Last night I participated in #blogchat on twitter with @amyafrica and @mackcollier. The session was filled with actionable tips for improving your website/blog conversions.
Amy Africa is well known for her attention to testing and analytics. Everything she shared was based on results from confirmed tests. Does that mean that they are guaranteed to work for your site or mine? No.
The only way we’ll know what works is to test it.
Some responses to Amy’s tips surprised me. There were a series of tweets decrying tactics Amy recommended because the individuals didn’t like them personally.
This is a logical response if you are your target customer. I’m not. And, I learned that the hard way, by trial and error.
It began with me thinking about what I needed when I was the Chief Operating Officer at Ballard Designs. After careful consideration, I decided that my target market needed to know how everything worked to the smallest detail. I was wrong.
Most people don’t want to know how it works; they just want it to work.
I’m different. I want to know what makes the carousel go round. And, I will spend countless hours researching until I find the answers. When I applied my preferences to my potential clients, I lost their attention.
It turns out that my clients and prospects want me to know how everything works and show them how to apply it to their business. We have a symbiotic relationship.
Adding triggers like pop-ups, video, and glaring buttons that make your site noisy may be offensive to your senses. But what if they motivate your customers and prospects to act and increase your sales exponentially? Are they still offensive?
Personally, I don’t like them either. But, I’m going to test them to see if my preferences are different from my site visitors. I’ve danced this dance before. I don’t want to be left out in the cold again.
If you like this post, please share it with your community. You may also like these:
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Ask Debra!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hmmmm…thought-provoking post. I’m turned off by pop-ups and shiny “buy-me-now” buttons as well. Not only would they would never compel me to buy, they’d turn me off a site instantly.
Certainly it would depend upon your product/service, but so many companies today have achieved success by focusing on reinforcing their brand promise and providing compelling information and content their customers value.
For me, that is the way to achieve success while feeling good about your business.
.-= lori newton´s last blog ..Chicago =-.
Thank you for your comment, Lori. I would surprise myself if I added pop-ups, but becoming a little more promotional has received good responses. I agree that valuable content comes first.
We see that in dealing with restaurants all the time — the restaurant owner that has the *perfect* idea and builds a monument to himself. The restaurant experience is built to what the owner wants, with no regard to whether or not there is a demand for it in the community.
It’s a shame, but it’s an easy trap to fall into.
.-= Nathan Hughes´s last blog ..New use for the Ukrop’s building at VCU =-.
I guess we all see ourselves in others. Thank you for commenting Nathan.