As an online business owner, a Web site is crucial to your business. But it can’t be just any Web site; it must be a Web site with killer copy and visuals that draw your customer to you again and again.

Studies show that when visitors land at a Web site, more often than not, most are faster than Clark Kent–or a speeding bullet.

They’re there; they’re gone!

And what did they learn? Or did they find what they want?

Thus, when you write your web copy use tips like these to encourage your visitors to get comfy in their chairs, and stay at your site a whole lot longer:

Write headlines that grab attention

•    Many, many Web sites “Welcome” the visitor. While it’s nice to know you’re welcome somewhere, the greeting does little to assure your reader about a benefit they’ll receive from your products or services

In your headlines, if possible, as well as your copy, include the “benefits” to your reader for using your company, not the “features”

•    For instance, you might say something like: “Using such and such product you will grow more hair in 30 days”

•    Instead of: “I provide speedy service so you’ll get your hair product order quickly.”

Write in a conversational tone, and write like you talk

•    In other words, forget the “stuffy” and the “boring”

Use “you” often

•    And lose the “me, me, me” and the “I, I, I”

Make your web content easy to read

•    Use words with few letters, include short sentences, and even shorter paragraphs

•    Bullet point your sentences or phrases so your readers can quickly scan the page

•    The font! The font! Pay attention to the size of your font, and to how the color of the font connects with your site’s background/color. If your copy disappears into the site so you can barely see it or read it, you may need to rethink your colors.

Add visuals, but do so with discretion

•    Nothing turns off a visitor faster than the blinking and the flashing. While colorful and eye- catching, they slow page loading and can be off-putting for readers on dial-up.

•    Use an occasional photo or image to help tell your story or to introduce you, your product or services. Too many, though, will also distract from your message.

Before you say you’re done in your mind’s eye, make sure you really are

•    Edit your work and edit it again

•    Read your copy out loud from the end to the beginning to hear how it sounds

And review your site often to keep it up-to-date to your industry’s standards and current events.

Remember the telephone game you played when you were little? Someone would whisper a sentence into the ear of the person next to her. That person would then pass the comment to the person next to her; the secret was whispered along to each person in the line until it reached the last person. Who’d then announce what she thought was the original whispered sentence.

The end message was completely different from the original, got huge laughs at its ending craziness, and clearly showed how communication can go awry!

To be an effective communicator, whether using a written or a verbal means, several things must be considered:

Choose your words wisely. Whether writing or speaking, communicating involves taking a bit of time to think about what you’re going to say. Will the listener understand what you’re saying? Or will it be misinterpreted?

Listen to what others say. Pay attention to the person with whom you’re conversing or to the presenter at a conference. If you’re so intent on trying to figure out how you will respond to a question that you don’t really listen to what is said, you’re likely to give an answer that makes no sense to the question posed. If necessary, repeat the question to get clarity before you respond.

Tone, inflection, body language. When you speak, make it point that the tone of your voice is not “saying’ something different from the “words” that are coming from your mouth. For instance, if you’re shouting ridicule or making fun but you’re smiling as you do so your message may be taken differently from your intent.

*  Further, if you are being spoken to, stand with your arms at your side or on the table. Or, you might sit with your hands in your lap. If your arms are crossed, you give a vibe that you’re “closed in” or are not receptive to the conversation.

* And if you’re trying to get the attention of the person across the aisle you’re clearly not involved in what’s being said.

Write less, say more. A lot of us more often than not communicate these days using email, Skype, instant message and the like. While these methods are a valid means, particularly because they serve as a keeper of the records, they sometimes lose some of their effectiveness because you can’t see the body language and you can’t hear the tone of voice.

Thus it’s important to take the time to formulate your email with care, especially since once it’s gone from your fingers, electronic communication is forevermore on the world-wide web for all to see.

And know when to stop!

I was recently asked the question, “How do I increase website traffic to my website?” Here are a few of the tips that I gave.

• Create a site with valuable content, products or services.

• Place primary and secondary keywords within the first 25 words in your page content and spread them evenly throughout the document.

• Research and use the right keywords/phrases to attract your target customers.

• Use your keywords in the right fields and references within your web page. Like Title, META tags, Headers, etc.

• Keep your site design simple so that your customers can navigate easily between web pages, find what they want and buy products and services.

• Keep track of changes in search engine algorithms and processes and accordingly modify your web pages so your search engine ranking remains high. Use online tools and utilities to keep track of how your website is doing.

• Monitor your competitors and the top ranked websites to see what they are doing right in the way of design, navigation, content, keywords, etc.

• Use reports and logs from your web hosting company or other stats program to see where your traffic is coming from. Analyze your visitor location and their incoming sources whether search engines or links from other sites and the keywords they used to find you. Another option for reports and logs is utilizing Google Analytics.

• Make sure your customer’s visit is easy and give them plenty of ways to remember you in the form of newsletters, free reports, coupons (if applicable), etc.

• Demonstrate your industry and product or service expertise by writing and submitting articles to article banks so you are perceived as an expert in your field. Be sure to include a well written resource box which includes your name, website address and information about you and your service and/or product.

• When selling products online, use simple payment and shipment methods to make your customer’s experience fast and easy.

• When not you’re not sure what to do, hire professionals. Though it may seem costly, it is a lot less expensive than spending your money on a website which no one visits.

• Don’t look at your website as a static brochure. Treat it as a dynamic, ever-changing sales tool and location, just like you would a brick and mortar store…treat your web presence with the same seriousness and attention to detail.

Those readers who know me, have purchased my books, or read my newsletters know that I always want to provide more than what you expect.  Truth be told, I am dedicated to helping your business grow.  Even in this economy, there are great opportunities for success.  It is not easy, but together we can do it.

Recent financial times have been tough.  But does the sad state of the economy have to affect everyone?  Well, I sure hope not.  But the reality is that the average coach is feeling the pressure of these hard times. 

This means that you have to be extra savvy and conscious of where you invest your hard earned income.  You also need to be diligent and work exceptionally hard to keep your clients coming back to you.  

You may need to be extremely careful with your purchases.  You may even have to pare down the number of resources that you use.  There is no shame in that.  It is just smart money managing.

As a savvy business owner, you can thrive in hard times by being smart.  Smart with your time and with your money.  You need to recognize necessary and usefule resources that can help you, especially ones that exceed their percieved value ten-fold or more.

In light of the economical issues that are readily apparent everywhere you look, I wanted to help in as many ways as I could.  So check out these Recession Busting Offers.

 ***Offer 1 ***

Biz Tips – The Book at 20% OFF

Sale Price $7.95

This is the book with more than 50 ideas to improve your business.  

Go here to take advantage of this time-limited special offer.

*** Offer 2 ***  

Mind Your Own Biz Book – MORE THAN 25% OFF

Sale Price $27.00

This book is the complete resource for starting a successful coaching business with details, resources and exercises in vital business areas.  Find your unique package as a coach, learn the entrepreneurial skills to succeed, discover how to use a business plan succesfully and develop powerful ways to manage your time, money, information and equipment. 

Go here to take advantage of this time-limited special offer. 

 *** Offer 3 ***

Biz Tips for Coaches Newsletter – FREE

Get the weekly email that can make a difference in the success of YOUR coaching business.  Filled with new and insightful information that is relevant to the growth of any coach’s business.

Go here to take advantage of this offer. 

 *** Offer 4 ***

Support Group for Coaches 25% OFF

$15.00 per group

Join a support group of determined coaches lead by a certified coach.  Increase your motivation, creativity, accountability and more.  Use the collective wisdom and supprt of a group to crystallize your ideas and accelerate your progress toward building your coaching dreams.

Email me at janet@lifeadventurecoaching.com to take advantage of this offer.  

It is important to me that you thrive in these hard times.  I want you to succeed.  Do not hesitate – grab these great deals before they are gone because the sale ends March 1st.  Act now while these prices are low and get the better value for your dollar.

Suzanne Falter Barnes is Running a Branding Clinic

Branding Clinic?  What’s that?

I am hosting the Branding Expert Suzanne Falter Barnes as she demonstrates her wizardry with branding that has helped her clients get lots of attention.  Some of her clients have received cold calls from such sources as CNN, 60 Minutes, PBS, Time, Ladies Home Journal, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, major publishers and other media heavyweights.

Here’s how the process works – Suzanne will work with people in the “hot seats” during 15 5-minute laser sessions where she will give her wisdom on whether their brands are going to help them break out online, attract national media attention and get them more clients.  In addition, gallery “seating” will allow observers to get value from seeing how this all works and applying it to what they do.

This call is presented by Practice Pay Solutions and has only 15 spots available for the hot seats.  The gallery viewing is at a reduced price so there should be an option that will fit your needs.

The call will be on Wednesday, January 14th at 4:00pm EST.

If you need to further define the brand for your coaching business or find ways to change a vague, general brand that is not value driven, this is the call for you.  Register here.  Hope to see you on the call!

Last week’s Biz Tips was about using on-line scheduling services and one of my sharp readers, Bonnie Hill, has given me another great resource to tell you about that may be useful for your coaching business.  TimeDriver is not only a way for clients to schedule with you, it is a scheduling promotion system through the use of invitations and easy-access buttons.  TimeDriver calls itself an appointment invitation system and the intriguing aspect is those buttons.  The system provides a way for you to include a “Schedule Now” button for your emails, website or even LinkedIn profile that connects the prospect directly to your openings. The TimeDriver Marketing strategy is that their system compels action from prospects and customers by making the scheduling immediate – sounds like a way to make an entrepreneur happy!

The system coordinates directly with either Google or Outlook calendars and determines appointment times for you.  All you have to do is say when you are available – example, Tuesday mornings for 30 minutes – and the software does the rest.  No one is given access to your calendar directly; they do receive email confirmations and reminders. There is also a feature allowing you to ask a direct question of each person scheduling so that you can know the nature of the appointment or the issue being addressed.  TimeDriver gives a generous free trial of 90 days and then has an annual cost of $29.95 which makes it affordable for many coaching businesses.

I am pleased to announce that I have taken on a contract position as the National Education Director at Practice Pay Solutions.  I am excited about this work because Practice Pay is a company that is truly  committed to helping business owners succeed.  What a great pairing for the work that I do helping coaches, counselors and consultants grow their businesses.  I am honored to be taking on this position that has previously been held by C.J. Hayden and Karyn Greenstreet.

Practice Pay Solutions is well known in the coaching world as the most popular company for credit card processing with what is called a merchant account.  In addition, they provide shopping carts, Learning Management Systems, a Website Builder and a registry for virtual assistants.  They are dedicated to great customer service and training on all their products.  My selection for this position is related to the company’s new initiative called Practice Pay University which will unfold in a very exciting way over the next several months.

My role as National Education Director will include hosting free classes and teleclasses on both Practice Pay products and on important topics in business development.  We’ll be discussing e-commerce, automating your business, and creating passive income.  You should be hearing quite a lot from me!  And even though this sounds like a lot – I’ll still be working as usual in my own business, giving you lots of information and ideas for growing your business on a very personal basis. 

The first classes from Practice Pay University have been announced.  The first call is “Using a Virtual Assistant for Your Business” and is scheduled for November 5th at 5pm eastern.  On November 6th at 5pm eastern, I’ll be interviewing Deborah Gallant about “Building a Coaching Website”.  You can find out more about either call or register for free here.

Here is a great resource for every coaching entrepreneur – The 100 Best Business-Building Resources for Coaches.  Thanks to Lynn Serafinn, coach from Bedford, UK who has compiled this list.  She originally put it together for a London meeting of the European Co-Active Community and is available in both Excel and PDF formats.  Lynn says, “Each resource has been reviewed carefully and described in detail, with explanations as to why you might find it useful for your business.  This saves you months of time-consuming research, and hopefully will save you money by avoiding costly mistakes as you build your practice.  AND, nearly half of these resources are absolutely FREE.” 

I am proud to say that two of my products for coaches are included on this list.  My free weekly ezine, Biz Tips for Coaches, is listed as well as my book, Mind Your Own Biz.  I have explored the list at length and am honored to be listed in such company as such well known coaches as C. J. Hayden, Andrea J. Lee and Christian Mickelsen.   If you are looking for resources about business development and want to find the best of the best – this list is a valuable tool for your search.

You are working hard. You spend hours every week doing business tasks and marketing. You think about coaching all the time and know that you have something very valuable to offer. You have some clients, but the business just is not growing as fast as you would like. This situation happens to almost every coach at some point and is one of the dirty secrets of the coaching world.

Starting a coaching business and running a coaching business are hard work. Your business is likely going going to develop slowly – perhaps more slowly than you were told. It is easy to let discouragement set in. The number one way to combat that sense of discouragement is to have a solid support system. If you are a new coach, one of your most important investments will be in finding your own coach. Make sure that person has been down the road you are on and then he/she can be a source of wisdom, encouragement and even advice. I know, I know – coaches aren’t supposed to give advice, but when a coach is coaching a newer coach, they really have a role as both a coach and a mentor.

While you were in coach training school, you likely had a group of other students with whom to share the journey. Once you finish training, it can be a great idea to find a coaching support group to help you in times of discouragement. In the groups I run, I see coaches help each other all the time with information, ideas and encouragement that can move you out of that difficult place.

By all means don’t let the business get you down. Recently I had been working very hard on one aspect of my business and was not seeing any results. I felt very discouraged until I mentioned that discouragement to several people in my support system. Not only did I get wisdom about the current situation, I was reminded of the tremendous business growth I have achieved in the past year. Please take some time to build yourself that kind of support. The road can be hard and you can be successful “along with a little help from your friends”.

When you decided to become a coach perhaps you quickly signed up for a coach training school in order to learn the skills of coaching. Did you know when you made that decision to become a coach that you were probably also deciding to become a business owner? This requires another set of skills and knowledge that can be studied as well. Unfortunately, most coaching schools leave you to do independent study on becoming an entrepreneur.

How much have you been studying the world of business? The resources are vast and there for the learning. One of the most important attitudes of a good coach is that of curiosity and I would like to challenge you to turn your curiosity towards how to run a successful coaching business.

Think first about business resources in general. There are several important websites to know about – the US Small Business Administration and SCORE immediately come to mind. I also find lots of helpful information at smallbusiness.com and entrepreneur.com.

I also recommend reading business books and listening to some of the myriad of free teleseminars about business and marketing. It is easy to let yourself get overwhelmed by all that is out there – choose a person or two that makes sense to you and follow their advice and programs. What you don’t want to do is treat your business like the soup of the day – now this program, now that one. Don’t be seduced by the newest, hottest ideas. Find something that makes sense to you and apply it consistently and persistently over a six month period before you evaluate success or failure.

Running a coaching business is hard work and can be complicated. There are many sources of wisdom and here are some that I have found invaluable over the years. Today I am giving away the farm – I am naming names of the people that I value and have used as important resources. I don’t agree with everyone on the list, but I have learned from them all. I know not everyone will be a good fit for you, but here is a place to start in your quest for role models.

First, there are several people who have been around for years and produce consistently valuable business information for coaches. I have learned a great deal from Robert Middleton, Andrea J. Lee, Suzanne Falter Barnes and Ellen Britt. Although you may shy away from the idea of internet marketing as some coaches do, as an entrepreneur in the 2000s, you can not afford to do so. Learn from some internet geniuses such as Dan Kennedy, Alex Mandossian, Rich Schefren and Milana Lishensky (no, Milana is not a coach, but she is an internet marketer TO coaches!). And finally, I am hot lately about two people that have great new books out. Check out Mike R. Jay and Cameron Johnson for great ideas for you entrepreneurial coaches.

Now I have just given you far more people than you could possibly follow and they have far more info than you could possibly digest. What I hope you will do is mark some time on your calendar to do some exploring and reading on these websites. See who speaks to you. Get some great information and get to work on the business of becoming the entrepreneur that will make your business thrive.