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Sunday, October 22 2006

1. Is your site appealing to all your markets?

Do you have different potential buyers for different aspects of your products and services? Is there content on your site that's designed for each of these? Have you considered whether your Web audience might be different from your traditional markets, and if so, whether you can exploit that?

2. Does your content engage your visitors?

Your site should be written from your visitors' point of view, not yours. Does your home page clearly recognize why the reader might be there - what's in it for them, and why they should care? What are the problems or issues that they might have, and how will you solve them?

3. Do you make your case?

If you claim that your products or services achieve results, do you have clear content on your site that substantiates this? Do you have case studies, sample client lists, and testimonials from happy customers? Third party endorsements are worth far more than your own promotional text, and they should be spread throughout your site, not relegated to a separate page that few visitors will go to.

4. Do you position yourself as an expert?

One of the most effective ways to get exposure is to publish articles, and white papers around your area of expertise. Even if you sell widgets, you can help people get the most out of using them! Articles on your site will be picked up by the search engines, and you can also offer them to publications that your target markets read - always with a link back, or reference to your site, of course.

5. Do you ask for the business?

Whatever the outcomes that you want from your site, you need to ask for it. Too many Web pages end weakly, with no clear calls to action. Don't make your visitors have to work to decide what to do next - they won't! Every page on your site should have a strategy - invite the visitor to interact with you, or go to the next page, but make it easy and obvious.

6. Do you have a diversified promotional strategy?

Don't depend on free search engines to get you traffic. Are you exploring other ways of promoting your site - such as using your content and articles, advertising in e-zines, appending a signature file to your e-mail, regularly sending updates to your database, and ensuring that your traditional marketing is integrated with your online activities?

7. Are you reviewing your traffic analysis?

Last, but really key - your Website traffic reports will tell you what's working and what isn't. Without this information, you're really shooting in the dark - what if you were to find that the majority of your hard-earned visitors never go beyond your home page?

This isn't an exhaustive list, but it's a good start. I hope that your Web site passes the test!

Posted by: Growing Your Business In Cyberspace by guest author Mark Sincevich. AT 09:46 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email

 

Email Marketing Done Right - We've been lied to - It's not all about the "Open",...initially

Toyota & GMC; Preferred Vendor- Marketing & Eccomerce

What emails yield the highest open rates, and which are relevant to your campaigns success? 
Let's begin by addressing the "Open".
It's not enough to get the email solicitation (for lack of a better word... perhaps informational piece? Nah.. we all know it's a solicitation... 

Any email deployment company can promise high open rates, but if they aren't opening the message for the right reason it will yield limited results. We have tested this time and again. 

Example Market Test: 

We deploy an email campaign with the subject line: "What do you think of Candi's new Bikini?", and yield an impressive 15% track-able open rate. Not bad ... if that's my only goal... We'll call that subject line "A". 

We launch another email to the same business prospect list, this time with the subject line "B"; "Dealers add profit with Security System Installs". "B" yields a mere 2.5% open rate... but wait...

Now you may think the first subject line is the way to go, however let me share further results...

Test Subject line "A" received 5 click-throughs to the landing page with further details and order options.

Test Subject line "B" received 200 click-throughs to the landing page with further details and order options 

The question is.. what are we trying to sell? Security Systems? or "Pictures of girls in Bikinis"...
Which yielded the best return?.... 

The fact is, "it's not all about open rates"... It's about relevancy. Now.., what could we do with the contact records of those who "Opened" our email based on a relevant Subject Line?.... We now know they are in the market or have a need or interest in what we have to offer, based on the fact that they opened, our relevant subject line... and what could we do with the contact records... the knowledge of which business prospect took further action; i.e. clicked through, based on that 'relevant" subject line?

This leads me to the final word in my headline...'initially"... Once an email is opened based on a relevant subject line....action was taken (click through), the highest yielding "OPEN", on an outbound email marketing lead generating initiative is the "follow-up" email to those recipients who opened and read your initial email based on a relevant subject line. We've seen anywhere from 35% clear up to 65% open rates on follow up letters... Now how could this change your prospecting efforts?