Web Site Design for Success

Building a Web Site for Success by Paul Barrs    It’s a strange anomaly. Most people who set out to start their own web site, no matter what type, build it for failure, not success. Crazy isn’t it? But true. They find a web site designer, tell him or here what they want – and boom – money down the pit. The saddest part in all this is that they don’t even know that they are destined for failure long before their dreams shatter and break apart. Why? The simple truth is this – “most” web site Designers don’t know squat about marketing. But – Isn’t the Web supposed to be that place where you “get on it” and cash in? Isn’t it? Hmmm. The past few years have shown us one thing: You’re either for Web-based advertising, or you’re against it. Those who are for it, have faith in the progressive technologies of the future, those who are against it have taken the time to sit back, listen and learn – more people fail Online than those who succeed. Statistics tell us that within 5 years of start up 90% of all small businesses will go under. My personal experience through my own search engine shows me that an even higher percentage of web sites will do the same. Why? Because they lack the fundamental strategies, marketing and development to plan ahead, foresee the pitfalls, and capitalize on gains. Here is a key secret to Website success. It’s “Easy to Do”, it’s also “Easy not to Do.” That applies to everything. It’s easy to do a web site marketing plan. It’s also easy not to do one. It’s easy to create a profitable web site, but it’s also easy not to create one. It’s easy to pick up the phone and call a new potential customer; or reply to an email, but it’s also easy not to do it. That one thing will determine your success, or measure your failure. However, on a brighter side, there are three specific things that you must focus on doing if your want to develop a powerhouse and dynamic web site. Those three things are: 1. Get potential customers to your web site. 2. Get those same people to come back. 3. Get them to refer their friends, family and associates. Sounds simple doesn’t it? It’s easy to do, it’s also easy not to do. And if you’re not consciously aware of this marketing reality, you’re probably not doing these three things. Let’s look at them. 1. Get potential customers to your web site. It does not matter where you are located, the differences in your product compared to your competition, or if you have a red, pink or blue roof. Whether you consider yourself competent in Internet Technology or not makes no difference. You absolutely must focus 50% of your planning time on gaining new visitors and customer enquiries. (Initially 80% if your web site is just starting) Use every method available to you. Utilise every single resource. Study and learn what it takes to get people to visit your web site. Visit your competitions web sites. Survey your visitors. Do what it takes. I know I’m pointing out the obvious, but if your head is stuck in pricing package development, or management and accounting you won’t be able to see the trees from the forest. Visitors to your web site are your lifeblood. They are your bread and butter. They represent every reason why you go Online in the first place – to make money. And it’s not your web design firms responsibility alone – you pay the bills, so the buck stops right in your office. So get them and get them quick. 2. Get those same people to come back. It’s a proven fact that most people will not buy from you on their first contact (Or even contact you for that fact). There are no exceptions to this rule. A prospective customer must have exposure to your web site an average of 5 times (depending on their readiness and buying time frame) before they will even contact you. The world of professional selling tells us that most sales closes take place on the 7th contact. What does this tell you? If you work so hard at getting new people to your web site, but then not getting them to come back – you’re building for failure. Don’t do it! Stop right now and look at your sales systems. Do they make allowances for automatic or semi-automatic follow up? Do you offer Auto responders from your web site? Do you have downloadable information that they can access. Do you use contact management software so that you don’t loose track of potential customers? Why do you think the Pro’s in your industry are the top income earners? Think about that. They keep in touch with people. Either that or they invest some ridiculously high amount of cash each month to attract first time visitors and work on the Hit and Miss ratio. 3. Get them to refer their friends, family and associates. This is the cream of the crop. When you set out in your web site, you must focus 80% of your time on getting new contacts. As your web site traffic develops, you must then change that focus to 80% gaining referrals. Referrals are the sweetest prospective customers of all. They are already pre-qualified. They already want what you have to offer. And you don’t have to spend a cent getting them! If your web site is fully operational, you can do this with a simple, click and refer a friend script. It take only moments to set up. But even more – are you ready for the kicker? You must ASK people for their referrals! When you’ve got a great package to offer, it’s fantastic. But there is really no point in working really hard to get a brand new fresh customer at great expense when all you have to do is ASK your existing customers and visitors for a few referrals. Don’t be shy. You ask, and most of them will happily give. It’s that easy. Easy to do, easy not to do. Can you see the pattern developing here, the difference between success and failure, those that do and those that don’t? All these things are easy to do. They are, really. But most people opt for the easier choice – not to do. The choice is yours. Build your web site for success with qualified customer and visitor flow and you will reap the rewards.   Paul Barrs has compiled a complete Seminar Series titled “Website Magic!”. In it you will find 10 audio tutorials covering all the essential aspects of profitable web site design, showing you how to Make More Profit in your web site business. Download it Free from: http://www.paulbarrs.com Related Subjects: Web Site Design firms, softwares, and articles Launch your online store – learn more on ecommerce     top of web site design article

Thinking Big – The Art of Internet Success

Thinking Big – The Art of Internet Success                   by Alex Boyd of Earn Money with a Website Thinking big means different things to different people. In my circle, thinking big means focusing on progression, on growth, on the achievement of goals that appear, initially, beyond ourselves. To others it refers to a sandwich. You know the one – special sauce, sesame seed bun. But shall we stay focused here? There are many guiding principles when targeting success in both our daily lives, and in our businesses. One that I tend to dwell on from time to time goes something like this: ‘Times change. Adapt or fade away. You choose.’ It’s a rule with application to virtually every aspect of our lives, from familial relations, and friendships, to the planning of a successful community, the management of metropolitan governance, and in political relations across the globe. It can certainly apply to the world of business, and clearly, to you and I. An unwillingness to accept change as an integral part of our lives, relationships, and business orientations, is one way to ensure their abrupt end. On a personal front, this can translate into an entirely unexpected visit to the divorce lawyer. On the business front, say hello to an ongoing array of not so friendly calls from your creditors, and yet another form of legal representation, the bankruptcy folks. Thinking big is not just planning large things for ourselves, and our companies. Thinking big requires maintenance, a willingness to change, and an ability to see the value in the adaptation of a plan, or relationship, to the ever-changing circumstances that surround us. Each of these focal points should be viewed as living, breathing creatures, always growing, shifting in perspective, and with needs that adjust from time to time. Thinking big takes guts, a willingness to make mistakes, and a passion for forward movement. Are you ready? Thinking Big On the Internet As is true of every relationship, each of our business ventures, as well as our ultimate goals within them, differ. Each is an original work of art, or at their worst, an original, and innovative bad idea. The challenge inherent in defining a means of implementing ‘big thinking’ into your organization is clear – your company is far different from my own, with different products, different clients, and certainly, different organizational and relationship issues. You may sell ebooks, vitamins, advertising, design functions, or god help us all, the ‘incredible product that adds up to 3 inches to your member’, in which case my only advice to you is that you stop sending me emails – you’re hurting my confidence. To the remainder of our internet based business readership, with your varied focuses, perspectives, and goal sets, let me say a few things that may help twig some new ideas, and shifts in direction. Here’s a first step to ‘thinking big’ that you may like: ‘Never give up’ I realize I’m likely not the inventor of the phrase, and that each of you have probably heard it said at one time or another before I chose to dredge it up – but it holds a truth that applies to all long term investments. ‘Never give up’ means retaining focus, fighting fear, adapting as need be, while consistently keeping your eye on the end goals – goals that may themselves shift from time to time. No one ever said it would be easy folks – and for the most part, it ain’t. Don’t expect miracles, only long hours, little initial reward, and the potential financial and personal satisfaction that comes from an approach built on consistency of purpose, relative to a high quality product or service, over an extensive period of time. ‘Believe in your product’ In any relationship of length, one of the most often reported factors in its success is the strength of its core. Without a base that is solid, there is little room to build, nor the will to survive inevitable moments of turmoil. The same holds true of any business. At its core are many things, but most importantly, is its product. This one element is relative to everything the business is, and if you don’t want to find yourself perpetually justifying its existence, you must ensure that you are working with something that is ultimately of value to its users. The key is that this is something YOU must believe in first. Without that belief comes a business without passion, and from that lacking grows indecision, indistinct direction, and ultimately an experience of as little long term value as a quick cup of coffee. All jolt, then evacuated within hours. ‘Believe in your Customer’ The start of any new business requires investment. That investment can take many forms. Time, money, and ultimately, faith. One area worthy of a hearty amount of all of the above is your customer. Thinking big requires that you step outside the box, review your products and processes through the eyes of your client, and that you blow them away at every stage of the game. Don’t ever take your customers for granted, or rest assured, they’ll reciprocate, and drift away. ‘Show ’em you Believe’ One of the most common mistakes made by the new internet entrepreneur is to take a product or service with appreciable value, and detract from its salability by marketing it from a website that looks like the personal home page of a twelve year old from the mid 1990’s. Poor layouts, lagging download times, animated graphics galore of folks dressed for the disco era bouncing about beneath flickering rainbows dropping into glittering pots ‘o gold, all brought to life via the dated technology known as the animated gif. Dump it. Clean it up. Organize, and revitalize with informative, easy to use, quick to download, blow their buns off web site design and functionality. If you can’t do it yourself, find someone to help you, because as we all know, first impressions take the cake. Thinking big means not accepting substandard presentation as sufficient ‘because we’re on the internet’. It means taking every step possible to ensure your organization’s future, and in doing so, ignoring the value of nothing. Thinking towards the Future There was a time when organizing next week’s sale event was considered aggressive future planning. Not so today, my friends. With large organizations across the globe preparing business plans well into the next decade, the ability of the small business to compete, and to perhaps overtake the goliath, may well lie in their foresight. Plan big, and plan long. Consider a single target, and how it can be achieved via multiple paths. Don’t let change surprise you – instead, welcome it’s arrival with open arms, and prepare your road to adaptation in detail, and well ahead of time. The Final Thought At the end of the day, thinking big involves risk – there’s really no way around it. But risk that is well planned, and then exceptionally well implemented, is rarely a risk at all – consider it merely an investment, one that is focused on the development of an endless variety of relationships. Relationships that are certain to challenge, frustrate, weaken, then strengthen again, and if you’re strong enough, to reward you beyond your wildest dreams. Good luck folks. Now go eat that sandwich. Related Subjects: Visit one of Alex Boyd’s Internet Business Projects Launch your online store – learn more about ecommerce     back to top

Why Do We Butcher Our Profits Online? by Paul Barrs

Why Do We Butcher Our Online Profits?                            by Paul Barrs    Now this makes me angry! Why do we butcher our profits when selling Online? I can’t stand it. How many times I’ve seen what looks to be a quality product selling for the stupid price of $9.95 or some great package of products for $19.95 – I cannot count. Are the creators of such products insane? Are they scared that you’ll not make any sales at all? Just this morning while following posts on a message forum I came across yet another site that sells a terrific range of info products – each which can be bought separately. But this webmaster had bundled them together and was selling them for less than one fifth of what he could get if sold separately. Why doesn’t he at least triple his price and sell them for minimum half for the package? Over the past two months I’ve made numerous International phone calls to talk with other net business owners who are also feeling frustrated. Because of the nut-crackers out there who butcher prices, we all are suffering. Think about it people – let’s look at the math. Let’s use a product example of an incredible eBook called “Widgets Unlimited” (yes it’s fictional). It’s easily worth $150 – this is hot and has the references to go with it. However, the webmaster sells it (or a reseller – even worse) for the all time low price of $14.95 (and don’t laugh – this happens). He (or she for the ladies) sells 500 copies in the first month. $14.95 x 500 = $7,475.00. Now that’s not bad, we’d all like to be doing that, right? But let’s assume that the sales copy is great, the book is fantastic, people are raving about it all over the net. So the price becomes $49 and he (or she – although it’s usually guys that do this stupid thing) only sells half the volume. $49.00 x 250 = $12,250.00 That’s fewer products for more income. Less customer returns (if any), less download problems, less browser based problems etc. Win win. How about if the owner of the book did the right thing in the first place and sold it for $99.00. But understanding that the price is higher, he only sells one third of the original volume. $99.00 x 166 units = $16,434.00 Can you see where this is going? Side Note: Hey, we all know the argument “But what if because it’s cheaper more people buy? Surely the volume will make the extra profit?” OK, let’s take a look at it. At $99.00 you sell 166 units for $16,434.00. So using the original price at $14.95 you’ll need to sell 1,100 of them to make the same amount of money. Now, unless you’re a top marketer with substantial previous experience, that isn’t going to happen. And if you are a top marketer with the experience to sell 1,000+ books in this fictional month, then with your credibility, people will still pay at least $37.00 for your book which would be $40,700 for the same amount of work. End Note: For goodness sake owners, authors and writers – stop shooting yourself in the foot! And for those of you who sell resale rights products, stop trying to “give it all away” – you are the one losing money! And for those of you who create and sell resale rights products – PLEASE sell by licence to a profitable price marketplace. Don’t let people butcher and degrade your work by selling your $99.00 product for $14.94 – it’s hurting you as well as us. Please. Over the past twelve months I’ve increased the access to my training site four times. Originally it was $49.00 (I fell into the trap). Now it’s over $300.00. Guess what, I have more people register and join now than I did at the lower price, but even if I didn’t it would still be worthwhile. You can do the same – just believe in your products and services. Between us, we can bring some profit back into the Online Market. Paul Barrs has compiled a new Free eBook titled “Make More Profit”. In it you will find articles from some of the Net’s Top eBusiness people, showing you how to Make More Profit in your Internet Business. Download it Free from: http://www.paulbarrs.com/profit.htm Related Subjects: Other E marketing tips and tricks Launch your online store – learn more on ecommerce     top of online profits article