Building Credibility
Some people are still understandably shy of buy anything online, since identity theft has become such a huge problem. Therefore, it’s important to ease your prospects’ minds and let them know you’re a real and honest person. Here are some effective ways for an online entrepreneur to do that.
Don’t Be Shy – Tell Us Who You Are
Including a picture of yourself on your website shows you have nothing to hide. Including pictures of your product gives it concreteness. Even if your product is an eBook or software, you’ll want to find cover or box creating graphics software or hire the job out.
Provide a short audio message in your own voice. With the picture you included in the last step, you’re now becoming a real person to your reader. Voices convey emotion, and emotion sells. Therefore, audio boosts conversion rates.
Put your contact information on every page. Include your physical address and email. A post office box is suspicious. Including fax, landline, and mobile phone numbers also adds to your credibility.
Appearance and Content
Avoid using free email accounts and free web hosting. They make you appear too temporary. Remember, how you present yourself affects how people view you. If you can’t get decent web hosting, can they trust your products are worthwhile?
Have an “About Us” page that gives a short resume of your qualifications in the topic of the website.
Always include a “Privacy Policy” page. Internet users want to be assured you will not abuse their email addresses by selling them to other vendors. If you collect more sensitive information, this is even more critical. Explain to them exactly how the collected information will be used. Explain why you track their IP address. If their information is ever shared with a third party, describe the circumstances and how they can opt out should they choose to.
Make sure you use a secure server for all payment transactions, as well as any other sensitive information exchange. I recently noticed someone who legitimately asked for my social security number, but did so from an unsecure website. They would not provide another secure way to take the information, so I had to cease doing business with this company. This could so easily have been avoided!
If your product is more complex than a short eBook, you might consider providing a user help forum for your customers. This will give them a place to share their suggestions, air grievances and get help. The next step up would be live support from your website. This would have a significant positive impact if present at the buying decision point.
Testimonials and Guarantees
Use any unsolicited testimonials or positive product reviews you’ve received from your customers right on the sales page. These often carry more weight with your prospects than your own sales copy does. Even better is a testimonial from a known expert in your field. Testimonials should always be tagged with the full name of the writer plus the email address or website. The more information about the writer of the testimonial, the more believable it becomes.
Always give a 100% money-back guarantee. This way the customer knows that if, for any reason, he isn’t satisfied with the product he buys from you, he can easily seek and obtain a refund. Just seeing such a guarantee on your page lets him know that you believe in your product and stand by it. Of course, it’s a legal requirement in many areas; too, so make sure you know the laws in your region.
