Killer Sales Copy Only Gets You So Far
By Richard Fujimoto   ©2004 All Rights Reserved

"Without killer copy you're doomed from the start..."

"Words sell! Pretty pictures do nothing for you..." You've probably heard this a million times from experts and amateurs alike. Sales copy is the end-all, be-all of online web success. I'm here to tell you it is not. Killer sales copy can only get you so far in this ever-evolving e-business revolution. But what do your visitors see for that split second that your web site finishes loading? What aspect of your Internet Company do potential customers have to judge you by? It's not your words... Your web site's design - that's what. You must design a web site that has more than just words, more than just your sales letter. It must instantly convey a sense of professionalism, show that you take pride in your web site (which is your online identity). Now I'm not saying that pictures will make the sale, or that having a logo will increase your sales by 234% (or whatever percentage you'd like). We all know that your sales letter will do that. But when your visitors land on your homepage, when they click on your banner - you had better have a professional looking site that instantly positions your company as a respectable entity or you can say good-bye to them.

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Allow me to offer some tips on how you can design your site to be a marketing friendly environment for your endeavours: 1. Use a consistent navigation system. If you decide to have links on your pages to 4 different sections of your web site, try to use the same links in the same place on every page. There are of course exceptions, but this rule should hold true with the majority of the web sites. Try to follow the 3-Click Rule: "Any major page must be accessible to the visitor from anywhere in your site in 3-Clicks or less." 2. Color is your friend! Pick colors that work well together or produce color harmony. If you need help, purchase a calendar with all those pretty nature pictures and use each picture as a color palette. You will find that Mother Nature has impeccable taste when it comes to color co-ordination. 3. Get rid of the big red and yellow tables! Anything that is big and bright on your site - get rid of it. It's hard on the eyes and you probably scare visitors away with it. If you need to draw attention to an aspect of your site - use contrast - those big-red squares do not contrast well with white backgrounds. Wouldn't you think a darker color would do better with white text? 4. Create a logo and use it everywhere. It surprises me how many small companies don't bother with a logo. If you're going to be successful in this business you need something that people can remember you by. Half of the population will remember your name, while the other half will remember what your logo looked like. It doesn't have to be anything fancy... could be simple text - but the fact is; you need a logo. 5. Consistency and similarity between pages. Your web site should be consistent or uniformed so that each page resembles each other. In general your site should keep in tact some of the same aspects as the rest of your site. So, from the 5 tips what have you gathered? Our professional web site should have an overall structure to it. We don't want a site that is simply text on a white background. Sites like that have their place on the Internet and e-commerce isn't one of them. We should use color on our site - not just any colors though. We want to create color harmony by using colors that work together. A logo is sometimes forgotten or dismissed since it serves no real purpose. I suggest that you create a logo, use it on every page of your web site and make it synonymous with your company. The tip I hope you remember if you remember nothing else is consistency. Your site should have a consistent theme, structure and colors. If you placed a logo in the top left, place it there on every page. Likewise for your navigation, if you placed it along the left side of your web site, place it there on every page. We've touched on topics that will help your company's brand. You see; these are all areas of marketing that most businesses dismiss as: "... Only for the Big Boys... " The steps required for you to create a professional web site that is both result-driven and successful is not rocket science. Branding is not for the "Big Companies" as some would have you believe. Sure sales copy will always be critical to your success, but your web site's design is what will get them to read it!

Come on over and see why Richard argues that your web site's design is far more crucial than your sales copy. Vist him at: http://www.webdesignsells.com - or get some more free web design and marketing tips at
http://www.fujicreations.com

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