| |
|
|
Your Most Expensive Web Site Marketing Mistake
by Cathy Goodwin
Published on this site: April 20th, 2006 - See
more articles from this month
"Can you give me some feedback on my brand new website?"
a life coach named "Kevin" asked his e-zine subscribers.
"I just revised my site - finally!"
Naturally, I couldn't resist clicking over to see what Kevin
had done. I knew Kevin was a thoughtful life coach with a
reputation for high integrity.
Kevin's new site cried out for a makeover. He had paid a designer
to get drop-down menus and a bit of flash. As a result, Kevin
admitted, "I have no budget to pay a copywriter."
Ouch.
After skimming a few pages of the site, I emailed Kevin. "Who
is your target market? What do you offer? How are you unique?"
Kevin replied, "I don't have time to answer a lot of
questions. And everyone tells me the site looks professional."
One question Kevin needs to answer is, "Are you attracting
clients and sales - or just compliments?"
Of course your web site needs to look professional. That's
why you hire a web designer.
But some websites attract clients, subscribers and sales from
the very beginning. Others just attract compliments.
The websites attract compliments (like Kevin's) made one expensive
mistake. They didn't call the copywriter first.
- Copywriters can save you money.
Often I (and other experienced copywriters) can save
clients money on web design. Kevin didn't need all those
bells and whistles. In fact, some Internet marketing gurus
claim they do more harm than good.
And Kevin didn't understand HTML, let alone CSS. A copywriter
might serve as go-between, translating Kevin's requirements
into web design language. Your web designer saves time -
which translates into saving money.
- Copywriters help you earn money with dynamic web site
content.
Reading between the lines, I discovered Kevin could be a
stand-out. He has developed an innovative 5-step process
to help clients overcome obstacles and take charge of their
lives.
But Kevin doesn't realize why he's unique, so his website
reads like five thousand other life coaching sites: vague
promises of "take your life to the next level,"
"discover what's important to you" and "enjoy
the work you love."
Naturally I'm disguising the details of "Kevin's"
story, but I really don't have to. Hundreds (maybe thousands)
of sites sound just like Kevin's.
- A copywriting expert can jumpstart your strategy.
Like Kevin, my clients often think they can show me
a few pages of a website and say, "Make it sell!"
Copywriting requires energy and planning, whether you're
a do-it-yourselfer or a firm believer in outsourcing to
a specialist.
My clients often invest many hours answering my questionnaire.
As they write, they often realize there's a hole in their
business strategy. Or they're sitting on buried treasure.
Until I know what Kevin wants to do with his website and
his business, I can't make realistic recommendations - even
as a casual ezine reader. I need to evaluate Kevin's copy
in the context of Kevin's own goals, target market and unique
selling proposition.
Kevin could do this himself. But, like most busy business
owners, he didn't want to invest the time. And he wasn't sure
what questions to ask.
When clients hire me, we have the luxury (and fun!) of creating
a marketing message that hits the target market squarely in
the center of the bull's-eye.
Bottom Line: Websites deliver messages. Without a message,
a website is a calling card - nice when you have more business
than you can handle.
Most of the time, revising copy brings traffic and sales.
Websites typically earn back the copy investment with just
a few new clients, not to mention saving energy and funds
by avoiding a makeover from the makeover.
Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., helps solo-preneurs, professionals
and small businesses build Internet revenues - without turning
themselves into techies or high-powered pushy sales people.
Download her free Report: 7 best-kept secrets of client-attracting websites...
http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com/subscribe.html
Jump-start your own website:
http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com/services.html
|
| |
|
|
