You want to know how to turn your web site into a successful sales tool. You hunt for articles much like the one you’re reading right now that will give you the secret recipe for success. Well I’m here to burst your bubble. There is no secret ingredient for instant success… but there is for instant failure.

Here are three points to keep in mind when creating the content of your website. They apply to every website in every industry.

Avoid Clichés

I recently read an article about big business advertising that put it perfectly, “Trite business clichés are the comfort food of Corporate America and, of course, it tends to overindulge.” With so many websites and so many services offered on the web how will you differentiate? Using unoriginal, tired clichés is one of the easiest ways to get people to run away from your website for two particular reasons:

1) Overuse leads to boredom. You’ve read “think outside the box” so often that it’d almost be unique if a company stated, “we think inside the box”. At least it’s something you’d remember.

2) Clichés lead to skepticism. “Act now for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!!” “Fool proof method to make you millions… in 3 hours or less!!” People are generally weary of business on the Internet as it is and these kinds of statements immediately scream “SCAM”. Sell your products and services for what they are and instill confidence in your buyer.

Get to the Point

If a visitor can’t tell what you’re selling in 10 seconds or less well then you might as well just say goodbye to that potential sale. It really is that simple. However, I’m not suggesting you put every piece of information about your product or service on your homepage, in fact I’d strongly recommend against that, but you must give the visitor an idea of what your site is about right away. You cannot create a mysterious draw for a consumer on the Internet the same way you might be able to, in say, a mall.

Overdoing It

The number one mistake most people make when designing their own website is overdoing it. Less is most definitely more when it comes to web design. Various color schemes, flashy graphics, frames, background images etc. all have a time and place… just not all the time and all over the place. Too many graphic tricks will make your site look tacky and worst of all will slow the download speed to prohibitive levels.

I’ll often read articles that list the top 10 “must-dos” for web site success and each time I walk away thinking that some of the points are just too technical for the reader and what’s worse is that they don’t touch on the core principles of Internet sales. No matter what industry you’re in you have to give the customers what they want. In the case of Internet businesses people want reliable information and straightforward answers… and they want them right away.

If you do in fact decide to design your own website keep these points in mind. Read through your site combing for tired clichés, excessive graphics, and unnecessary terms and phrases. This inspection will go a long way to building a successful internet business.

Derek Falvey is the owner of Acuvar Creative (http://www.acuvar.com). He has helped numerous small businesses from law firms to farm owners create internet business strategies. Acuvar specializes in web site development and creative e-marketing strategies as well as graphic deign, flash and multimedia presentation, and newsletter creation.

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