While I don’t have any exact figures, I’d put the number of business websites that are truly “sucky” 20th Century sites at about 75-80%.

Here’s the problem:

  • The home page tries to do too much …
  • The copy is all about the company and disregards the visitor …
  • The copy is also boring or filled with flowery, meaningless jargon …
  • The site has zero interactivity, other than a “Contact Us” page …
  • There’s no way to capture leads (other than “Contact Us”) …
  • The site lacks the kind of detail that leads to customer engagement …
  • There’s no reason for the visitor to return to the site …
  • The site is not optimized for 21st Century Search Engines …
  • And the list goes on and on …

I can’t blame business owners for these ills. Either the company is too small and has too few marketing dollars to revamp the site, or the company is too big and has turned the site over to an IT department who knows little to nothing about marketing.

It’s sad, really, because with just a little extra effort they can inch their way toward a more dynamic, interactive site with minimal effort.

Here’s how to Sprice Up Your Website

Step One: Add Sociability

It wouldn’t be hard to create a Facebook Fan Page and several Twitter accounts, then post the links to these accounts on every web page. Make them prominent, and then turn the social networking tasks over to real people who can interact with your customers.

Your Facebook page should be managed by marketing and/or customer service, not IT. I’d set up several Twitter accounts, letting your IT department if you have one get involved in monitoring the accounts (looking for any references to your company or products).

Then, set up Twitter accounts that are managed by someone in customer service, someone in sales, and even an IT person for technical stuff.

All of these give your customers ways to interact directly with real people in your company, freeing your customers from the hassles of automated answering systems.

Step Two: Add a Blog

Create a Blog that’s separate from, but attached to your main site. Don’t merely add a link on the navigation bar because people won’t see it.

Take the time to add some code to your home page that displays the 3-5 latest blog posts and 3-5 latest comments on those posts. You can find many variations of the code that does this online, or go to Guru.com and rent a coder for not a lot of money.

Then, keep the blog updated. Assign one person or hire a freelance writer to be in charge of the blog. Have your sales team participate, as well as your engineers, and even customers. Definitely have ask your production and customer service staff to put in their two cents on a regular basis.

Step Three: Revise Your Copy (Please)

It’s a lot easier than you think. Hire me to re-write your copy, or find one of the MANY web copywriters who can do it for less than you think.

You can probably figure on $3,000-$5,000 to re-write the copy, depending on the size and complexity of your site. But, if you get even a few new customer from the revised copy, you’ll get a very good return on your investment.

When the copy is re-written, one of the first things I’ll do is to apply a “Focusing Agent.” You’ll tell me the number one response or action you want from a visitor, and I’ll re-write the copy so that it elicits that exact response from the visitor.

We have to be careful, though. Of course, you want the customer to buy from you. But in many cases, that may not be the optimum goal at first. For high-end products or services, you it is often better to first give them a “taste” by offering a solution to a problem they’re currently facing or answering a question they have.

Most visitors will want to kick the tires and need you to sell them before they’ll buy.

You want every page to be highly focused to produce a single result – get a lead, download a report, respond to a video, buy a product.

Remove the clutter and make your site more focused, even if you’ve got to create more pages. Set up the copy (and navigation) so that you LEAD the visitor to a desired action. Don’t make them think about it or figure out what to do. Lead them down the path, clearly and with enough force that they take action.

All the copy should emphasize the benefits to the visitor, even when you’re talking about yourself…

  • What will they get from buying your product?
  • How will they benefit from reading a web page?
  • What’s in it for them?

Other things you can do fairly easily and quickly that will spruce up you site include:

  • Convert testimonials into case studies from which the reader will learn something new or valuable …
  • Show, don’t tell about your products or services. Use stories, videos, webinars, or articles to show what happens when people use your products or services …
  • Give them something they can take away today: a tips sheet, how-to report, or one of your best kept secrets …
  • Make it easy for them to converse with a specific person in a specific department who can help them solve a critical problem or answer an important question on the spot! [Dozens of programs exist that will enable you to interact LIVE with website visitors]

Your primary goal should be to engage with your visitor such that he or she gets emotionally involved with your company – either through an interactive conversation, downloading a report, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

That is, you want to begin an interactive relationship that allows you to continue the conversation until the sale is made, or either of you determines the product isn’t right for them.

Start with Step One if you’re just starting the process of upgrading your website. It’s the easiest to implement, won’t cost a dime, and could give you that extra bit of social oomph that creates more sales.

Would you like help bringing your website to the 21st Century? Let me know. I’ll give you a comprehensive analysis with specific recommendations. Then, I’ll either do the work myself or send you to the best people I know who can do the job.