Wed 15th Sept.'99
In this issue:
1. Introduction
==>Cry for help, competition, and other news.
2. Voting Booth
==>This week's quick poll and last week's results.
3. Feature Article
==>"What's This Sticky Stuff on Me?" by Robert Spiegel.
4. This Week's Posts
==>A) [New Topic] Comments And Question
- Penny Widell
- Azam's Comment
==>B) [New Topic] Web Site Text and Navigation
- Don Morris
- Azam's Comment
==>C) [New Topic] Page length
- Paula Bright
- Azam's Comment
5. Tip
==>Omitted this week for reasons of space.
6. Pause For Thought
==>Stephen Leacock, Charles M. Schwab.
====================== SPONSOR'S MESSAGE ========================
DON'T THROW AWAY THOSE CD's
Smart Computing Magazine, March 1999, pg.11: Scratched CDs may be
the best looking coasters you ever had... but Esprit Development
Corp.'s Wipe Out! will help you perform data-saving plastic
surgery.
Macworld Magazine, December 1998, pg.82: Wipe Out! clears up even
big, scary scratches, such as the one that appeared on my Blur
Modern Life is Rubbish CD after a bookcase was dragged over it
repeatedly (don't ask). http://www.nowsell.com/wipeout.html
Just $14.99 & full guarantee. Fix one CD and it pays for itself!
=================================================================
=====================
+ Introduction +
=====================
Hi,
Back again already!
I often receive kind comments and positive remarks from
subscribers about Biz Bits. Many say they enjoy the original
content, or the limited number of ads, or even my writing
. It's great to know so many feel that way as I spend a
whole day preparing the each issue (sometimes more, like today!).
However, to continue doing so I need your help. I need *you* to
participate, to send in your votes and posts, etc. Most of all,
right now, I need *you* to share Biz Bits with your friends to
bring more subscribers.
Why am I telling you this?
Well... see the competition below for referring new subscribers?
It's been running for 2 weeks now and I have yet to receive a
single entry! To be honest with you, I just can't understand it.
Personally I often forward Ezines to friends and friends send
them to me too, in fact I received one just yesterday!
My dilemma is this: Biz Bits must grow to be viable, but if I
increase the amount of time I myself spend promoting Biz Bits, it
will reduce the time I have to spend on preparing the issue
itself. So if you value Biz Bits, please help me out here!
BTW - nice to see more posts coming in, I hope we can keep up the
momentum for next week!
BB
I'll keep this quite short this week as it's already quite a
large issue. Just to let you know that I've been doing a lot of
work on the NowSell.com site since we last met. Most of the
mechanics are complete, and in the week ahead I'll be
concentrating on the cosmetics. Hopefully all will be ready to
reveal by next week!
BB
COMPETITION! Win the sponsors ad position at the top of Biz
Bits by referring new subscribers! Whoever refers the most new
subscribers over the next month, between now and October 1st,
will win the coveted spot for 2 WEEKS! This is the one ad that
EVERYONE sees, so make the best of this targeted opportunity.
Ask the people you introduce to send a blank email to the
following address (you need to replace the part after 'subject='
with YOUR email address):
mailto:subscribeBB+nowsell.com?subject=YourEmailAddressHere
That's subscribeBB+nowsell.com with YOUR email address as the
SUBJECT of the message (the same address you use to receive Biz
Bits). Do NOT use the usual BizBits@NowSell.com.
You may also use this address if you place your own ads as a way
of introducing new subscribers (you can get loads this way!).
Closing date for entries is the 1st of Oct. The winner will be
notified personally as well as being announced here.
BB
I'm sorry to bore you again with this, but I am still receiving
posts for Biz Bits that should be sent to the FFA list. So I'll
repeat again for the benefit of new subscribers:
Posts to Biz Bits [mailto:BizBits+topica.com]:
These should be regarding useful information for the group,
questions, comments, or replies to previous posts. The only
advertising allowed is that contained within your signature file.
BB
I always love to hear your thoughts, so send your feedback,
comments, etc., to me at: mailto:azam+nowsell.com
Have a good one!
TTFN
Azam
PS - Do you know how to create a backup response? You will if
you read "MYSS!". http://www.sitesell.com/info.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Your Privacy:
I greatly value your trust in me. I will never, ever, under any
circumstances give or sell your email address to anyone. Period!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
=================================================================
DRAMATICALLY INCREASE YOUR REVENUES Through Quick, Strategic
Positioning on the Internet. Internet marketing guru and
affiliate program builder for the big boys, Declan Dunn, reveals
his inside secrets that successful affiliates use to make the
most money from their programs. Tap into a tested, proven system
today by visiting: http://winning.cjb.net It's a Winner!
=================================================================
=====================
+ Voting Booth +
=====================
This is the place where we take a quick poll for a snapshot of
the Biz Bits family's position on a given topic.
This week:
Do you think you need a web site to make money online?
YES! >>>> mailto:yes+nowsell.com
If you don't have a web site, you can't make money long term!
NO! >>>> mailto:no+nowsell.com
No, there are other ways of earning a steady income without
setting up your own site!
ERR? >>>> mailto:err+nowsell.com
I'm not sure... depends... ?
*** Add any additional comments in the body of your vote mail ***
=====================
Last week:
Do you think you need to spend any money on marketing to be
successful online?
YES! >>>> 67%
If you don't spend any money, you can still 'make it', but it
will take so long that you'll probably give up first!
NO! >>>> 33%
No, the Internet is full of free resources that anyone can use to
build true success!
ERR? >>>> 0%
I'm not sure... depends... ?
A clear majority for the spenders. My advice to both groups: be
careful in your choices! Keep those votes coming!
=====================
Voters Feedback:
Yes!
You do need to spend some money, but not as much as you would if
you're advertising offline.
Penny Widell:ICQ40299131 Mailto:pennydw+wcenet.com
=====================
=================================================================
*** HOW DO YOU SPELL ONLINE SUCCESS? E-X-P-E-R-I-E-N-C-E! ***
Why reinvent the wheel ... wasting time and money going it alone
when a bunch of highly-successful webmasters and marketers have
SPILLED THE BEANS at a new Private Web Site?... Learn from our
mistakes and you'll have more time to actually grow your
business! Click here NOW! ===>> http://www.nowsell.com/imc.html
=================================================================
=====================
+ Feature Article +
=====================
-------------------------------
What's This Sticky Stuff on Me?
-------------------------------
by Robert Spiegel
The giants of consumer e-commerce have it all figured out. Their
sites are sticky with customer interaction and follow-up tricks.
They send a thank you email after every purchase and deliver
sales coupons weekly. Regular customers get newsletters and
breaking product information. Every visitor is part of a drawing
for weekend trip to Universal City and a walk-on bit on Just
Shoot Me. This sticky stuff's easy.
But, ah, excuse me, did you say only 16% of the top 50 retailers
bother to send a simple follow-up email within 30 days? And is
it true that only half of the Internet leaders ask the simple
question, "Would you like to be notified about related products?"
If e-retailing has become so simple and obvious, how come only
25% of consumer sites recognize the buyer as a repeat customer?
Come on, folks, we've known what it takes to strike gold with a
webstore for weeks now. How come the best Internet retailers are
doing such a poor job of treating their customers like gold
nuggets?
A recent report on e-commerce stickiness by Rubric, a provider of
e-marketing applications in San Mateo, CA, shows surprisingly
poor customer relations at the leading Internet sites. Rubric
also confirmed that 90% of Internet buyers indicated that
personalization (the heart of Internet marketing) would increase
their likelihood of purchasing. Duh-ah.
Rubric tested the customer support systems of 50 leading Internet
sites over a 30-day period, monitoring communications, product
notifications, problem resolution, all of the touch-the-consumer
tactics successful websites use to keep customers. Few sites
used even the simplest techniques to foster customer loyalty, yet
consumers are making it abundantly clear these techniques will
increase their purchases.
Rubric wouldn't name names, but they did name categories. "We
found out which categories are doing a good job and which are
doing a poor job," said Rubrics Director of Product Marketing,
Michael Smith. "The brick and mortar retailers are doing the
poorest job," said Smith, "while the companies with background in
direct marketing, such as catalogs, are doing the best job."
Not too surprising. Direct marketing companies have long
mastered the tender art of customer interaction, follow-up,
targeting, segmentation and, goll darn it, they remember who you
are. Storefront retailers are accustomed to zip-code saturation
flyers, print ads, billboards and lobby greeters, not exactly the
target-marketing background necessary for building a web-savvy
retail site. And remember that rule about creating a separate
company for the website? The webmasters at these companies must
still be second-class staff clustered in the basement. At direct
marketing companies, webmasters get the best windows and theyāre
allowed to show up in T-shirts.
Rubric concludes that, "The leading e-commerce sites are missing
a large opportunity to increase their Īstickinessā by not
effectively remarking to their own customers." I swore we
covered this in Web Marketing 101, and if I remember right, the
lessons were instantly broadcast to every earthbound creature
with an email address. The web aces can't keep secrets, you
know.
Once more for the fun of it, here are the secrets of web-based
consumer marketing. The Rubric report restates the obvious in
its conclusions on what's effective in e-commerce. The
parentheses are mine.
š Use interactive marketing to cross sell, up-sell and re-sell
products (Want fries with your order?).
š Apply database marketing principals of targeting and
segmentation (If mom orders a breast pump, guess what, she also
needs infant clothes and a room monitor).
š Use personalization to broaden and deepen relationships
(Thanks for buying again! Do you want to use the same card you
used last time? BTW, you get a 5% discount for coming back).
š Use continuous relationship marketing to build customer
loyalty (You just bought a Muddy Waters CD, do you want to
receive a free weekly newsletter with blues reviews, concerts,
new releases and interviews?).
This online stuff is too easy. The Internet offers astonishing
powers of connectivity and communication. The e-commerce winners
will ultimately be the retailers who put these powers in play.
Cool site: www.bottomdollar.com. Hereās a multi-service site
that brings together a handful of Internet purchasing gizmos.
You can go to an auction or set a roboshopper in motion. The
whole point is to find the best buy on whatever you want, from a
beanie baby to copy paper.
Robert Spiegel, The Shoestring Entrepreneur, is the author of The
Complete Guide to Home Business (AMACOM, due Oct. '99) and The
Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to the Best Home-Based Businesses
(St. Martin's Press, due Feb. 2000). For questions or comments
mailto:spiegelrob+aol.com
=================================================================
DISCOVER INSIDER INTERNET MARKETING SECRETS!
Learn the Insider Internet marketing secrets that can explode
your online profits. One of the hottest selling Internet
marketing courses on the Net today.
Secrets To Making Money On The Information Super-Highway:
http://www.aismedia.com/secrets/index.htm?MC10749xBB01
=================================================================
=====================
+ This Week's Posts +
=====================
A) [New Topic] Comments And Question
- Penny Widell
- Azam's Comment
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 10:49:34 +0000
From: pennydw+wcenet.com
To: BizBits+topica.com
Subject: Comments And Question
Hi Azam,
You have a great newsletter. Without a lot of fluff like some of
them do. I enjoy reading it very much.
Now for my question. Everyone says that you need to find a niche
market which is true. But nobody really says how to decide how
to pick them. For instant I market Site Sell and Magic Learning
Systems. The Site Sell I pretty much is for marketers or web
designers.
But the Magic Learning I have a hard time to decide how to
market it or to who. This one you can market for kids to make
learning easier. But where would you put it on the advertising
sites? That is my problem where to list them at on the sites?
Sincerely,
Penny Widell mailto:pennydw+wcenet.com
Tired Of Submitting To Search Engines By Hand?
http://selfpromotion.com/?CF=PennyWidell
Are YOUR Kids Failing In School? If So Check This Out!
http://www.magiclearning.com/cgi/members/PW22654.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Azam's Comment*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for your kind remarks Penny!
How do you choose your niche?
Well you don't... not really. *It* chooses you!
Let me explain. When a large company decides to target a certain
niche, it sets about finding the right staff to run the
operation. That is, they recruit people that are knowledgeable
about, and have an interest in that particular field.
Without the enthusiasm of these people that "make it happen", no
matter how good the niche appears on paper, they will not be
truly successful, and will probably end up being left in the dust
by a latecomer on the scene.
We 'small timers' on the other hand can't go out and employ a
bunch of people to do the job for us. We have to do it ourselves.
In a any new venture there are often hard times, things don't
work out quite right, there are frustrations and setbacks.
The one quality an individual seeking an income online needs more
than anything else is enthusiasm for what they are doing. The
next is knowledge of their subject.
The majority of people seeking an income online *do* fail. Some
people may have more good fortune than others, some may be more
knowledgeable. However, most would eventually succeed *if* they
could just stick the course and not give up.
What creates the required 'staying power' is enthusiasm, and what
creates the enthusiasm is doing something you really enjoy and
are reasonably competent at.
This means your options are largely defined by the interests you
have, leaving you only to further narrow your focus within that
field.
Get online doing something you know a bit about and really enjoy.
It may not be *the* niche, but it will get you going in the right
direction.
Quoting from a letter I wrote to a friend (whom I'm sure won't
mind me repeating here) "If you wait for a 'winner' you'll wait
forever! Just get going. You'll learn a great deal as you go
along. A year spent doing it wrong will teach you far more than a
year spent procrastinating. Once you're actually 'doing it', what
you learn everyday will greatly colour you opinions and lead you
on to many new ideas; opportunities even."
That's how it happens. One day you'll read something in a letter
someone writes to you, or in an Ezine, or you'll hear something
and you'll suddenly think "That's *it*!" and with the help of the
experience you've gained, you've got the idea for your perfect
niche!
Don't waste your time chasing money!
Deborah Colvais said something in her post a couple of issues
ago, which although she was referring to MLM is just as
applicable here:
"You will receive new offers every other day once you put your
name out there as being interested in the business. Ignore them.
You will be most successful by choosing a good company upfront
and sticking with them."
Don't swap and change, jumping about looking for the elusive pot
of gold - THERE IS NO POT OF GOLD for 99.9999% of those seeking
an income online!
What are your chances of being amongst that other 0.0001%? And in
any case, most that have found that kind of overnight success
either did so by chance, already had considerable online
experience or both.
For the vast majority of those who are successful online, it's
the result of a gradual process of learning, growing, and slowly
building a comfortable income. Once you reach this level, it
becomes relatively easy to find additional profit streams to
rapidly increase you income.
For long term success concentrate on developing valuable content
in your own niche first, not on promoting affiliate programs. As
you go along join those programs that fit your niche. Initially
you should view these as a way to earn a little money for
something you enjoy doing anyway. A good idea is to reinvest
early profits into targeted advertising on GoTo.com or similar.
It may sound like hard work (it is!), but it really is the best
way. As you are probably aware, new affiliate programs start
everyday, whilst others reach saturation at almost the same rate.
Whenever a new program starts that 'fits' or exhibits synergy
with your niche you investigate it. If it sounds good you buy the
product or service to try. If it is good you tell your audience
about it, you can *personally* recommend it.
Imagine that through quality content you have built up a large
audience for your Web site or Ezine. If you're sincere and honest
in your efforts your readers will trust your opinions. Many will
buy the products you recommend.
Before one program is saturated, another will appear. As long as
you remain faithful to your readers and honest in your
recommendations, they will continue to buy new products through
you. If your readers total 5000, and you receive a 10% response
rate, with a commission of $20, you can make $10,000 from one
email, with more to come over time.
Don't believe me?
OK, let's take Ted Holmes of CEBN as an example.
Ted publishes his own Ezine. In a recent issue when he first told
his subscribers about Ken Evoy's "Make Your Site Sell!"
http://www.sitesell.com/info.html he got a response rate of 20%!
How did he do that?
Simple. As a result of his hard work and personal integrity, over
time his readers had learnt that they could trust him. I'm not
sure exactly how many subscribers he has, but you can be sure
it's several thousand, earning a very nice wad of notes for Ted!
In addition, with your own traffic there's income to be had from
paid Web site or Ezine ads, plus residual or 2nd tier referral
commissions on multiple affiliate programs. Hopefully this income
will then put you into a position to develop your own product,
set up your own affiliate program and step into the 'big time'!
quality content => quality traffic => steady income
Look around. This is what the successful are doing! They always
have a large audience just waiting to be told about new products.
They don't need to start all over again each time with classified
ads and the like as do those that don't build a solid Web/Ezine
presence.
Regarding the specific programs Penny mentions I have a few
comments.
First of all, being a "Make Your Site Sell!" affiliate myself I
would like to clear up Penny's apparent misunderstanding of its
target market. Whilst it is true that "MYSS!" is suitable for
marketers or web designers, it's scope is far, far wider.
"MYSS!" is for anyone like you and me: any business owner who is
starting or running any kind of online business of any
description. Let me repeat that *ANY KIND OF ONLINE BUSINESS OF
ANY DESCRIPTION* That's better!
That could be anything from something you do in your spare time
to an established 'brick and mortar' business relatively new to
the Internet. Whether selling your writing, hard goods, software,
services, affiliate programs, or even involved in online
non-profit work, "Make Your Site Sell!" will teach you how to do
it more successfully!
Oops! Better stop. Starting to sound like an ad! Sorry but I
really can't help myself - in all my time online I have never
come across anything that offers so much unique information for a
price even remotely close to this. My mind finds it impossible to
fathom why everyone doesn't realise that! Maybe people are put
off by bad purchases they've made in the past? I don't know. It
escapes me!
If you want to take a peek: http://www.sitesell.com/info.html
Now, Penny says, "Magic Learning... you can market for kids to
make learning easier." So who will buy this?
Yep, parents!
But what kind of parents? Other than middle class, I can't say
without knowing more about the program. Penny needs to employ a
technique explained in "Make Your Site Sell!" (OK! OK! I can hear
you groaning already!) called making a "thumbnail" of your
prospect.
Basically what this means is gradually building up a profile of
your prospect, writing it down as you do so. Once you've done the
basic outline you then need to ask yourself "What does this kind
of person like to do? What are their interests? What kind of
magazines/newspapers, etc., do they like to read?"
Studying what you've come up with will help you decide where you
can find these people online and what specific product benefits
to target at them.
In the case of Magic Learning, perhaps stay at home mums that use
the Internet could be a target (I'm not saying they are, I know
nothing about the product!). They will want to provide the best
for their kids, and may be attracted by the opportunity to work
together with them to help with their studies (if Magic Learning
allows for that) and possibly learning something themselves along
the way (again I know nothing of the course content).
Women like these are probably looking for a side income from the
Internet. So you could try advertising at those Web sites or
Ezines targeted at them. I have to say I think this product will
be difficult to promote through online classifieds, though I
could be wrong!
In the case of "MYSS!", as already explained, your target market
is very wide.
So...
Do a little brainstorming and think of a group that you have some
knowledge about. This could be anything from software developers
to novelists. The only criteria are that the group is
represented online, and that you know enough about them to build
a good thumbnail.
Once you've created your thumbnail, set about using it to tailor
your marketing to their particular needs/problems in relation to
their online success. Use the language they speak. Don't talk
about "MYSS!" being suitable for everyone as I have in my
clarification above, really target it at *them*.
For example, if you were targeting novelists, you might open with
something like this:
"Wondering if the months spent wrestling with your manuscript
were really worth it? Sales not even covering the coffee bill?"..
"'Make Your Site Sell!' will show you how to drive targeted
traffic to your web site and how to funnel that traffic along the
path *you* choose... right to your order page! It will teach you
how to design a web site that creates buying decisions from your
visitors, and how to build an effective backup response to catch
those that don't buy immediately. After 'MYSS!' not only will you
successfully sell your current book, you'll have a customer base
just waiting to snap up your next offering!"
Yeah...I know it's not so hot, but what d'you expect off the top
of my head after all this writing?!!
Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=================================================================
GUARANTEED Internet Success! Now YOU can and WILL make it online!
Discover HOW TO GET 250-300 opt-in email subscribers a DAY!
Over 10,000 DAILY visitors to your Web site within 48-hours!
Learn EVERYTHING there is to know about affiliate programs!
Discover products and services with PROFIT MARGINS OVER 10,000%!
FREE web hosting & FREE 24-hour one-to-one PERSONALIZED online
business consultation! NO hype. NO bull. 100% GUARANTEED!
Click NOW for INSTANT access: http://www.nowsell.com/imc.html
=================================================================
B) [New Topic] Web Site Text and Navigation
- Don Morris
- Azam's Comment
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 15:01:24 -0700
From: mrtoner+pe.net
To: BizBits+topica.com
Subject: CONT: Web Site Text and Navigation
On 9/8/1999 3:39 AM, Azam Corry - NowSell.com wrote:
For example, the fonts I choose for NowSell.com are Arial,
Helvetica, Verdana and sans-serif, in that order. If the user's
browser doesn't have Arial installed it will look for Helvetica,
if it doesn't find this it will look for Verdana.
If you care at all about Mac users (and I know that Azam does!),
please use Geneva before Arial -- Geneva is a much nicer screen
font, but Helvetica is mostly used for printing. Windows systems
will just ignore the Geneva parameter. Personally, I like
Verdana, so my font tags look like this:
[font face="Verdana,Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]
Also, font sizes are an issue for Mac users. Typically, our
screens have a resolution of 72 dpi while Windows users have a
resolution of 96 dpi, which causes text at any size to appear
larger on a Windows machine than on a Mac. So, a page designed
without the Mac user in mind will often be extremely difficult to
read on a Mac -- the text is too small!
One site that gets my "two thumbs up" is ZDNet: they use a mix of
Javascript and Cascading Style Sheets to determine what platform
the user is on and then size the text appropriately.
"So what," you say? "Mac users are a minority." Well, we have
feelings, too. :-) Seriously, the Mac market may be only 10% of
the total, but it's still a large market. Cutting off 10% of your
potential market simply because you don't want to take a little
time to change your design is...well, you fill in the blank.
-- Don Morris............mrtoner+pe.net
....Supplies, Parts and Support For Your Laser Printer....
support+lasermedic.com http://www.lasermedic.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Azam's Comment*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for your comments Don.
Actually I used to include Geneva in my font tags when I first
started putting the site together. Seems it got left out when I
moved over to implementing site wide style sheets! I'll add it
back. However, though I *do* care about Mac users it won't be
first as Don suggests, but third.
Why not first?
Because as far as possible, I want the site to appear the same to
*everyone*. Since these days the vast majority of Mac users also
have Arial installed on their systems, it makes a good choice.
Though probably almost as many surfers also have Verdana by now,
and I agree that it is a nice looking font, I find the character
spacing too wide for headings, particularly in navigation bars.
Why third?
In a similar vein, Geneva takes up much more space than Arial,
whereas the size of (the admittedly less attractive) Helvetica is
just a little smaller. Large differences in the size of fonts
viewed on each of the two platforms lead to complications if you
make extensive use of tables.
For example, the left column navigation bar I use at NowSell.com is
plain text at H5 in a table cell (I purposely avoided the use
of graphics for download speed). This will display fine on either
platform and any browser when viewed with either Arial or
Helvetica. However if viewed with Geneva, the substantial amount
of additional space this font consumes would result in some
headings breaking onto the line below.
Building the tables to suit the size of Geneva, would result in
poor presentation for Windows uses, with lots of empty space and
an untidy appearance.
Differences in platforms, further complicated by the different
browser standards, mean that site design is by necessity a
compromise (unless you're prepared to build and maintain several
versions of your site). However, since the majority of my
audience are Windows uses, I would be foolish not to make them my
primary focus, whilst employing Helvetica as the best (if not the
most beautiful) alternative for Mac users that don't have Arial
installed. Incidentally, my very first site used Helvetica as the
primary font, because that was what "MacWorld" used!
Maybe one day (soon?) I will get around to specifying separate
font faces for headings and body text, using CSS (Cascading Style
Sheets) classes. Right now I'm more concerned about how large my
text appears to Windows users - if that's you and you're feeling
generous, perhaps after reading this you could pop over to my
site and let me know if it's too big or not?
I have considered reducing it from size '3' to the equivalent of
around size '2.5' using the more advanced options allowed in CSS,
if Windows users find Arial at size '3' uncomfortably large.
If necessary, I think it should be quite straight forward to
implement something along the lines of the ZDNet solution. If
like me you already use CSS, you should just need to duplicate
the style sheet file, add different font/font size specifications
to the copy and locate the right Javascript to use to switch
between the two (in theory!). However, looking at the source over
at ZDNet, their Javascript seems to incorporate a lot of browser
dependant functions. Not knowing anything about Javascript I am
unable to decipher it, can you?
Don's point about text size is spot on and it's oversight on my
part not to have mentioned it in the article (it's one of the
major reasons why the text on NowSell.com is at size '3'). I have
been to so many sites which use text that, even when set to
largest in the browser, is far too small to read comfortably. I
used to hunch up to the screen to read when this happened.
Now I seldom bother.
My experience has been that 90% of sites I come accross that
suffer from this problem have nothing of value to offer me in
return for my trouble, so if the first sentance doesn't grab me I
simply leave. If you're one of the 10% with worthwhile content
making this mistake - you're loosing out.
Surfers have so many choices that, as Don says, you can't afford
not to cater to as many as possible. Failing to do so not only
reduces you're own audience, it increases loyalty to your
competitors!
Another reason to avoid small text size is that some search
engines (most notably Alta Vista) penalise pages with small text,
because they view them as an attempt to spam the engine...
...you really *don't* want to get banned through repeatedly
submitting a page because it never shows up!
In addition, though I haven't got any figures to hand, with the
'built for the internet' iMac being the #1 selling PC since it's
launch, I think that you'll find that Mac users currently make up
considerably more than 10% of surfers.
Also, with articles like this from the New York Times:
"Apple Computer humbled the rest of the personal computer
industry this week by introducing a new desktop machine... Using
the Intel Corporation's own benchmark software, a 500-megahertz
G4 Macintosh simply smoked the fastest chip in Intel's PC lineup,
the Pentium III.",
no longer relegated solely to Mac publications, it's safe to say
the number of Macs online will continue to grow. Something that
most Ebook publishers (free or otherwise) fail to address at
their cost.
Thanks again to Don for his input. Not only has it given me the
chance to share this information with you, but I now have new
material that, after a little editing, I can use to update my
article and Web Site too!
And there's another tip - recycle your writing!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=================================================================
Learn from the best. Corey Rudl does 2.6 MILLION DOLLARS in sales
online EACH YEAR... all from his one small office! He reveals all
his unconventional tips, trick and techniques with examples so
you can learn the most efficient and fastest way to make money on
the Internet. http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/20370/
=================================================================
C) [New Topic] Page length
- Paula Bright
- Azam's Comment
Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 19:55:35 -0500
From: dowbright+macconnect.com
To: BizBits+topica.com
Subject: Page length
Hi, Azam,
As always, another good issue! Your article on web page text
almost touched on a topic that I've been debating for weeks now.
I am mid-way in creating my site, and am torn: I know having to
scroll way, way, way down to complete the reading on a page is
considered bad form, and that most folks won't read it. At the
same time--when I'm reading a good article that's *grabbed* me,
and continually have to hit "next," then "next," then "next," --
that is also irritating. Most of my pages will be quite short,
and this makes good sense for their content. But I do have one
section--The Saga--which is (I've been told by critics) quite
entertaining, and so far everyone has opted to read the whole
thing (hurray!)....but I can't decide how much to chop it up.
Would love to hear your thoughts or those of your readers.
Paula Bright
ONLINE in mid-September:
WELCOME TO HIP HOP COUNTRY!!
Curious? Email me!
mailto:paula+crazedcowboys.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Azam's Comment*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks again for more kind comments Paula!
First off I'd like to reiterate what I said in the article you
refer to. I *don't believe* that people object to scrolling to
read something on a Web site (assuming it's of interest). We
scroll in our word processors, we scroll when we read email, so
what's the big deal about scrolling on a web site?
If you can tell me, I'm all ears!
Personally I believe this is another example of the
misinformation, which you will discover (the hard way in most
cases!) is in great abundance all over the Internet.
Lets face it, it takes just as much effort to move your mouse and
click on the 'next' link as it does to move the scroll bar down.
(BTW, I use the 'page down' key - even less effort!)
Even better, when you move the scroll bar the result is
instantaneous: you don't have to twiddle your thumbs waiting for
the next page to load!
As Paula rightly says "...'next,' then 'next,' then 'next,'" *is*
an irritating interruption to the interested reader.
There is of course a limit on how long you can make your page and
still maintain its "user friendliness". Four points to consider:
1. If the page is too long, many will not wait for it to
download.
2. The text needs to be well laid out and broken up with plenty
of white space. Use short paragraphs, subheadings and/or
single phases which also enable quick scanning for points of
interest (how many times have you started reading halfway down
the page when something catches your attention, and ended up
starting again from the top?)
3. People will get fed up if the page is so long they are
*endlessly* reaching for the scroll bar.
4. Some people will be overawed or put off at the sight of a
great expanse of text and will literally run away!
When it comes to deciding on where to cut to the next page, use
the points above to decide on a good length. From there search
the text for a suitable place to cut, a change in subject for
example. This may be a little longer or a little shorter than
your optimal length.
At the end of the text work in a 'tie' sentence or phrase that
makes the reader want to go on to the next page. For example:
"...but do you know the most important point about all this?"
[Reader response:"What?" 'click']
"You wouldn't believe what they told me!"
[Reader response:"What?" 'click']
For general examples of all of these techniques, look at my
articles at NowSell.com
As a final comment, with a long text spread over several pages, I
would be inclined make the first page a little shorter than the
others to get the reader 'into' it, without being put off by how
long it will take them to complete.
I would also use a separate table for the first 1/3 to 2/3 of the
immediately viewable area of the page to that of the remainder of
the content. This will load first and the visitor can be reading
whilst the remainder of the page loads, rather than waiting with
a blank screen.
Paula, I know this sounds like a shameless plug, but you really
would benefit from "Make Your Site Sell!". It contains all this
information and much, much more for just $17. I guarantee you'll
find it invaluable. Go to this URL and get a free download which
includes the index, so you can see exactly what it covers and
decide for yourself: http://www.sitesell.com/info.html
Send your information, question or comment to appear here next
week and start advertising yourself. mailto:BizBits+topica.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=====================
+ Tip +
=====================
Omitted this week for reasons of space.
=================================================================
Get up to 90% OFF on overstocked, over-manufactured, refurbished,
distressed merchandise. Top quality brand name products. TVs,
VCRs, Designer Watches, Jeans, Computers, Software, CD's, Stereo
Equipment Sporting goods and more! Worldwide delivery available.
=================================================================
=====================
+ Pause For Thought +
=====================
"I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the
more I have of it."
- Stephen Leacock
"A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited
enthusiasm."
- Charles M. Schwab
=====================
OK, that's it for this week! Below you'll find the info section.
*****************************************************************
Do you find Biz Bits useful?
Make it even more useful by forwarding a copy to your friends!
If you know anyone that should be part of our family, be sure to
invite them - the more the merrier!
*****************************************************************
//---Posting Guidelines---//
Put the subject of the post in the subject line and to make life
easier for me, please prefix it with "NEW" or "CONTINUING". Try
to keep your posts on topic as much as possible. Due to the
obvious limitations on the number of topics we can discuss at
once, postings relating to new topics may be held back for later
release.
Also please don't send the whole issue of Biz Bits back to me. If
you use the reply function, please cut out everything except the
post you're replying to.
Only useful, informative posts or questions will be published.
You're encouraged to include your signature file, but
self-serving gratuitous ads disguised as posts will be weeded
out.
To post to the list, just hit "Reply" on your email program or
mailto:BizBits+topica.com
//-----End Guidelines-----//
=================================================================
To subscribe to Biz Bits, send a blank email to:
mailto:bizbits@nowsell.com
Should you ever wish to unsubscribe (hopefully not!):
mailto:BizBits-unsubscribe@topica.com
To subscribe/unsubscribe on the Web please go to:
http://www.nowsell.com
=================================================================
Information on sponsoring Biz Bits: mailto:bbads+nowsell.com
=================================================================
Biz Bits is Copyright © 1999 Azam Corry. All Rights Reserved.
No part of Biz Bits may be reproduced in whole or in part without
written permission, though it may be freely redistributed in its
unedited form. All guest articles are copyright their respective
owners and are reproduced with permission.
Biz Bits is an internationally registered weekly publication.
