Words to the Wise

Ask. Nicely, of course.

You’d be surprised at how many people simply don’t ask for the order. They bury it deep inside copy, or in a weak image . Your call to action has to be loud, clear, and easy.

Something like “Pick up your phone and call 1.800.123.1234 now to order your own two week supply” makes it clear what the reader needs to do.

One particular area where I’ve seen weak calls to action is in political campaigns. In fine print, at the bottom of a postcard, is where the campaign genius decides to put the instructions on how to show your financial support.

You have to be clear on what action you want people to take and how they should take it.

We see it every day - outstanding web design, breathtaking graphics, a wonderfully-crafted message, and stellar use of SEO tactics.

But what about the sale? You can have all of the above and STILL not get a single new client or make a single sale.

Today I have five tactics to help you convert visitors into buyers on your website:

1. Give something away. A free report. A free item. Free shipping. Free money.

2. Get them to sign up for a newsletter. I dislike the term “newsletter” since the idea has evolved so much. Regardless, have a way to maintain contact with people - even if they don’t buy the first time. Make it easy for visitors to sign up and give them a reason to buy. Put your free offer from item 1 above in your communication. See number 5 for more details.

3. Have a sale that’s not really a sale. Pick an item or a service. Now give it prominence on your site and say “Now Only $249.99.” Nobody but you knows that it’s always been that price. Sounds like a deal. People like deals.

4. Bundle your offerings. Do you have two products or services that were made for each other? Do people buy the two separately often? Bundle them, reduce the price by 5 or 10 percent and capture more sales.

5. Give away a coupon or savings offer the moment someone signs up for your newsletter or catalog…give them a reason to buy when you KNOW they at least have interest in your site. Not an hour later, not a day later….5 minutes at most…set up an autoresponder and get that offer into your prospect’s inbox.

A few months ago, I noticed that my email subscriber list had grown at a rate that more than doubled what it had previously. While I was happy to see the increase in subscribers, I was also curious as to how they found me.

I’ve blogged (more like raved) about StatCounter before, and this is just another way the web statistics tool comes in handy. I went through my website stats to see when people were signing up to get updates my blog, and more importantly, from where they were signing up. It turns out that a lot of people found my signup page after using the term “enter your email address” into a Google search. About a dozen of these signups were possible spammers - they were from countries like Nigeria, Vietnam, Syria, etc. Needles to say, their names are no longer on my list, and I check to ensure the validity of every address who signs up for updates.

If you collect email addresses for a list, it’s important to ensure that the people who sign up are legitimately interested in what you have to offer. I’ve since re-worded the copy on my signup page and have not been “found” by possible spammers since. Check your web stats every so often to make sure people are finding you the way you want to be found - for your product or service, NOT for your email list.