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Once again I want to stress that we are not necessarily trying
to come up with completely original information. We are simply
doing whatever we can to improve some of the same information
that is already available to our potential visitors. Sometimes
taking something old and cleaning and polishing it up and
putting a pretty bow on it is all we need to do to create
value in it again. So what can we do to significantly improve
our information? Let’s take a look.
We need to make our information …
… easier to find!
This is one area in particular that someone with the information
presented later on in this book will have a HUGE advantage
over the competition. While much of the information your visitors
are looking for may already exist on the web, you are going
to be able to make it much easier for your visitors to find
than most of your competition. With powerful tools and skills
such as search engine optimization under your belt, you will
make the information that your visitors want so much easier
to find! This alone is a huge advantage!
… more comprehensive and complete!
Once again, while the kind of information that you are offering
may already exist on the web, often times this information
is incomplete and fragmented. A searcher may have to visit
tens … maybe even hundreds of sites to find all of the
information they need to get a complete look at the subject
that they desire to find out more about. Wouldn’t they
LOVE to find everything they were looking for at just one
source? I know I would. What about the old adage “one
stop shopping”? One of the main reasons that I decided
to write this book is for this very reason. Much of the great
information on starting and operating a prosperous and successful
online business is in bits and pieces all over the web. Much
of it is mixed in with very bad information and advice. I
wanted to give my readers a complete A-Z resource for this
very topic, and I have done my very best to do so. This kind
of resource is extremely difficult to find (I know from experience,
as probably many of you do too) so I wanted to be one of the
first to do it. What kind of information have you looked for
in the past and struggled to find? Maybe this is an opportunity
for you to fill that need! If you have looked for it, chances
are tremendous that someone else has looked for it as well!
… more organized!
It is very important to keep in mind that a website or an
e-book is very different from a traditional book in an extremely
important way. Books and other traditional written information
are presented in a very linear fashion and is organized to
read from beginning to end. Websites are not linear at all,
and it is very important for the web author to understand
this and design their website accordingly. A visitor may or
may not enter the site at the home page, especially if they
are directed in by a search engine. You will want to make
sure that your guests can easily find exactly what they are
looking for and what you really want them to see. You must
ask yourself, will they be able to easily find this information
again and again? Is your information clear and easy to understand?
Is it concise and to the point? Have you made it clear what
kind of information you are offering? Is the organization
of your information readily apparent to virtually anyone?
Is your site easy to navigate? Can they find their way back
to where they came from? Is it visually organized and appealing?
Have you made it easy for your guest to return at a later
date (like include a simple button on your web pages inviting
your guest to bookmark your site)?
… more simplified!
Is the information that you are offering more complex than
it needs to be? Are you able to make the complex simple for
your readers? Is your information easy to understand and make
use of? Does it make use of concepts and terminology friendly
to almost anyone? Can the information be put to good use easily
and immediately? Is it organized well and easy to follow?
Is it presented in a fashion that gives the reader a sense
of order? Can you possibly make use of strong analogies or
metaphors to illustrate your point to your reader more effectively?
It is a terrific idea to illustrate something that may be
a little complex or difficult to grasp for some of your readers
with parallel concepts that they are already very familiar
with. Remember the “soda machine” we discussed
earlier?
… more attractive!
Is the presentation of your information attractive and visually
appealing? Does its presentation add to your credibility?
Does your layout work? Is unnecessary clutter and distraction
eliminated? Is your information easy to read? Do background
color and type color harmonize and make for easy reading?
Does it include a minimal amount of useful and attractive
visual aids and elements like tables and images? Does the
use of these elements add to or detract from your information?
Are they over-used?
… easier to use!
Is your web site’s interface (navigation) well designed
and make sense? Is it intuitive to the user? Does your website
load quickly? Have you used ALT tags (we’ll cover these
later) in your website for the benefit of those who need to
disable images on their browser? Have you refrained from using
frames (again, we’ll be covering this later) so that
your information is more universally accessible for technologies
such as PDA’s and cellular web browsing?
… more personal and more personalized!
How can you make your information both more personal and personalized?
Have you considered the various needs of your readers and
not just assumed that they are all like you? Have you thought
of asking them what they want? Can you offer your visitors
choices to make your information better suit them? If you
aren’t positive about what they really want you to give
them, have you given them a way to let you know? If given
an opportunity, they will indeed let you know.
… more dynamic and interactive!
Have you made your site interactive in any way? Could you
extract valuable information from your visitors while simultaneously
giving them a sense of importance by possibly offering a relevant
opinion poll? People love to opine, especially when it is
convenient and they believe that they’re opinion counts.
Could you include a questionnaire, quiz or assessment that
they could fill out to learn much more about themselves or
something that they are interested in? Visitors love attention
and to learn about themselves even if it only happens electronically,
but besides this, features also make a website stickier (stickiness
is a term used to describe how well a website is able to keep
its visitors wandering its pages. I’ll be talking more
about this later.) A sticky website is a good website.
… a more unique form presentation
(multimedia)
Can your information be presented in a more creative way than
just words on a page? What about an audio file download instead?
Or possibly even a video file? There are risks of possible
longer download times, but there are ways to minimize this.
You want to use these formats sparingly and only when it is
truly beneficial. You have to discern whether these formats
would truly help your site or if they would actually deter
traffic. These fancy features can often steer customers away
if not used wisely or appropriately.
… to their doorstep or in the comfort
of their homes
This is an extremely important attribute. Your information
needs to be as absolutely convenient as possible. Will your
visitors be able to access your information quickly and easily
at home or in their office? Will they be able to immediately
make use of it where ever they are? Will it actually meet
a need for them and help them get something accomplished more
conveniently by allowing them to eliminate unnecessary extra
steps?
… ready to use
Is your information ready to go now? Can they access, download,
print, view, listen to, burn to disc (what ever they want
to do with it) immediately upon paying for it, or do they
have wait to receive it, etc. Can they put it to use right
away if they wish?
… on demand and in an instant
Can your viewers get your information immediately when they
need it? Can they do it again right away if they wish?
AGAIN (I cannot say this enough) : The information that
people desire today is most likely available to them already,
but they want to find this information more quickly and conveniently.
They don’t want to work hard to find it. They also want
it to be attractive and helpful when they do find it! The
good news is that there is always room for improvement in
these departments, therefore there is always a good opportunity
to make good money on the web!
This is where you come into play!
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