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The Right Changes to Optimize Your Website’s Effectiveness

Small Changes Can Mean Big Results

Let’s face it. When we get our website all set up and look at it a thousand times, it’s easy to get complacent and not really view things with a critical eye. But it really is amazing how a few tweaks here and there can make a world of difference in your visitor retention, mailing list sign-ups and ultimately, your conversion rates.

That’s not to say that you have to constantly be changing and obsessing over the state of your website. In fact, constantly changing things can end up confusing your regular visitors and it also makes it difficult for you to track the results of the changes you’ve made.

Over the next several weeks, we’ll give you a number of easy-to-apply strategies for simple changes that can make big improvements to your website’s performance.

STRATEGY #1 : Understand Your Website’s Purpose First

There are different types of websites (online stores, sales letters, opt-in pages, blogs, message boards, etc.) and they all serve a different marketing purpose. You need to define your website’s main purpose to ensure that it is serving your ultimate goal.

Some of your goals might be:

q  To sell a product (ex. online store, sales letter) or your own services

q  To get a mailing list / newsletter sign up (ex. opt-in page)

q  To develop a closer ongoing connection with a target audience (ex. blog)

q  To get people to click links (ex. affiliate content sites, Adsense sites)

Your website may have one main goal and a secondary goal as well. For example, if you have a sales letter website, you’re first goal is to get the sale, but you also probably include an opportunity to opt-in to your newsletter as well so you can keep in touch with those that don’t buy the first time.

Your goal is to ensure that your website is working toward this goal at all times and where possible, remove distractions that take away from that goal. More on that a little later…

How to Create an Engaging Video

It's sad but true: There are literally billions of other videos, audios, images, and articles competing for your target market's attention. If your video is boring, nobody (except maybe you mother) is going to want to watch it. When creating a video for your business audience you must engage them or your efforts will fall completely flat.

Creating effective, engaging videos may take you time and practice, especially if you don't feel particularly at ease in front of the camera. These tips can help you on your way to effective video marketing:

Engaging Video Tip #1: Know Your Market

Your target market has similar interests, issues and problems. By knowing, understanding and listening to your target market, you're automatically speaking in their language and appealing to their interests. That makes you engaging!

Engaging Video Tip #2: Keep Your Energy High

If someone is an energetic, charismatic speaker, they could read the phone book aloud and make it sound good. People respond to excitement, so make sure yours is high. You don't want to over-hype it, but imagine you're talking to a group of kindergarteners and have to work extra-hard to keep their attention. Our ears are trained to pick up on change, so give your voice inflection and enthusiasm, varying its pitch and loudness.

Engaging Video Tip #3: Using Effects

Our eyes are drawn to bright colors, beautiful images and motion. See how you can incorporate these elements in your intro and closing. Watch a few videos on Youtube.com to see what captures your attention, and model what works for you.

Engaging Video Tip #4: Eye Contact

One of the most important aspects of person-to-person presentation is eye contact. Talk to the camera like it's a person, a valuable potential client or a friend. Be natural, be real and be yourself. Again, this may take some practice but you'll get it. When you get good at making eye contact you will be well on your way to establishing valuable relationships with your potential audience.

Engaging Video Tip #5: Prepare

You might be one of those rare people with the gift of gab, shooting off a polished presentation with no preparation. If you are, great. If not, then you'll need to prepare to make sure you say what you want to say in your video and get you key messages across. Don't forget to include your call to action so your audience knows exactly what to do after they've finished watching the video.

Creating an engaging video takes work. However, it's well worth the effort as your video will be working for you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for many, many years to come.

Expand Your Skills & Your Business at Live Events

They say that you can’t teach old dog new tricks, but you can teach them something new about business. Okay, so the last part is made up but there is truth to it. There are new things about business that are best learned in person at live events.

Live events have so many opportunities, that you almost have to be wearing track shoes to get around to taking advantage of them all. One plus in particular is learning new business techniques. There is not a single person (and that applies to gurus as well) who couldn’t stand to learn a thing or two. In fact, they will probably be the first ones in line.

The person who has stopped learning has also stopped growing. The only limits that are placed on your business are self-imposed. The Internet is a wealth of knowledge for the one who can access it, but did you ever stop to think where that knowledge was received?

At least some of it was gained at live business events. Here, you are exposed not only to people who can expand on marketing techniques that you currently utilize, but also individuals who have found new ways to harness business power.

Stop and think for a moment. Those who host these events are looking for the best and the brightest to entice you to come. These people prove time and time again that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to business.

In case you didn’t know or haven’t thought about it in a while, here are a few things you can take part in and learn from at live events:

1. Brainstorming sessions – Imagine the energy in the room when hundreds of entrepreneurs get together at tables to discuss new ways to improve each others’ businesses? Be sure to take copious notes to refer to later and get the names of everyone at the table.
2. Visit the vendor area – This is an opportunity for businesses to highlight their products and services. You can learn about new programs computer programs, business software and get to demo items right there on site.
3. Keep all materials given to you – Within the pages of those handouts are vital information. Speakers may lay out for you how they go about promoting new products, implement new programs and techniques and list online resources for you. You may want to bring a tote bag or a briefcase to hold everything you will get so it is easier to reference later.

Attend live events with an open mind. Be ready to expect the unexpected and get immersed into business techniques you haven’t tried before.

How to Start a Blog for Profit

An online presence is important these days for whatever enterprise you engage in. to connect with a wide variety of people there is no bigger forum than the Internet. If you are looking for a way to show off your expertise and also make a little money while doing it, consider starting a blog.

What is a Blog?

A blog is actually an online journal of sorts. With a blog you can upload daily posts about anything that you want. Some people create personal blogs as a way to keep in touch with family members. Pictures, videos and other information are uploaded so your loved ones are current with what is going on with you.

But here we are going to talk about business blogs. This is a blog that you begin to attract traffic in order to sell products or services. To be interesting to others, your blog will need to:

•    Have interesting, new, useful content for visitors
•    Be marketed to draw traffic
•    Register with search engines so it can be found in the rankings

How to Start

If you are new to blogging, use a free blogging platform to get your feet wet. Sites like Blogger.com, WordPress.org, Blogspot.com and others offer free blogs to users. Depending on the site you choose, the themes and plug-ins (added features) will vary. Most will walk you through the process step by step so that you can be up and running in no time.

Before you start posting, decide what will be the theme, or niche of your blog. A jack-of-all-trades type of blog doesn’t do as well as one that is geared towards a certain niche (think 'big fish, small pond'). If you like crafts, that can be your niche. Create posts that talk about how to craft, what to craft, how to make crafting profitable and so on. Once you have decided on a path, it is time to create that great content.

How to Make Money

In order to make money with your blog, you need to have people visiting it. That is where marketing comes in. To draw traffic you have to get the word out about your blog. Tell all of your friends and family members that you are online with your blog is a start but you will need to go much farther than that to be profitable.

Any money-making venture will take place once you have built your readership with interesting posts. Then you can put into play a number of profitable additions:

•    Google AdSense
•    Selling Advertising
•    Affiliate Marketing
•    EBook Marketing

The simplest one to pursue is Google AdSense. You are using targeted advertisements to create revenue for your blog. You are paid per clicks on the ads.

There are other options where you can get paid when someone makes a sale on that website. That is more likely to happen when you join an affiliate program. Join affiliate programs that work well with your website niche.

EBooks are short downloadable electronic books that you can create yourself and sell on your website. They can be on a variety of subjects but in order for them to sell, you must be able to offer new information to your customers.

Blogs can be used to build revenue. Start with your chosen niche and market your blog to find the traffic you need. Then, utilize these ideas to turn a profit.