7 Tips To Generate More Leads, Sales & Profit From Your Web Site

Ron Jobson, president of ForSight Marketing, shares proven strategies for small and mid-size businesses to leverage their web site.

June 15, 2007
Found in: Articles : Editorial : Web Site Marketing & Strategy :

With more and more consumers using the web to make or research their purchases, it's critical that your web site is designed to educate and nurture prospects until they're finally ready to buy.

Ron Jobson, president of Enthusiast Partner ForSight Marketing in Pasadena, works with clients from a variety of industries and assists in getting the highest ROI on their marketing dollar. For businesses that want to generate the most leads, responses and profit from their web site, Jobson offers the following simple, easy-to-implement strategies:

1. Focus as much on your content as your web design.

No matter how well-designed your web site is, you can only turn web visitors into actual customers by giving them a compelling reason to choose you…and that's the job of your content! Write content that is focused on your customer, not on you. Don't just list your services and products or rely on your company's history. When prospective customers visit your site, the majority of them are looking to be educated so that they can make the best decision possible. Tell them why you are better or different than the competition, and educate them about what really matters.

2. Include a risk-free offer on your homepage.

When prospects visit your web site, the easiest thing for them to do is…NOTHING! That's why you have to offer them a low-risk way to take the next step in the buying process. You can easily do this on your web site by offering visitors a free report, guide, brochure, seminar, or CD/DVD (or discounts and financial incentives when appropriate). The goal of this information is to educate prospects and help them feel in control of their purchase. Be sure to feature this offer prominently on your homepage, and make sure you collect contact information for each visitor who responds to your offer. That way, you can build a database of those prospects and begin to proactively market to them.

Not sure what to offer? Try finishing this headline for your industry: "What You Need To Know Before Buying/Choosing…" A real estate professional could offer a free report entitled, "What You Need To Know Before Buying A Condo Or Townhome", or an insurance broker could offer a report entitled, "What You Need To Know Before Choosing An Insurance Provider For Your Business". Complete your report by writing 5 or 10 relevant tips, and you can quickly have a free offer piece that educates your prospects and facilitates their decision-making process…so that when they are finally ready to buy, they'll choose you!

3. Offer an e-newsletter on your web site.

An e-newsletter is an easy, cost-effective way of educating your prospects and communicating with them frequently, consistently and systematically. Make sure your e-enewsletter content is relevant, educational and interesting, and include a link to your e-newsletter on your homepage so visitors can subscribe. In return, you get to create a database of email addresses for new leads and proactively educate them on a monthly or even weekly basis!

4. Write articles for other e-newsletters.

Identify related but non-competing businesses and submit articles for free publication in their e-newsletters. These articles should focus on educating their specific customers with relevant and useful information. Just make sure your article includes a link to your web site. This is a highly effective way to access another company's existing database and make your own web site visible to another business' customers.

5. Use all of your marketing pieces to drive prospects to your web site.

Be sure to include your web address, or URL, in every letter, postcard, brochure, ad, etc., that you write. But don't just put your URL as part of your contact information and assume prospects will visit your site. You have to give them a reason to visit your web site. For instance, next time you write a sales letter, include something like:

P.S. Go to www.domain.com and download our FREE report: "17 Simple Ways To Increase The Profitability Of Your Medical Practice."

These type of offers should be included in all of your marketing pieces to drive prospects to your web site. You can also use custom URLs, such as www.domain.com/freereport, in each of your marketing pieces so that you can actually track which pieces are generating the most leads.

6. Optimize your web site with Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and other tools.

Fine-tune your web site and use the most popular key words so that each web page gets a high ranking in online searches. For many businesses, SEM can be a time-consuming process, so consider outsourcing your search engine positioning to ensure your web site is generating the maximum number of leads and sales.

7. Put a comprehensive marketing plan in place.

Your web site has the potential to be your most effective marketing tool, but remember that a web site is only one piece of a comprehensive marketing plan. If you're serious about growing your business, you need to put a systematic plan in place and make sure you're creating ads, letters, postcards, etc., that can effectively drive prospects to your web site and eventually convert them into customers.

To find out more about the unique marketing strategies of Enthusiast Partner ForSight Marketing, or to download your FREE report called, "Eliminate the Guesswork in Your Marketing – How to Test & Save Yourself Thousands", visit www.forsightmarketing.com.