With Just ten seconds to convince a new visitor not to click away from your website, you better make sure that you have a good headline which entices them to stick around and read further. If your visitor is a women then you only have five seconds.

And it doesn’t just stop there. As the person reads down the page they are constantly judging weather to stay and read further or surf away to next bright shiny object. Every element on your page should encourage them to hang around with the ultimate goal of conversion.

A point that most people (especially small businesses) miss out on when putting their web site together, is that they don’t have a clear idea of the outcome that they want. To write good copy you must have a defined purpose in mind. The good internet marketers do this quite well. They have a page dedicated to a conversion (a sale of a product or the generation of a lead). For instance they may have a page whose aim is to sell one eBook. Their sales copy speaks directly one on one to the reader and aims to incite an emotional response from that reader. They may, once the person has purchased offer them other products to add to their purchase but they never mix the messages until that particular conversion has been achieved.

Here are a couple of rules to follow to ensure that you give your website the best chance to convert.

1. Have a specific goal in mind – What is it, that you want the reader to do?
2. Do Not Distract – Focus on your one and only goal. Do not give your reader a chance to click away.
1. Do not have banners advertising other products.
2. Limit the use of colours.
3. Limit the use of Fonts (Verdana and Arial are best).
4. Use Black Text on White Background although you can use a different colour for your sub-headline. Red is very effective for this.
5. Minimize the use of Graphics and images.
6. Increase the use of white space.
7. Video and audio can be great but use them intelligently.
8. Never have music automatically play when a page is first loaded up. Imagine that you are at work and you just load up a web page. Music blares out of your speakers and instantly the whole office (and your boss) turns around to see what you are doing. That is the surest way I know to get your web page closed.
9. Ensure that your page loads reasonably quickly.
10. Navigation should appear on the same place on every page.

3. Your page should start with a headline packed with specific compelling benefits.
4. A Sub headline should be the glue that connects the reader to the content that follows. It is worthwhile noting that in the five or ten seconds that you have available your reader will only have time to read your headline and if you are lucky your sub headline.
5. The text in the body should be a one to one conversation with your reader. Remember only one person reads you page at the one time. Speak to them directly and tell them a story.
1. You must sell with benefits even if they are intangibles. Remember that features, technical data and specifications do not sell.

6. Include an opt-in offer within the first fold (visible when you first open the screen without scrolling) . Get their name and email address in exchange for a free report or newsletter.
7. Establish Credibility.
8. Sell with Benefits – Specifically transfer Ownership – What are the benefits for them?
9. Remove the Risk
1. Include Testimonials – This is one of your most valuable selling tools
1. Must include specific measurable results.
2. They should be (in order of preference) Videos, audio, pictures, or written.
2. Give a Money back guarantee (if you are selling something) or tell them exactly how they can opt out should they want out some time in the future.

10. Create Added Value with Bonuses
11. Create Urgency
1. Limited Offers
2. Rotating Bonuses

12. Must have a clear call to action.
1. Articulate exactly what you want the person to do.
2. Tell them what you will also do in return.
3. Include a link to your Privacy Policy.
4. If you are selling something ask for the order.

13. Give them multiple ways to buy
1. Credit Card
2. PayPal
3. Single Payment with discount
4. Multiple payments over 3, 6 or 12 months

14. Add a P.S. at the bottom of the page
    1. Articulate the benefits of the offer again. Remember some people will start here. You want them to interest them enough to go back up and read.
    2. Don’t mention the price.
15. Make sure that there is an obvious way to contact you or your helpdesk.
16. Finally, just after they have purchased, sell them something else at a significantly reduced price if they take action now.
1. That second or even third offer should be complementary to the original product and have great perceived benefit to the reader.
2. When done correctly your conversion rate will be huge but that is a whole other blog post.

I have just touched the surface of the effective creation and use of web pages as a selling tool. If you have any questions or comments I would like you to ask them via feedback on this page.

Enjoy the journey.

Mark