The Mindset is Everything
Got that thumbnail sketch of your
ideal customer yet? Only then can you figure out what you can offer… or what
pain you can cure. In other word, you can figure out the benefits for your
customers. So dig around and find those details that describe your target
customer. For example...
• Baby boomer? Senior citizen?
Techie? Collector? Freelancer?
• Family? Single? Partners?
• Money concerns? Stressed for
time? Unhappy at work?
• Risk-taker? Energetic?
Self-starter?
• Net savvy? Newbie?
• Cautious? Relationship-builder?
Committed?
Make your sketch as comprehensive
as you can. If your product has more than one kind of consumer, do a profile
for each major type.
Don’t forget to check out where
your traffic to your Web site is coming from. Is it through a Search Engine, or
through the promotion of your URL in an ad or a newsletter?
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This information will give you
another clue as to your visitors’ mindsets when they arrive to read your Web
site’s content. Ad traffic is tougher to persuade than customers who arrive via
Search Engines.
Why? Why is ad traffic tougher?
Because if people find you via an
ad, they know they’ve been “pitched.” And they know another pitch is coming. So
they feel that you are using their time.
But if they find you via Search
Engines, that’s another story...
They were looking for you! They
found you via a keyword search, so they are targeted. And they feel smart for
finding you. You are already half way home, because they were looking for, and
found what they wanted… Content!
Theme-based content attracts
targeted visitors (i.e., potential customers) because you have written it to
rank highly at the engines, in a “no-tricks way” that the Search Engines
respect ... an ethical, effective way to attract targeted customers to your
site. Motivated, interested traffic builds.
Search Engines are, by far, the
#1 way that surfers find Web sites. If they cannot find your site, it does not
exist. As the engines improve their algorithms, all the Search Engine experts
say that well-written theme sites are what will rank best for specific keywords
over the coming years.
One more important point...
Finding a site through a Search
Engine is more credible than visiting a site due to advertising. It is the
offline equivalent of reading editorial content in a newspaper, as opposed to
an ad.
Your high-value, original content
PREsells your targeted visitors, winning confidence and trust by providing the
information they seek. Your content establishes your expertise in this niche.
It credentializes you in the eyes of your potential customers.
Is she feeling cynical and
impatient? Or enthusiastic and information-seeking? Ready to be persuaded? You
have to write the right words to get her to stay on your site. Take your time
as you build your foundation/thumbnail sketch(es). The effort you put in now is
going to support your Web site and of course, your business.
Remember the next Web site for your visitor is
only a mouse-click away. And realistically, that next site probably belongs to
a competitor. Your words are always competing with a ticking clock. A rather
sobering thought, isn’t it?
Life on the Net is fast, but you
can handle the speed if you are prepared.
OK, time for your next
assignment... Please write out, point by point, a detailed thumbnail sketch of
your ideal customer.
Everything is falling into place.
Upon completion of this assignment, your foundation will be firm. You will have
a MWR, a good understanding of effective PREselling, and a detailed thumbnail sketch
of your ideal customer. We’ll be ready to cover how to write sales copy that
sells.
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