3. Never Ever Advertise

Advertising cost money and it might draw some good targeted traffic to your website. So be sure to never advertise. You can just keep promoting your website through those

same tired free programs that you have been using for years. This should bring you little or no traffic, and traffic that does come won't be your target audience so they're almost certain to leave without spending a dime. Awesome!

4. Always Sell A Crappy Product

Selling good products online can get you a good reputation. A good reputation can get you repeat sales and new customers. You don't want all this hassle. So find worst products you can and sell them exclusively. This should damage your reputation to point where no one wants to bother buying from your site. Be sure to lie about your product too. This will further ruin any kind of credibility you may have.

5. Never Respond To Any Questions

If someone emails you with a question about your website or products on your website, Do Not Reply. Replying could be considered courteous and businesslike. You don't want to come off that way. It's better to just delete any emails from people who were interested enough in your website to take time to email. Hopefully this will drive them to one of your competitors websites and out of your hair.

There you have it folks. Five great ways to ruin any website. So don't blame me if you don't follow these tips and you become an online success story. I've done all I can to try and help out. And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to write down URL that's airbrushed on hood of this Ford Explorer beside me...

Realistically, chances are that a large number of your website visitors won't go beyond front page, so don't hide juicy details buried in depths of your site. The most important sales facts should be plain to see from moment your main page loads. A book may not be judged by its cover, but a website certainly is. Catch their attention moment they arrive, entice them in with tasty titbits, and you've got them.

Sell The Benefits, Not Just The Features

I've said it many times before, and I'll say it many times yet. You have to sell benefits of your software, and not just it's features. A long feature list looks great to person who's thinking about buying software, but until they realise that they need or want it in first place, it'll barely even register.

Take an imaginary graphics file viewer as an example. If front page for product is one long feature list, with an impressive 60+ supported formats on display, that's all very well and good. But will three-second-a-site visitor be interested? Probably not. They're not looking for what software is capable of, they're looking for what software can do for them.

If however you sell fact that file viewer can SAVE TIME AND MONEY, ALLOW YOU TO ACCESS YOUR COLLEAGUES FILES and VIEW ALL YOUR EMAIL ATTACHMENTS, then you're far more likely to grab their attention.

Feature lists are for shareware sites and magazine reviews. People want benefits and solutions. Again, it goes back to consumer.

Once you know what they're looking for, spoon feed it to them in just right way, with all information and details they need, and a little bit of icing never goes amiss either.

As for people who click on features list, chances are that they don't need convincing that they may have a use for software, they're looking for more reasons to buy it. They're looking for as many facts as possible to satisfy their wallet, boss, spouse or conscience. Give them what they want.

And remember not to go for too blatant a sales pitch. People are strange, and although average person loves to buy things, they hate being sold to! The difference? Make them want what you're selling, don't just shout BUY at them! Satisfy their needs, meet their requirements and show them that you're answer they're looking for.

Never forget that you're not selling to objects. You're selling to people. In order to reach them, you have to start thinking like one of them!

Spend time finding out how your existing customers use your software, what made them choose your product, and why they continue to use or enjoy it. See if any patterns emerge, and use this information to focus on your strengths and also your opportunities. Then apply what you've learnt to your product literature, your banner ads, your email signature, your advertising campaigns and above all your website. Be seen, be sold.