If you are like most marketers you have a snazzy website that you either spent good money on or you have laboured to build yourself. Now all you have to do is promote it. Right? WRONG! Before you spend one dime to promote your website, read this article. Don\u2019t make the same mistake made by 90% of marketers that costs them thousands and thousand of dollars, lost leads and lost sales.<\/p>\n
You do NOT want to promote your website as your primary method of generating leads. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n
If your website is like 99% of those I have reviewed, it\u2019s copy dense. You\u2019ve got links, video, flash, offers, affiliates, graphics, pages, charts, forms, RSS Feeds, blogs, Twitter feeds, the Daily Weather, and a little or a lot of other organized chaos. The viewer (your potential buyer) doesn\u2019t know here to look, what to click on, it\u2019s information OVERLOAD. \u00a0(This is all great for key word content for Search Engine Optimization or general promotion but NOT the best way for generating leads). The result is immediate. If they don\u2019t instantly see what they want they click OFF. Say Goodbye to your lead! \u00a0You might as well add, \u201cSorry I wasn\u2019t a little more clever about helping you get what you want so I could get what I need.\u201d The SMART marketer understands this and says, I want to meet the needs of \u00a0my viewers. I want to convert my viewers into leads. That means giving your visitors a positive FAST loading experience with an immediate offer and a call to action. This is a very precise experience with a very specific message and directive. How do you this? \u00a0By creating what is called a Landing Page strictly for promotional purposes.<\/p>\n
What is a Landing page? It\u2019s also known as a Squeeze page because you are squeeeeezing information from the viewer, converting the looker into an actual lead. The concept is simple, pitch an offer, the looker completes a form. \u00a0They are enticed by the offer, you get a lead. You\u2019ve converted a looker into a LEAD!<\/p>\n
Why is the promotion of Landing Page(s) INSTEAD of your website critical? It\u2019s simple. Keep your potential buyers happy and YOU will get better advertising results. Specifically, a fast-loading landing page that includes a headline with an immediate benefit and a call to action. Example: HERE\u2019s what you GET! Followed by punchy benefits of what else they get, concluding with an offer and a lead form.<\/p>\n
Now, here is a critical point for all you advertisers who think graphics are the king, that more is better. Take a \u00a0quick lesson from an experienced marketer (who is also a designer). If you do nothing else to improve your ad copy \u2013 get rid of the fancy and weighty images. Often an overabundance of graphics detracts from your marketing message. \u00a0 We have tested boring simple text ads against the exact same ad copy on a rich graphic landing page. Guess what? \u00a0The simple ugly plain text ads consistently got higher click rates than the graphical ones. We eliminated instant play video, got rid of flash, and used just really good ad copy. \u00a0Landing pages with no video perform better than those with video. \u00a0Why is this? Videos can take a while to load and may not add immediate value to what you offer. You often have less than 30 seconds to get your message into the brain of the viewer. Well-chosen key words get in the brain of your potential buyers IMMEDIATELY when time and limited attention is critical. \u00a0We humans are greedy. This is a fact. We have short attention spans. We want something and we want it now. Smart marketers recognize this and tell people what they can get and how to get it if they act now!<\/p>\n
One of the powers of a Landing Page comes from the fact that you can create a specific Landing Page for EVERY product you offer. \u00a0You can create them quickly and test them. If you create a dud that gets no result, replace it by creating another. \u00a0Many advertising sources offer an option to pause a campaign which means you can cancel one ad and replace it with another more effective one before your ad dollars are depleted. \u00a0Compare this to making edits to a web site that can take considerable time for major marketing changes, while a Landing page can be put up and taken down in minutes.<\/p>\n
Finally, remember where you are marketing \u2013 online. \u00a0Full page colour graphic ads do well in a full page print ad. My guess is that you don\u2019t have the 10 K + for a fully page glossy ad. \u00a0You are most likely relying on the tried true tested forms of free an low \u00a0cost advertising like Traffic Exchanges and Safelists. \u00a0These are powerful ways to promote your product or service and are ideal for simple Landing Pages. In fact you WANT a fast loading simply ad for Safelists and Traffic Exchanges because you have a very limited (20 sec or less) to get these people attention. \u00a0Keeping it simple is just as effective now as it always has been. \u00a0 Graphics used effectively can bring your ad alive, but very few other than professionals can master this combination of copy and graphics to solicit response.<\/p>\n
Ok, I want to make sure I have made this point clear as it is so very important. \u00a0Use LANDING PAGES to generate leads for specific products \u00a0or services. \u00a0Use your website to promote your company in general. Landing Pages are ALL about the reader and turning them into a lead. \u00a0If you want to stock your website with page after page about product development, research, \u00a0your years in business, how wonderful you are and your customers think you are, put all of that on your website. Content about your company, products and services is of course valuable for many reasons, post it to your site but don\u2019t rely on this as you one and only lead generator.<\/p>\n
Now, let\u2019s dig a little deeper into your advertising strategy. \u00a0Look at your ad or your landing page. I mean really look at it.<\/p>\n
Do you have a clear benefit headline to get attention. Do you follow this headline up with benefit-laden offers, reason after reason why people have to act now! Do you include an invitation to DO IT NOW offer that will motivate your reader to become a buyer! Or if not a buyer at least to take some action \u2013 \u00a0to respond to your offer, join your newsletter, try a free sample, participate in a free trial. Whatever get them to DO something! You accomplish this with well written offers not with blinking links, and boring videos that take forever to load. Have you included an OPTIN to your company mailing, newsletter, product updates etc? \u00a0This is a CRITICAL inclusion. A Landing page doubles as a List Building Tool. \u00a0Do not underestimate this. Landing pages and list building work hand in hand as required marketing tools.<\/p>\n
Review your advertising material. Is it about YOU or is it about your potential buyer? If the ad is more about how wonderful you are then about how beneficial your product or service is to the user, you have what is called an EGO ad. Your ad should NOT be about you, or your company, or that you are family owned business, or that you support charities. \u00a0Your ad has one purpose: to tell people all the benefits of what your product\/services offers and why they need to act now to get it! \u00a0Want a quick lesson in this strategy? Watch late night infomercials. See how these infomercials verbally hit you over the head INSTANTLY with all the BENEFIT OF X product. You are drawn in more and more because they offer you X, then add Y to it. But wait if you buy now you get X, Y and Z too! \u00a0Watch how they give you the pitch, make the offer, then make a better offer, and than a limited time offer to motivate you into action NOW!! Great marketing offers value and a sense of urgency to get an immediate action.<\/p>\n
Ok here is your homework. \u00a0If you don\u2019t have an ad strategy that accomplishes this you have failed your first lesson in online marketing. \u00a0Go back write it again, take away distraction of video and flash. Whittle your ad down to ONLY what matters to the buyer. \u00a0Get back to basics. Your goal is always to compel action. Don\u2019t risk making anyone wait to see what you offer. Get to the point instantly. Web surfers are easily bored. \u00a0Get their attention INSTANTLY or they are gone! You may get a hit on your ad, but you can quickly send people away with a poorly thought out advertising strategy. \u00a0Advertising that does not generate leads and sales will eat up your hard-earned dollars faster than my dog woofs down his doggie chow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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