Be Honest in Your Sales Copy

This might seem painfully obvious, but it’s amazing to me how many sites write checks their products can’t cash. Not only is honesty in your copy crucial to your business’ reputation, it also fosters and encourages trust in your brand. Don’t make claims you can’t substantiate, and don’t use hyperbole lightly – today’s consumers are hypersensitive to marketing BS, so be honest, straightforward, and approachable in all your sales copy, from your homepage to your email campaigns.

This PETA ad was pulled from billboards in the U.K. by the Advertising Standards Authority in 2013 for making unsubstantiated claims.

This principle also applies to how you position yourself as a business. Ever come across a site that’s obviously run by one or two people, but features copy that would be better suited to a multinational enterprise company? This approach not only makes you look foolish, it also damages your brand’s credibility. If you’re a small company, take pride in that and be upfront about it – many consumers are turning to smaller businesses precisely because of the more individualized, personal service they can offer. Don’t try to be something you’re not.

Source: wordstream.com

Build your brand awareness.

Grow Your Brand and Trust Brand awareness impacts trust (which impacts sales), repeat purchases, and even SEO.

The more people know (and trust) your brand name, the higher your sales will grow.

To improve brand awareness, focus on quality.

Create high-quality content consider influencer partnerships, partner with other businesses in your industry, don't neglect paid ads, and be active on social media.

Bill Widmer, Content Marketing & SEO Consultant Lon Safko, CEO, LonSafko.com Be everywhere.

You need to have all of your pages SEO'd with great content and really good images that have been tested.

You have to have a strong presence on Facebook, and depending upon your product, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Work all channels to drive prospects to your eCommerce location.

Jason Greenwood, Founder Greenwood Consulting & eCommerce Manager HealthPost NZ Build your brand authority & affinity.

Josh Braaten, CEO, Brandish Insights Build awareness.

Most companies battle for the expensive conversion terms.

Eric Yonge, CEO, EYStudios Use the full force of digital marketing to get people to your site but then make sure it is VERY easy for people to add to cart – the more buttons or steps it takes to checkout, the more likely people are to abandon their cart.



Source: bigcommerce.com

Do A/B testing

In real estate it’s about location, location, location. In conversion optimization, it’s testing, testing, testing. Experimentation is the best way to mitigate risk in decision making while allowing your creative teams room for innovation and exploration of new opportunities.

Wait! What’s A/B testing in the first place?

A/B testing (or split testing) is a technique for increasing your website’s conversion rate (that’s its ability to turn visitors into customers). If you had two possible headlines for your page and you couldn’t decide which to use, you could run an A/B split test to see which one works better.

You create two alternative versions of your page (page A and page B), each with a different headline. A/B testing software directs 50% of the incoming traffic to page A and 50% to page B. Both pages have a call to action, and in the end you count how many people took the action.

The page with more conversions (more people taking action) wins.

Your goal should be to have at least one, and preferably several A/B tests running at any given time on your site. There’s no such thing as “perfect” when it comes to marketing, your website, or product design, and the only way you learn about what works and doesn’t work is to continually test.

Source: cxl.com

Ensure that your store shows up in online search results

Now more than ever, consumers are turning to Google to find stores and products. Make sure that you’re showing up whenever they conduct a search relevant to your business. If you sell baby clothes, for example, then you want nearby customers to find your business whenever they run a search for “baby clothing store near me.”

You can do this by setting up business listings on Google, Yelp, Facebook, and other platforms. When creating your profile, add in as many details as possible. These include:

Name, address and phone number (Important: Ensure that these details are identical to what’s listed on your site and any other listings.)

Accurate business hours

Lots of reviews

Lots of visual content including recent photos, and if possible, a virtual tour of your store.

It takes a bit of extra time, but doing this will make your listing more attractive and, as a result, drive more traffic to your location and website.

Consider the example below. Which listing do you think gets more traffic: the one on the left, which contains detailed info, reviews, and lots of photos? Or the plain listing on the right? As far as appearances go, we’re willing to bet that the company on the left gets more business.



Source: vendhq.com

Stand out

Finding a product or service to solve a problem or fill a need is easier than ever in today’s online world. You can simply search, ask a few friends or look on social media platforms that you trust for comments about the company or product. Because of this, it’s important that your message stands out from the rest so that your prospect is drawn to you to solve their needs. Getting your potential customers to choose you begins with a unique first impression.

The message must speak to them: what is the pain they’re feeling (even if they don’t know that’s their pain yet)?

The delivery of your message must be compelling: make sure the messages you send are actionable.

Source: keap.com

Add Videos to Your Key Conversion Pages

Mashable claims that adding videos to some of your top landing pages can result in an increase in conversions averaging at 86 percent! Our brains process visual information about 60,000 times faster than text, which means that any visitors to your site absorb information in videos better than they would by reading text. Learning about your product or service will be much more effective through video than text.

A great example of adding a video to your home page can be found at Ditto Residential. Not only is their home page very appealing, but their large, high-resolution video is sure to draw in any visitor.

Source: convinceandconvert.com

Offer a Bulletproof Money-Back Guarantee

Oftentimes, one of the most powerful factors in a consumer’s decision not to buy something is risk aversion – the desire to avoid a potential loss. Most times, this perceived risk is a financial one. Why should someone buy your products? What if they don’t work, or the customer doesn’t like them? Even small purchases can carry the risk of “buyer’s remorse,” so overcome this objection from the outset by offering a bulletproof money-back guarantee.

The more risk you remove from the prospect’s decision, the more likely they are to buy from you, so take away anything that could dissuade prospects from buying from you.

Source: wordstream.com

Put customer reviews on product pages

While it may feel scary to let customers share both positive and negative comments about your products on your page, adding customer reviews can increase your sales. Moz found that 67% of customers are influenced by online reviews. And if a product consistently gets poor reviews, it’s a sign that you should either address the issues or discontinue the product. When adding reviews, let customers leave both a star rating and a comment. Make it as easy as possible for customers to write reviews. Even better, use an eCommerce platform with the feature built in.



Source: forbes.com