| Hello again Name and welcome to Eight ways to give your site personality - and how to get it at low cost If you've ever worked in sales or marketing, you'll know that most people buy on emotion and justify their decision with logic. We buy from people we like even if, rationally, it doesn't make the most sense. Your website challenge is to replicate what customers experience emotionally when they meet you. So that they'll buy from your site or take the action you're steering them towards. So how do you do it? How do you turn your website into an environment that's as unique as you? Here's eight tips.... 1. Write your content the way you'd say it in person. In other words use plain English. And don't be afraid to use a bit of colloquial language or slang - it adds colour to your style. This will make you sound like a real person. I use the Editor Software programme to help me keep my style in plain English. For a free 30 day trial click here . 2. Put your name and a picture of yourself on your site. It helps to build trust and reassures people that there's a real human being behind the site. Think about it, would you trust someone who never told you their name? That's why customer service people either wear nametags or introduce themselves by name. Customers want to know who they're dealing with, so don't be shy, show and tell them. 3. Use colours to stimulate different emotions. For instance blues and greens are relaxing..... red and orange generate excitement. You can experiment with colours to make But don't use too many or you'll put people off - two or three is probably the most you'll need. 4. You can use type to add variety to your 'tone of voice'. Techniques such as bolding, highlighting, underlining and capitals are ways of drawing attention to key points and adding rhythm to your style. They're the written equivalent of raising your voice or highlighting something important. 5. Use exclamation points sparingly. Too many people use them to emphasise what they think is humour. And too much excitement looks like you are trying too hard to sell!!!!! Remember the salesman's adage "everyone likes to buy but no one likes to be sold". 6. The more information you offer, the more likely people are to trust you. Remember the net is a place where people go for information. They're empowering themselves to make decisions...... you can help them by providing enough information about your product or service to make them feel like they're getting the full picture. 7. If you want an example check out my site here www.incisecomms.co.uk or go to http://www.marketingtips.com, Corey Rudl's site. He's one of the best internet marketers on the planet. Notice the home page is very calming with blues and straightforward information. Then click on the "Insiders Secrets" link and he socks it to you with red, yellow, bold, highlighting, CAPS and you can't help but get excited. And there's a picture of Corey too, reassuringly relaxed and smart-casual. (There's an alarming picture of me on my About Us page - I look like I think the camera's a lethal weapon). 8. If you want to make a real difference, you can record an audio or video of yourself or your customers talking about a new product or something relevant to your target audience. There's even a low cost way of creating animated graphics of yourself - like a cartoon. Check this programme out to see how easy it is - http ://www.howtocorp.com/sitepal So, you get the idea..... The point is that it DOES make a difference. These techniques are used by the best in the business and I guarantee it's not by chance. Now try it yourself. What's your site saying before people read the words? I'll bet that it's not doing everything it could. In your next session, we'll get to grips with how to ensure your email newsletters get through spam blockers. Look out for it in three or four days. Cheers for now, Paul NOTES 1. Please forward this course to anyone you think might find it useful, whether they're considering starting an online business or already running one. To get the email, they can sign up in less than 10 seconds at http://www.incisecomms.co.uk 2. As a reader of my course, you're my most important critic and commentator. I welcome all reader feedback. Email me anytime at paullock@incisecomms.co.uk 3. If you really don't find the course useful, then reply to this email with the subject field 'unsubscribe'. I'd appreciate any feedback. 4. Lastly, I've taken every care to check the information and advice I give. However, I regret that I can't be responsible for any loss that you may suffer as a result of the advice or from any omission or inaccuracy. This disclaimer also applies to 3rd party links. © Paul Lock 2005. All rights reserved. No copying or extraction without permission from service@incisecomms.co.uk |