My 30-day goal is to buy a new car. This is a big deal to me because (1) I keep my cars forever (like, 20 years,) and (2) I find car salespeople a tad on the challenging side. Imagine my thrill when I realized that I can go through my insurance company, pre-negotiate a deal and be linked to three dealers (thank you, USAA.)

That’s the good news. The bad news is that most of the car dealers have done everything possible (from a copywriting perspective) to push away my business. Here are some examples:

• Not one car dealership has asked me how I want to be contacted. Yes, I know that “coming in and taking a test drive” is their bread and butter. And they want to actually talk to me rather than chatting via email. But here’s the thing: That’s not what I want. The car salespeople are trying to force their definition of the “next step” (talking on the phone) without hearing mine (let’s chat via email first.)The big takeaway here is: Know that all prospects are different. If you force people to contact you the way you want them to, you may lose conversions as a result
• Their autoresponders don’t “mesh.” This was the second email contact I received from the dealer – five minutes after receiving their first email (you may need to click on the graphic to read everything).
  

  

  First, the signature line in the email correspondence doesn’t match the “from” address – so this looks like an autoresponder. Not a huge thing, but you’re left wondering whether you should contact Amber or Misti. Second, the email doesn’t ask how I would like to be contacted (again.) And finally – there is nothing compelling about this email at all – no restatement of benefits, nothing about special financing offers. Nothing. Benefits sell, folks – and if you don’t clearly tell your customers “what’s in it for them,” they’ll find someone else who will and buy from them instead.

• The emails I did receive tried to sell me on other (pre-owned) vehicles. Think about this: A prospect comes to you with very specific requirements. She’s ready to do a deal. Do you come back and say, “I know you want THIS – but how about THAT?” Hell no! You take her money and do the deal. If I would have wanted a pre-owned vehicle, I would have asked for one.

Remember, people get confused with too many choices. And a person who has spent the time to outline exactly want they want is a pretty motivated buyer. To throw choices at them that they didn’t ask for will overwhelm them at best – and frustrate them at worst.  The takeaway here is to know that upselling is fine (when you do it well,) but offering a completely different choice is not.

Has this process turned me off from purchasing a new car? Not at all. I can (mostly) understand why they’re doing what they’re doing from a sales perspective – there’s just things they could do better. And I have received (non-autoreponder) emails that have addressed my concerns. The big lesson here is – evaluate everything you do from a content perspective. Read every autoresponder you send your prospects. Review every customer relationship management process. Review your content and make sure that it’s informative, benefit-rich and actually answers your prospect’s questions. People won’t tell you things like, “Hey, your autoresponder doesn’t mention any benefits.” They’ll just walk away. And that’s much more expensive than having to rewrite an autoresponder series, Web page or brochure.

Hardly.

I want to share a site that “gets it” from a SEO and a content marketing perspective. The man who owns it, Daniel Iversen, isn’t a SEO expert. Nor is he a full-time copywriter (although, granted, he’s a naturally talented writer.) But, his combination of video, good messaging and a firm understanding of his target audience (plus some smart SEO techniques) has his site top of the search engine charts.

You’ll find the site at PortlandBootcamp.com. Here’s why I like it:

1.    The homepage immediately showcases the benefits. Statements like “Lose weight – up to 12 lbs in 4 weeks” and “Energy all day,” quickly helps the visitor understand what’s in it for her.

2.    The homepage overcomes objections without hitting the reader over the head. Afraid that you’ll be the token size-22 sweating in a room full of size-0 women? One bullet point discusses a “Supportive environment, with women just like you.” The testimonial on the left was provided by a “normal” woman – not a model with every hair in place. And the “Discover how to eat”  bullet point targets women who think “Yeah, I can exercise – but I don’t know how to get my eating on track.

3.    The testimonials are tremendous. Every site selling a product or service should include testimonials. Why? Because testimonials provide third-party validation for your products and services and can skyrocket conversion rates. People read testimonials and tend to think that if it worked for someone else, it may work for them, too (it’s called the “bandwagon effect” in consumer psychology.) The Portland Adventure Bootcamp site has an entire page devoted to testimonials, plus sprinkles other testimonials throughout the site. This power combo of written testimonials, engaging stories and video showcase the fitness program and helps women feel like “If they can do this, I can do.”

4.    A good, descriptive Title. Granted, the Title could be written better for conversions (and it’s certainly something that can be tweaked later.) However, the current Title clearly states the target audience (women) what it is (fitness bootcamp) and where it’s located (Portland, OR.)  This is great for local search, and positions well in the SERP’s.

5.  The meta descriptions are top-notch.

I know that a lot of folks ignore the meta description, or use a basic template that’s more functional than enticing. But check out the power of a strong meta description on the SERP.  Benefit statements like, “Lose weight, get in shape fast” scream off the page. “Burn maximum fat in minimum time” is a fantastic motivator. Makes you want to immediately click-through, doesn’t it?

This Website is a great example of how small businesses can rock the SERPs, create fantastic messaging that resonates with the target audience and connect with customers. Heck, it sold me – and as you can imagine, I’m ultra-critical of every Website I visit. Now if I could only get as good at jogging as I am at SEO…

Walton – who isn’t a computer geek and didn’t know anything about search engines – decided to take matters into his own hands.  The Pilates instructor learned about search engine optimization (SEO), took a SEO copywriting training course, and learned how to write copy that gets better search engine rankings. Now, Walton’s site appears in the top 10 of Google for keyword searches like “Portland OR Pilates” and “Pilates mat classes” – and he estimates getting at least five new clients a week from his Website.

SEO copywriting – the art of writing online website copy that makes the page easy to find in the search engines – has been a crucial component of search engine optimization success since the mid 90’s. Unfortunately, small business owners don’t always have the budget to hire someone to write their Website copy – and they don’t think they can learn. The result: nothing gets written.

“I like to write and figured I could do this. That’s why I took a course,” said Walton. “I figure I saved about $5,000 doing it myself.”

DIY SEO copywriting is becoming the option for small and medium-sized businesses that need to be easily found in the search engines.  According to Heather Lloyd-Martin, CEO of SuccessWorks, a firm specializing in SEO copywriting training, “It’s a smart move for companies to learn how to write their own Website copy. That way, they don’t have to pay someone $50 – $500 per page to write it for them.

Lloyd-Martin released her online Small Business SEO Copywriting Training course to help companies bring their SEO copywriting in-house. Although she insists that SEO copywriting is easy to learn, Lloyd-Martin does have some practical advice for time-strapped business owners:

• Set a writing schedule. It’s easy to figure that you’ll write something “when things calm down.” Plan to spend a set amount of time each day working on your Website and stick to your schedule.
• Check out other Websites and figure out what you like and don’t like about their Web pages. That will give you an idea how to write for your site.
• Ask for input from customers, friends – even family members.  Learn what they love about your service. Ask them to review your first writing drafts. Their advice can help you see your site (and your writing) with new eyes.

Today, Walton is planning a site redesign, which includes a blog, more site content and even a Twitter campaign.  “It’s great to know that I can do this myself,” he says. “It’s saved me a lot of money.”