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.
high-end home cleaning Des Plaines ..This article is the result of a conversation I had... Read More
You have only 10 seconds to impress your potential buyer.... Read More
Audio can provide an added dimension to your site. It... Read More
If you are reading this, I assume you either have... Read More
Have you seen Jesse James on the... Read More
So, what's in a website design anyway? And, how do... Read More
A successful website is something that everyone venturing into the... Read More
Are you looking for somebody to build you a website,... Read More
An "include" file is a piece of code that can... Read More
You just created a new web site but want to... Read More
The best things don't come easy. - QuotedThe finished web... Read More
Being a writer, when I was asked to do some... Read More
An ongoing challenge for webmasters today is to provide fresh... Read More
There can be zillions of reasons why your visitors return... Read More
The way you design your web site affects your visitors'... Read More
If you think it's simply a case of who will... Read More
I see a lot of mistakes, but here are the... Read More
Then it was a choice among crayons, paints and palettes... Read More
Do you remember playing with the jack-in-the-box toy as a... Read More
When it comes to marketing your website, you should really... Read More
Designing your website can be a difficult task especially if... Read More
Don't make a splash!Are you thinking about using a splash... Read More
Geometric designs come in all shapes and sizes? and lines.... Read More
Here's a really simple way... any novice can create a... Read More
Graphics are fun, but if you put in too many... Read More
house refresh service Glencoe ..So you're on the computer, as usual. Your eyes are... Read More
Increasing the length of time a visitor is on your... Read More
I taught myself HTML back in the mid-nineties and was... Read More
Most of us know that we need to advertise our... Read More
A website should firstly be searched out by visitors before... Read More
You have only 10 seconds to impress your potential buyer.... Read More
CSS or Cascading Style Sheets has opened up tremendous possibilities... Read More
Squeeze pages are a very hot topic in the internet... Read More
The concept of web designing based on the nature and... Read More
If someone doesn't know you personally, will they trust you... Read More
This article gives free tips on how to find a... Read More
An attractive and user-friendly Web site is crucial to attracting... Read More
Seeing is believing.One trick to increase your visibility as well... Read More
I want to give you a free web page template... Read More
Learning how to convert visitors to your web site into... Read More
In the early years of the internet the actual design... Read More
It has been said that the best online sales copy... Read More
What dollar amount does your web site contribute to this... Read More
Have you ever thought about the real stories behind all... Read More
Everyday we hear that another company goes out of business.When... Read More
If you have a website, you want your visitors to... Read More
Whether a business has just got off the ground or... Read More
What do the key words represent?Key words - these are... Read More
Don't make a splash!Are you thinking about using a splash... Read More
Many people today are tired of the Microsoft software that... Read More
Web Design |