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How to Use a Call to Action Effectively on Your Website

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (2)

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Recently, I wrote an article on: “5 Steps to Creating a Call to Action on Your Website that Gets Results” (Read it here: http://theunchainedentrepreneur.com/?p=1801 ). In it, I explained exactly what a Call to Action is, why every entrepreneur needs to use them on their Website, and then gave 5 simple steps for writing one.

What I didn’t talk about was how and where you actually use them in your Website content. So today I’m going to share exactly that.

Now, just to recap quickly, a Call to Action is where you tell readers what to do next. Basically a “Do X to get Y” statement.

On a Website it might be “Call 206-200-7594 Now to Schedule Your ‘Website Effectiveness Assessment’. Or “Visit my services page (insert link) to learn more about…”

It could also be something like “Enter your name and email below to…(get a free ebook, register for a teleseminar, etc.).

Even a “Buy Now” button is a Call to Action.

The thing is you can’t just whip up a Call to Action, place it randomly on your Website, and expect to see great results. There’s a psychology to using Calls to Action effectively.

You have to put yourself inside your prospect’s head, tap in to their internal conversation, and understand what they want. Plus what they need to know in order to be willing to take the desired action.

If you just plop any old Call to Action anywhere on a Web page, and your prospect still has unanswered questions or concerns — or can’t yet understand why they would want whatever it is — they aren’t going to do anything.

So, how do you know where to use Calls to Action on your Website?

Follow these 5 simple steps to effectively using a Call to Action

STEP #1 Determine the main goal of your Website, and the goal of each of your main pages.

Do you want to grow your list, have people call you, get people to buy products, click a link to read more, something else? Your answers determine what action you want them to take on each page.

STEP #2 Make a list of all the questions or concerns that might stop prospects from taking each desired action. Then be sure you address them.

Keep in mind, if you’re selling a high-priced product or service, prospects are going to need quite a bit of information. They may want to look at videos, testimonials, case studies and more before they feel confident about taking action.

So your Calls to Action should be designed to move them through your site by clicking links to learn more before asking them to buy now or call you.

On the other hand, if you’re offering a free ebook, their main concerns are going to be: “Is the information of value to me?”…“Is this worth my time?”…and “Is my contact information safe with you?”

If you can address all that on one page, your Call to Action would be “Enter your name and email below to get…”

STEP #3 Create a site plan showing all the pages on your site, how they are linked, and how you anticipate moving visitors through your site to meet your end goal.

You can do this as a simple flow chart either on paper or on the computer. If you only have a one-page site, squeeze page or long-form sales letter, skip this step.

STEP #4 Insert Calls to Action where it makes sense.

Be thoughtful about where to place your Call to Action. And about what you’re asking prospects to do. Again, you want to try to tap into their internal dialogue Then put your Call to Action wherever it seems like you’ve truly made a convincing enough argument for taking that action.

STEP #5 Make it big, bold and obvious.

The last thing you want to do is hide your Call to Action by burying it in text. Make links bold and a different color from the body text. Make Buy Now buttons big and bright.

Calls to Action aren’t just for Websites. You can apply this same process ads, promo emails, tweets, Facebook or ezine blurbs, or any other marketing pieces—both online and off—to increase response and results.

The bottom line is…Having clear, obvious Calls to Action on your Website—and in all your marketing and advertising—is one of the keys to small business success.

Because if someone doesn’t know exactly what to do next—and how to do it—they probably won’t do it. But if you make the right offer to the right people at the right time—and you’ve given them all the info they need to take confidently take action—they probably will. That’s good for everyone!

Do you use Calls to Action on your Website or in other marketing materials? What works best for you? Please do share your thoughts on this topic…

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How to Organize Your Website Content to Grow Your Business

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Entrepreneurs and small business owners often struggle with how to organize the content on their Website. Either that, or they don’t really put much thought into at all. But if you want a site that actually sends you hot leads, makes sales, grows your list and more, you really do have to think about it.

And it doesn’t matter whether you sell services, or products, or both. Because these days people spend less than half a second deciding if your site is worth their time. Then maybe another 4 seconds figuring out if you have what they want or need.

If you don’t organize your content properly, these folks are going to be gone long before they even understand what you do or sell—or why they should hire or buy from you instead of your competition.

So let’s talk about how you go about organizing your content to meet both your business’ and your customer’s goals.

First off, In order to do that effectively, you have to take three things into consideration:

The main goal of your site
The action you want people to take on each page
What people are going to see first on your site

Hopefully you’ve got number one figured out already. If not, there’s no time like the present. So take a step back and think about it a bit.

“What is the main goal of your Website (IE what do you want it to do for your business)?”

Your website could: position you as an expert, grow your list, answer key questions, be a resource, sell products, or any number of other things. But if you want it to help you grow your business, you need to pick one.

Honestly, if you’re spending time and money to build a site simply so you have a Web presence, think again. Because it could do a whole lot more. Even the simplest, one-page site can be designed to get people to take an action.

On to number two…

“What action do you want people to take on each page”?

Do you want them to: Go to another page to learn more? Sign up for a ezine? Listen to an audio? Visit your products page? Call you? Send an email? Buy something? Register for tap dance lessons?

Answering this question is especially critical to how organize your content. Because if you want people to sign up for your ezine, for instance, you can’t bury the sign up button at the bottom of the page. Instead you want it to be the first thing people see.

So think about this for a bit, then move on to number three…

“What are people going to see when they arrive on your site?”

Well, the first thing they are going to see is the part of the page that is visible without scrolling. And you should always assume they may not see it in a full-size browser window. People regularly make their browser window smaller than their screen for a variety of reasons. This means new windows may open up at less than full size.

So anything important like, say, your main navigation, your logo, what you do, or any special offers better be near the top of the screen. Because, while people will scroll down, you never know for sure if someone is going to.

Of course, this is just the beginning. Ideally you want a detailed site plan and storyboards of each main page showing content layout. But this is the place to start.

So think long and hard about these three critical questions. Then, once you have the answers, start organizing your content to suit. Before you know it, you’re website is going to become a lead-generating, list-building, money-making machine!

Need help getting your Website Content organized right? I’m happy to help. Just drop me an email (stacy @ theunchainedentrepreneur.com).

Thoughts on this topic? Other tips to share? Please do leave a comment!

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Categories : Website Marketing

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5 Steps to Creating a Call to Action on Your Website that Gets Results

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (5)

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Why do you have a Website for your small business?

Sure, a big goal is getting the attention of your ideal client and letting them know what you have to offer. And getting your name out there is always good too. But just doing that is not enough.

If you’re going to invest all that time, money and effort, you want to get clients or customers too, right?

In other words, the real goal of any marketing—including your Website—is to get people to take action…

Whether that’s visiting another page on your site, calling for an appointment, registering for a call, signing up for a freebie, or busting out a credit card and buying something right now.

The thing is, most entrepreneurs forget all about this when they’re working on their Website. So they spend a ton of time and/or money creating a (hopefully) professional site that is basically just a bunch of company info.

They talk about who a company is, what they do, how they do it and who their clients are. Then add a contact page and wait for something to happen.

Only it never does. Or if it does, the results are nowhere near what they’d hoped for.

Chances are their site simply wasn’t planned, designed or written to move people through the sales process and get a response.

That means there is something important that probably missing. And you can add to your Website—and every piece marketing and advertising you create—to dramatically increase response rates!

It’s a “call to action”!

What, exactly, is a call to action?

Fundamentally, it’s where you tell someone exactly what to do next if they are interested in what you are offering. A perfect example can be found on any infomercial. It’s where the announcer says “Call 1-800-buy-this within the next 30 seconds to get your super juicer and the special, bonus slicer-thingy for just $9.95”

In a print ad, it might be “Visit www.dogtricks.com to get your F*ree report 7 Fun Tricks You can Teach Any Dog”

On a Website, it could be as simple as “Visit my services page (insert link) to learn more about what I can do for your business…” Or “Call Jennie at 867-5309 and mention this offer to save 50% on your first consultation”.

Even a “Buy Now” button is a call to action.

Why is a call to action so important?

“If you don’t tell someone what to do next, there’s no telling what they might do.”

Life is busy and full of interruptions. Even if someone is ready and willing to buy, they might not be sure what to do next if you don’t tell them. Or they could end up going to the bathroom, answering the phone, or clicking to another Website as easily as calling you.

It’s up to you to know what action would make the most sense—both to meet your customers’ information needs and your business goals. Then let prospects know how to take that action.

Five steps to writing a powerful call to action

STEP 1: Decide exactly what you want someone to do after they read each page on your Website. Then write your copy to lead them to the decision that taking that action makes good sense to them.

STEP 2: People need a good reason to take action. So make them a specific offer they can’t refuse. These days, a f*ree consultation isn’t enough. A lot of folks think this will just be a pitch-filled waste of time. Ditto for just saying sign up for my f*ree e-newsletter. Who wants more random stuff filling up their inbox?

STEP 3: Tell them exactly what to do to take advantage of your offer. IE: Do X to get Y

STEP 4: Make it painfully easy. Put the phone number, link, sign up box or BUY NOW button right there. Don’t assume they’ll take time search for it.

STEP 5: Whenever possible, add incentive with limited availability (only 10 left!), deadlines, or special sale prices. People are busy. The more reasons you can give them to take action now, the more likely they are to do so.

That’s it. Give ‘em a good reason to take action, tell ‘em what to do, and make it easy as pie to do so. You’ll be amazed at how many people do.

Got thoughts on this article? Questions? More suggestions? Please do leave a comment…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Copywriting, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing, Website Marketing

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5 Things You Must Know to Get a Website that Grows Your Business

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Is your Website like a black hole on the Internet that prospects go in to but never come out? They just disappear as quickly as they arrived.

Does your Website do nothing but suck away your time and money on design, hosting and updating…Without making you any money in new clients, opt-ins or sales?

Have you spent seemingly endless dollars or hours trying to get a Website that actually grows your business, without seeing better results?

Chances are it’s because you’re making a big mistake right out of the gate…You aren’t really clear about what your Website needs to do, be and say to be effective at growing your small business. So it isn’t designed and built to do the job.

The reality is; most entrepreneurs don’t think about their Website design and planning from a strategic sales and marketing perspective. But it really isn’t hard to increase your online response rate by as much as 300% by making a few tweaks.

It all starts with the 5 things every entrepreneur must know to get a money-making, lead-generating, list-building Website. These are things you want to know BEFORE you spend any more time or money on your site.

And I’m going to be sharing those on a FREE 20-minute Business Success Café Webinar tomorrow, Thursday, September 15^th at 10:00 am Pacific.

This is really valuable info, not just a sales-pitch call. So if you’ve been trying to figure out how to make your Website work for you, reserve your spot now by going to the Business Cafe Webpage here:

http://tinyurl.com/3w64kdt

Be sure to stay on the Webinar to the very end too as I’ve got some special bonuses and deals just for Business Café listeners.

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Categories : Build Your Business, News & Events, Practical Marketing, Website Marketing

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Which Marketing Tactics Should You Use to Grow Your Business?

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (4)

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are notoriously over-busy. We’re swamped by mile-long to-do lists that never seem to grow shorter no matter how many hours we work. Trying to market your business on top of everything else just adds to the stress and confusion.

Thanks to the advent of the Internet and all things online marketing—email, blogs, social networking, slidecasts, webinars, and the list goes on—it’s easier than ever to get overwhelmed by the options and do nothing. Or spread yourself too thin trying to use them all.

I think that’s why the questions I’ve been hearing more and more lately are “Where should I be focusing my time, money and energy when it comes to marketing?” And, “How do I know which tactics and strategies are going to work for me?”

Well, there is no simple answer to which strategies and tactics are going to work for any given business. Choosing the best ones depends on many factors including your target market, your budget, your skill set, etc. Though any time they’re designed to work together as part of an overarching marketing plan, you’re more likely to see success.

However, you can make good decisions—and get great results—by asking yourself the following questions…

5 Questions for Choosing the Best Marketing Tactics and Strategies for Your Business

1) Can I find and reach my ideal client or customer there?

If your ideal client or customer isn’t on Facebook, there’s no point in spending time and money on Facebook marketing. Know exactly who you’re selling to, and figure out where they shop and Web surf, what they read, and so on. Then find ways to reach them there.

2) Can I execute it on a consistent basis?

Great results rarely occur from one-shot marketing tactics…Especially nowadays when there is so much competition for everyone’s attention, not to mention their business. Instead you have to keep putting your message out there until your ideal client or customer finally takes notice—and takes action. If you don’t have the time, money and energy to execute a marketing tactic consistently, choose a different one.

3) Is it likely to help me achieve my goals?

All too often entrepreneurs choose marketing tactics because they’re cheap, easy, exciting or everyone else is using them. Unfortunately, none of those are good reasons.

Instead, you need to know what your main goal is (grow your list, get clients to call, get customers in your store, get someone to sign up or register, etc.), then choose the tactics most likely to help you achieve it.

4) Are the results measurable?

The only way to know if a marketing tactic is effective is to measure results. That means knowing how many people called, clicked, signed up, bought, emailed or whatever you’d like them to do.

So make sure everything you do has a call to action and a way to know if the action was taken.

This might mean using Google Analytics on your Website, or asking prospects how they heard about you. Or having them mention a particular code or name when they get in touch.

5) What is the ROI?

ROI, or Return on Investment, is basically gross revenue generated less expenses. It’s a number many entrepreneurs are totally unfamiliar with. And this is a serious problem.

I can’t tell you how many small business owners have told me a particular marketing tactic was successful…Until they ran the numbers and realized it was costing more than it was making them.

Unless it’s part of a larger strategy designed to recoup costs and make more money later, an ad that cost you $600 to run but only made you $200 in gross revenues needs to be changed or replaced.

Unfortunately, all too often entrepreneurs pay little or no attention to costs—especially time costs. Because the reality is, even free marketing costs you something in time spent that could be used to pursue other opportunities or make money.

If you don’t know what your marketing costs, or how much it brings in, there’s no way to know if you should keep doing it.

Now that you have these five questions in your back pocket, be sure to ask them anytime you’re considering investing your time, energy or money in marketing.

What marketing tactics and strategies work best for growing your business? How did you choose them? Any other thoughts on this topic? Please do leave a comment below…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing, Relationship Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Video & Viral Marketing, Website Marketing

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Interesting News from Google Sure to Impact Your Website Marketing

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Monday, August 8th, 2011

Entrepreneurs…Got an important Webpage that Google hasn’t picked up yet? Wanna make sure critical new or updated pages on your site are indexed quickly and properly by Google?

Last week Google launched a new way for site owners to request specific web pages be crawled…The Crawl URL form.

While Google has always had an “Add URL” form for requesting a URL be added to the search index, it was meant more for searchers who noticed a Webpage was missing.

This form has now been renamed Crawl URL and is aimed at business owners and Webmasters. You have to log in to it with a Google Account (they’re free, so no worries there). However, you can submit only up to 50 URLs a week.

Before you get all excited, this is actually not meant to be used on a regular basis…It’s more for major updates or important new content. But this can be a key marketing tool if you’re in the process of launching something new online.

You can and should use the “Submit URL” form and other Google forms found here http://tinyurl.com/c32rbu for general Website submissions.

Learn more about all of this in a far more detailed article from Search Engine Land: Fetch, Googlebot! Google’s New Way To Submit URLs & Updated Pages here: http://tinyurl.com/3wvsf44

Got more to add on this subject? Please do share by leaving a comment!

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Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Website Marketing

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Why Writing Effective Content for Your Website Is So Different

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Friday, August 5th, 2011

As an entrepreneur, the most important part of getting a Website or blog site that actually drives leads, grows your list and/or makes sales is planning. The next most important part of your Website is the content, or copywriting.

You can’t just slap any old writing up there and expect it to get your ideal prospect’s attention and sell them on why they need to buy from you. If you really want your site to be effective at growing your small business, typically you can’t even take good print marketing copy and put it up there without at least tweaking it.

Now you’re probably thinking “Why not? What’s so different about writing for the Web?”

I hear this question from entrepreneurs all the time. Often followed by, “Can’t I just put my brochure content up there…Or worry about content later…Or put up a business card site?”

The answer is “Sure, you can do any of those.” They’re fine as temporary measures so you can get a site up in a pinch. But I wouldn’t expect to get any leads or sales.

This kind of thrown-together Website might even be worse for your business than nothing at all, depending on the information you do have and how it’s organized.

Here's why…

If your site creates the wrong first impression, is confusing, or doesn’t tell people what they want to know, most folks will be gone in a heartbeat.

And chances are they will never come back!

Think of it this way…In the physical world you have to cut through a lot of clutter. But there usually aren’t a hundred stores right in front of your customer, competing for their business.

On the Web, competition is virtually unlimited and at your prospect’s fingertips. They can easily go to another site if they don’t find what they want on yours right away. So they do.

This alone greatly affects the kind of content you put on your site and how you organize it. But there’s even more to it than that.

Let me explain…

There are three major differences between writing
for the Web and writing for print.

First, you have to write for two audiences: potential customers and search engines. Each of these audiences has different information needs. And each is vitally important.

If you don’t write to suit the search engines, your site doesn’t get found. If you don’t write to suit your potential customer, you won’t make sales.

Second, people read differently on the Web than they do in print. Typically they’re in a bigger hurry and skim first to see if you have what they’re after…Then only reading if something really interests them.

This makes how you organize the information on each page critical. Because you have to consider not only what they want to read, but how they’re going to read it.

Third, you only have maybe four seconds to get—and keep—people’s attention on the Web. So you have to let them know right away that you have what they want, and make it easy for them to find, or they’re gone.

I know, I know…You’re probably thinking that’s a heck of a lot to take into consideration. And you’re right.

Which is why just slapping up your brochure text or a business card site isn’t going to do the trick. Instead it takes careful thought and planning—combined with on-target, copywriting designed to get your ideal client or customer to take notice, and take action—to really make your site work for you.

But it’s worth it!

After all, few things beat having a prospect get in touch wanting to hire you out of the thin blue air because they found you on the Web…Or waking up with more money in your business account than when you went to sleep. It’s like manna from heaven.

The key is to start by knowing exactly who your ideal client or customer is, and they’re specific wants, needs, goals and problems. Then writing your content to suit them first, and achieve your goals second.

Of course, there’s more to it than that. But once you understand the basics, it gets much easier to create the content you need. To help you with exactly that, I highly recommend you sign up for my free 7-day copywriting ecourse “Write Money-Making Marketing Materials like the Pros” below…

Want more help writing lead-generating, sales-making Website content?

Sign up for my free 7-day copywriting ecourse “Write Money-Making Marketing Materials like the Pros” at: http://theunchainedentrepreneur.com/resources

(Just scroll down a tad if you don’t see it right away.)

Of course, feel free to leave a comment about this article or my free copywriting e-course here.

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Categories : Build Your Business, Content Marketing, Copywriting, Website Marketing

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How to Use Keywords to Get More Website Traffic and Improve SEO

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (1)

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Most entrepreneurs have heard of keywords. Some business owners even have a keyword list put together. But time after time clients ask me: “What am I supposed to do with all these keywords?”

I’m going to get to that, but first let me give you the upshot of how and why keywords help your search engine rankings…

Search engines have something called spiders that crawl the Web. These spiders go through your site code, looking for keywords that tell them what your site is all about. Then they report back to the search engine database.

The search engines then try to match your keywords with terms and phrases people are using to search the Web in order to provide relevant search results. The better the match the higher you’re going to show up in the results.

So your goal is to come up with the best keywords and keyword phrases for your site —based on what prospects are searching for. Then use them properly to communicate with the spiders to improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Now, for this article I’m going to assume you have a list of the keywords already and dive right into how to use them.

Drawing the Spiders to Your Keywords

How do search engine spiders know which words on your site are keywords?

Two ways…

1) Repetition

The spiders assume if a keyword (or phrase) is repeated multiple times on a page that must be what the page is about.

However, this doesn’t mean you should pack your pages with keywords willy-nilly. Doing this will get you penalized, or removed from the search engine database completely.

What you want to do is use keywords naturally in your text. Usually, repeating any word or phrase two to four times in your body copy is perfect.

How do you know if you’ve overused your keywords? Read your text out loud. If it sounds like a six year old wrote your copy, you’ve used them too many times. If it sounds smooth and natural you should be good to go.

2) Proper keyword placement

Certain locations in your content are considered more important in the eyes of the spiders (and often your readers). So focus on putting keywords in these spots whenever possible.

Headlines, Subheads and Article Titles – Headlines, subheads and titles tell both humans and spiders what kind of info we can expect to find…Particularly if you use the H1, H2 formatting.
Link text – Anytime you have a link in your text to another page or site, spiders assume those words indicate what kind of info can be found on the other end of that link. So avoid linking with meaningless phrases like “Learn More” or “Click Here”. Instead use keywords in your link text.
Beginning and end of pages – Both people and spiders tend to put more weight on what you say at the beginning and end of pages. At the same time, they assume the middle is just additional supporting details. So be sure your keywords are included in the very first text the spiders will read. Then put your list of keywords after the © at the bottom of each Web page.

But you can do more than just put keywords in your Website content…

More Powerful Spots to Put Your Keywords

Once you’ve got your keywords written into your body content there are a few more places in your HTML code where the spiders might look (you may need to ask your Web master for help with these). Most of these are not visible to Website visitors. But they each do their bit to boost your search engine rankings.

1) Title Tag – You know that text you see in the top bar of your Web browser? And the link text you get in search engine results listings? Both of those are generated from your title tag. Plus, the spiders rank your site higher for the keywords in your title.

2) META Tags - This section of HTML code has just one purpose: To be read by the search engine spiders. These used to be really important, but have lost some of their power. However they seem to be gaining power again, and they certainly won’t hurt you.

META description tag. In some search engines, this is where all or part of the description that shows up in search results comes from. So keep this in mind and write a keyword laden description that also entices searchers to click on your link.
META keyword tag. This is where you want to list the top ten or so keywords (or keyword phrases) you’ve used in your content.

3) Image Tags – Search engine spiders can only read text. So images in gif, jpg, or bmp format are just big blank spots. Make them readable by spiders by putting keywords-laden descriptions in your Image Tags.

Keep in mind, incorporating keywords isn’t a quick fix that immediately skyrockets you to the top of the search engine rankings. It is a simple, inexpensive and effective way to make a positive difference in your rankings and drive more targeted traffic to your Website. And well worth the time and effort.

Do you have any other suggestions for using keywords to improve search engine rankings or SEO? Thoughts on this article? Please do share by leaving a comment…

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Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Website Marketing

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Writing to Satisfy Both Readers and Skimmers on Your Website

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Writing for the Web truly is different from writing for print. One of the most critical ways it’s different is that people don’t read the same way on the Internet as they do on paper. In fact, many people don’t read on the Web at all—at least not at first. Instead they skim and scan to see if your business has what they’re after.

Then, only if they’re really interested will they read your site content word for word. Or do a mix of skimming and reading.

So as an entrepreneur you don’t want to skimp on the amount of Website content (or copy) you write. Because, as I’ve talked about in previous articles, your Website has to have all the tools and information it needs to be a good salesperson. Otherwise it won’t help you grow your small business.

That means your writing has to be friendly and easy to understand. And your copy has to answer all your customer’s questions and deal with their objections…Then convince them to take action.

It also has to achieve three core goals:

Make the shopping experience easy and convenient
Inspire confidence
Show what’s different, or better, about buying from you

That’s a mighty tall order to fill in the 250 words or less some “experts” recommend. Though really, it’s not about how many words of copy should go on a page because you need exactly as much as it takes to achieve your goals—no more and no less. It’s about how you write and format that copy.

So, let’s get back to what I was saying about skimming versus reading…

Most people will skim your Website before they read it—at least initially—because they want to see if you have what they are looking for. And they want to find it as quickly as possible.

However, when they’re really interested in what you are saying—or serious about buying soon—then they’ll devour every last word you put up there. Assuming, of course, that it is interesting, informative, and easy to read.

So, since some site visitors are going to read while others are going to skim, you need copywriting that satisfies both. How do you do that? Try editing and formatting your Website content with these important rules in mind:

Banish Big, Bulky Paragraphs

Big, long chunks of text are just not inviting to read. Especially on the Web. They just look like too much work, and are almost impossible to skim.

Make all your paragraphs no more than five lines long. On the Web even a one sentence paragraph is fair game.

Be Up Front

Stick to one point and state it early in the paragraph. People who skim read the beginning of a paragraph far more often than they read the whole thing. And the last thing you want to do is bury critical information where it won’t get seen.

It’s Good to Be Short

It’s easier to both skim and read ideas that are broken down into bite-sized pieces. So keep sentences around 20 words or less. This seems hard at first, but you can almost always find a way to break a long sentence into two shorter ones. Use Tools/Word Count in Microsoft Word to keep yourself honest.

Use 5 Cent Instead of 50 Cent Words

Long words take more thought, and are more likely to be misunderstood, than short ones. Plus, these days most people (even college educated ones) read most comfortably at about an eighth grade level. So anytime it’s possible to use a shorter word, or two short words instead of one long one, do it. The exception: if the long word is specific to an industry or market you are trying to reach, then by all means use it.

Catch Their Eye

One of the best ways to make your copy both skim friendly and effective is with well-written headlines and subheads, and well-placed bolding and highlights. Someone should be able to skim nothing but these to get all the major points and decide whether or not to read deeper.

Bring On the Bullets

Next to headlines and subheads, bullets are one of the best tools for satisfying both skimmers and readers. Just make sure each one provides a clear, compelling benefit—not just a feature. Because it’s not just about what your product or service is or does. It’s what it does for your customer that matters.

By writing and formatting your small business Website content with these rules in mind, you make it easy for people to find exactly what they are looking for in an instant. And you can write as much copy as you need to satisfy anyone who wants to read more, and convince them to take action.

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Categories : Content Marketing, Copywriting, Online Marketing, Website Marketing

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The Truth about Building Your Own Small Business Website

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Entrepreneurs …Have you built your own Website, or been thinking about building one yourself? If so, you’re not alone.

Thanks to the advent of easy-to-use, do-it-yourself platforms like Druple and WordPress and thousands of nifty templates, more and more small business owners are tackling their own Website or blog design.

So if you’re wondering whether or not you can—or should—build your own site, the short answer is, “Sure, you can.” Especially if you just want a simple blog or Website with few pages and little to no customization.

The longer answer for most small businesses is, “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Here’s why:

1) You only get a few seconds at best to make a good first impression on the Web. Unfortunately, all too often the fact that you designed and built it yourself is going to be glaringly obvious. The last thing you want is for your business to look like a hobby because your Website looks like it was built by an amateur. People simply won’t take you seriously and you’ll lose potential clients and customers.

2) You’re better off spending your time doing what you do best. Most businesses need a more customized, branded site—regardless of the platform it’s built on. Unless you have a background in Web design, WordPress and/or HTML you’re gonna spend hours and hours learning how to create a nice, functional effective site. These are hours you could better spend doing what your best and growing your business.

For example, let’s say it takes you 40 hours to build your first Website. And you normally charge $100/hour for your services. That means your time cost is $4000. Consider the income lost because you were working on your site instead of making money.

Now, let’s say you hire a professional to build you a custom site for $50 an hour (and you can often hire good designers for less). It takes 20 hours because they know what they’re doing and it looks much more professional than your version. That costs you $1000 out of pocket but the better looking site brings in more leads, clients and customers.

In the meantime you’ve been able to land two new clients that each pay $1500 because you weren’t busy working on your site. So now you’ve got a much nicer site and you’ve already netted $2000.

My advice: Have a professional build your site to meet your business needs and your specifications. If you’re on a budget use a template. WordPress has some great ones. Ideally though, at least have it customized with your colors and a branded header using your logo, and tagline.

Then, learn how to edit and add content and blog posts to your site. That way you have control and you’re not beholden to a designer all the time. It’s really the best of both worlds.

Have you built your own Website or blog? How did it go? What words of wisdom would you share with other entrepreneurs considering the do-it-yourself Web design route?

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