The quick answer to that question is, more than you probably think. Let’s look at all the ways that you can connect with your customers.

The first way is with your website as a whole. You should have a clear enough idea of who your trying to reach that when they go to your site, your ideal customer immediately knows they are in the right place. Use imagery and language that speaks to them. Understanding who they are and what they are looking for will set you apart.

Another way is when they sign up to join your email list. Sign-ups often get an automatic reply letting the customer know they’ve been subscribed. These emails are typically very easy to customize. Take a moment to test yours out and see if it has the message you want. If it is a boring line of text that just says ‘Thank you, you are now subscribed,’ you can do better.

If the customers completes a purchase, what do they see after the purchase goes through? There are many opportunities for connections when you are tracking your customers the way that we recommend. For instance, if you integrate Facebook ads to your marketing budget, adding a Facebook pixel allows you to create audiences for your ads based on what your customers do.

See this post for more information about segmenting your Facebook ads. But basically, Facebook ads can target people who have ever visited your website (once the pixel is in place), people who visited your Pricing page (this means they were interested but probably not yet convinced to buy), people who abandoned their shopping carts (again, interested but not yet ready), and people who have previously purchased). With some creativity, you can come up with even more audiences based on your specific needs. Following up with each of these unique audiences is a unique way to connect.

Let’s say someone does make a purchase. Do they get a confirmation email? What does it say? If it’s just a boring line of text, make it better and more personal.

Send a follow up email after they’ve had the item for a couple of weeks checking in to see if it’s all they dreamed of. Perhaps ask them for a review. Suggest they take a photo and tag it on Instagram (make sure you follow up and like the post).

All of these are examples of connecting with customers in ways that many businesses don’t think of. But when you break it all down, isn’t it just all about getting personal? You’re giving them opportunities to get to know your business in many ways, and they’re giving you the opportunity to get to know them and exactly what they want.

I was a bit surprised when I read the percentage of how many online shoppers use PayPal. Before you read on, take a quick guess at the number…

Here’s the percentage: 87.5% of online shoppers using PayPal to check out ultimately convert and buy. Visa Checkout converts online shoppers at a rate of 51.2%, says ComScore. Other payment options convert shoppers at a rate of 45.6%. This means that PayPal outperforms other payment platforms by 41.9%.

The high rate of completion by PayPal surprised me but it shouldn’t have. When I’m shopping online I definitely notice and appreciate having the PayPal option. Usually, if there isn’t a way to check out with PayPal, I will still buy the item, but I might not buy it right then. It never fails that I’m looking for something online after everyone else has gone to sleep. My purse is in the bedroom with the lights off and I don’t want to have to wake up my partner while I’m fumbling around to find my wallet.

Having an online checkout option that doesn’t require me to go get my credit card is a relief. I trust PayPal, and, apparently, so do many other people.

There is still a large percentage of the population who does not like to enter in credit card information over the internet. While they will not like to enter in a card directly to a website, they are more likely to trust a third-party provider like PayPal that they have to log in to and authorize. I found a separate study, released in 2015 by Bizrate, that said the first most trusted online retailer was Amazon. This was followed by PayPal, and eBay in third place.

This proves that it’s valuable to provide a variety of different payment options. Some people will still go get their credit card, but for the people who don’t want to, make it easy. A plugin called WordPress PayPal enables PayPal checkout on your WordPress site.

 

Copywriting is writing that conveys information for advertising or marketing purposes. That broad definition could involve any kind of writing you would do: for your website, your marketing emails, print advertisements, Facebook advertisements, etc. Effective writing keeps people reading and makes the most of the words you choose. Good copywriting strategically delivers information encouraging people to take the action you want. Here are the keys to understanding how to create compelling content.

Understand the reader

Yes, you are writing for a large audience. But think of yourself as a salesperson. A good salesperson concentrates on one customer at a time. A good salesperson makes sure that customer feels taken care of that single customer’s questions are answered. Try to think of yourself as a salesperson when you are writing your copy. Know your audience to the point that you can answer their questions as if you were talking to just one person. Explain what you’ve got for them and how it will solve their problems. You want to understand your target audience so well that it’s like you’re reading their mind.

Write a great headline

If a headline is weak, it won’t get read. Don’t be puffy or vague. Make it intriguing. Informative headlines that include a number, how-tos and guides often get more readers than other kinds of headlines.

Avoid passive language

Passive voice is not a grammatical error. It’s not wrong, and it works in many instances. In general though, passive voice is a style, or a tone, that comes across as vague. And in certain uses, can be confusing. Active verbs convey more energy than passive verbs, which is why marketing copy urges writers to avoid being passive in their sentence construction.

An example is “The company released the product last month” versus “The product was released by the company last month.” The first sentence is active while the second is passive. Avoiding passive language helps make your writing shorter, which is ideal in marketing copy. It also is more motivating than passive when you are trying to get your readers to take action. Think about this: “Your business can grow with a loan from Lenders Bank” versus “Grow your business with a loan from Lenders Bank.” The second example is more powerful.

Make the content scannable by using bold type, short paragraphs, photos and bullet points

The average readers wants to gather information in quick “bites.” Keep paragraphs short, which also means you must get to the point. Subheadings break up information, so people know where to look for what they want. Bullet points allow you to include a lot of information without being too long-winded. Sum up key points with infographics or other images.

Avoid clichés

Advertising copy is not the place for creative writing in the sense of including jokes, cliches or wordplay. Even if you think it is clever. Crafted writing is important, but trying to be clever often results in lost readers.

Tell them what to do next.

The reader should be naturally led along to the next action you want them to take. Be specific and be clear about whatever that is. Think about the difference between “click here” and “Visit our site for your money-back guarantee download.” The second provides more information on what they should do and what they are getting.

Copywriting is an art as well as a science. Essentially, good advertising copy is telling a story in a very short space. From the headline to the final CTA, all the pieces must be short and sweet and fit together in a compelling way that takes the reader through to the end. If you’re not sure how to create good advertising copy yourself, or you want some expert advice on how to create compelling content, get in touch with the experts at Build Your Dream Business. Building businesses is what we do.

Conversion rate is the percentage of users who take a desired action on your website. For many ecommerce sites it relates to completed purchases. For service-oriented sites, conversion rate could mean the percentage of people who download an item, make a phone call or sign up for a newsletter. Whatever metric you track, a high conversion rate depends on various factors that encourage the site visitor to complete the desired action. Increase your website’s conversion rate right now with these 4 action items.

Check Your Metrics

Dig into your site’s analytics to uncover how long people are staying on your site, which pages they are visiting while there and what page they drop off from. For instance, visitors may abandon their cart before the payment page. Look at your bounce and exit rates for the first step in making sense of your conversion rate.

Evaluate Your CTAs

On every page, tell your users what they should do next. Your language should always guide the user toward the action you want them to take. The “take action” link or button should look more important than other links.

Try Split Testing

Sometimes a small tweak significantly improves conversion rates. For example, measure the use of a red button in effectiveness to a green button. Or, change the CTA from “Click Here” to “Download Now.” Make one small change on your site at a time and observe your statistics to see if it makes a difference.

Reduce or Remove Risk

If you haven’t had a chance to build trust with the people you’re courting as potential customers, they may be hesitant to complete whatever transaction you’re offering. Giving them some sort of guarantee can be the psychological boost your customers need to complete the deal. Try making it clear that there is no risk to the buyer through 30-day money back guarantees, free shipping or easy returns.

Increase your website’s conversion rate by trying out these simple things, and track your analytics to see if it makes a difference. It might not be realistic to expect an overnight change, but you can start things moving in the right direction.