by Cara Lumen
Remember brochures? Those colorful and expensive folded pamphlets that you hoped people would pick up and read. And maybe, just maybe they would call you? Do you remember folding, stamping, mailing, or putting them in holders at your booth? Brochures and flyers have their place, but if you are on the internet you must remember that your web site is not a brochure!!!!
It can be, of course, it can be a decorative internet presence that lets you say “You can go to my web site at ….” That is a placeholder that simply gives visitors a way to contact you.
But a web site should be and can be so much more.
Ask for Action-Action-Action
As an internet marketing coach I would never encourage you to settle for a brochure web site. If you are going to play on the internet, play for keeps! And that means creating a web site that is compelling and has a clear call to action.
What makes a web site compelling?
I’m an Attraction Marketer so I am aware of the instant connection that comes from the mere energy behind a web site. I certainly have come across web sites that make an immediate connection with me based on their energy alone. And I have had people tell me that coming to my web site feels like coming home. There is energy that reaches out even before the words and design make an impact.
Give them the vital information
As an Internet Marketer I believe in giving people the information they need to make an informed decision. I don’t scare them into buying, or yell at them with big fonts and loud yellow boxes, I approach them as a new acquaintance, someone who might be interested in what I offer provided I listen to what they need and truly try to stay in service.
Build a friendly relationship
As the content progresses I address their needs, not in a negative manner, but in a hopeful manner. Not “Are your painful knees wrecking your life?” but “How would it feel to be able to take a long walk in the woods again? I want to give them hope, a joyous expectation of what is possible, and then let them know how what I offer may be of service to them.
It’s like meeting someone new; you don’t move in with a hard sell, you get to know them by exchanging information. In fact, if you’re really good, you don’t sell anything at all, you simply express you passion and enthusiasm for what you do.
Ask for another “date”
So, if people only spend about a minute on your web site, how can you build a relationship? If they go away you’ll never see them again. But if you create an opt in offer that invites them to give you their email and name along with permission to email them again, you have made a prospective new friend. It means they are interested enough to explore your relationship a bit further.
If your web site does not have a compelling opt in offer it does not mean business. It is merely decorative.
If you are going to have a web site, put it to work for you. Create a strong opt in offer, write a mini-ecourse for your autoresponders, begin to collect those names. 80% of your sales will come from 20% of your list. Do the math. You have to have a list. And building a list takes time. You have to have a list of people who are interested enough in your work to want to hear more from you. That means you must have an opt in box on you website or you are wasting your time.
You must have a clear call to action
As big as the temptation is to tell everything you do to everyone who comes you must have only one clear call to action per page. In the case of your home page it must be your opt in box which must be placed in the upper right hand portion above the fold. All you want to do on your home page copy is tell them what you can do for them (not how you will do it),interest them enough in what you offer and entice them enough with your opt in offer, that they give you their name and email. One request. One call to action.
Do you see why a brochure approach is so weak? With a little effort, and an investment in a strong foundation like Easy Web Automation Shopping Cart that allows you to create compelling autoresponders and make relationship-building broadcasts to keep in touch and build trust you will have a web site that means business.
© 2008 Cara Lumen
