Subject: ** Urgent Notification Bulletin **

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 08:50:19 +0800

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                   DIRECT ACCESS
                      E-ZINE!

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(C) http://directaccessgroup.com  June 24, 2000

   In This Issue...

*  Marketing Tip Of The Week: "People Do Judge Web Sites
   By Their Front Pages" By Jim Daniels

--------------- IN THE SPOTLIGHT ---------------

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------------- END SPOTLIGHT MESSAGE -------------

*** MARKETING TIP OF THE WEEK! ***

"People Do Judge Web Sites By Their Front Pages"

A successful Web site is an extremely effective sales tool
since it has the ability to gain the attention of a captive
audience. Like all direct response marketing processes, it
must first hook a reader's attention and then move them to
take some action. However, when the mechanics of that very
first page are ignored, it often causes visitors to click
out of a site from the moment they arrive. And such Web
sites, although some of which get a large number of hits,
never seem to produce the anticipated level of response let
alone deeper traffic.

With just a few changes, you can turn your Web site into a
more compelling and effective sales tool. Remember that,
every single day, your customers are bombarded with a
continuous flow of information and marketing messages, and
that competition for their attention is exceedingly fierce.
A Web site that captures their attention and stays active in
your customer's mind will not only have them visit deeper
into your site and generate sales but also have them visit
your site again and again as well as refer your site to
others.

Here are some basic rules to follow when designing a front
page:

Be Focused

Target your market! As the adage goes, "You can not be all
things to all people." You can, however, position your site
effectively to meet the needs of a specific group. It's a
paradox but you will indeed get more with less. This means
understanding who your customers/visitors are and what
motivates their buying decisions. Therefore, do your
homework. Know your customer. Appeal to their specific needs
and psyche. Focus like a laser on your niche, and your site
will burn into their minds.

Web sites centered on a very narrow theme or idea will
create visitors of greater interest, and especially leads
that are much more pre-qualified and apt to buy. Look at it
this way: When you narrow down your message and focus on a
niche, visitors will be 50% sold the minute they hit your
site's first page. Then, it is up to your content (copy,
offer, and call-to-action) to take them through the
remaining 50%.

Niche marketing on the Web is particularly important since
people do not have the time to sift through an entire site
-- let alone a search engine or even the Internet -- to find
exactly that for which they are looking. If your site is
unique, highly specialized, and focused however, people will
be inclined to surf deeper into your site once they hit the
first page.

If you cater to a particular audience, it will then be easier
for your first page to lead visitors to a successful outcome
because, once they hit your site, they are pre-qualified.

Be Specific

Answer this skill-testing question: "What exactly do you
want your visitors to do?" Simple, isn't it? But it doesn't
seem that way with the many sites I've visited. The KISS
principle (that's Keep It Simple and Straightforward) is
immensely important on online. An effective Web site starts
with smart planning and it must have a clear objective that
will lead to a specific action or outcome. If your site is
not meant to, say, sell a product, gain a customer, or
obtain an inquiry for more information, then what exactly
must it do? Work around the answer as specifically as
possible. In short, have a plan when you design your site's
front page.

Don't be vague and be specific. Is your Web site meant to be
like a resume or billboard that only advertises the fact
that you are "open for business"? It shouldn't, unless you
are intimately involved with that specific medium (i.e., you
are a Web designer or host, or in other words your site is
the product in itself). If not, is it to generate qualified
leads? Is it to sell a particular product? Are you trying to
persuade your visitors to switch from another company to
you? Do you want them to call you on the phone for more
information? Are you trying to have them subscribe to some
membership program? You get the picture.

The mind hates confusion. If you try to get your visitors to
do too many things, especially on the front page, they will
do nothing. However, if you want to offer a visitor a
variety of different options, then try to focus on one alone
and create a secondary page (or more) that are each
respective to a particular action, and then link them
together at the appropriate locations for flow. In essence,
keep your message focused. Do not try to communicate too
much -- you will overwhelm the reader. Use one major theme
and revolve your message around it.

Be Clear

When you are in the process of buying a book, for instance,
the one thing that has attracted you is the cover (if you're
not aware of the author beforehand, and even then the cover
plays a key role). If the proverb "Don't judge books by
their covers" exists, it is because we, as humans, have the
natural inclination to do so. Newspapers capitalize on that
intrinsic human behavior, which is why front-page headlines
and news articles are always carefully selected. In fact,
the most read part of a newspaper is not only the front page
but also the top section (or what is commonly referred as
"above the fold").

Therefore, the front page of your Web site is "the cover of
your book," so to speak. It should entice readers to surf
further into the site and not lead them to take action right
then and there (unless your web site is a single page). On
the front page, keep the written copy short (or its major
benefit "above the fold") and to the point, allowing the
reader to easily see what's in it for them. Use bold,
attention-grabbing headlines and subheadlines to emphasize
the major theme and the core benefit that your site offers.

In fact, list the benefits. Why should a visitor surf your
site? What's in it for him/her? In other words, focus on
communicating to the visitor the reasons why they should
browse further. A great technique for doing so is to use a
bulleted list of benefits (such as when it follows the words
"With this site, you get," "in this site, you will find," or
"here are the reasons why you should browse this site").

(this week's tip continued after this important message...)

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(this week's tip continued...)

Bulleted benefit lists not only give a visual break for the
reader but are also effective since they are short,
to-the-point, and clustered for greater impact. Remember
that customers buy benefits not products. Therefore, your
first page should focus on the benefits of your web site and
not its features. It must give specific reasons for surfers
to venture further.

Present a problem and emphasize it. Focus on an existing gap
(the gap between a problem and its solution). And then show
what your web site brings to the table by telling your
visitors how, by surfing deeper, they will be able to fill
that gap. In other words, the first page must confirm that
there is a problem and how exactly you can solve it.

Be Simple

If your web site includes too much background, Javascript,
frames, plugins and dazzling but slow-loading graphics in an
effort to impress it'll be counterproductive. Many potential
sales are lost due to a slow-loading, unbrowsable site.

Your site should download fast. Research by an on-hold phone
message marketing company found that people start hanging up
when put on hold for more than 30 seconds. The Internet is
no different. If they have to wait for more than 30 seconds
for your page to load, visitors will leave.

In short, if they have to wait, they won't.

People often say our society has entered the "information
revolution." Not so. It's the "access to information"
revolution. The ability to retrieve information in
nanosecond speed is the underlying drive behind the
Internet. For instance, that same ability has caused entire
layers of middle managers to be wiped out. Therefore,
anything that slows that ability down (such as having a
front page over 30-40k), especially when compared to other,
quicker-loading competitor sites, will cost you.

Aside from load-time, you also have to deal with your
prospect's very short attention span. In other words, you
only have a few seconds to attract your visitors before they
leave. As such, you must communicate and distill your
message right down to the really important. Don't overwhelm
them with so much information or glitz that they miss your
central point. While your site may have entertainment value,
if they do not take action you are still losing.

Be Professional

They say that "you never get a second chance to make a good
first impression." First impressions are therefore important
to the degree to which visitors are positively impacted by
the first or index page. It is where the selling process
actually begins. Consistent color, well-balanced
information, appealing and quick-loading graphics, and, most
important, the right message targeted to the proper audience
are the most important elements of a professional-looking,
repeatedly revisited, and often referred Web site.

In fact, the site's front page message is the highest in
priority. Don't let careless mistakes weaken the impact of
your presentation, and always proofread -- and have others
proofread -- your copy for typographical and grammatical
errors. Use a language and project an image that your
specific target audience can easily understand. In other
words, are you trying to convey that you are informed,
serious, professional, credible, fun, helpful, resourceful,
or advanced technologically? The tone of your message should
appeal specifically to a targeted market and help put
visitors in a particular frame of mind.

A final caveat, though. The first page should not be the
only one that follows the above rules. Applying most of
these pointers to an entire site should be carefully
considered. Needless to say, however, that if you are able
to make them pass through that all-important first page
hurdle, then persuading them to take action later on should
be a cinch.

Today's tip by Jim Daniels: http://www.bizweb2000.com/

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