Is Outdated Content Turning People Away?

When a new person discovers your web site are they seeing the best, most current reflection of what you do? Or is it a reflection of where you were last year – or even the year before that? If you haven’t reviewed your primary web content in the last six months you may be losing new clients. I’m talking about your landing page, your opt in offer and your mini-ecourse in particular, those three foundational introductory pieces that attract and convert and begin to build trust.

Put on your Beginner’s Mind, enter your web site and see what the new person is seeing. Does your landing page clearly tell the visitor what’s in it for them? Does it say who you serve and how to serve them? Does your opt in offer guarantee such great results that people are eager to sign up and join your community? Does the mini-ecourse explain your core concepts while it builds trust? When did you last look at your Work With Me page, your About Me page, your Media Page? How has your target community changed? What are their new needs and desires? Have your keywords changed? You get the idea. Once a year you should look closely to be certain your major content is relevant and effective.

I was really surprised to have it called to my attention by a new member of my community that a link in my mini-ecourse didn’t work. Of course it didn’t, I had not looked at that mini-ecourse since I wrote it (and I don’t know when that was). That product had taken another form and I had forgotten that link was there. Not only that, my business position had been tweaked in the last six months and that mini-course no longer reflected what I wanted to share. I immediately sat down and rewrote it. It’s important to make certain that our introductory content is up to date.

Not only has my business focus changed a bit but I now know more. I always learn things when I create new information products. When I was writing “How to Craft a Magnetic Opt In Offer that Captivates and Converts” and “How to Craft a Magnetic Mini-Ecourse That Builds Trust” it became clear that it is vital that those two introductory items not only contain relevant and valuable information but that they create recognizable measurable results. With those specific criteria in mind I went back to see if what I had created two years ago was living up to those qualifications. I had a new awareness and new knowledge and I made some changes.

Look at the measurable results you are or are not getting. I did some exchange coaching with a fellow Book Yourself Solid coach who focuses on websites and what she saw from my Google Analytics was that my main website www.caralumen.com has a 60% bounce rate which is really, really good – it means people are hanging around to read. The blogs were not doing that well. The measurement of that specific result prompted me to go back over that major site to make certain it still reflected what I do now. I also made some changes on both blogs to tie in better with that site.

It if works keep it. If it doesn’t work change it or drop it.

I have begun to put more emphasis on helping people develop valuable information products. I’ve spent a lot of time developing my Magnetic Content Development System and working on the “How to Craft Series” but I’m not certain that every web presence I have up reflects that.

A small change in focus can affect everything you do. I even created a separate blog www.magneticsignatureproductsguild.com to focus on the information product aspect of my business. Then I had to look at who my other blog www.passionatelyonpurpose.com was serving and if I was giving them what they wanted and expected. I made some changes.

This is a hard one for me. I’m interested in a lot of things so I share those interests in my writing. But that isn’t going to work on the receiving end – the person who comes to the blog thinking they will get one thing only to find I’m off on some tangent that wasn’t what they expected. It’s a definite disconnect. I haven’t solved that one yet – my passion is eclectic. Look to see if you are delivering what people expect to find when they come to your site.

Twice a year look over what new visitors see when they come to your web site for the first time. Can they identify themselves as the kind of people you work with? Do you solve their current problem or answer a current need? Do you clearly explain what you can do for them – not how you do it. Always talk about the results you can help them get and how their lives will change for the better because of it.

I seem to redesign my web site every three years or so. I’m getting ready to do it again. This will be the first time I have consciously applied my Magnetic Content Development System to the landing page of my main site. I know that my system helps me get clear about my target community and identify exactly the results I want them to achieve. I know it helps me choose my best ideas and organize them so people really get them. I’m starting with the exercises in “Landing Page Magic” and I’m excited about what I change and the new results it produces.

There are two times of year that I rethink my business In the fall as I prepare new products and services for launch in January and in the summer when things are slower when I time to look at what’s working, what’s not, review what I have up, take down what is no longer relevant, and rewrite what needs to change. Use the summer lull to evaluate, review and update; the fall for launch preparation.

Don’t let outdated content turn people away. It’s an easy fix. Look at your landing page, opt in offer and mini-ecourse to be certain each new visitor gets the message you intend for them. Update regularly. Schedule review time on your calendar. Then make those changes!