Life of an Internet Entrepreneur

Earlier this year while I was on my way home from a trip to visit family, I was blessed with a marketing revelation that, while simple and to the point, has been a key in changing the way I look at building businesses (and their websites) forever. This simple revelation, within only a few short months of implementation, brought a client of ours a contract worth over $2M and it has led to thousands of successful sales.

What I’m sharing now is an answer to my prayer to God that day for His help. May it bless and inspire you as it has me.

The 3Cs of a Successful Website

1. Context
2. Credibility
3. Call-to-Action

Let’s dive right in.

Context

When a visitor lands on your website, you only have a few seconds to get their attention before they’re gone. You need to give them an immediate context that says, “I have exactly what you’re looking for.”

Here are a few ways you can do that:

• Business/Project Name – Oftentimes, your business or project name will convey a basic sense of what it is you do. If this is the case, make sure you’ve made the most of it and you introduce your website with the right name.
• 3-Second Speech – You need to be able to convey what it is you do in three seconds or less. Work on it until you’ve got it down. Once you have it down, use the text in a prominent place on your website to give context.

Credibility

After you’ve established context, you need to give your visitors a clear and obvious reason to believe that you’re a credible authority and that you can help them.

Here are a few tips for establishing credibility:

• Testimonials – Share what others have said about you.
• Photos – Share a personal photo, a photo of your office location, photos of your products. Avoid using stock photography.
• Endorsements – “As Featured On”, “As Seen On”, “Recommended By”- Seek after and feature relevant (think back to “context”) endorsements
• Videos – Show the product in use, give a quick tour of your office, share a brief message from the president. Keep it simple and well done.

You’ll recognize a consistent theme here: let others establish your credibility.

Call To Action

This is where many websites fail. As you’ve established context and credibility, you must follow through with a clear call to action. To make it clear, your “call” needs to answer three basic questions:

1. What do you want me to do? – Tell your visitors, very clearly, what it is you want from them.
2. How do you want me to do it? – Don’t assume they know what the next step is, guide them clearly and let them know exactly what they need to do next.
3. What’s in it for me? – Why should they care? What do they get for doing what you’ve asked them to? This is the “benefit”. Don’t talk about the features of your great product or service, outline clearly the benefit they will receive.

Now, let’s pull it all together with an example.

I’ll pick on our own business, Sabramedia.

At the moment, it falls under the “bad example” category. Take a look: Sabramedia.com

The website, while beautiful, doesn’t offer a clear sense of what exactly it is that we do. Unless you’re a personal referral, you’re left wandering the site and uncertain about what to do next.

Here’s a good example of a “3 Second Speech” that explains clearly what it is that we do:

“At Sabramedia, we create and invest in ecommerce businesses.”

Here’s how we’ll be answering the 3 C’s for ourselves. Use it as inspiration for your own business.

1. Context – We’re marketing to business owners and entrepreneurs who are already in or are ready to break into the world of ecommerce. When they visit the website, we want to give them an immediate context that says, “Hey, we speak your language. We understand business, we’ve been there, we’ve had success, we want to help you and share in your success.”
2. Credibility – The majority of our business comes through personal referral. We’ll feature client testimonials and case studies that continue that work of referral.
3. Call To Action – Our call will start out as an invitation to a special report offering a step-by-step behind the scenes look at the launch of one of our ecommerce businesses. To get the report, we’ll ask for their name and email and, in exchange, they’ll be receiving a detailed look at some of our best work. We’ll use that report to generate leads for future ecommerce businesse ventures.

There’s some food for thought. Now, go look at your own website or business idea. Ask yourself the questions:

• “Who am I sharing my message to?” (Context)
• “How can I connect with them in less than 3 seconds?” (Context)
• “Why should they believe what I’m telling them?” (Credibility)
• “What am I asking my audience to do?” (Call to Action)

Call to Action: Let me know what you think about what I’ve shared. Did it inspire you? Can you apply this to what you’re working on now? Write a comment and let me know what you’re doing with what you learned.