The 9 Most Powerful Leverage Points To Turn Website Visitors Into Customers

Copyright © 2004 James Rosenquist
Internet Marketing Pro.com
http://www.internetmarketingpro.com

High traffic counts are a worthless statistic unless it adds to
your bottom line.

Thousands of unique visitors a day to your website may seem like
an achievement, but you can't pay your mortgage with it. You
must learn to convert those visitors into buyers.

Increasing your website conversion rate (the percentage of
people that come to your website and then make a desired
action - like buying something), is the latest buzz among
Internet marketers and a highly sought after skill.

You could hire a conversion expert for thousands of dollars, buy
a course that promises miracle conversion increases, or you can
keep reading and learn 9 powerful principles that will increase
your conversion rate.


1. Attract the Right Visitors

You must embrace the shocking reality that not everybody wants
what you have to offer. If you are selling spoilers for Honda
cars, I don't want your product, even though I own a car, a
Honda even.

If you are selling very expensive shoes for women, my wife
doesn't want your product, even though she is a woman who
wears shoes. She isn't interested in the expensive part.

Do you see how you might possibly be attracting the wrong people
to your site?

Unless you really know why people buy your product, you can't
know who you are looking for. Market research, understanding
product benefits, and surveying your buyers all provide
laser-tight focus on who your target audience is, saving you
precious advertising dollars and increasing your conversion
rate.


2. Develop a U.S.P.

So you have decided to sell Fantasy Fiction Books online and
have started attracting the right audience. But ask yourself,
"Why should they buy from you instead of Amazon.com, Barnes &
Noble, or all the other booksellers on the Internet?"

Enter the Unique Selling Proposition, a simple statement that
communicates why buying from you is more advantageous than
buying from Competitor X.

Low price can be a USP, although not the only one. Walmart uses
it to devastate their competition. "Always low prices. Always."

Other USPs could focus on convenience, selection, quality,
reliability, better service…whatever need not being filled
in the industry or any benefit that you offer better than
the competition.

Developing a strong USP provides potential buyers an initial
incentive and a reason to come back again and again.


3. Write Good Sales Copy

Sales copy is simply words that attempt to persuade towards
action.

Good sales copy communicates the most powerful and compelling
reasons why someone should buy your product. It is geared toward
the benefit of the visitor, not your company. It includes an
attention grabbing headline that compels people to actually read
your copy. Reasons to buy are clearly listed and easily
recognized when scanning the page.

Sales copy is incredibly neglected yet one of the most powerful
leverage points in selling on the web. You will get many more
people to buy your products when you form a powerful argument
full of great reasons why they would benefit by buying from you.


4. Inspire Trust

People naturally don't trust businesses, especially online
businesses. If they haven't bought from you before, you have
a hurdle to overcome.

   * You can inspire trust by presenting testimonials of users
     that have bought, used, and benefited from your product.
     If you are in the B2B market, give case studies how your
     product or service benefited another business. Include
     specific numbers for greater credibility.
      
   * You can offer a powerful guarantee that shifts the burden
     of risk off of the buyer and back on to your company.
      
   * You need a solid and comprehensive privacy policy that
     tells people what you will do with their information.
     They probably won't read it, but they need to see it
     there.
      
   * You need your business contact information in a place
     people can find it.
      
   * You can tell people about what kind of security your
     shopping cart uses.
      
   * You can include seals from the Better Business Bureau or
     TrustE if you belong to those services.

Bottom line - fear can keep people from buying. You must
overcome that fear with facts that inspire trust.

5. Create a Powerful Offer

Begging your visitors to buy from you rather than your
competition is pointless. You must give better value, offer
stronger guarantees, and have more convenient payment options
than your competition.

For examples of powerful offers, watch infomercials that have
been on the air awhile. TV time isn't cheap and infomercials
that run for longer than a couple of weeks are probably making
good money. Even if you are turned off by the approach, examine
the offers and learn why people are buying those products.
Infomercial marketers help create offers so good sometimes you
feel foolish to pass them up.