| Recent
Articles |
eBay Bans Google Checkouts
The latest big hubbub not involving blond newsreaders is that eBay has added Google Checkout to its list of payment services not allowed in its marketplace.
Quicken Maker Uveils New SMB Mgmt. Tool
All small and midsized business (SMB) owners face the challenge of managing the backend operations (accounting and bookkeeping). The task can be tedious and time consuming, especially with data that needs to be put together for analysis is spread out over several channels.
Are You Using the Wrong Web Metrics?
Do you base success on measuring the volume of visitors and page impressions? Such measures may in fact reflect the failure-rather than the success-of your website.
Waterstone's Ditches Amazon
British book chain Waterstone's has discovered this Internet
thing may catch on. That discovery seems to come as parent
HMV noticed Amazon poaching...
Amazing Race Feeds Into E-Commerce
Reality show contestants don't vanish into fictional poofs
at the show's conclusion. They're not the cast of Friends;
there is life after the show...
eComXpo
Virtual eCommerce Show is Next Week
You've still time to register for next week's eComXpo and join the estimated 7,000 attendees who'll get the latest internet marketing advice - while wearing their pajamas!
Paypal's New SMS-Based Money Transfer Service
PayPal has just launched a new service called PayPal Mobile. This service allows a PayPal user with an active mobile phone account to send a payment to another PayPal account...
What
You Must Know About A Drop Shipping...
When I originally wrote this article a few years ago,
it was titled "Eleven Things You Must Know About A Drop Shipping Directory And It's Company", and the drop shipping market was different than it is today...
|
|
06.24.06
Copywriting And Design Rules For Successful ECommerce
 By
Bill Hilton
What are the secrets of converting visitors into customers? Most ecommerce sites that struggle to convert suffer from the same half dozen minor problems.
If the site is selling something that people want, at a price they're willing to pay, some simple copywriting or design adjustment can make a big difference.
So here goes - the six things you must do to give your ecommerce site a chance:
1. Make sure it's obvious what the site is about. On your home page you need to spell out what your business offers in the clearest, plainest English you can muster. Don't write huge blocks of text. People just skip them. Don't omit copy altogether, because copywriting is central to any successful sales strategy. Four or five sentences, right in your visitor's line of sight, should do the job. If you can't sum up your offer in that many words, it's not a good offer. Top tip: focus on benefits, not features.
2. Don't be coy about cash. Once your prospects understand your offer they'll want to know how much it costs. If you hide prices on an inner page it looks like you don't have confidence in their value. If you're offering a service and you can't be precise about costs, at least try to give visitors a rough idea, maybe in the form of examples from previous projects. Prospects like to judge value at the same time as they judge quality.
3. Focus on customer care. You can't automate this. Top tip: encourage visitors to communicate with you. Even if they don't, they'll go away with the impression that you care. Top tip number two: if it's practical, always list your phone number on your site. This is important if you're selling services - talking on the phone is more efficient and personal than email.
4. Have a site that looks good. Visitors respond less to the details of a site than to the professionalism of its design. If your site looks as if you've spent time and money on it, they'll assume you're running a serious, competent operation. A site that looks cheap will struggle to sell gold at a dollar a bar, because visitors won't take it seriously. If in doubt, ask around for objective opinions from people who don't know you personally: web design forums are great for this.
5. Focus on user experience. Make sure your site is easy to navigate. All main sections should be clearly linked from the main page and the information architecture of the site should be logical. Look at your access logs. Are there any "dead end" pages which a lot of visitors are bailing out of? If so check to make sure they are clearly linked to the rest of the site. Top tip: plan the structure of your site on paper before you start the design, rather than doing it on the hoof. If you ran a construction firm you wouldn't design buildings as you went along, would you?
6. Give them a free lunch. We're living with Web 2.0 now. Users expect something for nothing. A site that is purely mercenary may make sales but it won't generate as much repeat business as a site that gives its readers something for free. Articles, a blog, product reviews, price comparisons, cool photos, cool links, Flash games - all make great freebies and keep visitors coming back for more.
OK: now it's time to make sure your site checks out. If you've got a good product at a good price and you follow the advice above, then as long as people are actually arriving at your site you will make sales.
About
the Author:
Bill Hilton is a freelance copywriter and internet marketing consultant. Focusing on small to medium enterprises and entrepreneur support, he has clients all over the world. Visit his site and blog at http://www.billhilton.biz. |
|
