1. Home ›
2. Blog ›
3. Entrepreneurship ›
4. Quick Content Wins for Increasing Conversions After Buying a New Website

Quick Content Wins for Increasing Conversions After Buying a New Website

Hey guys! Greg here. The following is a guest post from Rachel Mazza, the owner of RM Media & Marketing and SEO Conversion Content. Rachel has written high converting copy for some of the largest affiliate SEOs in the industry. Now, she is going to reveal exactly how you can go about creating that same kind of high converting content. Whether that means you outsourcing it to writers, or doing it yourself. If you do decide to outsource it, Rachel’s content marketing firm might become your secret weapon. Her writers turn stale SEO-optimized content into words that can bring your traffic over the finish line of completing your affiliate offers. 

Alright, take it away Rachel!

The ultimate goal of any income-producing website is to turn website visitors into new customers (obviously).

And when buying an online business, you want to get your initial investment back as quickly as possible so you can start turning that traffic into profitable new sales.

One of the quickest ways to upgrade your new website is by improving the existing sales copy or conversion content on the site so that it captures as much of that valuable traffic as possible.

I like to call this transforming “browsers” into “buyers.” (Don’t judge me; I’m allowed at least one kitschy marketing tagline)

The challenge is, you might not know anything at all about the industry or the product, and if this is all new to you, then you definitely won’t know how to make a personal connection with the target demographic.

One of the biggest challenges for investors buying an online business is that they’re often thrown into a brand new market that they may not understand.

When you buy a new website, you may not be experienced in the niche and probably have very little information about the market or customers. A lot of investors struggle to understand their new-found market and need help converting new traffic into profitable business.

For example, you may see the perfect investment opportunity in that super-targeted “new-mom-looking-for-baby’s-first-stroller” niche, but if you’re a 36-year-old dude traveling the world without kids, it could be difficult to know exactly what these ladies are looking for.

(And no, skimming 20 Mommy blogs in one sitting so you can “tweak” your website copy won’t cut it. It will probably just upset you.)

In order to encourage visitors to buy from you rather than from a competitor, you need to know who you’re marketing to and how to improve on the conversions that are already there by speaking the right language to them.

There are plenty of easy content wins that the previous website owner may have overlooked;  many times, simply tweaking the content, sales message, or CTA statements will increase conversions right away.

We’lI show you how to identify quick ways to improve your conversion content, even if you’re not an expert in the subject matter of your new niche.

And if you’re not a writer yourself, we’ll show you how to hire the right expert to create great content that converts without getting ripped off.

First, let’s take a quick look at how giving a little extra attention to your website content upfront will pay off big time in the long run.

Why Conversion Content Matters

Customers do business with companies and people they like, know, and trust.

So the first goal of your website content should be to make a deep personal connection with the reader by building a relationship with them and helping them feel heard and understood.

The second should be to help lead them as directly as possible down the natural decision-making path to buying your product.

The challenge is that today we are all constantly bombarded with sales messages.

Most people are completely overwhelmed with the never-ending barrage of media and marketing that’s being pelted at them, both online and off.

Audiences in most markets are inherently skeptical, or at the very least, have the attention span of a goldfish. This is especially true in crowded markets such as weight loss, fitness, or beauty. (Don’t lie, I know you’ve gone down the Buzzfeed rabbit hole at least once.)

This makes it hard to get people to stop for two seconds, sit down, and listen to what you have to say so you can pitch them the benefits of what you have to sell and how it will make their life easier.

You could have the best offer in the world — something that will really make a positive impact on their lives — but if you can’t catch their attention and hold onto it long enough to actually present your offer, it’s useless.

So how do you make a deep personal connection with the reader and entice them to buy as quickly as possible?

How do you capture their attention so they don’t click away or lose interest before understanding that your offer could solve their biggest problems?

You do it by crafting your content to speak directly to their core desires and pain points in a way that makes them feel like you truly “get” them.

You want them to stop and say: “Hey, actually that IS what I’m looking for. Tell me more!”

If you’ve read this far down the page, then you probably know exactly what I’m talking about, because I’ve written the introduction to this post in a way that speaks directly to your pain points about getting a fast ROI after buying an online business.

Now we’ll show you some quick content wins to maximize conversions in your particular market, so you can increase revenue and get your investment back faster after buying a new online business.

And if you’re looking to hire a copywriter to handle the heavy lifting for you, then we’ll show you how to hire the RIGHT kind of professional, so you don’t get ripped off.

5 Quick Content Wins to Increase Conversions on Your New Website

One way to start making a profit faster is by leveraging standard copywriting tactics that the previous website owner may have ignored.

Sometimes website owners miss obvious places for improvement because they may not be an expert in that area of marketing, or simply because they’ve been immersed in the project so long that they lack the perspective given by a fresh pair of eyes.

For example, many times small affiliate sites are created by SEO professionals who are either just starting out or looking to flip the site for a quick buck.

Since a lot of the SEO process involves analyzing statistics and researching keywords, many of these website owners struggle to shift out of the analytical mindset when writing their content.

This often results in website content that sounds like an alcoholic robot wrote it because it’s too focused on keywords, and not enough on the reader.

Of course, you don’t want to ignore keywords completely if your main source of traffic is organic SEO, but I’ve had clients double (and even triple) conversion simply by letting me rewrite their content for the reader rather than only for search engines.

If you’re not an expert in the particular niche or market, this is where hiring a copywriting expert comes in handy. I’ll show you how to hire the RIGHT kind of writer in a moment, but first, let’s take a look at some common areas of conversion content that website owners often overlook.

Here are the key areas where you’re likely to make a quick win on conversions, increasing profits immediately and seeing a faster ROI on your new purchase.

1. Quality of the content
2. Structure and readability
3. Credibility and authority
4. Call to action statements
5. Speaking the secret language of your readers
6. Hiring the right KIND of writer to create your content for you, so you don’t get ripped off

Let’s take a closer look.

Conversion Content Quick Win #1: Is the Writing Even Any Good?

This may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many people click away from a site because the content looks like a four-year-old wrote it.

It’s possible that you’re missing out on sales simply because the content sucks. We see scenarios all the time where the writing is just plain BAD, and this can be distracting or off-putting to the reader.

It can be difficult to articulate what makes certain copy feel “bad” or “good,” but most of us can recognize crappy writing.

This isn’t about creative expression, but more about making sure the writing doesn’t distract the reader from the ultimate goal — getting them to click that button.

If you’re not confident in your ability to identify bad writing, there’s a free tool called the Hemingway App that a lot of writers use as a “quick fix” for cleaning up rough content.

Plug your content into this app, and it will highlight mistakes in spelling or grammar, long sentences, and confusing text — helping you fix the most obvious mistakes that may be hurting conversions.

Of course, this tool is still based on an automated algorithm, so it’s important to go over the copy yourself or hire a professional editor to improve the text as well.

Don’t rely exclusively on a robot to fix up writing meant for human eyes. (Elon Musk hasn’t invented that technology yet, so unless you’re going to write him a very persuasive letter, you’ll just have to do it the old-fashioned way or pay someone else to do it for you.)

Ask yourself:

– Does the writing have an amateur feel to it?

– Does it feel too “fluffy” — using lots of words to say nothing at all?

– Do the sentences feel awkward or distracting?

These are all obvious signs of bad writing.

Conversion Content Quick Win #2: Is the Structure Easy to Read and Follow?

We mentioned before that “bad writing” can distract the reader from taking action and converting into a new subscriber or customer. A big part of that involves the structure and layout of the content and sales message.

If a page is hard to read or the message is hard to follow, distracted readers will often click away and fade into internet-land, never to be seen again.

Here are a few common structural changes that will make the content easier to follow. These should be common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many websites ignore these quick fixes.

Whitespace:

Landing on a page and seeing an intimidating wall of solid content is an instant trigger to click away.

We’re all busy, right?

We don’t have time to sift through huge paragraphs to find the information we’re looking for.

Break up your paragraphs into smaller chunks, and make sure to highlight important information that you want the reader to see right away.

Lists:

People love lists. And most readers are attracted to lists rather than blocks of text since they’re much easier to scan.

Again, this is about readability. If you’re describing or listing more than three things, stick it into a bullet point or list format instead of a chunky paragraph.

Media:

Everyone knows that people respond well to images and video when searching for information online. Media also increases on-page engagement, so people will stay plugged in longer on your page.

Bonus: Not only does this increase your chances of converting them into a new customer, but it also lowers your bounce rate (a potential ranking factor when it comes to SEO).

Just make sure any images and video are high quality, without distortion or fuzziness.

Obviously, all photos and videos should also be relevant and useful, highlighting the information you’re explaining in your text, and appropriate for the audience and the topic.

For example, while it’s great to use images that catch attention, visitors on a site promoting strollers and infant car seats will probably not appreciate images depicting voluptuous bombshells who look like they walked straight out of a porno.

Even if the target readers aren’t offended, at the very least, they will feel like you just don’t “get” them and will have trouble connecting with your brand.

A good rule of thumb is to always ask yourself – does this help make a personal connection with my target reader?

And please… please avoid tacky stock photos. You’re not fooling anyone. We know this chick would rather be eating a burger:

We see through your lies, Janet — no one likes salad THAT much.

Conversion Content Quick Win #3: Proof and Credibility

As we mentioned before, in today’s day and age, most readers are overloaded with sales messages day in and day out.

Audiences are often skeptical, especially in saturated markets such as health, weight loss, or fitness.

It’s critical to make sure any claims or promises you make are backed up with proof.

The most common way to provide proof is through testimonials, but proof can also come in the form of:

• Anecdotes or stories depicting someone similar to your reader who solved their problem with a solution similar to the one you’re offering
• Case studies of how your offer has helped readers in the past
• Relevant data or statistics that directly back up the claims and promises you’re making
• Etc.

The most important thing to remember is to back up any promises you make with claims that support how you’re going to make those promises come true.

Let’s break that down:

Promises are all about what your offer can do for the reader.

Claims support what you’re promising by explaining how it works.

And, of course, back up any claims you make with proof that directly supports what you’re saying.

Here’s an example:

Promise: This pill will give you a flat belly in just six weeks.

Claim: The ingredients in this pill will give you a flat belly by making your fat fall out your butt.

Proof: Dr. Bloat tested these ingredients on 249 llamas and all of them now have flat bellies, look fantastic, and are modeling for Playboy’s new Llamazine — here’s a picture.

Get it? Good.

Conversion Content Quick Win #4: Is It Easy to Buy — CTAs

This is a big one. CTAs = call to action statements.

This is the statement on your page that gets readers to buy, subscribe, turn into a unicorn, whatever.

Whatever your main offer is, your CTA should tell readers exactly how to get it and how they’ll benefit. Simply put, your reader should never wonder what to do next after reading your sales message.

Which button are you more likely to click on?

One that says:

“If it’s not an inconvenience, please submit your personal information so we can take this to the next step.”

Or,

“Enter your details to instantly download your free guide.”

A good CTA is bold, concise, clear, and tells the reader exactly what to do.

It should also remind them of the benefits and value they receive when they take action, as well as what they should expect to happen next.

Sounds like a lot of punch to pack into a single sentence, right?

It is.

This is one of the reasons great copywriters will always have work, and why they get paid the big bucks. (Or so they tell me.)

It’s not easy to write short but powerful CTAs that convert.

You also want to avoid scaring the reader away with language that is too salesy or committal.

For example, avoid phrases like “sign up,” as this sounds like you’re asking them to sell their soul, or at the very least, that you’re going to flood their inbox with stuff they don’t really want.

Instead, try a more friendly statement such as: “Get Access.”

And always make sure there is a final CTA at the end of each section and page, so you don’t leave readers hanging in action limbo.

Bottom line — they should never feel confused about why they’re clicking that button.

Conversion Content Quick Win #5: Speaking the Right Language

This is one of the hardest concepts for non-copywriters to grasp, but it’s definitely one of the most important.

We talked a lot about making a deep personal connection with your reader to help them know, like, and trust you (and, of course, want to do business with you).

In order to do this, you need to show empathy, making them feel heard and understood.

Essentially, the reader should feel like you really truly “get” them.

This is where all those years of studying buyer psychology, sales skills, and persuasion tactics come in handy, and why most business owners choose to hire a professional sales copywriter if they really want to get serious about their strategic content.

The trick is to use language and words that speak directly to the core desires and biggest pain points of your audience.

For example: A personal review of marijuana or alcohol memorabilia could be fairly casual and have lots of slang. But a homepage for a company selling reputation services to corporate enterprises will be much more clinical and professional.

If you get it right, they’ll feel like you’re reaching out of the screen, putting a comforting hand on their shoulder, and having a personal conversation with them.

But it’s also easy to screw this up if you misdiagnose who you’re speaking to.

For example, you’ve probably seen those click-baity ads on Facebook or blog sites.

You know, the ones that say, “The 5 foods to NEVER eat if you want to lose weight,” or, “The secret ingredient Asian women have been using for centuries to fight wrinkles.”

If you feel that these ads are scammy, it’s not always because the copywriting sucks — it’s because you’re not the target market.

They’re not written for you.

But I can tell you that the people these ads are targeting see them and nod their head along with every single line of text, thinking, “OMG how did they know? That’s me!”

And companies spend millions of dollars every single month on advertorial content like these — because they work.

In addition to the words you use, you also need to be aware of how to approach your sales message — do you go direct or more indirect?

Choosing between a very direct sales message and more indirect language depends on how aware your audience is.

Do they know about you and your company?

Do they already know about your offer?

Are they even aware that they have a problem or that there are other potential solutions out there?

If your audience is extremely aware of you, your offer, and their problem — and has already explored other solutions — then you can speak directly to them, offering a really good deal or a solid guarantee to push them off the fence and get them to buy.

But if they’re completely unaware, then you may need to educate them first before they’re ready to make a purchase decision.

This is a good opportunity to use stories or anecdotes. You could also use various marketing tools, like a fun quiz, to increase their awareness levels of their problem, the solution, and your offer.

Here an example of the same sales message catered for more aware (direct) vs. unaware (indirect) audiences.

Offer: Fat Loss Supplement called FatBurn

Direct Language: “Limited Time Discount — Get 50% Off When You Order FatBurn Before September 10th.”

Indirect Language: “The Hollywood Secret to Burning Fat Fast WITHOUT Hitting the Gym.”

The trick is to choose the type of language that’s right for your audience and their level of awareness.

How to Hire the RIGHT Kind of Writer for Conversion Content

One of the biggest concerns investors have when buying a new business is that they’re not an expert in the subject matter or market. Many times, they’re better off hiring a professional sales copywriter to craft content that converts and which is designed specifically for their target audience.

But how do you know you’re hiring a professional who won’t rip you off and isn’t just a “fake it til you make it” travel blogger? (No offense to travel bloggers…Please keep writing about the best street food in xyz city. It’s delicious, and my hungry belly needs you.)

The first thing to know is that content marketing and copywriting are not the same thing.

This may sound like picky semantics (or something a pretentious copywriter would say), but it’s critical when hiring writers who create sales copy or conversion content.

Content Marketing is a long-term, cumulative strategy.

It’s about building authority, visibility, your brand, and your audience over time through value-driven content. It involves gradually building trust, familiarity, and likeability over time.

It does not work instantly.

Content Marketing includes strategies such as:

• Publishing consistent, value-driven blogs
• Sharing fun stuff on social media
• Developing content assets like e-books, PDFs, resources, and guides
• Etc.

Copywriting, on the other hand, is designed to get readers to take a very specific action as quickly as possible.

Usually, this action involves either buying something, opting into an email list, or engaging with your website or brand in a very targeted way.

Sometimes this is called direct sales copywriting, sales copywriting, or persuasion copy.

(Side note: Don’t confuse this with Copyrighting, [©], which involves legal legislation and regulation about protecting intellectual property. You can copyright your copywriting… but not the other way around. How’s that for confusing?)

To Recap:

– Copywriting gets people to take a specific action and act NOW.

– Content Marketing gets people to like, know, and trust your brand over time.

And GREAT copywriting can sometimes do both of those things.

So the best way to hire a conversion copywriter is to make sure you are hiring the right kind of writer.

But how do you know which type of writer to choose?

Well, for one thing, budget.

Sales copywriting requires a ton of practice, research, analysis, consultation and testing — it ain’t easy convincing people to take action through a computer screen — so persuasive copywriting is often more expensive than more general content writing.

Also, while many copywriters are experienced in telling stories and creating great value-driven content, content marketers don’t always have the sales skills or knowledge of buyer’s psychology to write good sales copy.

If budget isn’t your main concern, then the most important criteria to consider when choosing a writer is what your objective is for the content.

As you can see, it’s important to hire a writer with the right skills for what you’re trying to accomplish. So you gotta be sure about the purpose of your content, so you know who to look for.

Another factor to consider is experience.

As we all know, in today’s day and age, it’s super easy to slap a website up and call yourself whatever.

Many times you’ll find people who are neither a content marketer nor a copywriter, but simply a native English speaker who got good marks on an essay in school and now calls themselves a writer.

So make sure you check out their proof of performance or ask other clients who have worked with them in the past. At the very least, make sure the testimonials they have on their website are from real people.

Regardless of whether you hire a writer or tackle your content on your own, you can use the information in this article to identify areas of your new website where you can make quick wins when it comes to conversions.

Photo credit: baranq