The Traffic business

I am often told by entrepreneurs that their web site needs more traffic and everything would be fine. Although I am in the traffic business, I nearly always draw a different conclusion.

Most websites literally have nothing to offer. Without an offer you severely reduce the number of enquiries that you will get.

Sure most site generally offer good information, details, industry knowledge, case studies a contact number and address too if you are lucky, but rarely is there an offer. All the information is there, for free. If there is an offer, often it will be obscured, buried.

Websites work better for entrepreneurs if there is an offer prominently placed.

In simple terms: You need to make an offer where you provide further information in exchange for an email address.

So, by way of example, you can offer a newsletter, or a multi part 'quick start' guide, or an invitation to an event, or a white paper, inside information, vertical market report, research findings, your views. Not necessarily a complete 'how to' no one would expect the information to be so strong and powerful that it would make you redundant, but something that you would normally discuss and present to prospective clients. If you are in business already I would wager that you already have the information you need. Try recording a conversation with future prospect or client.

For many people I recommend that they keep their website and simply build a new one of one page. This seems to overcome all the problems associated with words like web design, maintaining existing investment and other internal problems.

You can buy a new website and have it hosted for around £20 with many good hosting companies. Then you build a page that sells one thing and has one outcome - sign up!

You can promote it simply by provide a link from your front page (or every page!) of your current website. Or as we do, using Twitter. I will give you an example in a minute. All that is required is a headline, some body copy, some simple graphics - a photograph of you perhaps and a form. You can avoid the form and simply have a button for the minimum of work!

I have an example: http://www.tweetmaxi.com. At the time of writing we have a webinar that expires on the 15th September. If you visit the ‘site’ there is nothing more than one page, now it is a very long page admittedly, and as a result it ‘pulls’ 15% of all those that visit. For us that is a very acceptable result.

So there you have it – one page with a simple opt-in form is all you need. You could do it with less! Less length, less information, less graphics, never less of an offer - as that would be no offer. You don't need an email capture form, but I recommend it. You could simply have a link that takes you straight to gotowebinar.com and they would collect all the information for you and send you the data afterwards. Not bad!

We have an opt-in page because we think that gotowebinar asks too many questions and puts people off. Two questions – name and email are simple and easy. Once we have that if visitors do not sign up at gotowebinar, we can email them and remind them to do so and other wise send them further emails as and when we wish until and if they want to opt-out.

The Webinar process has some distinct benefits there is a time limit and limited seating. Once those seats are full, once the day has passed, the opportunity to participate is gone. People respond well to that kind of offer. - Do it now or miss out for ever: http://www.tweetmaxi.com as the 15th is the last planned webinar for Tweetmaxi, we may revisit in the new year.

So there you are, you can model your page on Tweetmaxi, make it longer or shorter as you wish. Probably shorter... At the end of the day, one of the most valuable thing a website can give you is sales leads. If you start with that then the more likely your business will succeed. Also your results could cause you to change your plans and make your business better. Better to know that sooner rather than later!