[TIPS] Turning Your Website Into a Powerful Sales Tool

by George Qualley IV

When it comes to business advertising and providing pre-purchase information to potential customers, the internet has proven to be a game-changing medium. Unlike the phone book, direct mail, trade shows, etc., a website provides every business, no matter how small, an opportunity to provide potential customers with a virtually unlimited source of information at minimal cost. Yet, despite this valuable resource, relatively few businesses effectively exploit the sales power of the internet.

With the proliferation of the internet, the number of businesses that have no web presence at all has drastically declined. Most businesses have recognized that, at the very least, a company website (even if rudimentary) is a business necessity. However, a prospective customer who researches a business using the internet is no different than the prospective customer who calls or visits a physical location of a business. Each prospect is looking for the appropriate information about the business that will enable them to make a decision regarding the purchase of a product or service. Although this might seem like a simple concept, a relatively small percentage of businesses seem to recognize this concept when it comes to designing a website.

Far too many websites look like they are an electronic version of some sales paraphernalia that might be passed out at a trade show or sent out as a direct mail piece. Generally speaking, the goal of a good flyer or mailer is to entice the prospective customer to make some further contact with a business so that the prospect can be sold by some additional means. In other words, the flyer is the device that hooks the prospect, not the device that closes the sale. Websites are far too often designed with the same goal as a flyer or direct mail piece—to entice the customer to take some further action, e.g. contacting a sales person in person or by phone. To say the least, this approach underutilizes the potential that the internet offers to a given business.

In case you hadn't noticed, the quality of websites on the internet has vastly increased from the early days of the World Wide Web. While some observers have termed this phenomenon as “Web 2.0”, the fact of the matter is that people are starting to realize that a website can provide something much more valuable and engaging than just text and pictures on a page.

You may have heard the phrase “content is key” to building a great website. However, “content” increasingly comes in the form of interactive features and functions rather than traditional means—just look at websites like Twitter, Facebook, and Digg. With websites like these, chances are that your prospective customers aren't going to be impressed if they’re looking for information and all your website is offering is a price list and a sales brochure.

If you're serious about turning your website into a tool to drive sales, accurate, instant, and personalized information is key. Just like a top salesperson, your website needs to deliver information to a prospective customer according to that customers particular wants and/or needs. Upgrading your website from a static, one-dimensional design to a dynamic, sales generating engine might sound like a significant challenge, especially if you don‘t have a dedicated IT department. However, third-party tools can provide a cost-effective and low-maintenance way to enhance your website. In many cases, just adding a few lines of code to your existing website can give you (and in turn, your customers) access to sophisticated applications without the hassle and expense associated with custom development. In addition, many web-based applications provide seamless upgrades and feature enhancements with no installation or maintenance on the part of the user. In short, if you're looking to integrate the type of dynamic functionality that will significantly increase the value of your website, look to industry specific web-applications that work with your site.


Although the internet has evolved significantly since it's inception, many businesses still haven't mastered the art of effectively exploiting the web as a successful sales tool. If you're not providing your prospective customers with the information that they want when they visit your website, you're simply not taking full advantage of one of the most effective marketing channels available today. More importantly, if you're missing that opportunity, it probably won't be long before your competitors take advantage of your oversight.


About the writer : George Qualley IV, J.D., M.B.A. is the co-creator of SiteOMite.com, a web-based tool which allows special event service providers (e.g. DJs, photographers, videographers, etc.) the ability to offer dynamic, online price and availability quotes to their customers. Copyright (c) 2009 - Siteomite.com


Source: site-references.com
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[TIPS] Optimize Your Landing Pages, Increase Your Sales

by Paul Marshall

Your Landing Page Design can make or break your conversion rate.


All the search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn't going to create the sales you want with bad landing pages. You'd be just wasting your time and money.

And the truth is that almost EVERY page on your website is a landing page, except for your Privacy Policy, Terms of Use or Service, and possibly your About page.

I've seen websites more than DOUBLE their conversions with landing pages that are properly designed to convert traffic to conversions (such as opt-in sign ups and direct sales).

Think about it -- doubling your sales without increasing your PPC advertising or without increasing your SEO efforts! How much money could that put in your pocket?

When you take advantage of strategies like that, that's when you start beating out your competition!

What's Landing Page Optimization All About?

When searchers come to our websites from the search engines, they are in a path from one website to another.

We have to interrupt that process, drawing these searchers into our website and into our story.

We must balance the connection with our visitors and make an emotional connection, while offering them real substance, as well.

We MUST answer these questions:

1. where am I?

2. what can I do here (what is your offer)?

3. Why should I look here and STAY rather than click away? This MUST be answered in the top 4 to 4/12 inches of your Web pages (above the fold)

How Do You Begin Optimizing Your Landing Page Design?

First, start by clearly explaining what you want your website visitors to do and WHY they should do it.

Why should they buy from you or opt-in for future contact? What's in it for them?

Why should they choose you over other websites they can visit? What separates you from your competition?

Essentially, what's your Value Proposition?

You should be able to clearly explain the advantage to your website visitors in 2 to 3 short sentences.

Right now, if you're not sure exactly how to describe your Value Proposition, you're surely NOT alone! The great majority of people I coach with their websites are in the same boat, when they start out.

My suggestion: Start brainstorming and making good notes. It also helps to have the input of a Internet marketing consulting coach outside your business, who can help you clearly define and explain what you offer your website visitors in a compelling manner, without using your industry jargon and lingo.

Reduce Anxiety from Your Purchase and Opt-in Processes

Anxiety can also be defined as fear or concern. Now, you can never have a anxiety-free website, if you sell a product or service or if you seek an opt-in email address.

Anxiety occurs in opt-in sign up processes, when providing an email address. When making a purchase, providing credit card information causes anxiety.

But how can you REDUCE the anxiety to the least level possible?

There are many techniques you can follow to accomplish this.

One of the best examples is to post your Privacy Policy page link right next to your sign up button, for your opt-in contact. This helps reassure your visitors you aren't selling their email address and will generate a higher opt-in conversion rate than not posting your privacy policy, all other things equal.

Other anxiety reducing techniques are:

1. emphasize credit card security when ordering

2. offer pricing guarantees

3. deal with product | service quality concerns with guarantees and third-party certifications, awards, etc.

These techniques must be used at the exact point where the anxiety occurs.

Next, Reducing Friction from Your Web Pages

Friction can also be defined as annoyance and irritation. To maximize your sales and opt-in conversion rate, you need to minimize the friction all across your website.

Friction occurs in the prospect's MIND, not really on the page.

It is a Psychological resistance to a given element in the sales process.

So, how can you reduce friction?

One way is to limit fields to the minimum number needed for both purchase and opt-in forms. Friction = Length and Difficulty.

While space here limits a complete discussion of all the techniques you can take advantage of, another way to limit friction is to make your landing page design take advantage of natural eye movement, working with it, rather than against it. You've got to be careful with multi-column designs.

Wrapping it Up

Using Landing Page Optimization techniques will help you potentially DOUBLE your conversions...your direct sales and opt-in sign ups...without increasing your PPC advertising expenses and without requiring higher SEO rankings.

Source : Optimize Landing Pages
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[TIPS] How To Use Facebook To Build Up Your Business

by Jeremy Gislason

Facebook is one of the most popular social networking mediums, and their membership numbers are increasing quickly. It is a great tool for networking; but like many tools available for networking on the web, promotional or marketing activities are frowned upon.



So be careful when using Facebook and do your online marketing activities under the radar, or you might miss out on a powerful tool to boost your business.

In this article, I’ll give you some vital pointers to maximize the power of Facebook.

1) Just like any other social site, be careful what you put in your profile.

You don’t want to be seen as a link spammer. And you don’t want to give away too much personal information either (unless you don't care that thousands of people may see your profile).

Just be careful with any personal details you put out there for others to see, such as where you live and pictures of your children. You do not want to pick up a stalker, especially when you are networking with strangers.

2) Don’t make the mistake of using your business name as your profile name, as this is against Facebook’s terms of service.

You are allowed to create other Facebook pages to brand your company, products or websites.

3) Respond to any friend requests and carefully send your own invitations. Make them personal and interesting.

Developing a great network is your long-term goal to generate a slow, but steady traffic stream to your websites. Use this tool to your advantage without being pushy or overbearing. Facebooks members hate spamming (who doesn’t?) and will carefully watch out for anything that violates their Terms of Service (TOS).

If you want to see profiles of those from another network, add them as your friends using the "Add to Friends" button. Follow the steps in the Edit tool to fill out any information you want others in your network, or others you accept as friends, to view.

4) Use various applications of Facebook.

Facebook has many applications which would make your networking experience easier or more enjoyable. Examples are applications for adding footage or photograph albums to your profile for others to see.

I’ll discuss two other powerful Facebook applications in a moment.



5) Use Facebook’s “My Questions” application to find out what people are exactly looking for concerning your niche.

This is where posters answer certain questions about themselves and what they are looking for on Facebook. They will also list their interests. Use this in your networking activities.

Unless they have expressed an interest in your field, do not invite them to join your friends list. Of course, you can still ask them if you genuinely want to be their friend.

But if you are there to network for your website business, then choose your friends wisely. This is how you are building your list and getting traffic to your website. So you have to manage your time well and eliminate non-productive activities.

Again, be very careful about Facebook’s TOS. Do not go against it because breaking the rules will get you banned.

6) Use “Facebook Discuss.”

It is Facebook's answer to instant messaging. Chatting, or IM'ing, on Facebook is truly quite easy when you use Facebook Discuss .

Just go to your Facebook page and you can start using Facebook Discuss immediately. At the base of each Facebook page, you may see your Facebook Discuss tools.

The first of the 3 Facebook Discuss tools is the online friends tool. This simply tells you which of your Facebook buddies is online at this time. The next Facebook Discuss tool is notifications that may let you know if you have any new Facebook notifications right from the tool. The 3rd tool in Facebook Discuss is the real discuss tool.

7) Create and join Facebook groups.

Just as they have subscribed to your blog, they're going to join your Facebook group. So people looking on Facebook for related groups would feel welcome to join.

Facebook groups are viral selling mechanisms. Search Facebook for groups on your topic and related ones. In each of these groups, you can post a message on the group Wall or debate board, or you may use the Post a Link feature to inform the group's members of your group and your blog.

By promoting your Facebook group at first, rather than promoting your blog, you decrease the chance the group director will remove your message. Any Facebook member can make a group and invite users on their pals list to join.

A form prompts you to give the group a name, passing outline and class. At the following stage, you can customize your group's available applications, upload a profile photograph and set privacy levels.

A secret group is fascinating for work-related activity, but it will not show up in search results. Choosing a closed group might be the best idea for you to protect your privacy. You will be inspired to choose members from your friends list to join the group.

When you start a group on Facebook, you can invite members to join the group and share their thoughts, viewpoints and consultations about your product, idea or start-up. Invitations to join a Facebook group can be through your Facebook buddies, your Yahoo contacts, etc.


8) Integrate your application into specific areas of the Facebook profile.

A Facebook application can take on a lot of forms; but in order to entirely implement the selection of integration points and deliver a full user experience, it is advised that you integrate your application into specific areas of the Facebook profile.

This permits millions of viewers to see your business everywhere on Facebook and attract potential patrons, who would naturally visit your start-up Internet site.

Remember to follow all Facebooks rules; otherwise, you’ll risk getting banned and your account deleted. This is not what you are looking for. Instead you want to use the group feature to promote your website within Facebooks rules. Do not overstep by thinking you can get around the rules. Use Facebook features to your advantage and you will see an increase in your website traffic.

Source : How To Use Facebook
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[TIPS] How To Use Twitter And Social Media Marketing To Explode Your Online Profits

by Jeremy Gislason

It’s not surprising that social media has become so popular in so short a time. Not only is it a source of entertainment for most people, it is also the newest strategy for acquiring customers for businesses. And with hot new tools like Twitter, social media marketing has only become more progressive and popular!


What Is Twitter?

In case you’re not familiar with Twitter, it is a social media tool that allows people to know what their fellow twitterers (people using twitter) are doing at this very moment.

Are you getting ready for bed? Put that on Twitter! Are you buying a new couch or writing a report on the effects of social media marketing? Put that on Twitter! Are you throwing a birthday party for your golden retriever? Well, you can put that on Twitter as well. There are no boundaries as to what you can put on Twitter. In Twitter, even the most mundane updates about your life can be pretty liberating.

Sounds simple, right? Perhaps, it is this simplicity that has made Twitter quite a sensation on the Internet. There’s also something amusing about knowing what other people are doing and letting them know your own business as well. This combination of fun and simplicity is what ultimately appeals to Twitter fans.

Applying Twitter In Business

If you’re business-minded, then you probably already have more than a few ideas on how to make this social media marketing tool work for you. Having a Twitter account allows you to inform your clients and would-be clients the progress in your company. You’re not putting up an ad every week (because that tends to be annoying). However, you get the chance to share with them what’s happening to your company’s products, people, tools, etc. right now.

Twitter, unlike MySpace and Facebook, poses an advantage for new and advanced marketers. As an efficient social media marketing tool, Twitter allows you to build a giant list of followers. It allows your clients and subscribers to see what you’re doing right now. It gives them access to your immediate profile and permits you to share your ideas with other twitterers. All free of charge.

How Twitter Can Explode Your Profits

While many people have other purposes and values for the use of the free service, the marketer can use Twitter to jumpstart a list of followers that can grow into thousands.

If you’re someone who sells used cars, you can use Twitter to attract members who are interested in automobiles. When a new shipment comes in, you can use Twitter to announce that the latest Ford model has arrived. Or if you’re having a sale, you can use Twitter to let everybody know about it.

These followers are the next best thing to customers. If they haven’t bought anything from you yet, then you can rest assured that they will be buying something soon. As long as you keep providing them something nice to look forward to, they will always be enticed to purchase something from your company.


Think of it as fishing. You already have the fish interested in your bait. All you have to do is wait for the fish to bite. According to quantcast.com, Twitter reaches about 6.1 million U.S. people every month. This social media tool has also reached other countries and is hugely popular in Japan. In fact, there are other Twitter-like applications that have popped up due to its insane fame!

Despite the huge popularity of Twitter, it is not a disorganized system that doesn’t have any limits. For example, you can only send 1,000 updates, 100 API requests and send 250 direct messages each day. And while there is no limit to the people who can follow you, the same freedom doesn’t apply vice-versa.

The maximum number of people you can follow is limited to 2,000. In Twitter-speak, to follow means to receive Twitter updates. This limit will only be lifted if you manage to attract more than 2,000 followers to your account.

According to Twitter, this is done to prevent SPAM users from adding up into their system and to prevent abuse from all current members.

It’s not that difficult to attract more followers into your account. In the long run, this will only make your Twitter account more meaningful because of the effort you’ve put into it.

The beauty at this stage is that once you are at such a level, it’s easier to attract new followers into your account. The benefits from taking such steps are acquiring your own list of eager followers (in which you can pitch your own products and services); and more importantly, gaining new business contacts.



Other Social Media Marketing Methods

There are other methods of social media marketing available for your use. Twitter isn’t the only way to enhance your business and get a constant flow of leads.

Other methods you can explore include:

1) Blogs

2) Community forums

3) Social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn.

4) Video-sharing sites such as Youtube, Metacafe, Google videos, Yahoo videos, and AOL videos.

5) Content sharing sites such as Squidoo, Hubpages, Wetpaint, Qassia, and Google Knol.

These days, you shouldn’t just limit yourself to one thing. With the Internet as vast as it is, you should use every opportunity to make new contacts and establish yourself. Besides, think of all the new things you can learn from interacting with other people online!

Leave comments on your choice blogs and participate in forum discussions that allow for signature files after every post. Make informative videos and upload them to video-sharing sites. Explode your list of contacts through social networking sites. Share your knowledge and be recognized as an authority by submitting your content to content-sharing sites.

Not only will these help you establish credibility, you probably won’t even have to worry or stress about making money in the future. Remember that social media marketing, like any other marketing methods, works if you work it! Now like many of our mentors say – get to work!

Source: site-reference.com
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[TIPS] Ten Ways To Get Web Traffic Fast - And Free

By James Gladwin (c) 2009

There are several ways to get website traffic fast and free, and I'm going to share ten niche ways with you.


Article Submission

You don't need to be an award winning expert on the topic you are writing about - just pick an area that is related to the theme of your website, do a bit of research using a search engine and before you know it you will have more knowledge on that subject than most. Write in a relaxed, straightforward way. And, of course, when you add your details at the end of your article, make certain that you include your web address as well.

URL Submission

This sounds so obvious, yet so many people overlook it. Website URL submission is about getting more links to your website to help your website get ranked high on major search engines, thus getting more visitor traffic by, well, submitting your website URL to the major search engines. You can buy or subscribe to software that will do this, but it is quite possible to get a good return by submitting manually.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is a way for internet users to store, classify, share, search and discover Internet resources that they find useful. Since social bookmarks are saved online, users are able to access them from anywhere - at home, at work or while travelling.

These lists can be accessible to the public by users of a specific network or website. What you need to do first is register with a social bookmarking site which allows you to store and tag bookmarks. Most social bookmarking services allow users to search for bookmarks which are associated with given "tags", and rank the resources by the number of users which have bookmarked them. This means that other visitors and members of social bookmarking sites can search for resources by topic, category, keyword, tags, or popularity to see what others have saved. As a user, social bookmarking sites let you find useful, informative resources through pages that have been tagged because others have found them to be valuable sources. Voila - more web traffic. Free.

Forum Posting

Forum posting is a hands down alternative to paid advertising methods. For only a few hours of work every week, you can capture batches of interested leads everyday. The more forums you contribute to, the more you will gain traffic. If you are an active forum poster, you will also get a good feel about the kind of products that are hot on the market.

Please don't overlook the forum signature or commonly called resource box - it's a powerful free advertising tool for you. What you must do is edit your forum signature. Basically, a curiosity inducing one-liner and a link to your website is great. Once you have edited and saved your signature, it will appear at the bottom of all your comments in the forum discussions. That means, the more you participate in the discussions in the forums, the more people see your semi-ad written on your signature. I promise, this will encourage people to visit your website, and hopefully buy from you.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is one of the best ways to get the word out about your website and can be done with very little technical expertise and therefore is easy to start up. If you have a product or service you believe in, visit a site such as Clickbank and open an account. Follow the simple instructions to gain affiliates - and traffic.

Press Releases

It's a fact that a well-written Press Release can dramatically increase your sales, expose your company to the masses, and greatly enhance the image of your business or products. Publicity is the most cost-effective web traffic building marketing tool there is, and, surprisingly, web traffic can be generated by ink and paper!

Classified Ads

Again, it's easy to associate Classified Ads with yesterday's technology, but they are extremely cheap and a one line product or service description, together with your website, will pay dividends.

Blog Comments

If you are an avid blog follower, you have to include Blog Commenting in your web traffic arsenal. You will almost always find a "comments" link at the end of each post. Good blog commenters add to the discussion and are known as knowledgeable, informative, friendly and engaged. Join them!

FaceBook

Don't forget that you can use Facebook to its full potential to attract more visitors to your website. You can get away from just interacting with your school or college friends and start interacting with people within your industry or other industries that you want to get into.

An easy way to do this is to join groups that interest you as well as make friends with people that you want to get to know. Fill out your profile (fully) - the best profile on Facebook is a complete one.

Videos

Finally, why not make a video and post to video sites too! This is not a Warner Bros. effort! Your PC or Mac may well have a webcam, or you can borrow a camcorder or Flip. Write a brief script - lights- camera - action - and upload to YouTube. (Just remember to be sure to link it back to you.)

Well - there you are. Not all of the ten suggestions I've outlined may appeal, but if you select three or four, stick with them, and implement them on a regular basis, you will see your web traffic increase significantly. My best to you.

Source: Site Pro News

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[INFO] Calculating the Costs and Benefits of Pay Per Click Campaign

by Jeremy Gislason

Is a Pay Per Click Campaign In Your Future?

Pay Per Click

You have no doubt noticed the abundance of PPC ads when you're online. And when you perform a search on most search engines, there are tons of links at the top or side of the results list that are different from the rest.

What differentiates these ads from each other? What costs more? What offers the best results? The answers are in the testing of your particular ad. Nothing more, nothing less. Don't let anyone else fool you

You bid to have your site link displayed on the results page for that particular keyword search. Depending on the search engine you use, either the highest bid or the best performing link will be displayed first on the page.

You pay the amount of your bid every time someone is directed to your website by clicking on the advertised link. It doesn't get any more straightforward than that.

The cost of Pay per Click advertising

Depending on the search engine you use, you may have an initial deposit when you open your Pay per Click account of around $50, and a minimum monthly spend of around $20. Your bid amounts will depend on your chosen keywords.

The bidding system means that the more popular keywords will end up being very expensive. Keep a careful record of what you are spending on PPC advertising as the costs can quickly mount up and you can end up paying more than you are making.

The following simple calculation will help you decide what you can afford to pay for Pay per Click advertising.

PPC Revenue
------------------- = Revenue
PPC Visitors

To get the most out of Pay per Click advertising, bid on as many keyword phrases as you want to afford. Consider less popular keywords that are more targeted to your potential members, and which will command a lower price per click-through.

Monitor and analyze your Pay per Click results carefully. Look both at which keywords are getting you visitors and which of these visitors are actually signing up to your membership site, or buying a product from you. Focus on the keywords that are getting you the most sales rather than the most visitors.

If you are using PPC advertising extensively it may be worth using a bid management system, or even employing a bid management company to manage your advertising campaign. This will ensure you are not spending more than you are making, and will help you to focus on the keywords that are generating valuable, targeted traffic to your site.

Researching Your Keywords

Do this correctly and you'll be able to drive hoards of very targeted visitors to your sites instantly.

Here's a method you could use to discover the ads that are working and where to put your ads.

Type in one of your best keywords into Google.com search and look at both the natural results that come up as well as the paid results that appear.

Visit the top 10 - 20 sites that come up in the natural results and see if they also have google ads on them. If so - you should copy and paste those urls in a notepad or doc for your natural search research, I'll explain why shortly. Only write down the urls that also have google ads on them.

Then take a look at the top and right side paid results and either take a screen shot or just copy and paste the ads into a notepad. This will be your paid ad research notes.

Do the above for as many keywords are you want to use yourself for your ppc campaigns.

Now, come back the next day and do the same process on the same keywords. Do this daily or maybe every couple of days if you like over a period of several weeks.

What are you looking for? You are looking for consistencies.

First of all, keep your eye on the natural search results if those same top 10-20 website urls keep appearing everytime in the same order or if they are changing. Reason is sometimes a site can get ranked #1 or #2 for a keyword right away but then dropped down after a few days or weeks.

What you want to find are the sites that have good page rank and are consistent with natural search results for your keywords. Now what you want to do is go into your Google Adwords account and set up a campaign - simple yes? But here's the key, instead of just setting up a campaign in niche market categories you are going to set up campaigns where you control the exact url your ad will be shown on.

Following me where this is going? Remember that list of natural search result that also display Google ads you have? Now is the time to use it. You simply use the Google Adword options to set up specific urls for your ad. Not just the domain but the exact url which could be an inner page with content directly related to your keyword.

Now your ads will only be shown on highly targeted content pages that you control. Meaning you now have highly targeted ads set up and if they are on very popular sites such as say CNN, Entrepreneur.com, or the New York Times etc you could instantly send hundreds or even thousands of visitors to your sites.

Now, part 2, back to those paid ad research results you have jotted down in your notepad. Again, you are looking for consistent ads which keep appearing all the time for your keywords. Most likely those ads are profitable (unless the owner just likes losing money or something) so you could model your own ads after those that seem to be working well.

Just change the niche words around and more than likely you can use very similar phrases in your ads. By doing this you are setting your ads up for potentially higher click thrus.

Doing this along with the targeted ad campaigns and you can be sure to expect some heavy traffic to your sites.

Side note: While the description text you use for general SEO is designed to get as much traffic to your site as possible, your description text for PPC advertising has a different purpose. Because you are paying for each visitor, you want to make sure that only people who are likely to join your membership site actually click on the link. Your description will make it very clear what your site is about to attract the visitors that are most likely to generate revenue for you.

Make sure you test, track, and reevaluate. One campaign may not generate the results that you like, but another may. Keep track of not only the clicks that you receive but the actual purchases from those clicks, that is where the real power is. Read more...

[TIPS] First Impressions: Make Sure Your Website Follows These 10 Things

by Kimberly Reddington

When a visitor first sees you website, they form an impression about it within the first 10 seconds of its loading. Depending upon the feelings they get when viewing your site, they either decide to leave or to get a better look around. Here are ten items to think about when deciding if you are giving off your desired impression:


1. Your website should appear professional, clean and simple.

When you walk into a physical store, you are more apt to buy from a store that is clean, easy to walk around the aisles, sells quality products that are neatly placed on shelves or racks, and has a friendly yet well-established feel. Your website should have a similar look and feel. Avoid clutter, allow for white space around items and make it easy for the visitor to move around.


2. Your navigation should be easy and simple.

If your visitors are having trouble finding what they are looking for immediately, it is much too easy for them to return to their search and find a competitor with easier navigation. Keep navigation in a prominent location with simple to use tabs and links.


3. Select colors that are attractive and comfortable for the eye to look at.

Learn what colors your audience prefers, as well as the impression you are trying to set off. If you want to relax your visitors, then use subtle and light colors. If you want to excite your visitors, then use vibrant colors. Stick to colors and shades that work well together. Use a color wheel to see which colors complement each other.


4. Create a branding statement and utilize that statement throughout the whole website.

Your business should have a special brand that makes you stand out from competitors. Your brand is your unique look that grabs your visitor's attention. Place your brand prominently near the top of your home page or landing page. Make sure to keep you brand throughout the whole site to give everything a consistent look and feel.


5. Display what your business is all about.

It only takes visitors about 10 seconds to know whether they want to leave your site or continue viewing it. Make sure that they learn what your business is all about within those first 10 seconds. If your url or business name doesn't easily explain your business purpose, then make sure to create a tagline and use that as part of your branding statement.


6. Make sure that important "calls to action" are in places where the user can see them.

Most visitors will not read your entire home page. People tend to peruse a web page quickly. The use of colors and bolding can make important words and phrases stand out more and catch the reader's attention. Make sure that important links or buttons are easy to see, stand out, and are not too far down the page.


7. Prominently display quality graphics and images.

Graphics and other images on your website will grab your visitor's attention much more than text. Make sure that your images are high quality graphics and are optimized for fast loading.


8. Use photos to display the quality of your products.

Since visitors cannot pick up your products to look at them, they rely on images and graphics. Use attractive images and photos that are large enough to show important details.


9. Use stand-alone web pages.

Unlike a magazine or catalog, you cannot predict which web pages your visitor will read first, next, or last. Avoid having content in your pages that is dependent on your visitor having seen another page first. Make sure each page can stand on its own.


10. Test your navigation and links.

Test your completed design by showing it around to others. See how they navigate. Ask open-ended questions to get a feel for how they perceive your website. Are they having trouble finding certain features of your site?

Your website may be your visitor's first impression of you and your business. Colors, images, fonts, text and other visuals will bring out certain feelings and thoughts the second a visitor views their first web page of your site. You want to be sure you are sending out the right messages that are inline with what your niche is expecting.

Source : Website First Impression
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TDW University - Rencana Menjadi Kaya

Seberapa cepatkah anda menjadi kaya?


Keterangan :

Jika anda mau membangun rumah maka sebagian orang akan memanggil arsitek dan arsitek itu bersama anda membuat rencana. Tetapi ketika orang yang sama memulai membangun kekayaan mereka atau merencanakan masa depan, mereka tidak pernah mendesain rencana finansial untuk hidup mereka. Mereka tidak mempunyai garis besar rencana kerja untuk menjadi kaya.

Bahkan banyak orang tidak mempunyai rencana, mereka hanya menjalani hidup saja dan hanya bermimpi sewaktu-waktu mereka akan menjadi kaya. Banyak juga orang yang menggunakan satu-satunya jurus andalan, yaitu merencanakan untuk bekerja keras dan mereka tidak pernah kaya. Karena apa yang mereka kerjakan sekeras apapun memang tidak memungkinkan mereka untuk menjadi kaya.

Contoh,menjadi buruh pabrik atau kuli bangunan, walaupun sekeras apapun mereka bekerja akan sulit sekali untuk menjadi kaya.

Ada juga orang yang mempunyai rencana yang lambat untuk menjadi kaya, rencana tersebut yaitu bekerja keras dan menabung.

Dengan mengikuti rencana tersebut maka jutaan orang akan menghabiskan hidupnya dengan memandang keluar jendela dari kereta mereka yang lambat atau dari mobil mereka yang terjebak dari kemacetan lalu lintas menyaksikan limosin, helikopter, pesawat jet perusahaan, rumah- rumah mewah.

Dan yang paling menyedihkan ada juga orang yang mempunyai rencana untuk menjadi miskin. Begitu banyak orang mengucapkan kata-kata seperti ayah miskin Robert Kiyosaki “Ketika saya pensiun, maka penghasilan saya akan berkurang”. Dengan kata lain mereka merencanakan untuk bekerja keras seumur hidup hanya untuk menjadi miskin.

“Saya membutuhkan kecepatan.” Kata Tom Cruise dalam Film Top Gun.

Ide bekerja seumur hidup, menabung, dan menaruh uang dalam rekening pensiun merupakan rencana yang sangat lambat. Rencana ini bagus dan masuk akal oleh 90% orang tetapi bukan rencana bagi orang yang ingin pensiun muda dan pensiun kaya.

Berikut adalah beberapa ide tentang cara untuk membangun rencana yang lebih cepat:

1. Pilih strategi keluar anda terlebih dahulu . Kita harus mulai dari yang akhir, seperti yang dikatakan oleh Steven R. Covey dalam bukunya Seven Habits. Jadi kita harus menentukan dulu umur berapa kita ingin pensiun, berapa banyak uang yang kita miliki saat itu, atau berapa banyak pasif income kita pada waktu kita pensiun. Kemudian dalam logika saya sendiri maka kita harus;

2. Cari bidang apa yang kita suka atau mungkin kita akan suka yang bisa menghasilkan seperti yang kita tentukan sebelumnya. Apabila apa yang kita kerjakan sekarang tidak memungkinkan kita mencapai impian tersebut, Let It Go!

3. Kita cari orang yang sudah berhasil mencapai impian kita untuk diajak kerja sama atau belajar kepada orang tersebut.

4. Gunakan faktor kali atau leverage.
Maksudnya kita bisa menggunakan RICE (Resources, Ide, Contact, Expertise) dari orang lain.
Sudahkah anda membuat rencana anda untuk menjadi kaya, dan seberapa cepatkah rencana anda?

Semoga bermanfaat. Salam Dahsyat!

untuk melengkapi rencana Anda menjadi Kaya silahkan download materi tambahan : eBook 24 Prinsip Miliarder yang mencerahkan oleh Tung Desem Waringin silahkan klik DISINI
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