2.
The 5 Deadly Website Mistakes and How to Avoid
them
Written by Helen Wilkie. Helen is the author of:
as well as being an accomplished copywriter.
‘Make Your Words Count: a Short Painless
Guide to Business Writing for Accountants’
In marketing your accounting services today, your website plays a key role. If someone is
considering using your services, they are likely to check out your as part of their
research before calling you. And if the website doesn’t do its job, you’ll never hear from
them and you’ll never even know you werein therunning.
website
So what is your website’s job?
Twofold: to provide enough information to let readers know you can help then, and to
offer it in a way that makes them want to know more. Unfortunately, many accounting
rms losea lot of business becausetheir websites don’t meet thesetwo criteria.
Does your websitemakeoneor more(or even all!)of these5deadly mistakes?
3. Accountants Guide to a Client Attracting Website
Reading a sea of words on a computer screen is really hard on the eyes, so most of us have
learned not to bother! If wearriveon a web pagethat has morethan oneparagraph of text,
unbroken by somekind of graphicdevice, we’ll lookfor thenearest linkto get out of there.
Mistake No. 1: Too Many Words
What to do
Break up blocks of text with charts, graphs, photos, videos or other visual relief for the
reader. This also makes the lines of text shorter and easier to absorb. Bullet points can
often get your message across in a few words that jump off the screen and into your
reader’s mind as fully formed ideas. In this age of online communication, everything needs
to befast and easy, so makesureyour websitecomplies.
Mistake No 2: Focus on You Instead of Them
Yes, I know you need an page, whether it’s called that or some variation. People
expect it.
About Us
But that doesn’t mean you have to puff out your chest and talk about how wonderful you
and your services are. Nothing turns readers off faster than that, and it’s amazing how
many accounting rms do it.
4. Accountants Guide to a Client Attracting Website
What to do
Write your page so that it’s really . Your long experience is
important only if your prospect believes it will help you servehim or her better.
About Us about your clients
Mistake No. 3: Dif cult (or Impossible!) Navigation
Have you ever tried to nd speci c information on a site that was full of images and boxes
and links and headers and animated gizmos? Frustrating, isn’t it? The design of your
websiteshould befunctional, letting readers nd their way around the site in the way they
want to go.
What to do
Work with a who understands marketing, not one who is focused on how
stunning or cool thedesign is.
designer
Mistake No. 4: No Information Capture Mechanism
Who’s visiting your site? Who’s looking for the services you provide? Who didn’t hire you
today but might tomorrow? If you don’t have a way of from
visitors to your site, you’remissing a big opportunity. Of course, you’ll never get thenames
of everyone who visits, but those who have at least some interest in your services are the
ones you really want to know about.
capturing contact information
What to do
Offer something of value to them in exchange. That means readers perceive it to be
valuable to them, not just promotion for you. The names you capture this way can build
over timeinto a valuablelist of peoplewho could well becomeclients.
5. Accountants Guide to a Client Attracting Website
Mistake No. 5: No Visual Interest
We live in a visual world. In this age of more and more visual stimulation, words by
themselves no longer hold our attention. We want pictures; we want video; we want
something more than just words. If your site doesn’t have them, readers may nd you but
they won’t stickaround long enough to learn anything about you.
What to do
A picture paints a thousand words, and a beats everything. Don’t think that
accounting services don't lend themselves to video. On the contrary, there are many ways
to use video, slide presentations and more to add interest to your site and your message.
Using them creates an impression of a forward thinking rm with current ideas. Not using
them……well, I thinkyou can gureit out.
video
In marketing your accounting services, you need to use every tool in the box, and you can’t
afford not to havea dynamic, compelling websiteat theheart of it all.
Helen Wilkie is a copywriter and marketing specialist, working with accounting
rms to raise their online presence and do more business.
http://www.helenwilkie.com
Your Homepage Determines the Success of Your Website
By and large accountants' websites are awful.
They make the same minimum standard, dull claims.
If you can't di erentiate your rm, your clients will by the only criteria available: COST
Lowest fee usually wins.
Read on to discover e essence of an effective homepage
6. Accountants Guide to a Client Attracting Website
Delete Your Homepage and Start Again
By PatrickMcLoughlin
Let’s start by taking a look at your website.
How many of the top 10 claims below do you make on your homepage?
1)Weprovidea friendly and reliableservice.
2)Weprideourselves on our professional approach.
3)Wearepassionateabout…
4)Weprideourselves on our pro-active rm…
5)Weprovidea personal service.
6)Wearetheleading…
7)Weprovidea rangeof accountancy services.
8)Wespecialisein helping small and medium sized businesses.
9)Weprovideservices tailored to your particular requirements.
10)Our history dates backto…
The sad truth is your ideal clients aren’t interested in you, just what you can do for them.
So read thelist aboveagain, from their perspective.
Every point made is about you the accountant, not me the reader. Now try to take out
every ‘we’ and recraft the sentences using ‘you’. You phrasing is an incredibly powerful
tool. It engages your readers and gives them ownership of the bene ts you bring. Read
next week’s blog to nd out more.
7. Accountants Guide to a Client Attracting Website
Accountants Websites Facts
, one of the greatest living copywriters, gave me some wonderful advice to
help decideif copy does its job: read thecopy and askyourself
Drayton Bird
so what?
If you can’t justify every word you write, from your ideal client’s perspective, scrap it and
start again.
It’s estimated only 3% / 4% of website visitors are actively looking for a new accountant.
Thevast majority arelooking for help or arecurious.
So don’t focus on why they should choose you. Instead give them quality content to help
them overcome their problems and be more successful. Demonstrate the value you can
bring by giving them valuebeforethey becomea client.
8. Marketing for Accountants - You Phrasing | A4G - Accountancy Marketing
Marketing for Accountants - You Phrasing | A4G - Accountancy
Marketing
Engaging Website Copy - Put the Reader First
Referrals are the most common source of new clients for accountants. They work so well
becausetrust is passed from an established client, to a new one.
It's thesameprincipal when you checkout checkout reviews beforeyou buy a new bookor
reservea tableat a restaurant. They reduceour riskwhen stepping into theunknown.
If you want an effective website you must keep your readers actively engaged. You want
them to consider the difference they can experience through your involvement. Once
prospects start to imagineworking with you, they areon their way to taking action.
If you want an effective website you must keep your readers actively engaged. You want
them to consider the difference they can experience through your involvement. Once
prospects start to imagineworking with you, they areon their way to taking action.
They convince because they are independent, there's no vested interest. Better still, they
put your prospects in the shoes of your happiest clients; they consider the bene ts
explained. It's one thing to be told how wonderful a rm is, but quite another to hear a real
account of thedifferencemadeto someone's business / life.
Here are some examples of 'You Phrasing' copy versus the traditional 'describe the service'
approach:
'Established over 20 years, we have a 30 plus team of quali ed accountants o ering the full
range of accounting services'
— Traditional Copy
9. Marketing for Accountants - You Phrasing | A4G - Accountancy Marketing
Marketing for Accountants - You Phrasing | A4G - Accountancy
Marketing
As your business develops the help and advice you need changes. Whatever the future holds, you
have the experience of 30 plus quali ed accountants to call on. With specialists in every area of
accountancy our team has helped businesses, just like yours, to grow for over 20 years.
— You Phrasing
Here's another example:
We don't charge for telephone support
— Traditional Copy
When you need advice quickly just pick up the phone and talk directly to your partner. Get the
help you need without worrying about a bill dropping on your desk. You will never be charged for
telephone support
— You Phrasing
If 'You Phrasing' has sparked your interest and you would like to nd out more, I can
recommend a fantastic book: 'Conversions That Win the Complex Sale' by Erik Peterson
and Tim Riesterer.
10. Thanks for reading this guide to a client attracting website
29 Bridge Street, Loughborough, Leics, LE11 1NH
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Then let's talk:
Would you like some help with
your perfect client
attracting website?
or
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patrick@perfectclient.co.uk
