| Once your Web site is up, you must maintain
it. Maintenance means changes, and each time you make a change, you may make a mistake. If
your visitors get a link that doesn't work or has incomplete instructions, or if your copy
is lackluster instead of passionate, they will leave your site and not bookmark it.
Before you invite Web potential clients and customers to
see your masterpiece you need to check and correct all parts of your site, especially the
home page.
Use these 10 tests to maintain your Web site.
1. Test your home page headlines.
You have 8 seconds to get your visitor's attention. This
one item alone can make a huge difference in the responses you receive.
Instead of the wasted words "welcome to my web
site," put a benefit headline on your home page as a hyperlink such as
"Quadruple your Web Sales in Five Months" or "Why Choose Your Name as your
Coach?" that takes your visitor straight to your sales letter for your product or
service.
Headlines are more important than the copy beneath them, so
if your headline doesn't do it, you increase clients or sell much product.
2. Test your offer.
People perceive more value when you add an incentive to
buy.
If your are a coach, offer your visitors a discount on your
regular coaching prices for the first session. Instead of $110 for a half hour coaching,
make it only $35. At this meeting, you and your client can decide if you are a match.
If you offer a book or ebook, give your potential buyers
from one-four bonus FRE.E reports or a tips list with the order. It takes little time and
effort to create, but this perceived added value increases sales ten-fold.
In ebook sales letters I mention the bonuses and add them
onto the PDF file at the end of the book for sale. One year, for the Christmas holidays, I
sent out a half price notice for ten ebooks. The results amazed me.
Create a new link on your home page to take people to what
I call "discounts of the month." Then you can change your offers every month.
People expect your web site to have a lot of content and to change often. This is the 80%
maintenance we talk about.
3. Test your promotion piece (sales letter) for one
service.
First, create a short sales letter to include the
background of your client's challenge, the benefits of your service, testimonials from
satisfied clients and your offer. Keep this up a month or so on your site, then change the
copy. Create a longer sales letter that addresses all your potential clients questions and
resistance, plus your guaranteed results (benefits) you offer. Longer copy can make a
difference because it answers more questions and makes a buying decision easier.
4. Test your price.
A price that is too low is as bad as a price too high. Too
low a price devalues your product or service. Potential clients or buyers might think,
"If it's that cheap, it must not be good."
One myth is that ebooks have less value than print books.
If your book has information your particular audience wants, it has high value and you
must price it accordingly. Even if you want it mainly to bring you credibility, make sure
the price matches your audience's perception of value.
Many services like coaching offer a free introductory
meeting so the potential client doesn't have to take a risk. I disagree with this
practice, because I want only an audience who are willing to spend not only time on their
book or promotion project, but also value the expertise and wisdom of the savvy coach.
5. Test your copy.
Change testimonials or pictures every so often. Redo your
home page from time to time, especially if its messages aren't pulling in the clients or
product sales you want.
After I put up a glowing testimonial from a top coach for
an ebook near the top of my home page, its sales increased five-fold in one month.
Look right now on your Web home page. What does your copy
say? Does it give solutions to your visitors' questions or challenges? Or, do you use
"ho-hum" language like: "Subscribe to my ezine,” or "My mission
is to...."
You need to give your Web visitor a reason to buy. Near
your subscribe piece, add a short testimonial from a fan about your ezine. Add a short
sentence about your ezine that includes top benefits.
Make your copy "you" oriented. Dan Poynter,
author of The Self-Publishing Manual, and known as 'Mr. Self-Publishing." said this
about my free monthly ezine "The Book Coach Says...ezine is chock full of useful
information - totally worth your time."
6. Test your Web pages to make them easier to read by
using bullets.
Remember, your visitor appreciates a lot of white space.
That means give them valuable information and benefits in the easiest form you can. Make
it easy to read and they will more likely "buy."
After a headline "The coach will answer these
questions and show you exactly what it takes and how to do it for your writing
project.”
- How can I get clarity on my message and its value to
readers?
- How can I shorten my learning curve and finish this project?
- How can I write Web copy that sells but doesn't offend?
- What are the first steps to...project?
- What is the best way for me to accomplish this project?
- Can I write an ebook and print book at the same time?
- What is the best format for this project?
7. Test your Web site paragraph length.
In general, keep your paragraphs below each headline short,
around 1-4 sentences. Imagine looking at a long line of print before getting to the meat?
Discouraged, you would probably leave the page, and possibly the site!
8. Test the flow and grammar of your Web copy.
Check for passive sentence construction, such as
"there is" or "there are" and other forms of "is" and
"was." Locate your grammar checker and aim for 3-4% passives. Web visitors want
short, clear copy they can skim. Remember, they will only stay interested for 10 or so
seconds, so make it easy for them to read.
9. Test your Web site layout.
Know where visitors are entering your site and exiting.
Many companies out there can give you this counting service. If potential buyers keep
leaving at a particular page before they go to products and ordering page, your words and
style don't work-and some changes are in order.
Double-check all of your links every few weeks to make sure
they are doing what you want them to do. We all make mistakes, and I know, because I'm
still a non-techie. After three years Online, I now make fewer Web mistakes and increased
client numbers from 7-17 in the last six months prove it.
10. Test your order process.
Create a mini-survey and ask friends and associates to
check different parts of your Web site. Show your appreciation by paying them for it with
a fre.e product or service. Tell them you have a thick skin, and appreciate their honesty.
One would-be customer couldn't finish the order for one of
my teleclasses. It took a lot of effort to get that mistake rectified with some free
product. Like me, perhaps you tried to buy a book online from one famous author. Even
after emails to him, he said he didn't take email orders and sent me back to where the
problem was. With that attitude, I guess he doesn't need more sales.
Go through the order process for your service or product
and see if it makes sense, gives explicit directions to non-techies, and takes only a
little time. Web visitors want it all fast. That's why you don't want to put large
graphics that take over 10 seconds to load. Make sure all your links work, so your
customers will have an easy ordering experience. Then they will return to your Web site
over and over again.
Know that your job of testing never ends. It's what we call
maintenance. Eighty percent of life is maintenance! Just experimenting with these tests
will bring more sales. Keep testing to know what your potential buyers really want.
Results as increased clients or product sales are always the best way to test your Web
site’s success.
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