Black Friday Is Coming… Are YOU Ready For It?

"Black Friday"… Sounds ominous, doesn’t it?

The fact is, if you don’t know what "Black Friday" is — and if you’re not prepared for it — it could have grim repercussions for your business.

… In terms of lost opportunities, that is!

"Black Friday" is actually the day after American Thanksgiving. It also happens to be the unofficial start of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the U.S. — and it’s one of the BUSIEST shopping days of the year.

(And this year, it falls on November 23rd, which is just a few days away!)

So if your business caters to American customers, you’d better make sure your website is ready to serve a horde of eager holiday shoppers!

… Because if it’s not, you’re going to miss out on TONS of lost holiday revenues (which will end up going to your competitors) — and you’ll spend most of 2008 kicking yourself for not having been prepared to take full advantage of this year’s big shopping frenzy!

So with the "Black Friday" countdown clock clicking, here are three changes you should make to your site right NOW to get ready for the holidays….

1. Greet your visitors with a holiday headline that compels them to buy!

When holiday shoppers come to your site, there are two things they’ll want to know right away:

What can I buy for my loved ones here?

Why should I buy it here, and not somewhere else?

If your headlines and copy don’t answer those questions right off the bat, you’re going to lose customers FAST.

Now, many people will think it’s enough to put up something like this for the season:

Happy Holidays!

Very polite and friendly! But it doesn’t tell your visitors ANYTHING about…

What you’ve actually got for them …

What’s special and unique about it…

And how they’ll benefit from giving it to their loved ones!

You want your headline to pack a punch AND deliver necessary information right away.

Say you have a web site that sells special stained glass lamps. You’re certain they’d make fabulous gifts for the holidays, but your headline:

Happy Holidays and Welcome to The Lamporium!

…does nothing to convince your visitors to buy.

But if you’re focused on answering those three questions, you end up with something more like this:

Light Up Their Lives With A One-of-a-Kind, Hand Crafted Stained Glass Lamp Your Family and Friends Will Still Be Thanking You For this Cherished Piece of "Functional Art" For Many Years to Come!

What have you got? Stained glass lamps!

What’s special and unique about your product? They’re one of-a-kind, hand-crafted pieces of "functional art"!

How will your customers benefit from giving it as a gift? Their loved ones will still be thanking them for the gift for many years to come!

2. Follow your headline with benefit-driven copy that leads visitors straight to the "order" button!

Your headline has captured your visitors’ attention… but now you have to keep it!

You want your copy to sell your visitors on all the benefits of giving your handmade stained glass lamp as a gift — and, in particular, the benefits your customers will enjoy from buying that lamp from YOU.

Does the following example really sell your visitors on the special value of your product?

We have a wide selection of stained glass lamps available for sale. Please check out our catalog for more details and to see pictures. For further information, see our contact page.

Um, not so much. "A wide selection" is really the only product description you’ve got… that doesn’t make your lamps seem very special or interesting, does it?

In contrast, consider this example…

Looking for a unique, handmade gift that your family and friends will enjoy for years to come?

Each one of our stained glass lamps is an exclusive piece of art dated and signed by our own master craftsman. And you won’t find his work anywhere in stores – it’s only available at the Lamporium.

Art collectors and home decorators alike will tell you that one special piece can make any room – in your home OR office – come alive.

The glow from a unique Lamporium Stained Glass Lamp can transform any room with a burst of color and one-of-a-kind style.

Give something unforgettable this year – give the gift of light!

This example gives your visitors a number of powerful reasons why they should buy a stained glass lamp for someone they love – and why they should buy that stained glass lamp from YOU (as opposed to someone else).

3. Put your most attractive holiday benefits right where your visitors can see them

So you’ve done a tune-up on your copy and your headlines, and you’re ready to "wow" your visitors with the value of your product.

But wait! Your job isn’t done yet…

… You need to make sure the first fold of your web site contains all the information that’ll help overcome your holiday shoppers’ buyer resistance and convince them to make a purchase.

(The "first fold" is the portion of your web site that’s immediately visible to people when they first arrive on your site, before they scroll down or click on any links. This includes your sidebars and headers, too.)

So what kind of information are harried shoppers looking for? Here are a few suggestions of what to offer them…

• Holiday specials and discounts: Make sure you offer some special deals on your products to entice your visitors to buy.
• How about an early-bird holiday deal if your customers make a purchase before a certain date? Or a special deal for those last-minute shoppers?
• You could offer a percentage-off deal, a two-for-one deal, or even a "holiday set" that combines two or more of your products in a gift-ready package.
• Consider advertising new specials every week or couple of weeks – and watch how your updated deals drive interested traffic back to your site again and again!
• Your customer service and shipping information: Before the holiday rush begins, you need to work out your seasonal shipping and return policies.
• Your customers want their gifts to arrive in good condition — and on time — and without spending a ton of money to make it happen.
• If you’re able to offer free or discounted shipping, this will have a clear impact on your conversion rate. And if you’re worried about losing money to shipping costs, rest assured – you’ll make it all up and more with increased sales!
• You’ll also want to write an ironclad shipping guarantee and put it where your customers can see it right away, near the top of your right- or left-hand sidebar.
• Finally, be sure to post the email and phone number for all their customer service concerns and questions where they can see it immediately – busy folks don’t want to waste time searching for your contact info.
• Other first fold "extras" for the season: Why not put up an "ONLY XX SHOPPING DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS!" countdown box to your site to build urgency for your visitors?
• Alternatively, you could install a Hover Ad with an urgent holiday timing message – letting visitors know exactly how long they’ve got to make a gift purchase, the second they arrive at your web site.
• You can also advertise daily or weekly specials with your Hover Ad – "20% OFF ON DESK LAMPS! TODAY ONLY!" Keep your offers fresh, and your visitors will keep coming back to check on what’s new.
• Finally, feel free to "dress up" your site with some seasonal graphics. Just make sure you don’t overdo it!

Your copy, your information, and your products should stay the focus of every element of your site, and too many elements could serve to distract your visitors from what you actually want to sell.

Okay, there are my three top suggestions on what you should do right now to spruce up your site for the holidays. If you haven’t started preparing for the year’s biggest shopping season, you had better get cracking… Black Friday — the day that kicks it all off — is just four days away!