Derek Gehl 
Are you struggling to make serious (or any) money with your
Internet business? Then it's time to put your website to the
test!
See, we know from years of experience that the MOST successful
Internet businesses belong to people who are constantly testing
and tweaking their sites, always on the lookout for changes they
can make that will improve their results by even a tiny fraction.
That's because, over time, these TINY improvements add up to BIG
improvements... which lead to LOTS of additional profits in the
bank.
And testing is SO easy to do, we're shocked that so few people
actually do it!
To run a test on your site, you just make a simple change (a new
headline, for instance), and then keep a close eye on your sales.
Do they go up? Then your headline is a winner, and you keep
using it. Do they stay the same or go down? Then clearly that
headline wasn't so great, and you simply get rid of it.
Once that test is over, you test something else, either keeping
or dumping that change depending on your results. And then
something else... and something else...
See? Easy! In no time, you've conducted dozens of tests that,
combined, will likely push your sales skyward... or finally help
you break through your "no sales" slump, and start selling
products like hotcakes!
So if you haven't been doing any testing with your website,
TODAY is the day to start!
And while there are all kinds of things you can test on your
website, we recommend you start with your salescopy. It's one of
the quickest ways to turn even the most sluggish website into a
sales machine.
Here are six areas of your copy that you should be testing to
improve your sales, along with the three golden rules of testing
that you MUST follow in order to GUARANTEE good results:
1. Test Alternative Headlines
Make no mistake... your headline is the MOST important element
on your website!
The stronger your headline, the greater your chances that a new
visitor will stick around on your site long enough to buy
something.
A good headline should GRAB your visitors' attention, tell them -
- in less than 10 seconds -- what the main benefits of your site
are, what makes you better than your competition, and encourage
them to read further, to find out more about what you've got to
offer.
That's a LOT of work for one single headline to do, so
understandably, it can take a while to find one that accomplishes
those goals effectively... and all at the same time!
So be sure you're constantly testing new headlines, even if you
already feel like your current headline is performing for you.
You may surprise yourself and find one that improves sales even
MORE.
But don't just test the content of your headline...
Bear in mind that the Internet is a visual medium, and the way a
headline looks can also have an impact on its success. So be
sure to test other elements, like color, and for visual interest,
consider bolding, highlighting, or italicizing the most
important words.
2. Test Lower -- And HIGHER -- Prices
Here's something that surprises people all the time: A price
that's too low can hurt sales just as much as one that's too
high!
The average online shopper has a "you get what you pay for"
attitude, and will often feel that something with a low price
mustn't be very valuable... and therefore not worth having.
So be sure to do thorough price testing. By all means test
prices lower than your starting price, but be sure to test
HIGHER prices, too!
And remember, it's possible to sell fewer units of your product
at a higher price point, yet still earn MORE revenue, so when
choosing a winner for your price testing, don't just look at the
number of sales.
Your price is one of the MOST important things you can test,
because it has such an effect on your bottom line.
3. Test Your Site's Main Body Copy
One painful truth about the website salescopy that you slaved
over to get just right is that virtually NONE of your visitors
will read it... at least, not word for word.
People who come online looking for information or products tend
to scan webpages, rather than give them a close read.
So to encourage your visitors to go through your copy from top
to bottom, and at least pick out all of the major BENEFITS of
your site and products, there are a number of elements you can
test to make the copy more scannable.
Consider trying:
You should also test breaking up the copy into smaller chunks.
Long blocks of heavy text look like too much work to read, and
so people tend to ignore them completely, which will cost you
sales. Your visitors should never have to work to find out what
your product or service is about!
4. Test Your Overall Offer
Don't confuse your "offer" with your price, or the product you'
re selling. Your offer is actually the entire package you're
promoting, including incentives or bonuses.
To get maximum conversions on your site, you'll want to try
changing your offer by emphasizing different benefits, and
trying out different bonuses.
If you're selling a product using a long-copy salesletter,
bonuses are a MUST.
But bear in mind that bonuses shouldn't just be thrown into the
site as an afterthought. They need to be useful and relevant to
your readers. The point of the bonuses is to add as much
additional value to offer as possible.
So it's a good idea, when possible, to test different bonuses on
your site, to see if you can find some that provide the MOST
value to your visitors.
Your benefits are also crucial to the success of your
salesletter, so testing these is a very good idea. Your
potential customers want to know how your product or service
will make their lives easier. And you drive this home by
focusing on benefits, not just features.
What's the difference?
A feature is a particular highlight of a product or service,
while a benefit is what the buyer actually gets from using the
feature.
Attaching a benefit to the feature answers your visitor's
question: "What's in it for me?" and gets them to imagine using
your product to take care of the problem they're trying to solve.
So test different benefits within your salescopy (and headline)
to find the ones that really click with your target audience.
5. Test Your Site Layout
Any good site statistics program will show you where your
visitors enter your site, and where they exit.
If you find that most people are exiting your site from a
specific page -- without placing an order -- you'll want to do
some testing of how your site is laid out.
Elements of your site layout that can affect your sales include:
By carefully testing these five copy elements on your website (
your headline, pricing, body copy, offer, and layout), you can
dramatically boost the conversion rates on your site...
... But BEFORE you dive in and start testing, there are a few
basic ground rules for testing that you MUST follow, or you'll
either end up with results that aren't meaningful, or HARM your
site's performance... or BOTH!
Testing Rule#1: Test one thing at a time
The key to successful testing is to quickly identify each new
element that HELPS your conversion rates, and keep it, while
figuring out which changes HURT your conversion rates, so you
can get drop them right away.
But if you changed your headline, your bonuses, and your call to
action all at once, how would you know which of these changes
was making a difference (either good or bad)?
So make sure you slowly and methodically go through your website,
testing one element at time, monitoring the results carefully,
and then either keeping or removing each change, before you move
on to the next test.
In this way, over time, even tiny improvements will add up to a
BIG increase in sales!
Testing Rule #2:
Use a "control" as a benchmark to measure your test
Your control is your current best-performing salesletter, email,
or other test subject.
For example, if a salesletter with a particular headline is
currently generating a 2% sales conversion rate, your
alternative headline tests should be measured against that
control.
If, during testing, another headline generates a 4% conversion
rate, you'll keep that headline, and it becomes your new control.
The next time you test headlines, you'll try to beat that new
one.
The aim is to use your tests to make continual improvements.
Testing Rule #3: Make sure you've got a level playing field
Ideally you should run tests within the same time frame to avoid skewing your results.
For example, you shouldn't test one headline in September and
another in December when seasonal factors could make a
difference to your sales. Or, if you're testing an email, you
should send the two test emails to the same number of people to
get a more accurate idea of which performs better.
The other important thing to remember is to always keep a record
of your test results. You may find an old test one day that you
thought should have done better than it did, decide to try it
again and it works like a dream!
Once you've completed your tests, check out the corresponding
statistics to measure your results.
The key numbers to keep an eye on include your bounce rate (
number of people who leave the site again without visiting
beyond your first page), number of visitors who reach your order
form, and your sales conversion and opt-in rates. Then you can
begin testing more elements!
The truth is, your job of testing never ends... and your
salescopy is just the beginning of what you can test on your
site to continually increase visitors, sales, and profits.
As we've just shown you, testing can be a pretty easy and
effective way to start making SERIOUS money with your website,
as long as you understand what and when to test, and know how to
gather and interpret your results.
To help you out, we've put together a comprehensive testing
resource that walks you, step by step, through the ENTIRE
process of testing your way to BIG profits on your website, no
matter how little you're selling right now.
When you read it, you'll discover all the step-by-step methods
you need to follow to test not just your salescopy, but email
campaigns, site usability, pay-per-click campaigns, and even
your ordering process.
Plus, we walk you through all of the FREE and low-cost tools you
can use to quickly, easily, and accurately gather and understand
your test results (no math skills required!), and act on them
right away!
And we've even included a sample testing plan, which gives you a
week-by-week overview of exactly when to run your tests for
MAXIMUM results.
Once you read it, you'll know everything you need to know about
how to turn even the most lackluster website into a winner, just
through careful testing and tweaking.
You can check it plus get hundreds of OTHER techniques, test
results and resources for starting and growing your successful
website incl 30-Day Trials to the Insider Secrets to Marketing
Your Business on the Internet ebusiness start-up program by
following this link.
Click here.
Sincerely,
My Life With A Westie contains:
