Do You Talk to Your Surfers?
Posted On: 2013-04-17
I wonder how many adult webmasters actually think of that they might actually be talking to the surfers who hit their websites when they're adding text?
Are you one of those who think that they might actually be almost speaking to the surfers on their web pages or do you think that there's no need to talk or interact with the people who come to your website?
Think about what it's like to buy something from a vending machine. You can see what you want to buy and there's a sign that says how much it's going to cost you ... another one that tells you where to put your money and maybe an arrow that "tells" you that the item you're about to purchase will be delivered through a slot .
It's all very impersonal ... the only things that are encouraging you to buy the product in the vending machine are some advertising that you may have seen on the Net or the TV or maybe in a magazine ... some bright colours on the vending machine and maybe a graphic or two ... and the product that you can see displayed inside the machine.
The instructions that tell you how to acquire the item you want to buy don't add anything to the interaction do they? In fact ... as happened to me last night ... when the process doesn't work all those instructions do is add to the frustration.
Now think about what happens when you go into a store to buy an item. We have at least some level of interaction with the store clerk although sadly ... in many instances ... that level of interaction is not much above what we would have with a vending machine but when there is at least some interaction we're more likely to make the purchase.
Just recently a family member who lives in a large city came up to visit us. He was really impressed by the way a gas station attendant ... the waitress in a coffee shop ... the store clerk in a department store ... here in this town were all prepared to talk to him ... to interact with him ... to encourage him to buy the products they were selling . And he did buy from those places ... and went back to them to make further purchases because just a small level of interaction added to all the factors that he uses to judge a business that wants to sell something to him.
Now let's apply all that to our business of selling porn online.
In many ways the galleries that we submit to TGPs are like vending machines. There's some graphics ... some colorful and explicit images or videos ... and then there's an instruction to 'Click Here' to get the product we want to buy. The only thing missing is the advertising for the product that we might see in other places.
When it comes to the adult products that we sell there simply are no other places. We can't advertise on TV and we can't do much to advertise our products in print. So we have just one very impersonal shot at getting the surfer to buy before he moves on and the poor conversion numbers we have reflect how little hope we really have of making a sale.
The free sites and other marketing sites that we build aren't much better either. It's all as impersonal as a vending machine. But what if we understood that we do have a chance to reach out and engage in some level of personal interaction with the people who come to our websites?
Obviously we can't look them in the eye ... we can't really introduce ourselves, shake their hand and speak to each visitor on a totally personal level. We don't know their names and we can't smile at them but we can make it seem as if we're speaking to them by using conversational copy.
We don't have to use big terms ... jargon that only those within the adult industry understand ... or even harsh words. We can speak to them in terms that they understand and use on a daily basis and we can encourage even more by appearing to be open and honest.
We can figuratively take them by the hand and lead them to where we want them to go and more people will go there ... or we can show them an arrow ... shout "Click Here" and hope for the best.
One approach is easy ... takes little effort ... and produces fewer rewards. The other approach takes time and you may have to learn new skills but the value of that approach may be shown in your bottom line.
Why not do some tests and see what works for you?