News
 The
5 Most Important Words on Your Web Site
By Nick Usborne
I hesitate to single out a handful of "must-have"
words for your Web site. It brings to mind the
overblown promises of "power words" and the like.
"Power words" strike me as being about as useful as
"power naps" and "power lunches." Heavy on hype and
light on content.
However, some words really can make a difference on
your site. They are not "powerful" in isolation but,
in the right context, can make an important
difference.
No. 1—Free
For those of us, myself included, who go on about
how writing online is different, it is humbling to
see how some things are exactly the same. "Free" is
an extremely important word in the world of offline
marketing, and it's just as important online.
In fact, in some ways, "Free" is even more important
online. Much of the Web has grown up on the promise
of Free:
• Free browsers
• Free music
• Free software trials
• Free subscriptions
And so on. If you have any doubts about whether
users of the Web are that interested in "free"—do a
quick search on Google. I just did, and got 172
million results. The number one listing? "Adobe
Acrobat Reader—Download."
So don't be shy about using the word. Offer free
downloads, free subscriptions, free reports and
papers, free trials, free shipping, free
consultations.
The Web likes free (even if online publishers
don't).
One caveat: many people filter out emails that use
the word Free in email subject lines.
No. 2—Sign Up
So it's two words. The point being that every site
should be inviting its visitors to sign up or
subscribe to an email program or newsletter.
Why? Because you need to reach your prospects by
email.
People check their email more frequently than they
surf the Web. Much more frequently. As you already
know, to your cost, conversion rates of first-time
visitors to immediate purchasers is horribly low.
And that person who bailed after spending a few
seconds on your homepage is unlikely to be coming
back again any time soon.
So instead of hoping that your visitors will make a
purchase on their first visit, concentrate instead
on collecting their email addresses.
Caveat: your emails or newsletters had better be
good. Good content in their inbox will bring
visitors back to your site again and again. Poor
content will damage your chances of ever hearing
from them again.
No. 3—Buy
You need to ask for the sale. It's amazing how many
sites invest in presenting products and services,
but fail to close the sale. Again, conversion rates
online are nothing to write home about. So make sure
that you actually ask for the sale at the right
moment.
Make that BUY link prominent, both by positioning it
close to the product or service in question, and by
boosting it with a strong graphic treatment.
The word BUY is an instruction. It tells people to
do something. So make that instruction jump out and
grab their attention.
No. 4—Now
Now is good. "Later" is death. If someone digs deep
enough into your site to find the product or service
they want, and then just makes a mental note to come
back again some time, you've lost her.
The Web is an easy-come and easy-go environment. If
you can't get people to act immediately, forget it.
So ask people to do things NOW:
• Sign up NOW
• Buy NOW
• Tell a friend NOW
Go further still with some incentives:
• Sign up NOW and receive a FREE report on
[whatever].
• Buy NOW and get FREE shipping
No. 5—Thank You
OK, so it's two words again. But it's the thought
that counts. When you sign up a subscriber or make a
sale, the job is just beginning.
Just because someone signs up for your newsletter
doesn't mean that they will read it.
And just because someone buys your product doesn't
mean that they won't send it back.
When visitors become customers, your work is just
starting. You have a relationship to build. And the
first step in building that relationship is to say
thank you. It's courteous. It's the right thing to
say.
Maybe this will inspire you to go back to those
automated "acknowledgement" emails you wrote a few
years back.
Rewrite them, be personal, say thank you.
Finally
There are other important words to consider, but I
can't think of any that top these five.
Look through your site, your emails and your
newsletters—and consider the places where these
words could make a difference.
Then make some changes and test the results. As
always, the proof is in the testing.
---Source: Nick
Usborne (nick@nickusborne.com) is an online
copywriter, Web optimization expert, and editor of
the Excess Voice Newsletter (excessvoice.com). This
MarketingProfs Classic article was originally
published on January 8, 2002. (www.marketingprofs.com).
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