Your web site reader has read your Home Page, and is interested enough to dig deeper into your site. The questions in his mind are, "Who are these people? Can they be trusted? Do they have the experience to know what they're doing? Are they a real, or a phony operation?"
The About Us page is the page where you communicate warmth. If you started your business at the kitchen table, tell the story here. If you are a family operation, passing from Father to Son or Daughter, tell how it happened.
How did you come to be interested in your particular business? Did you have an experience with natural products that was an eye-opener?
If your company struggled, but finally overcame obstacles, tell the story. People love stories, and a warm story will warm your readers' hearts.
Tell them about your manufacturing process, the care you take in sourcing your materials, and if you are GMP certified.
Introduce your principal officers, with photographs. Give their background and education level.
If you're a grower of herbs, jeans and casual dress is fine in your photos, but business casual is always safe for photos.
You need to look professional. But, be open enough in your copy to be human and approachable.
Use graphics to illustrate your process, your labs, your building. If your company, or one of your officers, has won an award, tell about it.
Customers like to do business with friends.
What I'm really saying is don't be stuffy, or distant, or too "corporate." It puts people off, and that's the LAST thing you want to do!
There is a fine line here, which must be considered. You don't want to be so casual that you come out looking like an amateur. That won't instill confidence in your buyer.
Some About Us pages seem to focus exclusively on The Company. Our Company this and Our Company that. Yes, your company is important, but it's your people who make up your company. Talk about your excellent people, and then your reader will know your company is excellent.
If you want a friend (customer), then you need to be a friend to them. That means being transparent and warm.
© Copyright 2008 Pam Magnuson Copywriting
But now, contemporary marketers realize that a web site is an exciting opportunity for lead generation and on-line sales. Turning your web site into a powerful marketing machine involves more than just reciting facts. Convert those facts to meaningful benefits by understanding what your customer needs. Then you'll be turning lead into gold.
Who is your potential customer? Do you really know him or her? If you respond to that question with a fuzzy picture, then you don't know anything about your prospect. The more you know about the key "pains" of your customer, the more you'll "know" your customer. You'll be far more able to establish rapport with him.
For a moment, imagine you are the person reading your web sites, trying to solve a business problem. You want to know, “Can this company really help me?" If your Home page talks about your company, and not about how your company helps others with their business problems, then you'll know the copy is "off."
How, you ask, can you construct a nutraceutical web site that will grab your prospect's interest and attention? You do it by understanding the needs of your prospect, (as discussed above), and by linking those needs to your USP (Unique Selling Proposition.)
Your USP could be your centralized location, or your unique packaging, or the weather where your plants grow. Maybe you play classical music in your laboratory. Something makes you special and different.
The Home page is where first impressions are formed. Your new visitor wants to know what your company can do for him. He's in a hurry. His phone is probably ringing, He's also thinking about a shipping or manufacturing problem. He's stressed. Maybe he didn't sleep well last night because quarterly reports are due.
Your home page should be written with that person clearly in mind. Zona Research found that sophisticated web site readers will click out if a site takes more than 5 to 8 seconds to download. The Home page needs to be interesting to the visitor within a few seconds, or he's out of there.
"Interesting," does not include fancy animations and new age music. Remember, your visitor is in a hurry. He didn't open your site for entertainment. Yes, the animations are pretty. But really, what does that have to do with filling a business need? Skip the pretty intro, and let your prospect go straight to the Home page so he can quickly determine if your company can help solve his problem.
Remember, it's all about your reader. He wants to be assured that you understand his problems. All of the copy needs to be customer focused. It's not really about you and your company. (That's what the "About Us" page is for.) Your site needs to be about how your company can solve your visitors' problems. Tell him about the benefits of working with you. He'll find the facts on your Products page, in your company history page, and on the Contact page.
Here's a quick test to see if your web site is focused on the prospect, or if it's simply "beating it's chest" about your company:
Open your web site and count the number of times you read: "our company" and "we." Now count the number of times the words "you" and "your" are used. Many nutraceutical web sites are all about "our company, "and "we can..., we are..., we will..."
Change the copy to converse with your customer. "You will be pleased with our prompt order processing..." "If you're looking for the freshest herbs available, you'll find them here." "If you demand a product that is GMP certified, then you have found what you're looking for." If you can show, rather than tell, by using the GMP seal or symbol, it's even better. The symbol says it all, and you can use copy space to talk about other benefits.
Your Home Page must feature an offer. Your offer is a reward for discussing business with you at some future point in time, and its purpose is to provide your sales team new leads to follow-up on. Offer your reader a free report, white paper or samples. Case studies make an excellent offer, as they provide third party proof about your products. Many companies overlook the power of case studies.
The sign-up box for your offer should be on every page of your web site. When you do this you'll have a lead-generating web site, not simply a brochure.
Here's where you tell about your company, your officers, how to order and how to contact. But, keep in mind throughout the entire site that you are talking with a person. Brochures are great for salesmen to hand out, but your web site is a conversation with your customer. If you write it in a conversational way, they'll want to know more about you and your products.
Let's say you're sitting at a table talking with someone you've just met. You wouldn't dominate the conversation with "I do this," or "I'm really special because I can...." No, that would be rude.
You'd ask your new acquaintance questions about his interests. You'd want to learn more about him. You'd exchange information about each other. And, you'd politely offer him something of value that will help him improve his business. Be a friend, not an impersonal entity.
Additionally, you'll give him information that is current. An Events page, or section, that has not been updated for several years is worthless. It makes your company look careless and sloppy. That's not the impression you want to give.
Every page of your site should contain a "call to action." Tell your visitor what you want her to do. Ask her to request your offer. Or ask her to order, with a link to take her easily to the order page.
Be clear in your mind if your site is a lead-generating site only, an order- generating site only, or both. If it lead-generating only, you won't have an 'Order" page, but you'll have a Contact Us page, plus the sign-up boxes on every page.
On the Contact Us page, you'll gather their name, company, title, contact information, and what their interests are. This will be the information your sales team needs to make contact with an interested prospect.
On your Order page, repeat the benefits you pointed out in earlier pages. This overcomes any objections and reluctance she might be feeling. The old selling mantra of "Repeat, Reassure, and Resume:" applies here. You are re-selling your company by talking about the unique benefits you offer. This repetition reinforces the ordering decision for your prospect.
Because your prospect is giving you her contact information, she wants to be reassured she is making the right decision.
Your Order page, should gather enough information to qualify your prospects (cool, warm, or hot), but don't make it so difficult they get frustrated with the process and click out.
Since you know your potential buyer is skeptical, make sure you have a generous guarantee on your Order Page. They need to know you stand behind your products and service, so they won't be out any money if your products are not as stated.
If you don't already receive reports, ask your web site hosting service to give you statistics on how many open clicks you're getting, and at what point the visitors click out. This should to help you pinpoint potential problems.
Your web site can be one of your most powerful selling tools. When you get inside the skin of your prospect before your write the copy, you'll know the right things to say. You'll increase customer retention and loyalty. All of that translates to more sales and greater ROI.
Focus on your USP and you'll be filling a special niche in the customer's mind. It's good to tell the world how wonderful your company is, as long as it's relevant to your buyer.
If you find it difficult to really get to know your customers--ask them. Send a survey to your established customer base asking the kinds of questions that will reveal their inner concerns. Use "feedback" forms with each sale. Have your sales team conduct interviews.
Then listen, really listen intently, to their answers. They'll tell you what you need to know.
© Copyright 2008 Pam Magnuson Copywriting
“Get Your Lazy Website Working”
--Published in Natural Products Insider Magazine, Vol. 11, No. 12 November, 2007
Every one has an opinion about this subject. Some people think short copy is best because people will read it in a hurry. They believe the reader won’t take the time to scroll all the way down to the bottom of long copy.
Some marketers believe long copy is best. It gives you space and time to tell your story. You can detail all the benefits of the product. You have time to really dig down into the meat of why your consumer should buy your product.
Eye heat tests and surveys show readers do read long copy in certain situations. The requirement is that the copy must be well written. If it’s not, the short copy advocates will win the debate because the reader will get bored and click out..
The truth of it is, both sides are right, to some degree. There is a time and place for everything. But, there is no hard and fast rule.
Short copy is good in space ads. It’s necessary for email blasts. It’s good on landing pages.
Short copy is like a teaser. It tweaks curiosity so the reader wants to learn more.
Short copy is for the reader who’s in a hurry and the person who is simply scanning a page. Its primary purpose is to attract attention and arouse interest in finding out more. Often you’ll provide a link to the page where all the rest of the information is.
The copywriter who is writing short copy must chose the content and language carefully. In a few words, he must convey the appropriate emotion, create urgency, and instill desire for the product.
This is often done with bullet points, because they’re short, concise and they put your message out fast. Headlines and subheads should each tell the story you want the reader to know.
Long copy is appropriate for web sites, direct mail packages,
and marketing products such as case studies, white papers, and technical reports.
Long copy is for the reader who is looking for information. With the evolution of the Internet, people are becoming information addicts.
Long copy really shines on websites. Remember, the reader is coming to your site (rather than you sending out an email blast to him.) He’s there because he chose to be there. Your reader is looking for information. He doesn’t want a few headlines and three or four bullets. He wants the whole story.
The big advantage of long copy is that you can develop several benefits in a meaningful way. With short copy you have to focus on only a few benefits, and hope you focused on the strongest ones.
Your goal with web site copy is for your reader to become engaged with your message. You want to seduce him deeper and deeper into the site, until he reaches the contact or order page.
The content of long copy can be filled with persuasive copy, examples, and testimonials from users. If the copy has rich content, the reader will find it so interesting, he won’t notice how long it might be. He’ll feel he’s really learning something of value.
Modern marketers no longer use “click here to continue.” They run the copy right down the page. The point is to not interrupt the reader’s absorption of your message. When they have to click to “continue,” the spell you’ve carefully woven is broken. Then, they’ll often click out instead of continuing.
He’ll go to the next page when he’s read what he wants.
It’s obvious these need to be long copy. They must stay to the objective, and include as much proof as possible. Footnotes are good here, and in some cases, so are testimonials.
The next time you hear the great debate about long or short copy, you can smile because you’ll know the answer. It all depends on what your project is.
- Short copy for space ads, quick email blasts, landing pages
- Long copy for web sites, direct mail packages, case studies, white papers and technical reports.
Apply this knowledge to your 2008 marketing campaigns, and watch your results. You’ll be glad you did.
© Copyright 2008 Pam Magnuson Copywriting
What is the most important page of your web site?
No, it’s not the Order page, or the Product Page. It’s not even the “About Us” page.
The most important page of your web site is the Home Page.
There’s simply no place like home.
What is the function of your home page? What does it do for your web site?
Think of yourself as a gracious host and your web site visitor is coming to your “home” for the first time. Your Home Page should make him feel welcome and at ease.
- It’s your introduction to a stranger. “Hello, My Name is ______;”
- It conveys the tone, the feeling, the personality of your site;
- It invites the viewer to “…Come on in. Let’s sit and talk for a while.”
- Your Home Page addresses the reader’s interests and concerns;
- This page invites the reader to explore more information deeper in your site. “Let me show you the house!”
- The Home Page also introduces your Offer. “Here’s something you will find of value, and I’d like to give it to you.”
When most people need information, they use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. They’ll enter keywords to narrow their search. When the page comes up, there often will be thousands of listings. Your viewer doesn’t know one from the other, so he clicks on one to see what it’s about.
Some sites have a Home Page that uses the entire page to talk about their company.
“Our company was founded in 1827, etc.”
You think, “So what?”
Our company is the best manufacturer of purple widgets.”
You think, “Oh, yeah? Big deal! That’s what the other guy said.”
Some sites are so confusing, you can’t even figure out how to navigate. You get a beautiful animated scene with flowers and flowing water. Maybe there are three or four circles that simply say “product.” Maybe it’s an entry to the site, or maybe it’s not. There’s no navigation buttons at all.
It’s a web master’s dream, and a copywriter’s nightmare! The end result is a searcher’s headache.
You finally find a site that says, “We understand your need for purple widgets to utilize in your manufacturing. You’re probably looking for them in three sizes. And maybe you’re having a delivery problem, too, because of the heavy demand for purple widgets. Look at our Product Page to see our vast array of purple widgets, Check out our 24-hour delivery.”
“Wow,” you think, “these people seem to understand my problem. I’ll read some more…”
Then, the Home Page tells you they have a white paper in a PDF download, available free, that will tell you how to use purple widgets, (and yellow ones, too!), for greater manufacturing efficiency. Sign up for it on the Contact Page.
You think, “This sounds interesting, I’ll order it.”
What this company has done is make themselves a friend, to you.
When you’re constructing a web site, the Home Page is where you make a friend. You begin bonding, and creating a relationship. People like to do business with someone they know. Be knowable. That means show you understand their problem.
Most people don’t like “in your face” selling. It’s sometimes called “the hard sell.” They don’t like people “in their face,” and they don’t like words in their face. Lead your reader kindly. Don’t scream at him (with all cap headlines), or yank him around!
Your searcher has a problem, or he wouldn’t even be looking at your site. Tell him, right away, how your product line will ease his problem, and you’ll make a friend. A friend becomes a customer.
The Home Page needs to have a great headline with benefits that illustrate the advantages he’ll enjoy by choosing you.
Then, craft a lead paragraph that grabs your reader’s interest, and helps him to feel you understand how he feels.
The copy that follows should then expand on the benefits, possibly adding a testimonial or two as proof, or referencing a clinical trial. At this point, you direct him to the pages that will describe your product line, and ask him to order.
You offer him a valuable “gift” for his time. This “gift” needs to be something that will appeal directly to his needs. Make it something closely associated with what he’s looking for. You then lead him deeper into your site.
As you get near the end of the page, tell him where to click next, where to look at your product line, where to order your products, and direct him to your contact page. “Let us know if you have questions.”
Only the Home Page has a lot of work to do. It must be done skillfully, subtly, and with respect for the reader’s mindset.
When you read other web sites, keep these values in mind. What do you like on their Home Page? How does your own Home Page measure up?
© Copyright 2008 Pam Magnuson Copywriting
In the past few years, I've analyzed over 1,000 nutraceutical and dietary supplement web sites, probably including yours.
The product page is where many marketers drop the ball. Many product pages are simply a list (long or short) with the name of the product, sizes available, and perhaps some statistical information. It’s sort of a "Here it is. Take it or leave it," approach.
You may be thinking that if your reader wants to know more, this will require him to contact you. But, why should he work that hard, just to end up talking to a pushy salesman? You won't make any friends doing it that way.
All that information is important, but it does nothing to sell your products. Other companies have the same or similar products.
Aside from minor price differences, why should a reader buy your products? There has to be more to it. After all, isn't selling your products the reason you have a web site?
This is where you tell all the benefits about your products and your company. Features are good. But benefits sell.
Tell your web site viewer about your shipping policies. Tell him about how your plants are grown and harvested. Explain your lab process. If your products are Non-GMO tell him that. If you will custom pack in special sizes that fit the customers’ unique requirements, say that.
If you provide services, explain what they are, and how those services will benefit your reader. You can tell them you'll be happy so send a complete descriptive brochure.
Think of your Product Page as a salesman representing your company. If your salesman said to your prospect, "We're selling ______ products. Are you ready to order?" you'd probably fire him on the spot!
Do you need to "fire" your current Products page? Get a Products Page that will actually sell your products and services.
Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the center, dividing it into two columns.
Label one side "Features" and the other side "Benefits." Next, write down the most outstanding features of your products.
On the benefits side, read each feature, and ask yourself, "This means that ..." Now you have a benefit.
Let's say for example, your feature is a package size is of10 gallons. What does that mean to the buyer? It's easy to handle. It takes less storage space.
Or another example might be that your product is Non-GMO. To the buyer that means the end product will have consumer appeal. And consumer appeal means that your buyer’s products will sell faster.
Remember, we're not selling grass seed, we're selling a more beautiful lawn. (Which is a pleasure to look at, and will be the envy of the neighborhood.) It also means fewer weeds to worry about.)
Know what you're really selling on your Products Page, and your sales will skyrocket!
© Copyright 2008 Pam Magnuson Copywriting
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