Many small businesses fail because their owners don’t pay enough attention to sales copy. Especially Online.
The biggest mistake? Sales copy that doesn’t serve the needs and desires of your site’s visitor.
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 my words inspire my readers? Will they learn what they need to know in order to arrive at an informed decision to buy? Will they be eager to contact me?
Here are 5 things to promote your services or products Online:
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. Its purpose is twofold: one, it should give your potential clients something that benefits them – tips, articles, resources and special offers; and two, it should encourage them to suggest to others that they’ll find your web site valuable.
2. Create a Web page with words 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 at …, or “click here” to subscribe to my fabulous ezine?
3. Make it easy for your Web site’s visitors to buy. Some people hate to buy Online because they fear for 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. If something out there seems to be working, why re-invent the wheel? Visit other Web sites and critically observe what they do well and what they do poorly. Then, compare those analyses to your own site.
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.
5. Realize the power of the written word. 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. Write down your description of: your audience, its needs and desires. Address their problems, interests, values and how they like to receive a service. Pre-plan your Web site, and state its purpose – is it to make money, gain credibility, share a unique message?
List at least 10 benefits provided by your service. What are the best five? List 10 features of your service, too. What are the best five? Remember, features don’t sell, benefits do. Create a variety of headlines that have marketing pizzazz. They can be in the form of a question, a command, or a shocking statement, but they should all be full of specific benefits. “Quadruple your Online Income” is not enough. You must show how much time that takes.
Finally, 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!” Tap into your creative side, with a friend, associate, or 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.
