Too often, I see a website that was built to attract clients, but it actually is creating a feeling of unease in the viewer, because the owner of the website did NOT include the correct information.

If you are looking for someone to do something for you, or you are looking for a specific product, picking up the phone to contact a new company, learn about what they do, and see if they are a good match for what you need, is hard work.  The job of your website content, is to make it feel easy for the visitor on your website to call you.

Follow this simple guide, to answer the right questions on your website, and make it easy for that potential client to pick up the phone!

Visitors expect to be presented with simple answers to the following questions:

• What is your company name?
• Where are you located?
  (are you located close to me)
• How long have you been in business?
  (are you some start up that will you be gone tomorrow when I need you, or will you be there for the long haul)
• What products or services to you provide?(clear description of what you do if you are a service business,
  photos of your work if you create – think a landscaper,
  some photos of your products and store if you have a retail location,
  an ecom store if you sell products retail but do not have a storefront)
• Who do you work with?(if I call you with what you need, are you going to be interested in helping me)
• What sets you apart from everyone else offering the same thing?(why the heck should I bother to call you rather than Joe down the street)
• What do people say about you?(I wonder what your clients think about after they’ve worked with you)
• How much is your work going to cost?(quote request form is often appropriate if  you don’t have only fixed products and prices like a book)
• Who are you, and what are your company philosophies about how you do business?(if I call, who are the people I’m going to be dealing with, and how are you going to treat me)
• How can I get in touch with you?(telephone number, contact person and email are the minimum)

Many websites have a page ore more of their website devoted to each one of these questions.

If you are just starting out, you may choose to answer more than one question per page.

The bottom line is, each page on your website has a specific purpose, of educating your potential client, and making them want to call you.

If you leave out certain information, the perceived risk of wasting time, or making the wrong decision, will prevent certain people from picking up the phone to call.

Educate your website visitors and answer their questions,

and they will feel that contacting you is worth the effort!

As a rule I suggest putting all company information on the contact page that is relevant to your clients getting in touch with you; the purpose is to provide the information that is going to WORK for your clients and your company.  Posting every detail on the contact page is not necessarily the best way to go.

Channeling your business communication

For your contact page, you may want to try:

• a brief and friendly invitation to pick up that phone or click that email link, is often helpful, as many people hesitate to make that final step of picking up the phone.
• Standard information includes your mailing address, as browsers on your website often visit contact pages in order to find out if a company is located in their geographic area.
• Also standard is at least one telephone number, and one email.

The purpose of the contact page is to channel your clients’ wish to get in touch into the channels that will allow them to be successful, not frustrate their efforts.

If for instance you don’t have time to answer Skype calls most of the time, don’t post the information.  You can provide that information on an as needed basis to specific clients.

On the other hand, the communication also needs to be controlled to allow you to run your company without being pulled in ten different directions at once by too many people trying to get in touch with you via different methods.  If you have more telephone numbers and emails than you have dedicated staff to keep on top of the different locations of the voicemail and email, communications will get delayed and lost, causing frustration and headaches on both sides of the company/client relationship.

So figure out how you want to communicate with your clients to best serve their needs and be able to get their work done efficiently, and post that contact information.

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When hiring a photographer, make sure that

a) you see their work

b) it speaks to your personal sense of style

c) you feel comfortable talking to the photographer on the phone.

Otherwise you end up with a portrait of you looking uncomfortable… and that will make your potential clients uncomfortable. People avoid discomfort, and are drawn to people that look natural and happy.

• Kevin Clark at http://www.kevinclarkheadshots.com.  Prices: $625 + $50 makeup.  His headshot style is slick, glossy, high end, corporate.
• Michael Ford at http://www.fordheadshots.com Prices: $525 inc. makeup – $50 includes all photos, not just one!)Michael’s corporate style is very professional, however it is also warm, personal, and inviting…
  Perfect to attract people!

Looking for product photography, or photos of your business

• Kevin Clark at http://kevinclarkphotography.com
• Anne-Marie Godfrey at http://iShoot.ca

Looking for event photography

• Jeff Andrews, http://www.jeffandrewsphotography.com

If you are having custom photography done which will be used on your website, please make sure that the photographer calls us to discuss the project before the photo shoot. This way all your creative professionals can work together to give you the best possible product!

Informational Content vs Marketing Copy

Remember that crafting the written word is a skill that takes time, and how much time a project takes, depends on the style and purpose of content. For instance, writing effective marketing copy will take much longer than writing a factual representation of facts, such as a historical recounting of a company’s history. The more content leans toward marketing copy, the more thought has to go into how the words are interpreted by the reader, in order to lead them to a certain conclusion and take desired action.

Examples of Various Types of Website Content

• Company History: factual recounting of the growth of the company – simple writing
• President Profile: factual recounting, with some “spin” to market his skills and experience – simple writing, choosing words carefully to give right message about the person
• Services Page: Facts, but a lot of marketing copy, to make people feel the need for the service, and take action to contact the company – a lot of thought and experience has to go into crafting this content, to not only convey the facts, but drive the potential client to action by an understanding of marketing psychology.

How Much Will a Writer Cost?

Prices for writing vary… some writers charge by the hour, some by the project, some charge by the word. Make sure you understand the pricing structure for whichever writer you choose. Remember, MORE WORDS ON YOUR PAGE DOES NOT MEAN MORE VALUE! Sometimes, when writing marketing copy rather than informational copy, it can take hours to distill a set of concepts down to a simple sentence or two. As with design, you get what you pay for… if you have a bare budget, you’ll get simple flowing text with factual representation of your company and services, if you want to spend more, you can have the writer condense it and craft it into marketing copy.

• Marketing Copy: Condensed Concepts = Powerful, Condensed Writing = People Reading Content + Taking Action. Effective to boost leads and sales.
• Informational Copy: Expended Concepts = General, Conversational Copy = Page is full, Some People will read, may lead to action or not. Simple, relaxed writing, not pushy.

How Can I Save Money on Writing?

In order to save money, I suggest writing down all the facts and ideas you have for a page of content, which will allow the writer to send their time writing instead of searching for missing information. The bottom line is though, that you get what you pay for. If you hire a marketing expert to write for you, you may pay more, but you will also get a better response to your content, which translates into sales.

Does my Content have to be Complete before I build my site?

In the old days, the answer used to be yes. Now, with the use of the Content Management System that allows you to update your website on your own, you can have us start to design your website, then work with your writer on preparing your content. Your website will not be ready for content until the design package, cut, launch and training are all complete. Then, you can insert the content from your writer as she has it ready, and make changes whenever you want.

Some Writers to Check Out:

We like the examples these writers have provided of their writing, and therefore they are on our list. However none of these writers are employed by West Coast Web Ltd., the decision of which writer to hire, is a decision you will need to make after researching the writer’s styles and prices, depending on who you feel will best represent the style of your company.

Writer Profile: Margo Bates

604 536-9501 – MargoBatesPR.com
Notes: High end PR & Copywriter – Great for informational & for marketing copy.

Margo Bates writes for a living. A seasoned public relations professional, when she isn’t speaking on the telephone, she is most often writing at her computer. She has thirty years business experience, with twenty-two years in the public relations field. Bates recently completed her first novel, a fictionalized memoir set in Northern British Columbia.

Writer Profile: Eve Lazarus

(604) 990-9397 – EveLazarus.com
Notes: Excellent business writing style, engaging and warm personality.

Eve has been a writer for almost 20 years. She’s worked in the business, city and feature sections of the Vancouver Sun, as the Vancouver correspondent for Marketing Magazine, and as a researcher for CBC-TV. Eve works with several corporate clients crafting copy for newsletters, brochures, company histories and annual reports. With both a communications degree from Simon Fraser University, and a journalism diploma from Langara College, Eve is more than capable of taking on the writing of any website.

Writer Profile: Barbara Adamski

BarbAdamski.com
Notes: Writing is clear, simple and easy to read. Available for proofreading

In addition to a degree from UBC, Barbara also hold a diploma in professional writing and editing. She is a member of the Editors’ Association of Canada, the Professional Writers Association of Canada, and the Federation of BC Writers. She has also been awarded the designation of Certified Proofreader by the Editors’ Association of Canada.

Many people feel worried about launching a website because they are not sure what to say and what is expected or how to go about it. Here are the answers to solve this dilemma:

THE 5 W’S – WHAT TO SAY ON YOUR HOME PAGE
Many people feel frustrated when surfing the internet and it is not immediately apparent if the company whose website they are looking at meets their needs or is even in their area. Then to plough through pages of information to find out its too much work, so they hit the back button.

To make sure that does not happen to you, make sure you cover the “5 W’s” of web page writing essential to capture a surfer and make them continue to browse your site. These are basic points but you would not believe the number of sites out there that miss presenting this information on the first page.

• WHO you are – Your Company Name
• WHAT you do – The products or services you offer
• WHERE you are located – Many people are looking for a local company.
  Miss this point and you’ll hear a lot of back buttons.
• WHO you do it for – Do you deal with retailers only? Architects? End users?
• WHY your company – Your “marketing hook”. Is it quality, price, unique product, or service?
  Why should they choose you instead of the competition?

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE FROM OUR HOME PAGE:

• West Coast Web
• provides top quality web site design, hosting and business services
• from our central location in West Vancouver, BC.
• Whether you own a company with a strongly established image, or you
  need to start from the basics,
• we will make your business stand out from the competition.
• This is followed by a checklist, easy to scan quickly, of the services
  we offer.

QUANTITY VS SUBSTANCE You do not need to have long pages of text; in fact, saying what you need to say in fewer words will make it more likely that prospective clients will actually read what you have to say. This does not mean that you should leave out important points that you want to communicate – just don’t worry if you’ve said everything in one or two paragraphs. Text can always be filled out by us with carefully chosen illustrations that enhance your message.