12 Website Rules To Make You More Money
OK, you can start laughing now if you like, but I want to talk about some site design basics. If you look at this site, I am currently breaking about 5 out of the 10 Website rules and I just want to let you know that I am aware of that and I am in the process of changing them this week. Actually this site will go from kind of what not to do, to what to do. I mean seriously, this is site is at least a 50% poster child for what not to do on a site and the other 50% is what to do on a site. And ultimately that is OK, because it happens with many people that are busy running their business. Perhaps this even happened with you.
The short reason why is that in spite of this site, I have been so busy I have not had time to come back and fix it. Just goes to show you that Rule number ONE trumps all of the other rules though.
Well, I am going to list the Rules here and then will go over each in a separate post. Some of these you may find a bit counterintuitive and as I said, I have not followed all of them on this sight but will do so over the next few weeks or so and show you the how and why while doing it.
Well let”s get started here.
The Top 12 Website Rules To Make More Money
- Get your site up and make it public. Well, while this might seem like a no brainer but, even and ugly website that people can find is better than no website at all. Seriously with over 60% of businesses in the US not having any Web presence whatsoever, this is kind of funny but on the other hand not.
- Make sure people know where they have landed and let them get a good idea as to what you do in 5 seconds or less. If people struggle to figure out what you do, then they will not hang around your site to ever purchase whatever it is that you are selling.
- Keep it about them and not you. People come to your site to solve a problem or be entertained period. Help make it easy for them to let them know that you have the answers in either case. This actually may one of the most important things that most people and Websites over look and forget. I have some great stories from a conference I was attending in LA last year that will help illustrate my point about this. In the meantime think about it. If you are looking for a part for your dishwasher, do you really care about the a fancy name and logo on a website or the one that says, “we have the right part to fix your dishwasher today at a great price”?
- Use Pictures, Graphics and Videos To Anchor Your Information. This is especially true not only throughout your site but in your Blogs. Nearly every post should have a graphics anchor.
- Use Videos to convey your messages. A 1 minute video can get your message across more effectively than 20 minutes of reading.
- Make your site easy to navigate and figure out what you want to accomplish with each post and page. Don’t be greedy, figure out the one thing you want your customer to do there. This might be signing up for your mailing list or newsletter. It might be leaving a comment or buying something from you.
- Do not put in Pop-Ups and (excuse my French), other annoying crap on your Website. While this may payoff in the short-term, you will end up loosing customers in the long-term and you come off looking like a rank amateur or a sleazeball or both. If I see one on a site where I have to opt out to change pages. I figure out who their competition is and buy from them just on principal. Now this is OK to do during checkout for up-sells, but not when people are just coming to your site. Big time no no.
- Be true to your core values be it your company or yourself. Do not try to be anything else. Let your character and your values come through on your site. It may turn some off , but you will more than make up for it by attracting a loyal clientele.
- This one is a big one. Make sure that there is an easy way for people to contact you. Be it a contact page, phone, Skype, or Instant Messages. Whatever it is, make it easy!
- Finally, keep your website simple and make sure you have a Blog. Your Blog can drive more traffic than you ever imagined and you need to make sure you update it at least once a week, if not more.
- Make sure you give people a way to opt-in to your mailing list. This will be one of the keys to your success, by building your list of prospects.
- People only do things from one of two reasons. To move Toward Something, Or To Move Away From Something. Make sure you appeal to both types of people. Interestingly there is a 50/50 mix of people out there yet 99% of most Websites only market toward the Move Toward People. More on this concept later. It is very, very powerful. If you don’t want your Website to fail as things get tighter, you need to know how to do this effectively. I will have a lot more informaiton on this in the near further.
Also, look for big changes here and a laser focus on what you will see on 21to21.com site soon. Plus, I am going to show you the easiest, fastest, most cost effective way to build a world class website even if you have Zero website building experience and the only technical skill you have is to be able to check your email. I got my hands on a Beta Test piece of software that I feel may very well change how Profitable Websites are built. Be they small or large scales sites. This thing really rocks.
And last but not least, if you are not using WordPress for your website, you are going to be lost in the dust. I have tried HTML, Drupal, Joomla, and a host of other ways to put your Website together and they all pale in comparison to what you can accomplish with WordPress. I will be post a lot more info on how to use WordPress to put more money in your pocket in 2010.
Cheers,
Andrew Anderson