Saturday, 10 March 2007
14 Tips To Catch Repeat Visitors To Your Websites
| By Mark Tse It is not enough to get people to visit your website. The most important things are to make them stay and visit again the next time they log on to the internet, and to inform other people of the existence of your website. Here are some helpful tips you should consider when designing your website in order to make visitors come back for more: 1. Your home or opening page should contain a clear explanation of what your site is all about. No one wants to waste time clicking on links and going through pages of text just to discover what your intentions are. 2. Your site must be easily navigable. A site menu at the top, bottom, or side of each page is very helpful especially for a first time visitor, especially if your site has lots of pages. 3. Your site’s content is its heart, so make sure that it has substance. The content is you talking to the visitor, so you should be concerned about making a good impression. 4. Your links should be clearly labeled. If a link leads to a guestbook, a ‘Guestbook’ name for such link is direct and straight to the point. 5. Dark text on light background is best for reading. Black text on white background is the most readable. Light on dark can work too, but it tends to be glaring for some people. 6. Your color scheme must fit the mood of the content of your site and suit your target audience. Whatever colors you use, make sure that they all go with each other. Clashing colors can be a major eyesore. 7. For uniformity purposes, the pages’ layout must be the same with one another unless it is completely necessary to break the pattern. 8. Make sure that your layout that is viewable for all screen resolutions. Avoid too-long and too-wide pages so that people with bigger screen resolutions would not have to scroll up-down and side-to-side. 9. A page with graphics, animation, Flash movies, and music takes more time to load than one without. If you bombard your site with these accessories, many visitors will not hang around and wait for the pages to load especially if they are using dial-up connection. Besides, too much of a good thing is tacky. Use these add-ons sparingly. 10. Follow all HTML standards so your website will be compatible with commonly used browsers, namely Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla. If you can make your site viewable for most browsers, so much the better. 11. Some browsers are set not to accept plug-ins. Some are set to text-only. Whatever browser settings the visitor has, you should have made sure that the site is still aesthetically appealing in all possible circumstances. 12. If you are going to use graphics, make sure that they are of high resolution. This is especially important if you are selling products and using photos to showcase your goods. 13. Before publishing your website, road-test it first by browsing through it as if you are a first time visitor. This is the best way to sort out any kinks that would have been otherwise overlooked. 14. If you have no web design and html knowledge, hire a web designer to build your site. If you have no web design knowledge but have little html knowledge, you may buy pre-made web templates, here is a collection of professional web templates that you can use: http://www.marktse.com/template/ In the end, freshness is the most essential feature your site should have. The internet is highly dynamic so do not let your site get stuck in a rut. Always keep your site updated in terms of content. Enhance the aesthetics of the site every now and then. If you think your site’s look is on its way to being outdated, do not be afraid of giving it a major overhaul. After all, makeovers seem to be the craze right now. About the author: This article is written by Mark Tse. Mark shares free tips, articles and downloads about Internet Marketing. You can visit his Internet Marketing Blog and read his latest posts here: http://www.marktse.com/blog/ |
12 Items You CAN'T Sell On eBay
| By Sydney Johnston Millions of would-be entrepreneurs want to sell things on ebay. eBay is the #1 home-business opportunity in the world right now, so it's natural that many are eager to find highly profitable items for re-sale on eBay. However, it's important to know that there are certain items that can't be sold. Here are a dozen of them ... Some items are copyright infringement and can actually land a seller in federal prison: 1. Knock offs of music, TV shows or movies. The "bootleg" movies, for example, are often made by guys who sneak a movie camera into a newly-released movie where presumably, they crouch behind a seat and make a crummy copy. There is a large production of these counterfeit items in Asia where US laws have no power. 2. Software and computer games can likewise be copied and their sale is illegal by all US laws. Naturally, the items above may be sold if you have a copy that you purchased legitimately and no longer want. 3, The so-called "replica" market for handbags, designer sunglasses and clothing is definitely forbidden although these items are often sold in physical stores around the US. Ironically, when attending eBay Live In New Orleans in 2004, we found a store in one of their famous markets selling replica purses that were not allowed on eBay. 4. Lazy and less-than-honest sellers often steal copyrighted material from other sellers. This has happened to me many times and eBay has a program called VERO (Verified Rights Owner) that will remove offending auctions, although there seems to be no penalty attached to the seller, which is unfortunate. 5. Alcoholic beverage sales are not allowed although a beverage "container', especially those of wine, may be sold for its value. 6. Cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco or coupons for such items are not permitted on eBay.com. The Ebay rules for collectible tobacco and alcohol containers are the same: * The value of the item is in the collectible packaging, not in the wine/tobacco itself. * The listing description should state that the package has not been opened, but that the twine/tobacco within is not for consumption. * The collectible tobacco packaging must not be available at any retail outlet, and packaging must have a value that substantially exceeds the current retail price of that wine/tobacco product in the package. * Sellers must take steps to ensure that the buyer of these collectibles is at least 18 years of age 7. Firearms are strictly regulated by US law and may not be sold on eBay. 8. Satellite and cable TV descramblers are forbidden by the Federal Trade Commission. 9. Animals and wildlife products may not be sold, which includes stuffed birds and pelts from endangered species. There are limited sales of ivory, tortoise shell, marine products and other items relating to animals. This area is quite complex and any would-be seller needs to thoroughly understand the various laws before getting involved in these sales. 10. Event tickets have state-by-state laws that make their sale complex. Some states, for instance, forbid anyone to make more than a few dollars in profit (or no profit at all) on the resale of tickets. For instance, Florida law states that tickets can be resold at no more than face value plus $1. In such states, these regulations apply only to buyers and sellers located in the same state as the actual event, meaning if a seller lives in Florida, he can't profit from ticket sales to Florida events. However, if he lives in any of the other 39 states, this restriction doesn't apply. 11. Listing a catalog of items that a seller offers for sale is forbidden. The only catalogs legally sold on eBay are collectible kinds, such as an old Sears Roebuck or Montgomery Wards catalog that is memorabilia and doesn't offer current merchandise for sale. 12. Raffles and prizes are 100% prohibited. According to eBay, such promotions are highly regulated and may be unlawful in many states. There are other kinds of merchandise that a seller may not sell on eBay, so carefully check eBay rules before listing anything. It's much better to know the rules in advance of spending money that can't be recouped. About the author: Learn how to sell on eBay with 16 hours of online instruction taught by a 10 year eBay veteran. Own an eBay business instead of an eBay hobby. http://www.auction-genius-course.com |
10 Ways To Indirectly Get To The Top Of Search Engines
| By Richard Meredith There are millions of web sites trying to get listed in the top 20 spots of the major search engines. That amounts to a lot of competition! I say if you can't get listed at the top, indirectly get to the top. How do you do this? Look up the top 20 web sites on the major search engines under the keywords and phrases people would find your web site. The key would be to then advertise on those web sites. The most expensive way would be to buy ad space on those web sites. If you don't want to spend any money, you could use the ten strategies below. These strategies may not apply to every web site. 1. Participate on their discussion boards. You could post questions, answer other peoples questions, and join in on conversations. Just include your signature file and link at the end of your messages. 2. Ask the web site owner if they would like a free ebook to giveaway to their visitors. You could have them link to your web site or include your ad in the free ebook. 3. Submit content to their web site. You could write articles for their web site and include your resource box and link at the end of the article. If they publish it, you'll indirectly be at the top of the search engines. 4. Write an excellent article review of their web site, products or services. Then publish the review on your web site. E-mail the web site owner and tell him or her about it. They may link to your web site so their visitors read it. 5. Ask the owner of the web site if they would want to trade advertising. If you don't get as much traffic as they do, you could throw in some extra incentives. 6. Propose a cross promotion deal with the web site. You both could promote each others products or services together in one package deal. This means a mention and link back to your web site. 7. Give the web site a testimonial for their product or service. Include a little text link for your web site with the testimonial. You never know; it could end up on their ad copy. 8. Post your advertisement on their free classified ad section on their web site. You want to be sure you have an attractive headline so they will read your ad. 9. Post your text link on their free-for-all links page. You want to go back and post your link regularly so it stays towards the top. 10. Sign their guest books. You could leave a short compliment about their web site on their guest book. Just include your signature file and link at the end of your message. About the author: Richard Meredith is the author of the critically acclaimed ebook "The BLACK BOOK of Online Business"- the must-have source book for anyone doing business online... or even THINKING about it! http://www.straight-talkmarketing.com You can reprint this article as long as this by-line is intact. |
10 Eye Popping, Jaw Dropping Ad Copy Secrets
| By Carlo Cabrera 1. Use a hand written letter on your ad copy instead of text. Write the ad on a piece of paper, scan it and publish the ad on your web page. Adding a personal touch will always increase your sales. 2. Publish a list of famous and respected customers who have bought from you on your a copy. People will think that if these people bought from you, they should also trust your business and purchase your products. Make sure to get their permission first. 3. Show before and after photos for your products on your web page copy. Show the problem picture and then beside it, show the picture of the resolution to the problem when they use your product. 4. Include an article or review that has been written about you or your business with your ad copy. This will show people that your business is respected and will increase your credibility. 5. When you offer free bonuses in your ad copy, also list the dollar value beside each bonus. People will feel they're getting a good deal and it will increase the value of your product. 6. Hire a famous person to endorse your product or service. Make sure the person is well known to your target audience. Include their picture and statements on your ad copy. 7. Include your own picture on your ad copy. This will show people that you're not hiding behind your ad copy and will increase their trust. Also, include your contact information below the picture and a brief statement or quote. 8. Tell your potential customers on your ad copy that you will donate a percentage of their purchase price to specific charity. This will show them you really care about the people. They may just buy your product to donate to the charity. 9. Ask your potential customers plenty of yes and no questions in your ad copy. The questions should remind them of their problem and make them think about what will happen if they don't purchase your product. 10. Tell your potential customers they will receive a free prize if they find the five words in your ad copy that are misspelled or spelled backwards. The longer you can keep someone reading your copy the greater chance of them purchasing. About the author: Carlo S. Cabrera can help YOU start your own profitable business on the Internet within the next 24 hours! To learn more, visit: http://www.InstantAutomaticWealth.com/pips.html |
10 AD Copy Tips you can take to the Bank!
| By Randy G. Hutchings First impression they is the most important meeting you can have with someone. That why in online marketing it is so important to have a good Ad copy because that's what your potential customer will see first. Here are my 10 Ten Copy Tips...... 1. You could add some sub-headlines in your ad copy. Sub-headlines act just like headlines; they grab the reader' s attention. They'll keep the readers interested as they continue to read you ad. They are almost like transitions or copy connectors; the sub-headlines will interest and carry the reader to the next part. 2. You could ask your readers questions throughout the ad copy. They will answer the questions in their own heads as they read your ad copy. The questions you ask should persuade the readers into buying. People have been taught to automatically answer questions in school, from their parents, from friends and from authoritative figures. 3. You could highlight keywords throughout your ad copy. The keywords should be attractive to your target audience. You could highlight them with color, underlines, italics, etc. You could also repeat key-words one after another. For example you could say, This is a soft, soft, soft rug." 4. You could bullet or indent your benefits in your ad copy. Most people won't read the whole ad copy, so make your product’s benefits stand out and you won't lose the sales from all the skimmers. You can also indent other things like your guarantee, postscripts, testimonials, closing, etc. 5. You could change the size of your text in your ad copy. You want to make your text large enough so it's not hard to read. You also want your headline and major points to be larger so they will stand out. You could also use more space in between important parts of your ad copy to make them stand out. 6. You could raise or lower the price in your ad copy. A higher price could increase the perceived value of your product and a lower price could lessen your product's value. Either way, you need to test which price will pull the most orders. Another idea would be to use an odd number like $19.46 instead of $19.99, $19.95 or $19.97. It makes it look like there is a specific reason you priced it like that. 7. You could add proof of results in your ad copy. You should include testimonials, endorsements and factual statistics to prove your product's claims. You should only publish statements that are believable and have specific results. For example, here is a good line from a testimonial, “I increased my sales by 678%!" 8. You could add special offers in your ad copy. It's usually easier to sell the offer than the product. You could use discounts, free bonuses, volume sales, etc. For example, you could say, "You'll get 5 bonuses when you order by Aug 24, 2002!" Another example, "Buy one, get the second one half price off.” 9. You should eliminate the hard-to-understand jargon on your ad copy. Unless your product calls for technical words, you want your ad to be read without people pulling out a dictionary. If you need to use a word your target audience might not under- stand, define it or use an example to help them understand it. 10. When you ask someone to sign up to receive a freebie, don't ask for really personal information. This is a fast way to lose a potential prospect. For example, if you ask them for information they want to keep personal, they might not want sign up. Another example, if you ask for too much information, they may not have the time or patience to fill it all out. With these 10 Tips your AD Copy NOW has the equipment to conquer the little challenges that you will encounter and that most marketers with stumble over. Start implementing these tip to work for you so that your Online AD Copy will make the sell for you........ About the author: ============================================== Know the Truth about Online Marketing NOT the HYPE! Finally the Truth is Told at the eMarketing TIPs 4 You Blog! No More HYPE.... (c) Randy G. Hutchings - All Rights reserved http://emarketingtips4u.blogspot.com/ ============================================== |