Jazz Up Your Website: Two Easy Ways to Add More FUN!

July 2, 2008 – 11:18 pm

You’ve only got seconds to grab a visitors attention and get them to stick around and browse your website. What can you do to help keep them there? Here are two easy ways to add an element of professional fun to your website.

1) Slideshow of Your Products or Portfolio

There are several options for creating a slideshow of images. Here are four (the easiest is last and takes very little technical know-how, if you’ve got pictures and can follow directions, you’re all set).

** Animated gif — combine several images into an animated gif using software like Adobe Image Ready, Jasc Animation Shop or Banner Maker Pro.

** Flash — make a flash video with the images using Adobe Flash or similar program. Some swfs allow you to control them with an XML file, which is easier.

** Java Applet — there are some java applets you can use to do a slideshow. That’s more technical though as far as the coding and requires that you have a hosting account or somewhere to host the java applet file. If you outsource your website design your designer/programmer can probably handle this for you.

** Easy Option! Put all your images in www.photobucket.com or www.slide.com and make one there.

You can see a slide.com slideshow in action at www.zoombabygear.com or a photobucket.com slideshow in action at my design portfolio page.

2) Add a Real “Hello” to Greet Your Visitors

You’ve probably seen the websites where the owner greets you with a recorded message — “Hi, and thanks for stopping by my website…”

You can add this to your website, too! I’ll share the free way, and then the easy way.

If your computer comes with a built in microphone, or you can plug one in, you can download the free program Audacity to record an audio file with and convert it to MP3. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Or you may already have a program on your computer for sound. I use GarageBand on my MacBook.

Next, upload it to your website and you can either link to it or use a flash file like this one to play it: http://www.macloo.com/examples/audio_player/

See it in action on the top of my webpage at www.themusesguide.com

If you want to avoid recording programs and flash code, the easier way to do this is with Audio Acrobat. You can sign up for an account, then just call a special phone number and record your message by phone. They’ll provide you with copy and paste code to add it to your website. www.audioacrobat.com

Posted in Website Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

A Basic Checklist to Help You Start Your Own Online Store

June 22, 2008 – 3:06 pm

A subscriber on the Powerful Business Networking group asked for a checklist of steps to starting an online store.  Here’s what I shared..

Off the top of my head, here are some steps I’d recommend:

* Check local and state licensing/permit requirements for the business area and structure you’ve chosen — get your DBA or LLC setup, etc
Federal (US) — http://tinyurl.com/262r7x
State — http://tinyurl.com/2hbrul
Local — http://tinyurl.com/yvxzus

* Choose your business/product line names and do searches to be sure you don’t violate an existing trademark or service mark: http://tinyurl.com/26dp91

* Decide on your account method (keep good records!)

* Decide on and sign up for your payment acceptance methods
PayPal — http://www.paypal.com
Google Checkout — http://checkout.google.com
Merchant Account — http://cdgcommerce.com

* Research and choose a domain name and website host
I have a free PDF on my website that is helpful for this step, called “Getting Started Online”:
http://themusesguide.com/resources.html

* Start working on a marketing plan.  Be sure to include getting listed in online shopping directories, Google Base (http://base.google.com), etc.  I offer a free mini marketing workshop that covers some basics at http://www.marketingbrainstormworkshop.com/miniworkshop

* Begin researching and choose your shopping cart
Start by listing out all the features that you need, such as types of products you want to sell (virtual downloads or physical shipped products), what shipping and payment methods you need, whether you need to be able to collect taxes on your products, your technical ability level (because some carts are much more user friendly than others), etc.  Be sure to really research shopping carts and make sure that you know what features you want before you pick one.  Look around to see what other stores in your business are using and how it works for them.  Ask friends or colleagues what carts they’re using and if they’re happy with them.

* Create your logo and customize your website/shopping cart, setting up your payment methods, shipping methods, categories, products, informational pages, etc

* Setup a newsletter/announcement list and add it to your website.  I recommend www.aweber.com but there are lots of other options.  I do not recommend Yahoo Groups or anything similar that requires your customers to go sign up for an account somewhere just to get your newsletter.  Make it easy for them.  Yahoo Groups is great for connecting and interactive groups.  Other services are better for business newsletters.  Spring for one that does not add advertisements to your newsletters.  www.ymlp.com is another good, reliable service to consider.

* Request feedback on your website/store so far from trusted colleagues, your business coach, etc

* Do a final check on your site to be sure it’s easy to purchase from (run test purchases), and that it’s easy for sutomers to find the important information such as your policies, shipping prices, payment acceptance methods, etc.  You may find the “Writing Your Polices” and “Creating Customer Confidence” downloads on my site helpful in this step:
http://themusesguide.com/resources.html

* Open your store for business and being PROMOTING!!  Follow your marketing plan and dono’t get discouraged if it takes a bit of time to get your business going.  It usually does but if you stick with it and keep marketing things will happen.

Posted in Doing Business Online, Working from Home | No Comments »

How to Write, Sell, and Promote Your Own eBooks or Virtual Products

June 22, 2008 – 3:00 pm

I’ve been asked several times how to get started writing and selling ebooks, workshops, or other virtual products. Here’s my process and some other advice from me.

** Writing Your Own eBooks **

There are lots of different ways to write, this is just what works for me.

1 ) Choose Topic and Deadline

Obviously the first step. You need to choose your topic. Before you choose make sure there’s a market for what you’re planning to write. Set a reasonable deadline to have your project completed.

2 ) Write Outline and Sales Page

Next, write the basic outline of your ebook including any worksheets or supplementary material you want to include. This can be a great point to write your sales page at because as you’re writing it you can include the things you want to share and the benefits of the product, which will help you develop and focus your outline.

Take your outline and set mini-goals for each section based on your overall deadline so you know which part needs completed when to reach your goal in time. Leave time at the beginning for research and time at the end for proofreading and seeking feedback.

3 ) Research

Based on your outline, you should have a good idea which areas you already know what you need to write and which areas you need to research. Like any other writing project make sure you have multiple sources for your information. Consider the library, books, periodicals, reference books, wikipedia and online resources, surveys, interviews, etc as you research.

4 ) Write

Next step is writing. It takes me anywhere from a few days to a few months to finish a special report or ebook, just depends on how much time I can invest in it (I work from home with my website design/hosting business, homeschool my two boys, and have a 3 year old daughter, so I don’t always have a ton of time to spend on my ebooks).

I use Microsoft Word to write my books in if I’m on my Mac (99% of the time) or Open Office if I’m on my PC. If you need nice software to write in with formatting features, try www.openoffice.org

As I write I sprinkle in clip art or photos where appropriate to add some visual interest. I like www.istockphoto.com and you can also check www.bigstockphoto.com or www.clipart.com for royalty-free images.

5 ) Proofread

When I’ve finished writing, I print a copy then set the ebook aside for at least a few hours or a day, and come back and proofread with fresh eyes. I generally also have my VA proofread for me.

Hint: If you have more than one person proofread, have them turn on “track changes” in Microsoft Word so you can easily spot their edits and decide whether you agree or not.

6 ) Get Feedback & Revise as Needed

Send your completed ebook to a few colleagues or friends who are willing to review it for you and offer their impressions and advice, then make any necessary changes. This is also a good time to solicit testimonials and feedback that you can add to your sales page.

7 ) Convert to PDF

If you’re on a Mac running OS X, you can print to PDF by doing File / Print / PDF. It’s pretty easy.

If you’re on a PC and don’t have Adobe to convert your file to PDF, here are some free alternatives:
www.pdf995.com
www.pdfonline.com

I don’t recommend using .exe format files because you’re cutting all Mac users (I think it’s about 8-10% of computers right now, and growing) out of your market if you do. I’ve seen more than one ebook that I would have loved to purchase, but it was only available in .exe format so I couldn’t purchase. If you are determined to use .exe, please consider providing an alternative .pdf format and purchase route for Mac users who may want to purchase your ebook. And make sure you note somewhere what format your ebooks are in. I’ve also purchased a product before after scouring the sales page to be sure it didn’t say Windows only, then sure enough when I downloaded, it was Windows only. I won’t be purchasing anything from that internet marketer again.

8 ) Design Cover & Add to Website

Sometimes I do this step sooner with a “Coming Soon!” note. I personally use Photoshop to design my boxshots and covers. For boxshots I design the cover image, then use the Perspective or Distort tool to make it 3D-ish (this is how I did Jenn’s boxshots and the ones for my workshops). An easy way to do a report cover is to purchase an image from somewhere like www.istockphoto.com then put your cover on top of it (this is how I did the report series covers I have — the spiral notebook image was from istockphoto). Or use layers and shadows to make your image look like a few pages (this is how I did the images on the “Free Resources” page). You can see samples at www.themusesguide.com if you’d like.

** Selling Your eBooks **

There are a lot of ways to sell your products. After a lot of research and trial and error… I don’t recommend the strung together solutions where you hack a traditional shopping cart to make it work for downloads. You’ll spend more time trying to get it to work and dealing with frustrated customers when they don’t get their downloads or can’t figure out where to download their product, etc. Go for a cart that is *designed* for downloads and you’ll be able to sleep better at night.

The solutions below range from FREE to $100/month. So even if you’re just getting started, one of these will work for you. These are generally copy & paste type code buttons. You login, setup your product by giving the name, description, image, price, etc, and then when you save your info the service will give you a bunch of HTML code that you then copy & paste into your website. This can be used on plain HTML sites, Wordpress sites, any site that you can access your coding or add HTML snippets, you can use these carts to sell your products.

Payloadz
www.payloadz.com
Quick and easy to use, the files are securely stored on their server, and it’s free for under $100/month in sales. Here are the features and price points for various sales levels: https://www.payloadz.com/account/acct_levels.asp

e-Junkie
www.e-junkie.com
$5 per month, no limits, no other fees
works with PayPal, Google Checkout or Authorize.net

YouPublish (new site/service, just launched)
www.youpublish.com
Video overview here: https://www.youpublish.com/pages/welcome_video
You get 50% of sales prices on your files here, sort of like if they’re an affiliate promoting your products

WAHM Cart
www.wahm-cart.com
$30/month
Includes your cart/checkout plus newsletters and autoresponders

1ShoppingCart and all the variations
Around $100/month
Includes your cart/checkout plus newsletters and autoresponders

I haven’t used this one but it’s the gold standard of carts for internet marketers and a lot of them have their own branded versions like MichaelPort.com offers it as the Booked Solid Cart.

** Promoting Your eBooks **

Here are some easy ways to promote your ebook:

– If you sign up with Payloadz or YouPublish some of your promotion will be done for you since they list your books in their searchable catalogs. But here are some other ways to promote your books.

– If you accept PayPal, get listed in the PayPal marketplace:
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_profile-site

– Choose a good, helpful excerpt from your book and convert it into an article to share. Be sure your blurb at the bottom is strong and includes a promo for the book with a link to your sales page. Submit it to www.ezinearticles.com, www.wahmarticles.com, etc or have your VA submit for you.

– Convert your title page, table of contents, and a few pages from your ebook into a “preview” version and offer it free on your website for visitors to download. This way they can get a good idea of the contents and style of your writing to see if it will work for them.

– Post about your ebook on your blog. Include a link to your free preview file.

– Add your ebook preview link or sales page to your forum signature and/or email signature.

There’s my process and some other info that I hope helps you as you create and publish your ebooks.

P.S. You’re welcome to stop by my website at http://www.themusesguide.com to see the ebooks, special reports, and workshops I’ve created and how I set them up for sale including their product images, the cart I’m using, the previews (previews are down for some edits right now but I’m hoping to have them back up within a few days), etc. There’s a special deal available on my report series right now celebrating the launch of my two newest products, it’s on the “special reports” link.

Posted in Doing Business Online | No Comments »

How Do You Handle “Problem Areas” in Your Business?

June 22, 2008 – 2:51 pm

I take one of four approaches to something I cannot do, do not like, or don’t understand (any of these three reasons make it a “problem area” in my mind).

1) Learn it. I don’t deal well with failure so I just do whatever I have to do to improve.  Whether it’s research online, practice/rehearsing, or calling in someone else to teach me to do it, there’s a way if I really need to learn something.

2) Get backup. If there’s something that you absolutely can’t avoid, find a way to have a “backup” available when you need it.  I fill this role for my design partners for a cart I work with.  If they get stuck on a design or coding issue, they know they can email me and I’ll reply ASAP with a solution or help in the right direction.  The end client does not ever need to know they were stuck.  And when I get stuck with certain programming, I have a php expert who I can call in.  Knowing that you’ve got a relationship with someone, a colleague or even a paid by the incident support team, can be a huge relief when you need that help.

3) Outsource it. If it can be outsourced, then I’ll outsource it either to my VA or a hired temp for the specific project. Some familiarity though is needed on my part to outsource something, or else a very well established relationship of trust with the outsourcer, so I know whether they’re completing the task properly.

4) Don’t do it. It took me a while but I’ve accepted that option 1 cannot be the answer for every problem area.  There are a few specific services that I do not offer.  I could, and I know most designs firm do, but for various reasons I don’t.  For example, I do not do print logo design because I simply don’t like doing it.  I’ll be happy to help my clients get a logo done and I’ve got a list of reliable references to both great designers I’ve got personal experience with (like Cicily at www.augustafternoon.com and Laura Jane at www.chickenscratchstudio.com) and other options (like www.logoyes.com).  If the problem area is created by a product or service that isn’t essential, consider what would happen if you just didn’t offer it.  It might not be the end of the world.  In my case it’s helped me build valuable relationships with other great designers (who yes, technically are my “competition” but I don’t view my world in terms of competitive business but instead collaborative business benefiting everyone).

Sometimes these are combined for a problem area — like my monthly accounting statements.  I outsourced them until I found a system and learned to do it myself.  Now I can do it in less than an hour and I’m not wasting half a day every month so I moved from option 3 to option 1.

There are my four strategies for handling “problem areas” in my business.

Comments?  Want to share how you handle them or what works for you?  Feel free to post a note below in the comments section.

Posted in Business Challenges | No Comments »

Welcome to the Website of The Small Business Muse

June 11, 2008 – 7:37 am

And thanks for stopping by!

I’m in the process of relaunching my website as a blog so I can share more often, more easily, and you can respond with your thoughts and questions.

We should be up and running by the end of the week. My VA will be busy posting older issues of The Muses Brainstorm Newsletter for you here on the blog so you’ll be able to access everything in one easy spot.

Wishing you peace and success,
Michelle
The Small Business Muse

Posted in The Small Business Muse | No Comments »

Are You Listening to the Right People?

May 8, 2008 – 11:22 pm

You’ve probably heard this advice before: You become the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.

We are influenced in a powerful way by those we choose to spend our time and energy with. This applies not only to your personal life and growth, but also to your business. Creating a supportive environment for your business to thrive is critical to create a successful business.

Are you taking proactive steps to apply this idea to your business?

Are you spending time with, and learning from, those who are already successful? Working to surround yourself with people who will help you seek to grow and strive to do better?

Often I see home based business women trying to learn from others who are still at the same level they are or who are less successful.

*Support* is fantastic from people who are going through what you’re going through, but when you’re ready to *grow and learn* you need to learn from the people who are successful.

How can you do this? Let’s start with two options: coaching and mastermind groups.

What is coaching? There are many types of coaches out there — personal, business, marriage, you name it and there seems to be a coach for it. Why? I think it’s because coaching works (and I’m not a coach)! About a year ago I finally took a step to hire a business coach (Jenn Givler, www.createathrivingbusiness.com) and I can say it was one of the best things I’ve done for my business. The perspective, encouragement, and accountability made a difference in my productivity level and focus. You do need to find a coach who’s a good fit for your business and personality. Look around, do a few introductory sessions before you commit to any long term coaching packages. When you find the right coach you’ll know it.

Another option to consider is a mastermind group. A mastermind group is usually setup with a monthly fee that gives you access to one or more experts through teleseminars, online forums, or other methods. It can be less expensive than coaching from some of the top experts.

You can also sign up for workshops, membership groups and other varieties of these ideas.

And if you’re not ready yet? There are free/inexpensive options! If you’re not yet at the point where you’re ready to add a business coach or join a mastermind group there are other ways you can apply this idea of being surrounded by the right people, without breaking your budget.

1. Books

Reading what the experts share is a great way to immerse yourself in good influences. My goal is one really great business book or ebook per month. I set my goal so that I don’t rush through the book, but take time to read and apply what I’m learning.

Some of my recent favorites are:

- Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port

- Rules for Renegades by Christine Comaford-Lynch

- Principled Profit by Shel Horowitz

- The Four-Hour Work-Week by Timothy Ferriss

And coming up on my list:

- Beyond Booked Solid by Michael Port

- Purple Cow & The Big Moo by Seth Godin

- The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey

I separate my “business-building” reading from my continuing education reading simply because both are important and I could easily allow programming/coding and design books to take over all my reading time. So when you build your reading list be sure you consider which books are for working “on” your business (marketing, management, customer service, inspiration) as opposed to working “in” your business (improving whatever your skill focus is — writing, design, crafting, coaching, sewing, etc).

2. Blogs

Connect with your chosen Masterminds through their blogs. It’s free advice! I regularly read a half dozen or so blogs that encourage and inspire me. I’ve signed up for the RSS feeds or email alerts when new posts are added so it’s easy to keep up. I am ruthless though in what I choose to read. If the title doesn’t grab my attention, and if it’s not about something I need to learn or consider at the moment, I skip it. Be choosy with your time.

3. Teleseminars

Many great teleseminars are offered free by experts! This is a wonderful source of ideas and a great way to surround yourself with the people who can guide you to success.

A great place to start is http://www.solo-e.com/classes/live-teleclasses.shtml I personally recommend the Think Big Revolution and Marketing Qi teleseminars.

So there you go — three free/inexpensive ways to surround yourself with the right voices to grow your business!

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Making Your Website Work for You: Website Design

April 29, 2008 – 11:20 pm

“You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” –Zig Ziglar

If you provide great products/services with fantastic customer service you’ll find your customers keep coming back. And it’s much easier to KEEP a customer than it is to FIND a new customer. Be sure you treat your customers well so they stay customers! Here are some great ways to keep your customers happy to keep purchasing from you: Special offers for customers: Email your customer list with special offers every so often. This will help you stay in their minds and bring them back to purchase again. They’ll also be more likely to recommend you to friends and family when they’re reminded of your business. Don’t have a customer email list yet? Create one today! You absolutely need a newsletter or sales list that you can contact occasionally. www.ymlp.com offers a nice free version. www.aweber.com has a very nice paid version.

Free advisory service: Think of questions your market has related to your products, then answer those questions free. - Custom clothing seamstress? Offer tips on how to measure you child or how to choose fabrics that work well for active children. - Cloth diaper sales? How about free advice on which types of diapers work best for certain body shapes, life styles, sensitive skin types or budgets? - Artist? How about advice on where or how to hang art? Write and distribute a great FAQ about your products: This one falls both under customer service and viral marketing. I’ve seen some great tips on how to wash wool clothing items and I’ve passed those links and information to others. Think of something you can offer, then write it, convert it to PDF format, and add it to your website. Be sure to include your business information and contact info in the PDF. Then give permission for it to be shared. Create multi-item samplers for customers: People are most likely to purchase from you again when they’ve already purchased one item.

Send them free previews or samples of other items! This is especially easy to do with info products or service based businesses but you can also find creative ways to do with for other product businesses. If you offer a product in a variety of fabrics, how about a small fabric sampler so customers can feel the other fabric options you offer? Or a brochure of photographs of other styles you offer and happy models wearing those styles? Just brainstorm outside the box a bit and you’ll think of a good way to offer a look or taste of your other products/services. The Customer Welcome Kit: This is a great way to make new customers feel special. Put together a “welcome kit” that includes your business card, a brochure, and a short welcome letter. No need to write it by hand, just print these off and put them together in advance so it’s quick and easy to include in packages. You can also do a digital version if your products/services are delivered online. Make PDFs then zip it all up. You could also include referral cards so it’s easy for the customer to pass your information along. P.S. If you like the ideas in this week’s article on providing fantastic customer service for your customers, you’ll love the Marketing Brainstorm Workshop! Find out more at http://www.marketingbrainstormworkshop.com

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Making Your Website Work for You: Beyond Just Sales

April 22, 2008 – 11:19 pm

Do you value your relationship with your customers (and potential customers)? Do you really want to connect with them and help them? If so, make more available on your website than just your catalog of items for sale or services for hire! Here’s an example: My kids love to shop at Costco–they enjoy the free samples. Several days ago we were in the frozen aisle and I was discussing with my son (who is gluten intolerant) that a particular product wasn’t gluten free so it would be better to find something. As we passed a woman offering samples a few feet away, she offered him a sample of potato wedges and included “they’re gluten free!” After his taste test, a bag of potato wedges jumped right in the shopping cart and came home with us. By offering free samples and paying attention to the particular needs of a customer, they made a sale and a very happy five year old who’s sure to tell others about his experience (and insist on returning to purchase more potato wedges).

Any business can find a way to give more to their customers so the customers feel valued and listened to. When your customers feel like you understand their needs they are much more likely to purchase, become repeat customers, and share your products/services with their friends and family. Add something of value to attract more shoppers and to serve them better. Free articles, eBooks or eCourses, “how to” guides, a newsletter, instructional videos… there are lots of great ideas you can use to create a valuable free service or offering for your customers. The most effective free items or giveaways will be closely targeted to your market. For example, if you offer items for nursing mothers such as nursing bras, you could create (or hire a designer to create) blinkies promoting breastfeeding and give them away to visitors to use on their websites or MySpace pages. If you’re an artist, you could setup a script to offer free ecards that feature some of your artwork. You could give away craft project ideas if you sell children’s items, or recipes if you sell home related items to women. Just grab a piece of paper and take five minutes to write down everything you can think of that your target market is interested in, and then go back over your list and highlight the ones that also relate to your products or services. Those are good things to consider focusing on to find ideas that will add value to your website and better serve your customers. “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” –Zig Ziglar

Next week… Making Your Website Work for You! Part 7 of 7, Customer Service

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Making Your Website Work for You: Building Credibility

April 15, 2008 – 11:18 pm

Building Credibility

Selling requires building a relationship of trust with a potential buyer. This applies online as well as offline. You must build a relationship with the consumer through your website that creates trust before that consumer will feel comfortable making a purchase. Here are 6 easy ways you can help build that trust through your website.

1) Add Familiar Logos

This will help a customer’s comfort level. Place them where they can be seen immediately upon the page loading, so that it doesn’t require scrolling to see them. * If you accept credit cards, add the Visa/Mastercard/Discover/American Express logos to your website. Many customers expect to see these at a company that accepts cards. If they aren’t sure you accept them they won’t hunt for the information, they’ll just leave your site and shop elsewhere. If you accept PayPal, add the PayPal logo. * Add a “Secure Payments” type logo - either from your CC processor, or create your own with a padlock design to show customers you protect their financial information. * If you have your own SSL certificate and your SSL issuer offers a “Click to Verify” type graphic, be sure to add it to your website.

2) Company Contact Information

Include full company contact information on every page of the site. The footer is a good place for this info. Include both a postal address and a phone number if possible. You may also want to include various online methods of contact such as email, webform, or social networking sites you have business profiles at. Customers want to feel secure that they can easily contact you if something goes wrong or they don’t receive their purchase.

3) Photographs to Connect With

Consider adding a photograph of your, your family, your store, or something else concrete that people can connect to. Shoppers buy from people they know, like, and trust. Including a photograph can help build that feeling that they “know” you.

4) Clear Sales & Privacy Policies

A well-written privacy policy is crucial to customer confidence. Please create a separate page for this, and link to it from every page of your site. Also be sure your sales policies are very clear. If you offer services, provide your terms of service. If you sell products, be sure your shipping, return/exchange and other policies are clear. You can download a free guide to help you write your policies at: http://www.elementalmuse.com/freebies/creatingmypoliciespage.pdf

5) Testimonials from Customers

Testimonials are both a powerful selling method and a confidence booster. Sprinkle them throughout your website (but only honest, real ones!). Always include a name with a testimonial - full name if possible, or first name and state at least. Testimonials are more believable if there is a name and place associated with them. Written testimonials are good. Written testimonials with pictures are better. Add audio and it’s even better. And video testimonials are great!

6) BBB and Other Organizations

Consider joining an organization like the BBB so that you can add that logo/link as well, and any other applicable online organizations or associations related to your products. Look for guilds, associations, or other similar groups. In addition to these 6 tips, next time you shop online notice what it is about the websites you choose to shop at that makes you feel safe and secure purchasing from them, then apply those lessons to your own website. Look at your website through a potential customers eyes. Then do whatever you can to help them feel confident and to answer all their questions about shopping with your business.

Next week… Making Your Website Work For You! Part 6 of 7, Beyond Just Sales

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Making Your Website Work for You: Answering Customers Questions

April 8, 2008 – 11:16 pm

Answering Customer Questions

An effective website should focus on meeting the customer’s needs and helping them be sure that the products you offer are exactly what they want. To help customers determine if your products or services are right for them, you need to answer their questions. Only when their questions are answered will they feel comfortable making a purchase. Think about your products or services from a different perspective. If you were looking at it for the first time, what questions would you have about it? What would you want to know to determine if it were the right product for you? Think about your business from a different perspective. When you make your first purchase at a new store or website, what questions do you have? Here are three tips to help you answer your customer’s questions effectively:

*Make Your Policies Clear

Are your policies easy to find and clear? Customers will feel more comfortable purchasing when they know what payments you accept, how you ship and when they can expect their order to arrive, and in what circumstances you allow refunds or exchanges. I offer a free PDF download to help product sellers write their policies. You can grab your copy here: http://hyenacart.com/elementalmuse/index.php?c=21&p=81843

* Describe Your Products (or Services) in Detail

Include plenty of detail in your descriptions. The more detailed you are in writing up your product descriptions the less likely a customer will leave the page with questions, not sure whether to purchase.

* Clear Photographs

Online all buyers can see are your photos. So take time to make sure they’re clear and easy to see. Include photos from different angles, different uses, whatever views could be helpful for your customers. Consider asking a friend or colleague to look through your website and let you know what questions they’d have as a shopper.

Next week… Making Your Website Work For You! Part 5 of 7, Credibility

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