Tell Them Whats in The Can!

What does 'the can' mean? Well, its literal meaning relates to canned goods on supermarket shelves. If your can is up there among thousands of others, the label had better state pretty clearly exactly what's in the can.

Sliced peaches? Peas? Coffee?

Really, it would be unthinkable for a can label designer to feel that any job was more important than simply describing the can's contents.

So here's the question...if your Web site were up on a shelf among tens of thousands of others (it is!), do you tell people what's in the can?

How quickly can a first-time visitor find out exactly what's in your 'can'?

In general, I think most Web sites do a horrible job in this regard. If a Web group were given the job of designing the label for a can of chili, it would probably read something like this:

"Family Meal Solution"

And if they were sent away to improve on this, they'd come back two weeks later with something like:

"Robust Family Meal Solution"

It seems as if we go to extraordinary efforts to disguise what can be found in our sites. It's almost like we turn all our cans around, so they are facing away from the aisle. We fill that first screen with the contents, the ingredients and other non-critical information... But we fail to achieve the most important task of all - telling our visitors what it is we do and offer. We don't tell them what's in the can.

Here's a quick example.

I recently went to a site called plaidonline.com. The name and tagline that jumps out off the screen at you is this:

PLAID.
So Beautiful. So Easy. So Plaid.TM

Do you have any idea what they offer through their site, based on those words? Neither did I.

So here, drawing on my many years of copywriting experience and a sock-drawer filled with awards, is my suggested alternative:

PLAID
We Sell Craft Supplies.

And no, it doesn't take any great copywriting talent to write a simple line like that. In fact, the temptation to 'copywrite' can often get in the way of clarity at a time like this.

Remember, visitors come to your site with the hope of being able to achieve a specific goal. They want to do something. They want to get a task completed. Whatever the dominant tagline or copy block on your home page may be, it needs to be written with a view to helping your reader get started towards achieving her task.

Don't think of your home page as 'ad space'. Think of it as one can, on a long shelf, in an aisle in a huge supermarket that stocks millions of cans.

Don't assume that everyone knows what it is you do. They don't.

Don't assume that every visitor will take the time to dig deeper and work out for themselves what you offer. They won't.

The responsibility to describe the contents of your site is yours alone - and you need to achieve that within the first two seconds.

Job one is to tell people what's in the can.

Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.

---

7 Questions to Ask A Potential Internet Merchant Account Provider

Recently I went looking for an online merchant account, with... Read More

Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built ? Now What?

When I first got my web site built, I thought... Read More

Getting Started in ECommerce - Part One

In 2004, Enquiro.com conducted a study of the search behaviors... Read More

How e-business and e-Marketing are Changing

Internet now days became a real marketplace and many many... Read More

Start doing online business using B2B Portals in Six Steps

I registered with a B2B site but what's next?This is... Read More

Content Ever be Profitable?

THE CURRENT WORRIES1. Content SuppliersThe Ethos of Free ContentContent Suppliers... Read More

Set Yourself Apart From The Ordinary

I have written at length about the need to anticipate... Read More

Business Online ? Blind Hunt

Do you sell something online? Do you have a business... Read More

Shopping Cart Features to Consider

Often the simplest Web stores have the most success. But... Read More

7 Must Have Scripts to Look for When Shopping for E-commerce Hosting

When shopping for e-commerce hosting there are a lot of... Read More

Accepting Credit Card Payments Online

Being able to accept credit cards and other online payments... Read More

Dont give up on your business!

Summer must be when many work at home Mom start... Read More

Distinguishing Features of E-Commerce

E-commerce offers customers the chance to eliminate many stages in... Read More

Doing Business Online ? Private B2B Exchanges

Business processes are the building blocks of an enterprise. If... Read More

Internet Merchant Accounts For Innocents Abroad

If you want to sell on the internet, your need... Read More

Choosing the Right Online Shopping Cart

Are you a website owner or a web designer/developer? If... Read More

Excuse Me, Are You Wasting Traffic?

The largest cost and concern of an internet business is... Read More

Government Buying and Selling on the Internet

Global Insight, a leading economic and financial forecasting company, (formerly... Read More

Your Site is all Direct Marketing

This may not be a popular view, but I think... Read More

A Beginners Guide To Setting Up A Successful Online Store

A beginner's guide to setting up a successful online store... Read More

Complementary-Relational Linking and How It Could Save Your Internet Business

The concept of linking is that sites with common interests... Read More

How To Turn Any Product You Sell In To Residual Income

The concept of this is for you to offer a... Read More

Top 5 Dot Com Myths Debunked

Most people who get into business know what's involved. They... Read More

Online Payments Make It Easy For Your Customers To Buy

In the last column we discussed the process of credit... Read More

Maximize Your Froogling for Increased Website Profits

Are you familiar with Froogle? If you are an online... Read More

eCommerce, How Much Does It cost?

Making profits with your existing website design or creating a... Read More

Saving Money On Your E-commerce Site

After building and transferring many e-commerce sites it still amazes... Read More

How To Start An Internet Business ? Content, Content, Content

When it comes to e-commerce, the time-tested cliché is, "Content... Read More

Coupons & Rebates

Yes, it's true, coupons are not just for newspapers anymore.... Read More

Why This Is The Perfect Time To Start Charging For Website Subscriptions

If you're a writer, researcher, subject matter expert, enthusiastic hobbyist,... Read More

Online Business- What Makes It a Success!

Only a few manage to sell everything under the sun... Read More

Why Our Site Was Removed From The ODP

Our website, Best Of The Home, has been listed in... Read More

Online Merchant Account - Costs and Alternatives

Merchant Account BasicsA Merchant Account is a commercial bank account... Read More