Many small businesses fail because their owners don't pay enough attention to sales copy. Especially on their Web sites. If you want to be a member of the 5% Club that receives plenty of ongoing, loyal visitors, and consistent income, check out these points.

The biggest mistake? Sales copy that doesn't serve the needs and desires of your Web site visitors.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What does my Web site say about me?
• Do its messages take my readers by the collar and convince them to read more?
• Do my words inspire my readers?
• Will they learn what they need to know in order to arrive at an informed decision to buy?
• Will they be eager to contact me?

Here are six ways to make your Web copy sell products and services:

1. Create a Web page with words that convince your potential clients to keep reading, to gain trust, and to take action. Think about the headlines you have placed on your home page. Are they so powerful and convincing they force your client to click to your sales letter? Do they describe benefits your potential client can see, hear, and feel? Or are they wishy-washy saying something like: Welcome to my site. My bio is… or click here to subscribe to my ezine?
2. Make it easy for your Web site's visitors to buy. Some people hate to buy online because they fear for the security of their credit card information. Give them several options, including a coupon they can print and either send by regular mail or fax to your toll-free 800 number.
3. Model your Web pages after a successful coach's pages. Does your home page include the essential three selling points? If you know something works from a successful businessperson, why re-invent the wheel? Visit other Web sites and critically observe what they do well and what they do poorly. Then, compare these analyses to your own Web site. Your site shouldn't just be a virtual brochure with your qualifications and offerings. Your home page should have passion headlines that pull sales, one outstanding testimonial, and a few questions from your reader's point of view that lead them via a link to your service information and bio. Put just a few words about you on the home page. People don't care about you; they want solutions for their challenges.
4. Realize the power of the written word. If your Web site has been up more than a few months, and you haven't gotten any business, consider reconstructing it so it pulls sales. Write down your description of: your audience, its needs and desires. Address their problems, interests, values and how they like to receive a service. Pre-plan your Web site, and state its purpose—is it to make money, gain credibility, and share a unique message? What are the top three things you want to sell?
5. List at least ten benefits provided by your service. What are the best five? List ten features of your service, too. What are the best five? Remember, features explain, benefits sell.  Create a variety of headlines that have marketing pizzazz. They can be in the form of a question, a command, or a shocking statement, but they should all be full of specific benefits. Quadruple your Online Income is not enough. You must show how much time that takes and what product or service will solve your dilemma.
6. Create a picture of the outcomes your client will see, hear, and feel. You must touch your potential client's soft spot—that nerve center that says, Yes, I want that! Tap into your creative side, with a friend, associate, or coach who knows this uncharted territory—the language of sales.

Become a member of the 5% club —Web site owners who make over one-half their income from their Web site.

About the author: Judy Cullins, author of 10 eBooks.