About Search Engine Optimization - Ranking - Placement
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How to Get More Value from Your Site Visitors
By Loren Beckart
http://ClickTracs.com
When a new visitor clicks on a link and arrives at your site for the first time, what will you present to them?
1. Will you present something like a brochure that has a home page filled with information and links to products?
2. Will you show an online catalogue that offers a variety of products and services?
3. Or will you have a straightforward, focused sales page that promotes a single product or service?
Your answer to these questions strongly affects the profitability of your web site. Once you've got traffic coming to your site, here are some useful principles that will help make that traffic more valuable to you.
Numerous market studies make one thing very clear: when new site visitors are offered too many choices, they get confused and don't buy. They leave; most of the time they never return. Your objective is to make it easy for a new visitor to become your client. Keep it simple at the beginning.
This is best accomplished in one of two ways.
One option: use a page somewhat like a brochure on which the visitor is given enough good and focused information that s/he signs up to be on your email list to receive even more information of value for fr~ee. For example, offer a newsletter, a special report, a digital download, etc. This type of site is an invitation, and is sometimes referred to as a "capture page." You follow up with your new prospects later via email to make offers of products for sale. Of course, you always include a way for people to unsubscribe from your list, as well as complying with all other CAN- SPAM Act requirements.
Possibility two: start with a single-item sales page promoting a low price-point item, the opening of your "marketing funnel." Your low price-point item will demonstrate the quality of your product or service, and you will get repeat business because you offer good value. At that point, you can introduce your new clients to a wider range of products and prices. They know you deliver, they know they can trust you, and so they'll wade through a bit of information about products that don't interest them to get to those you have that do interest them. Besides, now they are in your data-base, and you can market to them again later when you have a special promotion or a new product.
In general, it is not a good idea to present a first-time visitor with a catalogue site. It might seem impressive to have lots of products at a range of prices and to have distracting graphics, too. But it doesn't work. Think about
it: you've got just a few seconds to grab the interest of a first-time visitor who is following links as they search for something online. The best way to capture their attention is to have a single, compelling headline.
Encourage them to stay at your site with good sales copy and an excellent, beneficial offer.
Especially if you've paid for the visitor who has arrived at your site, you naturally want to get your return on investment (ROI). Many online business owners believe that ROI means one thing: making an immediate sale. However, savvy online business owners realize the lifetime value of their clientele is key to success, and comes from developing relationships. Online, this usually takes the form of email follow-up.
That's why you save the big beautiful catalogue site for later, after they've become your client, and they know you provide good service and a high quality product. Then, after you've established a relationship, use a catalogue site for back-end sales galore.
Now, you have a rationale to help you decide which type of page to use. When you are preparing your 'capture page' or your sales page for a single item, find copy writing resources on-line. Depending on your skills and budget, the resources could range from hiring a professional copy writer, to using copy writing products, to writing the page yourself. The list below is of the minimum, the nine essential elements, of a profitable page.
1. Headline
2. The story
3. Benefits
5. Features
6. Credibility
7. Build up of value
7. Bonus gifts
8. Call to action (ordering info)
9. Post Script or summary
Search for several examples of the type of page you want to create. Then, use these nine items as a checklist to study the models you've found. Using the models you've selected for inspiration, you or your copy writer will create your unique way of saying it and applying it to your product. You'll find that copy writing is largely about using a formula. If you follow good models and use your own words, you'll enjoy and profit from the results.
Loren Beckart is Marketing VP for
Loren Beckart
lbeckart@clicktracs.com
596 Canyon Rd. Box 801
Lyle, Wa 98635 USA
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Seven Top Reasons to Use Ezine Articles to Promote Your Business
By Loren Beckart
http://ClickTracs.com
Submitting articles to ezines is a practice with a dual impact on your profits: it helps you decrease advertising expenses while increasing sales.
Consider the following benefits of having articles that you've written published on-line.
Resource Box: This exposure is fr^ee advertising. The resource box is a short paragraph about the author that publishers usually request with article submissions. It is included at the bottom of the published article and is an opportunity to brand yourself, your business, and your website. The minimum it should contain is your name, business name, and web site address. Space permitting, the resource box should also include a tag line, email address, credentials, etc.
Inbound Links: Via the resource box, each time your article is published with a live link to your web site, that is one more inbound link that helps your site with search engine ranking.
Building Credibility: Published articles help establish your expertise. You develop a position of authority in your field and recognition with respect to the topics you cover in your writing. It is easier to gain a prospective client's trust when you have the credibility of being a published author. Prospects who trust you are more likely to make a purchase.
Targeted audience: Your article and business information is being sent out to a number of people who have subscribed to the publisher's list because they are highly interested in the subjects of the ezine. They are pre-targeted for you. Note that you can maximize that effect by submitting your articles to more than one ezine publisher.
Exposure: It goes beyond the initial publication date. In addition to sending the ezine to their subscription list, many publishers also place articles from the current issue on the home page. Later, they place the articles in an archive that visitors are encouraged to visit in deciding whether to subscribe.
Leverage: When you write an article, you have content that you can leverage. That is, you can use what you've written in other formats. An article could be developed into a presentation at a seminar, or expanded to a special report or e-book. And remember to put the article on your own
site: search engines love content.
Viral Marketing: If you are assured that you will be given credit, (your resource box will be included), then allow ezine publishers to include your articles in their fr^ee ebooks. These are being given away, and so your ad multiplies. Also, submit articles to publishers that have a fr^ee content directory on their site. This allows visitors to republish your article intact, once again multiplying your exposure.
If these benefits of being published online fit your situation, the time has come to get started. Simply go to a search engine and type in a phrase: ezine publishers. You could get more specific results by including the word fr^ee, and identify the topics about which you'll write.
Once you've found some publishers, and you know there's an audience out there for your subjects, write your first article. Be sure to proofread your finished article; your intention is to establish credibility, and to brand your business. A well-written and polished piece will help you accomplish a favorable result.
Once you've gotten your first article published, go ahead and do it again, continuing to spread the word about you and your business all over the internet.
Loren Beckart, Marketing Vice President for ClickTracs Advertising, is also an author and business consultant. For access to additional articles, visit www.ClickTracs.com , a leading resource on the subject of on-line marketing.
Best Regards,
Loren Beckart
596 Canyon Rd. Box 801
Lyle, WA 98635 USA
For all other communications, please use this address:
lbeckart@clicktracs.com
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How to Increase Sales Using Testimonials
By Loren Beckart
http://ClickTracs.com
When marketing online, the use of endorsements and testimonials is especially important. The prospect reads or hears a third party saying, "Yes, this product is real and it is a good value because I got the results I wanted." The online shopper is reassured. Your prospect starts to believe in the reality of your offer when they see that others have been pleased by their decision to buy from you.
When someone with celebrity (in general, or within a specific industry) says, "I put my reputation behind my recommendation of this product," you have an endorsement.
Endorsements are very powerful because prospects generally trust the opinion of someone they perceive as familiar. So, it is worth the effort to use any connections you might have to get an endorsement for your service or product.
The power of testimonials stems from a different strength.
Testimonials offer proof that other people have tried your product and were happy with the results. A testimonial suggests that when the prospect buys that product, their results will be similar, and they will be happy, too.
A useful testimonial includes these things: Both first and last names. If you've ever read one where only the first name and last initial is given, (e.g. Barbara P.), what was your response? It strikes a suspicious note, as if the testifier would prefer to be anonymous. The full name is much more believable. If possible, enhance the effect by including state, city, type of business or business name.
The testimonial should be short and focused on something specific. It should be about measurable results whenever possible.
For example, "Her writing advice was great, and I enjoyed having her help getting published," gives no real information. But, "My coaching practice expanded to include seminars and group events as a result of her help with getting published. Now, my income has doubled even though I'm working fewer hours than ever," indicates specific and desirable results.
If you have no testimonials because you have either: 1) never asked for them; 2) neglected to keep positive comments; or 3) have a new product, here are some ways to get testimonials.
Give the product away to interested parties, and tell them you would like a testimonial if they feel they could give you honest support. Make it no-strings-attached so that you get a heartfelt testimonial. This is very different than
*exchanging* a fr`ee trial for a testimonial.
Ask for feedback from people who have already used your product. Any feedback you get that is positive but not specific, make contact again and ask for more specific information.
Also, if someone sends you something good but it needs editing, then edit it, send it back, and ask if the changes you've made (for brevity, for clarity, for professional grammar, etc.) meet with their approval. Don't use the edited version unless approved.
If you have been collecting testimonials, you might have an excess that makes it hard to choose. In that case, select according to these guidelines:
A. Top benefits: do you have short testimonials that support or prove them?
B. Results: do you have testimonials that tell about specific and measurable results?
There is no magic number of testimonials to use. Just remember that more isn't always better. You want to keep the reader moving through your sales information, so use the testimonials to support but not distract from your main purpose. Remember, the focus of your copy should always be on the product and its benefits for the prospect.
Author and Marketing Consultant Loren Beckart is Vice President at ClickTracs
Advertising Service. For access to additional articles, visit www.ClickTracs.com , a leading resource on the subject of on-line marketing.
