How_To_Make_Your_Site_Visitors_Do_What_You_Want_Them_To_Do

How To Make Your Site Visitors Do What You Want Them To Do! Quick! hink about your website. If I were to pop out of your screen in the next few seconds and ask you why you've got one, and what its purpose is, would you be able to tell me on the spot? Every site has a purpose, and every site owner has a goal. Regardless of whether you're selling products, information, or nothing at all, you want your visitor to reap the benefits of visiting your site. In an ideal situation, you'd be right beside your site visitor showing them where to click and what to do. This isn't always possible, so read on and let me show you: How To Make Your Visitors Do What You Want Them To Do! Let's say you're in a mall with $50 in your hand and want to buy some T-shirts. You come across a store that has a huge sign blocking the doorway, upon which the company's logo is prominently and proudly displayed. Looking around at the other stores, you think, "This is ridiculous! I'm here to buy t-shirts, not look at a fancy logo." Still a little curious, you move the sign aside and have a peek inside. On one rack, you see that women's pants are on the same rack as men's overcoats. The mannequins are all wearing strange assortments of clothes that clearly do not match, while everywhere there are banner ads for completely unrelated products hanging from the ceiling. At this point, you promptly step back from the doorway and walk to another store which has been laid out better. Sadly enough, this is the exact same way 90% of the world's business-oriented websites work. If you want your viewers to buy from you, to contact you, or to simply sit and enjoy your site, you've got to plan it properly! 1) It's The Headline They Should See First. If you get the newspaper delivered to your door every day, you'll notice there are three things you'll look at first: The headline, the photo on the front page, and the area above the paper's logo which shows the featured articles of the day. In your case, the publisher has already made the sale and wants you to continue buying their papers because you enjoy reading them, so the headlines are there to get you to dig in. In the case of people walking by a newsstand, the paper is designed in such a way so that the headlines or photos will grab their attention. Your site should be laid out the same way. Are you selling products? Make sure you've got a headline or banner saying any one of the following: "Sale! Click Here to Save!" or "Buy one, get one free! Click for Details!" or "50% off! Click Here!" Are you selling information? Try these headlines on for size: "Get 10 FREE reports when you sign up for our newsletter!" "Click here for details on 3 FREE courses that will help you build your online business!" Or are you selling dreams? It's all the same: your headline MUST be speaking to your viewer directly and it MUST imply immediate action. "Are you broke? Don't wait another minute! Click here to find out how you can make money from home!" 2) Use Graphics To Your Advantage. Many sites have graphics on them just for the sake of having graphics, be it a fancy logo, buttons that change color when you move your mouse over them, sometimes even animated images that have nothing to do with the site itself. While a site's logo is important for branding purposes, it should never be the focus of a site, and in the case of the clothing store analogy above, should NEVER get in the way! Don't be afraid to move the logo aside and replace it with a headline, it will only be a benefit to you (and your visitor). After all, you don't want people looking at your logo, you want them looking at the things that'll make you money! In addition, any one of the headlines in Point 1 above will make excellent buttons for your viewers to click on. The advantage of using graphics in this case, rather than plain text, is that now you can add arrows, numbers, or bursts to let your viewer know what they should be paying attention to. If you're selling products, whether it's T-shirts, calculators, books, widgets or gadgets, you'll definitely want to showcase your best-priced and highest-profit items first, just as you would as if it were a retail store in a mall. The simple rule of thumb is as follows: every graphic on a site should have an action associated with it. 3) Spell It Out For Your Viewer! Don't be afraid to limit the number of choices you give to your visitors right away; you'll find that more often than not, it will work to your advantage. Regardless of your site's purpose, your visitors will appreciate the fact that you've taken the time to properly show them the steps necessary to getting the most out of your site. If your site's focus is to help people make money online, combine Points 1 and 2 above and create numbered headlines to show your visitors exactly what they need to do to get started. This is far more effective than throwing a hundred links in their face and expecting them to know what to do next! If you're selling a lot of products from your site, obviously you don't want to put them all on the front page. Categorizing your products or services properly will ensure that the people serious about buying will find what they want easily, and it will also increase the chances that a first-time viewer will buy from you. To sum it all up, your best bet in having an effective site is to think of a real-world application, be it a clothing store, grocery store, or hardware store. Lay out your site the same way you'd lay out your store, with your best deals and highest-profit products or services first. Don't forget that headlines and color bursts are good at pulling in new customers, but be careful-- having a banner or button that's too flashy will have the same negative effect as shining a strobe light into someone's eyes. Lastly, think about how you could hold your visitor's hand and show them around your site; having a site that's well-organized is always effective and always appreciated! The three tips above are but a fraction of all the tools in a marketer's toolbox. If you think your site needs some help, let me know! I'll give you ten tips on how you can make it more effective, regardless of what you're selling! If you contact me today, I'll take $50 off the price of Worldprofit's famous Site Review Service! Come on folks, for $99.95, it's a steal! Hit reply or mailto:customerservice@worldprofit.com now! About the author: Jody Hatton, Web Designer and Flash Extraordinaire, knows exactly how to market your message using the Web's most exciting medium: Flash animation! Have a look at his latest and greatest Flash piece, which has helped Worldprofit and other businesses pull in thousands of leads: http://www.worldprofit.com/uhbp/ Questions? mailto:customerservice@worldprofit.com