Should You Get A Blog?Written by Andrea J. Lee
A blog is a type of website. It allows website owner to easily write messages that get posted to site automatically, often in a journal or diary-like style. A particularly appealing thing about blogs is that your readers can comment back to your posts fairly easily, and a continuous stream of fresh conversations result. (This is a good thing.)Here are three reasons to consider getting a blog: 1.To Replace Your Ezine If you currently publish an ezine, you may wish to consider replacing it with a regularly published blog. This means using your blog to publish journal entries, and then when it comes time to communicate with your subscriber list, you excerpt some items from your blog, and send those out as your ezine. This saves you from creating special articles only for your ezine. In many cases it becomes easier for you to write in blog format (short and sweet) so you save time. Readers enjoy practical, "reporter-like" nature of blogs instead of ezines, and gradually come to feel that they are in conversation with you on a daily basis. You become part of their everyday circle of friends and associates, which leads to you becoming their natural resource on topic of your expertise. 2. To Create a Quick and Dirty Learning Environment or e-Campus For those of you who offer TeleClasses or other programs that want to have a web page of learning resources, links, class notes and audio, etc., a blog can be a great way to bring together an e-Campus. If you offer a workshop, coaching/consulting, or even a software solution, and you want to instantly add value to your clients, create a "client/student resource page" using a blog. This becomes an environment that students can play in, study more, and soak up your materials. Your clients continue to benefit from your expertise even though you're not physically there; they do it at their pace, and at little cost to you.
| | Website not selling? Twelve questions you should ask yourselfWritten by David Bell
So your website is getting visitors, but not enough are buying. A common online problem, unfortunately. Here are twelve common faults found with websites that don't sell. If you answer no to any of them, you need to take action. 1)Does your text focus on emphasizing benefits and results customer will get from purchasing and using it? Sales copy needs to be focused on benefits to end user, not on features of product. List features, and then translate them into benefits customer will get. Move away from "our Widget does this, this and this.." to "You will soon be doing this .." 2)Does your website convey enough strong benefits? Brainstorm to come up with a list of benefits. Rank them in order of importance. Then mention them in order throughout text, best first. Summarizing them with bullet points too also works great. 3)Does you text stimulate emotions? People buy with heart not head - so try and stimulate emotions - use words to paint a picture of life after they've bought your product " Imagine freedom of no more back pain..." or "...money worries could soon be a thing of past, and you could soon be taking those exotic vacations...". 4))Does headline grab and draw you in? You've got to try to stop them dead in their tracks with headline. Use best benefit of your product, and create interest so they read on. Make it hard hitting, but not unbelievable. 5)Do you have a call to action? People put off decisions, even if they're 90% sold on your product, they may still decide to "sleep on it". Don't let them have time to forget - give them an incentive to purchase now - discounts, bonuses etc. 6)Does your website load and function ok? Slow load times may cause people to get impatient and go elsewhere, even though it registers a visit. Do all links work, and more importantly, have you tested your order page by running dummy orders? 7)Do you have any testimonials from satisfied customers? Testimonials are everywhere online, and people expect them as a matter of course. Ask those who have purchased what they thought -email them a simple customer satisfaction survey, offer a freebie for replying and use best comments. If your product is free,try a testimonial swap with a seller of a complementary (but not directly competing) product -offer to review his product if he reviews yours.
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