When you are telling one of your friends a new and interesting story, you stand in front of him, look him in the eye and say: “You will love this…”. You have his full attention because you are speaking directly to him. and are about to give you information that you will enjoy. Your website should behave similarly with your visitors, if you want them to promote your status from ‘an occasional casual visitor’ to ‘your active returning customer’.
In the opening paragraph above, the words ‘you’ and ‘your’ were used 10 times because they make the message personal and important to you; the reader.
The word ‘YOU’ is one of the most powerful words you can use to grab the attention of your website visitors and convey your message to them in a friendly and easy-to-understand way.
Another emotional word that not only attracts immediate attention, but can also quickly arouse the interest and desire of your target visitors, is the word ‘NEW’. This is because we are conditioned to expect a new product or service to be considerably better than the previous version and therefore worth purchasing. Many of us also like to be the first to have something new, because it gives us a chance to show it off to friends who admire us.
The word ‘FREE’ has been used successfully in marketing for over a hundred years and despite its abuse and overuse on the internet, it is probably the most important word you can use on your website. This is because we have not only grown accustomed to downloading free content, but also expect it and are often disappointed when none is offered.
You need to offer something of value to your visitors like a free download if you want to not only keep their interest in the content on your website, but also take a positive action like signing up for your newsletter or making a purchase.
The word BECAUSE has been used five times in the above paragraphs, and is another strong word that you can use with great success on your website. Give the visitor the reason for making a purchase or signing up for a mailing list; and you can justify your statement above. For example, you can say: “This new product will increase your sales, because…” Your visitors want to know WHY you are special, unique, better or different from others and use the word because it can give them the answers they need. look for.
Your visitors will want to know exactly how they WILL BENEFIT from something before they take any action; even for a free download they will want some good reasons ‘why’ before they click on the ‘call to action’ link. You can even provide a list with the simple but great header ‘Your Benefits’, because this will quickly summarize why they need to take action.
If you prefer not to use the word ‘benefit’, you still need to provide full details of the benefits your visitors will enjoy before they accept your offer.
It may well be the first time most visitors see your website, and one of the biggest hurdles you have to overcome is establishing some form of credibility. TESTIMONIALS can go a long way in giving your visitors some confidence that your product or service can deliver the benefits it promises. Written testimonials are great, but in today’s high-speed Internet, many visitors expect and enjoy audio and video testimonials from their customers.
The second element that you can provide to your visitors that will bolster your credibility is your GUARANTEE. These come in many different forms, but a simple, easy to understand ‘money back’ guarantee if you don’t honor it is often the best. In addition to providing a written guarantee, please provide full details of exactly what they have to do to request a refund. Use simple language that they can easily read and understand.
The word NOW is a powerful call to action. When you make a ‘call to action’, always end it with the word ‘now’, because it can substantially increase your results.
Two other words to use on your website are BUY and REGISTER, and you have to use them a lot, because it’s a proven fact that the more opportunities you give your visitors to take action, the higher your response rate will be.
Don’t be afraid to use the words BUY NOW or SIGN UP NOW on your website, because if you’ve given them enough reason to act, your visitors will want to own your product, service, or newsletter subscription right away. Once you’ve made them want it, allow them every opportunity to have it!
Don’t be afraid to expose yourself to the dangers of taking an order!
Once your visitor has taken a positive action in response to your offer, make sure the next page that opens is one that says THANK YOU! This is the same page that you can determine if your new customer becomes a ‘recurring customer’ with repeat orders.
It can go a long way in making sure they come back with a great “thank you” page and perhaps an unexpected little gift as a positive token of your appreciation. A surprise gift is the best gift of all, and it’s one they’ll remember. Your customer buys an ebook or software program from you and on your thank you page you provide a link to an additional free download.
The first thing this customer is going to do is tell all their friends about your website… and that action is viral marketing. Also, the unexpected gift is one of the best ways to get active with viral marketing, especially if you tell them they can pass a copy on to their friends!
© Copyright 2007. Brian Hunt. All rights reserved.