Dianna Booher is an esteemed member of the National Speakers Association. She recently had an article in our monthly magazine, Speaker. Her article inspired today’s post. Dianna is a much more eloquent writer than me so….bear with me! Dianna’s article is an attempt to point out to speakers that a self -aggrandizing proposal can easily keep you from being hired-what does this have to do with Internet marketing? Start looking at most of the websites around. They are a perfect example of corporations who put their brochure on the web and are not getting any business! You must write for the web and that audience if you want to be successful with your online marketing program.
In Dianna’s article she writes:
“So, what’s Ridley Ridgette going to do for us.” “Well here’s his proposal if you’d like to skim it.” The EVP skims the first page and drops it back on the table. “I just read the entire executive summary. It’s all about what a great guy Ridley is. Didn’t you tell him our objectives for this meeting?” “He gets into the objectives on page 2,” the assistant explains.
Sound familiar? When a prospective client comes to your site you must tell them you have the solution to their problem immediately-this means “above the fold” on the first page. Clients do not want to scroll down a paper roll page looking for the solution and they definitely are not going to the second page! Speaking of the first page, and in particular, the first page of a Google search: An AOL study reveals:
- The first ranking position in the search results receives 42.25 % of all click-through traffic.
- The second position receives 11.94%, the third 8.47%, the fourth 6.05%, and all others are under 5%.
If you don’t write unique and compelling information on the first page of your site you will never have a shot at coming up on the first page of search engine results. Don’t forget that you must satisfy your potential clients needs for a solution but if you don’t invite the three most important guests to your site-Google, Yahoo and MSN you will not have any potential customers finding your site!
Back to Dianna’s article. To have a successful Internet marketing program we must clearly define:
The Value Proposition. What can you do for me?
The How. How are you going to do what you propose?
Credentials. Are you the best person for the job?
Memory Aids. What have you given me here to pass on to everybody who needs to sign off or buy into this decision?
In Dianna’s blog she has a current post called The Need for Feedback. Please go by and thank Dianna for inspiring this article. Follow her advice to speakers and your Internet Marketing program will take off! Thanks for the inspiration Dianna-you are such an eloquent writer and speaker!