How to Make Visitors Reach For Their Wallets
November 13, 2009 Posted by SeanPlattGreat job! You’ve finally finished development of your killer new product. You’ve done your homework, your ducks are neatly lined in a row, and you’re ready to rule the world with your wonderful widget. Your web design is aces, the traffic nearly guaranteed, and your copy is so clean it practically sparkles. Now how can you make certain those who land on your page aren’t clicking away without reaching for their wallets?
The key is in conversion.
When a visitor first arrives at your site, you must be mindful of what you want them to do. Whether it’s signing up for your opt-in newsletter, or purchasing your product right from the get go, the full fruit of your endeavor will never be felt until the site is successful in every cylinder. Visitors don’t make a niche website successful, conversions do.
There are plenty of tools to help you climb to the top of Google. Attracting traffic is only part of the target. Conversion is where you’ll find your site’s true magic beans. The only thing that’s going to render it to reality however, is having the best landing page possible.
A landing page is the first thing you want your visitors see when arriving at your site. It must not only instantly convince your visitors to stay, it must drive them directly to action. If your landing page isn’t great, you are simply not going to convert. If it isn’t good, your visitors will barely be around long enough to register the visit.
The next time your sitting down to write a landing page, keep these four tips in mind to ensure it’s the best it can possibly be.
1) Install an exit pop-up into your page. When visitors are about to leave, they’ll see a pop up inviting them to stick around and receive an extra special discount. This tactic is best used when coupled with scarcity. Let the visitor know about your limited time offer. CAUTION: Scarcity works, but you should NEVER say anything that isn’t true. Credibility is exponentially more important than a sale.
2) Consider your opt-in IS your conversion, at least for now. Sure, you could make the sale straightaway, but perhaps that’s a bit short sighted. Perhaps it’s better to gather a name and address, steadily building a list of prospects for future conversion. A one time sale is nice, but by getting that visitor on your list, you might be making a long time customer.
3) Use an opt-in pop over. Feel comfortable with the knowledge ahead of time that though not everyone likes to buy, nearly everyone likes to get stuff so long as it’s free. Use an opt in pop over to provide your visitor with the option of receiving a free ebook in exchange for their email address. The sale is still your priority of course, but a visitor who leaves behind their email address is a lot better than a visitor who simply leaves.
4) The no pressure opt-in. Consider a landing page with absolutely nothing to sell. I know, I know, it’s the stuff of fairy tales and it probably leaves you wondering what the point could possibly be. It’s simple. If you have a well written landing page with nothing to sell, you should have little difficulty gathering opt-ins for whatever it is you’re offering. You might not be able to garner tens of thousands of sales, but a landing page built to gather leads might be a better paved road to riches after all.
The job of your landing page is to convert. What you are asking your visitor to convert to is entirely up to you. Just make sure you spend the time needed to make your landing page as bulletproof as possible.
Sean Platt and Danny Cooper help small businesses to build their websites and establish an effective online presence. Click the link to get the free report, “Why Your Business Needs a Website.”
34 Responses to “How to Make Visitors Reach For Their Wallets”
Very nice post. Writing content that sells is hard to do.
Yes many people do not realize how much more profitable an opt-in list can be compared to just getting one time sales. When you get people on your mailing list, you are given a priceless opportunity to keep reminding them about your website or product. You can also put them through a sales funnel of related offers. In most cases, something is bound to stick.
Wonderful post, I have an online shopping site, this is helpful.
Building a list is key because it creates an ongoing relationship. Conversion seems to be where many marketers struggle.. you’ve outlined some good points.
Really nice post Tayler. Its is difficult to set the market for sell that we wish. We should have powered to our skills.
Yep, building a list, even without the immediate sale is a smart thing. One lead could generate more than one sale in the future. 🙂
As much as I hate getting popups when entering and leaving sites, im sure it’s better having them than just losing the customer overall.
-Jack
nice tips… if i am able to do this .. i will be rich soon . thanks for this tips tyler , but do you think this tips will not decrease your loyal visitor… i thought everyone hate popups
If a landing page looks great, chances are, people will opt-in. It is quite frustrating when your conversion ain’t doing so well. Yes, I agree with earningsteps, that pop-ups are hated but I guess that depends on what you wrote in that pop-up. Thanks for this great post Tyler.
What I am worried about is making my new site look cheezy.
In other words, if a site is like Linda Christas College http://www.lindachristas.org
everything on the site has SOMETHING to do with education. There aren’t any ads for braces or shoes.
Same with Disney or IBM. It sort of labels a site as desperate to be advertising someone else’s stuff or products. It’s almost like saying, “Hey, my stuff isn’t good enough to support me, so I want you to buy this other guy’s stuff.”
What I really want to do is get MY site more visible rather than make someone else’s business more visible.
Any way to do that?
Gaston
Very nice post. Writing content that sells is hard to do and very intresting
Good writeup…all tips are great it will be very useful to get maximum visitors and earn good figure of money.
really looks to be an expensive project.. good luck man..
Wonderful post, I have an online shopping site, this is helpful.
Very nice post. Writing content that sells is hard to do.
thanks for the post. Yes i think after bringing some traffic to the website, and then the main thing that we should realize is the content of our website and the visitor behavior
nice tips… if i am able to do this .. i will be rich soon . thanks for this tips tyler , but do you think this tips will not decrease your loyal visitor
Really great article. It’s good tips, thanks.
Really great article thanks alot
super post thank you very much
Really great article thanks alot
is the best blog great post man
Very nice post
VERY NICE POST AND COMMENTS
Very nice tips from you tyler. it’s realy hard to convince people to buy products and let them reach their pockets.
This is a great post, a good landing page will get better conversions. Its very hard to make a good one that will get people to stay and buy your product.
Really great article. It’s good tips, thanks.
Tyler, Thanks Again.
I really enjoy reading your posts, and this one is fantastic! Keep up the good writing.
Regards, David
nice tips… if i am able to do this .. i will be rich soon . thanks for this tips tyler , but do you think this tips will not decrease your loyal visitor
This is a great post, a good landing page will get better conversions.
Was hoping for a bit more than “make sure you have an opt-in” or “oh crap, they’re leaving – show them the offer” for a post titled “How to make visitors reach for their wallets”. But the authors certainly hit on one point – Conversion is Key. These are certainly good points for what to do or how to reconsider “success” if your page is NOT converting, but how about some ideas on what can increase your conversion rate from the get go?
We redesigned our landing page two months ago and doubled our conversion rate overnight. There’s still room for improvement, but our key redesign points were:
1. Integrate 3rd party endorsements – If you’ve been lucky enough to get earned media coverage in a paper, magazine or news show, show off your success on your landing page. If not, put up some testimonials from your customers (with links to their blog/site). Other people endorsing your product will make your visitor trust your site more.
2. Offer a guarantee – How good is your product REALLY, if you’re not ready to stand behind it and offer a 100% money-back guarantee? Most affiliate offers will also come with this guarantee.
3. Clearly state that your offer is a limited time offer to lend some sense of urgency to your visitor to make a decision.
4. Make your product easy to understand and emphasize the Benefits to your visitor (not just the features) if they purchase your product.
Very nice post. Writing content that sells is hard to do. 😉
NO Pressure!!! Lol. Nice post.
Yep, building a list, even without the immediate sale is a smart thing. 😉