1. Your Visitors Will Read Everything
Never assume that your visitors will read every page on your site. Most of the time, people only read between 10 to 20%, and they also skim your pages.
That’s why you should make sure your most important, compelling points are on your homepage and emphasized throughout your site on other important pages.
Also make good use of sub headings to emphasize points that can be caught when skimming.
2. People Will Buy On The First Visit
Making sales regularly from your site requires you have a lot of two very important things: targeted traffic and credibility.
Once you have these two things, you need to understand that not everyone is going to buy the first time they visit. In fact, most people won’t.
That’s why it’s so important your site makes a good first impression. Give your audience a reason to bookmark your site and return at a later time.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve gotten emails from people who told me they read about Site Build It! on my site months ago and came back to buy later because they wanted to take some time to do more research.
Or there’s the people who didn’t have the money at the time, and wanted to save up their funds before making the purchase.
Give these people who are “on the fence” a reason to return later.
3. The More Ads The Better
This reminds me of the people who complain they cannot make a sale from their site, yet they only get 25 visitors per day and 80% of their site is a walking advertisement for various products, services and Google ads.
If you’re trying to make money as an affiliate, the last thing you want to do is bombard your visitors with ads when they arrive at your site.
You have to give them a reason to trust you, and a good way to do this is to provide useful information upfront.
I know it may be tempting to lace the top 2/3rds of your site with Google ads, hoping someone will click before they leave. But I would much rather miss out on a few clicks and gain people’s trust so they will return.
I’ll take a loyal visitor over a click-and-run in a heartbeat!
Someone challenged me on that theory a while back saying, “How come sites like Macys and Old Navy have ads all over the place and that seems to be OK?”
First of all, these are retail sites. People go to sites like oldnavy.com to shop so advertisements are expected, and sometimes even welcomed because people are looking for good deals.
But if you’re making money as an affiliate, you have to remember that most people are coming to your site looking for information. They are not usually in a buying mood.
So the best way to warm them up to buy is to give them what they came for — information. Once you’ve earned their trust and gained some credibility THEN perhaps they’ll buy.
4. Design Is E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G
Of course, everyone wants a site that is pleasing to the eye. You never hear anyone say “I don’t care how my site looks.” Yes, we all want sites that look presentable and inviting.
However, there are those who are so completely obsessed with their design that they never get started. Remember folks, you can always update your site’s design at a later time.
Your biggest challenge is going to be driving traffic to your site. So start with something you can work with and then tweak your design as you go. Don’t become so distracted with the layout that it keeps you from making progress.
A great example is my Site Build It! site, Flat Stomach Exercises. I used the simple, SBI! template for over 2 years. Honestly, I wasn’t really happy with the original design, but the site was getting thousands of visitors per day and making money.
Yes, the layout was super simple, but thankfully people were more interested in the content. I didn’t tackle the re-design until much later because my priority was driving traffic and making sales.
No sense in overwhelming yourself with design and marketing, especially if you’re just starting out and learning the ropes. If you find yourself stressing out over building your site, find a design you can work with for now and tackle the re-design when you’re ready.
5. You Only Have One Chance to Get it Right
I did a video a while back where I spoke about people’s fear of failure. It’s amazing how crippling fear can be to a business.
Some people are so afraid to start because they don’t want to mess up. They get stuck in this never-ending planning mode trying to make sure they don’t make any mistakes.
Of course there’s nothing wrong with doing research and gathering facts before you begin. I’m all for that. But if you become obsessed to the point that you can’t even get your site off the ground, then you are letting fear take over.
Sometimes you have to make mistakes to learn the right way of doing something. And if you don’t do everything right on the first try then welcome to the club! 🙂
Most people don’t know this, but more of my sites have been failures than successes. But I didn’t give up just because those other sites didn’t work out. I got up, dusted myself off and tried again.
You don’t have to get everything right on the first try. In fact, you will still make mistakes with your successful sites too. The most important thing is that you learn from these mistakes and continue to grow.
Sometimes you have to follow Nike’s advice and “Just Do It!”. 🙂
Not to fear failure. I absolutely love that one. There is so much fear behind this that it is, as you said, crippling. A great reference and reminder for writing great post, and I love your “writing voice”, as my little brother calls it!
Your site is a wealth of information. Thanks for sharing your knowledge about becoming your own boss and the plethora of other info on your website.
Finally I put online a long ago created blog about fountain pens, and wow! – it seems it’ll be earning at least $50/month in adsense. Not much, I know, but it’s better than nothing. With a bit of tweaking I hope to increase traffic and CTR, which potentially leads to $100/month. I’m #1 in MSN and Yahoo! for main keywords for months now, even after WP theme change, and it’s awesome.
Thanks D! What a nice message. 🙂
Hi Lisa,
I skipped lunch today to find info on wedsite hosting etc for a friend. I “stumbled” on your site, and haven’t stopped reading as yet, it’s like eating my favorite comfort food, with each bite I become hooked.
Reading about topics you have commented on and the simplicity with which you convey your point, the manner in which you do it, is by far the BEST I have come across. It was totally worth my time. Your method exemplifies my favorite qoute, “It’s not what you learn, it’s what you teach”
Thanks for sharing your hard earn knowledge and experience with us it’s greatly appreciated. I wish you continued success in your business and personal life for 2009 and beyond.
“Inspired and Reassured”
D’
HI CB Webmaster,
3.4 seconds is kind of short. That could mean your traffic is not very targeted. Where are you getting your traffic from? Generally search engine traffic gives you longer views per visitor because it’s targeted. But if you’re getting traffic from places like Digg, StumbleUpon, forums, etc. then I can understand why it may be lower than average.
My average is usually around 3-5 minutes.
Hi Lisa,
It’s funny how people in different locations can be thinking the same thing at the same time! Last night I was writing in my blog about how I noticed my viewers only stayed on a page for 3.4 seconds. Do you think this is the “realistic” average page view?
btw if you want to see what I wrote my posting is at:
http://cbwebmasterblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-i-made-money-someday-from-my.html
Oh and thanks for your great site – I’ve been following it on blogger.com because they allow me to follow the blogs I choose and I think yours has quality articles!
Take care,
CB Webmaster
I am now on my second SBI website. I am a frequent visitor to your website and everytime I visit I find something new that inspires me.
I agree with step 5. I also have had at least 5 websites that have failed. I wasn’t following the right advice. Now that I have found SBI and 2createawebsite.com I am on the right path.
Thanks for the great advice and tips.
I’m so glad I read this, especially number two. I have had several people tell me they bookmarked my site. They didnt order, but they sure bookmarked it and some of the products specifically. Glad to know its the norm!
Hi Lisa,
Your Assumption No.1 did not work on me. Why ? because I know I am always in Learning Mode when I am reading your articles, comments or replies.
Since I accidentally “stumbled” upon your forum in Websitebabble, I have practically read every links, every articles, every videos and every words on your website and blog. My next mission is to read through all your Forum Contents !
I have never been so engrossed in anyone’s Forum or webpages because of one reason…. they DIG AROUND THE BUSH !
Your posts, comments, articles is similar to a Teacher teaching their students what to and what not to do… plain and simple !
Keep it up and thanks for the learning that I am receiving from your good guests too.
I hope to be a regular contributor on your blog or forum some day.
Cheers !
William
Hi Lisa,
Great thoughts. I know on my site I try and get the design done reasonably well, put it aside for awhile, then market. I find it very hard to do both at the same time. I have my site set up now for the holiday season and will mostly be marketing till then. I always enjoy your thoughts. If you need a laptop or a Wii game for the holidays please visit my site. It has great guides to help you pick even if you don’t buy, yet.
Have a great weekend everyone. Life is good!
Paul E. Steinberg
Hi Lisa,
Just read your post, 5 Assumptions You Shouldn’t Make. I agree, “people only read between 10 to 20% and they also skim your pages.” I am one of those people. But what’s interesting is I have read your website page by page, and word for word. This was easy because of your righting style. It reads like you’re having a conversation with me.
A lot of websites almost encourages you to skim it’s content simply because they take too much time to get to the point. This is at lease the case with me.
Nobody wants to spend time reading long pages of content that takes until the last paragraph to make the point it’s attempting to make.
Thanks! for the always “RICH” and simplistic content you provide on all your sites.
Lisa,
I always enjoy reading your blog, and today’s post is no exception. You always deliver with a common sense approach that is missing in many other blogs.
But, what really caught my attention today was your featured video on why being desperate to make money quickly on the Internet does not work. There are far too many get rich quick schemes out there that take advantage of the new and unsuspecting. Sure, there are a few people making big money on the Internet, but even very few of those made it quickly. The advice in your video is spot on and should be required viewing for all upcoming ecommerce entrepreneurs.
Lisa, you exhibit wisdom beyond your years…keep up the good work.
Like what you’re doing, love your post .. would like to network with you if possible.
Excellent comment Chris. Sounds like your head is in the right place with all this affiliate marketing stuff and that’s an excellent thing! Just take it baby steps at a time and you’ll be fine. Good luck!
Hello Lisa,
Thank you Lisa for writing yet another excellent post. That is so true what you said about the number 3 assumption – The more ads the better. More ads is indeed not better. When I have to wade through a screen with ads to read the content that will be my first and only visit to the blog or website. Like you, I too would rather lose out on a few clicks to Google Adsense ads to build trust with my readers. I think the old saying about it taking time to build trust really applies to webmasters and bloggers as well. I see so many people that want to make money from a website or blog, but aren`t willing to put the hard work into building content. I would like to monetize eventually from my website and blog, but I`m not even going to put up affiliate ads and links until I have a substantial amount of traffic and content. The number 5 assumption about Only Having One Time To Get It Right and Design Is Everything actually speaks to me. I have over 40 pages of offline content on Internet Security and Privacy, which needs to be updated(it is over a year and a half old). However, I keep putting off getting my site up and running again because I`m so concerned about having to learn to use Dreamweaver and CSS to create the perfect design. I think that is so true what you say about focussing first and foremost on creating good content. As you said, if need be you can always tweek your design later. I think you`ve given me the gentle push that I need Lisa to get my website up and running again. By the way, like you I had my website taken down by FreeYellow as well in 2004. I actually wrote a blog post about it. Anyways, thanks again for teh excellent post.
Chris H