Featured Article
Your Ad Copy Is Not Producing Sales
Today I would like to explore
some reasons why a prospective customer may not buy from you.
Aside from the normal window shopper, or browser that is just
bored and is just looking for the lack of something better to
do at the moment. Of course we are looking at these as reasons
that apply to your on-line business, however I am sure you
will see how they could also apply to an off-line
store/business as well. So let’s take a look.
1. You are not establishing a
feeling of safety when your customer wants to place an order.
Keep in mind that this is the internet and you will need to
have reminders in the form of seals from known on-line
security systems that will put your customers at ease. Always,
let me repeat that, ALWAYS have the statement posted that you
will keep all their information confidential and that you
would never sell, rent, or share their e-mail address with
anyone.
2. Your ad copy does not flow
fluently and is not pleasing to the eye. Your headline is not
attractive to your intended targeted audience. You have not
included any testimonials or guarantees in your ad.
3. You have not suggested
that your visitors bookmark your page for their convenience in
order to make their return visit easier, nor have you wished
them a nice day. Since most people do not make a purchase on
their first visit, always suggest that they return and give
them the opportunity to sign up for your free e-zine or e-mail
announcement program to keep them up to date on any changes or
new offers at your site.
4. You set up your website
without putting an About Us tab in your navigation bar. To
make yourself more professional and trustworthy you must have
this section. You will need to state your qualifications in
your line of business, including years of experience, your
company policy on sales and returns, customer satisfaction and
your contact information. These things will put your customers
at ease and will feel more comfortable doing business with you
since they will have a sense of who you are and feel as though
they actually know you, and more importantly trust you.
5. You have very limited
forms of payment choices for your customers convenience, and
you do not have alternate choices for ordering. You will find
that even if you have made your site as secure as possible
some people would rather order from you via, mail order, phone
orders, fax orders, or e-mail orders. So implement as many of
these methods as possible and remember in today’s world it is
a must that you accept credit cards either through a merchant
account or PayPal, or other respected on-line money
processors.
6. You have not taken enough
time to make your web site look professional. Your website
should have your company name as it’s domain name, or at least
be yours and not a shared name, the site should have an easy
flow to it in order to make your customer’s navigation simple
and unobtrusive. All the text and graphics on your site should
have a central theme that they all point to.
7. You started your ad copy
with your free give away. When you are going to make your ad
more attractive with free items as a bonus, or if you offer a
percentage off the base price never start your ad with that
information. This may cause doubt as to the quality of your
product. Make your sales pitch first then bring in the bonus
offerings at the end as a means of sweetening the deal.
8. You are not reaching your
targeted audience that would buy your product or service. You
are not advertising in the proper market. The quickest way to
correct this would be to follow up with the customers that did
buy from you and ask them to let you know just what it was
that attracted them to your site, and where they seen your
ads.
9. You never make changes to
your ad copy and it becomes stale and mundane. You must
constantly test your ad copy in different markets and you will
need to keep the content of your ads up-to-date with the
changing times. Make it new and fresh regularly, while keeping
in mind that some ad copy that draws very well should maintain
the core of the ad and just change the little things for minor
improvements.
10. Your ad copy does not
contain any urgency to buy now. Without placing an urgency
message line in your ad copy to entice your customers to buy
now they may put off their purchase to a later time and may
even forget all about your product or service and never buy.
Make use of a dead line for the special price or free offer as
your bonus. This way if they want what you offer they will buy
now so as not to miss out on the bonus offer.
Now analyze your ad copy and
website and see if any of the above reasons for lack of sales
exist within them. If you have made any or all of the mistakes
mentioned here then by all means go back and correct the
situation. Once you have made the necessary changes begin to
test your new and improved ad/site and track the
promotion/marketing and log in the increases in sales. Best of
luck in all your business efforts.
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