I reviewed a site last week for one of my larger personal coaching clients – a successful online wholesaler with a tight Ferret niche.
Their ‘cleanly designed’ main content site has only 12 pages in total.
Two of those pages were the obligatory “About Us” (i.e. about them) information, and an additional page was a Contact form with very little text on it.
Leaving 9 “Product” pages (segmented into categories)… all rather sad little pages that listed their products — about 200 of them — most with only a single line description per item.
And you can probably guess how direct business their main content site is currently generating. Virtually zero! If it wasn’t for their eBay and Amazon business they would be struggling to keep their doors open.
Pet Fanatics are screaming for information.
I’ve spoken a lot about creating your own information product, defining profitable niches, and engaging fellow pet fanatics with your own blog.
It’s true, in my opinion information products are the fastest and most profitable avenues to start to turn your passion for pets into “lifestyle” income. However, I also consult with several very large physical product manufacturers and marketers (like my client mentioned above), treat bakers and service providers (dog sitters, doggy day care operations, pooper-scooper businesses, etc.).
But to be truly successful in today’s market place all of these businesses require one key ingredient, without which they’ll struggle to survive. Content.
Compelling content really is king on the Internet and ultimately when marketing your physical products or services, and the moment your web presence starts providing more fascinatingly descriptive content, results will almost automatically improve.
So my advice to this company?
Well I obviously had a lot to say, but here’s the annotated version:
1) Start again! The current site is a total waste of time. Redesign the navigation so the focus is all about… the visitor, not you, the company.
2) Separate each ’product’ into at least one full and very descriptive (but not boring) page.
Give specifics on how products have helped fellow ferret fanatics enjoy their furry friends more or solve a common problem (like odors with ferrets), and where possible give case studies and live example of actual results achieved.
And ideally have a lot more than one page for each product category — maybe even separate web sites. It really is true that “the more you tell them more you sell them.”
3) Add features that compel visiting prospective clients to inquire. “Contact Us?” Phooey! How about a form on every service page, where the title of the form ties into the product itself?
Also, maybe most critically, test your sales pages, until the conversion of “visitor into client” is optimised.
These ideas are just for starters – and if you have a site or business you would like help getting started or taking it to the next level go to the Contact Doug tab and leave me a detailed message about what you are looking for – I will get back with you as soon as possible. Also, I have been working to create a new weekly training program with that will show you how to develop your own $6 a day pet related income stream in as little as 90 days from start to finish – this training will include regular homework, limited direct email access and access to all my reports, and resource guides…Stay Tuned!
