Years ago, I read something about what it took to create a website. The author wrote that to create a successful website it required the creator to be a combination of writer, graphic artist and psychologist. It is obvious why we must play the writer and graphic artist in putting together a website, but psychologist? Actually, some of the reason for playing the psychologist should be clear to you by now. Certainly, getting into your client’s head is a part of that as we discussed in previous modules.

Another part of that is creating a strategy (one or more) through your site to get your visitor from the home page to your site’s Primary Objective or your Most Wanted Response (MWR), as Ken Evoy talks about it. Your site’s objective is about getting your visitor from the home page to the page that provides him/her the opportunity to complete your MWR (Most Wanted Response). Such an action can be to purchase from you, contact you by phone or email, sign up for your newsletter, or fill out a survey, etc.

The Primary Objective of Your Website

Your site’s Primary Objective is something you must determine. Is it to buy your product, service or information online or to contact by email or phone?

Products, services and information that are priced under a hundred dollars usually do not require a conversation with the visitor. If the visitor has been over to your website several times (and it may take as many as eight times before he/she buys) or has done business with you before, talking to you probably will not be necessary. But, when you are an unknown, expect a call, so have your number on your website and make it easy to find.

Moving Your Visitor through Your Website

You have probably noticed on websites that the hyperlinks appear in different areas of the web page. Have you ever wondered why there are links on the side, the top or the bottom and then there are links in the sales copy itself? There are reasons for this and when planned and used smartly, can make a real difference to your visitor and your sales.

Linear and Non-linear Navigation

There are two basic navigation strategies to move through your site; linear and non-linear navigation.

Non-linear Navigation is done by the visitor using the navigation bar on the top, side or bottom of the web page. Visitors click on the links or buttons on the navigation bars as s/he chooses with no direction from you.

Linear Navigation is created by using text links you program into your web page that are part of your sales copy. As you lay out your sales copy, you give your visitor information in the form of sales copy, which is motivating and then you give them a link to click on.

Information –> Motivation –> Navigation

This is part of the web page writing strategy of writing in chunks. Give your visitor enough information to move to the next point of his/her serious interest. This is particularly true with the home page, also called the index page. It is to give your visitor an overview of your website and where s/he can go from there and why.

This is similar to closing a sale. You do this when you provide your visitor enough information, usually benefits, to give them a reason to move to the next point of your sales copy, most often on another web page on your site, such as a product page, shopping cart or order page.

This "Information ->Motivation->Navigation" strategy allows you to direct and control how the visitor moves through your site. If you have set it up strategically, click by click, your visitor will move to your site’s Primary Objective; and if not there, then to your site’s Second or Third Objective. (Those, too, will be determined by you. By the way, you can set up as many objectives on your website as you like. But too many and you will lose your visitor in a labyrinth of links and then you really do “lose your visitor.”)

A Joint – A Special Kind of Link

A joint is a particular kind of link in your body copy. It is the essence of the strategy of “information-motivation-navigation.” In the link is the benefit to click. An example, Yes, I want to find out how to get my First Month of Hosting FREE. The benefit (motivation to click) and the link are “First Month of Hosting FREE.” That is a joint.

A joint that is well crafted is the most effective method to move your visitor through your site to any of your website objectives.

Structuring Your Site

To create an effective strategy that moves your visitor through your site to your MWR (Most Wanted Response), you must have a Structure to your site.

As you begin to structure you Web site, keep in mind the funnel concept. The funnel concept can best be described this way: There is the wide open mouth at the top, and at the bottom is the little spout.

You want to bring visitors into your Web site, at the top of the funnel, and then move them strategically through your Web site click by click. This means a pathway or pathways should be created that leads through the Web site. Those pathways are deliberately planned and created by you. The pathways lead ultimately to the page(s) of your MWR, whether it is to order product, order your newsletter, or to contact you through email, fax or phone.

Preparing to Put Your Sales Copy into Your Website

Before you take your sales copy and put it into your website, it might be wise for you to create a mock up model of your website. This is a form of story boarding your website so you can see with clarity the details and the structure and strategy of your website and how it should work for your visitor.

Creating a Model for Your Site - Story Boarding

Here are a couple of ways to create your site before actually putting your content into your website or refining it if you have already put it on. For some students creating an actual physical model will be the best way to get “your hands on it.” It’s kind of like “story boarding” if you are familiar with that.

Story Boarding your website will help you clarify how your website will work, how your visitor can navigate through your website, and most importantly, how all the pages are connected creating the funnel-effect leading to your Website Primary Objective (WPO – to sell, to contact you, or to sign up for additional information, i.e., a newsletter). As you develop your web strategy, you should build more than one way to get to your WPO.

In addition, you should have back up strategies if your visitor does not choose your WPO. For instance, if you are selling products online, you could invite the visitor to sign up to be notified of specials you run on your site that saves them up to 50%, or offer them a free e-book. Whatever it might be, have back up strategies to impress, captivate and sell your visitors.

Creating a Story Board for Your Website

For many people creating a Story Board, an actual physical model, of your website is tremendously helpful. All you need to create this story board are 8 ½ x 11 sheets of paper, 3 x 5 index cards and enough room on a floor to layout your pages.

Each sheet of paper represents a page on your website. Each 3 x 5 card has on it a headline, a sub-headline, piece of information, or a chunk of information, a link, a graphic image, or an image. (You do not have to have the actual image or picture on the 3 x 5 card, just the word “image” or “picture” with a word or phrase denoting the image.)

Steps to Creating Your Website Story Board

1. Refer to your list of the pages you will have on your website.

2. For each page for you website, take an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper and label the name of that page. For example, Home, Contact, About, Display page 1, Product page – Category 1 (outdoor camping, etc.)

3. Make a list of information you want to have appear on your web pages. As an example, on your home page you would have an opening blast, a number of chunks of information giving an overview of your site, links to other pages on your website, and images.

4. For each piece of information or image to be on your website, jot it down on a 3 x 5 card. Each piece of information will have its own 3 x 5 card.

5. Now, layout your sheets of paper representing your web pages on the floor.

6. Next, lay each 3 x 5 card on the 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper representing a particular web page on your website.

This is story boarding your website. You are verifying how many pages you will have, and the information that is to go on each of the pages, and then how the pages will be linked one to another as the visitor clicks on the text links in your sales copy.

This allows you to test if you have all your information for your site, and if the strategy flow is working, that is, moving your visitor click by click through your web pages to your WPO.

7. Now, arrange your pages into a flow chart with your home page at the top and all the other pages below. You will find as you do so, you have tiers of pages. Your Home page is your first tier. Links on your Home page that lead to display pages or other information pages are your second tier. Product pages where purchases are made are usually the third tier. You can have as many pages on a tier or as many tiers as you want so long as you keep in mind simplicity and ease of navigation for your visitor.

8. Make any adjustments on your pages using your 3 x 5 cards, adding or deleting cards, for the new page layouts and website structure.

9. Once you have a flow chart (also called a hierarchy of pages) that you like, copy it down on another piece of paper.

10. Then, take your notes, your cards and make the changes on your word documents for your web pages. Make sure you save those changes.

11. When you are ready to move your sales copy into your website, open the web page word document you want to load into your website. Minimize the page so it is now on your task bar at the bottom. Next, log into your web builder and the page you want to work in. Click on the task bar and restore your word document. Highlight the text you wish to copy (Control A selects all), then (Control C) to copy. Minimize the word document. The monitor should display your web page to edit. Click your cursor in the text box then do (Control V), which will paste the copy into the page.

12. Save the changes and view to make sure you successfully pasted in your copy. From there, you must do your page layout. Print out your word document as your model to create your page layout on your web page.

The Sales and Marketing Process You Have Been Involved In

You have been learning to write first draft copy, figuring out who your client is, getting into his/her/their head knowing what motivates them (their hot buttons), taking that information and organizing it onto a web page, layout headlines, sub-headlines, chunks of sales copy with links.

All of this has been for the purpose of getting the “right” client to want what you are marketing on your website. As we call it – “getting them to salivate.”

But you have to understand, just because someone wants something does not mean s/he will take action and get it.

Understanding Buying Cycles and Buying Habits

We are creatures of habit. Generally speaking, we like to get ourselves into comfortable grooves and stay there. Truly, most of us resist change because we are comfortable with the familiar and are afraid of the unfamiliar.

This is true for our buying habits whether offline or online. We get into a groove and grocery shop at the same store week in and week out for years if we do not move or it does not shut down. We know where everything is – the baskets, the various items in their rows and shelves, and the people who work there become our “friends.”

Then we go on vacation. And if we have to go shopping to another grocery store, one we do not know, we feel somewhat disoriented, a bit confused and frustrated. Nothing is where we are used to it being! And we do not know these people at all. We are not even sure how the check out will go other than to stand in line and see what happens.

We always make it through this kind of thing, but there can be a bit of anxiety about it because it is all new and unfamiliar.

Shopping and Buying on the Internet

The same thing is true on the Internet, with one big difference. Most people who shop and buy on the Internet never see or talk to the people they are buying from. They would not know them if they saw them on the street, met them at a party or passed by them in a restaurant.

Ask yourself, how often do you buy on the Internet, particularly from businesses that are not the big name brand businesses like Amazon or Microsoft? If you do not buy often through the Internet, why don’t you? Almost always the answer is “fear.” If you are fearful and cautious about buying from the Internet, won’t the visitors who come to your site have some fear, too?

So, you really have two things you must deal with once you have visitors coming to your site: 1) Getting your visitors to trust you and 2) Getting your visitors to change their buying habits.

Getting visitors to come to your site again and again and building their trust in you is a combination of good marketing strategies, great compelling copy on your website, refreshing your site often and making great offers.

The Difference between “Wanting” and “Taking Action”

As written above, just because someone wants something does not mean s/he will take action to get it. So, what is the difference between wanting (getting them to salivate) and taking action (getting them off the couch and doing something about it).

We are Trained How to Buy

We’ll bet you probably did not realize that we are trained how to buy. Like most activities in our society, we are trained how to behave socially and buying is a “social event” in almost all cases.

Infomercials – Lessons in Captivating, Selling, and Motivational Behavior

The best place to observe how we have been trained to buy is to watch infomercials on TV. A great infomercial is a lesson in human motivational behavior.

First, they come in with strong grabber to grab your attention and captivate your interest so you stay there and not change the channel. Next, they come in and push all your hot buttons with the people on screen, the pictures they show you, and the words they say, the emotions they express – all to demonstrate they understand your “problems, needs and wants” and “the benefits you want to enjoy.”

We recommend you watch some infomercials and observe exactly what they do. Now you are aware of what is going on, you will be amazed as you watch them unfold.

What the infomercial is doing is getting you to “salivate.” Yeah, you want it, you want it bad. But they do not stop there. They put more pressure on you. And how do they do that? By making you offers you “can’t refuse.” You laugh, but it’s true.

Creating Motivation for Your Client to Act NOW!

What kind of offers do infomercials make to their watchers? If you have not watched infomercials in a while you should now, because going into business you need to remember, one of the hats you wear is the “marketer.” And a good infomercial is great marketing.

Some Offers You Will Find on Infomercials

Here are some of the offers you will find on infomercials.

• Free Shipping and Handling

• Bonus Items – tapes, videos, books, booklets

• Free Customer Support – Phone

• Online Support – Website with Information

• Reduced Price

• Payments – Instead of Paying it all Upfront, They will Accept Payments

• Guarantee for a Period of Time (30 days or more)

Many of these are offered for a limited time only, creating a sense of scarcity and urgency. That is one reason you should refresh you site often, a minimum of once of a month.

A Schedule of Refreshing Your Website

Once you have finished your website’s initial setup, you should schedule regular refreshing times. This is when you go and make changes on your website. Refreshing your site shows that your site is active and that business is being carried on. Changing your offers on a regular basis gives visitors a sense that if they want what you have then this offer is not going to be here forever, so if they want it they’d better get it now.

Start Programming your Website

If you do not have a website, yet, go to MyWebsiteHQ.com to get a very low cost website that has all the functionality we have discussed over the past few modules.

Over the last weeks you should have been into your website, “playing” with the online software, and becoming familiar with it. If you have done this, you are way ahead of the game at this point. If you have not, time to catch up!

When you have each of your web pages written up in your word processing software, copy and paste it into your website pages. If you have done that already, make your changes on your word document, so you have the latest copy of your web pages always as a back up on your hard drive. (You may also want a back up on a second hard drive on your computer, or burn a new CD with your web pages on it.)

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