The First Fold Makes Your Site! (Or Breaks It.)
The First Fold Makes Your Site! (Or Breaks It.)
by Bob McElwain
Visitors to your site are not looking to make a new
friend. They don't want to chat. And they don't give a
darn what you think about anything, least of all your
product. They only want to know:
1) What's in it for me?
2) Why should I believe you?
3) Why should I buy from you?
They will answer the first two questions to their
satisfaction within seconds. Only if they like these
answers will they even consider the third. And at least
a partial answer to it must come easily, or they'll never
see your sales pitch.
Provided your page downloads quickly, visitors will stick
around until it does. But as it starts to load to the
screen, the first fold (screen) must fill rapidly. It must
immediately provide information that compels the answers you
want your visitor to decide upon. (If there are any
graphics on the page, be sure dimensions are included in the
HTML so text will quickly load up top.)
In the first fold, answers to the above questions must flow
from ...
1) Benefits, benefits, and more benefits
2) Demonstrated professionalism and expertise
3) Clear statement of the USP (Universal Selling
Proposition)
More About Benefits
They must be presented with words. While not easy to
define, they are the only tool available to trigger the
answer you want to the question, "What's in it for me?"
This part of the message must be crafted as carefully as
an ad central to a major advertising campaign.
On a single product site, the home page headline shouts the
major benefit of the product. As with a good sales letter,
each word draws the visitor more deeply into the site. All
is benefits. And all points to the order form and a sale.
Most sites offer a variety of products and/or services,
which means the simplicity in a single product site can only
be approximated. The home page is the entrance to corridors
leading to the sale of different products. (Or to great
information, free stuff, etc.)
This requires even more judicious use of the top fold. The
benefits presented must be specific to products, rather
than to features of a single product. In the first fold,
introduce those products most likely to be of interest to
an unknown visitor. A possible alternative is to work with
the products you most want to sell.
Professionalism And Expertise
Demonstrate these as the first step in answering the
question, "Why should I believe you?" The way in which
benefits are presented goes a long way toward achieving
this goal. Given a sharp, professional presentation, your
sceptical visitor is likely to say, "So far, so good." And
to withhold final judgement, particularly as to
trustworthiness.
In this regard, the appearance of the site is fundamental.
Again looking at the first fold, all must support well
stated benefits. Even enhance them. A garish or cluttered
page destroys any credibility that might flow from the
content. Likewise for any graphic that does not enhance the
appearance of the site *and* the message.
About Your USP
When a visitor answers the question, "Why should I buy from
you?" with, "Okay, you'll do," he or she is ready to buy.
And the option to do so must be handy. Throughout, however,
the content must continue to provide solid reasons for
buying, for you don't know when the decision may be made.
It is not likely to happen in the first fold. The initial
response, though, needs to be at least, "Okay, I'll tag along
a ways." A good USP is sufficient to bring this response.
The USP may be incorporated in a logo, offered in a colored
cell within a table, or maybe as the last line on the screen
at the bottom of the first fold. Where it is positioned is
not important. But the visitor must see it and easily grasp
its meaning in the first or second scan of the first fold.
Examples
The best single product site I have visited is SiteSell.Com.
Ken Evoy, author of "Make Your Site Sell" is a master at
this. Check out his sales pitch and see if you can keep
yourself from buying the book! Even if you have multiple
profit centers, a corridor to a sale within a given center
can be developed in this way.
I don't have an example of a great multi-product site. Most
I visit seem too cluttered, too busy, too pretty, or they
just have too much stuff. My own site suffers some from the
latter malady. I continue working to improve it along the
above lines.
But What About The Rest Of The Site?
Pieces of cake. Really. Some may argue the most difficult
task in online marketing is generating targeted traffic. I
don't agree. While it takes a good deal of time, effort and
often dollars, it is largely a 1-2-3 sort of process. Do
this, that, and then that. Others have clearly defined the
steps that need to be taken, and the order in which to take
them.
For me, the greatest challenge in marketing online is
building the first fold on the home page. If your visitor
scrolls down or clicks off into the site, you have a
potential customer. In fact you have one who is likely to
grant you a little slack. Thus perfection is not demanded
throughout the site. Top quality is sufficient. But the
first fold must be absolutely perfect.
Think of a newspaper. What part of it is assembled with the
greatest care? The top fold of the first page. It's what
shows in vending machines and on newsstands. How many
millions have bought a newspaper because a single headline
grabbed hard? Many, that's certain. Is the first fold on
your website less important?
I have a strong hunch I can not demonstrate. Of those who
click off a site never to return, ninety-some percent do
so without leaving the first fold. Get it right and those
who arrive with, "What's in it for me?" will say, "This
might do." It's a giant step toward a sale.
Secrets to success revealed!
copyright 2002 Terry Telford
Marketing. That's it. That's the secret to your online
success. Running your business without marketing is
like being in a dark room with a flashlight and no
batteries...you know where you are, but nobody else
does!
The key to making your marketing work is to minimize
your expenses while you maximize your profit. Most
products that are sold online are electronic, which
means that once you have covered the initial cost of
producing your masterpiece, the only other main
expense you have is marketing, the rest is profit.
Now just before we begin, let's take a look at a
couple of facts. Most companies are not making money
on the net. Why? There is the misconception in the
marketplace that doing business on the net is simple,
fast, and effortless. Nothing could be further from
the truth.
If you want to make a living on the net and become
independently wealthy it takes time and effort, the
same as with an offline business. The difference
between an on and offline business is online you can
choose whether you want to invest time, money, or
both.
Now let's get specific. First, you need a product to sell
or represent. If you don't have a product or website don't
despair, you can still make a lot of money on the WWW.
Almost any site that sells a product, will pay you to
promote it for them. This form of promotion is called an
affiliate or partnership program.
Second, now that you have something to promote, you have
to decide where to promote it and who to promote it to.
We'll assume you are starting from scratch. You don't
have any contacts in the industry and you don't have a
customer base to mail to. You need to get hits, or visitors,
to your site or the site you are promoting. There are a
multitude of ways to accomplish this task. If you take a
peek at bpc publishing, we've got fistfulls of ideas for
you. http://www.bpcpublishing.com
Third, now that you're getting hits to your site, you can
start collecting the names of your visitors by offering
them a free incentive. You can give away ebooks,
subscriptions to an ezine, or other publication, or offer
them a discount on their purchases when they sign up as a
'VIP' member. Use your creativity and come up with something
that your visitors just can't pass up and they feel they have
to leave you their name and address. This list that you are
creating by collecting names and addresses is money in the
bank for you. If you are an affiliate, make sure that your
program forwards you the name, or at least the email address
of customers that you have referred to them.
Fourth, market to your list. Your mailing list is your warm
market, they have agreed to receive information from you.
DO NOT abuse your list. Spamming your list by sending them
offers every hour will ruin your list and stop your cash
flow dead in it's tracks. Send your list an offer that you
genuinely believe in. If you wouldn't sell your product to
your mother, don't offer it. One of your most valuable
assets that you have on the WWW is your reputation. If you
tarnish your reputation and integrity, you may as well get
offline.
These four steps are an overview of what you can do to
achieve success on the WWW. This simplified version of the
'secrets to your success' gives you a basic direction in
which to travel. For the specifics and a road map to your
success, visit us at bpc publishing. After you have visited
our site, I welcome you to contact me directly if you would
like any further assistance or guidance with your future
business and marketing plans.
I wish you much success and happiness.
Good luck and God Bless
Yours successfully,
Terry Telford
http://www.bpcpublishing.com
by Bob McElwain
Visitors to your site are not looking to make a new
friend. They don't want to chat. And they don't give a
darn what you think about anything, least of all your
product. They only want to know:
1) What's in it for me?
2) Why should I believe you?
3) Why should I buy from you?
They will answer the first two questions to their
satisfaction within seconds. Only if they like these
answers will they even consider the third. And at least
a partial answer to it must come easily, or they'll never
see your sales pitch.
Provided your page downloads quickly, visitors will stick
around until it does. But as it starts to load to the
screen, the first fold (screen) must fill rapidly. It must
immediately provide information that compels the answers you
want your visitor to decide upon. (If there are any
graphics on the page, be sure dimensions are included in the
HTML so text will quickly load up top.)
In the first fold, answers to the above questions must flow
from ...
1) Benefits, benefits, and more benefits
2) Demonstrated professionalism and expertise
3) Clear statement of the USP (Universal Selling
Proposition)
More About Benefits
They must be presented with words. While not easy to
define, they are the only tool available to trigger the
answer you want to the question, "What's in it for me?"
This part of the message must be crafted as carefully as
an ad central to a major advertising campaign.
On a single product site, the home page headline shouts the
major benefit of the product. As with a good sales letter,
each word draws the visitor more deeply into the site. All
is benefits. And all points to the order form and a sale.
Most sites offer a variety of products and/or services,
which means the simplicity in a single product site can only
be approximated. The home page is the entrance to corridors
leading to the sale of different products. (Or to great
information, free stuff, etc.)
This requires even more judicious use of the top fold. The
benefits presented must be specific to products, rather
than to features of a single product. In the first fold,
introduce those products most likely to be of interest to
an unknown visitor. A possible alternative is to work with
the products you most want to sell.
Professionalism And Expertise
Demonstrate these as the first step in answering the
question, "Why should I believe you?" The way in which
benefits are presented goes a long way toward achieving
this goal. Given a sharp, professional presentation, your
sceptical visitor is likely to say, "So far, so good." And
to withhold final judgement, particularly as to
trustworthiness.
In this regard, the appearance of the site is fundamental.
Again looking at the first fold, all must support well
stated benefits. Even enhance them. A garish or cluttered
page destroys any credibility that might flow from the
content. Likewise for any graphic that does not enhance the
appearance of the site *and* the message.
About Your USP
When a visitor answers the question, "Why should I buy from
you?" with, "Okay, you'll do," he or she is ready to buy.
And the option to do so must be handy. Throughout, however,
the content must continue to provide solid reasons for
buying, for you don't know when the decision may be made.
It is not likely to happen in the first fold. The initial
response, though, needs to be at least, "Okay, I'll tag along
a ways." A good USP is sufficient to bring this response.
The USP may be incorporated in a logo, offered in a colored
cell within a table, or maybe as the last line on the screen
at the bottom of the first fold. Where it is positioned is
not important. But the visitor must see it and easily grasp
its meaning in the first or second scan of the first fold.
Examples
The best single product site I have visited is SiteSell.Com.
Ken Evoy, author of "Make Your Site Sell" is a master at
this. Check out his sales pitch and see if you can keep
yourself from buying the book! Even if you have multiple
profit centers, a corridor to a sale within a given center
can be developed in this way.
I don't have an example of a great multi-product site. Most
I visit seem too cluttered, too busy, too pretty, or they
just have too much stuff. My own site suffers some from the
latter malady. I continue working to improve it along the
above lines.
But What About The Rest Of The Site?
Pieces of cake. Really. Some may argue the most difficult
task in online marketing is generating targeted traffic. I
don't agree. While it takes a good deal of time, effort and
often dollars, it is largely a 1-2-3 sort of process. Do
this, that, and then that. Others have clearly defined the
steps that need to be taken, and the order in which to take
them.
For me, the greatest challenge in marketing online is
building the first fold on the home page. If your visitor
scrolls down or clicks off into the site, you have a
potential customer. In fact you have one who is likely to
grant you a little slack. Thus perfection is not demanded
throughout the site. Top quality is sufficient. But the
first fold must be absolutely perfect.
Think of a newspaper. What part of it is assembled with the
greatest care? The top fold of the first page. It's what
shows in vending machines and on newsstands. How many
millions have bought a newspaper because a single headline
grabbed hard? Many, that's certain. Is the first fold on
your website less important?
I have a strong hunch I can not demonstrate. Of those who
click off a site never to return, ninety-some percent do
so without leaving the first fold. Get it right and those
who arrive with, "What's in it for me?" will say, "This
might do." It's a giant step toward a sale.
Secrets to success revealed!
copyright 2002 Terry Telford
Marketing. That's it. That's the secret to your online
success. Running your business without marketing is
like being in a dark room with a flashlight and no
batteries...you know where you are, but nobody else
does!
The key to making your marketing work is to minimize
your expenses while you maximize your profit. Most
products that are sold online are electronic, which
means that once you have covered the initial cost of
producing your masterpiece, the only other main
expense you have is marketing, the rest is profit.
Now just before we begin, let's take a look at a
couple of facts. Most companies are not making money
on the net. Why? There is the misconception in the
marketplace that doing business on the net is simple,
fast, and effortless. Nothing could be further from
the truth.
If you want to make a living on the net and become
independently wealthy it takes time and effort, the
same as with an offline business. The difference
between an on and offline business is online you can
choose whether you want to invest time, money, or
both.
Now let's get specific. First, you need a product to sell
or represent. If you don't have a product or website don't
despair, you can still make a lot of money on the WWW.
Almost any site that sells a product, will pay you to
promote it for them. This form of promotion is called an
affiliate or partnership program.
Second, now that you have something to promote, you have
to decide where to promote it and who to promote it to.
We'll assume you are starting from scratch. You don't
have any contacts in the industry and you don't have a
customer base to mail to. You need to get hits, or visitors,
to your site or the site you are promoting. There are a
multitude of ways to accomplish this task. If you take a
peek at bpc publishing, we've got fistfulls of ideas for
you. http://www.bpcpublishing.com
Third, now that you're getting hits to your site, you can
start collecting the names of your visitors by offering
them a free incentive. You can give away ebooks,
subscriptions to an ezine, or other publication, or offer
them a discount on their purchases when they sign up as a
'VIP' member. Use your creativity and come up with something
that your visitors just can't pass up and they feel they have
to leave you their name and address. This list that you are
creating by collecting names and addresses is money in the
bank for you. If you are an affiliate, make sure that your
program forwards you the name, or at least the email address
of customers that you have referred to them.
Fourth, market to your list. Your mailing list is your warm
market, they have agreed to receive information from you.
DO NOT abuse your list. Spamming your list by sending them
offers every hour will ruin your list and stop your cash
flow dead in it's tracks. Send your list an offer that you
genuinely believe in. If you wouldn't sell your product to
your mother, don't offer it. One of your most valuable
assets that you have on the WWW is your reputation. If you
tarnish your reputation and integrity, you may as well get
offline.
These four steps are an overview of what you can do to
achieve success on the WWW. This simplified version of the
'secrets to your success' gives you a basic direction in
which to travel. For the specifics and a road map to your
success, visit us at bpc publishing. After you have visited
our site, I welcome you to contact me directly if you would
like any further assistance or guidance with your future
business and marketing plans.
I wish you much success and happiness.
Good luck and God Bless
Yours successfully,
Terry Telford
http://www.bpcpublishing.com
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