Web Design, Development & Online Marketing - Serving the Central and North Texas Markets

Sequencing Copy for Maximum Conversion

Whether its online copywriting or offline, don’t “sell” on your pages.  Rather tell a story to get significantly better results.  This method is referenced from Marketing Experiments.  The case study showed 200%+ conversion improvement using this sequencing process…just by changing the copy. 

Tell a story.  People respond to stories.

Each part of the conversion process is tied to the ideal story progression.  It’s a process of transitions from set up to confrontation & rising action to climax then resolution.  The following will help to outline the structure for your own writing. 

1.  THE HEADLINE   - setup  

The “story” might start with your paid ad, for example, that sets up the promise leading them on the next step to your landing page.

Start with the “why” they may be on your page, what is driving them to look and confirm that in the title and text.

Action/goal:

a.  Attention grabbing headline that will resonate with the target audience

b.  Get them to click through or read on to the next paragraph

 2.  THE SUPPORTING PARAGRAPH/S - confrontation, rising action intensifies

 On your landing page, continue emphasizing the pain/problem you can solve with your very specific value as unique solution.  Several transitions can occur on the landing page.  Keep clarity to the viewer’s level of understanding.

First paragraph  (do NOT skip this):

a.  Where am I

b.  What can I do here

c.  Why should I do it

Body paragraph/s:  (Intensify with these elements now)

Proof  (data)

Benefits (before features)

Features  (only AFTER benefits)

Incentives  (offer)

Urgency   (today, save $200)

All of these can appeal to the external and internal motivators

Example: Boss wants you to gain/solve xyz (external) vs. advance your career by gaining experience leveraging the Internet for lead generation (internal)

3.   CALL TO ACTION  - resolution, climax

The Call to Action is the request for physical action or interaction by the reader.  It can encourage a phone call, a form completion, view a video, add-to-cart and so on. 

The Call-to-Action (CTA) must:

Be VISIBLE

Apply VALUE

Encourage IMMEDIACY

COME IN THE RIGHT TIME IN THOUGHT SEQUENCE

Call to action is presented such as  “Add to cart”, “complete the form”.  But use text in the action buttons that reassure that their action will deliver on the value promise.  Do not put “submit” or “click here”; instead use words to further the promise.  (Ex: “to receive info…”,  “Learn the xyz”, “Get the product to improve your life”, etc….)

Getting started

This is easy and it’s not easy.  As with most things, the hardest part is getting started.  With practice and ongoing experimentation with your web copy writing, the data (analytics) will prove the results of structuring your content for clarity and connection to what the viewer wants.  In doing so, in the right sequence, you will get what you want.

We are uniquely able to help you evaluate and take action on the breadth of factors influencing conversion:  Web design, website development, Internet marketing, driving traffic, conversion tactics, applying business intelligence through data.

We are here to help you achieve great things online.  As for copywriting services:

1.  We can write for you or help guide you (or your designated writers) to ensure you have the greatest opportunity for conversion success with your text & graphics.

2.  We can technically SEO (search engine optimization) your copy so it will gain better visibility on Google and other search engines.

3.  We can strategize a plan for content topics and delivery channels for strong “inbound” marketing.

Contact us today and together we’ll evaluate your most important website pages.

When is Exposing Yourself in Public a Good Thing?

Now, behave yourself.  What I am referring to is the urgent need for small business to get with it when it comes to Social Media in order to gain additional visibility into your business offerings and activities….and secure company branding.

Will Exposure Make Me More Popular?

In the case of Social Media it certainly will get you more attention.  But, like any “new” thing some think the jury is still out on the effort vs. rewards balance of working the Face Book, Linked In, Twitter and other popular tools and websites for promoting themselves or their business.

Just like in real life, some have to work harder or more creatively at being popular.  Easy or hard, we at WSI coach businesses in this process and, yes, you can be popular amongst like-minded niche market.  And doing so will pay off.

The Me Focusing on the You.

You have some sort of goal or objective that you want to get out of it, but it will never be successful unless you focus your actions towards delivering valuable content that is impactful to them.  For business, this can be an important announcement, tips that help your audience or even humor, to name a few approaches to messaging within Social Media.

I think one of the top-level goals for business and Social Media is to remain “front of mind” with your connections without being “in your face”.  The goal for Social Media is rarely a direct sale.  It is the constant “courting” of the relationship -  the “getting to know you” and “are we meant for each other” or “let’s hang out…and introduce me to your friends” kind of thing. 

Don’t be Annoying or You Will get Dumped

Find a balance of ongoing communication that doesn’t drive them to “un-friend”  or unsubscribe your connection to them.  Ouch. …The modern “break up”!

What do the Experts and Data Say About Social Media Right Now?

I like to refer to eMarketer because they give nice charts.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  And since no one would read a thousand words on line anyway, here’s the data they share by way of American Express OPEN survey.

What You Must Do Now!

Whether you buy into the mass rush to Social Media or not, you must take steps to secure your brand name online.  If you don’t your competitors or others may register your company name as their own.
It used to be the only thing a business had to secure was a domain name (www.YOURNAME.com) that matched their company name or product brand. 

Who’s in Control of Your Social Exposure?

Social Media sites now make the brand protection issue much more complex.
WSI is ahead of the trend on helping our customers secure a company brand across tens and hundreds of social media sites.   It is too affordable to let your company be at risk of your name being “high-jacked”.   Allow us educate you and assist.  Because you should be in control of how you choose to expose yourself and monitor what others are saying about you online.

Not convinced that blogging should be mixed into your marketing mix?

The trend numbers speak for themselves and our customers have found quick benefits by applying strategic blogging.   So can you.

Let’s face it, you will have to do it for self preservation at some point anyway, so businesses should jump on board now rather than try to catch up later.

E-Marketer reports the steady growth in the chart below.

Content Marketing

The reason why blogging is important is because consumers going online are first looking to consume content, educate themselves about a topic of interest and then take action based on an informed decision.  Blogs are subject rich content.  They are especially helpful for marketers wanting to gain visibility for “long-tail” keywords.

How to plan your blog topics

Of course you can just blog away with no specific purpose.  Sometimes this can be effective in driving traffic as many relevant keywords come naturally in your text as you write about a subject you know well.   But, if your have a more purposeful marketing objective, strategizing and planning your blog topics and technically optimizing them with each post is much more powerful at getting results.

Ideas for planning your blog topics:

Get help from an Internet Consultant who can perform in depth keyword research which will reveal actual “units of demand” for keywords relevant to content you can supply.   So get blogging, because someone is wanting your knowledge and perspective.

Is Your Website Missing the Grocery Bags?

This may be a nit picky thing from an A-type personality, but it drives me nuts at the grocery store when I have to search for bags in the produce department.  It spoils the joy of my grocery shopping experience (those who know me will laugh at that comment) when I have selected the perfect handful of apples and can’t find the darn bag dispenser anywhere close by.   Close by to me means, within 1 step.  The level of frustration is enhanced because I’m normally in a hurry.  But, isn’t everybody?

When you’ve invested in building website traffic, you want them to turn into leads and customers.  If a visitor is interested in taking the next step with your business, you don’t want to frustrate them or make it hard for them to know what to do next.   They are probably in a hurry and if the site is confusion or there are too many steps, they are likely to just jump to another website that is easier to understand.

Internet Conversion – keeping the bag within 1 step

There are a lot of factors to consider when implementing a good visitor to conversion strategy for your website.  But for simplicity here, once the visitor is persuaded and interested, you’ll want to clearly offer next step guidance so your visitor will flow easily toward your next step call-to-action.  Don’t make them search for “the bag”.  Of course this is obviously important for e-commerce sites, but it is just as important for all business and service websites who may want to build an email database or encourage a phone call inquiry in pursuit of lead acquisition.

Adjust, Measure, Repeat - for more successful conversion rates

Our recent white paper on Conversion Architecture goes into detail on experimenting and testing for conversion improvements.  But some of the on-page factors that influence flow toward action which can be critiqued include:

Depending on your business, you may want to get an Internet Consultant to interpret your analytics and make recommendations.  But don’t discount opinions of a few valued customers who may be willing to offer onsite ease of use suggestions.

With improved conversion fundamentals in place for your website, success is in the bag!

This month WSI will be holding a webinar on how to drive more business online with Local Search.

In case you are unfamiliar with local search, almost every major search engine now lists local results when someone searches for something.  This is most apparent when you ‘geo target’ your search.  For instance “Dallas icecream shops”

What does Local Search mean for you?

Part of almost every business’s internet marketing strategy should be a Local Search strategy.  Local searches can help you become found online when someone searches for a particular keyword, even if you don’t rank organically for this keyword.

In my example photo you will see Marble Slab Creamery appears in the local business results, but they aren’t actually listed in the natural organic rankings on the first page of Google.  This means customers are potentially finding a Marble Slab near them through just Local Search.

There’s many many factors and features of how Local Search can help enhance your online business, so come check out our August 18th Webinar “Drive More Business with Local Search”.  Make sure to enter “Patricia Jordan” as your Internet Consultant Contact.

Webinar Register: http://bit.ly/WSILocalSearchWebinar
Date/Time: August 18th, 12:00PM – 1:00PM CST

We’ll see you there!

WSIwebSMART.com reveals the 5 pillars of successful website marketing that are often overlooked by even the biggest agency “experts”.  The new website allows small and medium sized businesses to tap into the global expertise of top  Internet Consultants and get help applying current best practices of Digital Marketing, Internet Advertising and website development.   http://www.WSIwebSMART.com

Dallas, TX   July 26, 2010 -  Patricia Jordan-Hinojos, a Dallas internet marketing expert says, “It’s time businesses, large and small, have a simple way to think more strategically about their websites and online marketing.  When S.M.A.R.T. principals are applied, significant money can be saved and results are achieved faster. We’re launching this site and other interactive resources to make this an affordable reality for small business.”

WSI Web SMART helps businesses, large and small, consider five areas when deciding on Internet marketing options, choosing an Internet Consultant or investing in website enhancements. These are easily remembered by the acronym S.M.A.R.T.

Valuable whitepapers are available for free download off the new website on some of the hottest topics in “S.M.A.R.T.” Internet marketing and website development.  These are written in layman’s terms so the tactics can be adopted easily.  New white papers are added monthly. For a direct access to these, go to White Papers and Webinar page at http://wsiwebsmart.com/White-Papers.html

Patricia Jordan-Hinojos has been helping small and medium businesses with their online marketing and web presence since opening the Dallas area (Plano, TX) office location in 2003.   In 2009, her peers recognized Patricia as a top 25 revenue consultant world wide and top ten in the USA.  Patricia has been a featured speaker at WSI’s Global Excellence & Innovation conference in Las Vegas speaking on how to leverage the WSI resources for better profitability.  

See examples, case studies, and videos of successes with local and national companies and get more information   at www.WSIwebSMART.com  or contact us at 972-208-0926.

Contact:

Patricia Jordan-Hinojos
972-208-0926

Shortened URLs have become very common place online these days, and have become even better tools for internet marketing.  Most people have seen shortened URLs on Facebook and Twitter (especially due to 140 character limit) such as: bit.ly, ow.ly, and many many others. (example: http://bit.ly/bsAOhH)

From an internet marketing standpoint these are fantastic, because they help track and analyze where your traffic and links are coming from.  Now some are probably saying well “that’s what analytics is for.” But! What if you are running a banner campaign on 10 different websites and several advertising suppliers?  Are you going to dig through analytics for hours trying to analyze all the referring sites? You can, but I’d suggest not to.

The great thing about bit.ly is being able to track and see where the clicks are coming from (Facebook, Twitter, Banners, etc.)  The drawback however is bit.ly doesn’t like to create more than one shortened link for a given URL (in fact it just won’t let you)  However, using an effective anchor tag as your tracking link will generate as many tracking URLs as you need.

Example:

You want to create several tracking links for www.myawesomesite.com/Cool-Page.html

The thing to do is create a separate tracking URL such as:

…and so on for as many as you need.

Paste your links and click "shorten" and bit.ly will create a unique tracking link for each and let you use a separate link for each campaign, and let you easily see in your dashboard how many clicks and traffic sources.  This should help you from having to log into several different websites and track statistics from numerous places. It doesn’t allow for ‘grouping’ links by campaigns or anything yet, but I’m sure they will come up with something in the future or possibly be an addition to their Bit.ly Pro service? We can only hope.