I've been hard at work on my new website and I've started writing articles that should be interesting for you. So here's one on improving your website conversion rate to get started.
Why am I creating this other website when I have the blog?
I'm glad you asked since there's an important website lesson in it for you. Basically the new front of the website has two purposes...
Purpose #1: To collect names and email addresses
Most web marketers like to create what's called a squeeze page to collect a visitor's name and email address. This usually consists of a page offering something that sounds really great if you just enter your name and email. And if you have a good offer this usually works pretty effectively.
However I like to offer more value before trying to collect the contact details. This means the subscriber is more likely to use the information inside because they liked the information available on my website first. Plus it allows the visitor to see if they like what I have to say before committing with their email.
And I want to prequalify the visitor to a certain extent as well. I want them to be a good fit for my email list and what I'm offering otherwise it does neither of us any good. There's no point having a huge email list if no one reads your email!
Purpose #2: For search engine rankings
Blogs are great for search engine rankings because they contain so much unique content and are updated regularly. However this can also be part of their downfall because there's so much content it's hard to get the visitor to complete the action you want (like submit their email). So I like to offer the best of both worlds... a blog and a website that focuses on my target action.
I'm also wondering whether I can get the pages on the main website to rank better than the blog and hold their position for longer. That's an ongoing experiment and I'll share results eventually. The moral of the story is you're not going to be hurt by too much content as long it's well structured (which is a common mistake btw).
What you do next
I'd go read the article on improving your website conversion rate since it talks about one of the most important yet often lacking aspect of a website. Then make sure your website includes it.
Oh... and for the record... I don't really do pretty websites!
