Your website looks great: solid words, easy navigation, graphics just so, and maybe even a bit of flash with some multimedia. But customers are not buying.

The Technology Trap

You wonder if it’s the web copy itself. How can that be? You remembered the two key mantras of powerful web copy – “write for the search engines” and “write for the medium.”

Your web copy used appropriate keywords to help search engines find you and traffic is up. Surely, customers enjoy reading your content because your web copy is laid out with the internet in mind using:

• short sentences
• brief paragraphs
• bullets

Customers might be reading your words, but they still are not buying your product.

Chances are your web copy has been optimized for technology not people.

Even on the internet, selling is still about connecting to people. Selling on the internet means writing web copy for people not technology. So how do you press the flesh across broadband? Start where brick and mortar relationships do – trust. Why not become the trusted provider in your marketspace? Your web copy can use words to raise your credibility in at least 25 different ways.

Here are two ways to craft web copy for people not technology:

• write the way customers speak
• replace your pitch with a theme.

Write Web Copy for People not Technology Step 1:

Write the way people speak. People instinctively trust strangers who speak like them.

If you find this article useful, how would you tell someone? Are you really going to say, “I read an unusually amazing web copy article that fundamentally increased my sagging sales”? Not likely.

Weak web copy, not everyday people, uses too many modifiers. “Amazing,” “fundamentally,” and “sagging” weaken trust. How’s your site for modifiers?

Give your web copy the finger test.

You might not want fingerprints on your screen, so I suggest printing a copy of your homepage content.

• put your baby finger on the first modifier you can find.
• put your ring finger on the next adjective or adverb.
• repeat until you run out of modifiers or fingers.

If your page is a handful, you’ve got too many modifiers and your web copy is hype heavy, not trustworthy. In addition to giving readers web copy that matches how they speak, it helps to give them time to get to know you.

Write Web Copy for People not Technology Step 2:

Replace your pitch with a theme. Customers need time before they trust.

They will get used to your site in tiny steps, so hold off selling; buy some time with thematic web copy. Have a theme for your site, introducing your offer only after your customer feels comfortable. Themes are a subtle form of repetition because they continually reinforce a single concept. Repeated exposure to an idea usually makes it familiar and safe. Remember the first time you used instant messaging or the family car – not so scary now.

Let’s say your site sells dental floss.

Here’s how your web copy might handle it. Instead of listing the benefits of DentaThread, you could tie the presentation together under the central idea “Some people have nothing to smile about.”

• The opening section could point out how the discomfort of Gingivitis wipes the grin off a person’s face.
• Another segment of the web copy would show how ugly cavities make someone too self- conscious to smile.
• Yet another piece would reveal how the high cost of root canal causes an individual to frown.

In this way, the web copy offers three versions of one idea to help the site grow on the visitor: one idea, three versions. Does your homepage have a theme? How many chances does your web copy give visitors to get comfortable with you?

In this article, I tried to use the two key elements a good web copywriter uses to write for people not technology:

• the language of my readers
• a central idea, trust

Did it work? Did my web copy help? If yes, I guess I proved my point. If no, I have 23 more ideas to go.

Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail) hit the nail right on the head… In his book, he predicted that television’s viewing audience will spend more time on the Internet than watching TV. This former viewing audience will entertain themselves by going to websites they are interested in (to do whatever is more interesting to them than watching TV). Chris predicted that people will spend their time more involved in their personal “long tail” interests.

This trend is bad news for the television networks!

The Internet offers television’s former viewing audience better entertainment because they can do, see and hear what they want and when they want. The big television networks no longer have a monopoly on the public’s entertainment and mind share.

To make matters worse… with the advent of DVR (digital video recorders) less and less people are watching television commercials (the lifeblood of the major TV networks). The average person with Internet access is spending 4 times longer online than watching TV. The effectiveness of television advertising is dwindling exponentially and to make matters worse, 90% of DVR owners are fast forwarding through television commercials!

The truth is, people hate commercials. We all know that sigh when you’re intensely involved in your favorite TV show just to be distracted by 2 minutes of commercials. Most people have learned to ignore commercials, even if they are watching them!

All the big brand advertisers that you see on television are well aware of the fact that their advertising dollars are not as well invested in television ads as they once were. These major brands, including the BIG 8 in advertising, have been looking to the Internet as an alternate form of advertising for quite some time now.

For the first time in history thousands of people are going to share in revenue that was formerly paid to major television networks. Millions of dollars are going to be paid on a residual basis to a “core group” of marketing partners… No hype intended or implied!

PPP is a way for advertisers (Like Harley Davidson or Taco Bell) to serve a 5 second audio advertisement to website visitors. It is a way for advertisers to target their 5 second audio ad to specific interests, demographics and geographic locations.

Big TV’s ad revenue is dwindling because PPP offers advertisers a more cost effective advertising solution that has been providing positive Return on Investment (ROI) for over 2 years. PPP offers advertisers a way to reach their target audience and is the only form of media whose impressions and ad placements are verified by an independent 3rd party.

PPP is not new, it has been running for 2

Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail) hit the nail right on the head… In his book, he predicted that television’s viewing audience will spend more time on the Internet than watching TV. This former viewing audience will entertain themselves by going to websites they are interested in (to do whatever is more interesting to them than watching TV). Chris predicted that people will spend their time more involved in their personal “long tail” interests.

This trend is bad news for the television networks!

The Internet offers television’s former viewing audience better entertainment because they can do, see and hear what they want and when they want. The big television networks no longer have a monopoly on the public’s entertainment and mind share.

To make matters worse… with the advent of DVR (digital video recorders) less and less people are watching television commercials (the lifeblood of the major TV networks). The average person with Internet access is spending 4 times longer online than watching TV. The effectiveness of television advertising is dwindling exponentially and to make matters worse, 90% of DVR owners are fast forwarding through television commercials!

The truth is, people hate commercials. We all know that sigh when you’re intensely involved in your favorite TV show just to be distracted by 2 minutes of commercials. Most people have learned to ignore commercials, even if they are watching them!

All the big brand advertisers that you see on television are well aware of the fact that their advertising dollars are not as well invested in television ads as they once were. These major brands, including the BIG 8 in advertising, have been looking to the Internet as an alternate form of advertising for quite some time now.

For the first time in history thousands of people are going to share in revenue that was formerly paid to major television networks. Millions of dollars are going to be paid on a residual basis to a “core group” of marketing partners… No hype intended or implied!

PPP is a way for advertisers (Like Harley Davidson or Taco Bell) to serve a 5 second audio advertisement to website visitors. It is a way for advertisers to target their 5 second audio ad to specific interests, demographics and geographic locations.

Big TV’s ad revenue is dwindling because PPP offers advertisers a more cost effective advertising solution that has been providing positive Return on Investment (ROI) for over 2 years. PPP offers advertisers a way to reach their target audience and is the only form of media whose impressions and ad placements are verified by an independent 3rd party.

PPP is not new, it has been running for 2

I am all for new marketing ideas especially the ones that automate tedious tasks. I love submitting articles and use an auto submitter. RSS feeds provide news to my sites. Automatically creating links to Clickbank items based on keywords in my blogs is a godsend.

But, to me, if people don’t use these products and just pimp them to others, they are missing out on the long term benefits for a quick buck.

I admit that I have done this in the past and may do it again in the future &ndash but &ndash I only sell products that I actually use and approve. That way I can actually vouch for them since I have used them and can speak from personal experience.

Personally, I prefer to market to the average Internet Joe. I market to people who are looking for a deal on a credit card (and I use a super script to keep my site current). I recommend hotels in Thailand and can speak from first-hand experience. I post links to hotels in Thailand forums and also have 6 Thai affiliate hotel sites.

I also write articles about Thailand and list my hotel affiliate links in the author’s resource box. These are pretty easy to write since I have been traveling to Thailand for over 30 years.

I also write the occasional marketing or credit article to get some traffic to those sites. I have about 10 article sites and advertise on those sites that others submit their articles to.

I would rather make a few bucks marketing a product to people who are actually going to use it instead of marketing to someone who is only going to try to sell it to someone else.

All of this is just my personal opinion. There is nothing morally wrong or illegal of marketing to marketers. I use many of the items that are up for sale, especially those that make my life a little bit easier.

The one thing that I do object to is the folks that market to others and make false or misleading statements indicating that they use the product and how wonderful it is when they have never used it and just want to make a buck.

Anyhow, keep coming up with all those great products that marketers can use to make our lives easier. Just market them honestly.

I am all for new marketing ideas especially the ones that automate tedious tasks. I love submitting articles and use an auto submitter. RSS feeds provide news to my sites. Automatically creating links to Clickbank items based on keywords in my blogs is a godsend.

But, to me, if people don’t use these products and just pimp them to others, they are missing out on the long term benefits for a quick buck.

I admit that I have done this in the past and may do it again in the future &ndash but &ndash I only sell products that I actually use and approve. That way I can actually vouch for them since I have used them and can speak from personal experience.

Personally, I prefer to market to the average Internet Joe. I market to people who are looking for a deal on a credit card (and I use a super script to keep my site current). I recommend hotels in Thailand and can speak from first-hand experience. I post links to hotels in Thailand forums and also have 6 Thai affiliate hotel sites.

I also write articles about Thailand and list my hotel affiliate links in the author’s resource box. These are pretty easy to write since I have been traveling to Thailand for over 30 years.

I also write the occasional marketing or credit article to get some traffic to those sites. I have about 10 article sites and advertise on those sites that others submit their articles to.

I would rather make a few bucks marketing a product to people who are actually going to use it instead of marketing to someone who is only going to try to sell it to someone else.

All of this is just my personal opinion. There is nothing morally wrong or illegal of marketing to marketers. I use many of the items that are up for sale, especially those that make my life a little bit easier.

The one thing that I do object to is the folks that market to others and make false or misleading statements indicating that they use the product and how wonderful it is when they have never used it and just want to make a buck.

Anyhow, keep coming up with all those great products that marketers can use to make our lives easier. Just market them honestly.

#1. Pepsi. Pepsi has an outside-the-box ad. The ad is done by two deaf guys trying to find out where Bob’s house is. It is done completely in sign with sub-titles. This is a first. We will see if this is labeled “offensive” even if the National Association of the Deaf approved it.

#2. Budweiser. A perennial mainstay. Wouldn’t be a Super Bowl without Bud and all of their commercials.

#3. Miller Lite. Bud’s main competition that seems to always be poking fun at Bud.

#4. GoDaddy. GoDaddy is always controversial which gets them the most publicity. You may see racier ads at their web site.

#5. P&G. Proctor and Gamble will air its first ever Super Bowl commercial featuring Tide.

#6. Vitoria’s Secret. Marketing lingerie with hot chicks to guys makes sense to me.

There are more and I will post another article after the game.

Some comments in general.

Sex, humor, and music still sell. Well, it sells to a primarily male audience.

More companies are linking their TV ads to their web site.

Companies can get away with more on their web site. FCC rules don’t apply.

If it worked before, use it again.

Stars give credibility (to an extent).

Market to your audience (in this case, mainly males).

This is the only show that people actually wait in anticipation for the commercials.

Pepsi has coined a new term &ndash different abilities &ndash as opposed to disabled or challenged.

30 seconds cost almost three million, but these ads will be all over the Internet forever for free. Some ads are already at YouTube before the game started.

Marketing to 90 million people would be considered by most to be the greatest opportunity to get your product noticed. We will see who makes it big with the best Super Bowl ads.

OK. It is almost game time. I’ve got my sandwich, chips and dip, cold beer, and some cashews. I will be cheering for the New York Football Giants since I love an underdog.

Use the power of Super Bowl advertising to get some ideas on how to market your web site. Hopefully, for a lot less than 3 million dollars for

#1. Pepsi. Pepsi has an outside-the-box ad. The ad is done by two deaf guys trying to find out where Bob’s house is. It is done completely in sign with sub-titles. This is a first. We will see if this is labeled “offensive” even if the National Association of the Deaf approved it.

#2. Budweiser. A perennial mainstay. Wouldn’t be a Super Bowl without Bud and all of their commercials.

#3. Miller Lite. Bud’s main competition that seems to always be poking fun at Bud.

#4. GoDaddy. GoDaddy is always controversial which gets them the most publicity. You may see racier ads at their web site.

#5. P&G. Proctor and Gamble will air its first ever Super Bowl commercial featuring Tide.

#6. Vitoria’s Secret. Marketing lingerie with hot chicks to guys makes sense to me.

There are more and I will post another article after the game.

Some comments in general.

Sex, humor, and music still sell. Well, it sells to a primarily male audience.

More companies are linking their TV ads to their web site.

Companies can get away with more on their web site. FCC rules don’t apply.

If it worked before, use it again.

Stars give credibility (to an extent).

Market to your audience (in this case, mainly males).

This is the only show that people actually wait in anticipation for the commercials.

Pepsi has coined a new term &ndash different abilities &ndash as opposed to disabled or challenged.

30 seconds cost almost three million, but these ads will be all over the Internet forever for free. Some ads are already at YouTube before the game started.

Marketing to 90 million people would be considered by most to be the greatest opportunity to get your product noticed. We will see who makes it big with the best Super Bowl ads.

OK. It is almost game time. I’ve got my sandwich, chips and dip, cold beer, and some cashews. I will be cheering for the New York Football Giants since I love an underdog.

Use the power of Super Bowl advertising to get some ideas on how to market your web site. Hopefully, for a lot less than 3 million dollars for

I am not intending to prattle here and waist your time, lets get directly to the point. Making money online is actually based on one simple very basic formula:

Find a hungry crowd-> Find what they want -> Give it to them

That’s it there you have it, in a nut shell the whole internet marketing big philosophy purified in one short sentence.

OK, you think to yourself this is real nice but how do I manage all this? I will give you one way, among endless ways, to your success today. But before that you must remember the most important thing in internet marketing: What ever it is you choose to do, keep doing it and doing it and doing it. Do not jump from one program to another program, failing them all. Choose one path and keep moving forward, for this is the only way you will ever, manage to make money online.

Now let’s break the formula into few basic steps you can start performing today.

Find a hungry crowed

You must find what people are searching for to be able to supply it. This is the “What should I sell online?” question everyone asks. Technically you can use search engines and find popular search terms &ndash but remember to look for something people want but not too popular. Another way is using any free keyword suggestion tool, simply look for these exact words, to find what people are looking for online.

Find what they want

Now you now what people are looking for but what will you give them? Let’s say that you have found that people are looking for solution to some medical problem, you can give them information on how to solve their problem or products: pills, instruments, etc.

One more sample: if they are looking for ways to keep their dog from barking, give them a book which tells them exactly how they should train their dog. Finding what they want is all about finding specific solution to a certain problem.

Give it to them

Now you think: I have to look for what people need, find out what can solve their problem and then give it to them. But how will I find it? I don’t have it at home, or at my car. Should I start create solutions? Writing a book? Build a real sophisticated machine? No you don’t!!! This part is actually taken care for you, along with the entire customer handling.

The answer is Affiliates programs. They are free to join. And you will find almost any thing you can think of. They take care of creating, shipping, and customer support for you. All you need is to bring home the hungry crowd in because dinner is already served!

I am not intending to prattle here and waist your time, lets get directly to the point. Making money online is actually based on one simple very basic formula:

Find a hungry crowd-> Find what they want -> Give it to them

That’s it there you have it, in a nut shell the whole internet marketing big philosophy purified in one short sentence.

OK, you think to yourself this is real nice but how do I manage all this? I will give you one way, among endless ways, to your success today. But before that you must remember the most important thing in internet marketing: What ever it is you choose to do, keep doing it and doing it and doing it. Do not jump from one program to another program, failing them all. Choose one path and keep moving forward, for this is the only way you will ever, manage to make money online.

Now let’s break the formula into few basic steps you can start performing today.

Find a hungry crowed

You must find what people are searching for to be able to supply it. This is the “What should I sell online?” question everyone asks. Technically you can use search engines and find popular search terms &ndash but remember to look for something people want but not too popular. Another way is using any free keyword suggestion tool, simply look for these exact words, to find what people are looking for online.

Find what they want

Now you now what people are looking for but what will you give them? Let’s say that you have found that people are looking for solution to some medical problem, you can give them information on how to solve their problem or products: pills, instruments, etc.

One more sample: if they are looking for ways to keep their dog from barking, give them a book which tells them exactly how they should train their dog. Finding what they want is all about finding specific solution to a certain problem.

Give it to them

Now you think: I have to look for what people need, find out what can solve their problem and then give it to them. But how will I find it? I don’t have it at home, or at my car. Should I start create solutions? Writing a book? Build a real sophisticated machine? No you don’t!!! This part is actually taken care for you, along with the entire customer handling.

The answer is Affiliates programs. They are free to join. And you will find almost any thing you can think of. They take care of creating, shipping, and customer support for you. All you need is to bring home the hungry crowd in because dinner is already served!