Category: Blog

Finding the Right Direct Sales Company for You – Three Steps for Success

Direct sales has been a successful business model for decades. However, within the past ten years it has really grown. You can now find a direct sales company that sells just about anything.

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Start a Household Clearance Business

A household clearance business can be a huge help. They enter the homes of those who have deceased or vacated and essentially clean them from top to bottom. They get rid of everything inside from garbage to collectibles and everything in between.

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Two Keys to Happy Website Visitors

As a website owner you want to make sure your visitors are happy. Happy visitors stay on your website longer. They come back for repeat visits. And of course they buy from your website. When it comes to a website’s structure, there are two elements that can make or break your user experience.

#1 Quick load times

There’s nothing that squashes a visitor’s happiness faster than not being able to load a website page. If the page doesn’t come up quickly, your visitor is gone. We’ve grown accustomed to instant gratification online. If your web page takes longer than a few seconds to load, you may miss out on valuable prospects and visitors. They won’t be happy while they’re waiting for your pages to load.

So what can you do to ensure quick load times?

* Reduce and minimize your graphics. Make sure a graphic takes up no more than 10k on any given page.

* Don’t use flash. Many website designers still turn to flash to add interest. Don’t do it. It takes too long to load. If you do use it, make sure you give your visitors the opportunity to click through and skip the show.

* Use plug-ins sparingly. There are a number of really useful plug-ins. However, they’re bulky and can slow down your load time. They can also distract from your web page’s purpose and make it look cluttered. If you’re going to use a plug-in, make sure it supports your goals for that page. And make sure it enhances the visitor experience.

#2 Easy navigation

The other thing that makes visitors happy is a website that’s easy to navigate. Straightforward and intuitive website navigation can be difficult to accomplish. The following tips can help you get the job done.

* Eliminate clutter – Many times a web page has so much going on that the visitor isn’t sure what the page’s purpose is. Are they supposed to look at ads? Fill out a form? Read an article? Make sure your web pages have a purpose. Then make sure that page is designed to support that purpose. Everything from the formatting to the add-ons can add or detract from your page’s purpose.

* Intuitive buttons – The buttons on your page are there to guide your reader deeper into your website. Therefore they must make sense to the visitor. One of the best ways to ensure your buttons are easy to understand is to make them keywords. Keywords are likely what drew your visitor to your website. They’re what the person is using to search for and find information. Create categories and subcategories with your keywords. That way your user is able to easily find the information they’re looking for.

When your visitors are able to navigate your website with ease, they’ll stay longer. If they’re able to find the information they’re looking for without struggle and frustration, they’ll return again and again.

When you combine a straightforward layout with quick loading times, you’re well on your way to giving visitors a very pleasant experience. Happy visitors turn into happy customers. Take a look at your website today. Does it make visitors happy?

Three Ideas and Strategies to Give Your Visitors a Reason to Return

A website generates two main types of visitors. There are the visitors that stop by and leave. They never return again. Then there are the visitors that stop by. They bookmark your site. They sign up for your opt-in list. They subscribe to your blog. These are the visitors you want. When you can motivate more new visitors to come back, you’re on your way to converting them to customers.

 

The majority of people do not make a purchase the first time they visit a website. A website has to earn their trust. It has to establish credibility, liking and authority. These are all buying triggers, and for most websites they’re earned over time. They key is to give them a reason to come back. Here are three ideas and strategies to give your visitors a reason to return.

 

#1 Valuable content is definitely required.

If you provide a consistent flow of great content, visitors will come back for more. However, there’s more you can do to ensure their loyalty.

 

#2 Provide a free membership.

Take a look at your website. Why do people visit your site? What benefit can you offer on a regular basis? Now instead of offering that information to random visitors, consider creating a membership site. Membership implies exclusivity. It also implies extra value.

When people sign up for your membership program they will receive “extra” content, products or services. For example, you might create a “Report of the Month” club. The information is free for members who have signed up. Each month you deliver a quality report. You can use the report to promote affiliate products and/or your own products/services too.

 

#3 Include user generated content.

Enable visitors to provide their own content for your website. Blogging is one way to accomplish this. You can include a “blog for us” form on your site. You can also turn the “Commenting” feature on and allow visitors to respond to your content. However, if you don’t have a blog site, then consider adding a plug-in or feature that enables them to add content.

For example, you might include a “Best Tips” category. You can then enable visitors to post or submit their best tips. You publish their information and you now have an interactive audience.

 

Finally, take a look at your usability features. What can you add to your site or blog to make it friendlier? For example, are other commenters notified when a comment is published to a post they also commented on? Can they forward your content to a friend? Can they print it?

The easier you make it to interact on your site, the better. Provide great content. Enable visitors to receive more via memberships and let them share information. The more repeat traffic you have, the faster you’ll build a loyal customer base.

Make It Easy for Your Visitors to Complete Your Website Goals

What are your website goals? Do you have any? Presumably you want to make money, but how? Does each page on your site have a goal? If so, does the goal of the page also support your ultimate website goal?

 

Your website goals might include:

* To sell a product
* To sell a service
* To motivate an opt-in
* To inspire a visitor to click on an affiliate advertisement
* To provide information and receive ad exposure and PPC income

Any single website page may also have these same goals. They may also be designed to help you achieve other independent goals. For example, one web page may be designed to promote your opt-in offer. In addition to your call to action, there are other things you can do.

Taking a look at your website goals and independent page goals, consider these three points.

 

#1 Who are your visitors?

What content and tools will you need to help or convince them to accomplish your goals? For example, you want them to sign up for your opt-in form. What content and tools are you using to motivate that action? Are you providing them with a sample of the offer? Do you make it easy to opt-in or do they have to jump through hoops?

 

#2 How does your visitor travel on your site?
When someone visits your landing page, where do they go next? Is it where you want them to go? Does it support your goal? Use your website goals to help you create content and determine the path your visitor takes. Each piece of content on your site should influence an action that ultimately leads to your goal. Again, imagine you want to motivate an opt-in.

 

Each piece of content, form and promotion on your site should lead to that goal. Take a look at your flow of information and the path your visitors take when they’re at your site. Does their path support your goal? When adding or removing something on your site conflicts with your goals, don’t do it.

 

#3 Include a call to action with each website page. Articles, videos, forms –
everything needs to have a goal that supports your end goal. They need to have a call to action that supports your goal and purpose. Don’t expect your users to know what they’re supposed to do next. Tell them.

 

Finally, make sure to respect your user’s time. Dragging them through an endless process to achieve your goal isn’t going to win you any friends. If you want them to sign up for your opt-in list, make it as easy as possible. If you want them to buy a product, make it as easy.

 

Analyze each web page, new and old, and determine if it supports your goals or detracts from them. Help your visitors. Make it easy for them to achieve your website goals.

When Should You Start Taking on Direct Advertisers?

Bloggers who make their money from direct advertisers rather than through AdSense can make as much as 3-4 times higher CPMs. The direct ads market is a significant step up from monetizing via other methods. When should you take this step? Read on.

=> What Direct Advertisers Are Looking For

There are a few things that direct advertisers want in a site they’re advertising in.

Firstly, they’re looking for traffic. If your site doesn’t get enough traffic, they’re not even going to bother with negotiations.

Secondly, they tend to be very brand conscious. Specifically, they want their ads to be displayed on websites that complement their brand.

That’s why a “how to get rid of acne” page on WebMD can command so much higher CPMs than other sites built on the same topic. Advertisers want to be associated with a brand like WebMD.

Direct response advertisers sometimes do go for direct ad placements. However, by and large direct advertisers tend to be more brand conscious than response conscious.

If you want to shoot for the high CPM ad buyers, you’re usually aiming for brand-oriented ad buyers rather than purely response-oriented ad buyers.

=> When Should You Start Taking on Direct Advertisers?

A good sign that it’s time to start taking on direct advertisers is when people start approaching you to advertise on your site.

That means that people are already seeing your site as a reputable site in your space. They think you have traffic and are starting to believe in your brand.

Once you’ve made your first sale or two from people approaching you, you can start taking a more active role in soliciting future advertisers.

Apart from this rule of thumb, generally you’ll want to be getting at least half a million pageviews per month before seeking out direct advertisers. Your brand needs to be well recognized in your space and your home domain’s Page Rank should be at least 3 or 4.

=> Final Words on Dealing with Direct Advertisers

When you first take on direct advertisers, you’ll need to set up your own ad serving software. Generally, you’ll want to set up your site so that it displays direct ads first, then displays AdSense ads once your higher CPM ad buys run out.

You’ll also need to come up with your policy around text link buys. You’ll almost certainly be approached regarding buying text links. Though they can be a good source of revenue to start, selling links can damage your rankings in the future.

Finally, remember that direct advertisers are real human beings. Unlike dealing with AdSense code, you’ll now have to manage a real relationship. That means figuring out what’s important to your advertisers and making sure they’re continuing to get that by advertising with you.