How To Profile Your Visitors And Profit

[James Martell]

I am in the process of walking my wife Arlene through each of the steps I use to create a profitable site.

In her case, she is marketing a product for a merchant, plus she is also selling an e-book she has written on the site. The site is about epilepsy and the related health issues.

The first thing I had her do was to create a visitor profile for the site. We did this during a 40-minute car ride and about 30-minutes the following day when we went for brunch together.

To accomplish the task, I asked her the following questions and we worked back and forth until we found the right answers. The result is a strong profile detailing exactly who her visitors are.

And, now that she has a detailed profile of her visitors, it's far easier for her to create the content for the website because she knows who her visitor is and what problems they are hoping to solve. Her job, is to provide the solution.

These are the questions I asked her: (and her answers)

#1 - Who is Your Visitor?

• mostly moms
• dads
• grandparents and close relatives (i.e. aunts)
• people with epilepsy

#2 - What is Your Visitor Feeling When They are Searching Google?

• frustrated
• desperate
• scared
• worried
• feeling helpless
• feeling overwhelmed
• anxious

#3 - What Problem Are They Attempting to Solve?

• seizure control
• treatment options
• not seeing results with current treatment plan
• personality changes
• long term prognosis
• want to understand what they are dealing with lack of understanding
• conflicting advice

#4. How Would You Like Your Visitor to Feel When they Arrive on Your Site?

• they have found a friendly place where they can get some answers
• they can talk to someone who knows what they are going through
• there is someone who has been through it before them
• there is hope
• welcome, trusting, relief

#5. What Would You Like the Visitor to See?

• this site was created by one of them - (mom to a mom)
• smiling faces
• friendly pictures
• my photo in the header graphic (maybe with Adam)
• success stories
• warm colors
• a homey feel

#6. What Would You Like Your Visitor to be Able to Do?

• tell there story
• a place to vent
• chat with other people who are going through the same thing
• get their questions answered
• easily find and purchase relevant books, products, etc. (advertorials, banners, product feeds, AdSense etc.)
• post pictures of their kids
• listen to audio
• watch video
• learn about and register for events they can attend
• post what's cool about their kid
• contact us
• Arlene Bio

#7. What Is My Goal for the Visitor?

• to become a member
• to sign-up for the newsletter
• to find what they are looking for
• make it easy for them to join the chat forum and upload their photo
• make it comfortable for them to tell their story
• upload a photo of their child
• join us for events
• want them to feel part of a community
• want them to bookmark the site
• want them to tell their friends
• want them to buy my ebook
• want them to answer my surveys
• want them to click on Google AdSense ads
• return to the site three or four times a week

#8. What Do I Want to Know About My Visitors?

• first and last name
• email address
• where they live (profile info)
• how they found the site
• how long they are spending on the site
• how many visitors are becoming members (name and email address)
• how many members are active
• how many members (and visitors) purchase the ebook

#9. What Features Do I Need to Accomplish the Above on My Site?

• sign-up for newsletter
• distribute newsletter
• chat forum
• blog
• photo gallery
• comments
• member management
• survey
• audio
• video
• events calendar
• contact us form
• Amazon
• Google Analytics
• Google AdSense
• Google Site Maps

I have found that it is the visitor profile that helps to clarify exactly what pages and types of features you need on your site and what to do next.

The visitor profile makes it much easier for you to craft the content (text, images, audio, video, etc.) because you will know exactly who you are writing to, what problem they are attempting to solve and their state of mind...which allows you to better serve their needs, which leads to an increased conversion on both sales and newsletter subscriptions.

I have a similar list for a site I am building in the automotive industry, however the answers are vastly different, but I find the outcome is always the same, which is a clearer picture of the tasks I need to accomplish.

I hope this helps.

James
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Your words of wisdom will be added to the 5 Star Hall of Fame.

"The visitor profile makes it much easier for you to craft the content (text, images, audio, video, etc.) because you will know exactly who you are writing to, what problem they are attempting to solve and their state of mind...which allows you to better serve their needs, which leads to an increased conversion on both sales and newsletter subscriptions."

[Linda Buquet]

Wow James, awesome post!

Thanks so much for going into detail the Q&A process you use to profile.
I doubt many newbies even think about this important step and bet lots of pros even don't do it.
I can see how it could really build a more solid foundation for a site!

[Larwee]

James, that was a great post.

I am sure many of our members will find it to be helpful. It can be useful in helping to give people a good idea as to how to create a site that has the information the site visitors will be looking for.

James because this is such an outstanding post, I have added it to our Hall Of Fame.

Hopefully there will be some people who have learned something from it and will use it to their advantage.

[kevin7890]

Wow, as always, thanks for sharing your valuable insight Jim!

By the way, another way to look at it is to use a method called C&E (cause & effect) or Ishikawa (fish) diagram. It's a simple way to triage what you are trying to accomplish by logically dumping your knowledge. It's a little trick I learned as a Six Sigma black belt. Here's how it works:

1. Take a stack of yellow post-it notes
2. Just start writing down whatever comes into your head for a given topic you want to try; Limit yourself to one or two words per sticky note
3. Stop until you can't go any further
4. Put them up on the wall
5. Think and start putting snotes into logical groups or categories (this process is called affinity association)
6. Each category becomes your main "bone"
7. All sticky notes per category become your little bones
8. Draw a diagram (Google it or look here: Ishikawa diagram - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
9. Examine each bones and start associating exactly what needs to be done to positively complete that particular category

You most likely will have to go through many iterations to come up with a solid actionable plan. You can also use a software product called "mind map" or "mind manager", but why spend $$ and time on learning the software?

Good luck!
Kev

[lovekissing]

i must agree with the others this really is an excellent work, nice pointer for people concerned....

[PosterManiac]

Thats a great post James . Thanks so much.. its amazing the amount of detail that you've put into this..really provides a clear line of thinking for everyone..