Written on April 2, 2010 at 7:20 pm by Tracy Matthewman

10 Things To Improve Your Blog/Website For Conversion

Filed under Blogging 15 comments

After creating hundreds of websites for my clients and studying some of the most successful blogs and websites around, I decided to put together a very simple post about ways to improve what you already got!

1. Opt-in Form You need one and it should be above the fold to the right. The experts tell us over and over again, the money is in the list so if you’re not building a mailing list, you’re leaving money on the table. For this use hosted systems like Get Resposne or self-hosted systems such as AutoresponsePlus.

2. Valuable Content People don’t come by your blog/website for just any old reason. They are looking for something…answers to their problems..give it to them. Solve their problems. The more you help people, the more money you will make.

3. Professional Template Use a professional template. There are a ton out there. Pick something clean, simple and reflects who you are. Also the easier it is to manage from the back end, the more time and expense you’ll save. Try themes like Fremium, Flexibility and Swift (all free and easily customizable).

4. Catchy But Focused Tag Line When people land on your blog/website, they should know within a few seconds what you’re all about and what the value is…or at least have an initial ideas as to what it is. The tag line is a great way to convey that message. Make sure it’s not to small so people miss it. Here’s some really cool info on writing tag lines.

5.Copy That Rocks You need to learn at least the basics of direct sales copywriting. Joe Vitale is a master at this and has written a lot about hypnotic copywriting. Remember to not be too hypey (if that’s a word) or over the top, people don’t fall for that stuff as much these days. Be real and authentic. Here some tips for direct sales copywriting.

6. Irresistible Offer The more irresistible your offer is, the more signups you’re going to have. This book should explain enough about how to create one that really converts. The Irresistible Offer – How To Sell Your Product in 3 Seconds Or Less, Compliments of Mark Joyner. Thanks Mark, you rock!

7. Lots Of Content If you don’t know how to write … practice. I honestly think I am a terrible writer but I know the more I do it, the more it comes easily. Instead of focusing on the quality of the writing, focus on the value being provided. That will win over spelling and grammar every time. Ezine articles has a great blog which helps you to generate ideas on what to write about, how to get into the “zone” of writing and other tips. Ezine Articles Blog

8. Who Are You? Show your face on your blog, whether in the header or in the sidebar. People like to know they are dealing with a real person. On the About page, put some pics about you and some personal bits. I would also include things like Facebook badges and Google Friend gadgets.

9. Profitable Real Estate Don’t waste valuable real estate (above the fold) on penny income like Google AdSense, instead find an affiliate product your really keen on and promote that. Chances are you’ll make much higher profit margins. Make sure it’s very targeted to your traffic. If you’re in network marketing, I recommend Magnetic Sposoring for learning how to generate leads.

10. Proof Probably one that a lot of people don’t do enough of (including myself). Put testimonials up on your site…have a testimonials page and scatter a few good ones around the site as well. Make sure they don’t blend in too much. Put them in their own colour shaded box and use font styling to enahance them. Video testimonials are even better.

That’s it..that’s all …hope that helps and give you some more stuff to work on ..