
If you are looking to get the most sales from your website then you need to read this book, Making Websites Win from Conversion Rate Experts. It is full of actionable learnings on how to go about scientifically optimising not just your website but all aspects of your business.
I am grateful to Nigel Botterill from The Entrepreneurs Circle for recommending that I read this book.
The amazing thing about this book is that you can get it for free, (but if you buy the book then the proceeds go to charity). So you can download a copy to your e-reader, or as a PDF and, I have never seen this before, they have even created a free podcast for the entire book! Just search for the podcast Maling Websites Win – how cool is that!
Here a few nuggets I took from this book.
Page 65. From the outset, you need to set up your website so it is easy to test new ideas. The authors give an example where it took a client 2 weeks of web design time to put a few words in italics. If it takes too much effort to get stuff done then it will never happen. Be sure to have your website set up so that it can easily be tweaked – that is one of the reasons WordPress has become so popular to host websites – it’s easy to learn how to use and update, and even if you are too busy or not techie enough there are a bucketload of agencies and freelancers who can help you. It’s a case of working scientifically – test small changes and a cumulative effect can be extraordinary.
Page 102. Ask customers who just bought this question – “What nearly stopped you buying from us today”
Why ask this?
- You put this question to customers – if you ask those who do not buy then you get a mixed bunch with many that are not qualified to become customers. Customers by definition are qualified so you will get better feedback.
- A customer has been through the whole buying process, so they know what they are talking about. Those who do not buy have dropped out at various points in the sales process and so cannot give you reliable feedback.
Page 162. Ask salespeople to record on video how they sell your product and overcome objections. Then get the video transcribed by a tool like Otter.ai. This copy can then guide you in creating compelling copy on your web and landing pages.
Page 164. Here I learned about “Memory Buffers” and how to write better copy. When reading we only have the capacity to take in 15 or so words at a time and then they are interpreted. And then we read the next 15 words and so on. And after a series of buffers we need a rest and so our understanding of the text starts to fade. And this is why you need to keep sentences short and cut out unnecessary words. I am just scratching the surface here, but I found this part of the book fascinating and it has given me plenty to consider when next copywriting.
In Section 4 of the book, Page 323 the authors take us through a real-life case study where they helped grow a client’s business by over 470%. Points that struck me – they improved a mobile landing page by 78% and the length of the page increased by about 4 times to 2.5m in length! And the conversion principles outlined apply to the whole business, not just websites and online marketing. We are given an example where the activation rate of a children’s bank card was increased by 11% by writing (direct mail) not just to the parent, but the child too. Then they harnesed “pester power” to have the parents activate the card for the children.
This is a book I would recommend to all marketers and it’s a no-brainer because you can read or listen to the whole book for free.
To download the book go to www.conversion-rate-experts.com and to listen to the podcast version search for Making Websites Win in your favourite podcast player.
If you are regularly creating content in your WordPress website or blog then over time you will build up a huge library of content – I am currently on over 600 blog posts. This will be especially true if you have read and following the principles outlined by Marcus Sheridan in his excellent book – 


Are you looking for a Tattoo studio CRM for your tattoo studio? Maybe you have already looked at Zoho CRM or Sugar CRM and found they do not fit your requirements?
Be visible online. These days the first port of call, when someone is interested to learn about home security options will be the internet and primarily using Google. It is imperative that your home security business is visible on Google.
You have no doubt arrived at this post because you are looking to buy more home security sales leads for your security business. But is this really the case?
It amazes me how few marketers and business owners ever look at the Google Analytics from their website. When I have my EC marketing coach hat on, it is amazing when I dig into a clients analytics just how many golden nuggets are in there. Often a nugget, once found and acted upon can transform an entire business.
