Got Web Traffic but Still Low Sales? Ten Ways to Selling Success - Part 2

Part one of this article is available at www.bookcoaching.com/freearticles/article-34.shtml.

Have you put a lot of effort, time, and money into your site and are frustrated with lackluster sales? Are you planning to put a new Web site and don't know where to start?

If you are like many business professionals out there, you know your subject, you are an expert speaker or coach in your field, and you are even passionate about it. You have great products and services to sell.

But do you translate those into benefit-driven headlines that pull sales? If you have already put your Web site up did you address your purpose? Do you want to inform, communicate, and help? That's fine, but if you want to sell something, you will drive your potential customers away with such non-effective phrases as "welcome to my site," Here's by product " long paragraphs of your bio on the home page, your book's introduction, or "subscribe to my ezine."

You have only 10 seconds to impress your Web visitors. They don't care about anything except what you can do for them.

Give them a reason to buy.

It's never too late to refresh your home page and others with "marketing pizzazz." Your home page deserves time, effort, and money. You will need to edit it several times before landing on just the right phrases. Without these and continuous maintenance, your unguided efforts are wasted.

Instead, write compelling, emotional, benefit-driven copy to inspire people to take out their credit cards to buy your unique, wonderful creations. You can when you apply the following power "Marketing Pizzazz" techniques.

6. Make your layout clear, clean, and consistent. You need to organize each page in the same lay out-such as left centered, right centered, or centered. If you mix designs, your would-be client or buyer will think you unprofessional. Go to other Web sites and choose a design that resonates with you. Keep every page in the same format.

7. Use color, font changes, and small graphics to spice up your site, but remember to use a lot of white space. Too many large graphics make your site load slowly, and your visitors will leave before seeing how you can help them. Without easy-to-read copy and clear navigation they will also disappear. Remember the "10 second" rule.

If you are like me, and have a content-dense site, it's OK to include long copy as long as you divide it into bite-size pieces with plenty of headlines. A good idea is to ask your friends and associates to visit your site to report glitches and feedback. What turns them on or off? They often see what the creator is too close to see. Of course, give them a reward for helping you, such as a free report.

8. Put your information in short paragraphs. Visitors love free content, but when they see a long line of print, they get discouraged because they want their information fast, clear, and concise. Make each paragraph only 4-6 lines. Online readers want easy-to- read material they can get the main points from, and they want it faster than light rays.

9. Be consistent with your headlines and body fonts. Do not use all capital letters in your articles or headlines, unless you use a few words for emphasis, such as "FACT," or "TRUE," because they are hard to read. Do not use the same font for headlines and titles as you do for the body of information beneath. This mistake makes it hard to distinguish the two.

If you are a non-techie like myself, you can use primarily two fonts:

"Times Roman" for headings, and "Arial" for the body. Notice the no tails in Arial (called sans serif), good for short copy.

In your book, you'll reverse the above font uses. Use "Times Roman" for the copy and "Arial" for titles and headlines.

10. Use dividers such as ======, or ++++++ when you change topics. These can add variety and help your visitor to see your message more clearly. These are often used on business ezines. Each publisher makes their ezine their own by their personal choices.

Remember your home page must give your visitors a reason to buy. Use these "Marketing Pizzazz" techniques throughout your site. Think right now, what is it I need to act on next to manifest more dollar success on my site?

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," and "How to Market your Business on the Internet," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says...and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:[email protected]