Tell prospects immediately if they're on the right web page
There was a time when several of the search engines had buttons that said something like, "Click here to visit a randomly-selected web site." Years ago, the Internet was fun. It was new and exciting, and web surfers would click links just to see what kind of stuff they could find on the web.
Today, surfers don't surf. They cringe as they click links, hoping that the website they visit won't install some kind of spyware or malware on their hard drive, or fill their screen with pop-ups and pop-unders.
Make your website visitors understand immediately that they've reached a professionally designed website that has been carefully crafted to help them solve a problem. Ensure that your site loads quickly on all major browsers, and display your best sales pitch immediately.
Show website visitors the big picture
You and I both know that you're selling software. But your web site visitors have no idea if you're selling desktop and laptop software, an online solution, a book, an audio or video training seminar, or some product or service that has absolutely nothing to do with software or with solving their problem.
Every day, millions of users look at websites for three or four seconds, and hit their "back" button, to return to the search engine in the hope of finding a site that really might solve their problem. Tell visitors immediately what you're all about.
Don't put them to sleep by saying "Welcome to the Widget, Inc. website". Don't bore them with useless generalities about how your products are designed to solve their problems. They don't care about your mission statement. They care about finding a solution to their problem. Now.
Tell them, in a single, easy-to-understand sentence, what your website is all about.
Answer the big questions immediately, clearly, and often
Before users read a single word of your sales pitch, they want to know that you understand and can address their big-picture problem.
Buying windshield wiper blade replacements
When you look for replacement windshield wiper blades, you don't read each package to find out what kind of rubber they're made of, or what kind of metal alloys are used in the manufacturing process, or what adhesive is used to bond the rubber to the metal. The only thing that you care about is whether the blades in your hand will fit on your car. You're looking for words like "Toyota" and "Ford", and then for words like "Corolla" and "Taurus".
Buying printer cartridges
When you look for inkjet replacement cartridges for your printer, you don't read each box to learn how many pages you can print from the cartridge, or how many years the printed pages will last without fading. You're looking for words like "Hewlett-Packard" or "Epson", and then you're looking for specific printer model names.
Buying software
When people look for software to buy, they don't care initially about the features or benefits that you offer. They have two questions: "Will this software run on my computer?", and "How much does it cost?"
You need to put platform and pricing information all over your home page and your product pages. And you need to tell visitors in terms that they will understand. If you're selling software to store clerks and bank tellers and other regular prospects, and you say that your application runs on all 32-bit Windows systems, then you're driving your prospects into your competitors' arms. There's not one end-user in a hundred who knows what "32-bit Windows" means, or what version of DirectX they have installed, or what you mean when you say 9x or W2K. Luckily, you have at least one competitor who explains, in plain English, what platforms are supported, so the world economy continues to be healthy.
Build your sales presentation, one sentence at a time
After you've written a paragraph, read each sentence aloud, and ask yourself, "Does this help me close the sale?". If your prospects can read a sentence and say, "Who cares?" or "What on earth does that mean?" or "How does this solve my problem?", then delete the sentence, or rewrite it. Every word of every sentence has to contribute to making the sale. Edit your sales presentation mercilessly. Eliminate the noise so your prospects can hear the sales presentation.
Don't write like you talk
Write like your customers talk. If you're selling programmers' tools or developers' components, then you can talk to them in techie-babble. But if you're selling to consumers, business people, educators, parents, or other non-programmers, then talk to them in plain English, or they'll buy from your competitor.
Don't use words like extensible and scalable. When an end-user sees gibberish like this, they know that your user manual and help file are written in techie gibberish, too. Their choices are to buy from your competitor, or to spend days or weeks learning to speak techie-talk. There are plenty of other solutions to their problem, none of which require them to learn a new language.
Use "you" and "your" and "you're" on your website. Write in a relaxed, conversational style. You're not writing an article for Scientific American magazine. You're writing a sales presentation, and you should be talking to your prospects.
Learn the technical jargon of your target audience. Use the terms that they're used to hearing in their day-to-day work, and be sure you're using the terms correctly. While it's important to use the jargon of the industry that you're selling into, be aware that people who are new to that industry may not fully understand its vocabulary. Just as you don't want to lose them with techie-jargon, you don't want to lose them with their industry's jargon, either.
Talk about benefits
Include both features and benefits in your write-up. Some buyers already know what features they need, and they're comparison shopping. But most prospects don't know why they need a print-screen program or a Windows clipboard extender or a keyboard macro until you tell them how they'll benefit from owning one. A long list of features won't close the sale. Hook people on the benefits of buying your software.
Write simply
If a prospect reads your home page and says, "This is really nicely written!", then you've failed. Your mission is to get your website visitors thinking about how their lives would be improved if they had your software installed on their computers. Instead, you have them thinking about your writing style. Use common words in short, simple sentences to describe how they'll benefit from using your app. Simple writing doesn't have to be boring. Use words in unusual ways. Vary your sentence structure. Be sure your site will be understood by people who read English as a second language.
Appeal to emotions
It's not enough to appeal to a prospect's logical left brain. Make an impression on that person's right brain, too. Tell them that they deserve to own your program. Do they worry that their competitors are gaining on them, but believe that buying your software will keep them from falling behind? Tell them how they'll save time or save money.
Don't be afraid to address price
Your sales message could explain that your prospects will recover the price of your software in just a few months. They'll increase their accuracy and efficiency. They'll save time, and look more professional with your app helping them in the workplace. Don't make price an afterthought. Don't let price be the "tie breaker" between your software and your competitors' programs. Introduce price early, and talk about value, early and often.
Lead with your strong points
Tell prospects immediately why they need your software. Point out that your app has features and benefits that they simply can't find anywhere else in the marketplace. Tell them why your program is unique, and why they should buy it. Now.
The bottom line - Fine-tune the wording on your website, and you'll sell more software. Make changes, and test the impact on sales.
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