RESOURCE CENTRE

Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 237

Thought for the week: "The point to remember about selling things is that, as well as creating atmosphere and excitement around your products, you've got to know what you're selling." Stuart Wilde

• How to make your website content interesting
• The dos and don'ts of search engine optimisation (SEO)
• Guide to age-related sales
• Useful Fact File research site
• How useful is Facebook for building business contacts?
• Data protection guidance for new businesses

How to make your website content interesting

So you've got a business and you've got a website to promote it. That's all well and good, but how can you be sure your website will do what it's supposed to do - attract customers and make them buy your product or service?

Small business owners often employ a web designer to develop their site. Many web designers just don't know how to write web copy, so you run the risk of providing your customers with copy that is boring and useless. You can't be boring and expect to get people's attention, let alone hold their attention for any length of time.

With that in mind, here are some suggestions on how to spice up your copy to get your visitors' interest.

• Include stories of real people. People are voyeurs at heart - just look at the popularity of reality TV. Shows like Big Brother and X-Factor dominate the television ratings. Why? Because people like to look at other people. Including stories of real people will magnetise your copy.

• Use case studies. Case studies are important in several ways. They demonstrate your credibility by proving your ability to get results. Most importantly, they give the reader what they want most...a glimpse of the benefits they can expect to achieve if they use your product or service. In short, case studies can answer the 'What's in it for me?' question that customers pose.

• Use surveys, studies, charts, graphs and evidence. People like to see proof. They often find the results of surveys and studies not only interesting but very credible. Using charts and graphs to graphically display results of surveys and studies adds to this credibility.

• Use photographs. Use a photograph of your customer enjoying your product or service. If they see someone else enjoying the benefits, it will be easier for them to visualise themselves enjoying the same benefits.

• Use captions. If you use photographs, make sure the captions beneath are going to help you sell your product or service. There's no point in uploading a fantastic picture of your product in action if you don't explain that to the reader - it could be a picture of anything to them. Without a caption, a picture is pretty meaningless.

• Use short words and paragraphs. Make your copy easy to read by using short words and paragraphs with subheadings. Additionally, check it for spelling errors and get it proofread by someone else before the copy goes live. How many times have you come across websites that have badly written text that is poorly laid out? It's off-putting and can make you look unprofessional. Plus, there's nothing more uninviting than a 20-line paragraph that looks like a sea of words.

• Display testimonials of people who have used your product or service. It's hard to beat a good testimonial. They can provide that all-important credibility factor that is difficult to duplicate. Make sure your testimonial is specific to your USP - it should reflect the fact that your product or service really does deliver on the USP that you advertised.

• Keep the content user-focused. Don't feature content focused on only you and your business. All the customer cares about is how you can help them, not how many awards you've won. Use 'You' or Your' instead of 'I' or 'We' in your web copy.

Using some of these hints and tips could help you build your web presence without wasting thousands of pounds on flashy web graphics. Write content that helps to convince and sell - a website with no substance is about as useful to your marketing strategy as a chocolate fireguard.

For hundreds more practical tips and techniques to help you find new customers and increase sales on a shoestring budget, check out The UK Small Business Marketing Bible.

The dos and don'ts of search engine optimisation (SEO)

SEO is the buzzword in Internet marketing today. It's a form of business promotion that aims to increase the position of a website within the results of search engines. So whether you're trading online or simply providing information about your business, you need to ensure that your website ranks highly so that customers can find your website easily. These handy dos and don'ts from BETTER business magazine, a sister publication from the publisher of EnterQuest, will help you get started.

Do:

• Try a variety of forms of online marketing, from e-mail newsletters to advertising on relevant portals.

• Analyse the results of your online marketing and over time refine the campaigns that work.

• Always evolve and change your online marketing, especially keyword-targeted search advertising. If you give your competitors the opportunity to find out what's working for you, they'll all jump on board and your competitive edge will be lost.

• Give customers compelling reasons to let their friends, family and colleagues know about your products or services, and there's no better way to do this than an exclusive e-mail newsletter for your existing client base.

Don't:

• Stick to search engines only. Instead seek out online magazines and other relevant websites where your target audience are likely to spend much of their online time.

• Concentrate solely on getting new customers. Online marketing strategies can be highly effective at up-selling to your existing customer base, or helping to increase the volume and frequency by which your customers buy from you.

• Try to compete on the most popular search terms unless you can afford it. Instead try 'long-tail' campaigns: concentrate on a broad range of less popular keywords.

To receive regular tips, articles and how-to guides to help you run your business more effectively you can subscribe to BETTER business magazine.

Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK and elsewhere around the world.

• Homemade soup producer. A homemade soup producer produces a range of soups and is usually home-based and small-scale. Opportunities lie in selling to local food businesses such as restaurants, pubs and cafés. The business could also sell direct to the consumer over the Internet or at farmers' markets.

• Eco-design chic. Designers are getting increasingly creative with the ways in which old furniture, fabric, rubbish and unwanted items can be repurposed for use. Check out Reestore - a firm that sells innovative furniture and household items made from waste objects - as an example.

Regularly improving your vocabulary is not just about learning a new word and its meaning. It will improve your general knowledge and make you feel and act smarter in all sorts of personal and business situations.

Do you know the meaning of the word 'enmity'?

a) a financial term for debts
b) ability to share someone else's feelings
c) a feeling of hatred
d) protection against loss or damage

Answer at the end of the Bulletin.

The following topical business issues have been recently reported in the media. Did your radar pick them up?

1) One in six new businesses are started by which sector of society, according to a new study by Yellow Pages?

a) women
b) over-50s
c) university students
d) schoolchildren

2) Businesses are losing vital information by e-mail and over the Internet, usually by accident, software security firm Sophos says. What is this phenomenon called?

a) data drifting
b) data dripping
c) data discharge
d) data leakage

3) Women's business support body Prowess says an increasing number of women are starting their own businesses. Which of these sectors did not provide a high number of new female entrepreneurs, according to the survey?

a) community work
b) healthcare
c) education
d) retail

Answers at the end of the Bulletin.

Guide to age-related sales

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has updated its information for shops selling age-restricted items like tobacco. The Age Restricted Sales - Due Diligence and Best Practice Guidance explains the legal situation when you're selling alcohol, tobacco, knives, fireworks, solvents, National Lottery tickets and scratch cards, DVDs, videos and computer games. It costs £5.

Useful Fact File research site

The Government Offices for the English Regions has updated its Fact Files - information about key cities and regions in England. The Fact Files include data from the Office of National Statistics, maps, satellite images and information from local councils.

How useful is Facebook for building business contacts?

This recent Freelance UK article looks at the usefulness of the popular social networking site Facebook. Freelance UK reports that its own research echoes that of a recent Barclays survey, which found that just 8 in 100 small businesses use social networking sites to promote their firms.

Data protection guidance for new businesses

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) website contains some helpful tips and guidance for new businesses. If your business processes information about your clients, employees or suppliers, you should comply with the Data Protection Act. This section of the ICO website tells you how to do so and lists other pertinent legislation you should be aware of.

This book, billed as part biography, part business guide, is written by Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer. Not only does it tell the story of how he built the Cobra Beer business from scratch, it also contains useful hints and tips on marketing and growing a business. Check out:

Bottled for Business: The Less Gassy Guide to Entrepreneurship, by Karan Bilimoria

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Good luck

The EnterQuest Team

This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made, the publisher makes no warranties that the information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the information nor any consequences of any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought where appropriate.