This article may come as a surprise to you.
Especially since it is written by a web designer. Let me explain......
Rescue Your Web Site from Boring Words and Poor Design.
The difference between a successful website design and a site that brings in zero or very little business is not how nice the graphics are, not the colors you choose. It's not the flashy animation, and it's not your precious company logo.
I'm not saying to remove these elements. Some of them are important. But they're mostly ego-driven. They are "me" messages, and have absolutely nothing to do with what you want your visitor to do.
And what is that you ask? The answer is of course. You want your visitors to buy something.
People who are considering doing business with you are only interested in one thing; "What's In It For Me?"
One of the first steps toward a successful website is writing copy that tells the reader what's in it for him, in a style that is easy to read.
Make More Cash
Study any website that makes money and I promise you'll see the following copy elements in place:
In the main body copy, the text color is always black with a white background, making it easy to read. This should be obvious, but it's amazing how many websites out there do not follow this very basic guideline.
Testimonials, and other secondary elements commonly use a contrasting font such as courier, courier new. The background in light blue, beige, or yellow shade to make it stand apart from the white background of the main body copy.
Verdana is the most widely used font for your body copy. This font was actually developed for use in the web. Times New Roman, Arial, and Georgiana are also popular. Never use more than two different font faces in your sales copy.
The use of yellow highlights, italics and bold font-style for emphasis.
Headlines and Subheads are usually a contrasting color from the black body text. A shade of red, dark green and dark blue are good colors. However, do not use more than three or four different colors.
Sentence and paragraph font size is commonly between 8pt. and 12pt. Never smaller than that, and never bigger.
Headlines and sub headlines usually between 14pt. and 18pt.
Paragraphs never justified. Most common is left-margin with no indent.
How To Write Successful Headlines
In your sales copy you need an attention-grabbing headline and a compelling sales message full of benefits, clearly describing what your product or service is all about.
Legendary copywriter Ted Nicholas author of 14 best-selling books including "Magic Words That Bring You Riches" has these excellent tips on writing headlines
"Start with a well thought out headline."
"Five times as many people read the headline as the body copy. It makes sense, therefore, to spend the major portion of your effort on headlines."
"A good headline motivates action by stirring an emotion"
"Write as many as 250 headlines before settling on one"
13 Proven Headline Words
Announcing...
Secrets of...
New...
Now...
Amazing...
Facts you...
Breakthrough...
At Last...
Advice to...
The truth of...
Free...
How would...
How to...
How To Write Attention-Grabbing First Sentences
Joe Sugarman (of blu-blocker sunglass fame) and author of best-selling book "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word" has these tips on writing first sentences;
"Keep it short, sweet and almost incomplete."
For example:
It's easy.
It had to happen.
It's time.
It's crazy.
The sole purpose of the first sentence is to get you to read the second sentence.
How To Write Attention-Grabbing Ending Sentences
"You must plant seeds of curiosity for the reader." "At the end of a paragraph offer a reason to read the next paragraph."
Using sentences such as.....
But there's more.
So read on.
But I didn't stop there.
Let me explain.
Now here comes the good part.
These tips represent just the tip of the iceberg on breathing new life into your half-dead web site.
We'll cover all of the other necessary elements in future articles. Stay tuned.
I hope that you have found this information to be helpful in your pursuit of excellence. Thank you for reading.
Regards,
Dave Peterson
About The Author
Dave is not only a Professional Website Designer. He also incorporates exciting state-of-the-art marketing strategies and expertise that help clients put more cash in there pockets. Providing great value to his clients.
cleaning service near Bannockburn ..Graphics are fun, but if you put in too many... Read More
This article gives free tips on how to find a... Read More
Website Design Usability Tips1. Getting to know about audience membersYou... Read More
Regardless whether you manage a small business, charitable organization, or... Read More
(Making Your Graphics Work For You)It's no secret that a... Read More
As a graphic designer, you are sitting on a gold... Read More
Have you put a lot of effort, time, and money... Read More
To build a website, there are four methods to choose... Read More
Are you thinking that it is about time your small... Read More
Creating an appealing, functional, and effective Web site is much... Read More
Your home page is the most important page of your... Read More
First you need original content. Content is the heart beat... Read More
So your web site's online and you've got high rankings... Read More
Web sites that feature products ? especially furniture or other... Read More
1. Web site File Structure / File NamingMost search engines... Read More
Chris, a new consulting client, asked me to help him... Read More
If you need a web designer, but have no clue... Read More
Here's a really simple way... any novice can create a... Read More
Due to the large number of people offering web design... Read More
In my last article entitled, Maximizing The True Value Of... Read More
It's a fact, Page Not Found, known as a 404... Read More
Back to basics. Forget funky design, good copywriting is the... Read More
STEP 1:Do your homeworkPlan and think about your content. Think... Read More
I've seen articles (and websites) that suggest you can buy... Read More
On the internet we don't deal with face to face... Read More
pet-friendly home cleaners Mundelein ..The most popular method to build webpages today is to... Read More
Before I discovered the concept of Web site templates, I... Read More
So how do you know when your graphic designer costs... Read More
No, that's not the real question. The real question is... Read More
An application is not ready for use unless you have... Read More
The first immutable law of effective navigation: It's gotta be... Read More
(1) Create a Direct Response Website, with the minimum number... Read More
1. Repackage your web site content in to different products... Read More
Sooner or later every small or medium business owner realizes... Read More
There is no doubt that reprint articles can serve lots... Read More
I hate to imagine that in your web development project... Read More
Website design is a very competitive area and there is... Read More
Creating your own website is great fun! But how is... Read More
The internet is filled with sites and they are good... Read More
If you are going to have a web presence for... Read More
The trend today to overuse animation in a website's opening... Read More
As a graphic designer, you are sitting on a gold... Read More
Web sites that feature products ? especially furniture or other... Read More
If there's one thing that most web site developers can... Read More
If you own a web site or if you are... Read More
Whenever singer John Mayer sings his romantic song, "Your Body... Read More
Well it is not Elvis, that's for sure.I am a... Read More
~A man [woman] is a success if he [she] gets... Read More
Designing a website is hard job, and requires you to... Read More
Geared Up with a website and lots of energy to... Read More
Web Design |