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Most Usable E-commerce E-zine
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SITE-SELL! Issue #009
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SITE-SELL!
The World's Most USABLE E-commerce E-zine
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>A free, occasional e-zine dedicated to showing you ...
> ... how to MAKE YOUR SITE SELL!
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March 13, 2000
Issue #009
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If a friend forwarded this copy of SITE-SELL! to you,
please subscribe at...
http://www.sitesell.com/site-sell.html
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===================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
o Site-Sell Xpress News
o Featured Articles
1) The Very BEST Two E-commerce Opportunities
for the Average Entrepreneur
2) It May Not be the Beverly Hills Hotel, But...
===================
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SITE-SELL XPRESS NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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----------------------------------------------
SiteSell Launches "Make Your Knowledge Sell!"
to Unanimous Critical Acclaim
----------------------------------------------
Yes, it's true -- MYKS! is now available. And it's already
being called...
> "The BIBLE of selling what you know on the Net."
If you have ever thought of cutting out your own little
slice of "e-commerce pie," this is the single most important
link that you will *EVER* click upon...
<>
--------------------------------------------------
Edward Palmer Wins the MYSS! "Analyze This" Sweeps
--------------------------------------------------
Wait 'til you see the renovation job we do on Edward's
"Youth Sports" site below.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FEATURED ARTICLES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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---1---
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The Very BEST Two E-commerce Opportunities
for the Average Entrepreneur
-----SIDEBAR-----
This is a reprint from our companion e-zine, "Sales from the
EDGE." Only owners of SiteSell products receive the EDGE. I
never publish material that appears in the EDGE in
SITE-SELL!, except for this one time. Why?
Because the information is just too important. You simply
should not miss this.
This is a long, but extremely important issue of SITE-SELL!.
Print it out and then read it in your favorite easy chair or
sofa. Enjoy and use the information -- you'll be glad you
gave this issue the attention it deserves. :-)
-----SIDEBAR-----
Many people continue to search for the right road to
e-commerce success. If that's you, I doubt if I'll EVER
write anything that is more important than this article
Here's why...
People fail at e-commerce because they make wrong decisions
very, VERY early, often at the "idea" stage. Or worse...
they don't even make decisions... they just drift into an
opportunity... the WRONG opportunity.
Doomed from the start. Unfortunately, the bad decision only
becomes obvious after a year of futile hard work.
Let's use this issue of Sales from the EDGE to build a
"DESTINED TO SUCCEED" E-commerce Plan from scratch...
The rest of this issue assumes that you are not a dot-com
startup with millions to waste. Heck, you're not even a
mid-sized biz with thousands to squander. You're one or two
people, on a limited budget, with a desire to build a
successful e-biz.
Is that you? If so, there are TWO strong paths that can
build a substantial e-commerce income. These are, by far,
your BEST BETS on the Net.
-------------
---PATH #1---
-------------
Develop a "Smart" KNOWLEDGE-based Affiliate Business.
What's an "affiliate business"?
In a nutshell...
STEP 1 -- You send visitors to a Web merchant, using
whatever creative marketing ideas you can devise.
STEP 2 -- The merchant tracks those visitors.
STEP 3 -- If your referrals buy, you receive a commission.
--
What do I mean by "smart" and "KNOWLEDGE-based"?
I mean that you use *YOUR KNOWLEDGE* to develop your own
theme, a concept that leverages what you already know and
love. Then you choose good programs that fit with your theme.
You don't get sucked in by the hype of all the programs. You
build "from the ground up," in a logical and business-like
way. You measure the profit potential of your concepts
before you proceed. You evaluate each program for fit and
profit potential. Only the best programs "make the cut."
Successful affiliates have all followed this path. Everyone
else just seems to collect programs helter-skelter.
--
Affiliate programs are DO-able. No need to develop your own
product. No need to worry about order-taking and shipping.
Only one problem... most people don't make any money. Why?
Two reasons...
a) Some expect "money for nothing" -- the sooner these
people get past the concept of "easy money," the sooner
they'll stop leading lives of disappointment. They'll be
able to move forward and conduct businesses based upon
exchanging value for value.
b) They don't do it "smart" and "KNOWLEDGE-based."
They create a tacky collection of banners and call them
"cyber-malls." Or they do what everyone else is doing (ex.,
yet another Web marketing site). Or... or... or... like I
said, fatal mistakes right at the start.
The fastest way that I can get you up to speed on the
"smart" and "KNOWLEDGE-based" path is by offering you the
Affiliate Masters course. It's an intensive 5-day e-mail
course on becoming a high-earning affiliate champion.
I guarantee that you'll refer to this course over and over
again as you build (rebuild) your affiliate business. Print
each e-mail out, pour yourself a beverage of choice, bring
along a pen to jot down some ideas, and take it all to your
favorite easy chair or sofa. Learning a serious subject is
so much more powerful when you're comfortable. :-)
To receive the Affiliate Masters course, simply send a blank
e-mail to...
tamsken@sitesell.net
Pure content. No charge.
-----SIDEBAR----
Those who have been faithfully working our own 5 Pillar
Program for several months now are really starting to see
the power of the program. One affiliate has just passed
$3,000 in commissions, and several others are well over
$1,500...
... and that's for just THE FIRST THIRTEEN DAYS in March.
This program will grow income for affiliates exponentially,
as we add one new product per month throughout 2000.
The 5PP was recently named "Best Affiliate Program of 1999"
by AffiliatesDirectory.com (out of 2500+ programs!). And
Allan Gardyne (of AssociatePrograms.com fame) says that the
5 Pillar Program is "where other programs will be in 18
months." Allan has also remarked...
"If you look at only ONE revenue sharing
program this year, make sure it's this one."
For more info about the 5 Pillar Program, please see...
http://www.sitesell.com/affiliateprogram.html
-----SIDEBAR----
OK, time for the second path...
-------------
---PATH #2---
-------------
Develop a "Smart" KNOWLEDGE-based Business.
Does this sound like the same as PATH #1? YES and NO.
"NO" because you'll build a business that sells YOUR OWN
product. This is not an affiliate business.
"YES" because you use *YOUR KNOWLEDGE* to develop YOUR OWN
theme, a concept that leverages what you already know and
love. You don't get sucked in by the hype of the infinite
number of e-commerce services out there. You build "from the
ground up," in a logical and business-like way. You measure
the profit potential of your concepts before you proceed.
If you prefer the idea of creating and selling your own
product on the Net, I explain the single best way for you to
do this a bit further below.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Both PATH #1 and PATH #2 work. Before deciding on which is
best for you, investigate *BOTH* PATHS. Actually, you don't
have to decide on one PATH or the other -- it can be very
rewarding to use *BOTH", thereby developing two streams of
income from the same Web site.
So here's what to do...
Subscribe to the Affiliate Masters course at...
tamsken@sitesell.net
Then read the rest of this issue of the EDGE.
Take the time to make a SMART decision. It's important to
choose something that both excites you *AND* has profit
potential (i.e., other people want what you offer).
As I said, both PATHS work. But you must choose the one
(or both) that is right for you.
-----SIDEBAR-----
In the next issue of the EDGE, we'll publish an original,
powerful and cost-effective step-by-step improved "Phase III
Gateway" approach that will build traffic cost-effectively
for you throughout 2000 and 2001. It integrates all the
latest Search Engine changes and the three major articles
that we've published about Open Directory, RealNames and
GoTo (in the EDGE).
If you get going RIGHT NOW on starting a "DESTINED TO
SUCCEED" e-commerce business...
You'll be able to use the next issue for your new
e-business, regardless of which PATH you choose.
Seriously... all you have to do to succeed is...
*DO IT!* All the info you need to really make it on the Net
is right here. You can't imagine the pleasure I receive when
someone thanks me for their success on the Net. So...
If you don't do it for yourself, do it for me! ;-)
OK, let's move ahead with building a "smart" KNOWLEDGE-based
business. I know three things about you...
1) You've read MYSS!. That means that you have all you need
in order to sell on the Net. You know how to build a site
that SELLS, and how to build traffic to that site.
MYSS! is on the right side of the 90-10 Rule. Stop chasing
the other 10% benefit with 90% of the work. Let's spend
that effort on what is likely missing....
... your own product.
-----SIDEBAR-----
As I said earlier, this was written for EDGE subscribers,
all of whom own MYSS! This does not necessarily apply to
you...
... but it should. :-) The price is ridiculously low and
the information is generally accepted by Web gurus as the
best, by far. "It's the BIBLE of selling on the Net."
<>
-----SIDEBAR-----
The two other things that I know about you...
2) You have KNOWLEDGE that is of value to someone else. You
likely don't even realize it -- but you do!
3) You have a limited budget. If you're a dot-com or even a
mid-sized company with thousands in the budget, this article
is not for you -- wait for the next issue! :-)
-----
OK, that's YOU. Now let's talk about the single most
important factor to succeed at selling on the Net...
... no, not your site.
... no, not your traffic.
... yes, it's YOUR PRODUCT.
The two key words in the last statement are...
1) "YOUR" -- it has to by YOUR proprietary product. If you
donŐt control your product, you donŐt control your business.
If you control your product, you control everything...
quality, supply, pricing, etc.
2) "PRODUCT" -- so many people miss the point about the word
"product." We should replace this word with "benefit
deliverer." Then we'd see things so much more clearly.
If you don't have a product that delivers important,
valuable benefits at a great price...
... you DON'T have a product.
-----
Now... let's put YOU and YOUR PRODUCT together. What's the
simplest, fastest, and most risk-free way to do that?
Like I say in the Product volume of Make Your Site SELL!,
it's to develop KNOWLEDGE-based products. And here's
the best news about KNOWLEDGE-based products... it's not
only the best way to go, it's the most DO-able. Why?
Three reasons why KNOWLEDGE-based products (also called
"infoproducts") are so DO-able...
Reason #1) Everything you need is ALREADY between your ears!
You may not yet realize it, but you know stuff that other
people don't... things people would pay to know. So you're
already very close to profiting from your knowledge.
Reason #2) There *IS* a market for what you know. You
assume that everyone knows what you know, or that what you
know does not have much value. Wrong.
Reason #3) All you need is a roadmap that will show you
o How to pull it out of your brain
o How to publish it
o How to sell it on the Net.
Enter... "Make Your Knowledge Sell!" ("MYKS!").
MYKS! shows you clearly, and exactly, how to pull the best,
most marketable ideas out of your brain, and how to develop
them into saleable infoproducts. Then it shows how to market
and sell them on the Net. Absolutely everything is in MYKS!,
from brainstorming to automating your order-processing.
I don't care *WHAT* your personal situation is. It does not
matter if you can't get a merchant account. It's OK if you
don't want to bother with order-taking and shipping. It
does not matter if technology overwhelms you. But...
You *DO* have to possess attitude... the desire to grab
control of your life by mining what's in your brain and
selling it on the Net.
For full information about MYKS!, please see...
<>
By the way, if you think that MYSS! OVER-delivers, wait
until you see MYKS!. It offers even more value for the
dollar. Impossible? Wait 'til you see it. :-)
In the same way that MYSS! has become *THE BIBLE* for
selling on the Net, MYKS! is *ALL* you will ever need to
create and sell your own KNOWLEDGE on the Net. Put MYSS!
and MYKS! together and all you have to do to succeed is...
Use your brain. Do it. :-)
-------
---2---
-------
It May Not be the Beverly Hills Hotel, but...
Edward Palmer (youth-sports.com, youthsprts@aol.com) has won
the MYSS! "Analyze This" Sweepstakes. What did he win?
Well, do you remember the SITE-SELL! issue where we analyzed
and improved the site of the Beverly Hills Hotel?
http://articles.sitesell.com/bhh/
It was far and away the most popular article ever written in
the SITE-SELL e-zine. It showed in practical terms how to
use "Make Your Site SELL!" ("MYSS!") principles to
"site-sell."
It caused hundreds of people to ask for a similar site
review. Unfortunately, I just don't have the enough seconds
in the day. Large companies have hired me for a day or two
at a time for high level planning and strategizing.
My rates are crazily high for this kind of one-on-one --
frankly, I'm not worth the $6,000 per day. But they seem to
think otherwise, so who am I to say otherwise? ;-)
This demand for site-reviewing did give us an idea to launch
a Sweepstakes with me as the prize. No, it's not a date --
you'd find me rather boring, I'm afraid -- all I do is talk
about the Net. ;-) Rather, you can win my site-analyzing
services.
And that's precisely what Edward Palmer has won. At $6,000
per day, he's won a pretty good deal (yes, I really do
charge, and get paid, that amount).
In this article of SITE-SELL, I do the "BHH job" on his
site. If *YOU* would like to win my services to analyze and
improve your site, simply spread the MYSS! word by entering
the MYSS! "Analyze This" Sweeps!...
http://www.sitesell.com/cgi-bin/contest/contestStart.pl
OK, on to Edward's site...
http://www.youth-sports.com
I asked him what the MWR (Most Wanted Response) of his site
is. He replied...
------------------------------------------
"The three primary goals of the site are:
1) to sell products
2) to be a content resource center for
parents and coaches regarding youth sports
and sportsmanship
3) to be a place for children to come to for
a chance to color online as well as enter the
coloring contest and have a chance to win a
"B. A. Good Sport" T-shirt.
The "Getting Started Sports Books" are the
first sports coloring books that teach
fundamentals and sportsmanship. The web site
is the only youth sports site that focuses on
sportsmanship in youth sports with valuable
content provided by youth sports experts,
child psychologists and health & fitness
experts."
------------------------------------------
When I read Edward's statement above, I started to worry.
If you want to sell product, "content-building" can become
not only very time-consuming but actually distracting to the
sales process. And coloring? Hmmm... we'll see.
-----
BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING
Let's start. Go to...
http://youth-sports.com/
Read the rest of this article while following along in
Edward's site.
-----SIDEBAR-----
I'm going to be rather hard on Edward's site in places. But
don't take that the wrong way. Overall, I think he has
found a wonderful niche that has terrific potential. It
just needs a little renovating. So now it's time for...
"Web Site Tool Time" ;-)
Meanwhile, please look past some of the site's problems. If
you have a child, this site has information and products
that *ARE* of value to you. It's a great idea. :-)
-----SIDEBAR-----
Here are Edward's opening headline and statement...
------------------------------------------
A Colorful Way to Learn Youth Sports
Searching for help on how to teach your
children Youth Sports and Sportsmanship?
You've come to the right place!!
------------------------------------------
Ouch! Really, really poor headline. First, the headline
("A Colorful Way to Learn Youth Sports") looks like a
banner, so I didn't notice it at first (neither did my wife
when I asked her to review this article!). Surfers quickly
train their eyes to avoid anything that looks like a banner.
I only noticed that headline on my second visit to the site.
When I finally saw it, I said, "How the heck did *that*
headline get there.? Did I miss it?" In any event, maybe
it's a good thing that I didn't notice it...
The headline says nothing. Instead of grabbing the viewer
by the hand and pulling him or her into the rest of the copy
on the page, you miss it and when you do see it, you miss
the point. Because it has no obvious-and-immediate point.
Only after I spent some time on the site did I understand
the "play on words" of this headline -- most people would
not bother trying to even "figure it out." Yes, it's cute
and clever. But it does not sell. It only confuses.
Your opening headline is the single most important part of
the site -- this one dies. What does "colorful way" mean to
me and what does "Youth Sports" mean to me? Not much.
Nothing, actually.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Ed did the headline as a graphic. Which is OK. But it's
17.7K. Way too big. Remember, most people are still on 56K
or less, and most will still be there in a year. Optimize
those graphics.
-----SIDEBAR-----
THE OPENER
The opening paragraph (what we call "The Opener" in MYSS!")
is not bad. It does let the reader know what's coming.
BUT...
1) It introduces a term that I am not familiar with...
"Youth Sports." Is this somehow different from regular
sports played by youths? It raised some confusion in me.
And confusion is a bad thing to raise.
LESSON #1 -- Never use jargon.
2) "teach" is a painful word. It implies work and time.
Yes, this may be required by the parent, but don't put that
up front now.
LESSON #2 -- Avoid words that have unpleasant connotations.
3) It does not address a fundamental pain or gain of the
parent.
LESSON #3 -- this is critical. You must promise a major
gain or relieve a big-time pain.
Let's see if we can improve this a bit...
------------------------------------------
"Is your child having trouble playing by
the rules? Maybe doesn't even *KNOW* the
rules? You've come to the right place!!"
------------------------------------------
Perhaps with a cute, pouty, tear-filled cartoon-child with
arms crossed, ready to "take my ball and go home."
No jargon. Cleaner. Avoids painful phrases. Outlines the
parent's pain/worry and promises that you have the cure.
I am never, ever happy with my opening paragraph. I re-read
ours at least once a week and try to improve it.
The Opener is THE key to your site. "Make Your Site SELL!"
lists all the key points that must be hit in your Opener.
It's the single most important part of your whole site.
THE LEAD-IN TO THE REST OF YOUR OPENING PAGE
From that opening paragraph, you must lead-in cleanly to the
rest of your Home Page. Now, "youth sports" is not my area
of expertise, so I'll "guess-write" from a personal
viewpoint. As an expert in the field, Edward could use this
if he felt that these sentiments generalized to most
parents, IN A BIG-TIME WAY.
OK, so let's continue...
------------------------------------------
"Games and sports are an incredibly important
way for your child to interact with
others.... to team-play ... to be competitive
'within the rules.' Key life skills such as
leadership, team play, and graceful losing
are set at this early stage. They are honed
over years of seemingly simple play.
Your child will use these skills to win, OR
lose, in such adult life situations as....
o working for a large company
o marriage
o launching an entrepreneurial venture."
------------------------------------------
See where this is going? As an parent of two girls, 8 and
11, Edward would have my complete and total attention. I
will leave no page unturned to give my children this kind of
edge in life.
Instead, let's see where the rest of this page goes...
------
Next I see a nice, warm picture of "Uncle Ed" in the right
margin. That's where my eye went -- the photo probably
grabbed it. You should always do some simple usability
testing, as outlined in MYSS!, to see if this in fact is the
usual pattern.
I certainly would not want this to be the second thing that
the visitor sees. Why? Because I want the visitor to read
my "key life skills" copy first. This really holds the
visitor to my site.
"Mission statements" are deadly boring. But since I'm there
now...
Really, I like the photo of Edward (although it's rather
large at 19.2K). Usually, I find head-and-shoulder shots
like this a turnoff -- much better to show the site-owner in
a natural site (perhaps coaching soccer here).
But this photo has been nicely rendered and Edward looks
like everybody's favorite uncle. Good start to
"likeability." Remember, if your visitors don't like you,
they won't buy from you.
Unfortunately, Ed follows with what I call an "I-me-my"
mission statement. Too bad... at this early stage, the
customer only wants to know...
"What's in it for me?"
Instead, Edward starts "I believe..." and it's all downhill
from there. I hate to be hurtful, and the only intent of
this is to help, but really... no one cares what Edward, I
or anyone else says in our mission statement. At a
certain point, they might... but that time is only after
they are totally sold that you have something to offer. At
that point, the visitor might wonder...
"Hmmm... who *ARE* these people." Right about then, you
might get a click on the "About us" button (bottom left
margin). That's where Edward's mission statement belongs...
merged in with the other copy on this page. As it stands
now, it's hurting the Opening Page.
------
My eye continued down the right margin. At the bottom, I
see Edward's mascot, "B.A. Good Sport" -- it's a terrific
little character. Nicely done. Good feel. But he's asking
me to click on "What's New!!". Why would I want to do that
when I don't yet know what this site will do for me??
At this point, Edward has likely lost me -- I'm very
probably headed back to the Search Engine... NEXT!
Let's review...
1) I've missed the headline. If I had seen it, I would have
got nothing out of it.
2) I've read a confusing opening paragraph.
3) Then I saw Edward's photo and mission statement, so
bypassed important copy that should motivate me to stay.
4) Then I see a cute mascot asking me to click on "What's
New." As a joint to the next page, this is likely to lose
me. Why? I have no reason to perform a time-consuming
click to another page.
-----
Let's assume I do the unlikely and scroll back up the
page to pick up the text, where I should have been. Here's
Edward's second paragraph...
------------------------------------------
"You will find helpful information, advice
and instructional products that will help
you the parents, coaches and children
involved in youth sports. Each section
provides you with an in depth look at the
particular topic."
------------------------------------------
Uh-oh. Features instead of benefits. He's telling you what
his site *is* rather than addressing a parent's pain or
gain. Re-read my proposed follow-up paragraph above (starts
with "Games and sports are..").
Edward goes on to list each major section of the site and
describe FEATURES again. Not a single description motivated
me to click. Plus it's a clunky way to "preview the link's
destination."
A javascript roll-over could handle this elegantly and give
a more professional feel at the same time. If you don't
understand this, see how we do it on our MYSS! site...
<>
Just mouse-over the button-links at the top of each page.
Finally, Edward closes the all-important Home Page with
navigational instructions...
------------------------------------------
"Need to Find Your Way Around?
The easy to use graphic navigation bar on
the left and the easy to read text bar at
the bottom of each page will help you visit
each sport and all the other helpful
sections while visiting all the numerous
sections within this site.
Bookmark my site and encourage other
parents, coaches and youth athletes to
visit Youth-Sports.com.
This site is your resource center,
dedicated to benefiting parents, coaches
and children involved in youth sports."
------------------------------------------
Ouch. You should never have to explain navigation to your
visitor. It should be intuitive. And in fact, Edward is
not doing anything out of the ordinary. So it's not needed.
The last two paragraphs are weak and self-serving. Edward
should be finishing with a strong joint that pulls the
visitor to the most important next page. The concept of
"page joints" is an original MYSS! concept -- it explains in
detail how to keep your visitors on your site, and how to
keep them progressing through it.
And just before the joint, Edward must gently lead the
visitor into the concept that there is stuff for sale here.
It seemed to me like a big and sudden jump to see material
for sale as soon as I link to "Soccer" or "T-ball" -- I
expected information about those topics, not material for
sale.
I also found more T-ball products under "Fundamentools" than
under T-ball. Very confusing. If Edward wants to make the
coloring books prominent, he should simply do so in the
relevant sports section, rather than create separate,
single-product categories.
NAVIGATION
Let's take a look at how to straighten out the navigation of
this site...
First, the vertical navbar is confusing. I keep getting
mixed up whether the "word labelling" applies to the graphic
that is above or below it. So I have to look to the top to
figure it out all over again. Know what happens when you
keep frustrating your visitor?
Phew! Glad I got that off my chest. ;-) Next, I would
remove counterproductive and under-used areas...
1) Forums -- no one uses them on Edward's site. Forums can
be useful. But you need a high-traffic site. And you need
the type of audience that likes to kibbitz. And you need
lots of controversial topics. Otherwise, they die. And
quiet forums are a kiss of death.
2 & 3) "Color online" and "Coloring contest" -- This site is
clearly aimed at parents and coaches. My guess is that
"coloring" is not used as much as Edward was hoping. I
would blend this into the area where Edward sells coloring
books. Offer the parent the chance to print out a few pages
for offline coloring by their children. I'd probably scrap
the contest.
4) Awards program -- Edward sells "B. A. Good Sport" Award
Certificates" or allows them to print them. I would move
each of these, soccer and t-ball, into their respective
product sections. This is extra navigation for too little
gain. Remember, the more buttons there are to click, the
more tired your visitor will feel before even starting.
5) Photo gallery -- seems like a waste of time. I felt like
I wasted a click.
6) Links -- ditto. Wasted my time. It's a lucky thing that
Edward's not paying me by the hour. ;-) Not a good idea
to link out of a selling site, in any event.
7) Order form -- don't see the point of this. Edward's
order process is smooth from each of the individual
products. Few people are likely to click on the Order Form
and just start ordering.
They are far more likely to find a product, say in
"Fundamentools," that they want. They click on "Add to
Cart" and then a fairly smooth and short "checking out"
process starts, including the ability to add any other item
to the cart before check out.
So the "Order Form" link does not seem necessary.
-----
I'd change two links...
1) Archives -- rename to "Youth Sports Newsletter." The
links. "Archives" sounds so dusty. I do like the way
Edward offers the ability to subscribe to his newsletter on
many other pages. This is Edward's important BACKUP
RESPONSE (explained in detail in MYSS!). He does not miss a
chance to capture the all-important e-mail address.
2) "Coming soon" -- I would tend to move this up under
"T-ball" and "Soccer"
-----
OK, now we're down to the "meat" --> links to...
T-ball, Soccer, Fundamentools, Articles.
I don't get the point of "Fundamentools." I'd drop it and
reassign the products into T-ball or Soccer (and other
sports as they get added). And the T-ball and Soccer
sections need to be sub-divided according to some sort of
logic, maybe something like...
o Rules of the Sport
o Sportsmanship
o Coaches' Corner
o Parent's Perspective
o etc.
Second, I'd divide the "left margin navbar" into three
sections (allowing for all the discarded sections discussed
above)...
SECTION #1) Top left corner of each page...
Home Page
About Us
Contact Us
SECTION #2) Across the top of each page, left to right...
ARTICLES --> Soccer T-ball Sportsmanship Coaches Parents
SECTION #3) Down the left margin, top to bottom...
PRODUCTS
Soccer
T-ball
Coming Soon
Youth Sports Newsletter (?? better name)
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Ahhhh...
Nice and clean. Visitor understands that the left margin
is selling products. The upper bar contains all kinds of
informative articles. And you can always get back to Home,
or contact the company, by clicking on one of the links in
the left upper corner.
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SITE-SELLING IDEA
Now the key -- each and every article must link to specific,
related products. When a visitor clicks to a certain
article, that person automatically qualifies as having an
interest in that topic. So s/he is only one click away from
buying a related topic. This will be the single most
powerful sales tool on the site.
If Edward has the programming power available, I'd even
track each "article-visited" with a cookie. Then, at
certain times, if the product link was not clicked, I'd
dynamically insert product suggestions. This is something
that we are developing for our site, now that we are adding
one new product per month.
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UNDERUSED STRENGTH
That little mascot, "B.A. Good Sport" ("GoodSport" is a
cuter a single-word last name for the character), should be
the tour guide for the whole side. He should be doing much,
much more than just telling me what's new.
This little guy can add much needed character to the site.
Do a variety of drawings (not all in the same pose, as he is
now). Put him in a variety of situations... soccer, t-ball,
whispering, shouting, happy, worried... but always talking
to us. This is a winner guy who needs to be used better.
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UNNECESSARY WEAKNESS
Those "Web ring" and Link Exchange banners on some of the
pages. Makes the site seem small-time. They hurt
credibility and therefore hurt sales -- they are not worth
whatever minimal traffic they bring.
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BOTTOM LINE
This site has wonderful potential. It's a great example of
how entrepreneurs can enter a niche and do well with it...
... or not. It's all in the execution, which is good news.
Why? Well...
As we saw in the first article in this issue of SITE-SELL!,
entrepreneurs often make bad basic decisions, right at the
start. If you do that, it does not matter how well you
execute. You just don't have a chance.
Edward has not made a bad decision. I think that he has the
beginning of an excellent niche site. He just has to
execute improvements.
The proposed changes in this article will...
1) Make the point of the site far clearer. My wife did not
understand what the site was about until she read this
article. You have no chance at a sale if someone spends 10
minutes clicking around your site and is still asking "What
is this site trying to do?".
2) Make the visitor far more likely to stay and explore
because "there's something in it for him/her."
3) Make the site easily navigable and usable. Do all you
can to reduce user frustration.
4) Eliminate the fatigue feeling -- too many navigation
options, half of which are dead-ends of no value, is not a
good way to gain the favor of time-pressured surfers.
5) Most importantly -- it will sell much, much more product.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Something tells me that Edward's site is about to get a
whole lot better. If *YOU* would like to win my services to
analyze and improve your site, simply spread the MYSS! word
by entering the MYSS! "Analyze This" Sweeps!...
http://www.sitesell.com/cgi-bin/contest/contestStart.pl
-----SIDEBAR-----
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Written by Ken Evoy, M.D.,
President of SiteSell.com Inc.
(c) and ™ SiteSell.com Inc. All rights reserved.