How to use graphics to increase readability and conversion rates
From: Hans Klein
Cyberwave Staff Writer
Dear Subscriber,
It’s a long-standing question, often filled with intense debate. Most website owners struggle with it on a daily basis. They ask, “What role should graphics play on my website?”
- Should your graphics help create an image for your business as web designers, artists, and ad agencies feel they should?
- Are direct marketers right when they suggest that graphics are largely irrelevant and no replacement for solid ad copy?
- Or is there a middle ground that allows for both graphics and sound salesmanship?
Well, one thing is definitely true. Graphics have the power to create emotions inside your visitors. They determine if you’re viewed as “folksy,” “corporate,” or other type of image.
But, here’s where many get it wrong (including many direct marketers). You can have a nice looking website full of good looking graphics, where folks feel “just plain good,” and that’s all well and good…
But, your graphics won’t help you make
more money without one vital component!
What are we talking about?
Just imagine for a moment… you’re looking for a new car and just saw a commercial for a brand new Hummer. In the commercial, the car is plowing off road in the wilderness, over mountains and through streams and rivers. Nothing stands in its way.
You can see yourself in that car… So you say to yourself, “I’ve GOT to have one of those!”
But, when you get to the dealership, your enthusiasm dampens as soon as you meet the salesperson. All he talks about is himself and how great a salesperson he is. He tells you about his family, his house, even his dog. You ask questions, but none of them are answered. You raise objections, but none of them are addressed.
After an hour of blather, you feel like you’re being just plain ignored, so as soon as you can get a word in, you excuse yourself to use the rest-room, sneak out the back, and…
Make your escape to the Ford Dealership across the street!
Although they don’t have Hummers, they do have some nice cars, and even some super-size SUVs. But the clincher is the sales person, who grabs your hand and welcomes you to the dealership as you walk in the door.
You’re skeptical… But, because he understands the principles of salesmanship, you’re needs, wants, and desires are immediately identified. He asks questions, listens intently to your responses, and overcomes your objections in a respectful, empathetic manner.
Upon learning you really wanted a Hummer, he shows you the closest thing in stock, and explains why a Ford may even be a smarter choice by revealing it’s…
- Better warranty
- Better gas mileage
- Increased interior room
- Etc.
The salesperson helps you understand why a Ford may serve all of your innermost desires (instead of focusing only his need to make a sale).
And in the end, it didn’t matter how you felt about the Hummer. The fancy commercial ended up being a complete waste of money because when you got to the dealership nobody tuned into your needs and wants, or even addressed your concerns.
It didn’t matter how you felt about the car since
there was nobody to professionally sell it to you!
Graphics act in the same way as a typical image based commercial. They can stir-up emotions, but they can never make the customer feel important, valued, or wanted… reaching the core of what makes him or her buy. Only a salesperson can do this (or on the web, your ad copy).
You can go shopping and be drawn into a store by an attractive window display, but if the people inside don’t answer your questions or explain the benefits, then you’re not buying, or even coming back.
In other words, the vital ingredient to accompany your
graphics is old-fashioned salesmanship!
Trying to influence your visitors’ emotions using graphics is a complete waste of time, if in the end, you can’t close the sale!
So, listen up. Here’s the single biggest key to using graphics effectively in your copy, the secret that will win the positive feelings of your visitors and increase your sales:
Your graphics must add to your website copy!
That’s it. Remember that simple little key and you know everything you need to about how and where to use graphics. But, let’s get one thing clear…
Graphics CAN increase sales because
they affect the way your visitor feels!
By completely ignoring graphics and your site’s appearance, you are ignoring a powerful sales tool to increase sales.
Additionally, graphics help guide your reader through your copy. And this is crucial. You see, as soon as visitors hit your website, they want their concerns addressed right away and will look around for answers to their questions.
This means visitors are largely scrollers. Unless something grabs them and forces them to read, they will scroll up and down your page to discover benefits and get their questions answered as quickly as possible.
For this reason, graphics can transform your visitors from scrollers into readers by visually engaging them in the sales copy.
It’s a bit like a clown on stilts outside a retail store. This tactic is not going to
help sell anything, but it gets people’s attention so they come in the door
and can be served.
Creating Website Graphics Is Simple
The best bet is always to let your Webmaster or designer handle graphics for you. But even if you aren’t any good at computers, you can easily create simple graphics to get the job done.
All you need are the right tools. First, if you don’t have an image editor, let me introduce you to a free tool that has many of the same features as a $600 copy of Adobe Photoshop.
It’s called GIMP. You can pick up your copy at:
http://www.Gimp.org
It’s free because it is what is called, “Open Source Software.” If you visit:
http://www.SourceForge.com
…you can find many other free image tools, as well as hundreds of other different tools to help you.
With an image editor, you can design and edit any picture you want.
Let’s look at some common uses for graphics!
1) Arrows, bullets, hand drawn stars, hand drawn circles, check marks, and other graphics to bring out your sales message.
To use these effectively, they should point-out important aspects of your sales copy, such as bullets, key benefits, and significant benefits of your guarantee. This is because the eye gravitates towards graphics. So, if you have killer point that would persuade somebody to purchase your product, make sure everyone reads it with a visual highlight.
You should also remember that many of your readers are only going to scan your page before they read it. Stop them dead in their tracks and drive them to read your sales copy with graphics.
A good example of this being used is at:
http://www.speakingwithjohn.com/salesletter.html
To create these, you simply make use of a drawing tool to create it by hand. To make the lines straight in GIMP, simply hold the “shift” key while you drag your mouse. Then, save your file in .gif format. You even can do these simple graphics in Microsoft Paint.
For high-quality graphics, then you will want to use .jpg as it is the highest quality for the web. But, for graphics that don’t need this higher quality (such as these hand drawn files), you will usually use .gif.
2) Personal name signatures and pictures of yourself.
To add a sense of importance to your website, you may want to sign your salesletters with your signature (instead of just typing your name)… and include a picture of yourself.
Of course, you can write your signature on a piece of paper and scan it in. This is an option. However, for your privacy, or if you’re using a pseudonym and want your signature to match it, you can use your computer to create a signature.
You’ve also probably seen signatures popping-up around the web on sales pages beneath the headline.
The signature helps make the letter appear more personal and less like you’re about to sell a product.
To create these, you can use a font like Lucida Handwriting, or go to a site such as:
http://simplythebest.net/fonts/handwriting_fonts.html
…and select the font you want. Then, save it to your “fonts” folder in your computer. If you have Windows, this will be under the folder “Windows” (usually on your C drive).
Now, this new font should appear in your image editor as a font you can use. Then, all you have to do is type in your name and save the file in .gif format.
Blue is the preferred color of signature because it looks more like a real signature.
If you do this in a simple program like Windows Paint, then you will need to crop the image in another photo editor.
When considering adding a picture of yourself, these will only significantly impact your conversion rates when they add credibility or back-up your claims. For instance, if you sell a weight loss product, then pictures of your own results will likely create a large impact on your conversion rates.
Additionally, a picture of you dressed up like lawyer in court with a judge will help sell a law product… or a dentist in his office, selling a dental product.
Again, your picture should add credibility or back-up your claims.
3) Header graphics and decorative graphics that create an image.
For most products, headers and other side graphics to your copy tend to decrease conversion rates. This is because it detracts from what you want your prospect to be focused on… your headline and copy.
Extensive graphics also seriously increase your load time causing many more visitors to click away before even seeing your website.
Look: Nearly all of your visitors are complete strangers (unless they are referred to your website). They don’t know you from Adam and could care less about you at first.
If you don’t immediately grab their attention (or if the site loads slowly), they’re going to click away. Their patience is limited, as they don’t feel obligated to have patience with you.
If your website takes forever to load, then you’re literally throwing away customers which could have been sold if you captured their attention quickly.
It’s just like walking into the car dealership, but you have to wait an hour for somebody to attend to you. Are most people going to stick around and wait for a salesperson they don’t know and could care less about?
Probably not!
With that said, headers and other graphics that give your site a “feel” can boost your response if they add to your sales copy. Does your header make your prospect want to read your headline? If the answer is no, then chances are it will decreases your conversion rate.
Additionally, another point about your headers is that it should include solid, benefit-oriented copy. Effective pre-headlines and bullet lists inside your header will improve your response.
Notice, the header graphic at:
http://www.1in102.com/ (and the other graphics on that page while you’re there).
4) Screen shots, pictures of what the product looks like, videos, and before/after pictures.
These graphics almost always significantly increase your conversion rates (more reliably than other graphics mentioned). Why?
Well, they show your website visitors exactly what they’re going to get. They allow the prospect to imagine owning your product much better than you could ever describe with words. It gives your prospect a picture he or she can have in his or her mind.
This is especially true with before/after pictures when it comes to weight loss products, acne solutions, plastic surgery, or anything where there is a visible result from using it.
Before and after proof is vital
for these products and services!
This is because your job as an online salesperson is to prove what you’re saying is true. The single biggest reason people don’t buy from you is that they don’t believe your claims.
A great example of a before and after picture is at:
http://www.musclegaintips.com/ (notice the paper inside the picture to create believability).
You can also look at any weight loss or acne solution infomercial on television for ideas you can use.
Now, with screen shots and screen cam videos, these are especially effective for demonstrating complicated products like software, tools, or techniques. You want to let your prospect know he or she will have zero trouble using your product.
You can pick up a free screen capture movie software at:
http://camstudio.org
…or you can get Camtasia Studio at:
http://www.techsmith.com
There are also literally hundreds of simple screen capture programs you can find cheaply or for free with advanced features.
You can also use the “Prt Scr” button on your keyboard. It is usually located next to the F12 button. Once you hit it, nothing noticeable will happen. To see the screenshot, you then must hit the keys “Ctrl” + “V” into any graphics program (such as Word or MS paint).
5) Graphic headlines.
Recently, these have started popping up. The advantage of using graphics as headlines is that you can add many effects to them (shadows, bolding, etc.), and use a range of different fonts (that anybody can read, even if they don’t have it on their computer).
They also give you visual control over your text’s look and feel. You can add a more realistic highlighter to it, you can have each letter go exactly where you want it, and you can easily flip the text in any direction you want.
Let’s look at one:
In this example, a shadow effect is added to the headline, which differentiates it from the typical sales letter headline.
Graphic headlines can also make your copy look less like a salesletter and more like a typical website designed by a graphic artist.
Let’s look at these two examples:
http://www.howtopdfcreator.com/
…and…
http://www.writingadwords.com/
Notice how the graphic headlines at the top can work as an alternative to having a traditional header graphic when you want your site to look more professional.
With that said, you should still test graphic vs. non-graphic headlines, even if you prefer your graphic headline. Why? Well, it is often the case that less professional looking websites increase your readership… and, as a result, boost your conversion rates.
You should keep this in mind when adding any graphics.
6) Order buttons, credit card graphics, secure order symbols, and “As Seen On TV” graphics.
All these graphics are great tools to reassure a skeptical audience they will not be ripped off. If your target audience is widely concerned about getting scammed on internet (Business opportunity seekers, MLMers, etc.), these added graphics can mean a big difference in sales.
Credit card graphics also lets prospects see how they’re going to pay for your product without having to take the additional step of going to the order form. The more payment options you show, the better.
7) Borders and backgrounds.
When using graphics for backgrounds, you want to make sure they do not distract from the copy or make it difficult to read. You want your prospect to focus on the words, instead of the background.
Borders should also help guide the readers’ eyes into the copy, so it’s a bad idea to put your web page borders too far from the copy. The point of using graphic borders (instead of normal ones) would be to separate your website from traditional websites and make it look different.
You don’t want to let your prospect know immediately that you only have a sales pitch for him or her. You want all of them to feel like they are going to get value (get their problems solved) by reading your letter.
Conversely, another tip when using borders is to make sure you have an appropriate amount of white space between the border and the copy.
If your text is touching the border, you will need to increase your HTML cell spacing. This then leads us to the final question you’re probably wondering…
Where can you find clip-art, pictures,
and graphics for your Web site?
There are a number of different sources. Many of them are also free! Let’s go over them one-by-one:
- http://www.Hemera.com – This site has tons of inexpensive graphics you can use. The advantage of paying for graphics is that they are often much higher quality… and it is much easier to find what you’re looking for. There are also many sites similar to Hemera, like GettyImages.com and Corbis.com.
- http://www.ClipArt.com – Probably, the largest selection of clip art online. They also have photos, web graphics, and more.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain_image_resources – Hundreds of resource sites containing public domain images. From clip art to every type of picture you can imagine.
- http://www.grsites.com/webgraphics/ – Free web graphics such as bullets, borders, arrows, numbers, buttons, and clip art.
Additionally, if you believe you aren’t creative or tech savvy, keep in mind you can easily outsource your graphic work.
To find artists ask your Webmaster or visit:
http://www.elance.com
…or a similar outsourcing site. Just make sure they follow the guideline: Graphics should add to your sales copy.
Conclusion
Graphics are a powerful tool to increase your conversion rates. If used effectively, they can first stir up positive emotions inside your prospects and guide them step-by-step to ordering your product.
However, you should keep in mind that graphics won’t mean anything unless you include the crucial ingredient of salesmanship. If you don’t sell your website visitors on your product or service, it does not matter how graphics make your prospect feel.
For this reason, focus on having effective sales copy first, and only then, think about using graphics to enhance it.
Respectfully,
Hans Klein
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