How to convert your website visitors into clients
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As a business owner, you’re probably concerned with driving traffic to your website. That’s good — you should be!
But it doesn’t stop there.
Having new people discover your website is great, but if none of them become paying clients, you’re not much further ahead.
To increase the chances of your website visitors deciding to do business with you, try the following strategies.
Put a sign-up form on your home page.
Since many people only visit a website once, grab their attention and start the relationship as quickly as possible by offering a weekly or monthly newsletter. This allows you to collect their contact information even if they’re not ready to communicate with you directly.
Display your subscription form prominently. If it’s easy to find, people are more likely to fill it out.
Give your visitors something they can use immediately.
Immediate gratification goes a long way! You may already offer a gift incentive to new subscribers, but consider making a valuable resource, such as a downloadable report or checklist, available to all your visitors.
Don’t forget to put your name on the documents you give away! Promoting yourself, your business and your website is essential. Every document your visitors download or print is a piece of advertising.
Create a sense of personal commitment.
Positioning yourself as a valuable resource will bring you one step closer to gaining a new client.
Be direct and make it personal. When you show that you’re dedicated, your visitors are more likely to feel that you care about them. Above all, make it crystal clear that you can help solve their problems.
Demonstrate that your product or service is ideal.
Don’t just tell your visitors that your product or service is exactly what they need — show them!
Make them feel like you’re speaking directly to them about their concerns, not just bragging about how great you are. As an example, rather than just listing testimonials, share case studies that show how you’ve helped your clients. Your next client might see herself or himself in one of the scenarios!
Quality matters.
Like many things in life, when it comes to your website, you get what you pay for.
It may be tempting to shave costs by doing it yourself, but it takes hundreds of hours to develop the skills required to create a great website.
While it may seem expensive, working with a designer who can transform your ideas into a credible and professional website is a sound investment in your business.
Janet Barclay
I eliminate stress for my clients by hosting, monitoring, and maintaining their WordPress sites so they don’t have to worry about security, downtime or performance issues. When I’m away from my desk, I enjoy reading, photography, cooking, watching movies, drinking tea, and spending time with my family.
First, make sure your website is up and running LOL! Great tips here as always, Janet. This is all part of figuring out what your purpose is for your site, and how to make your tools and investments work for your business!
That definitely helps! 😉
I’m glad you liked the article.
Good points, Janet.
I recently spoke with a former client who was looking for a “cheap web designer.” While she was being honest on what she was looking for, I found myself not sharing the plentiful web designer resources I have in my community. I have an issue when people say they want something cheap. I didn’t want to share with her my web designer associates because they are not cheap.
If you want quality, you have to pay for the quality don’t expect to get good quality for a cheap price.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that, Sabrina!
It brings this saying to mind: Cheap, Fast, Good – pick two.
Really good advice Janet. I think it’s really important to be talking directly to our clients and finding out what they need. I know my blog site/ website could use some help. Always a work in process.
“Always a work in process” – I couldn’t agree more! I recommend setting aside a small chunk of time at least once a month to work on your website.
This is excellent advice! It takes time to find your voice and communicate that voice through your website. Working with a professional like you to make those two things mesh is key. And the time and finances investing into that process are well worth the benefits.
Over the years, I’ve had at least three or four major website redesigns and overhauls. Each time I learned something new and relied on a website design professional’s skills to guide me through the process. It was always an investment, but it the completely worthwhile.
I really like the way you put this: “It takes time to find your voice and communicate that voice through your website.”
That’s such a good point!
I visit quite a few websites and it’s all so impersonal that even the About page doesn’t tell me anything about the person or people behind the business. It’s so important to let your voice shine through so others can start to know, like and trust you.
Great advise. Some are simple to do and others take more time and effort. It is nice to find things you can do yourself that make a good impression. I think working with a copyrighter is a good way to get the tone and words written well. I started so long ago and wrote my own words and kept revising them. Now I think to make the best impression quickly to those possible clients using a copyrighter in addition to a web designer might be more important now with so many websites than it was when I started. Definitely start with a professional web designer like Janet and add a copyrighter if you have the funds.
I’ve had a potential client approach me about redesigning their site because they weren’t getting good results from it. After reviewing the site, I told them “Your problem isn’t your design; it’s your content.” I referred them to the copywriter you introduced me to a few years ago and it made a big difference. (Of course, I hope they’ll come back to me for a new design at some point…)
Timely reminder, Janet – how much does it cost in terms of hours and energy to learn something that someone else is an expert in? Sometimes saving money is expensive.
Even if they have time to learn it now, by the time they need a new site, everything will have changed. You definitely have to consider all sides before making a decision.
I like that you note that quality matters. So often I talk to small business owners who have created an amateur-looking site themselves to save money, but they are competing with businesses with professional sites. I guess it’s OK when you are getting started but I feel it’s a good investment in having a quality site.
It can be hard to justify the investment when you’re starting out and not bringing in much income, but your point about having to compete with professional sites is spot on. You definitely don’t want your DIY website to stick out like a sore thumb!
As always, your wisdom reigns supreme, Janet. I feel confident in the content on my site; less so, always, in the technical skills. I don’t need a copywriter, but I’ve seen gorgeous sites with text that can barely be considered writing. My bet is that you catch clients with design, but you keep them with content, because they’re there for what you can do for them. Thanks for the reminder that style is important, but substance is key.
You should feel confident in your content – you’re a great writer! I especially like these phrases:
“you catch clients with design, but you keep them with content”
“style is important, but substance is key”
Some really great tips here Janet. I will be going through my website and doing some tweaking this week into next and will take note of your suggestions!
Have fun with it! I look forward to seeing your changes.