About Coach Thom
Senior Partner ActionCoach Central Pennsylvania
Total of $9 Million new revenue created through website improvements
Named “GLOBAL Coach of the Year/Client Results” -2009
Beat out coaches from London, Mexico City, Singapore and Sydney
Ugly WebsitesMake More Money
Coach Thom Finn
Learnings….
Blinding Flashes of the Obvious
BFO’s
Write Them Down
A Poorly Written Note is Better Than..
A Great Thought Forgotten
And your Commitments to Do
BFO’s To Do’s
To Make Sure You Get the Most Out of Your Learning ...
I KNOW
Fold white piece of paper over
1st Name
Type of business
A NEW way of looking at websites
Great question is “Whatcha gonna do?”
It’s OUR time! Not the graphic folks, not the geeks….but thanks for your pioneering
Nobody knew HOW the web worked
“I kind of think Coach Thom is a little crazy…” –name withheld
E*Marketing is HONEST
Ford’s 7 different websites
My guarantee: You’ll know more about websites than your web guy does.
Increase Number of Leads
xImprove
Conversion Rate=
Increase No. of Customers
xUP the No. of
Transactionsx
Increase Ave. $$$ Sale=
Incomex
Improve the Margin
=Profits
Increase Number of Leads
xImprove
Conversion Rate=
Increase No. of Customers
xUP the No. of
Transactionsx
Increase Ave. $$$ Sale=
Incomex
Improve the Margin
=Profits
Who should you really listen to?
A. This blow hard at the front of the room
B. Your webmaster
C. Your customer
Who is your reader?
This marketing that is essential
Male/Female
How old?
Where do they live?
Married? Kids?
How much do they earn?
What's their house like?
What are their hobbies?
How are they informed/educated?
How do they approach your product?
How do they learn about your product?
How do they use the web for your product?
PERSONAE/S*
How long is the marketing cycle?
What IS the marketing cycle?
How long is the sale cycle?
What IS the sales cycle?
Who do you write for?
The retail customer?
The Wholesale distributor?
The person who got your direct mail?
The folks that saw your ad?
Should you clearly Define your site?
Should you have separate site?
Pick a Personae..
Pick a Personae..
5 Minute Exercise: Find your Personae/s
Personae #1 is_______________ And they are________________
__________________________
And ______________________
Personae #2 is_______________ And they are _____________________
________________________________
And _____________________________
“My main focus, as creator of my company's website should be on:”
Graphics
Animations
Tasks
Exhibit A: How your target interacts with different mediums
Newspaper reader
Direct Mail and Catalogues
Professional Trade Magazine
Web user
Exhibit A: How your target interacts with different mediums
THINK! THINK! HOW will these people typically interact with these mediums? Newspaper?
Direct Mail/Catalogues?
Trade Magazine?
Web User?
Group Case Study:
Volunteer or Prepared Case Study?
Target: Colleen wants a new deck
Will the web be the 1st thing she checks?
How will she use the web? (LG? CR?)
Once there, WHAT are 4 likely tasks she wants to accomplish?
Okay..remember this and compare these FACTS with….
HOW the web is used
Different from face to face
From Sales letter
From print ad
Low % return to a site, book mark
Best Slide from Today
What are the 4 tasks a reader wants to accomplish when they visit your site
What 3 questions will they have?
What 3 objections will they raise
All 10 must be on your site
Homework Assignment:
What are the 4 tasks ______(insert name) come to your website to do
Can they currently complete these 4 tasks?
List the steps you must take so that ____ can accomplish what they want when they arrive.
Think “effortlessly”
Less is More
What does FILLER mean?
USEFUL not big
The “more” gene
Who is going to manage all this stuff?
If you are your staff haven’t made necessary updates in the past 6 months, get rid of it
Analyze your site statistics for duds.
Limit Choices
Think “Signs”
Toilets
Baggage Claim
Taxis
Temperature Check..
Who is motivated?
Focus MORE on the contents..the words..less on graphics and pictures
Focus on EDUCATION
Educate your customers
Sally must learn something as a direct result of coming to your website
#1 Rapport, #2 Trusted Advisor
Creating Killer Websites…
Test, test and test.
Usability Studies
Your webpage’s analytics
Google Analytics for free
Not a Murder Mystery- tell them “Who Done it” right away
#1 Popular Task #2 Popular Task #4 Popular Task#3 Popular Task
Navigation Basics
Popular pic.
2-dairy infor.
2-dairy infor.
Boring/required Boring/required Boring/required
2-dairy infor.
Popular pic.
Popular pic.
Fishing.
#1 Popular Task #2 Popular Task #4 Popular Task#3 Popular Task
Navigation Basics
Popular pic.
2-dairy infor.
2-dairy infor.
Boring/required Boring/required Boring/required
2-dairy infor.
Popular pic.
Popular pic.
Fishing.
www.yourwebpage.com
Try to write in bullets
Since people Skim more than they actually read, you’ll get your point across to them
Remember GIVE attention at this point, not get attention
Talk in the shape of the Pyramid.
Lesser points at the bottom
www.yourwebpage.com
Try to write in bullets
Since people Skim more than they actually read, you’ll get your point across to them
Remember GIVE attention at this point, not get attention
Talk in the shape of the Pyramid.
Lesser points at the bottom
www.yourpage.com
THISWORD and THESE words will be more important to the reader when they skim your sight. You know how I said people read, well in truth they actually SKIM. I was just trying to make a point about READING over graphics. So in a narrative (and use these sparingly) you want to make sure you lead with your KEY words. Leading with the Keywords will also get you rewards from the search engines, which we will talk about later..
And then REPEAT this process with your next. You want to get their attention with these keywords and tell them “Who dunnit” right away.
www.yourpage.com
MainPage
More info.On HighLite from
Main page
Lesserimportance
Littleimportance
Lesserimportance
Important content first on pages
After 100 words.. Lost 25%
After 300 words…lost 40%
By 500 words…lost 60%
By 1000 words…lost 80%
“Thanks for scaring the pants off me Coach Thom, just WHAT do you suggest I write about?”
Care?*
Concise
Compelling?*
Clear?*
Complete?
Correct?
* focus here
C= Who Cares?
Rule for all advertising and marketing
Write from their point of view
You are NOT your target market
Is it Compelling?
WIIFM
The purpose of the first word is to get you to the 2nd..
The purpose of the first sentence is to you get to the 2nd…
The purpose of the first page is to get you to the 2nd…
Draw the reader in using Keywords
Is it Clear?Toilets
Taxis
Baggage Claim
In Short..
KEY WORDS
We usually think of them as…..
And we usually use key words to…
Think of Key words more for your customers
Write for the readers, NOT the Search Engines.
The Search Engines will reward you. Eventually. Be patient.
Key Words for Self Service
What web users expect when they are doing it themselves.
Elements of Self Service Convenience
Speed
Price
A Successful web page is one that lets the readers accomplish the text they came for.
Keywords Before S.E.O.
The basis for Search Engine Optimization are Key WORDS*
When Larry sits down at the computer he search is based on Key WORDS*
Search Engines reward sights with higher rankings by repeated views, which are based on Key Words
*not pictures, not graphics, not out of the box web design, not flashy intros, not $90 and hour color schemes
Key Word cycle ...
How to (technically) submit Key Words to the Search Engines
www.google.com/addurl/
http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html
Outsource it to someone who knows the extra technical tricks.
Matt @ EZ Solution
Guaranteed 1st page placement onGoogle or you don’t pay us!Keyword Selection
Site Evaluations & Optimization
Link Building
EZ Solution: Matt Boaman
www.ezsolution.com
291.4689
Choose Keywords Wisely
Letting the Search Engines use what is currently on your sight……..F
Putting 5 minutes of thought behind what you think your customers will search and submitting those to Search Engines….C
Conducting 2 hours worth of informal chats with customers finding out what they type and submitting those words….A
Create a list of KILLER Keywords
Prepare a list of possible keywords
Get customers to choose the ones most likely to use
Analyze the results
Have these/submit these to Google, yahoo, MSN, AltaVista or specialty Search Engine
3 Minute Workshop Exercise
Brain Storm a list of possible keywords
Put a CHECK by the ones you think will be more popular
What we think VS. What they think
What we think…what they think
Accomodation.2,479
Special Offers..2,373
Planning a trip..1,475
About Hershey.1,234
Getting Around..1,048
Hershey………..263
Harrisburg……..160
Capital Region….25
HHC Visitors Center.22
Tourism Bureau…21
Thom, quit your job and write copy..
What we think…what they think
Vacation Deals…………………17,623
Vacation Special Offers…………….0
Travel Special Offers………………46
Cheap Travel……………………90,969
Travel deals……………………..58,615
To hellWith your
brand!
Penn State
US vs. THEM
PSU Staff Prospective Students
ability to explore ideas with lecturers future job prospects
curriculum placement ratios
pedigree attrition
curriculum vitae career advice
syllabus social life
internships night life
class size housing
course content… fees
course objectives top ranking university
research registration
USDA lab getting the courses I want
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
1 20 40 60 80 100
Care Words
The Long NeckThe Long Neck
#1 Popular Task #2 Popular Task #4 Popular Task#3 Popular Task
Navigation Basics
Popular pic.
2-dairy infor.
2-dairy infor.
Boring/required Boring/required Boring/required
2-dairy infor.
Popular pic.
Popular pic.
Fishing.
Years of Education and Experience on Copywriting in 4 points..
1. Use Keywords as lead in
2. Write in 2nd person…when considering becoming a gazebo dealer, you should consider..
3. NEVER write in 1st person..We are egotistical snobs who don’t care about anyone
4. Write as you they speak
Okay..so it wasn’t 4 points
Limit your dead ends. “Return to”, next step. Help your reader complete the task you wanted them/they wanted Talk to one of your experts Request your free custom made quote here Receive a catalogue by mail Reserve your seat at the workshop now Learn more about the speaker See what other customers are saying
Search: Getting Found
Links! Not gimmicky quantity- links
Google Dance
Google OBSESSED with customers’ tasks
Reward you for linking in a logical pattern
Go for quality
Be a link snob
Be tight with reciprocating links
Link with the right keywords
Don’t vex Google & Yahoo
Too good to be true?
White words
Messing with meta tags & headlines
Be Patient. You shall be rewarded for your content.
Why you should fill out your wrap up surveys:
“As the owner of commercial building firm that specializes in car dealerships in South Central Pennsylvania, we learned so much from Coach Thom. He is undoubtedly the smartest man to ever walk the earth. We just don’t know how we EVER managed to survive without him. I shall name by next born child after him”
- Joe Smith,www.smithsconstruction.com
How GOOGLE works with links..
Winner!
Last AND LEAST..”While I have your attention…”
Harvest leads Depending on size, use a CTA to get low
barrier information
Easy & trustworthy
Different CTA’s…more information
Email communications Cheap effective way to stay in touch with
prospects and customers
“I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.”~Warren Buffet
“I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars:
From Your BFO Sheet….
And your Commitments to Do
BFO’s To Do’s
Do you REALLY want to get this stuff done?
No….I just wrote stuff to get you off my back
√
√
What would it be like if youEXECUTED what you wrote down….
Yes…but it’s really not that importantYes! I do…I really do…
Sign up for FREE Accountability with Will….or AccountaWility
List the items you want to be held accountable to do, with a date, and the best way he can follow up with you (phone/Email/etc)
To Wrap It UpPlease Complete the Session Evaluation Form
Please provide your feedback (our Test & Measure)
See me with 1:1 Questions
See Will about the Voucher
Thom Finn 717.215.4277
