Building a website that exudes trust is not always an easy task. There are a lot of untrustworthy websites on the internet and consumers are growing more and more cautious every day! That’s why in today’s online market you have to make sure that your website screams “YOU CAN TRUST ME!” so that your potential customers don’t mistake you for one of the not so trustworthy sites. The following 5 quick and easy things you can add to your website that can make the task seem a little more manageable.

1. Contact Information up the Wazoo!

Ok, all kidding aside, it’s true! Pay close attention to your own online habits. When you are shopping online and are looking at a website that you have never purchased from before, you immediately look for easy ways to get a hold of the company. You may not realize it, but you do it! So make sure you add as much of the following: Phone, Fax, Email (Multiple and by department if possible), IM, Contact Form and Live Chat.

2. Website Policies & Terms

Everyone feels a bit more comfortable knowing what to expect in advance to making a purchase, so make sure you detail the entire experience for your potential customers. Include: Shipping Info, Returns & Exchanges, Warranties/Guarantees, General Terms and Privacy (cookies and personal information sharing)

3. Good, Credible & Reliable Copywriting

Make sure your Website copy is “Human Readable” meaning it can be read by the average human and be understood. The last thing you need is for your online visitors to feel stupid for not understanding or getting lost in your information because of repeating keywords in awkward places. Make sure you don’t make it sound too farfetched and don’t overuse adverbs and adjectives. If your content is well-written and industry appropriate, you will go far building and maintaining trust.

4. User Testimonials & Reviews

Some of the most important content you can add to your site that can instantly lend credibility to your brand are testimonials & reviews. People looking to do business with you want to know if they are going to pleased with the experience. Make sure to put at least 5 – 10 testimonials, both positive and negative. Yes, I said “AND NEGATIVE”. Why would you do that? Well think about it… You are telling everyone that you have been in business so many years, and your service is superior and this and that, yet not a single person has ever been dissatisfied with your business? Really? Everyone’s expectations of a business transaction is different, hence you are sure to have some that didn’t like some aspect of it. I’m not saying you want to put the worst ones on there, but consider putting on 1 or 2 that mention a couple of things that particular customer did not like. This will add realism to your reviews and doing so will demonstrate confidence in your business and service.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQs are a great way to not only lower cost associated with customer support by reducing incoming calls or emails for simple questions, but also in building trust and rapport. Adding these will give an area where customers can view answers to common questions that someone doing business with you may have. This will go far and be very appreciated by your potential and current customers.

Happy Friday folks! Yes, can you believe it, another week has come and gone. Personally I feel the older I get, the quicker the time passes…? Does this happen to you? Anyway, today we are continuing our 5 part series “New Website Development Planning Checklist” (man that’s a mouth full) with “Part 4: Marketing”. Oddly enough, marketing seems to be one of the aspects of developing a new website that clients seldom remember. For some reason people think that if you build it…they will come! Sometimes that may be true with little or no effort, but for the vast majority of website it actually takes work! Here are some common things to think about regarding the marketing of your new site.

4. Marketing

How will people find out about your website? Come on people. If you want to make itin the online realm you have to self promote at any chance you get.

Will you be using “Paid” or free search engine listings? Both are required to make a good impact. Local Directories, Industry Directories, Forums, Blogs, Banners, Pay-Per-Click and Search Engine Listings are all examples of these.

Who will do your Search Engine Optimization? There are many aspects to SEO. At MultiCOLOR Media we make sure your Website is built with the search engines in mind and make sure it is optimized as much as possible. Another optimization service we offer is copywrighting. Good, well-written content is one of the main factors in your SEO campaign. Aside from these, a professional SEO Firm also will help by implementing and managing your search engine listings, Pay-Per-Click campaigns and social media profiles.

Do you currently have or will you be putting in place an off-line marketing program? No matter what anyone says, offline marketing is still essential to any online business. Think about it, look at big online entities such as yahoo, ebay, amazon, facebook, and many more. All this companies spend millions of dollars in offline marketing campaigns including: TV Commercials, Movie Spots, Postcards, Radio and more. You think maybe they’re on to something?

Do you have a budget set aside for an internet marketing campaign? When many businesses hire a web developer they get consumed over the costs involved in the development that they forget to budget for online marketing. It makes no sense. Most businesses have no problem spending $300 or more monthly in local coupon guide advertisements, but when it comes to spending a couple hundred monthly on an internet marketing campaign they think “it’s to expensive” or “I can’t afford it”. How can you not afford to? Thousands if not millions of online businesses would go bankrupt if not for the results gained from online marketing. Ask your SEO Specialist to go over options with you.

What keywords or phrases do you think people would use to find your business, products or services? This is simple. Keywords can be anthing from product names, services offered, brand names to city, state, zip code & counties served.

What information will bring visitors back to your site on a regular basis? Think about offering industry related articles, frequently asked questions, blogs, support forums, quizzez, polls, freebies, coupons, contests and more.

Will you need to re-design/re-print your business cards, stationary and/or  marketing & sales materials? Believe it or not, a lot of business forget about this very important aspect. If you have your website redesigned or developed for the first time, you should take a good look at all of your marketing materials and make sure that your company’s “Brand” resonates accross from your website to all of your printed pieces.

Consider all of these things when you call MultiCOLOR Media for your next web development project and you’ll be on your way to online success!

1. Define the Purpose of Your Postcards.

What do you want your postcards to accomplish? Do you want to generate website traffic, new customers, sales leads, repeat sales, or something else?

2. Describe Your Audience.

Who wants or needs what you will be offering? Make a list of all the characteristics of the perfect prospect you can think of. Make sure your postcard text/offer will be speaking to this audience.

3. Find the Best Mailing List.

If you’re going to mail the postcards to your own customers, you already have the list. Otherwise contact MultiCOLOR Media and we have a very good company that we work closely with, have the description of that perfect prospect you developed in Step 2. Almost any mailing list you can think of is available through most mailing list brokers.

4. Settle on One Idea to Promote.

You only have enough space on a postcard to promote one product, one service, or one idea. If you want to promote more than 1 thing, develop a separate postcard for each.

5. Determine the Best Format to Use.

The standard sizes are 4 x 6 and 5 x 7, but keep in mind that you can send your postcards by First Class Mail for only 26 cents in the USA if you keep them between 3 1/2 x 5 inches and 4 x 6 inches in size.

6. Compose a Captivating Headline.

Postcards get delivered open and ready to read. A captivating 3-to-5-word headline that can be read with just a quick glance at the postcard guarantees almost 100 percent readership, especially if it promises a major benefit to the reader.

7. Create a Powerful but Easy to Grasp Offer.

Try to state your offer in just one sentence. If you use more than one sentence, leave blank lines between them. If you have more than 3 sentences, consolidate several into short bulleted lists to save space and reading time. You can boost the number of responses to your postcard by giving readers a compelling reason to take action right NOW. It’s called “Call to Action”. For example, reward them with a discounted price, a special bonus, or something else if they respond by a deadline.  Remember that if you order large quantities of this postcard, and you are not mailing them out immediately that you give it some time for designing, printing, shipping time to you and mailing out when ready. You don’t want leftovers that have expired offers on them, what a waste!

8. Provide a Simple and Easy Way to Respond.

Briefly tell the reader exactly what you want them to do in response to your postcard. Make it simple and easy. For example, visit your web site, call you on the phone, or come to your store.

9. Bring it to a Graphic Design Studio like MultiCOLOR Media.

Make an appointment to come in and sit down with us and give us your ideas and details for a postcard marketing campaign(s). We can design it for you and email you a proof.

10. Print your Postcards.

Print your postcards professionally with MultiCOLOR Media.  Let us know what size you want, what paper you would like, the quantity and if you would like it printed GREEN. If you did your own artwork, email the file over to us with the subject line “Order from (Your company name here)” to info@multicolormedia.com with the details of your order. We will check your file to make sure it is print ready.

This 10-point checklist does not cover everything about postcard marketing. We wanted to give some basics for you to run with. We are always available to discuss your postcard marketing campaigns, please call to make an appointment for assistance.