My
"Check List" for a "Great Site" That Sells!
By
Bart Smith, TheMarketingMan.com
| 1,173 Words | Published 06/21/2007
When it comes to designing great web sites that
sell, keep these design tips in mind:
Great HEADLINE! When visitors hit your web site, you're going
to want to tell them what your site's about or what you're offering.
Your headline should jump off the page ... You can either use
text (font size 4-5, Verdana) or you can create a graphic to serve
as the header. With a graphic, you have more control over the
choice of font (because it's a picture graphic of words). Your
choice. Whatever you choose, make it stand out!
Write great sales copy! Easy to read. Short paragraphs. Lots of
bullets. Write it, read it, fine-tune it, read it again and then
let someone else proof it for you. Never trust your eyes before
you go public with your writing. You're always bound to miss SOMETHING!
Trust me! Even I do! ;-)
Use only the most authentic testimonials with text, audio, a picture
and video! Don't ask people to write a hyped up lie or puff of
smoke and words about what you're selling ... Anyone can do that
... Rather, WAIT for your testimonials to come in through eMail,
over the phone, in person ... then, CAPTURE THEM right then and
there! Check out the Rave
Reviews at MyTrainingCenter.com for examples.
Great use of Sub-Headlines!
Plenty of BENEFITS!
Plenty of FEATURES!
Provide evidence, proof that your product or service really works!
Provide contact information on every page for questions and order
inquiries!
Write like you talk! No kiddin'!
Write in short paragraphs! (3-5 paragraphs, on average)
Write in short sentences! (5-15 words, on average)
Give away free samples of your work through an eBook, eReport,
eClass series, etc.
Use dark text on white background always! People trust WHITE,
it's the color of purity, safety, health, healing, holiness! Do
not use colored backgrounds unless you have a white table on top
of that dark background and your text is still dark on white backgrounds.
Don't use BLACK (color code #000000)
text. Consider using an off-black text like color code #33333.
Believe it or not, it's easier on the eye to read.
Avoid using white text (or any other color text) on a dark background
of any color! Some browsers still cant print white text! Besides
it's hard to read.
Use lists and bullets. Break up long paragraphs and groups of
sentences that express a message, benefits, thoughts, etc.
People SKIM web pages, they DON'T read them. So again, bullets,
headlines, sub-headlines, lists, short paragraphs and sentences,
always.
Use CAPS SPARINGLY and only for HEADLINES or EMPHASIS only!
Scatter order buttons throughout your web page! The customer should
always be 3 CLICKS away from the CHECKOUT page. Also, place VIEW
CART and CHECK OUT links at the top and bottom of your web site
ALL OVER. Hey, if your customer's ready to head for the checkout
line, don't make it hard for them to find the door to pay and
get out! If they have to search for more than 3 SECONDS you might
as well just kiss that sale goodbye or say hello to a frustrated
customer ... e.g., "It took me 5 minutes to figure out how to
check out of your site with my products ..." = NOT GOOD
Provide visual aids! All text is ALL-BORING! Add small; quick
down-loading; nicely placed; left or right justified graphics.
Optimize them so they download fast, yet still look good.
Use .JPG picture files for photographs of people, places, animals
or things. Use .GIF files for regular text-written buttons and
message banners, and the like. .GIF files download faster only
because there are few colors in that file format. If you used
a .GIF for a photo, it might look a little distorted.
Spy on your competition, make your site DIFFERENT than theirs!
Don't copy the others - just because they're doing it one way.
Be original. Make your own noise!
Standard fonts for easy reading! (e.g., Courier, Arial, Verdana
for body text/content. Never Times Roman for body text/content;
only for titles/headlines. Never use the font named Georgia; some
computers don't have that font. So, their computer browsers simply
convert that font to a stupid-looking, scribbly mess your visitors
can't read. Bye bye visitor! Bye bye sale! Don't use Georgia!)
Include endorsements to promote value! Don't overuse them though,
and choose them carefully. If your site looks like everyone else's
with the same endorsements ... Well, they might look canned and
fake ... I see a lot of that crap out on the net. Everybody and
their buddy's buddy is scratchin' the other guy (or gal)'s back
and it just looks copy-cat like and stupid. Don't be like them
...
Include uniquely chosen (or asked for) testimonials to promote
value! When asking for testimonials, ask your customers to write
a little something about your product/service, "from the heart!"
Nothing canned, have 'em write what they really "feel;" deep down
inside. Help them, talk to them, encourage them along ... "Suzie,
when you read my book, how did it make you feel afterward? What
thoughts ran through your mind?" (That's what you want!")
Include any awards to promote the value of what you're selling!
Include statistics, facts, case studies and any research performed!
Bold key words and phrases for emphasis! Underline words and phrases
sparingly; even titles; as people may confuse them for links.
Answer every potentially conceivable question in your sales copy
or F.A.Q. BEFORE they ask it of you in an eMail!
Avoid overused sales jargon (e.g.,
The Greatest eBook Ever
,
Never Before
, "Will sell out fast," "Never before / ever
again!", ...) Please, this kind of high-pitched, used car salesman
style of writing is only used by people who really only have a
lot of hot air behind what they're selling. So many times I catch
the same "gurus" writing the same crap sales letters, selling
the same revised/rejunked products. "Oh, it's the latest thing!"
So, f'n what! Most people haven't finished reviewing the first
or second darn "technique" you sold them last year. Instead, be
straightforward, be honest, outline, detail, pin-point exactly
WHAT YOUR PRODUCT REALLY DOES (MINUS ALL THE HYPE).
Avoid inappropriate slang!
Offer any number of free bonuses with a customer's purchase!
Don't lower your price, instead, increase the VALUE of what your
customer's buying!
Offer a Strong Guarantee!
Offer a Number of Ways to Order! (e.g., Online, Offline, Telephone,
Fax, eMail, Snail Mail, etc.)
Establish an Order Deadline!
Price Your Product Just Right, Not too High, Not too Low!
Use PS, PSS, and PSSS at the end of your Sales Copy! (Why? People
are use to seeing it there and it's always nice to separate a
few last-minute comments like that.)
Check your Spelling! ALWAYS! Have someone proof your work after
you're done before you go live!
Check your Grammar! ALWAYS! Have someone proof your work after
you're done before you go live!
Check your Diction! ALWAYS! Have someone proof your work after
you're done before you go live!
Bart
Smith, TheMarketingMan.com, is the founder of MyMarketingCart.com,
which offers shopping carts and other Internet marketing tools
and services to small and large businesses; and MyPaymentServices.com,
which offers merchant accounts and the ability to accept credit
card payments from your customers. Bart is also the creator of
MyTrainingCenter.com,
an online learning resource which offers extensive written, audio
and video tutorials for computers, business, marketing, speaking,
web design and creating information products. Bart also created
ReallyCheapNames.com,
where you can register domain names for "really cheap"
and find web site hosting at extremely low prices. Author
of three self-help books, totaling more than 1,000
pages, Mr. Smith dedicates himself to helping others, personally
and professionally, wherever he goes.
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