Good Website Navigation and Design is Paramount for Success

Would you buy meat from a grocery store that left the bad meat in with the good meat or wasn't clean? Would you buy a car from a sales lot that had totaled automobiles on the front lot? I wouldn't and neither would you. Your website is your grocery store, your car lot. You must have an atmosphere that is pleasing to buyers. One, that tells that buyer that you are not an amateur, but instead a trained, seasoned professional. Your site is a direct reflection of your product and that is why that having a well designed website can make or break your sales.

The first thing to keep in mind when designing your website, is "surfability". Take a few minutes a look around at several web pages. What makes them appealing? Were there some that you closed out of immediately? Why? Take notes and do your research. Keep in mind that when a person visits your site they have a goal in mind. They are either seeking information or shopping for a product. Give the person what they want without having to search for it. Be sure that all the information on your site is relevant to your product. Make the buyer think that they need your product to solve their problem.

Your main page serves a very specific purpose. It should be an avenue by which the customer can shop your site. It should be easy to view and load very quickly. This is your first impression and we all know that first impressions can either close the deal or loose the deal. Make it simple. It is best to have links that are easily viewable by the reader that will navigate them to where they want to be. Tables are often a great choice when deciding on a way to design the main page of your site. Your main page should load very quickly, chances are if it takes the page more than ten seconds to load even on a 56k modem, the customer will click away to save time, hoping to find the information or product elsewhere. To increase the loading speed of your main page you should avoid large graphics or excessive graphics. To many banners or special effects can cause a page to load slowlyas well.

To make your web site more appealing to the eyes, you should stick to mild colors. If your site is a content site where the user will be doing a lot of reading, it is best to stick to black and white. Color can be added when using tables, as a way to brighten up the page, but remember to keep the overall look of the page professional and appealing to the audience that will be visiting most often. Since screen resolutions vary among monitors, it is a good idea to set the pixels to a standard 800x600. You may also choose to set the tables in your web page to span a percentage of the page rather than a set number of inches. This will be sure to accommodate all screen sizes. You should remember that a lot of Internet users will not use the same browser as you, and therefore you should be sure that your site looks as good on other browsers as it does your own. You can do this by downloading several browsers through which to look atyour page.

Be aware of the fact that the overall look of your website is a way to make money. The appearance of the site, if designed properly, can be an excellent marketing strategy for your productor service.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- Maryellen Malack owns Red Rose Marketing, Inc. How Would You Like To Get A Money Making Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today! Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10730

Who Says You Can't Get Rich Quick?

On August 26th, 2005, a 21 year old young man named Alex Tew started a website to raise money for college.

3 months later he's earned over $700,000 from that single website... Check it out here: http://www.MillionDollarHomePage.com

Then read Alex's blog which chronicles his epic journey from startup to where he is now: http://milliondollarhomepage.com/blog.php

The Million Dollar Home Page is a great concept, but the real brilliance behind it is how it was marketed. Alex promoted his site through 100% free methods: word of mouth and the press! Check out his press page here to see all the stories that have been written about Alex and his Million Dollar Home Page: http://milliondollarhomepage.com/press.php

How can you leverage the same power Alex used to launch his site in your business? Easy. Determine what is unique about your business and write up a press release about it. Next, head over to: http://www.PRWeb.com and submit your press release. Then wash, rinse and repeat until you have all the press and business you can handle.

Trust me, it's much easier than you think to get the press talking about you and your business. In truth, they *need* your story. It's just a matter of giving it to them. Before I became "The Home Biz Guy", I was in the restaurant business. I had popular a health and vegetarian restaurant in Dallas, Texas. At that time, I would simply email section editors from different local newspapers and magazines and tell them what was unique about me and my restaurant. Before I knew it, I had press all over the place taking pictures and writing stories about me... I was dubbed the "Veggie Guru". You can use the power of the press to grow your business too. Stop being so impressed with what other people are doing and get impressed about yourself.

You have a story that the world wants to hear. Go tell it!

--------------------------------------------------------------------- Stone Evans is the author of "Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online" and he wants you to know that you shouldn't pay a dime for any ebook, marketing course, software program or anything else until you've read the groundbreaking document you can download free at: http://www.Dotcomology.com

10 Simple Ways To Increase Your Profits Fast

1. Use a "P.S." at the end of your ad copy. This is were you either want to repeat a strong benefit or use a strong close like a free bonus. 2. Publish a free e-book and give it away from your web site or in your e-zine. This will increase your traffic, sales and e-zine subscribers. 3. Create multiple streams of income with your web site. You could sell your own products, join affiliate programs, use Google adsense, sell advertising space, etc. 4. Give your visitors compliments in your ad copy. This can earn their trust and put them in a good mood, in return they will be easier to sell too. 5. Create new products or services only if there is a strong need for them. You won't have anyone to sell them to if you don't have a market. 6. Sell your backend products to your customers right after they order. Take them to a "Thank You" web page that includes other products you sell. 7. Sell a few products on your web site instead of selling a large amount of products. To many choices can overwhelm your visitors and they won't buy. 8. Include content and free stuff on your web site that promote the products you're selling. If they don't read your ads, they may read your offerings. 9. Remind your visitors that you're human not just a web site. You could publish information on your family life, a picture of yourself, a profile, etc. 10. Provide a "Contact Page" on your web site. Give your visitors as many options to contact you as possible. This will add credibility to your business. ------------------------------

--------------------------------------- © Copyright 2005 Affordable Concrete Cutting, Inc. Robert Short is a seasoned article writer and an expert on search engine optimization and linking. He is responsible for ranking our local service company’s website at number one on all major search engines for more than a dozen keyword terms. Our website now generates as much revenue as our main service business. Visit our website for more articles on linking and webmaster resources http://www.affordableconcretecutting.com/construction_seo.html

How to Sell E-books on Amazon.com

Many savvy entrepreneurs and writers have discovered a new way to generate income by selling information products. These “infopreneurs” are creating new revenue streams by sharing their expertise via special reports, e-books, audio programs, and other information products.

Though it can be relatively easy to list an e-book for sale on your own website, if you want to take your publishing venture to the next level and make it available on Amazon.com, there are some specific steps you need to follow.

Amazon requires e-book publishers to utilize the services of their partner, Lightning Source (LSI ): www.LightningSource.com. LSI is a publishing company and the exclusive packager of e-books for Amazon.

Prior to registering as a customer with LSI, you have to acquire your own International Standard Book Number (ISBN). An ISBN is a unique ten or 13 digit number that is assigned to a book title for a period of thirty years. Bowker (www.bowker.com) is the governing agency that issues ISBN numbers which must be purchased in blocks of 10, 100, 1000, or 10,000 for $225, $800, $1,200, and $3,000 respectively. Each application takes ten days to process before the numbers are issued. If necessary, you can pay an additional fee to have your application expedited.

Your e-book materials must be fully edited and ready to go since once you submit, you will be charged for any changes. LSI accepts e-books in three formats: Adobe Acrobat (PDF), Microsoft Reader (LIT), and Palm Reader (PDB). The only limitation to the size of an e-book is that it must be less than 10 Megabytes.

Once your book is formatted and you have obtained your ISBN, you can register with LSI. The application process requires you to enter your tax ID or social security number and a valid credit card. The good news is that the fee for book submission is just $25 and no other fees are charged unless you need to make changes to your file. Once registered, you will receive instructions for submitting your e-book file along with a contract agreement.

You will receive a proof of your file and after you’ve approved the final version, LSI will list your title in its catalog and make it available to large resellers including Amazon.com, Powell’s Books, Ebookmall, Diesel Ebooks, and others.

As the publisher, you set the cover price of your e-book as well as the wholesale discount price. The wholesale discount must be at least 25% though most e-book publishers set their discounts at 50-55% to make it more attractive for retailers to carry it. Fortunately LSI doesn’t take any additional percentage points since they are compensated by the book dealers. So if you set your retail price at $20 with a 55% discount, you will be paid $9 every time your book is purchased. Payments are distributed by LSI on a quarterly basis.

Once your title is listed with Amazon, you can update the description, add a graphic image, or post reviews on the book’s listing page. To make changes, display your e-book listing on Amazon.com and look just below where the graphic image is displayed (or should be displayed if you don’t have one). You should find a link that says “Publishers: Learn how customers can search inside this book.” Click on the link, type in your Amazon login information, and you will be taken to list of choices for updating the contents of your book’s page. Amazon will typically update the changes you submit within a week.

Because LSI’s contract is non-exclusive, the author retains all rights. This means that you can also make your e-book available directly from a shopping cart on your website or distribute it through other channels. If you want LSI to provide you the ability to sell the e-book from your site, you will have to sign up with their retailer program which can be costly. Instead you might want to consider using a document distribution package such as the one provided by Payloadz.com or a shopping cart system with auto-responders like the one offered by 1ShoppingCart.com.

As with any book that is published, the success of an e-book depends on the author’s marketing efforts. Though the process of acquiring an ISBN number, formatting your e-book, and submitting it through LSI may seem tedious, the advantages can be great if you put some effort into marketing your materials. Imagine the credibility you can add to your publicity when you are interviewed by a newspaper or radio station and you can say, “My e-book is available on Amazon!”

Additional Resources for E-book Publishing: *Join the E-book community on Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/

*E-books ‘N Bytes lists resources for e-book compilers, publishers, distribution, and more: www.ebooksnbytes.com/

Keywords: e-books, sell e-books, publish e-books, how to publish e-book, Amazon.com

About the Author Stephanie Chandler, Sacramento, CA Stephanie@BusinessInfoGuide.com Learn more about how to publish e-books Stephanie Chandler is the author of "The Business Startup Checklist and Planning Guide: Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams!" and the founder of http://www.BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of free resources for entrepreneurs. Sign up for the popular monthly newsletter to receive hot tips and small business resources.