Oct 30 2009
Too often business owners get a website built and then watch it sit there taking up server space. It's when their visits hit rock bottom (read: 0) that they start to get frustrated and don't see what the point of a website is in the first place. Well, apart from knowing how to market a website (from SEO to PPC and other marketing media), your website needs to be able to attract, inform and convert. Here are 7 steps to do that.
1. Know your customer, know their problem
People don't start looking for a product or service until they realize they need something. In other words, they have a problem that needs solving. Your website needs to address both: the customer and the problem. Really knowing your customer will make creating a website that will appeal to them much easier. This means really understanding what works for them and what demographic you're serving. Does it mean that you won't get sales from other demographics? Not at all, but aiming for a specific audience is better than casting so wide a net that you don't hit anything. So on your website, you better be speaking to your core audience and you better be talking about how whatever you sell *solves* their problem. And frankly, it needs to be done well enough that they'll see it and read it before they can click away, and so that it motivates them to click further.
2. Define your specific service
Be sure you've made it clear what it is you provide exactly. While that may seem very obvious, it's easy to fall into the trap of writing about how great you are or how you're the best without ever really saying what it is you do. Spell it out. Short and sweet works best.
3. Develop a clear message
While you're telling your audience what it is you provide and how it can help them, be sure it's clear. In fact, it should connect the dots for them. In other words, your overall message needs to connect their problem and your service clearly and succinctly. Hint: that's where a great copywriter can help.
4. Give 'em a little something
Whether it's a case study, portfolio sample, free white paper or a data sheet, demonstrate how you've provided a solution for others. Obviously this will help showcase your skills and services, but it will help your prospect imagine themselves being helped by you. If you can include a testimonial for extra punch - people love to use products and services that have worked for others as opposed to trying the unknown.
5. Start connecting
Don't just let your site sit there. Start inviting people to connect with you. This can be in any number of ways, including:
- A monthly or quarterly email newsletter
- A blog
- Community / user forum
Connecting with others will help you start to develop a fan base that will inevitably sing your praises. More importantly though, it shows that there are actual people behind the company willing to talk with and hear from customers, rather than at them or avoid them altogether.
6. Make it easy for someone to become a client/customer
This may seem like a no-brainer but there are plenty of websites that make it incredibly difficult to figure out how to get a product, become a member or whatever. Be sure you make it easy. Is your site a membership site? Make the registration visible and easy. Do you sell downloadable products? Make that download link easy to spot!
7. Provide the service you promised
Whatever it is you provide, you're promising your prospect that you're going to get that very thing. The moment you falter, you've broken that promise. That means weakened trust and dissatisfaction which will ultimately lead to a bad review or worse, a bad reputation (if it happens enough). It's easy to forget what you've promised, but don't forget... do it!