Your website is one of, if not the most important sales tool you have, bar meeting you in person.

It’s where people go when they’ve found you online to suss you out, check out your credentials and work out if they want to buy your products and services.

So how can you make sure that your website is almost as good as meeting you in person? That this potential customer gets a real sense of who you are, what you can deliver, how you can help here and what working with you is like?

Get your values sorted

One of the first things you want to do is work out the values of your business. Are one of your values fun? If so is this reflected in your copy and images?

Or are one of your values expertise? How does this expertise ooze out of everything you write? How do I get a sense of that?

Pick 3 values that represent you and your brand, just 3! Any more than that and it starts to get muddy.

Now go back to your copy and ask yourself, does the reflect the values I want people to associate with my business?

Does your homepage pass the grunt test?

I first came across this watching Donald Miller of Story Brand, who runs workshops across America helping brands clarify their messages and I’ve become an advocate of the grunt test ever since!

The grunt test looks like this:

If I go to your homepage can I tell in 3 seconds (because we have less attention than a goldfish these days) what you offer, who its for and how can I buy it.

Simple.

You know you need to grab people’s attention really quickly. They have to work out instantly if what you’re offering is for them and understand how they can buy it.

You wouldn’t believe the websites I’ve seen! Instant long drawn out text overlaid over a picture, so it’s hard to see. I’m like, no, I’ve no idea what this is, so I’m not going to waste my time reading all this text to find out.

By all means have a further explanation on your homepage. But give me something easy to digest, so I can work out if I can be bothered to read the rest!

Here’s mine: It’s time to make a healthy profit. Story. Social. Strategy. Let’s get started.

You instantly know it’s for business owners who want to make a profit, you can tell what I’m offering and I give you an invitation to get started.

What could you put on your homepage so I know instantly what you’re up to in 3 seconds? The time it takes me to grunt!

Is your writing easy to understand?

There is something called the Fleisch score in SEO (that’s how your website gets found on search engines) and it measures how complicated your copy is.

The rule of thumb is to write so a 9-year-old would understand. So unless you are a quantity surveyor you don’t want to be confusing your audience. Or alienating them with words they don’t understand.

How to write a good sales page

I’m in a group mentoring programme with Janet Murray and she gave some excellent advice on writing sales pages that I want to share with you.

It’s a 3-step process and easy to follow!

1.

Imagine you’re standing in a crowded room and there is a mix of your ideal customers and people you don’t really need to reach. What would you call to grab their attention?

Calling all women who want to go down a dress size!

Are you struggling with managing your social media?

Do you feel overwhelmed trying to write your CV?

What you want to do is nail the problem and identify the emotion.

2.

Then you want to ask them something.

Would you like to learn how a personal trainer get help you get the body you’ve dreamed of?

Would you like to hand your social media over to a professional?

Would you like a step-by-step guide to writing getting your dream job?

3.

Now you need to make them an offer and hook it onto 3 things you’ll offer them.

So for the personal trainer example:

I’ll work alongside you to:

·        Create a training programme that suits you

·        Develop a recipe kit that leaves you dribbling for more

·        Keep you motivated when you might have stopped in the past

Plus, I promise it will be a fantastic experience that you’ll enjoy!

Here’s one I wrote earlier for the new community programme I’m launching in June:

Are you struggling to make enough money in your business? Would you like to learn how to get in front of more paying customers? Come and join me and the Indie Freedom Seekers and I'll teach you how to:

• Price your products and services and have the confidence to charge what you're worth

• Use social media to reach more of your ideal customers and clients

• Turn your website into a money-making tool

Plus - I'll teach you how to measure your success, so you can make sure you hit those fabulous goals we're going to create together!

Interested to find out more? – check out my brand new sales page!