomes your client will see, hear and feel. You must touch your potential client’s soft spot–that nerve center that says Yes, I want that!
So, tap into your creative side, either with a friend, associate, or a Web coach who knows this uncharted territory–the language of sales.
Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people’s lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” “How to Market your Business on the Internet,” and “Create your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says…and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 145 free articles. Email her at Judy@bookcoaching.com.
