3. BillBoards : Let them have their say. Billboards provide a safe way for shy ones to have their say too. It's an inter-exchange of information, which often builds content of your site. It also enlists in stick-to-itivness as people who roam billboards are staying put. They are getting friendly with your site.

4. Learning Tools:

Give your visitors other ways to learn. Books, e-books, forums, shareware, etc. Change your content often and visitors will want to return to see what you've added that will be worthwhile to them.

5. The Newsletter

Yes, newsletter. The number one tool for bringing your visitors back to your site. If your aren't capturing them first time with a free opt-in newsletter, then you have to keep going out and finding them. That's very expensive. Your newsletter is a forever link to your clients and prospects.

5. A Treasure Hunt

Yep, I'm talking a contest in which you give away something free. However, this contest works a little different. By placing a small graphic in different parts of your site weekly, ask visitors to find it and then enter contest by telling you where graphic is located. What does this do? It persuades your visitor to play a game and in process takes them through your site. While they are looking, they are learning about you.

See, it's not hard to add a little SuperGlue to your Post-It Note and get those visitors to stick around long enough to actually buy!

Fresh, original content shows you know your stuff. People will want to link to your content to add to usefulness of their own website. Lots of pages with relevant content can even help your search engine traffic. Your potential customers will have to return to finish reading through all of great information.

I could go on and on about that one.

Anyway, what I'm saying is, even if YOU aren't successful yet, your website should make you appear as if you are.

If I run across a site on Geocities do I think person is successful? Do I whip out credit and order his products? Nope.

Do I want to give my gold card (if I had one) to someone that can't or won't pay $70 in registration fees and $30 a month in hosting fees?

I'm not saying that people on free websites aren't making any money. Its just that for me it doesn't spell 'trustworthy company'.

Neither does 15 banners on home page, or graphics from clipart CD.

Put yourself in your customers shoes. What things make you feel that you have hit a legitimate site?

What things make you click away before page has finished loading?

What things make you bookmark that site, and then actually return to it?

Ask yourself these questions, then type in URL of your website and view it from eyes of your visitors. Have you broken any of your own rules?

The bottom line is that every pixel of your visitors monitor as they hit your site should scream SUCCESS!

Besides, "it can't hurt", right? Worst case is that information provided in this article does nothing to help your online presence.

But if it does work for you, you just might make enough money from your website to allow you to buy clothes so that YOU can dress for success!