2 Common Web Design Mistakes That Drive Your Customers Away

Cheaper by the dozen" might be a good sales pitch but it certainly is not a good web site strategy.

In the early to mid 1990s, commercial web sites weren't very common and just about every "live" site was considered acceptable. With tens of millions of sites online now, users will not tolerate unprofessional and disorganized sites that don't provide the information or solutions they are looking for and expect.

Web design mistakes can have a tremendous negative impact on business growth. At best, they upset your prospects. Worse, though, is you lose them forever.

Here are 12 common web design mistakes you must avoid to please your visitors and grow your business:

1. Lack of Focus
Too many web sites leave visitors wondering what the site is about. Be sure your home page explicitly conveys what you do and the value you offer, and entices them to explore other pages for additional information.

2. Text-heavy Pages
Actually, lots of text is OK, just don't use lengthy paragraphs with no visual breaks. Reading online is much different than print. Use the following to break-up blocks of text: shorter, more focused paragraphs; headlines and subheads; bullets and numbers; a few well-placed photos or graphics; and appropriate white space.

3. Legibility Issues
Dark fonts on dark backgrounds, light fonts on light backgrounds, and tiny fonts that strain the eye are obviously poor choices. Use common sense.

4. "Noise" and Clutter
Even if you have a great site, if your visitors are forced to wade through long blocks of copy, promotional offers, animation, sales pitches, and worthless dribble, you'll quickly confuse them and drive them away

5. Blatant Advertising
While we all hope to use our web site to move prospects along in the sales process, in-your-face advertising isn't the answer. Information, solutions and value will do the job more effectively. And while pop-up ads are widely used and acceptable, full screen pop-ups that are difficult to close infuriate everyone.

6. Navigation Issues
A clearly obvious navigational panel makes sense doesn't it? But common sense isn't always common practice. How easily can a newcomer navigate your site?

7. Inappropriate Graphics and Photos
Photos and graphics can visually enhance the appearance of your site as well as support and substantiate your copy. But don't use load-intensive graphics or photos of your corporate office which are relevant to no one.

8. Outdated Information
Nothing screams "unprofessional" any louder than outdated information.

9. Too Many Clicks Needed
We're all impatient and in a hurry. Our online waiting threshold is much less than off-line. If more than a few clicks are required to get to a page, you'll lose a prospect every time.

10. Lack of Contact Information
This also seems obvious, but I have searched numerous web sites for contact phone numbers - and I am amazed how many times I was unable to find one. Just because a web site is online doesn't mean a prospect only wants to contact you online.

11. Form Frustration
The large majority of online forms are too lengthy. Get rid of questions/fields that simply are not needed. And don't identify one as mandatory if it really isn't.

12. No Privacy Policy
In the age of rampant spam, we all want to be certain we are offering our e-mail address to someone who will protect it carefully. If you ask for an e-mail address on one of your forms, let your prospects know that you will not sell or distribute their address to anyone (if that's true of course).

Your prospects are visiting your web site specifically for the content. But the appearance and usability are also critical factors. If a visit to your web site is a positive experience, you have a much better chance of converting prospects to clients.

Use Email Marketing To Keep Customers Buzzing About Your Business

Email marketing can be used as an effective tool for communicating with customers. Its is an effective medium of communication to boost sales by ensuring that your customers constantly remember you.

The other day my radio show cohost, Paul Finley, mentioned that he had received an email from his dentist. The point of the email was to let Paul know that his office would be closed for a week and included instructions on what to do in case of a dental emergency

Obviously Paul's dentist reads my column because I've been preaching about using email to keep in touch with customers for years. OK, maybe he doesn't read my column and is just a brilliant guy in his own right. Either way, the point is clear: using email - no matter what type of business you're in - is an excellent way to keep the lines of communication buzzing between you and those folks who keep you in business.

You'll notice that I didn't say to keep the lines of communication "open." I said to keep the lines of communication "buzzing," as in active, as in constantly communicating messages that will entice them back into your business.

The difference is huge. "Open" simply means that you're there if and when your customers happen to think about you. "Buzzing" means that you proactively do things to keep your business in the forefront of your customer's mind. Instead of waiting for them to come in only when they need something, you send emails that give them reasons to come in as soon as possible. You don't wait for Mohammed to come to the mountain; you send the mountain to Mohammed via email.

It's called "email marketing" and every business - including yours - should be doing it. Don't confuse email marketing with spamming. The emails you send your customers are never unsolicited or intrusive. You get their permission to send them occasional emails that are of benefit to them. And by benefiting them you increase your business and solidify your relationship with the customer.

Ideally you should collect email addresses from everyone who walks through your door, whether they buy something or not. Offer them the opportunity to sign up for your free email newsletter or announcement list and offer them an incentive to do so, maybe a $10 discount off their first purchase if they sign up today. The allure of saving $10 not only entices them to give you their email address, but to also make that first purchase while they are there to save the $10. See how that works? You got them added to your email list and they made an immediate purchase. You can now use email marketing techniques to turn them from a one time customer into a repeat customer.

Remember the number one rule of sales: it's easier to sell to current customers than to sell to new customers. The first sale is always the hardest. You should concentrate on building a legion of repeat customers and email marketing can help you do that.

Email should be a part of every business's marketing strategy. If you own a hair or nail salon you could email customers on slow days and offer a special discount if they come in by a certain time. If you own a clothing store you could email your customers every time a new clothing line comes in or if you're having a sale. If you're in the furniture business can email your customers about excess inventory and offer them a discount if they come in by a certain date.

Email marketing works for professional service providers, as well. Accountants can email their clients with special bulletins about changes in the tax law or to remind them when it's time to file forms. Stockbrokers can email clients about changes in the stock market or to tell about a hot new IPO that's on the horizon.

Doctors and dentists can use email marketing to notify patients that it's time for their annual checkup, to remind them of impending appointments, to inform them of new office hours, or to let them know about new services. Or perhaps you're in practice building mode and you want to offer a referral bonus for current patients who refer their friends and family to you.

You get the idea. Email marketing can increase your business's revenues, solidify your reputation, and keep you fresh on your customer's mind.

If you have questions about putting email marketing to work for your business just shoot me an email and I'll point you in the right direction. Or if you've successfully used email marketing to increase your business let me know about it and I'll share the news.

I'm sure others would love to hear about how smart you are.

Why Facebook and LinkedIn are Good for Your Business

hy Facebook and LinkedIn are Good for Your Business

by Stephanie Ward

Have you been hearing all of the buzz about social networking? Feeling confused? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The great news is that it isn’t as complicated or time consuming as it may seem. Plus, it’s more than just social; it’s good for your business to get involved.
The list of social networking sites is long and growing. I don’t want to overwhelm you so I’m only going to focus on two that are particularly suited for you as a business owner, Facebook.com and LinkedIn.com.

So why should you care? What’s the big deal? Well, here are just a few reasons to enter the social networking realm:

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Gain exposure for your business that may lead to new clients or projects
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Increase the credibility of your business (give and receive recommendations on LinkedIn, post messages on friend’s pages on Facebook)
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Be connected to the people in your network in one location (OK, two if you’re on both Facebook and LinkedIn)
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Re-connect with business contacts you’ve lost touch with (sometimes they find you, sometime you discover them)
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Meet new people and expand your business network (meet your friend’s friends that you otherwise wouldn’t meet)

Here’s a quick overview of them (both are gratis and LinkedIn offers paid upgrade options).

Facebook:

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Informal and more social than business focused (this doesn’t mean it’s not good for your business)
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Almost 100 million members (according to Wikipedia)
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Anyone can ask you to be ‘friends’ (you don’t have to accept) and you can ask anyone to be friends (they don’t have to accept either)
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It is possible to share photos, videos, and add applications
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You can join groups within the network that interest you (or make your own group)

LinkedIn:

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Business focused
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19 million members (according to Wikipedia)
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You can only invite people you know (people whose e-mail addresses you have) and vice versa.
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It is not possible to share photos and video (only your own profile photo)
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You can join groups within the network that interest you

To get started you just have to go to the website, sign up and follow the directions to create a profile. Because LinkedIn is mainly for business it is professional and the profile area is quite structured which makes it easy to follow.
Facebook is another story. Although it does have a structured profile area, there are loads of additional features you can add to your page. When you join for business reasons be careful not to make your page too busy or too personal. You can be yourself and share your interests, just don’t reveal anything you wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing with a group at an in-person networking meeting.

When your profiles are finished you can start asking people to connect. The process is different for LinkedIn and Facebook but both are pretty straightforward. LinkedIn has a ‘Help/FAQ’ section on the website and Facebook has a ‘Help’ area as well (bottom right hand corner of the page).

You will learn more as you go, so just go ahead and get started. And as you meet new people you can ask them to join you on your networks. Networking, off-line or on-line, is about building relationships over time. So give first when possible, be yourself, and have fun with it.

The benefits of social networking for business owners are clear. You will be able to meet new people, build relationships with your network, improve visibility for your company, and discover new opportunities for more business. But that’s not all, it’s fun too. So why not get started and join the world of social networking today.

Copyright 2008, Stephanie Ward

17 Low-Cost Ways to Get Newsletter Subscribers

17 Low-Cost Ways to Get Newsletter Subscribers

by Janet Attard

Online newsletters and ezines are one of the most cost-effective tools you can use to market your business. Customers and prospects who subscribe to your newsletter mailing list are giving you the opportunity to establish a relationship with them. Once they opt-in to receive your newsletter in email, you can build that relationship, establish trust, and nail down sales by sending the newsletter regularly. The more people who subscribe, the more sales you'll land.
And there's the rub. Your newsletter is only as good as your list is. How can you get people to subscribe to your online mailing list? Better yet, how can you get a lot of people who don't even know you yet to subscribe to your ezine, thereby asking you to send them information on a regular basis about your business?

Here are several ways to accomplish that feat without spending bucket loads of money on marketing.

1. Make a subscription form a prominent feature of your website. The more visible your sign-up box is, the more subscribers you'll get. Although most of us would like to think visitors to our website diligently read through every word on our home pages, the truth is that most first-time visitors never scroll all the way to the end of the page. So, moving a sign-up box from the bottom of your web page to the top can double or triple the number of people who see it and give you their email address.

17 Low-Cost Ways to Get Newsletter Subscribers

by Janet Attard

Online newsletters and ezines are one of the most cost-effective tools you can use to market your business. Customers and prospects who subscribe to your newsletter mailing list are giving you the opportunity to establish a relationship with them. Once they opt-in to receive your newsletter in email, you can build that relationship, establish trust, and nail down sales by sending the newsletter regularly. The more people who subscribe, the more sales you'll land.

And there's the rub. Your newsletter is only as good as your list is. How can you get people to subscribe to your online mailing list? Better yet, how can you get a lot of people who don't even know you yet to subscribe to your ezine, thereby asking you to send them information on a regular basis about your business?

Here are several ways to accomplish that feat without spending bucket loads of money on marketing.

1. Make a subscription form a prominent feature of your website. The more visible your sign-up box is, the more subscribers you'll get. Although most of us would like to think visitors to our website diligently read through every word on our home pages, the truth is that most first-time visitors never scroll all the way to the end of the page. So, moving a sign-up box from the bottom of your web page to the top can double or triple the number of people who see it and give you their email address.

2. Put a subscription box on every page of your website. Most businesses have only one door through which the public can enter. And most website owners consider their home page to be analogous to that public "front door." But it's not. Instead of having just one "door" on the Internet, you website has as many "doors" as you have pages on the site. Depending on what a web surfer searches for in the search engines, they may find your product pages, or your credentials page, or any other page on your website and never see your home page! So, get that newsletter signup box on every page.

3. Ask people to subscribe to your newsletter mailing list when they complete a purchase. Just because someone bought a product from you once doesn't mean they'll remember to come back the next time they need something you sell. To get that customer back again, be sure you capture the customer's email address as part of the sale and include a checkbox on the form letting people indicate that they'd like to be included on your mailing list.

4. Capture names of people who leave a product site without buying. Not every customer buys the first time they visit a web site. Consider including an exit page on your site that asks people to sign up for your newsletter. Give them good reasons to do so -- testimonials from others who are receiving the newsletter, promise of notice of future discounts, or getting a free informational product if they sign up now, all help encourage first-time visitors to subscribe to your newsletter.

5. Ask current subscribers to forward your newsletter to their friends. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to grow your newsletter list. Remind your readers to spread the word about you by including a note in every newsletter asking them to please forward the newsletter to their friends who would be interested in reading it. Be, sure, too, that there's a prominent link to your subscription page in every issue of your newsletter.

6. Promote your newsletter at seminars and talks. If you give seminars or talks on your area of expertise, be sure to let your audiences know that you have a newsletter and what the benefits of subscribing to the newsletter are. And don't forget to include your newsletter subscription link in your handouts.

7. Promote your newsletter in your 30-second commercial. Many organizations give members a few seconds at the beginning or end of meetings to introduce themselves and their businesses. End your "commercial" with an appeal to visit your website and sign up for your newsletter.

8. Archive past newsletters on your web site if offers haven't expired. The search engines may spider the past issues, giving you new visitors. Put a link to your subscription signup page on the top and the bottom of every archived issue on your site.

9. Include testimonials on the signup page to show what other say about the publication. Sure, you think your newsletter is valuable, but that's not what site visitors want to know. They want to know what other people think about your newsletter. So, save all those glowing comments your readers send in, ask for permission to post them, then include some of them on you subscription signup page.

10. Have a link to past issues on the signup page to so that those who are considering signing up will be able to see what they'll be getting.

11. Write articles and distribute them to trade groups and to appropriate online websites. Include a sign up link in your author's resource box at the end of the articles.

12. Offer a free gift -- downloadable of course, so you have no delivery charges -- to those who sign up for your newsletter. To simplify the delivery process put a link to your freebie in the thank you note you send to new subscribers. And, just in case any of those new subscribers pass on the link to their friends who haven't subscribed, put a subscription box on your free offer page, too. Lead it off with a note that says "Not a subscriber yet? If a friend sent you a link to this page, sign up for your own copy of [your newsletter name]."

13. Include information about your website and mailing list in every package you send out to existing customers.

14. Get a friend in your industry to promote your newsletter to their mailing list -- then promote the friend's list in yours.

15. Include a link to your newsletter subscription page in the "sig" line you use when you participate in mailing list discussions. (
16. Send a postcard mailing to targeted mailing lists you've built from collecting business cards or from the newspaper. Use the mailing to solicit newsletter signups. To get the recipients to take action, offer a free gift (a downloadable product) to people who subscribe by a specific date.

17. Never stop soliciting subscribers. Email addresses change, and their email becomes undeliverable. People's information needs or product needs change, and they unsubscribe. Keep your list fresh and growing by continually promoting your mailings.

A Simple & Effective Keyword Strategy for Ecommerce Sites

A Simple & Effective Keyword Strategy
for Ecommerce Sites

by Karon Thackston

When it comes to ecommerce sites, there are plenty of keywords to choose from. Because sites typically follow a fairly set format, numerous pages are created between the home page and the order confirmation page. Those pages all need keywords and phrases if they are going to rank high in the search engines. So, how exactly do you choose the best keywords for each page? Here's an easy strategy to follow. (Please keep in mind that all keyphrases used in this article are for example only and have not been researched.)
Home Page: Broad Keywords

When you start out, use keywords and phrases that are descriptive of your overall site. For example, if you sold clothing for the entire family, you might opt for phrases such as "ladies clothing," "men's clothing" or "kids clothing." Those would be expressive, but could also be worked easily into the home page copy.

Think of the sales process as a funnel. It's broad at the lip and gets more narrow as you move closer to the spout. The same goes for the keyword strategy: broad keyphrases at first and more specific ones as the subject matter gets more specific.

Category Page: Specific Keywords

Once you move to the category pages, you'll want to select keyphrases that work well with what you're trying to describe in your copy. If your visitor clicks on the women's shoes category, she'll want to read about and see pictures of women's shoes. Perhaps you'll use phrases such as "fabric ballet flats" or "leather peep-toe pumps."

I typically create a paragraph at the top of the page, then add a descriptive sentence or two under each image. Sometimes, I'll also add a paragraph of copy at the bottom of the page. This helps guide your visitors through the sales process.

Product Descriptions: Long-Tail Keywords

The product description pages should incorporate long tail keywords that are laser specific. If your visitor clicked on a link for "Bermuda shorts" on the category page, you'll want to get as detailed as possible, so your customer can make the decision to buy.
For instance, a keyphrase such as "Liz Claiborne pastel plaid Bermuda shorts" would be perfect for a product description because it is. well. descriptive. Long? Yes, it is a long phrase. Most long-tail keywords will be. But the further into the sales process a customer gets, the more specific their searches will be. Chances are, someone who has decided she wants pastel plaid shorts will use a phrase like the one above instead of something like "Bermuda shorts."

Here's a plus: Because long-tail phrases are much less competitive than broader terms, you stand a better shot at getting ranked highly for them.

A Word on Linking

Here's where some copywriters get confused. When you use links in anchor text, you're giving credit to the page being linked to. For instance, if you have a category page for shorts, you would want to use the keyphrase "Bermuda shorts" in the anchor text of a link that pointed to the Bermuda shorts page. That way, the Bermuda shorts page gets credit for the link. The link would be of no (or very little) value to the general shorts page.

When you take note of the navigation and purchase cycle of your visitors, you begin to see why this simple strategy for keyword placement works so well. Using more specific terms as you write more specific copy helps usher visitors from the front door to the checkout counter with ease while also boosting your search engine rankings