There is a big conundrum for many online businesses: they have good blog traffic and click-through rates for their newsletters, but somehow they cannot catch clients. There is a broken link somewhere, between the content read by site visitors and the decision to go ahead with a purchase decision.
What could this broken link be? The answer is very simple: it’s something in the online content that doesn’t look right, that is not in line with your online store and corporate website. People sense discrepancies, lose trust and decide that they will not spend their money on your website.
Here are a few ideas helping you create online content that works for your business and converts website traffic and newsletter subscribers into customers:
1. Use the same tone of voice everywhere online
All the people will note the difference between the friendly, informal tone of your newsletter and the cold, legalese wording on your website. They will not be impressed by your knowledge of long and complicated terms – because they will not understand them in the first place. Plus, they will feel betrayed: lured by a nice text onto a website that is completely different from the image portrayed in your newsletter.
Therefore, be genuine and uniform throughout all your communications with your clients. Imagine how you would feel, for instance, if someone you barely know invites you to a friendly barbecue, and you find yourself instead at a black tie event, wearing t-shirt and slacks.
2. Keep your online content relevant
Find out what your readers’ needs and interests are and cover them in interesting topics. Your online copy is not for the search engines, it is for the readers. It must be helpful, informative and current. Update your blog and news section of the website constantly, organize Q&A sessions with your readers and discover more about what they would really like to read on your website.
Showing interest in their lives makes people feel important. Providing them with information they need, makes them feel special – someone listens to them, cares about them and tries to help them.
3. Do not turn every text into a sales pitch
It is a big pitfall for most companies. They start a blog piece as an informative text, baiting people to read on and find a solution to one of their problems. However, as they progress with the reading, they realize that the proposed solution is buying a product. Nothing makes people lose faith more than realizing that they are being pitched a sale instead of being offered assistance and guidance.
Thus, never start a sales pitch as a how-to, DIY or tutorial article. Conversely, do not make every blog post a sales pitch. Offer some free advice – it costs you nothing, but it can bring you a lot of loyal customers in the long run.
4. Use an adequate call-to-action
This is a corollary of the advice above. Each blog post or newsletter must have a call to action. However, call-to-action does not mean sales pitch. A good call-to-action for a newsletter is to invite your subscribers to view your most recent video demonstrating the use of your latest product. You can invite them to participate in a poll, a contest, or a survey. These are very valuable, because you obtain free insights about your subscribers’ lives, preferences, demographics and so on.