Review: Make Your Site Sell

You'll find many books on how to market on the Web, and a few on how to set up an e-commerce site. But none, to my knowledge, that explain in much detail how to maximize the sales potential of your website, the objective of this book.

Evoy writes in an intensely practical vein, as a practitioner not a theorist. He has tried everything he explains to the reader. The laboratory where he developed his approach is his PennyGold site that sells a computer program to help investors succeed in penny stocks. The current price is $587 (Canadian) with no trial download. So he's done all his testing on a very difficult product to sell.

Evoy approaches the subject of online sales scientifically. First he determines the conversion rate (percentage of visitors who actually make a purchase) for his site, and then looks for differences in the conversion rate as he makes incremental changes to the his site. A site's conversion rate can be affected by a number of factors, but since Evoy has increased his conversion rate from 0.1% to 1.0% of visitors, a ten-fold increase for a difficult product, I begin to read very carefully.

The first step is to determine your "Most Wanted Response" (MWR), which could be a sale, or a lead, or whatever else your site is designed to achieve. A good MWR is (1) reasonable, (2) measurable, (3) a good fit for your customer, and (4) will qualify the visitor.

Next, Evoy explains in considerable detail how to design (1) an opening page, (2) content pathway pages that sell the visitor on the product, and finally (3) MWR "closer" pages that get the order. Many of Evoy's single-minded techniques to get the visitor to the MWR page and close the sale remind me of instructions on writing direct mail copy, only here it is thoroughly translated for Web sales. He prescribes emotion-filled words to help the customer feel the benefits. Emotive headlines for each of the content pathway pages draw in the reader, while irresistible page "joints" pull the reader from one webpage to the next, always closer to the MWR.

As a website designer I am mildly offended by some of Evoy's website design opinions -- and the design of some of the book's pages, for that matter. But then I realize he is striving for sales effect not aesthetic effect -- something few designers understand at all. Write informally, he advises, to build likability and trust. Design fast downloading pages for readability, then for scanability to keep the reader with you. Don't fill pages with low-value links; keep the reader from being distracted from the movement toward the MWR closer page.

Other techniques include using your biggest gun -- your product's biggest pain or gain -- on the very opening page, refining your company's Unique Sales Proposition as a way to instill confidence, and using verifiable testimonials and generous guarantees to build customer trust. One of Evoy's more novel suggestions is to use MIDI music on the site to increase sales. When he dropped the music for two weeks, he says, sales plummeted 70%. He quickly reinstated it. His tips on qualifying prospects are insightful, and I'll be adopting his suggestion on using a database to develop a comprehensive list of answers to FAQs as I answer e-mail questions day by day. He also advises value-added back-up responses when a site visitor doesn't decide to purchase yet.

I have two criticisms of Make Your Site Sell. First, Evoy's comments are too-finely focused on single-product sites, since that's where his experience lies. Those with a catalog of products will find some excellent material, but not be able to follow all of Evoy's recommendations. He does, however, comment on techniques used at the Cisco, Dell, and Amazon sites to induce sales. The book would profit from fuller treatment of catalog site techniques.

My second criticism, if you can call it that, is that Evoy provides too much material. He not only fully explains his subject; he offers practical information on a dozen other related web sales topics, too. In fact, when you purchase the book, you get two valuable mini-books, as well. You can locate elsewhere the information he offers in his 196-page "Building Targeted Traffic" freebie. But his 33-page "It All Starts with the Product" is a rare find. He offers a number of criteria to use in selecting the "ideal" Internet product, along with practical tips for determining the best sales price based on a number of small Web trials.

I skim many books, but not this one. Some of this I've seen here and there, but in no place have I found such a comprehensive treatment on this vital topic. Because of insights in Make Your Site Sell I'm going to reevaluate my own site with the purpose of increasing my conversion rate. The price is certainly reasonable. In mid-May 1999 the cost to download this PDF format electronic book (with both freebies) was Canadian $24.95 (US $17.04). The book only needs to help you increase your conversion rate fractionally to pay for itself. And I don't doubt that you -- and I -- can increase our conversion rates significantly by incorporating these techniques ourselves.