"Ron, we're giving you a new assignment. You're in charge of
the company web site. It's a big responsibility, but we
know you can handle it." Everyone in the room smiles and
nods, and then everyone gives Ron a big round of applause.
This applause, of course, is mostly joy at not being in
Ron's shoes. Comments like "Man, that's a tough job," "I
wouldn't want it," "Where would you even start?" ripple
through the room.
Ron says, "Thank you, sir, I'm really
looking forward to the opportunity, and crosses his fingers
under the table. The company president smiles at Ron and
continues, "The main goal is to increase the site's
profitability. We're bleeding money through that modem.
You're our best manager. Figure out what's wrong and stop
the hemorrhage. Understood?" Ron nods numbly. "Understood."
Many executives, like Ron, are responsible for the company
web site but don't clearly understand one key factor in
making money from a web site. Site management is important;
so are selling products and building advertising/branding
partnerships. But one of the most crucial factors in the
success of a commercial web site is repeat traffic. Just as
movie producers hope to attract repeat viewers, a
commercial web site has to attract repeat visitors in order
to make a profit.
One element of web design and planning that is often
overlooked, is the site's purpose. Many companies think of
their web site as "a place to sell our products." That's a
fine beginning on purpose, and will succeed with people who
are online specifically to shop for-and buy-exactly that
type of product, right now.
But a profitable site should also cater to people who are
just looking for information on a general type of product
or who would like to buy, but aren't sure who they'd like
to buy from. The most successful commercial sites even
reach people who don't know they need that product-but know
what they need to accomplish.
Selling to people who are not buying right now is harder
than selling to "ripe" customers, but is essential to
maintaining a profitable web site. The key is to sell these
people on the web site itself, and keep them coming back to
that site until they're ready to make a purchase. When they
do make a purchase, they'll be the very best kind of
customer-loyal and happy-and they'll spread the word to
other potential customers.
The best way to keep people coming back to a web site is to
provide interesting content and update it regularly. A
company which sells widgets should provide as much
information as possible about widgets--what they are, how
they're made, what they do, where to find them, how to take
care of them, and where to get them fixed. This information
should be current and relevant, and should be updated
regularly-at least once a month. Visitors should feel that
this company cares about them, wants to keep them informed,
and isn't only interested in selling them widgets.
"Content" encompasses a lot of territory. One excellent way
to add content to a site is to create a "newsstand." This
consists of articles written in-house or submitted by
visitors, and a "menu" page linking to each article.
Articles give existing visitors more content when they
return, and listing the articles themselves with search
engines pulls traffic from people who are looking for an
article on the care and feeding of widgets, for example.
Email newsletters are another excellent way to build repeat
traffic. Many web sites offer a "subscribe to our
newsletter" button right on the front page-because it
works. A weekly or monthly newsletter containing two or
three articles and a plug for the sponsoring site, is a
very inexpensive marketing tool and an excellent way to
build community and draw repeat traffic. Another way to
become a popular widget site is to set up a section
providing links to widget resources. This section should
include as many widget-related links as possible, in all the
various widget areas--production, maintenance, etc. The best
way to start a resource section is to find as many links as
possible, write one or two sentence descriptions of each,
and begin the resource section with at least 10 links in
each category. The resource section should be updated at
least twice a month. This resource section will soon become
one of the major "widget information locations" on the
Internet-and will attract ripe customers as well as
potential customers requiring some time to "ripen."
Interactive "community-building" features are another good
way to build repeat traffic for a site. Chat rooms are very
popular; scheduling a regular moderated chat on widgets is
an excellent way to generate repeat visits. So is inviting
widget experts for special chats and promoting these
special events heavily.
Another way to get people talking about--and on-a web site
is to set up a bulletin board system. Web sites with
successful bulletin boards have webmasters who work on the
boards constantly. They "seed" the boards with messages to
get people talking, and then drop by frequently to keep the
conversation going. Sites with "hands-on" bulletin board
operators get a reputation as being "a good place to get
information," and have one more mark in their favor with
prospective customers.
One final item that is crucial in providing content is to
provide a list of trouble-shooting tips, known problems,
and frequently asked questions. What? Let people know that
XYZ widgets don't work 100% correctly 100% of the time?
Sure. Chances are, they already know that. Nothing is
perfect. But providing a list of common issues and
questions lets potential customers know that XYZ, as a
widget producer, cares about their widget-related problems
and is interested in providing information on how to solve
those problems. And if they still have problems, they can
email the widget support staff at XYZ and get personal
attention from widget experts. This attention to potential
problems will sell a lot of widgets-possibly more than any
advertising campaign..
The key to getting people to come back to a web site-any web
site- is to give them a reason to come back. Fresh articles,
updated links, chat rooms, bulletin boards and a robust
support area will all serve to create a "must-bookmark"
site for many people interested in widgets--even if they're
not interested in buying a widget right now.
Article by Angie Dixon of Internet Copy Doctor. Angie is
a freelance copy writer and Internet business consultant.
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