What To Promote on Cooking Website?

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Permalink Reply by Claudia Bartow on December 30, 2011 at 5:16pm

Courtney,
I checked out your website, and it is a great idea. A couple of suggestions that popped into my mind. Could you offer a few recipes from the book for free? Add some video of you making some of the recipes? Also, are there any personal stories behind individual recipes you have or could find and add them to the site?
Maybe it goes too quick in asking for the sale. Give away information, make the reader warm, fuzzy and excited, then they'll buy. I don't the site is sloppy though.

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Permalink Reply by Claudia Bartow on December 30, 2011 at 6:28pm

I apologize. I just spent more time on your site and you DO give away recipes and tell their stories! I really liked this. How about putting a story and recipe on the homepage? Maybe rotate them each week. I assume these are things in the cookbook? Be sure to say so loudly and clearly. The how to videos would still be cool...I'd love to hear your southern accent describe how to make cheese grits :)

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Monen on December 30, 2011 at 8:04pm

Hi Courtney,

Nice to meet you. I'm a professional copywriter (aka direct response marketer) and I'd be happy to give you some tips:

1. The look and feel of your site could be improved. When I click on the About page I'm taken to a wierd page that does not look professional (it begins: "/** * The template for displaying all pages. * * This is the template that displays all pages by default."). I would fix this issue ASAP. Remember the About page is the 2nd most popular page on most sites. 

2. Could you tell your visitors more about the cookbook. Try to make a list of all the benefits someone would receive by reading this book. Then make sure to highlight these in your copy.

3. Satisfaction guarantee. Do you offer one? I didn't see it if you do. I think offering a 100% money back gurantee is a great idea.

4. Where are your visitors coming from? You said you had almost 2,000 visitors but who are they? Are they coming from PPC ads, Facebook, an email list? You want to think of who your ideal client is and market to them.

5. Add a photo of yourself. If you're trying to build trust this will help.

Let me know if you have any questions. 

PS: are you selling any through affiliates?

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Permalink Reply by Joanne Banko on December 30, 2011 at 8:41pm

Dear Courtney, I would ditto Claudia, great advice. I too did not think your site was sloppy but it progresses just a bit fast into asking for the sale. I know it is tough to figure how much or how little to say but in my humble opinion, a "cooking" type customer is much more "touchy feely" and would appreciate the type of approach that makes them feel like they are in the kitchen with you. Try to imagine the fact that your web visitors are strangers and they need to be your friend in order to buy. I believe you will develop some ideas that suit you and your own personality. Go for it!!!I wish you well and I think you have a fantastic product to offer.
Joanne

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Permalink Reply by Andrea Reynolds on December 30, 2011 at 9:40pm

You need photos of the recipes. Make them salivate.

Andrea

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Permalink Reply by Heath Locke on January 7, 2012 at 1:15pm

Courtney, 

I would record every recipe you have and put in on YouTube. Make a separate video for each recipe and gently point people to your site. You need to start building a list of followers (getting their email). Once you have their trust then you can start selling them stuff. 

If you just did that, over the course of a year you would be making about $3,000 a month just off advertisements. Not only  would you have established yourself as the Trusted Authority in your niche you would most likely be contacted to help set up restaurantes, give seminars, etc. 

I know this to be a fact because I know people who are. 

Best of luck

Heath
local-leverage.com

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