How To Create More Profitable Websites

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A lot of web designers are mainly concerned with creating beautiful

websites for their clients. They want the websites they create to be

picture-perfect, impressive, and works of art. They don’t put much

thought into a website after they hand it over to the client.

If this is your mindset, you’re leaving money on the table. I’ve learned

that results (not design) make the biggest difference between the web

designers who earn a lot and those who don’t.

In other words, you should be making websites that make your clients

more money. By thinking like a business owner, you’ll be able to charge

a much higher hourly rate. This mindset starts by viewing your

websites as more than just a pretty face.

Business owners care more about the statistics of their website. How

many visitors did they get this month? Is that more than last month?

How many people purchased something? How many people left without

buying? Why?

To a business owner, traffic is very valuable. They work hard to get

people to visit their site, so they want them to stay a while and buy

something.

If you understand this and can help your clients make more sales,

you’ll be seen as a complete expert. Your relationship with your clients

will change from client/vendor to a strategic partnership. You’ll have

more referrals than you know what to do with, and you’ll be able to

increase your rates.

The first step in getting a website visitor to remain on a website is

creating a website that passes the 5-second test.

The 5-Second Test

Most visitors will come to a website, give it a quick glance and, if

nothing captures their attention, they’ll hit the “back” button and

disappear forever. Sadly, they don’t read every word, and most of them

ignore 95% of the stuff you worked so hard to create.

You can try this test now with your portfolio website or a client’s website…

Go to the site you want to test. Spend just 5 seconds looking

at it. Then, come back to this page.

Then, answer this question: Did the website grab my attention? Was

there anything that made me want to find out more?

If you find it difficult to answer this question about your own

website, ask a handful of people to do the same thing you just did to

your site. You might be surprised to learn that your visitors aren’t

looking at what you expect.

Here are three steps to make sure the websites you create pass the 5-second test:

1. Create a compelling headline.

The headline should be the first thing a visitor sees, and it should

practically force them to read more. Don’t make the mistake of

assuming your visitors will read all the text on the page. Studies

show 80% of visitors read the headline, only 20% read the rest. Can

you see why the headline is so important?

So what makes a good headline?

Good headlines are specific. Make sure the headline you write

could only be at the top of the website you’re creating. If it could

work on a competitor’s site, it’s not specific enough. Dig deep to

find out how your client is different from everyone else, and use those

details. For your portfolio site, make sure your headline provides you

with a unique position in the marketplace. This is the first step to

increasing your leads and closing more deals, for both your clients’

sites and yours.

Good headlines use powerful words that grab attention and inspire

action. Some examples are Shocking, Limited Offer, Effective,

Rewarding, Irresistible, Discover, Critical, Fascinating, Masterpiece,

Tempting… (Tip: Look through your client’s customer testimonials to

see what words they use.)

2. Ask the visitor to do something.

This is the second step you’ll need to take in order to increase leads

and sales. Without a specific call to action, your visitors may drift

aimlessly around your client’s site. They may like his site, and what he

has to offer. A few of them may even take action on their own.

But by asking them to do something specific, you’re making it easy for

them to take the first step, and you’ll find a much larger percentage

will do just that.

Your call to action should be featured prominently on your client’s site.

Your goal with this step is to make it as easy as possible for your client’s

visitors to take the desired action. The header, sidebar, and within your

main content are all good locations for the call to action.

But the call to action, by itself, is typically not enough to get visitors

to take action. They’ll usually need an incentive to take this step.

3. Give the visitor something in return.

This is the third step, and it’s often overlooked. Many websites ask the

visitor to do something, but they don’t give anything in return. If you want

visitors to take action, you need to reward them. It’s the classic win-win

scenario.

Let’s say your client wants to get the name and email address of

everyone who visits his site so he can follow up with them. He should

offer something – like a free report, a trial, a consultation, or maybe

a sample product – in exchange for their name and email address.

This is known as an irresistible offer. It just means the visitors are

going to get something for giving something. It’s based on a promise

from both parties: If you give me your name and number, I’ll give you

this widget worth $27. To get more people taking you up on the offer,

it should be something they can’t walk away from.

Without a great – and obvious – offer, visitors will come to your

site, glance around and leave. With an irresistible offer, you can

turn visitors into loyal fans who return and buy.

Each paragraph of the rest of the copy should support this goal

(visitors exchanging their info for the offer). Remember to be

specific and explain what the visitors will get out of the deal. Focus

on benefits, not features – explain to them how your offer will help

them, or what they will be losing if they don’t take advantage of it.

Remove any distractions that get in the way of the message. Get rid of

extra info, any links that take them away from the main message or

away from the site, and images that aren’t relevant.

At this point, you might be wondering why your client would want the

visitor’s information…

The answer is so they can follow up (by email or newsletter) with

these visitors, gain trust, build a relationship, get repeat visitors,

and increase their chances of getting a sale. Studies show that a typical

prospective buyer needs to see a message at least 7 times before they

make a purchase.

Web Designers Beware

I often see websites where web designers let their ideas and design

get in the way of the message. Beautiful sites are great, but design

alone won’t make money. People buy because of the message. Work with

your clients to create compelling copy, a call to action, and an

irresistible offer. You’ll be unstoppable.

To learn more about creating websites that get results, join our next

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