Your Website Sucks - and You’re to Blame
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Potential customers don’t like to be annoyed, figure out your site, or have their time wasted. They also want real information not endless pitches and over hyped products.
How did I learn this about your website? Well I’ve spent hours on the web looking at your website and countless others. Just today I was searching for a solution to a simple problem: I needed the manual to a radio that I bought last month. Google gave me a million hits but everyone was a dry hole of misinformation, product pitches and fake reviews. The Internet is becoming a babble of incoherent nonsense - a circus. It’s getting to be like the carnival with barkers yelling at you to buy some of their cheap foreign goods.
Here are the most common annoyances that blow visitors right off your webpages:
- Loud audio or video messages that start up as soon as you open the page
- Navigation that takes Einstein to use
- The important information is hidden
- The site is just an excuse to get a bunch of Adsense ads and other advertisements displayed
There are many other reasons - and the fixes for them. For the sake of brevity I’ve put them in an article that you can read by Clicking Here
And by the way…if you think your website doesn’t suck or you sell quality foreign goods 
make a comment and post your website. I’ll check it out and let the world know that at least one website is really great. Thanks.
Is the Local Internet going to save Newspapers?
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You can read the entire article at Can Local Web Ads Save Newspapers?
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Here are some of the highlights:
“It has been a rough time for the newspaper industry in the US, with a series of layoffs against a backdrop of falling revenues. Consumers still read newspapers, but the rise of online news and opinion sites and blogs has given them additional reading choices.”
“One fresh indicator that print newspaper readers are shifting to news sites comes from the Readership Institute. Although two-thirds of Internet users surveyed in July 2008 said they still used print newspapers about as much as they did before they started visiting news sites, more than one-quarter said they were reading print less as a result, and that figure has grown during the past 5 years.”
Newspapers revenue from their online advertising is growing and perhaps will save them.
Bottom Line: the web is going local. Even local newspapers are now realizing the importance of supporting business on the Internet. Most advertising dollars are shifting to online publications and websites because that is where people are looking for the companies they want to do business with. Growing a business using the Internet is more important than ever.
Relationship Marketing
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Yet there are millions of websites out there that do nothing to cultivate customer relationships. Time after time, this is what you’ll find:
- Ego - All about the company: We have this, we did that, we said, we, we, we… The truth is that nobody cares. If a visitor doesn’t see something that’ they value they’ll be reaching for the back button.
- Brochure - A replica of the company brochure, with product and service information, photos, driving directions, and contact information. Just like millions of other websites.
- Buy Me! – There’s no shortage of websites selling products and services. The problem is most of them don’t offer anything else - no useful information, no free trial, no coupons, nothing. Just an opportunity to separate the visitor from their cash.
Just as in real-life, online relationships take time to develop. The constant barrage of sales pitches and hype has made many web surfers hold on tightly to their wallets. Until they get to know the person behind the website, you are tarred with the same brush as every other greedy marketer trying to pick their pocket.
So how do you begin to develop customer relationships? Two words: relationship marketing. But what is “Relationship Marketing”?
As an independent professional, a freelancer or a small business owner one of the most challenging tasks is marketing. Michael Gerber’s book “the e-Myth” points out that most individuals know their trade or profession well. They know what their customers value and what to offer them. However they just don’t know how to locate people (prospects) and convince them to use their services or products (become customers).
One of the most powerful techniques in marketing is to step into the shoes of your ideal client and brainstorm how they would find your business. This helps to refine the exact target market looking for your product or service. It also helps figure out what would be the best marketing methods and the messages to communicate your message to them.
Relationship marketing is about having a dialog with your customers over a period of time. It can also include gathering customer information and analyzing their behavior. You may not have the financial resources of Best Buy or WalMart, but as a local business owner you can do something they can’t - have real person-to-person relationship with your customers.
You do that by providing value to your customers, usually good information and value packed offers. Remember, people don’t go online looking for something to buy. They’re usually seeking information. So your strategy should be to use the information your customers need to build and maintain relationships with them.
There are 2 critical components to making this strategy work: a value-packed website and the consistent use of email to stay in touch.
To continue this article click on the page links below…
Remarkable find: SocialMarker does the work for you
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Growth requires new business. New business requires people seeing our offer - prospects - traffic in the online world. Everysite wants more traffic, including the websites of a local business.
To build traffic you need to network in at least 3 ways:
- Article Directories
- Website Directories
- Social Newtworks
Social Networks are increasing becoming the most important element for driving traffic (organic, that is unpaid traffic) on the web. Propeller, Digg, Stumbleupon, Twitter, Technorati, Del.icio.us, to mention only a few are becoming critical success factors for websites.
What is it?
Social bookmarking is a powerful tool in promoting a website. But going through all of those social bookmarking sites is very time-consuming and downloading all toolbars is madness! That’s where SocialMarker.com comes in, the free service designed to reduce the time and effort needed to socially bookmark a website.
How Do You Use It?
All you need to do is simply drag this button 
to your bookmarks toolbar, in order to create a submission bookmarklet. When you are on a website that you want to socially mark, simply select the text and click the SocialMarker button to pre-populate the submission form with the selected information.
Why SocialMarker?
It can help you spread a link on 47 of the best social bookmarking sites in under 15 minutes!
- It helps you get a lot of backlinks.
- It helps you increase your traffic.
- Your link gets indexed by Google in a matter of minutes.
- Best of all, it’s free!
Of course the problem is who has time to enter information and link to all of these sites? No-one - or at least no-one who has to work for a living. Social Marker has taken the work out of the process. Here are the steps:
1. Sign up and get an account at the socai networking
2. Find interesting information and highlight what you want posted on the networking sites
3. Hit the link or bookmark that takes you back to SocialMarker
4. The information is automatically populated and the site takes you through each social network you’ve checked off to post the links.
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One of the great features of the site is that if you’re not registered with one of the social networks it allows registering without leaving the process of posting the information or loosing your place. Once you’ve registered and told your computer to keep you logged in then the entire process is automatic. Unbelievably fast, easy, and effective. Just take a look at the popular social networks SocialMarker works with:
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If you’re reading this and you want to build traffic - which I hope is everyone - check out SocialMarker. It’s free, quick, and easy. My signature theme - free quick, and easy. Cheers…Russ
Get your Website & RSS feeds promoted for free
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Name: Blogarama
URL Address: www.blogarama.com
Description: A small search engine that will give you a directory listing
Add your blog here:http://www.blogarama.com/add-a-site/
Name: IceRocket
URL Address: http://www.icerocket.com
Description: A quick one-step link for your RSS feed
Add your blog here:http://www.icerocket.com/c?p=ping
Name: RDF Ticker
URL Address: http://www.anse.de/rdfticker/findchannels.php
Description: A link for your RSS feed, news oriented
Add your blog here:http://www.anse.de/rdfticker/addchannel.php
Name: Readablog
URL Address: http://www.readablog.com/
Description: A quick one-step link for your a website blog or RSS feed
Add your blog here:http://www.readablog.com/AddFeed.aspx
Name: Technorati
URL Address: http://www.technorati.com/
Description: Have to register and confirm with an email. However one of the most important sites on the web right now
Add your blog here:http://www.technorati.com/account/signup
231) Best Directory
http://www.directorybest.info/
Best Directory Anyone can use this directory without signing up to any service. Feeds are divided in 14 main categories, which are divided in two sub-categories themselves.
If you want to submit your feed, all you need to do is to pick the appropriate category, select the sub-categories in which your feed will best fit, provide a feed link, name, description and email, and finally the submission method:
- Free: No registration needed, nothing to pay, but your feed won’t be high until it is rated.
- Exchange: You can get a higher place, for free, by placing a link to Best Directory on your page.
Submit your feed to Best Directory.
230) Blogged
Blogged is an online blog directory that you can use to discover and promote interesting blogs
Currently featuring 200,000 blogs this is a very popular resource to get listed at. Blogs are reviewed, rated, and categorized by editors, but anyone with an account can review and rate a blog to help it rise in the rankings. You can browse them by topic, rating, or simply searching for any keyword.
If you want to add your blog to the directory, you will just have to sign up to the service for free, and provide the RSS feed of your site.
Sign up and submit your feed to Blogged.
224) Webloogle
Webloogle is a blog directory where anyone can submit his own RSS feed URL and keep an eye on how his blog is going.
Webloogle will offer you a dedicated page on which it’ll show information, ratings, statistics of your site, and also a link that other people can click to write a review about your site. Requires a bit more time than the other links - the site has an approval process and they’ll email you with the results. Worth the investment of time and effort
Feeds can be browsed by category, ordered by ranking, or simply searched through the search form.
Submit your feed to Webloogle.
How to Grow Using the Internet
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Knowledge is cheap. It’s the how-to and the help that costs money. That’s why I’ve included personally helping LOCAL businesses get set up on the web. You can check out the course by clicking on Grow Your Business Using the Interneta>
Selling to Big Companies
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Selling to Big Companies is one of the few indispensable resources available for salespeople who need prospects. This course debunks many of sales myths, especially those loved by managers who want more results but are clueless about how to get them. We are living in the ‘perfect storm’ of sales resistance, especially in regards to getting into accounts. Read more…
Seven Tips for Designing a Customer-Friendly Shopping Cart
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Tip One: Make It Easy to Use
Shoppers want to view information, add products to the cart, review selections, make changes, and pay simply by clicking buttons. The “add to cart” button should be prominently displayed. Navigating between product pages and the cart should be easy. Modifying the cart should be simple. Conversion is more likely when the cart is easy to use.
Tip Two: Make It Interactive
What colors and sizes are available? Is it in stock? How much money will they save if they buy in quantity? What will shipping cost? Building interactive features into the shopping cart allows consumers to explore options and be assured they are getting exactly what they want.
Tip Three: Give It Time
Making the customer’s cart savable lets him build his order over time. For example, eBay’s half.com site lets customers save selections to a wish list. They can return later to purchase selected items. If a sale is not completed in a given period of time, the shopper receives an email reminding them to update their wish list.
Tip Four: Automatically Calculate Totals
Keeping the consumer informed of total costs will build his or her confidence in shopping through the website. The shopping cart should show the product total, tax, and shipping costs. Many sites show a summary page as the final step before the consumer completes the transaction.
Tip Five: Allow Multiple Payment Options
Accepting payment through a number of methods will increase the likelihood that the transaction will be completed. Some customers prefer using credit cards. Some use PayPal. Still others use echecks. Providing a variety of payment options makes purchasing possible for a wider range of customers.
Tip Six: Keep It Secure
Consider becoming a member of a third-party privacy seal program, which verifies the credibility of ecommerce sites. Ensure encryption of personal data. Display the website’s privacy policy. Assuring consumers of the site’s trustworthiness eliminates concerns and encourages a mutually beneficial business relationship.
Tip Seven: Confirm the Purchase
An automated email confirmation following the sale assures the customer that his or her order is in progress. As added assurance, many etailers find it a good practice to include contact instructions so the consumer can keep tabs on the status of the order, make inquiries, and track shipping.
Consumers look for ease of use, efficiency, and security when purchasing online. A well-designed shopping cart can meet these needs and increase conversion rate and revenue for retailers in a highly competitive market.
Fortunately there are many services that making adding a shopping cart to your site relatively easy. cPanel, the website management tool of many web hosts has several shopping cart choices built in, such as Oscommerce. 1Shoppingcart and Ultracart are two third party shopping carts that will integrate into your website. Any way you get a shopping cart it is simply smart business to have one. Good shopping…
What Does Web Conferencing Mean for Your Business?
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Web conferencing is a way for people to communicate and collaborate from their computers. There is no travel necessary, and planning is much easier than it would be for a face-to-face meeting. A web conference is convenient for all parties involved, because there is no need to extensively rearrange your schedule to attend.
Web conferences usually include some form of online communication, such as a chat room or instant messaging, utilizing either text or voice. They may also incorporate video, in which case it would be considered a video conference. It’s also possible to coordinate the online meeting with a conference call. This is good for participants who may not have a microphone or a fast, reliable connection to participate in voice chat.
What Purposes Can Web Conferencing Serve?
Web conferences can work well for a variety of meeting types. Some companies hold online expos with multiple presenters that are relevant to their target markets. Others use web conferencing to get service providers together to collaborate on projects. They are also handy for employee or contractor training when the employees or contractors are not in close physical proximity.
Communication with prospective customers or partners is another application that is well suited to web conferencing. Presentations can be held online through chat sessions, and points illustrated through a website or slideshow. You can also use video, either live or recorded, to present products or ideas.
Web Conferencing is Great for Prospecting!
Put the power of web conferencing to use in your prospecting and lead generation efforts. Offering free seminars, training events, how-to courses, case studies and QA sessions attracts prosects and builds customer loyalty. These efforts can even be turned into revenue producing events.
Make sure that you record these events because you can extend their use beyond the event itself. You can put videos on YouTube, put the audio recordings on your website, and my other clever uses. Often these recordings can be turned into products for sale or bonuses that you give prospects.
Having a web conference gives business tremendous reasons for sending out Press Releases and emails. Local bulletin boards and community sites will promote your web conferences on their calendars.
People are very busy and will often lock out a salesperson. However a free web conference or seminar may open the door. Buyers perceive them to be non-threatening and full of value, especially if the content interests them and you’ll market them in a compelling way.
What About Those Who Can’t Attend?
Even though web conferences are less expensive and more convenient to attend than those held at a physical location, there may be some people who can’t attend. But this group doesn’t have to be completely out of the loop. You can offer information from the conference for download.
Audio files from phone calls, video from the conference, and chat or instant message transcripts can be posted to your website for download. Those who weren’t there won’t get the opportunity to ask questions in a group setting, but they can benefit from the information that is there. If you’re charging for admittance to the conference or going for an air of exclusivity, however, it may be best not to post transcripts, audio or video.
Web conferencing has come a long way in a few short years, and it will undergo more changes as time goes on. But it is already becoming quite popular among business owners. Web conferencing can allow you to take your business to a global level without leaving your office.
Should You Offer Chat During Online Conference Calls?
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more participants and to make the conference calls more
interesting. The Internet offers the advantage of audio and
video capabilities. Important or difficult subjects can be
illustrated with pages from your own or other websites.
You can also offer participants the opportunity to communicate
through online chat.
Many teleconference organizers, however, choose not to offer
chat capabilities during their calls. This is because it
presents some potential problems. Here we will examine
the pros and cons of facilitating chat during an online
conference call.
Arguments for Offering Chat
Conference calls are designed to bring people together to
discuss things. However too many people talking at the
same time prevents anyone from being heard. To prevent this
most call services allow the call’s originator to mute the
audience during presentations so that presenters can be heard
clearly. Chat offers a way that people can still
communicate without disrupting the presentation.
Offering chat will allow listeners to ask questions as they
come to mind without interrupting the speaker. Chat can also
allow the audience to communicate with one another.
Listeners may have experiences or thoughts they can share that
add to what is being discussed, and chat provides a way for
them to share them without being disruptive.
Another good thing about chat is that users can give
feedback to the speaker. If she isn’t speaking loudly
enough, for example, a listener can let her know that it is
hard for him to hear what she is saying. Listeners can
also advise about any technical problems that occur.
Arguments Against Offering Chat
Critics of using chat during online conference
calls say that it’s distracting. Listeners may get
so caught up in chatting that they miss what is going on during
the call. And that can be detrimental to your call’s
success.
Chat needs to be moderated. Someone needs to
monitor the chat to watch for users who are being rude
or inappropriate language. There is also the
possibility of someone and promoting their own
agenda. These types will need to be warned or removed,
but by the time that happens they could have already derailed
the discussion and lowered other participants’ morale.
The argument that offering chat during a conference call is
too expensive is no longer true. Online conferencing
software often includes a chat program. Those who do not
have full-featured conferencing software can purchase chat
software on its own for a reasonable price. Most services that
offer online conferencing include chat at no additional charge,
no software is needed by you or your callers.
Whether or not to offer chat capabilities during your
conference is a matter of preference. It has advantages
and disadvantages, but if properly moderated the opportunity
for users to chat is usually an asset. It makes your
conference more interactive while minimizing audible
distractions.
Membership and Contact Information
Every month BusinessWebStep members get a book summary of one of hottest business books being sold. Members also get exclusive articles, audio interviews, and a newsletter. Personal coaching and teleconferences happen every month. For details click here.
For Further Contact
BusinessWebStep coaches people on how to use the web to increase business. For further information or to discuss how BusinessWebStep can assist your company please feel contact us at russ@businesswebstep.com. Or call us at 719-481-0876
Todays Challenge for Small Business
The Internet can be a powerful tool for a local business prospecting, lead generation and relationship building. Using Internet Marketing all types of businesses can use the Web to grow revenues and get more customers.
Did you know that 70% of all buyers buy from the web and 36% of all customers use the web to find local businesses?
There are three interlocking strategies for growing a business using the Internet: improving a business, growing a business, and expanding a business. Read more about them here:
Profit with the Internet
How To Sell More in a Down Economy
How would you like it if your business earned a five-figure income every month-even while the economy is on a downsizing?
Imagine what your life would be like if all your debts were paid and your business operated in the black month after month.
Using the Web To Get More Business
Will show you how to get new customers and do more business with your existing customers, with or without your own website. You'll learn how to use technology to leverage your time and efforts in 30 days or less!