New direct sales website for UK client, shows the awesome power of the Internet

I’ve just launched a new website for a client in the UK and early results look very encouraging.

The company is selling a range of services to help people who are in debt. This is (unfortunately) a growth industry at the moment in the UK and most of the developed world. So there is a strong demand for such debt consultancy services.

The client is driving traffic to the site using Google Adwords. The aim of the site is ultimately to get people to fill in the enquiry form either on the home page or a more detailed assessment form on an inside page. The site takes a direct selling approach, which is proven to work best on the Internet for this type of person-to-person selling.

I’m delighted with the early response to this site, and so is my client. It’s bringing in a good number of leads for him, and that means he will quickly make back the money he paid for the site (probably within a few days) and then he’ll be in profit.

Already, the same client has asked me to build him two more sites, taking a similar direct selling approach in slightly different but related markets. The power of direct sales websites is enormous, when they’re designed and written correctly.

This client is a smart businessman in his own right and I’m looking forward to helping to build his business (and my own in the process) over the coming months.
(The site is www.debt-trust.co.uk)

Meanwhile, I’ve recently launched another site for a UK client, in a very different market. He is a chartered surveyor in Cambridge, looking to grow his business by marketing online. So far, the results of this site are also very encouraging.

A website like this will work enormously to boost this company’s credibility and is sure to bring in a lot of new business. The site is sharp and modern looking, and is clearly written. (It’s www.alstonsurveyors.co.uk)

It’s very satisfying to work with clients like these two, who truly appreciate the power of the Internet to grow their respective businesses. There must be thousands of other businesses out there who could see the same kind of results, with a properly designed and written website. 

Most small businesses haven’t really grasped how powerful the Internet is as a form of marketing. They are still focusing on the Yellow Pages, the local newspaper and maybe getting bigger and brighter signs etc. The Internet really is an untapped goldmine for local businesses! I’ll write more on this in my next post.

P.S. If you’re interested in organic food, or organics in general, you will be interested in visiting this new website we have built for the NZ Organic Expo and Green Living Show, to be held in Auckland in April 2011.

It’s still two years away but this going to be a big show and we’re starting publicity early. So visit the Organic Expo site and have a look.

Why Susan Boyle is like a good landing page

By Amanda MacArthur from Mequoda Daily

Test your landing pages, because 9 times out of 10, snap judgments will prove you wrong

In case you haven’t heard, Susan Boyle is the unlikely star of Britain’s Got Talent, a televised talent show over in the UK .

On April 11th, Susan Boyle’s audition was aired, a beautiful rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical “Les Miserables”.

Since then, the video has been uploaded to YouTube and has been viewed over 42 million times.

The charm of Susan Boyle, next to her incredible voice, is her appearance. When Susan first walked on that stage, she was a little goofy, the judges didn’t take her seriously, and neither did the audience. But when she started singing, the laughter stopped. That’s what you call results.

Now, there’s been all kind of jabber in the blogs and on TV about Susan changing her look. As it turns out, her fans don’t want her to change. Susan has started getting her eyebrows done, and shopping for new outfits.

Not to say Susan is losing that special charm, but put simply, the audience liked the underdog.

This is what inspired me to write a post that compared the lovely Susan Boyle to—yes, a landing page.

Why? Because the underdog landing page surprises people too. You need to test a landing page in order to discover what results it will bring. You can’t give it to your best designer and say “make this look pretty”.

When we A/B split our landing pages, the “less pretty” version tends to win, almost every time.

Here’s where my Susan Boyle comparison to a landing page comes in.

1. Good landing pages captivate readers with a story

Great products seldom stand on their own or sell themselves without someone creating a story. A great landing page is a sales letter that begins with a story that heightens desire for the product and prompts a purchase decision.

Read more …

Need more cashflow?

If you want to learn one new skill that will grow your business faster than anything else, it’s this.

Learn to write persuasive sales copy.

This is by far the most powerful and effective component of any effective marketing system - on the Internet or anywhere else.

Writing sales copy comes more naturally to some people than others. If you’re a natural salesperson, you will find it much easier. In fact, writing sales copy is totally different from other forms of writing. You don’t need to be a literary genius. You just need to know how to use simple words effectively to sell.

Take a look at the words on your website now. To be honest, do they really grab you and make you want to buy? Probably not, if your site is like 95% of others out there.

Writing persuasive sales copy takes practice and a certain amount of natural flair. But even if you’re not a natural copy writer, you can still learn a few simple techniques that will transform your writing to a point where it will work relatively well in converting prospects into buyers.

The ’so what’ method of writing powerful sales copy

This is a technique I learned from one of the masters of Web copywriting, Joe Robson. Ask the question after every statement you make: “So what?” In other words, put yourself in your prospective customer’s place and ask, what’s in it for them? Offer them some real benefits.

Write a sentence. Then ask: “So what?” If the sentence isn’t focused towards your reader’s needs and interests, change it!