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Author: Scott Oliver

Six Ways to Add a Personal Touch to Your Website

Setting yourself apart from your competition should be first and foremost in your mind when you're starting an online business. Whether you realize it or not, it's not always about the quality of your products or your services that gets people interested in you – it's how you make them feel once they're on your site. What you need is to add a personal touch to your site that makes a visitor feel like they're the most important person in the world to you. Here's how:

Add Your Business History

By telling the story of your business and how it came to be, you begin to show the customer that you're not just another seller that wants to make money. You began as a person with a dream that you wanted to see fulfilled, you worked hard, and here you are, showing what you learned along the way. Talk about any inspirations that you had as you were growing as a business – and if there is a personal anecdote you can share, that's all the better.

State Your Purpose

Too often, business websites simply present the items or services they want to sell and think that's enough to get people to turn over their credit cards – but it isn't. Try to state somewhere on your website why you are selling what you are selling. Maybe you had problems like the ones your product or service will help or maybe you simply have a drive to help people do something better. Think about what drives you to be in the business you're in and then tell your customers.

Add Your Picture

By simply adding a picture of yourself, you will begin to create a personal touch to your website. Instead of just being the 'voice' of the website, you will become a real person they can see. In the world of virtual business transactions, this is crucial to setting yourself apart. Instead of simple remembering you for what you sell, the customer will remember what you look like.

Create a Personal Blog

Some business websites have taken it a step further by adding a personal blog that details the goings on of their personal life. This further adds a sense of camaraderie between the seller and the buyer. It allows the buyer to feel more like a friend of the seller, rather than another customer. This blog can contain anything from news about the family or the business or perhaps observations about the world.

Use Your Customer's Name Whenever Possible

Whether it's in their actual transaction or when you're emailing your customers, be sure to use their name whenever you can. Writing emails or advertisements to 'Dear Friend' can seem cold and heartless. Talk to your web page designer about ways to ensure that the name of your customer will pop up whenever they visit your site. This might require the visitor to sign in so that this works, but at the same time, you can entice them with special offers for that shared information.

Use a Scanned Signature

Try adding a scanned picture of your signature at the bottom of your website or within the transaction process. Though the customer is going to realize that signature isn't 'real,' it shows that you are concerned about interacting in the way a normal 'live' business would. Try adding it at the end of invoices or in the front page where you directly address the site visitor.

When you go out of your way to make your website seem more personal, you will ensure that customers come back to visit again.

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