24
Your Web Site—Old School versus New School
THE HUB OF most businesses—the web site—is the most poorly done thing of them all. After reviewing countless sites, most were guilty of the same old school mistakes.
Brochure versus Hub
More than half of the web sites I reviewed had nothing to give, only to buy. No information to learn, the sites were simply digital brochures. Where are you aiming on that pyramid? If it’s just to sell stuff, keep doing this. Buy or good-bye. Your web site should be the hub of your business—the place where people can go to learn about you and to learn content.
Give away some knowledge. People fear that if they give it away, people won’t need to hire or buy from them. If everything you know about your industry can be explained in a few articles, you don’t know much. It’s not just knowledge that people buy from you, it’s the application of the knowledge for their specific situation. This is why a blog-driven site comes in handy. The nature of a blog is the sharing of knowledge unconditionally. You don’t have to post every day or even every week. Although frequency helps, consistent quality content is more important. I would rather you write three great posts in a month than 10 mediocre ones.
Pitch versus Authenticity Newsletters
I see people doing this all the time. I sign up for their “newsletter” and all I get are pitches for products. I want to learn from you, that’s why I signed up. I made this mistake years ago myself. I built a newsletter up to more than 300,000 subscribers and started my pitches. I lost more than 100,000 subscribers in six months. Ya, woops. The gurus talk about “open rates” in ways that they tell you to make compelling, even misleading headlines72 to get people to open your newsletter. I’ve seen subject lines with “Scott, this is personal” and when I open it, it’s just their newsletter, which is really a pitch for a product they’re launching. For fun73 I created an e-mail address to just sign up 25 “marketing guru” newsletters to see how much content I would actually get, compared to pitches. You guessed it, none. Every edition from every person was a pitch. Many were pitches for each other’s product launches, taken from the same template. Two of them teach “authentic marketing.” Go directly to jail, do not pass go, and I’m unsubscribing. The majority of the newsletters also used different styles of misleading subject lines. I don’t mean creative ones that pique your interest, I mean blatant deception like “I’m leaving the Internet” or my favorite, “Sorry, we sold out!” just to open the e-mail to see, “That subject line is something I don’t want to have to send you, since we’re almost sold out!”
It’s not about list size, open rates, or click-throughs if all you’re going to do is pitch them. It’s about engagement. It’s about when I see your newsletter in my inbox, among 400 other things in the morning, I say to myself “I have to read this, it’s always great.” How many newsletters can you say that about? Are people saying that about yours?
Don’t make people angry. They talk about it when they’re angry. They tell others about it when they’re angry. And if you say, “Well, at least they’re talking about me!” I’m going to slug you right in the gut.74
Your newsletter should be an authentic representation of what the people signed up for and what the content is going to offer. If they signed up for tips on how to be better parents, then send them tips on how to be a better parent!
If the unfortunate occurs and someone wants to unsubscribe to your newsletter, please make sure that you use a system that makes it easy for that person and is quick to remove. This alone can ensure that an unsatisfied reader does not turn into a livid unsubscriber. Not only are easy unsubscribes good karma, it is also part of the CAN-SPAM Act. You have to allow people to unsubscribe.
I remember that when I tried to unsubscribe from the Harry & David newsletter because I am a past customer, the company does not actually fall under the CAN-SPAM Act. But because it took me three seconds to sign up for their newsletter, it should take the same amount of effort to remove me. This was not the case. When I went to change my settings and submitted them, the message said it would take 7 to 10 business days to complete my request. Nothing short of building an ark should take 7 to 10 business days, let alone a virtual function of removing a name from a database that was added instantly.
Originally, I just didn’t want the newsletter because they were sending it daily and I had no need for information about gift baskets so frequently, but this just made them look silly. Every point of contact is a point of engagement—it either heightens the relationship or lowers it. Even doing something as trivial as this.
Static versus Dynamic
This comes down to a lack of creativity. A static web site is a lack of new products. In the old days when you put up a web site you put up a few articles that sat there. No dates on them, no comments, just words in virtual concrete. It actually gave us an excuse not to update our content because the date was not listed from the last post. Today, a reader can use a blog post date to see how committed you are to content. Ever-growing content pays off in positioning; an engaging ad even helps with search engines.
Coming up with new content—and even more so new products—seems to be a hurdle for people. But I don’t blame people for it. We suffer from one of two things usually: perfection paralysis or consumption overload.
Perfection paralysis is when we are afraid to come out with something as simple as a blog post all the way to a big product because it’s not “perfect.” That’s even something I’m guilty of when I wrote this book. What if I leave something out? What if I’m wrong?75 We all know the phrase “no one’s perfect,” but forget it when it comes to us. I’m not suggesting releasing half-finished products, or unfinished blog posts, but once you’ve given it your all, it’s time to let it out there. Nothing will ever be perfect, that’s why software has releases like “2.0.” If you’re stumped on what method to deliver a product (audio, video, e-book), ask your list! Survey your list, give people a reason to answer,76 and they will pick the method for you.
Consumption overload is when we never stop buying learning tools. We buy the next great e-book/DVD series of how to succeed in business, and then the next, while never actually implementing any of the ideas. Do this for yourself: Stop buying learning materials77 for one week and put into practice one new item you’ve learned recently. The best ideas in the world aren’t the profitable ones. The best-implemented ideas are.
Our Site versus Your Site
Yes, it’s your company web site, but it doesn’t mean that everything has to be about you. Your “About Us” page, knock yourself out with the self-congratulatory speak. But I don’t care about you until I know you understand and care about me. The best example of this is when I sign up for your newsletter. The two typical responses when someone subscribes are:
1. Thanks for signing up for our newsletter. Your request has been processed; you will receive the next edition when it comes out. 9589203-29384478
2. You’ve signed up for our newsletter. We rule. Look at what you are entitled to buy from us right away. Click on one of the 10 product links below! Thanks!
The first response, the generic “confirmation” doesn’t exactly make me sit on the edge of my seat in anticipation for the next edition. The second sets the tone for what I’ll be receiving in the future: sales pitches and sales pitches disguised as “articles.”
Where is the logic here? Your potential customers raise their hands to say they trust you enough to want to learn from you, and you send them that? Engage with them. I know you can’t hand-craft every “thank-you” personally, but even with automation you can have an engagement touch. Here’s what you’ll receive if you sign up over at Un-Marketing.com:
Subject: Thanks for signing up, may I ask . . .
Hi there,
Thanks for signing up to the UnMarketing newsletter. I know how an inbox can get crowded and I appreciate you allowing my newsletter to get through the clutter.
May I ask what line of business you’re in? It helps me tailor the newsletter to you even better.
Sincerely,
Scott Stratten, President
I get at least 40 percent of subscribers replying to it. Half of them even say, “I know this is an automated welcome but just wanted to say it’s a nice touch!”
I’ve started countless conversations with subscribers from this method alone. Even if you don’t reply to every single one, it gives you a great feel for your list. The gold isn’t in the list anymore, it’s in the engagement.
I’m Great versus You’re Great
We know that you think you know what you’re doing, but do others? The majority of business web sites had no testimonials at all from satisfied customers. The old school of thought is that people will give them when they feel like, but many people are happy to if you just ask. If you are a B2B79 provider, you can also offer a link back to that company’s web site. When you’re good, you tell people. When you’re great, others say it for you.
Let the business owners know that you don’t need to provide their full personal name if they don’t want it used, but the more info you can show, the better.
Note: In October 2009 the FTC changed the guidelines for endorsements. Please check to ensure that you are in compliance. Everything from social media to ads is impacted. Just search “FTC testimonials” online to get updated details. In a nutshell from the FTC site:
Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides - which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” - the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.
The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the longstanding principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers—connections that consumers would not expect—must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement—like any other advertisement—is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.80
You don’t want to be on the FTC’s bad side, so please consult somebody 100 times smarter than me to be sure you’re within the guidelines.
A Jungle versus a Map
When people land on your web site they will feel they have arrived at the right place, or be overwhelmed and click away. Too many choices are not a good thing when it comes to your site visitors. On average, the sites we looked at had 25 different choices to click on from their homepage. Average was 25!! That means many had even more!81 Have a look at your site. Is it logical what actions you’re hoping visitors will do? Is it easy to find things? If your main goal, outside of providing great content, is to get people into your “pull and stay” mechanism, such as a newsletter, is that an obvious thing for them to do? Does it call out from the page? I don’t mean in an obnoxious, animated GIF82 sort of way, but it attracts the eye enough for someone to look into it. Then you need to give me a reason to sign up for your newsletter/updates. The most popular method when surveying these sites was:
Sign up for our newsletter!
Really? Was the exclamation point the thing that was supposed to get me interested in signing up? Like I’m on the borderline, still a little hesitant, and then saw it and said “Crikey! They’re pretty jacked-up about their newsletter! I gotta get me some of this!” No one needs another newsletter. No one needs “your” newsletter. People always want useful information. Throw me a bone. Why should I sign up? Will you be providing weekly tips on how to save my business money? Then say it. Make your web site clean looking, clear so I know where I need to go, and if I choose to take that next step with you, follow through with what you said you’d provide.
A word about external links: Linking to other useful content outside of your web site is not only fine, it’s a great idea. There are even great reasons to do so when it comes to search engine rankings. However, when you do provide a link, make sure that when your visitor clicks on it, they are taken to the site in a new browser window. If you refer to a post on someone else’s blog and it changes to their site in the same window, you’ve lost them. It’s one simple line of code within the link to do it.83
High versus Low Barrier to Engagement
We’ve all seen it. You like what you see on a site, go to sign up for their newsletter/blog updates, and they ask you for name, e-mail, state, phone, favorite Bon Jovi84 tune, and your mother’s maiden name. I’ve asked site owners countless times why they ask for so much when all they need is an e-mail address and maybe first name for personalization? They always respond, “It gives me great demographic info for my subscribers.” I can’t argue with that, it certainly does. What the owners don’t realize is that for every single new thing you ask for, you lose a percentage of people who were going to subscribe. We’ve run multiple tests and something as simple as asking for first and last name greatly reduced sign ups compared to first name only. And don’t get me started on requesting a phone number. What do you think I’ll be saying to myself if I see you’re asking for that? “These guys are gonna phone me, no thanks.”
I understand that in some industries when you request something of value for free (white papers, etc.) it’s standard to ask for everything, and it makes sense. You’re giving something of high value away and the recipient knows it and doesn’t have an issue in letting you know who they are fully. But for a simple newsletter, you scare aware more value than you’d ever retain by asking for too much.
When it comes to single opt-in (enter e-mail address and you’re set) versus double opt-in (enter address, confirm in an e-mail) versus triple85 (enter e-mail, plus Captcha phrase to prove you’re real, then prove your e-mail is real), just remember that the more you make people click, the less you get. If you hear the sound of me stretching, that’s just me getting ready to fight the group that says, “I would rather have 500 double opt-in subscribers than 2,000 single, because they are motivated!” Which is fine in theory, however, with confirmation rates averaging below 50 percent in many industries, that’s a lot of people you’re leaving out who initially raised their hand. Why not just try to re-opt them in weekly!! You may only have three subscribers, but damn they’re motivated!86
Your goal should be simple: Give people enough value on your site that they want to stay in touch and learn even more. Get them onto your value-driven list, make it easy for them to do so, and deliver them great content.
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