First Things First By The IMC Team | Posted May 22nd, 2008
You’ve got your site up. NOW what?
"Derek, there’s so many things I need to do to my website… I don’t know where to start! What should I focus on?"
I agree — the list seems ENDLESS!
You need to drive traffic… grow your opt-in list… make sales… improve work on your SEO…
Okay, step back for a minute and realize it’s just NOT POSSIBLE to do everything at once!
So once you’ve built your website, here’s the FIRST THING you should do:
Make your sales process watertight!
There’s no point spending cash on pay-per-click ads to drive targeted traffic to your site if none of those visitors buy anything.
Here are the top 3 ways to make your site a sales machine — BEFORE you spend a bundle on attracting visitors.
1: Get your salescopy in top shape
You’ve got under five seconds to convince people to stay on your website… so your headline has to grab them by the eyeballs and compel them to read on!
The best headlines tell visitors they’ll find exactly what they’re searching for, and intrigue them enough to keep reading.
Don’t let your readers slip through your fingers once you’ve grabbed their attention with a hot headline.
Salescopy is the most important part of your website — because it turns visitors into customers!
So make sure it smoothly guides people through a streamlined process that:
- Identifies with their problem and builds your credibility
- Engages them — and explains why you can help
- Tells them how they’ll benefit from your product
- Overcomes any objections they may have
- Compels them to take action — and tells them what to do!
Give people a clear call to action that motivates them by re-stating the biggest benefit they’ll get from buying now.
Instead of saying, "Click here to buy now!" go for something like, "Click here for instant access and start changing your life for the better in the next 30 minutes!"
Funnel your readers through a tight sales process — and don’t give them a reason to click away. If you do, they probably won’t come back!
2: Collect testimonials
What’s more trustworthy than a personal recommendation?
A good testimonial can persuade even the most skeptical potential customer to buy from you.
Testimonials prove that your product really works — it DOES do exactly what you promise. And if you run a small business and haven’t built your reputation, testimonials are absolutely indispensable
You NEED testimonials when you’re getting started.
Here’s how to gather quality testimonials and benefit from them immediately:
- If you don’t have any customers yet, give your product away to a group of people in your target market, in exchange for their feedback.
- If you have some positive feedback from customers,
ask permission to use their comments on your site. - Don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials! Invite customers to give you their vote of confidence with an email link that says: "Click here to tell us what you think!"
- Email your buyers after they’ve purchased your product to ask them how they’re enjoying it.
Make sure each testimonial has a first name, last name, and location to prove they’re from real people.
Aim to get testimonials that are packed full of concrete benefits telling your customers exactly what they can expect to gain from buying your product.
Use them on your homepage, within your salescopy, and on a special testimonial page, and on relevant product pages.
3: Make it easy to buy!
I’m always amazed how many sites make it difficult for you to buy from them.
According to market research from the Gartner Group, more than 50% of web sales are LOST because visitors can’t find what they’re looking for!
Don’t make that mistake.
- Name your navigation buttons clearly so it’s obvious what people will find when they click on them.
- Keep your site’s navigation simple and consistent throughout your site, so people don’t have to click any more than necessary. Ideally, it someone should be able to buy from you in two clicks at most.
- Use "Buy Now" buttons that link to your shopping cart or order page every time a product is shown– especially if you have a catalog site.
And when people click to your sales page, make things easy for them!
- Provide a range of payment options — PayPal is a great place to start because it gives you an easy way to accept credit cards — an absolute MUST.
- On your order form, ask ONLY for the information you need. For example, if you sell an eBook, it’s unlikely you’ll need a home address.
- And here’s an extra tip… don’t underestimate the power of including a phone number people can call if they have any questions.
As you work on your sales process, feel free to use our monitoring and testing tips to see which changes are most effective, so every element you add is an improvement.
If you DON’T test your site, you can be sure your visitors will be testing it anyway! So make sure there aren’t any leaks in your sales process for them to find.
Build a solid sales process first, and then prioritize more advanced business-building strategies.
Once you’ve got these three crucial parts of your sales process shipshape, you can drive targeted traffic to your site — and ramp up your sales even more.
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