These days, it’s all about the website. If you don’t have an internet presence, then you’re missing a lot of customer and client opportunities, since most people these days start their search for products and services on line. To find out how to communicate effectively through your website and how to use best the resources that modern technology has put at your fingertips to make the most of your business, a good place to start is Eric Sloan’s site. We asked him about modern communication styles, and about the importance of knowing the right words to use.
UV: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What’s your background in digital marketing and online communication?
ES: 10 years ago I began developing small websites and logos for some people that I knew. Really basic sites that I wouldn’t be proud of today, but it definitely gave me a strong foundation for web development techniques.
Soon after, I started work with a company as a website consultant. They sold websites and CRM software to real estate agents. This was my first exposure to Sales and Web Marketing. I found that I really had a talent for not only the sales and people side of things, but also for enhancing a website’s ability to convert traffic into leads.
The next company I worked for had a really large impact on my career. I was required to design and develop multiple landing pages per day and test them scientifically to make sure I was improving the effectiveness of the pages. The trouble was, this company had no testing software. I had to design and develop my own software for testing. Though a lot of work, this gave me a solid idea of how online testing works.
With this knowledge in hand I cut out on my own and started a small online marketing agency in Vancouver where I worked with local clients to improve their websites. The work that I did helped to convert thousands of additional leads and many of the campaigns are still running today.
Recently I’ve been hired as the Director of Marketing for a new venture called Urban Cultivator.
UV: Mark Twain is quoted as saying “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – ’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.” Many people focus on graphics and animations to make their websites stand out, but aren’t the words they use just as important?
ES: Graphics on the web can be a very touchy thing. On the one hand, your design can enhance your sales copy and build more trust with your visitors. On the other hand it can easily destroy your conversion rates. The key thing to remember is that design should be enhancing the copy, not the other way around.
For example, Craigslist is often referred to as having “no design”. This is far from the truth though. The design of Craigslist is meant to remove any distractions from the goal of the site: to provide easy and free listings to everyone.
Most designers are very focused on what looks “cool”. I’ve always been of the mind that good design simply helps a visitor accomplish a task. My advice would be to keep it simple and to remove everything on a page that is not needed.
All this being said, you can have a good conversion rate with good copy and mediocre design, but you can NEVER have a good conversion rate with a great design and mediocre copy.
UV: One of your recent posts urges people to cut the jargon and “write the way you talk.” Why don’t big words always impress people?
ES: If you’re writing a text book you need to write professionally and with jargon. However if you’re writing on the web, people like to be treated like people. Who wants to be reminded of a text book when reading your about page? The answer is nobody.
The trouble is that most companies think that if they write like a real live person (warts and all) they will be judged… and they will. But so what? The byproduct of writing this way is that you build a connection with your audience. Connections build trust, and trust builds sales.
By writing too “PC” or “text-book-like” you put up a barrier. That being said, I’m not advocating swearing and 3rd grade English on a sales page for medical equipment. You need to know your audience and that’s where good copy writing is key.
UV: There are a lot of free or low-cost web building and web hosting services out there that anyone can use to set up their own business website. A site like yours that has tips on how to make the most of this platform and avoid mistakes in communication can help, but do you find that people eventually have to turn to professional developers to run their business media?
ES: The biggest question I would ask to anyone who is looking at a low-cost or free web site is this: Are you intending to make money from this website?
If not, by all means there are a lot of free ways to have your voice heard, build an audience and make your mark on the internet.
But if you’re intending on using this website in a business then it needs to be at least partly done by a professional. Think of it this way, if you made your money as a mechanic would you use the cheapest, rustiest tools you could find? Hell no, you would be so slow at your job that you’d either get fired or have no clients.
Instead you would invest in well made, efficient tools that could help you do your job better. The same goes for the web.
UV: There’s at least one person reading this blog right now who has plans on starting a business soon. What are three things you recommend they do to start out?
ES: The first would be try to make mistakes. If you’re not making any mistakes in your business then you’re losing out on opportunities. Opportunities to learn, and opportunities to creat new things. A company that doesn’t make mistakes is just doing things that have already been done, and that is boring and not worth talking about.
The second would be to build a list. Every website needs a way to capture lead information. This is so you can continually market to these leads. If you’re not building a list, your not moving forward.
The third would be to ignore the hype. There will always be a new and shiny product or service that is said to fix your business and make you rich. The truth is that fundamentals continue to work:
* Do lots of email marketing
* Make connections with people by being real
* Create solid content that is worth sharing and talking about
* Oh, and TEST LIKE HELL.
