Last November, I was jumping up and down absolutely excited
about my new idea. I was going to create a web site filled with
articles, links and resources on just about any topic you could
imagine. This way no matter who finds my site and for whatever
reason they click on it, I will always make money, right?
So, I spent time collecting and writing articles on health,
beauty, business, finance, insurance, parenting, and computers,
joined a gazillion of affiliate programs for each topic and
finally launched my HelpingFoot.com.
Three months later I made exactly zero income! I wrote to
several e-zine publishers asking for advice. They told me my web
site has too much to offer - visitors just don't know where to
start, and what direction to go.
"Yeah, right", I thought. "What do they know? After all, with so
many articles and resources my visitors will surely find
something to do!"
I was terribly wrong, and I am glad I realized it before wasting
more of my time. I had to do something to make this site
profitable. But what?
I re-designed my HelpingFoot.com completely. But first I asked
myself what I want my visitors to do: order my products? sign-up
for my newsletter? read articles? visit my web forum?
You see, when you know exactly what you want your visitors to
accomplish on their first visit, you are more likely to come up
with a good design.
Since I already had two other web sites devoted to direct
selling, I decided to use this one entirely for opt-in mailing
list by capturing my visitors' e-mails.
1) I removed all the links to irrelevant articles and focused
the entire site around web design for beginners. 2) Those old
articles are still there (hey, they generated a lot of general
traffic from the Search Engines!), but are not linked to from
the homepage.
3) I created a small pop-up window that asks for my visitors
e-mails
4) Placed a sign-up form right on my home page, and linked to
another page called "free newsletter" in case my visitors come
from a page other than my home page.
5) I have also created an attractive cartoonish logo for my
newsletter.
6) Every past issue of my newsletter includes a sign up form at
the bottom so people can subscribe right after reading it.
Can you guess what happened?
The number of people signing up for my newsletter tripled! I
went from 20 subscriptions a week to 60 - in just a few days.
This means that every month my list will grow by approximately
240 people! And every self-respecting successful marketer has a
growing list to announce new products and offers, test marketing
strategies, and develop a close relationship with their
subscribers.
Now, if I wanted to make my web design forum as the main focus
of HelpingFoot.com, for example, I would emphasize it right on
the home page: with graphics, links and incentives.
So, ask yourself now: what is my "Most Wanted Response"? Then
make sure your entire web site is centered around this goal.
With the right amount of quality traffic, I guarantee you will
accomplish that goal.
About the author:
Milana Nastetskaya is a full time web and the author of two
books: "Create Your First Busines Web Site in 10 days" and "65
Instant Web Design Answers". http://www.firstbusinesswebsite.com
http://www.instantwebanswers.com
