"5 Facts That Will Have You Re-writing Your Web Site In A Hu

Do you know the differences between writing copy for the web and writing copy for print? Some of the answers will go against your intuition and against cultural norms. But, these facts detail how people read on the web. There's no use in arguing against them. Instead we should embrace them and use this knowledge to our advantage. Here's what the facts are and how they're going to affect your website. 1) Where Do Eyes Go First When Your Homepage Comes Up? Contrary to what you might think, it isn't towards the graphics or photos like in print advertising. Instead your prospects eyes will first go to the copy. Specifically your headline and sub-heads. Therefore, your first chance to engage the prospect is through copy. Not graphics. Seeing as most web users look at a web page for only 3-15 seconds before deciding whether to stay or move on. The fact that they look at copy first has massive implications for your website. Fancy graphics won't make a prospect stay on your website. But a really strong headline and strong sub-heads will. 2) How Much Of Your Copy Do Users Actually Read? The fact is that online users, on average, read 75% of the length of any given page. This is big news because most web pages will have the important conclusions, calls to action, and order information on the bottom 25% of any given page. That's a big no-no. Because it will never get read. You have to have your call to action and order information presented early on your web page to ensure it gets read. 3) Why Do Most Banner Ads Produce Poor Click-Through Rates? 1.25 seconds. That's how long an average user will look at your banner ad. That's just enough time to perceive one image or 6 words (based on college student's average reading speed of 350 words/minute). Therefore, banner ads that have animation, taking 4-5 seconds to run through a cycle, or more than 6 words must be reconsidered. However, if you really must keep your animated banner ad because "it just looks so cool!" I would suggest that you at least keep your company logo visible throughout the entire animation sequence. 4) Why Is Reading Online More Frustrating Than Reading Print? Turns out that reading from a computer screen causes a person's reading speed to slow by 25% when compared to reading print. That means reading long copy can be very frustrating online. Break up the copy to help users through. Have a few one line paragraphs. Use headlines and sub-heads to summarize information. So users who are tired of reading word-by-word can quickly scan the rest of your document. 5) Are Your Web Page Users Not Getting The Whole Picture? If you haven't made your web page truly scannable, prospects to your site may only be getting part of the sales message. Only 21% of online users read word-by-word. The other 79% scan a web page headline to headline. Sub-head to sub-head. Picking up only the larger, bolded or italicized copy. Your sales message has to be read both by scanners and word-by-word readers. Therefore all your major selling points, benefits, call to action and order info must be in easily scannable type. Otherwise your website will only generate 21% of the sales it could be. And for the money you put into your website, that's not good enough. So, if online reading is so different from offline reading. Clearly your web copy has to follow suit. Take home message? Make sure your website is performing on all cylinders. Have a professional web writer write your website. It will save you money in the long run.
About the Author
Aran Kay is a marketing consultant and independant copywriter with experience working for Nintendo, Direct Energy, Kellogg's and more. He has written numerous marketing articles and includes a selection of them on his web site. http://www.professionalcopy.ca/ is also your source for "The 52 Best Marketing Web Sites." It's a great resource and yours FREE just for visiting.

"10 Immutable Laws Of Successful Selling"

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Word Count: 641Character Width: 60Resource Box: Laurence Winmill at

http://www.bookshaker.com/

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"10 Immutable Laws Of Successful Selling"- by Laurence Winmill(c) Laurence Winmill. All Rights Reserved

.http://www.bookshaker.com/

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How would you describe yourself as a Salesperson? Talkative,Caring, Outgoing, Confident? Perhaps you regard yourself asa Trained Professional, or a Self Taught Enthusiast orperhaps you simply believe you were born with a NaturalGift. Whatever you believe there are certain characteristicsand disciplines that you must display with consistency ifyou are to become truly Successful as a ProfessionalSalesperson. Here are ten laws...1. Customer Focused - People do business with people theylike and trust. In order to gain respect and trust you haveto build rapport with your customers. You must listen totheir "Wants" and then give them what they "Need" and thenunder promise and over deliver, exceeding expectations atevery given opportunity.2. Attitude - It's Attitude that makes the absolutedifference. It is your number one differentiator, thequality that separates you from the rest. Attitude is thesmall word that makes the big difference and sets apart theWinners from the Losers.3. Communication Skills - Train yourself to become a GreatListener. It's the exceptional listener that identifiesCustomer's Needs and Wants and then talks passionately abouthis or hers products and services in relation to thoseNeeds.4. Empathy & Drive - You must have both these qualities ifyou are serious about Selling. You have to be able to putyourself in the Customers situation and understand how youwould be thinking and feeling if you were them. But thisalone is not enough; you must also have an in built desireto succeed at every opportunity. You are passionate aboutSelling and your desire for success pushes you above andbeyond ordinary results. You simply want to be recognised as"One of the Best at what you do".5. First Impressions - You get one opportunity to make agood impression. The first 10 seconds are critical. Voice,Appearance, Presentation, Body Language and Words allcrammed into a 10 second introduction. Make sure yours makesa lasting impression.6. Two Way Communication - The key to two way communicationis the ability to ask the right type of questions, whichbuild rapport whilst encouraging the Customer to talk abouttheir "Wants" and more importantly their "Needs". Youskilfully steer the conversation, probing the answers untilyou are certain that a " Need" has been identified.7. Organisational Skills - Good Sales Professionals have tobe organised. They know the importance of Business Planning,Territory Management, Customer Prospecting and Profiling.They also understand that organisation is the key tobuilding a better business, because they always find time toexceed their Customers Expectation Levels.8. Objective Learning - Focus on learning how to get betterat what you do. Read books, watch videos, network and useyour brain's full potential. Push yourself to new limits.Attend training sessions, join professional sellingorganisations and seek qualifications in subjects relevantto what you do. Become recognised as a Sales Professionaland fulfil your true potential.9. Work Life Balance - Find time for family and friends.Have an interest outside of work and spend quality time withthose closest to you. Never lose sight of your roots, showreal interest in those around you and apply the same desirefor success in this area as you do in your professionallife.10. Goals - Set yourself targets - Set them daily, weekly,monthly, annually, for life and review regularly. "A persongoing nowhere always get there", so avoid being this personby mapping out some realistic targets and goals. The keyword is realistic because when you get use to achievingtargets and goals, you'll effectively create a habit thatwill be difficult to break - and more importantly it's ahabit you will not want to break!So there you have it, ten simple but highly effectivedisciplines for "Better Results In Any Selling Environment".Good luck and make your start today!=======================================

Who else wants to boost their personalinfluence? Laurence Winmill makesselling and influence easier - quicker.Buy his books at

http://www.bookshaker.com/

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About the Author
Laurence is a motivational speaker, trainer and author. He specialises in Customer service, sales and marketing. During his career he has sold a diverse selection of products & services with significant results. Laurence has managed at the highest level and built, dismantled and rebuilt some of the very best sales teams in Newspapers, Advertising, Insurance and Pharmaceuticals.

Autoresponder Courses: The Automated Marketing Tool

Autoresponders, also known as mailbots, automatic email and email on demand were derived from the very popular fax on demand and designed to automatically respond to any email message it receives with an automatic response. Autoresponder programs vary from software set up to run with your desktop email program and automatically answer your incoming email to a script that runs on your server. The script may run a Web-based autoresponder system that utilizes a web page form, or it may run with your pop email account on your server. It is programmed to automatically send out a predetermined message when a message is received to a specified script address or email address. In addition to the standard autoresponder systems, there are also autoresponders that can send an unlimited amount of follow-up messages. These follow up messages can be set up to automatically be sent out at predetermined intervals. In other words, you can set up your autoresponder to automatically send out a new message each day for as many days as you would like.This powerful technology is currently being used by some of the top online marketers to reach thousands of potential customers. As you may know, it may take up to seven contacts with a potential customer before closing a sale. By setting up an autoresponder and offering a free autoresponder course, you can completely automate a portion of your marketing efforts.Creating A CourseThe first step in creating an autoresponder course is to decide upon a subject. Your course should focus on a subject in which you have a great deal of knowledge and target your potential customers. Once you have selected your subject, you'll need to make a list of topics. Each topic will represent one lesson. If you have five topics, then you can offer your visitors a free 5-day course. If you have ten topics, then you can offer your visitors a free 10-day course and so on.Separate each of your topics into course lessons. Your first lesson should welcome your subscriber to your course and explain a little bit about what they are going to learn, followed by the first lesson.The key to creating a successful autoresponder course is to provide quality information that will be of interest to your target audience. Each daily topic must contain valuable information or your reader may decide to unsubscribe. In addition, make sure you include information in regard to your course such as the lesson number, lesson title, information about your products or services and highlights of the next lesson.Your course should identify a problem, provide advice in regard to solving the problem and provide the solution with your products or services. Keep in mind, your course should not be written like a sales letter. It must provide quality information written to teach and inform.Setting Up Your CourseAfter you've written your course, you'll need to transfer your text into an autoresponder. You can find free follow-up autoresponders here:http://www.getresponse.com/http://www.fastfacts.net/Sign up for a follow-up autoresponder and follow their instructions in regard to setting it up. Once you've gotten your autoresponder set up, your final step will be to place your course information on your web site. This will include a description of your course and a mailto link to your autoresponder.By offering your visitors a free autoresponder course, you are not only providing them with a great service, but you are also automating a portion of your marketing efforts. This form of free advertising can increase your sales considerably.
About the Author
Shelley Lowery is the Webmistress of Web-Source.net. Your Guide to Professional Web Site Design & Development. Subscribe to Syndicator Etips & receive articles just like this in your email. mailto:syndicator-subscribe@egroups.comhttp://www.web-source.net/

5 Winning Strategies For MLM Success

Copyright © 2005 Cutts Group, llc5 Winning Strategies For MLM Success1 Find Your NicheSure you want everyone to benefit from the opportunity for freedom you have to offer, but face it... not everyone has an interest in extracting themselves from their comfort zone. Successful MLM marketers are willing to step out on a limb, and to change themselves. No, it’s not for everyone.Who are the people most likely to be ripe for a change? Identify your prospects, and target your marketing strategies toward them. Don’t waste time and energy casting your pearls before the swine. Invest where it counts.2. Invest In Low Cost LeadsBigger isn’t always better, though we tend to think so! Small ads, postcards, and other low cost advertising methods are powerful advertising agents. They’re small, too the point and effective... generating a higher than average percentage of inquiries.Leads are crucial to MLM success. You don’t necessarily have to make the sale with the advertisments. Making contact is just as important. Your advertisement may simply direct them to your Website where you gather the contact information you need. 3. Stir Up DesireMost people have dreams tucked away deep inside. Many have lain dormant for many years. You never know who it is that will respond to your advertising campaign, but you can be sure that it’ll take an emotional connection to spark them to action.Emotional advertising is effective because it puts people in the seat of the purchaser, or in this case the MLM marketer. They get to feel the bonuses and freedom of financial success. They can experience the joy of being their own boss, with a few cleverly written words.4. Call To ActionThe best time to encourage a prospect to make a commitment is NOW. Immediate action is they key to claiming the sale or signing up a new member. Think about it... when procrastination takes part in the picture... nothing much gets accomplished. Sure, they’re going to get around to it someday, but usually someday never gets here.5. Follow UPWhat happens when a prospect doesn’t bite the first time you put the bait in front of them? Well, that’s pretty much up to you. They can sit around and eventually forget all about the offer you dangled in front of them. Or... you can keep a line of contact open that constantly reminds them of the opportunity that is just waiting for them to snatch up.Implement follow ups and you’ll increase your success rate by 50 percent. Check back every month for a while, then every 6 months. A lot can happen in life during a six month period. You never know just what changes might spur them into doing something else with their life... you want to be there for them at that perfect timeWho is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.allyncutts.com/ and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Copyright © 2005 Cutts Group, llc

Marketing your business with email is an art.It's very easy to get accused of spamming nowadays.Add to that the filters ISPs are using, and your messagemay not get through.If you do it right, email marketing can become a veryeffective method of marketing your business.Before you consider this method, there are three toolsI consider absolutely crucial to your success.1. Educate yourself.Get accused of spamming and you could destroy yourreputation forever.Learn everything you can about email marketing andimplement those strategies in your marketing campaign.Here are two sites you can use to educate yourself aboutemail marketing:Email Results - http://www.emailresults.com/ - This siteoffers a newsletter, a directory of lists, and plenty of articles.Email Education - http://www.emaileducation.com/ - Alsooffers articles to help you learn how to use email to marketyour business. You'll also get information on the latesttrends in email marketing as well as the latest news.2. Email Formatting UtilityOnce you've written your email, you want to make sure itlooks professional.Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Makesure it is easy to read.You can use this utility to format your emails to the rightwidth. It's not perfect, but it will save you plenty of timebecause you can format your text at different widths.Overall, it does a very good job.http://www.jbmckee.com/formatit/index.htm3. Anti-SpamBefore you send your message out, you want to check tomake sure it can get past the filters frequently used byISPs.There's a simple and easy way to check your message.SiteSell.com has created a new feature called Spam Check.Basically, you can send a your email as a test message andfind out how the filters rank it. Then, you can make changes toyour email before sending it to your list.http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/Email marketing is a time consuming process. Done right, itcan be a very lucrative tool in your marketing arsenal.These tools will help you make your email marketing efforts more
About the Author
Jinger Jarrett will show you "How to Really Start Your Business in30 Days". Get her free ecourse now. http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com/

3 Crucial Elements For Jumping Sales Numbers

Copyright © 2005 Cutts Group, llc3 Crucial Elements For Jumping Sales NumbersMarketers from every niche have common ground when it comes to bills. Yeah, every month there’s a new stack of bills demanding to be paid. Will there be enough profit to slide right through bill paying time without a flinch? Or do you find yourself fretting about whether you’ll even break even? You don’t have to be victimized by envelopes and 8x10 sheets of paper. Implement these 3 techniques to boost your sales. 1. Find More CustomersThe first thing that comes to mind when we think of making more money is getting more customers through our doors. In fact, the majority of advertising focuses on doing just that. There are several things you can do to entice more customers to buy from you.Implement Follow-UpsMarketing gurus have discovered that follow ups can increase your customer conversion rates by as much as 50%. Now, that’s a whopping improvement! Don’t let potential customers fade away. Keep the doors for future communication open, and watch the drastic growth in your profits.Encourage ReferralsEvery satisfied customer will tell 3 friends or family members about your business - without encouragement. Imagine what would happen if you start rewarding their efforts.Get Free PublicityNearly everyone keeps a sharp eye on the local news. Hey, it’s funner to know what’s going on when you personally recognize the names and faces in print! Find ways to make your business newsworthy and catch the attention of potential customers without even paying advertising fees.2. Sell More Per CustomerThink about it... how can you get every customer that walks through your doors to spend more money before walking back out the doors? Here are 3 sure-fire, profit increasing tips:Increase your prices.Hey, that might not be as bad as you think. Along with the price increase, focus on increasing the perceived value of your product. Yeah, we all expect to pay a little more for high quality stuff. Not everyone is bent on finding the absolute cheapest price in town... they may be more interested in lasting quality.Add some higher end products or services to your business.It’s never wise to put all of your eggs in one basket. That’s why wise marketers diversify their products and services. Think of it this way... higher priced products may not make as many sales, but each sale will bring in a much greater profit. You don’t need to make as many sales to come out on the best end of the deal.UpsellOffer every customer an additional product that accents his current purchase at the register. Hey, maybe they forgot they’d need batteries to go with the toy they're getting for their niece's birthday gift! You can be a hero... a richer hero.3. Sell More OftenThe fact that it’s easier to sell to the people who know and trust you is obvious. Sometimes we get so focused on new customers that we miss the gold mine in our own back yard. Take advantage of the hard work you’ve invested in winning the loyal customers you already have with these ideas:Create a Special Deal Show your customers you appreciate them and understand their needs with a special offer catered just for them. You’ll be thanking them, and selling more in the process.Add New ProductsIncrease the number of products you already have available - especially products that your customers have asked for. They’ll know that you’re looking out for them, and you’ll take their thanks to the bank.CommunicateResell yourself on a regular basis. Don’t forget to let them know about upcoming specials that they’ll appreciate. Most of all... keep selling them on the benefits of the products or services you offer.------------------------Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.allyncutts.com/ and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

10 Ways To Keep Visitors At Your Site Longer

The more time people spend at your web site, themore time you'll have to persuade them to buy yourproduct or service. Below are ten powerful ways tokeep visitors at your web site longer.1. Provide your web site visitors with content theycan't read anywhere else. People will stay longer atyour web site to read the original content.2. Remind your web site visitors they can print outyour content. They may browse around your onlinestore while it's printing.3. Offer your web site visitors a freebie if they takethe time to fill out your online survey. They'll be atthe site longer and might b.uy something afterwards.4. Offer your visitors free software that they candownload right from your web site. While they arewaiting they might read your ad.5. Provide a huge online directory of informationthat your visitors could search. The directory mustcontain information your visitors would want.6. Make sure all your web pages load fast or yourvisitors will leave fast. Time is precious; they won'twaste it waiting for your site to load.7. Tell your visitors what's offered at your web siteat the very beginning. If people are confused aboutwhat's being offered they may leave too early.8. Publish your web site professionally. People willget turned off and leave if they see a lot of spellingand grammar mistakes.9. Make your site text easy to read. Most peoplewon't strain their eyes trying to read text that is toosmall, light or bright.10. Use headlines and sub headlines all over youryour web site that will grab visitors attention. It willattract them to explore your web site longer.Quote of the Day:"Wisdom is the principal thing;Therefore get wisdom.And in all your getting, get understanding." -- Proverbs 4:7
About the Author
Eugenijus Sakalauskas is an established ezine publisherand direct marketer who specializes in developing new ideas and methods on Website Marketing & Home Business SecretsGet FREE infomailto:pluginnetproefit@getresponse.comSupport:support@pluginnetproefit.com

10 Secrets To Improving Your Website's Conversion Ratio

According to the so-called experts, a decent conversion ratio is right around one percent. In other words, one out of every one hundred visitors to your website converts to a sale.Personally, I think you should ignore what the experts say, and strive to achieve as high a conversion ratio as possible. You should never be satisfied. You should always be looking for ways to improve your conversion ratio. My website consistently converts anywhere from 3 to 5 percent, and often converts as high as ten percent! Unless you're selling a big-ticket item and making $100 or more per sale, it's extremely difficult to make any real money with only a one percent conversion ratio.Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and if your website is attracting hundreds or even thousands of visitors a day, then obviously you can do quite well with a one percent or lower conversion ratio. But what if you don't have that kind of traffic--and most websites don't. Then what? What if you're selling a $20 e-book and you're only attracting a hundred visitors a day to your website? With a one percent conversion ratio, that means your website is making a measly $20 a day. And believe me, that's much more common than you realize.However, what if you could improve your conversion ratio to 3 percent? 5 percent? All of a sudden, you're making $60 to $100 a day with the same amount of traffic. Improve your conversion ratio to ten percent and voila, that $100 a day turns into $200 a day! So, how do you go about improving your website's conversion ratio? Here are some tips that should help: 1. Make sure your visitors know what you do, the instant they land on your website. Don't make them have to guess. Tell them right up front with a benefits-laden headline.2. Make sure the design of your website is up to par? Make it easy to navigate. Get rid of distracting flash or stupid, meaningless graphics that are a waste of everybody's time and take forever to load? Simplify your website. Get rid of the flash, graphics and pop-ups!3. Use psychologically effective colors. The color blue suggests quality, trustworthiness, success, seriousness, calmness--the perfect choice for sales pages. Avoid purple, which connotes uncertainty and ambiguity, and only use yellow to highlight key words and phrases. In addition, try to have as much white space as possible. This makes for a much cleaner looking, easier to read website.4. Get your own domain name. URL's that contain names like, "Geocities", "Angelfire" or "Tripod" have amateur written all over them.5. Prove what you say. Back up your claims with cold, hard, indisputable and verifiable facts? 6. Put your name, telephone number and street address on your website? 7. Use authentic customer testimonials, complete with first and last names? Just make sure you get your customers permission first.8. Offer a fair and reasonable money-back guarantee? Thirty days is good. Sixty or ninety days is better!9. Make it easy for your customers to pay. And offer a variety of payment options. I can assure you, if you're using Paypal only, you're losing sales. There are a lot of people out there, myself included, that just won't do business with Paypal. It's too much of a hassle!10. And last but not least, make sure you have a powerful sales letter. A strong and effective sales letter can blast your earnings into the upper stratosphere!If you aren't capable of writing that type of sales letter yourself, hire a copywriting expert to write it for you.
About the Author
Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.netVisit his website at: http://www.lets-make-money.net/