Are There Too Many Trees In Your Forest?

Internet marketing is a great way to introduce a product/service, sell it to customers or clients, and reap the benefits of satisfied buyers and monetary gain.

If you have a product/service, you write a descriptive advertisement for it, listing all the features, the dynamics, exclusive properties, endorsements, testimonials, test results, and so on, and so forth. With all this information, you end up with volumes of written words and numerous pages for your visitors to go through. You have included just about every phrase that would pertain to your product/service and used a Thesaurus to find even more descriptive phrases. There isn’t an adjective around that you have not utilized and as for bullets and other fancy features, you’ve covered each and every one of them. So, what’s the problem?

There you have it- A beautiful depiction of a forest filled with trees, and more trees. Well, this is what you have created. Right there on the screen is a beautiful, growing forest of words, and information, with a couple of wildflowers and woodland animals in the picture as well. The colorful phrases, highlighted items, quotation marks, and underlined features are all there. Read through it once again. How far down do you have to go or how far do you have to travel into your forest to find the tree you are looking for? Namely, where is the tree that tells us exactly what your product/service is, with a price tag attached? Many sites will refer to their market product as “it” and yet, they never really tell us what “it” is until we have gone through miles of words.

All the added features and descriptions are fine, but tell your visitors right up front what you are offering and let them know that, if they are interested, they can find additional features, quotations, etc. and in abundance. You will save a lot of disgruntled surfers from having to wade through volumes, only to discover that this is not something they need or have been looking for. Also, use the correct tags and keywords. If you are offering dolls, don’t feel free to place “food products” as a keyword. It just might bring you visitors, but they will remember the deception and if and when they need a “doll”, they will find it at an appropriate site.

Words are a treasure and a godsend to marketers over the internet. They need to be used accurately and correctly, without a hint of deception or misleading information. If a surfer even senses that you are trying to use tactics to lure them into buying something they never intended to, or are not in the least bit interested in, they will spread your reputation to screens across the internet faster then one of your speeding “bullets.”

Every visitor to your site is a potential customer, but more importantly, they can be an online business friend. Always remember that everyone has friends, family and acquaintances and these can all be future satisfied customers. If you treat them with the respect and intelligence they deserve, they will reward you with business and referrals. If you attempt any deception, they will also find ways to spread the “word”. It takes only common courtesy and a little bit of discretion to treat visitors as you would treat anyone who actually stepped into your place of business. Envision them as a family member or friend and then use your site to treat them as you hope your family/friends would be treated. You will never regret anything and you will never have to “eat your words.”
Remember that opportunity comes knocking in many shapes and forms, and if you abuse it or treat it unkindly, it will leave. It will never get lost, because someone right down the road will pick it up and help it find whatever it is searching for. In simple terms, your loss, and someone else’s gain. Buyers on the internet appreciate being treated with dignity and friendliness. They value truth and honesty. Your marketing success depends on them!
ENJOY!
©Arleen M. Kaptur 2002 July