subject: Do You Refine Your Website? [print this page] Let's say you have been selling eco-friendly products.You've got a great website in place, a blog, a Facebook and Twitter account and all things seems to be going well so far. Do you review your website some more? You don't, because to you, everything seems fine and great.But you want MORE people talking about your products and informing their friends and relatives. You want word-of-mouth to spread naturally. You want to create a ripple -- you want someone who has never heard of you to discover your product and tell someone else about it.So how do you get more people to your site and buy your great eco-friendly stuff? A website that "looks okay" to you could be a pretty boring website to someone else. And boring doesn't help you to get word of mouth, does it?So what do you do?Refine your website.Of course we all know that people can be easily distracted online. When they do get to your site, they first have to orient themselves. They look at your products, read your About us section, check out your blog and search for the value you offer. What's so great about you or your products except for the fact that they're eco-friendly? There are a lot of eco-friendly stores and products out there - why should they buy from you?Take the place of your customers who land on your website. Do they see a lot of photos of your products, testimonials and blurbs floating around, a blog with the benefits of your products, a bio of someone they don't know? While these elements are good, their placement on your site is essential, as well as colors, fonts, and of course, powerful content.Refine your website. Make it better. Now a days, you cannot content yourself with "okay", or "fine". Your website and everything in it should be extremely engaging and incredibly tangible! Build your entire website to be a buzz generator. Every page should have a certain mood, designed to elicit a specific thought in the visitor's mind. You want them to be thinking, "this is really great!" or "wow!".Remember the AIDA model? When you refine your website, go back to it. Grab their Attention with your landing page. So they won't wander off and click away, capture their Interest and lead them through your site with great navigation. Make them want to know more by highlighting some interesting bits on every page. Get them to take Action with your call to action (to buy or to share) and make it easy for them to proceed to checkout when they do buy. On the other hand, if you already have a great website that gets raving reviews, congratulations! Just keep it current. Surprise your loyal visitors from time to time with a new offer or a great new blog post, and they'll surely keep coming back to you!
