YOU DON’T MAKE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE WHEN THEY ORDER
Remind people that they are ordering through a SECURE server. Tell them you won’t sell their e-mail address and all their information will be kept confidential.

YOU DON’T MAKE YOUR AD COPY ATTRACTIVE
Your ad lists features instead of BENEFITS. The headline does not attract at your target audience. You don’t list any testimonials or guarantees included in your ad.

YOU DON’T REMIND PEOPLE TO COME BACK AND VISIT
People usually don’t purchase the FIRST time they visit. The more times they visit your site, the greater the chance they will buy. The most effective way is to give them a free subscription to your e-zine.

YOU DON’T LET PEOPLE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS
They will feel more comfortable if they know WHOM they are buying from. Publish a section called “About Us” on your web site. Include your business history, profile of employees, contact information etc.

YOU DON’T GIVE PEOPLE AS MANY ORDERING OPTIONS AS POSSIBLE
Accept credit cards, checks, money orders, and other forms of electronic payments. Take orders by phone, e-mail, web site, fax, mail, etc. Include ALL possible options.

YOU DON’T MAKE YOUR WEB SITE LOOK PROFESSIONAL
You want to have your own domain name. Your web site should be easy to navigate through. The graphics should be related to the THEME of your web site.

YOU DON’T LET PEOPLE READ YOUR AD BEFORE THEY GET YOUR FREEBIE
When you use free stuff to lure people to your web site include it BELOW your ad copy or on another web page. If you list the freebie above your ad they may never look to see what you’re selling.

YOU DON’T ATTRACT THE RIGHT TARGET AUDIENCE
A simple way to do this is to SURVEY your existing customers to see what attracted them to buy. This information will help you improve your target marketing and advertising.

YOU DON’T TEST AND IMPROVE YOUR AD COPY
There are many people who write an ad copy and never CHANGE it. You have to continually test and improve your ad copy to get the highest possible response rate.

YOU DON’T GIVE PEOPLE ANY URGENCY TO BUY NOW
Many people are interested in your product but they put off buying it till later and eventually FORGET about it. Entice them to buy now with a freebie or discount and include a deadline date when the offer ends.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Chris Rohrer has been working online for over 3 years, and has been helping people make extra money working online. To learn more about Chris and how he can help you visit Home Based Business Success at http://www.arbtrader.net/.

ARTICLE SOURCE:
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Enjoy!

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by Adam Urbanski

I’m always amazed that people would spend months to develop their web site, pay thousands of dollars to have it put together and then… they just let it sit in the cyber space - completely useless and not earning its keep!

Listen, if you hired a sales person for your business and they didn’t perform what would you do? You would fire them faster then they could say “but, I tried”, wouldn’t you? So why do you put up with a web site that doesn’t sell?

Right now I can hear you scream “but I don’t know what to do!” Let me share with you five simple tweaks you can do today to make your web site give your more bang for your buck.

1. Collect Contact Information.

Typically, when I meet potential new clients within the first 30 seconds they spontaneously whip out their wallets, hold up their check books and yell out “I want to buy your stuff right now!” Then I usually wake up!

In real life it takes multiple contacts to entice someone to give me some of their hard earned dough! But how can you contact them if you don’t know who they are?

Use your prime “cyber real estate” (the top part of your web site people see before they even scroll down) to convince your visitors to willingly give you their name and email address.

Call your web person right now and tell them to place a “sign-up” form of some sort on your home page. (OK, wait till you finish reading this article – so you can take care of all the changes with one call.)

2. Make Your Site Load Fast!

Do you have a lot of flashing buttons, rotating graphics, or worse – do you still have that “cool” flash intro guarding access to your web site? Hey there is a place for all this stuff on the internet – but it’s not on your web site.

Most people will only wait a few seconds for your web site to display on their screen. If it doesn’t - they will move on and never come back!

Unless the graphics communicate an important point about your product or service – get rid of them. And listen – the nineties are gone – step into the 21st century and kill your “cool” flash intro.

3. Use Effective Page Titles.

Are you speaking in riddles? Unless you’re trying to compete with Harry Potter for creativity - I suggest you open each web page with headlines that entice visitors to take the time to read more.

Here are a couple of examples:

Would you rather read “about our services” or how “an ex-baker turned millionaire reveals his marketing secrets”?

How about this – which headline would pick your interest more – “collateral design” or “does your marketing material communicate your message”?

Don’t make people guess what they are about to read – believe me, they won’t take the time. Say it in simple language. Take a look at your web site – does each page have an effective headline? If not – fix it.

4. Don’t Hide The Goodies!

The famous WIIFM (what’s in it for me) has become such a cliché, but it’s so true! Recently I read about a Japanese publisher of a man’s magazine who produced an entire issue using only photographs of attractive women and “blah, blah, blah” as the text for all the titles and articles.

What’s the point? Come on, do you think guys buy those magazines for the deep, thought provoking articles? Conversely, do you think your potential clients come to your web site to read your dissertation about “what is coaching” or “our consulting philosophy”?

Your web visitors want to know how they can solve their problems and if you can help them do it. Don’t hide this stuff where no one can find it.

Highlight the benefits your product or service offers. Make it easy to find your informative articles. Present case studies. Allow them to download simple guides, forms or assessments. Provide links to more resources. Make yourself useful and they will reward you with their business.

5. Build Credibility.

We all like to do business with people we know, like and trust. So how do you do make people feel like they know you and can trust you just by visiting your web site? Here are a few things that will give your credibility a boost:

–Use testimonials. When you tout your own horn people question your information. But a positive comment from a past client can instantly build your credibility.

–Display your contact information on every page. Don’t hide behind an email address. Tell people where and how to find you. List your address and phone number. People are more likely to do business with you if they know how to find you if something goes wrong.

–Display case studies and articles. They provide useful information and build you up as an authority on the subject.

–Post pictures of you and your key team members. You can post your bio but looking at your picture makes people feel like they actually know you. I can’t tell you how many times I run into people whom I’ve never met before and they feel like they’ve known me for years – because they’ve seen me on my web site.

There is a lot more tweaking that could turn your web site into a client magnet. But these five will give you a good start. OK, now you can call your web person!

(c) 2004 Adam M. Urbanski

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam Urbanski, the Marketing Mentor, helps Independent Service Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more promotional tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to http://www.themarketingmentors.com

Enjoy!

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Does Your Logo Draw or Repel Clients? How Can You Know? What Can You Do?

You walk into a room full of strangers. Your eyes scan the room briefly. You choose someone who feels likely to connect with you and walk over.

What has happened here? How do you know who to talk to? The usual term is “sizing up” and those who are good at it prosper in their business pursuits. In this sizing up process we rely on our intuition, our “gut feelings” more often than not. But what causes these gut feelings?

The Beach Boys weren’t wrong when they sang about Good Vibrations. Scientists have discovered the molecules of our bodies send out vibrations. We have the ability to sense the vibrations other people give off, even from across a crowded room. We respond to people whose vibrations are similar to ours.

Marketing materials also send out vibrations we judge subconsciously, and all of these subconscious judgments are made on an emotional level.

Don’t believe it? Try this experiment:

Take out a bunch of other people’s business cards, or the next time you are in a networking group, gather the business cards and look at them, one by one. Don’t read the writing on them. What is your gut reaction to the colors, the design and the logo? How do they make you feel? You will like the designs that resonate with your own vibrational level.

Why the Wrong Logo Will Cost You Clients.

Now the big question is how does your business card feel to other people? What about your website? Are they sending out the right vibrations to resonate with the kind of clients you want?

A business person naturally wants clients who will resonate with them because this resonance will bring increased business, but often a business card or website doesn’t quite “click” with the vision of the business owner. When there is an incongruity, say as an extreme example, a spa specializing in relaxation has a blood red spiky logo on their card and website. The difference will actually grate on the nerves. Our “gut” will tell us something’s not right, and although it may not be a conscious decision, we will not trust that business. We won’t want to do business there.

Usually the difference is much more subtle than our example. Sometimes you are sending out a certain vibration, but your business card is sending another. The incongruence will cause the potential client to distrust you.

An Unusual Pairing: A Therapist and a Graphic Design Artist Working Together Increase Their Clients’ Business.

Ania Brandysiewicz developed Isedo Therapy which is an intuitive method of emotional balancing. As her clients became more balanced, more in touch with their inner vision, their fears gone, they became more creative and effective. A side effect of this emotional balancing was their businesses suddenly started taking off. They gained new clients who were more in line with their business’ vision.

But because their marketing materials reflected their old selves, they actually became a detriment to the business. There was an incongruence between what was presented to their clients and who they were inside.

Tania von Allmen is a graphic design artist who has created over 1500 national and international business identities.

They had a mutual client who would see Ania and let go of the fears and negative beliefs holding her back from success. Then she would go to Tania to try to get her marketing materials to reflect her new identity. She would bounce back and forth between them like a ping pong ball.

Finally they got together and designed a new logo and website which truly reflected her inner self. As Sheryl McKeown, owner of The Accountables says, “I started doing personal work with Ania. My identity changed and it started to be obvious to other people. But my marketing materials didn’t match my new identity. My logo was reflecting not who I was, but how I wanted to be seen. My new logo changed who started showing up at my door. I was being more from my heart. I was not ready for and was surprised at how quickly my business started growing. I was like a magnet.”

Ania and Tania joined forces and started A Plus T Consulting. With Ania working on changing the inner beliefs that are holding their clients back, Tania then comes up with marketing materials which truly reflect their new selves. Their clients have said, “They tap the essence of a business and create a visual image of that essence.” Gary Yates, Clarity Technologies. “Ania gets you to talk and Tania develops what you say. It was unique, innovative, empowering and made me feel proud of who I am and my business.” Anita Radosevich, Career Ladders.

Is Your Logo Sending the Right Message?

How to Find Out.

Have you ever met someone and instantly you think, “I don’t know what it is, but something about that guy just isn’t right. It doesn’t jive.” That person is trying to show you an image of himself and not what is really inside. You sense the disconnect between the image and the real and it makes you uncomfortable.

Now think of your logo and advertising designs. Quite often an advertising agency or marketer will design a logo for you that is really slick. It’s sharp. It looks really professional and Madison Avenue. However, if those designs reflect an “image” only, you will attract picky, perfectionist people; people who feel something is missing and not someone who resonates with the real you. There will be a disconnect between you and the clients you want to come.

Ask the Right Question.

To see if your marketing materials are attracting who you want, you have to determine just what kind of customers you want to see walking through your door. Picture your favorite client. They are probably your favorite because you have a resonance, you are vibrating on the same frequency, you have the same outlook on life. This is the type person you want to call you.

There is an easy way to test out your logo and designs. Show your business card, or if you can your logo without all of the contact information, to some non-biased people. Someone who will tell you what they think, not what they think you want to hear. Especially show it to your favorite customers.

Now, the trick is to not ask them what they think. You will hear how pretty it is, or slick, or they like that color. What you want to know is how it makes them feel.

If the owner of the imaginary spa mentioned above asked people what they thought of that red spiky logo, many might have said, “It’s really eye-catching,” or “it’s bold.” But if she asked them how it makes them feel, she would hear, “edgy, excited, stirred up.” She definitely would not want to attract customers who will expect that kind of experience.

You vs. the Image.

It is common in our society to show a different face to the world, to project an image we think will make us or our businesses more popular. Politicians and celebrities often do this.

We are afraid if people saw the “real” us, it wouldn’t be good enough. These are the limiting fears and beliefs that will keep us from prospering. We design our marketing materials to reflect the image and not our true selves. This causes the disconnected feeling that repels the clients who would actually resonate with us.

Being authentic, conducting business from the heart brings amazing results. The amount of people attracted to this type of honesty and open-ness is astounding.

Experiment. Try it for one day. Talk to your customers from your heart, not trying to put on a mask. Be completely yourself.

Then, after you see the tremendous results, you can design your logo and marketing materials to reflect the true you. You will attract your perfect new clients eager to do business with you and not the image.

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