Carl Christian Anton Christensen [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
You love your spankin' new website. You're expecting it to get you clients and make some sales.
You did the Facebook ads and PPC like you were told, and you even got a bunch of traffic (you can tell because Facebook is sending you the bill!)
But nothing else is happening… CRICKET.
You go about asking for feedback and opinions.
"People" start telling you stuff. They've good intentions, and go down some checklist of "best practices" to help you troubleshoot.
Now you're feeling deflated. You're overwhelmed with the 39 improvements and enhancements, wondering when this website project thing (now a time- and money-suck) is going to end.
Good news – it's not all doom and gloom!
First, congrats -you've launched the damn thing so instead of wondering if something is going to work you now have data and responses to show you how visitors actually interact with your content so you can see what works and what doesn't.
Now you have the baseline to fine-tune and course correct by looking at the right information.
"People" can theorize and talk till they turn blue. The best indication of effectiveness is "conversion."
Conversion doesn't necessary mean getting your stuff sold.
Conversion indicates how well your visitors are responding to your calls-to-action and taking the next step, whether it's clicking the buy now button, signing up to get your freebie, sharing your blog post on social media or getting in touch for a discovery session.
Instead of scrambling to tweak and change everything (and probably throwing the baby out with the bathwater,) sit down, take a chill pill and follow these 3 troubleshooting tips to keep your sanity and increase your conversion:
1. Who are those "people" telling you stuff?
Opinions are a dime a dozen. Anybody can give "advice"… you're the only one responsible for discerning what actions to take and therefore, the consequences.
If you listen to everyone who chimes in, you'll be spinning your wheels into eternity.
Before you jump to changing anything, consider who's giving the feedback…
Are those "people" your ideal clients? Or…
Are those "people" just some random dude in a Facebook group who has taken a few marketing trainings and want to be a know-it-all?
Inputs from experts are great start, but not enough.
There're many ways to achieve a certain result. If the strategies and tactics don't resonate with your values and convictions, or tap into your strengths and superpowers, you won't be able to implement them with aligned energy.
Plus, are those experts taking the time to understand YOU and your business, or are they just giving some "canned advice" that points to their products and services… like, when you're holding a hammer everything is a nail?
IMHO, there are two kinds of "people" to listen to:
(1) People in your niche (aka your ideal clients) that are actually going to buy your stuff when you're able to articulate your relevance, and
(2) "Experts" who take the time to understand your circumstances and give you thoughtful insights that don't necessary point to their products or services. The intention should be to help you diagnose the root cause of your challenges so you can hire the right person to fix the right issue.
2. What's the quality of your traffic? How are you directing the traffic?
If visitors are coming to your site yet nothing else happens (which can be translated into high bounce rate in your analytics,) you may want to evaluate the quality of your traffic.
You don't want every human being who can fog a mirror to click on your FB ad – that'd make your campaign ROI really suck.
Targeting is critical, and more importantly, you've to consider the user flow to create a cohesive experience.
Your products, services and bigger message probably covers more than what you can say in one FB ad.
If you direct all your traffic to your homepage, for example, you may be creating a disconnect when visitors click through an ad to your site.
When they click on an ad, they expect to see content that directly relates to that ad. You may need to strategically direct your traffic, or even create versions of your landing page to speak to specific audience segments or campaigns.
If you're running an ad or social media campaign, consider…
1. Is it targeted to the right audience?
2. Is the message a match to those you're targeting?
3. Is the message on your website landing page (i.e. the page they land on when they click your link) congruent with the message on your ad?
3. Are your message and CTA specific?
Now as you continue the narrative and follow your user's journey, consider whether the message and call-to-action (CTA) on your landing page are focused and specific.
It's tempting to put everything and the kitchen sink on a landing page or homepage. Don't.
Within the first 8 – 10 seconds, your visitors are going to decide if you've what they want, and whether to stay or not.
What's the ONE message they see that's going to show them what you've is what they want? How are you communicating your unique positioning and personality to create connection and resonance right off the bat?
Even just more than one CTA can cause confusion, and the confused mind says "no."
What's the ONE main goal of that landing page? What do you want that landing page to do for your business? Craft all the content and CTA with that ONE goal in mind.
If you're driving traffic to your homepage and multiple CTAs is necessary based on your business goals and carefully considered user experience, then make sure there's a hierarchy to those CTAs so it's apparent what you want your visitors to do.
Never serve up a platter of brain dump and ask your visitors to figure it out. They won't. They'll leave your site. Ouch.
Ling Wong:: Intuitive Brainiac | Copywriting Alchemist. Through her unique blend of Business + Marketing coaching/consulting with a Mindset + Psychic Twist, she helps the maverick-preneurs uncover, articulate & transform their WHY into content that connects, resonates and converts – by way of an intuitive yet rigorous iterative process born out of her Harvard Design School training and 10 years of experience in the online marketing industry.
For more tips and resources on content marketing and copywriting at http://business-soulwork.com/category/tips/content-marketing-tips/
Get her brand new WEBSITE COPY ALCHEMY video at http://business-soulwork.com/free-alchemy/.
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