Is Your Web Site Working Overtime For You? 5 Ways to Squeeze More Value Out of Your Web Site

There is one thing you can be sure of, and that is that the Internet never sleeps. Now with that in mind, let me ask you a point blank question, is your web site poised to take advantage of that? If it’s not, you could be leaving some big money on the table. Face it; you’ve paid the same amount of money to create and maintain your web site whether it works part-time, full-time or overtime for you. So why not make it serve you 24/7 365 days a year? How? Well here are 5 ways to squeeze more value out of your web site:

1. Use It as a Lead Generation Tool
   To not only survive but, succeed in business we all need to constantly generate and maintain a list of prospects or otherwise known as a 'sales pipeline' to sell to. The easiest way to do this using your web site is by offering your visitors something for free such as an ezine (electronic newsletter) or an ecourse which is typically a how-to tutorial delivered via email in exchange for their contact information.



2. Use It to Personalize Your Visitors Experience
   The Internet over the years has received a bad rap as being impersonal; while this may have been true once, back in the stone knives and bear skins days of the Internet, today’s powerful technology has done its part and given us the tools we need to really take our businesses and the Internet to new levels. There is simply no reason for our web sites to be impersonal any longer. The ball is in our court now – it’s up to us, the developers and users of the content that makes up the Internet to make it personal and effective.
   
   So how can you make your web site more personal? Well here are a few examples for you. How about getting rid of those stock clip-art images and replacing them with real pictures of you, your clients and your business? How about adding audio and/or video to your web site so your visitors can hear you and see you speak? How about including case studies and testimonials of success stories?
   
   Remember people like to do business with people they feel comfortable with so the more personal your web site, the more possible your desired results.



3. Use It to Communicate With Your Visitors More Often and In Real-Time
   There is simply no substitute for staying in constant contact with your target market. And today, there are plenty of Internet-based tools available that are either inexpensive or even free that can be implemented immediately on your web site to enable you to do this. Some examples could be setting up an email marketing system that works in conjunction with your web site, periodically sending out an ezine, implementing a real-time forum for your subscribed members to converse on, or hosting a blog where you can post content and allow your visitors to respond or comment on your postings.



4. Use It to Sell Products
   In today’s world of instant gratification, why not capitalize on it by allowing your web site visitors to buy and pay for some or all of your products and services through your web site? Also, why not add more value to your visitor by making available someone else’s non-competitive, but complementary product through your web site as well? And while we’re at it, why not take advantage of impulse spending by up-selling your visitor with other low-cost, almost no-brainer impulse items during your web site’s shopping cart check-out process?



5. Use It to Empower Your Visitors to Make Proper Decisions
   There is no greater way to become a trusted advisor for your target market then to consistently provide them with the information they need when they need it to make a proper decision. How do you do this using your web site you ask? Well how about providing relevant, informative articles, some ecourses or tutorials, case studies, recommended tools or books, or maybe adding a frequently asked questions section to your web site just to name a few. The bottom line here is to be a generous giver, not a taker and although there are no guarantees here, your visitors will eventually respond to you the way that you want them to.

Now most of the ideas here are not so new in the ‘brick and mortar’ offline world, however, they are not yet the norm in the online world. So implementing one, some, or all of these ideas will definitely differentiate you from your competition and position you for success.

© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

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Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships.  To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.