“So, you want a website that looks like…. ?”
I often meet with people who want their websites to look “…like this person’s website” or “…like that person’s website”. They’re impressed with the “look” of a particular website and they just can’t get past that as a priority.
I usually try to show them that even though the website they want to copy is “pretty”, it’s not the “pretty” part that makes them the money!
My favourite saying in this situation is, “People don’t buy the graphics, photos or images you use on your website, they buy the product you’re selling.”
Whether you have a pretty looking website or an average looking website, people will only buy from you if you can get your message across to them. “Pretty” doesn’t help much at all. What counts is good copywriting and a webpage structure that has meaningful strategy and/or methodology behind it.
In fact, it’s only good copywriting and proper page structure that makes you money. Without them, you’ll sit there, you’ll look at your website and you’ll forever wonder why nothing’s happening!
You know, even when I explain this in depth, people often still can’t accept it.
I can see their argument. I even agree to an extent. I want my website to look good too.
But my highest priority is my total Marketing effort. You should never forget, particularly when it comes to websites, that…
MARKETING IS KING!
Marketing is the total of the activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, and includes advertising, shipping, storing, selling and much else. My software automates a great many aspects of marketing, particularly for digital products. All you really need do is supply a good product, create great copy and define a pathway for the buyer to easily follow to conclude the sale.
It‘s a simple fact that as a business owner, my graphics and pretty pictures are way down the priority list and they and my website can’t stay up on the net if they don’t make me money. Do I really want to be the proud owner of a business with a hobby website? A website I can play with all I like – but one that doesn’t make me money?
OK. So what works best?
I’ve seen many websites do all sorts of things in an effort to turn visitors into buyers. After 7 years and the production of many successful websites, after studying the experts as hard as I can, I now have a laser-like focus on achieving the real purpose of a commercial website. So I’m not involved in website plastic surgery. I don’t do cosmetic make-overs. I focus on helping people make money on the internet. After all, that’s why you bought my software, isn’t it?
So let’s get right down to it! Out of all the ways I have seen websites make money, here is my recommended approach:
1. Home Page/Landing Page
· Simple Header with Website Address and/or Business Name
· Very, very, very good Headline
· Great and very entertaining copywriting
· None, or as few as possible, distractions to the buyer. Don’t give choices to click on to leave the Webpage (sometimes this is not practicable but it’s very preferable)
· Button that says something like “Get Free Instant Access” or “Download Now” or “Get Free Report” or “Buy Now” – a button that is very easy to see.
· If offering a Free Report or something Free (GREAT IDEA), then be sure to collect their email address. NEVER EVER provide something for free without getting a Name and Email Address. (Optional – long page sales copy does work as long as it is Interesting and Informative (not Boring) ).
2. Create “After Subscribe to Newsletter” and “After Payment at Checkout” Pages
· These pages “daisy-chain” any additional products or complimentary products from other people that you have a joint-venture or affiliate link with.
· Use the same principles as the Home/Landing page.
3. Start sending Auto Responder emails to people who have purchased or subscribed or downloaded your Free Item on offer.
· Make sure your emails have a personal tone to them and are written in conversational speech rather than what you were taught was right in traditional/conservative business communications.
· Write controversially. You might be blunt and even opinionated. It can be EXACTLY what people want to read. In fact even if what you write may “peeve” some people, it’s one of the best ways to get attention, get traffic to your website and it’s a sure way for people to be forwarding your emails to other people.
So there are my THREE MAJOR HINTS TO CREATE A WEBPAGE THAT MAKES MONEY. They contain some VITAL and IMPORTANT information as to what will work for you!
This information is genuinely GOOD ADVICE. In fact, making marketing the key to your efforts is so important, I cannot say enough about it. So I’ll put the above points again in a different light.
People tell me they want their website to look like so and so’s (‘cos it’s pretty). After the website has been built for them and they find it doesn’t work, they’ll blame someone else (the website builder usually).
They don’t want to hear that they’re getting THE SAME RESULTS AS THE ORIGINAL WEBSITE!!
I don’t have a problem with the copying, as it’s not really plagiarism. It’s the NO RESULTS part that gets me! Why would you copy a website that doesn’t get results? People are so used to seeing great websites that do not make money that they actually think they work! And there are millions of them.
So when I put marketing first, as I do, they get uneasy and say, “So and so has not got a website like that and I hate those long pages of sales!”
Well I had the same PERCEPTION, but after continual exposure to the GREAT Internet Marketers, I have regularly seen people making not $100’s of sales a day, not $1000’s, not $10,000’s but upwards of $100,000+ a day by doing what I’m telling YOU to do!
You may not believe this, but I promise you it is happening right now, and with websites that have less than 3 pages to them plus the checkout pages. And each website is solely focused on selling you one product at a time…
Here’s the layout…
1. Landing Page
>>>>> then Checkout Page where they pay….
2. Thank you and another Offer to a Product (even a discount as they have just purchased)
>>>>> then Checkout Page where they pay…..
3. Thank you and another Offer to a Product (even a discount, as they have just purchased)
>>>>> then Checkout Page where they pay…..
What’s very important to note here, is that step 2 & 3 can be repeated for as many products as you might like to sell. If you’ve run out of your own products, you can do Joint Ventures or join Affiliate programs to keep the ball rolling to make more money from each visitor….
About MAKING THE SALE
Many of us have a problem with selling. You see, perhaps deep down we are afraid, or even ashamed, to ask people for a SALE. It’s something we instinctively DO NOT LIKE to do! We even hate BEING SOLD.
I’m the same as you, I do not like to be sold…. No one does, so we are all of the same understanding here… but there is a MAJOR DISTINCTION I need you to consider and understand.
When you WANT or NEED something, you go shopping or searching or researching to find the product that is best suited to your needs or wants. Right?
Now, when you do this as a buyer, and you find a website that is offering what you want, do you really want that website to do a lousy sell job on you? If you don’t want it to be easy, if you don’t want good reasons to buy, what the heck do you want? What are you looking for as a buyer? Have you ever had a bad salesman trying to sell you something you really wanted and they ended up turning you OFF instead of ON? Not a good experience, right?
So don’t do it to others. Be concise. Provide accurate information. Tell them why they’ll benefit from their purchase. And if they like what they see, HELP THEM OUT by making it easy for them to buy. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
You see, websites must use headlines to catch attention, genuine reasons to buy to build interest and an explanation of the benefits to the purchaser for purchasing the product to close the sale. That’s what causes people to BUY. Concise, to the point, no wasted time for either party, easy to purchase.
If you put up a website and make it hard for potential buyers to order or even find out a PRICE, then you are doing yourself and your visitor an injustice. The buyer won’t buy, the seller won’t sell. A waste of time all round.
If reading everything above has made ANY SENSE to you at all, you should be starting to see my point about pretty websites.
Your website is your Salesperson. It’s job is to turn people ON to BUY. The CONTENT on your website and the way the pages flow with information the BUYER WANTS TO SEE will control the sale, NOT the pretty images or a conservative approach.
So what turns people ON?
· Free Reports, Audios, DVDs on what you and your website are about
· Free Home Study Course
· Free Ebook with Reseller Rights (look for my newsletter all about this VERY HOT subject)
· Free Ticket to a Presentation or Seminar
· Free Download and use of Software (even if for a Trial period only)
OK so if you have got this part right and you’re offering something for Free (even if it is just some Free Information you provide in your Email Newsletter), then you should really pat yourself on the back. You see, I know that if you really listen and apply my MAJOR HINTS TO CREATE A WEBSITE THAT MAKES MONEY, you will see $$$$$$.
Having said that, I MUST MAKE A VERY IMPORTANT POINT HERE!
If you have any graphics on your Webpage, then PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, ensure that they LOOK GOOD. Never let an image look like it’s been stretched. Never use a poorly pixelated image. And don’t use it if it’s JUST BAD QUALITY!
When I see websites containing images with these faults, “THEY MAKE ME VOMIT!”
It’s not just that they make the website look BAD, there is one other certain fact: THEY WILL MAKE PEOPLE TURN OFF! It’s like having a BADLY presented Salesperson who can’t sell anything because he’s so poorly presented. If you were that person’s boss, wouldn’t you want to KICK HIS OR HER BUTT for them? I’m pretty sure you would.
So why is it that people often use BAD graphics and still feel good about them? Well, look out for some painful HONESTY here! I reckon it’s because they did it themselves! They’re so proud of it – it took them “…HOURS to do!” and it’s a fair bet you’ll also hear, “…I reckon it’s not bad for a beginner, eh?”. They are so into their achievement that they really can’t see that it’s just not going to cut it.
People who have little or no experience in graphic design can ruin, and even destroy, an otherwise effective website.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that these people get a Graphic Designer, pay them to create a nice header image and get rid of everything else except for a GOOD HEADLINE, GREAT COPY WRITING and perhaps a small amount of QUALITY GRAPHICS……
As I’ve already said, people do not buy the graphics you choose to use for your website.
They choose to buy PRODUCT from you because of your CONTENT – what you say you will provide and do for them.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN A PRETTY PICTURE SELL without POWERFUL WORDS to back it up. BUT I have seen simple TEXT sell over and over and over again…
It’s true that a Picture says a thousands words, but a thousand people who look at that picture will each have a thousand different words to describe what it might mean to them individually. Especially if those people come from different cultures. With WORDS you can be very SPECIFIC to get your PRECISE message across to people!
Want PROOF? Let me reveal an OBVIOUS FACT that everyone seems to miss…
Google PROVES TO THE WORLD that TEXT Ads outsell IMAGE Ads almost EVERY TIME!
Why would people use only Text ads on the results page when you search on Google? Well, with the little space available, words can BE SPECIFIC. Put an Image in that same space and it wouldn’t come close to ensuring EVERYONE who looks at it gets the message and takes action.
Did you know that Google offers Image and Video advertising? Have you seen any? I wonder why you haven’t?
WHAT AM I TRYING TO ACHIEVE IN SHARING ALL THIS WITH YOU?
Well, it’s simple enough…. I would like to think that YOU can create a website that makes you money simply by having a PROPER BALANCE between being “Pretty” and being a great “Salesperson”. Do not for one second think your website is NOT a salesperson! That is EXACTLY what your website is and the sooner you think this way, the more your MINDSET will be on producing results for your website.
You see, a good salesperson will at least introduce themselves in a way that ENCOURAGES a sale to happen, either now or sometime in the future. He would even have got friendly enough to ASK FOR a NAME and maybe even an EMAIL ADDRESS! See what I mean?
If you have the salesman mindset right and you’re still struggling to make your website look good with the right graphics, please send me an email and let me know. I WANT TO HELP YOU! I want to help you present yourself properly. I can do this simply and effortlessly…. So if you are interested in my HELP with this, then please follow these directions….
1. Go to www.templates.aquawebsites.com (You’ll find Graphics Templates for lots of PRETTY WEBSITES)
2. Checkout each Template. Go through them ALL and find 1 or 2 templates you like. (They cost around US$55-US$65 a template) BUY THE TEMPLATE or TEMPLATES!
3. Send me an email Aqua Websites and tell me which ones you’ve chosen. I will then show you where to go with your Template(s) to have a graphic designer put it together for you to suit your website. I have both Australian and off shore Designers I can introduce to you. In fact, I have one working for me on my own NEW and UPCOMING Website right now! Samyo would be happy to talk to you about how he can help you.
WHAT IS THE COST for a graphic designer you ask?
Well, for around $150 upwards your website can start to LOOK GOOD….
For around $350, you will have some great graphics for your website…
For around $650, you will have LOTS of graphics on your website and it’ll all be “PRETTY”…
How come they can be so cheap when other designers charge $1000’s to make you a pretty website? It’s easier and more time effective for them to take a Template and simply modify it. They might, for instance, just need to put in a photo of yourself or your team along with your Business Name, then just put it in place for you, rather than going through the WHOLE DESIGN process!
This IS AN OUT-SOURCING SHORTCUT. IT SAVES TIME and SAVES MONEY!
All you need from this point on is to make sure your Headlines and Copy writing are EXCELLENT! I’m right now trying out some new Copywriters and Article writers. I’ll be able to share these with you very soon. My personal Copywriter Peter Blood is swamped with work and will not be able to handle the additional work I can send him, so I am finding new Writers to ENSURE you’ll have availability to QUALITY COPY WRITING and HEADLINES!
Now you’re ready to start pouring traffic into your website! I’ll cover how to do this in another email newsletter very soon.
I think you have enough to think about for now….. PLEASE, re-read this email and then go over it again. I cannot encourage you enough to REALLY consider and act on what I’ve said. I thought long and hard about writing this email. I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU GOT MY POINT!
OK. I’d better let you get on with your Website. Just make sure you get yourself the right BALANCE between a having a Pretty website and having a Website that MAKES YOU MONEY!
Thank you for reading this Blog
From Vanya Markiewicz
Aqua Websites
Do you know someone that NEEDS to HEAR THE MESSAGE in this Email? Feel free to forward this onto them. Let them know not to miss out on ANY of my Email Newsletters. You might even suggest they Subscribe themselves…
And, HEY!, if you’re not Subscribed already to my Email Newsletter, then please do so now and THANK the PERSON who let you know about myself and Aqua Websites. IF YOU DECIDE TO LISTEN AND APPLY MY ADVICE, you’ll be thanking them forever…….
PS: Look out for my 21 Day Internet Marketing Course coming up soon! Subscribe to my Email Newsletter as I’ll be covering an IMPORTANT ASPECT of Internet Marketing every day – that’s 21 days in a row! Each day you’ll get a task to complete so you can see for yourself the reality that MANY PEOPLE are experiencing – MAKING MONEY from their website instead of vainly looking in their Inbox for sales emails! This course will be $98, but I’ll be offering it to a limited number people at absolutely NO COST! Yep! That’s right. SO KEEP YOUR EYE OUT FOR MY EMAILS!
PSSSSSSS: If you’ve not already done so, you should sign up to MySpace and invite me
www.myspace.com/aquawebsites to be one of your Friends. MYSPACE is NOT a KID’S website. It’s a place you can actually use to GROW your Business. I am about to do this in a BIG WAY after listening to how my Mentor Stephen Pierce and many other greats have created incredible wealth by doing so. I will be forming a Group on MySpace and will be inviting you all as soon as I have done this…..
PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS:Check out this website and see if you can MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
http://www.treelovers.org.au/ Jody (my partner) and myself have just ADOPTED 2 Trees! Why? So that we can HELP reduce Carbon Emissions a major problem that contributes to Global Warming. This is our little way of doing something, besides adopting all the recommendations by Al Gore in his movie “The Inconvenient Truth”. http://www.climatecrisis.net/
If we all do small amounts it’ll ADD up to MASSIVE AMOUNTS together… So please Adopt a Tree and ensure you share this website with more people, the more the merrier… just forward this email and you are helping EVERYONE find out about something else they can do to help……
PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS: Want to let me know what you think of my Email Newsletter? Hit reply and tell me! I am always keen to hear back anything at all! Good or bad – or even if I just made a spelling error!
PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS: Have a GREAT DAY!