Website Do's and Don’ts for Bail Professionals

Most bail professionals today have websites. There is simply no better way to ensure that customers online can find you and to ensure that you have a space for attracting customers. That said, not every website markets bail professionals at the same quality. In fact, it's likely that poorly designed websites will cost your bail business. Customers often are reluctant to do business with a company that has a poor website.

At AboutBail.com we have spent countless hours looking at, consulting on and building bail-related websites. Over the years we have compiled an internal checklist of website do's and don'ts. The article below summarizes what we feel you should and should not be doing on a retail bail website. Website Do's If you want a website that gets great results, you should consider the following: A Professional Site. Viewers will see your website as a reflection of your company, so it’s important to have a site that puts your best foot forward. Unprofessional language, anecdotes, political banners or statements, and family photos do not belong on your business website. Although you may know someone who knows basic web design, your business site is too important to entrust to anyone but a professional. Investing in a professional web designer can continuously pay for itself in increased profits. A Phone Number on Top of Every Page. The primary goal of your website is to get your potential clients to pick up the phone and call you. Putting your phone number in the same place on the top of every page is going to dramatically increase the chances of this. Search engines will index every page of your site, so you don't know which page your customers will be "landing" on if they come in via Google or Yahoo. Whether they end up on your contact page, home page or any other page you want to make it easy for them to call you. Useful Content. Your website is really not about you – it is all about the viewer, who just happens to be your potential customer. Creating content that is useful and interesting to viewers will keep your viewers coming back. It also will attract more visitors to your site and lend you credibility in the search engines. Start by building pages about "The Bail Process" or include a list of jails in your areas of coverage. Over time, use your expertise to come up with more topics to cover. Update your content regularly, since new content will encourage readers and the search engines to come back. A Reason to Call. Motivate the viewer to call you by explaining the benefits of your agency. You might want to point out that you make the bail process easy or that your staff is courteous. Be sure to empathize with your viewer by pointing out that sometimes bad things happen to good people. People looking for bail professionals often are in a difficult position and some sympathy is much appreciated. Along these lines, you probably don't want to include images of someone behind bars or any imagery that is going to make light of the situation. A Well-Designed Space. Good design means a website that is not cluttered and is easy to navigate. Keep it simple. When it comes to building a site, keep in mind the old adage: "Less is More." Finding good designers can be a challenge. We recommend posting an ad on sites like Craigslist.org or contacting local art or design schools. Additionally, some web hosting companies (such as RedHatDomains.com) have free templates that take all the guesswork out of design and allow you use templates that have been proven to work. Website Don’ts At AboutBail.com we've seen it all. We've seen great sites and we have seen really bad sites in the bail industry. Based upon our experiences, we suggest you DO NOT do any of the following: Don't Have Too Many Images. Some search engines cannot read images and almost all images slow download time. Stick to a few images that are relevant to your site and keep them at a reasonable size. Don't Have Irrelevant Content. Don’t include information that doesn't help the reader. Your kids are cute and its really cool that you got a new Harley, but its not relevant to your readers. Include just enough information to motivate the reader to give you a call. This means that you should describe the process, give some sense of your rates, and demonstrate that you are a trusted professional. Don't Confuse Your Readers. Look over your website and make sure that everything is consistent. Don’t give a different phone number and address on each page. Make sure that the design of each page within your site has a similar look and feel. You want potential customers to know they are on the same website regardless of the page they navigate to within the site. Don't Add Music to Your Site. Some of your customer may have to view your website at work. You don't want to suddenly embarrass them by having a loud song play. Music also slows download time and can be annoying or distracting to readers. Music on sites is generally unprofessional. Flash Intros. Flash intros add nothing to your content and can actually fail to load properly on some browsers. Plus, some Internet surfers find them annoying. The same can be said of animation on your website. Your clients come to your website for information, not entertainment. Erring on the side of professional and clean, and providing useful content are the best ways to make your site works. If you want to see how your website stacks up, contact the marketing professionals at AboutBail.com for a FREE website assessment. For more information, contact Terrence Joyce at (866) 411-2245 or online. Additionally, at AboutBail.com, we also develop sites for bail professionals. For a no obligation quote feel free to contact us.

If you publish a website or an association newsletter, you may use the content within this article in exchange for citing and linking to the original source.

Brush up on Branding Basics

What is a brand? Your “brand” is the overall image of your company. Your brand is made up of everything your company portrays to the public, and it goes beyond your logo. Everything that represents your company is part of your brand: logo, web site, letterhead, the way you dress and the way you answer your phone. Things that may seem small, such as typos in your e-mails to customers, can have a negative impact on your company's image. All businesses, especially small businesses, rely on a strong, recognizable brand to grow their customer base and attract word-of-mouth marketing. In the generic consumer world, it takes up to seven exposures to a brand to make a brand memorable and evoke a response. Ideally, you want your future customers to know who you are before they have to use you.

Why should I keep my colors, logos, etc. the same? When you are consistent, it creates something called brand recognition. Brand recognition is the reason you can identify the Coca Cola brand even when the style of the can or the advertisement changes. The company consistently uses the same shade of red, and the same font to spell out its Coca Cola logo, despite the change of design in its advertisements. Make sure to use logos, slogans, colors and fonts consistently so potential customers can properly identify your company regardless of the medium you use to market it. For example, one day you give your card to someone you meet. The next day that person is driving down the road and sees a sign for your bail business with the same logo on it and makes the connection. After some time, that same person may misplace your business card, and resort to looking through the phone book for your company. Upon seeing your logo in a phone book advertisement he makes the connection and recognizes it once again. When you are consistently branding your company you will begin to build brand recognition. What easy steps can I take to improve my branding? Think about how your logo represents your company. Does it accurately portray your company’s level of professionalism? Have a professional logo designed and make sure to use it on all of your marketing materials (letterhead, invoices, business cards, online advertisements, etc.) to build your brand. Consider how cartoon characters and inappropriate photos look to perspective clients. Do you have personal or irrelevant content on your company's web site? Take simple steps to remove these items. Some computers are not equipped to handle Flash, music or animation. Make your website as simple as possible to navigate by removing these items. On your web page, be sure to build a professional site. Make sure you have useful content and keep it current. Have your phone number on every page. Sell yourself by placing your business in the best possible light. Small businesses often gain business through referrals, which means that conducting yourself professionally is part of your branding. If your slogan is, “All Day and All Night – We’re the Best in the West” and a customer can’t reach you when he needs a bond at 4 a.m. it will reflect poorly on what appears to be one of your core principles. That person’s perception is now the reality of your business, regardless of your signage and slogans. Remember that the little things count to customers. Answering your phone saying, “Bail Bonds!!!” gives off a much different impression than, “Bill’s Bail Bonds, how can I help you?” These business practices build your brand just as much as having a professional web site or logo. Correctly building your brand, results in a brand that portrays trust, confidence and professionalism to the public.

About AboutBail.com
Since 2001 AboutBail.com has been a resource for locating bail bond agents, criminal lawyers and bail recovery agents anywhere in the United States. The goal of AboutBail.com is to help our users and their loved ones in their time of need.

Need to get a loved one out of jail? Visit us online at http://www.aboutbail.com or call (866) 411-2245.

AboutBail.com
12335 Santa Monica Blvd. #300
Los Angeles, CA 90025
T - 866.411.BAIL (2245)
F - 877.824.2482
Email Us

The Benefits of Having a Website for Your Bail Agency

Having a web site for your bail agency should be an integral part of your marketing plan. There are a number of reasons why you should have a web presence. As discussed in our previous article, Why Should Bail Agents Market Online,, more than half of the US population has access to the web, and they know it is a convenient and up-to-the-minute source of information.

Think of your website as your online brochure. Your traditional ads just tell part of the story. In an ad, you include a headline, a catchphrase, logos, a cool graphic and your contact information. A web site can offer you additional exposure, allow you to flex your knowledge, build trust and even interact with your customers – something traditional advertising alone cannot offer.

We live in a time of skepticism. Trust in a company isn’t earned as quickly anymore. Having a web site adds a level of professionalism, differentiation over your competition and gives your potential customer the ability to get more information about your agency. A web site allows you to paint the picture. It allows you to tell them about what you know, what you’ve done and how you are going to use those experiences to help them. Through your website you can convince your customer to pick up the phone right now and call instead of going back to the yellow pages or searching for another bondsman.

Your goal is to get the customer to pick up the phone and call you. The more comfortable you are able to make a potential client, the greater your chances are of receiving the call. A website gives you unlimited space in which to sell your company, distinguish your agency and demonstrate your expertise. With a website you can answer your customer’s questions before they call you. Simply answering “What is the bail bond process?” can put them at ease in an already tense situation, while at the same time proving your knowledge.

It is true what they say -- Knowledge is Power. This is a very private and often embarrassing situation. Allowing your customers to educate themselves privately on bail and the bail process, not only can save you time, but can ease a customer’s fears. Giving them useful information that eases their mind and answers all their questions can build their trust even before they call you.

Websites have become a vital extension and often the central focus of marketing plans in the bail industry. Building a web site that drives new business to your agency does not have to be expensive or time consuming, and it definitely is not “rocket-science” anymore. Even if you do not know a lot about computers or the Internet, finding an inexpensive web developer today is as easy as placing a job posting at the local college.

Your web site should be used to leverage your existing marketing initiatives. Your web address, also known as your URL (uniform resource locator) should be included in your phone book ads, your business cards, your T-shirts, and all other forms of advertising. Using your web site effectively and creatively will result in a higher conversion of phone calls to your agency.

To Browse the AboutBail.com Directory or to learn more about the Bail Bond, Legal, or Private Investigative industries please visit http://www.AboutBail.com.

Marketing Your Bail Agency Online

I am sure by now that you have heard of the Internet. The question you may ask yourself is, what does the Internet have to do with the Bail Industry? The answer is - a lot.

There are already Bail Agencies across the country reaping the rewards of larger and higher quality bonds because of Online Marketing. To give you an idea, there are currently over 200 million U.S. Internet users. The fastest growing segments of new Internet users are Women, Minorities and Baby Boomers according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Broken down, this means that more than 1 out of 2 people in the Unites States have access to the Internet.

The most expensive aspect of running a Bail Agency, aside from having skips, is getting your phone to ring. Telephone book advertising is expensive and has a limited reach; this is exactly where the Internet comes into play. With a web site and some cost-effective online advertising, your company can be found in every City, County, State and Country including where you advertise locally. If the contact is in another City, County or State there is a good chance that they will not have access to your local advertising. How will they find you? Everyone knows that the Internet is an unparalleled source of information so they turn to the Web. This also applies even when local advertising is available. When customers call, they are usually scared, confused and embarrassed. Finding a Bail Agency and Information on the Internet allows the loved one/contact to maintain their anonymity until they are ready to make contact over the phone. Bottom line: your customers are getting online to find information about Bail Bond services.

Not everyone has a computer but almost everyone has a cell phone. The Internet will continue to grow as a marketing tool as the Web becomes more available to your potential customers using the browsers in their mobile phones as well as wireless pda’s (personal digital assistant)

Agencies effectively utilizing the Internet as a marketing channel have had strong returns. Bottom line: Better exposure means an increased volume of bond calls.

To Browse the AboutBail.com Directory or to learn more about the Bail Bond, Legal, or Private Investigative industries please visit http://www.AboutBail.com.