In marketing your business these days, one of the
most important "conversations" you will ever have with prospective
clients happens without you even being present. It’s the home page of
your website.
There are two main types of websites that you could have for your business:
1/ The "Call to Action" Site
2/ The "Brochure" Site
Both types primarily refer to the home page and we’re going to focus on the "Call to Action" today.
The
home page of your website should give a quick snapshot of what you
provide — in language that tells the reader how HE benefits from that.
Think WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) from your reader’s viewpoint.
In
this time of instant gratification and ever-shortening attention spans,
you need to grab your visitor’s attention immediately.
You
want them interested enough in what you say and what you do that they
explore the other areas of your website. You want them to desire what
you are offering — whether it be your restaurant menu, your auto
repair services, your bookkeeping services, your virtual assistant
services or your coaching programs — and you want them to take action
to learn more.
1. Get their attention.
You get their
attention with the headline and opening paragraph. You can either focus
on a problem or challenge that your target audience has or offer them a
great benefit. Studies show that focusing on the problem AND offering
readers a solution to that problem gets the best response.
For example: "Small Business Owners Beware! Studies show that 4 out of 5 small businesses fail in the first year!"
The problem is clear. You get it. And, you don’t want to fail, so you read on to learn more.
The opening paragraph will go on to paint a picture of what that problem is and what it is costing you.
2. Hold their interest.
Now
that you’ve gotten their attention and they resonate with the problem
you’ve outlined, it’s time to keep their interest by talking about the
value and benefits that you provide.
Explain in a paragraph or
two what you do that will teach them or assist them in eliminating "the
problem" that you mentioned in the headline.
3. Inflame their desire.
If
you’ve done a good job explaining the benefits that you offer, your
visitor may now be asking himself, "Does this really work?" or "Is this
another scam?".
It’s your job, or rather your home page’s job, to
answer the visitors’ questions. You can do that here by sharing a
success story or a testimonial about your process, services, etc. Let
your visitor hear from real people what you’ve done for them.
For
example: "Every time I finish a conversation with Sandy, I am excited
and energized to implement what she has recommended for my business. By
helping me see the hard results that I provide to my clients, Sandy
inspired me to ask for, AND GET, a 20% increase in what I charge.
Following her suggestions is a lot easier than I imagined it would be
and her techniques work!
The above was written by Karley Grandy, one of my clients, and helps you to grasp the benefits that I provide my clients.
4. Call to Action
What
do you want your first-time visitor to do? Very rarely will he just
pick up the phone and say "I want to hire you", so you need to quench
his thirst with some free information.
This is where you can point your visitor to a free report, e-course or your email newsletter (ezine) Ideally, you will have a sign-up box for your newsletter on EVERY page of your website.
Make it easy. If your visitors need to search, they will go elsewhere.
Capturing
first-time visitors’ name and primary email address should be the call
to action that you seek. It doesn’t matter what type of business you
are in — coach (think motivational stories, Feng Shui tips, etc.);
restaurant (think special menu items or coupons); auto repair shop
(think seasonal check-ups or "How to survive a road trip with your
family"-type articles); virtual assistant (think Outlook tips, etc.) —
you should always keep in touch with your clients and prospective
clients.
An ezine (email newsletter) gives you permission to
contact them every week, two weeks or month (I wouldn’t do an ezine
less than once a month) and continuously offer them good information.
Take a look at your website today — is it doing its job?
Sandra Martini, the
Automatic Business Coach, and award-winning author teaches small business
owners how to implement processes and systems designed to take them out of the
day-to-day running of their business. For more information and to receive her FREE e-course/audio series,
">"5
Quick & Easy Ways To Put Your Marketing on Autopilot", visit http://www.SandraMartini.com