Quick! hink about your website. If I were to pop out of your
screen in the next few seconds and ask you why you've got one,
and what its purpose is, would you be able to tell me on the spot?

Every site has a purpose, and every site owner has a goal.
Regardless of whether you're selling products, information,
or nothing at all, you want your visitor to reap the benefits
of visiting your site. In an ideal situation, you'd be right
beside your site visitor showing them where to click and
what to do. This isn't always possible, so read on and let me show
you:

How To Make Your Visitors Do What You Want Them To Do!

Let's say you're in a mall with $50 in your hand and want to buy
some T-shirts. You come across a store that has a huge sign
blocking the doorway, upon which the company's logo is prominently
and proudly displayed. Looking around at the other stores, you think,
"This is ridiculous! I'm here to buy t-shirts, not look at a fancy
logo." Still a little curious, you move the sign aside and have a
peek inside. On one rack, you see that women's pants are on the
same rack as men's overcoats. The mannequins are all wearing
strange assortments of clothes that clearly do not match, while
everywhere there are banner ads for completely unrelated products
hanging from the ceiling. At this point, you promptly step back
from the doorway and walk to another store which has been
laid out better.

Sadly enough, this is the exact same way 90% of the world's
business-oriented websites work. If you want your viewers to
buy from you, to contact you, or to simply sit and enjoy your site,
you've got to plan it properly!

1) It's The Headline They Should See First.

If you get the newspaper delivered to your door every day,
you'll notice there are three things you'll look at first:
The headline, the photo on the front page, and the area above
the paper's logo which shows the featured articles of the day.
In your case, the publisher has already made the sale and wants
you to continue buying their papers because you enjoy reading
them, so the headlines are there to get you to dig in. In the
case of people walking by a newsstand, the paper is designed
in such a way so that the headlines or photos will grab their
attention.

Your site should be laid out the same way. Are you selling products?
Make sure you've got a headline or banner saying any one of the
following: "Sale! Click Here to Save!" or "Buy one, get one free!
Click for Details!" or "50% off! Click Here!"

Are you selling information? Try these headlines on for size:
"Get 10 FREE reports when you sign up for our newsletter!"
"Click here for details on 3 FREE courses that will help you
build your online business!"

Or are you selling dreams? It's all the same: your headline MUST be
speaking to your viewer directly and it MUST imply immediate action.
"Are you broke? Don't wait another minute! Click here to find out how
you can make money from home!"

2) Use Graphics To Your Advantage.

Many sites have graphics on them just for the sake of having graphics,
be it a fancy logo, buttons that change color when you move your mouse
over them, sometimes even animated images that have nothing to do with
the site itself.

While a site's logo is important for branding purposes, it should
never be the focus of a site, and in the case of the clothing store
analogy above, should NEVER get in the way! Don't be afraid to
move the logo aside and replace it with a headline, it will only
be a benefit to you (and your visitor). After all, you don't want
people looking at your logo, you want them looking at the things
that'll make you money!

In addition, any one of the headlines in Point 1 above will make
excellent buttons for your viewers to click on. The advantage of
using graphics in this case, rather than plain text, is that now you
can add arrows, numbers, or bursts to let your viewer know what
they should be paying attention to.

If you're selling products, whether it's T-shirts, calculators,
books, widgets or gadgets, you'll definitely want to showcase
your best-priced and highest-profit items first, just as you
would as if it were a retail store in a mall. The simple rule
of thumb is as follows: every graphic on a site should have
an action associated with it.

3) Spell It Out For Your Viewer!

Don't be afraid to limit the number of choices you give to your
visitors right away; you'll find that more often than not, it
will work to your advantage. Regardless of your site's purpose,
your visitors will appreciate the fact that you've taken the
time to properly show them the steps necessary to getting
the most out of your site.

If your site's focus is to help people make money online,
combine Points 1 and 2 above and create numbered headlines
to show your visitors exactly what they need to do to get
started. This is far more effective than throwing a
hundred links in their face and expecting them to know
what to do next!

If you're selling a lot of products from your site,
obviously you don't want to put them all on the front page.
Categorizing your products or services properly will ensure
that the people serious about buying will find what they
want easily, and it will also increase the chances
that a first-time viewer will buy from you.

To sum it all up, your best bet in having an effective site
is to think of a real-world application, be it a clothing
store, grocery store, or hardware store. Lay out your site
the same way you'd lay out your store, with your best deals
and highest-profit products or services first. Don't forget
that headlines and color bursts are good at pulling in
new customers, but be careful-- having a banner or button that's too
flashy will have the same negative effect as shining a strobe light
into someone's eyes. Lastly, think about how you could hold your
visitor's hand and show them around your site; having a site
that's well-organized is always effective and always
appreciated!

The three tips above are but a fraction of all the tools in a
marketer's toolbox. If you think your site needs some help, let me know!
I'll give you ten tips on how you can make it more effective,
regardless of what you're selling! If you contact me today,
I'll take $50 off the price of Worldprofit's famous
Site Review Service! Come on folks, for $99.95, it's a
steal! Hit reply or mailto:customerservice@worldprofit.com now!

About the Author

Jody Hatton, Web Designer and Flash
Extraordinaire, knows exactly how to market your message
using the Web's most exciting medium: Flash animation!
Have a look at his latest and greatest Flash piece, which
has helped Worldprofit and other businesses pull in
thousands of leads: http://www.worldprofit.com/uhbp/
Questions? mailto:customerservice@worldprofit.com

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