Today I'll show you how to increase the professional image of your site and I'll give you a tip that alone can increase your site's sales by the end of the week.
So you finally launch your site and your product. You've researched your competition and created a better product. Your sales are alright but somehow you can't help wondering how your site measures up to the competition. Maybe you feel that your competition has an edge over you even though you know you have a superior product or service.
Have you ever looked at your competitor's site and said to your self or your friends "Look at these guys, how will I compete with them?!" Maybe they have mind blowing flash graphics and gimmicks and bells and whistles. They have a picture of an attractive female sales rep with a boom microphone and a big white smile.
Then you go back to your site and you've tried some different ways to position yourself as the expert and yet when you look at your site there's something missing. Something about your site just looks amateurish.
The secret to a professional web presence is to find what we call "professionalism leaks" in your website and plug them today. This should be easy enough right? You have your obvious leaks.
- Crummy looking site and graphics- Awkward site navigation- Too many ads and banners
These are a few of the extreme cases. These are the "big leaks." These are fast way to destroy your professional image on the web and "POOF," your sales go with.
"Nolan, I know better than that! My site would never have any of that! My customer's experience is top notch. I know all of this already."
Cool. I'm glad we're on the same page. Plugging these "big leaks" should really go without saying. Especially if you are a site owner that truly cares about your customer's needs. This article is going to show you the small hidden leaks that you might not see at first. The ones that once plugged will add to your bottom line and maintain your site's professional image.
The bad news is that these small leaks are the hardest to find. Why is that? Because everyone on the net has them! Therefore they start to look normal after awhile. Features on your site that look normal to you and everyone else but subconsciously sends a message to the reader like:
"Hey buy my stuff! Please?"
"Don't buy from those other guys! My stuff is just as good."
"Please don't go! I've been in business for a whole three days!"
The person receives this subconscious message, makes a judgment on the value of your product based on their perception of your website and moves on.
Nearly every business I consult with has no less than 3 (and often times up to 10) additional different ways to almost immediately increase their site's professional image and therefore it's cashflow. Here are a few of the common ones you can begin to eliminate today.
1. Making statements about how great they are as a business (Instead of focusing on the customer's needs)
Too much bragging is the best way to look like an amateur operation in a hurry. There are ways to give credentials without bragging. Take the focus off of you and show the customer how you can help them today.
2. Grammar and Spelling: I won't hammer down on this one too much. Run a spell check and have someone qualified look over your site to point out any errors.
3. Graphics and site- Here's some great news. Your graphics and site doesn't have to be amazing. It doesn't have to be fancy and mind blowing. It just has to not look like garbage. Learn the basics of web design and put up a decent site. If web design and graphics isn't your cup of tea, consider hiring someone to throw up a smooth site.
4. Poor product packaging:
People will judge your product's value base on how it is packaged. Period.
Read the above statement at least three times out loud before moving on.
This is the biggest hidden leak on most product and service based websites. This is a huge one. A little work on this part of your business will go a long way to increase your sales and give you a more solid company image.
It's sad but true. We as humans judge books by their covers. Not just some books, all books. We judge everything from people, to businesses, to products and websites.
- Ebooks with blurry covers- Inappropriate fonts on books- Product images designed with MS paint- Products that have no image to display at all
What do all of these have in common? They all make potential buyers feel like your site is homemade. They make people feel like the value of your product is low (even when it's a fantastic product). They might even think that you don't have a product to give them once they send you their hard earned money.
This is bad news isn't it? Or is it? How can you profit from this piece of information and get an edge on your competition. Here's a quick tip. When you finish this article, look at your site or your current site concepts from a buyer's perspective. Then in your mind triple the price of your product and say "how great would the packaging for this product have to be before I would pay this new amount?" If you can create this new product package you will almost instantly increase the sales on that product.
5. Bad Sales Copy
This goes right along with product packaging. A good sales letter can easily increase your product sales by many thousand percent within the month.
Look at these two fictional ad headlines and find which one is more effective.
1. "TIRED OF YOUR SITE NOT GETTING HITS!?
Nolan Barger's Site Hit Mastery is a cutting edge new product designed to blast your site into orbit..."
Or...
2. "Here's How You Can Increase Hits To Your Site By 20% This Week
First immediately go to _______ and switch _______ around."
What's the difference? The first one is hard selling right off the headline. It is product focused instead of customer focused. This is bad. Many people reading this aren't looking to buy right now. Maybe they want information first. Selling right off the bat is a good way to lose trust with your potential customers.
Number one uses all sorts of clichés that have been around since the beginning of time. There are too many things wrong with this all too common headline style to cover is this short article. It also seeks to sell the client on a product instead of showing them how easy it is to quickly fix a problem they have.
Example number two is different. It shows the browser how they can get a specific result: Learn how they can increase they're site's hits by 20% this week. It also makes no reference to a product (even if your method involves buying your product.) Then the letter goes right into information on how the browser can accomplish this 20% increase.
6. Flashy ridiculous websites
You don't have to give your browser a brain seizer with the latest turbo charged flash programming. Keep it simple. While some crowds appreciate the work that goes into such a graphical website, the bulk of these flash sites clutter the viewer's field of vision and take the focus off your business. Keep it super simple. Make a smooth functional website that directs your viewers to the important parts or your site.