The Single Best Way To Boost Sales On Your Site - Forever

Here is yet another old article by Steve Shaw that I hope you enjoy. It is from the "Articles" directory of http://www.mikeseroveyenterprises.com. Split Test Version 2 is out and it is NOT free, but reasonably priced as of this date.

The Single Best Way To Boost Sales On Your Site - Forever
Copyright © 2004 Steve Shaw

Imagine if you could put something on your web site that you know will increase your sales and boost your profits.

Imagine if you could adjust your web site in a way that you know will maximize the amount of visitors you can convert to subscribers.

And you can do all of this, and carry on doing it, without any shadow of a doubt in your mind that what you are doing is of benefit to your business.

This article details exactly what you can do to achieve this - and although it really is remarkably simple, so few people are actually taking advantage of it.

So what's the secret?

It's the very simple technique known as split-testing. This term refers to the method by which you display a different version of a web page (such as a sales page) to different visitors, and then measure which version of the page pulls the greatest response.

For example, let's say you have two versions of your sales page, your current page, Page A, and a new page you want to test, Page B. Both pages simply display a different headline, and you want to measure which headline brings you the best results.

So you put both pages up on your site, and show each one alternatively to each visitor. Visitor A will see Page A, Visitor B will see page B, Visitor C will see Page A, and so on.

You wait until you have say 20 sales from both these pages combined. Then you examine your stats to see which page pulled the most sales. Let's say Page A pulled 7 sales, whereas Page B with the different headline pulled 13 sales.

You then know, without a shadow of a doubt, that putting Page B up on your site, and removing Page A, is going to massively increase your sales - in fact, if you do the math, by about 86%.

If the result is less clear cut, you can simply wait until you have got more results in, and a clear and consistent leader emerges.

So how do you go about implementing split-testing on your site?

There are two distinct elements in the process:

Firstly, showing the separate versions of the page to different visitors
Secondly, knowing which version pulled which response. There are also two different ways of implementing the former:

Show a completely different web page, i.e. a different URL, to different visitors
Show the same web page, or URL, but with one or more elements on the page changed
You may choose to just change one or two elements on the page, or you may wish to present a completely different web page to test out a new approach.

Gets complicated, doesn't it?

Well it's not really - it all depends on exactly what you want to achieve.

You may believe a new headline would improve your sales levels - so all you do is test out that headline to see if it really does work as you have expected.

There is of course far more than just the headline that you might want to test out - you may want to test whether one testimonial would do better in a different position, or a reworded first paragraph would pull in more sales, or a photo of you in the top corner would improve results.

You can either do it intuitively, or scientifically. The scientific method via split-testing is of course far superior, as you are directing your business based on real results, rather than often-misguided emotion.

But doesn't it get rather...technical?

It can do - but it certainly doesn't have to be.

There's a script available at splittestgenerator.com that's currently completely free, and is designed especially for non-techies.

There are numerous other scripts available elsewhere too. And if you know about server-side programming, or can hire a programmer who does, it's easy enough to implement split-testing on your site using most web-based languages like PHP, ASP or Perl.

And if you're in any doubt about whether you should be split-testing, then you must also be in doubt about the future of your ebusiness. As Declan Dunn has so clearly stated, "There are two types of companies; those who test, and those who lose money." Which category do you fall into?

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Steve Shaw creates systems and software for effective e-marketing. His ListInferno.com site allows you to get thousands of 100% 0pt-In leads for your list - for free. For more details visit:
http://ListInferno.com
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Boost Sales

How to Boost your Opt-Ins WITHOUT Pop-Ups!

This is another one of the old articles that I had on my site at http://www.mikeseroveyenterprises.com. I hope that you can benefit form the advice given by Steve Shaw here. The link to the Lead Factory is now dead, but his advice is still sound otherwise.

How to Boost your Opt-Ins WITHOUT Pop-Ups!
Copyright © 2004 Steve Shaw

In this article I'll explain a powerful method you can use to radically boost your opt-in levels, without any use of Pop-Ups whatsoever!

Let's be honest, the number of opt-in subscribers you can attain via the use of a popup on your web site is limited to a proportion of the amount of traffic you receive. If, like most web sites, the number of unique visitors you receive every day is limited to a few hundred or less, your opt-in list will perhaps not grow as fast as you would like.

It's still important to use a popup to capture as many subscriptions as you can from your visitors, but did you know there are other complimentary ways in which you can grow your list?

One method we all hear about of course is to submit your ezine listing to the various ezine directories that abound over the internet - but there are so many ezines and newsletters nowadays, you may have been better putting your energies elsewhere.

Did you know that there are various services that allow you to purchase subscribers for your mailing list?

"What!", I hear you say, "I don't want to spend any money 'buying subscribers', that's ridiculous!"

Well, think about it for a second.

All internet marketers acknowledge that every one of their subscribers has a certain monetary value over the lifetime of their subscription. The actual value of this depends on many factors, and it would be another subject entirely to go into this in any depth, but if you have a well run ezine, this value in the long term (say a twelve month period) should far surpass what you might pay for the individual subscriber.

So how does it work?

The 'lead provider' will advertise your ezine in various places on the internet, usually paying a percentage of the cost of each subscriber to the publisher of the ad, and then forward the leads to you, either signing them up directly to your list, or sending you a report containing the leads collected over a certain time period. This means that every one of those leads have 'opted in' to your list, without going anywhere near your web site (or your popup!)

The key, of course, is finding a reputable service that can deliver quality leads.

After a conversation with an online colleague and customer who had recently started purchasing leads, and who was very happy with the results he had achieved, I started to look into using a similar service for my own list.

So I spent some time researching the various services available - I had so many questions like how much I had to pay per subscriber, what the quality of those subscriptions and email addresses actually were, how credible and reliable the service was, and so on. I certainly didn't want to lose money down the drain.

To be honest, the majority of services I wasn't too impressed with, but I found one that stood out from the crowd at http://takanomi.com/go/LeadFactory.html. The most likely reason was that the service had been endorsed by well-known guys I respected like Jim Daniels, Terry Dean and Willie Crawford, and that it seemed incredibly flexible to fit in with your own requirements. It was all done automatically, no heavy files to have to manually load up myself (unless I actually wanted to do that of course), and they even gave you an extra 10% subscribers to (over-)compensate for the odd undeliverable or duplicate.

So...after spending some more time looking around the site, ensuring that it met my needs, and even contacting David Beroff personally, one of the guys who runs the service, I gave it a whirl.

Their service is a little more expensive than most, though you pay for what you get, and I wanted quality and reliability, and that's exactly what they delivered. The subscribers started coming through almost immediately and boosted my opt-in list more rapidly than I had ever seen previously.

Although they don't direct the subscribers to my site, my sales went up too as a result of the free PopUp Masters ecourse I offer, so it was a very good result all round.

The only difficulty occurred when I suddenly stopped getting subscribers coming through - the LeadFactory team leapt on the issue at once. It turned out that the problem was with my autoresponder changing some mail filtering procedures on their server rather than LeadFactory, so they temporarily shut down the campaign until it was resolved, and gave me all the help I could ask for in supplying the relevant information to my autoresponder. They also manually sent me the details of all the subscribers, so I didn't miss out at all. Their customer service, from my own first hand experience, is excellent.

So, if you want to start boosting your opt-ins faster than a PopUp on the average web site could ever hope to do, I would thoroughly recommend the service from http://takanomi.com/go/LeadFactory.html.
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Steve Shaw creates systems and software for effective e-marketing. His ListInferno.com site allows you to get thousands of 100% 0pt-In leads for your list - for free. For more details visit:
http://ListInferno.com
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Optin List

Avoiding the Perils and Pitfalls of Opt-in Lists

Here is another old article that used to be in my "Articles" directory at http://www.mikeseroveyenterprises.com. I hope that you find it useful!

Avoiding the Perils and Pitfalls of Opt-in Lists
Copyright © 2004 Steve Shaw

It's almost part of an initiation ceremony for budding internet marketers to grab a quick-as-they-can opt-in list, with all the promises of instant riches, only to find that rather than the bed of roses they were dreaming of, they end up with their fledgling internet business immediately shut down and their dreams in ruins.

This article, via a set of basic FAQs, tells you exactly how to avoid the perils and pitfalls of opt-in lists that befall so many, and instead move your internet business onto a solid, and profitable, foundation for the future.


1. When I purchase an opt-in list from somebody, how can I check and confirm that they are truly opt-in?

My advice here is simply NOT to purchase a pre-existing opt-in list from somebody, but to build your own - otherwise you are taking a sizeable risk.

What you can do instead is to order opt-in leads from a reputable source, e.g. you purchase say 600 leads, and these leads opt-in over time via the lead forwarding company. This means you may say get 20 new leads a day until your order is complete.

In general, such companies purchase advertising space on other web sites to advertise your list - but just be careful to order your leads from somewhere reputable. The ones I use and can recommend are at http://www.takanomi.com/leadfactory/ and http://www.worldwidelists.com.


2. How can I check and confirm that the company that is selling opt-in lists is legitimate?

Again, I'd advise you not to purchase a ready-made opt-in list - if you think about it, these people have definitely not 'opted in' to your list, they probably didn't know it existed, and have no idea that their names and email addresses are on a particular list that is being sold to people like you.

As such, their reactions are not likely to be favorable when you start mailing them, and you could find that your ISP shuts you down very quickly.

My general rule here is, if you are in any doubt whatsoever, just steer clear.


3. Can I send bulk emails to my opt-in list?

You can of course send emails to your list, I would advise using an online service such as the one I use at http://www.takanomi.com/par, or more basic providers such as at http://www.freeautobot.com.

This not only means that the delivery of your messages is taken care of on a server (rather than relying on your own PC and perhaps shaky internet connection), but it also makes the collection of your own opt-in leads very easy.

All you do is compose the email you want to send, and then click to send it to your group of contacts.


4. When I send bulk emails, should I send one email at a time or can I send 100 email at a time showing all 100 email addresses on Cc field?

I'd strongly advise that you use an online service as described above, or specialist PC-based software such as Mailloop from http://takanomi.com/mailloop or WorldCast from http://www.fairlogic.com/worldcast, rather than use existing mail software such as Outlook, which simply isn't designed for bulk mailing.

This means that you can not only send thousands of emails with a single click, but that each subscriber receives a personally addressed email that usually includes an easy unsubscribe option, which is important to build up the trust of your opt-in list, as well as your own credibility.


5. What if I purchased illegal opt-in emails (by mistake) from somebody and started marketing my product?

This would be your big risk of purchasing pre-existing opt- in lists, and a risk that I'd very strongly advise you not to take. So many fledgling internet businesses start off on this wrong foot, and have to live with the consequences.

The most likely result would be that your host would fairly quickly shut your site down and your internet business would simply cease to exist.


In conclusion, just ensure that everyone you are sending email to has definitely opted in to receive your individual publication, either via a reputable lead forwarding company such as described above, or via subscription from your own web site.

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Steve Shaw creates systems and software for effective e-marketing. His ListInferno.com site allows you to get thousands of 100% 0pt-In leads for your list - for free. For more details visit: http://ListInferno.com
Optin Lists

Top 9 Ways To "Speed Up" Your Surfing & Computing

Here is an article by Jim Edwards that is quite helpful to those who use Microsoft products. I already knew most of these tips prior to posting them here but even I learned a few new tricks! Make use of these tips to save time and effort!

Mike Serovey

Top 9 Ways To "Speed Up" Your Surfing & Computing
- by Jim Edwards

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.IGottaTellYou.com
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Good Evening. We hope you have had a pleasant day.

It seems like "fast" never quite rates "fast enough!"

No matter how quickly your computer moves, especially on the Internet, it could always move faster. :-)

Email, web surfing, downloading files (legally of course), switching between applications... none of them ever go as quickly as we want or expect.

Well, let me do my part to perpetuate this "microwave oven" mentality (why must popcorn take 3 ½ minutes instead of 2?) by giving you some tips and hints for making your online experiences and overall computing as fast as possible (even on a dial up connection).

** Hit The Accelerator **

Sensing a need for faster Internet access in markets where broadband cable or DSL can't or won't go, Internet Service Providers (ISP's) like NetZero offer Internet "accelerators."

Using a system of caches, compression schemes, and other technology to double or even triple your dial-up connection speeds, Internet accelerators can save you hours spent waiting for simple web pages to appear in your browser.

Though they won't work for everyone in every single situation, check out www.netzero.com, www.propel.com and www.slipstreamdata.com for more information.


** Clean Up Your Hard Drive **

Often a messy hard drive can contribute to slow online experiences.

Perform a "Disk Cleanup" and a "Defrag" (available by clicking , , then ) to clean out the garbage files on your hard drive that slow your system down considerably.

This will help when running offline applications too, especially those that read and write from the hard drive frequently in the process of doing their tasks.


** Get More RAM **

RAM (Random Access Memory) allows your computer to process data more quickly without writing and reading from the hard drive.

Ask any nerd like me and they'll tell you straight out, "You can NEVER have too much RAM!" RAM costs so little now that virtually anyone can afford to add more memory to their computer without a big hit to their wallet.


** Avoid Time Wasters **

Speeding up your surfing doesn't just mean pulling the maximum amount of data through your phone line until it melts!

It also means avoiding things that suck your time up and leave you sitting twiddling your thumbs instead of getting things done.

Make the most of your time online with these time-saving tips:

~ Use Google - Search giant, Google.com, consistently returns relevant search results in minimum time.

Sure, big search engines like Dogpile.com and AskJeeves.com query multiple search engines, but the time spent waiting for and then wading through those results rarely makes it worth the occasional extra result.

~ Avoid Instant Messenger - "Heresy! I must have my instant messenger!" you cry!

Keep a log of how much time gets spent mindlessly chatting on the IM instead of doing something important. If you must IM, do it in moderation.

~ Filter Spam - Use a program to filter your spam instead of wading through it by hand.

Even if you only get 25 spam messages a day (I'd love to be you) and only spend 10 seconds on each message, at the end of a year that comes out to over 30 hours wasted on spam!

Filter your email messages before you take the time to download them to your machine and you'll love the spare time that magically comes your way.


** Slow Mouse? **

When I flick my wrist I expect that mouse to hop from one side of the screen to the other like the house was on fire!

A slow mouse can steal seconds of precious time that add up to hours of frustration over weeks and months.

If you suffer from a "slow mouse," click then "Control Panel" then "Mouse".

Then you'll see a tab that says "Pointer Options" or "Motion" (or something similar) and you can adjust the slider left or right to increase or decrease the speed of your mouse's movement across the screen.


** Use Windows Keyboard Shortcuts **

Windows has a number of nifty keyboard combinations that most people don't know about, but can save you incredible amounts of time, energy, effort and frustration.

+Z - I call this the "panic button."

Hold down the "Ctrl" key and hit the letter Z and you can often undo the last action you took in Windows.

This comes in especially handy when you've deleted something (like a term paper or 500 word article) and want it back.

If you accidentally do something wrong, STOP hitting keys immediately and do +Z to undo what you just did.

+D - Ever wonder what the little "flag" key is on the keyboard next to "Alt?" (I sure have wondered.)

Well, it turns out that little key has some cool uses.

Hold down +D and you can minimize all the open windows on your desktop. (Very handy when you keep many programs running and need to hit your desktop in a hurry.)

+F - allows you to search for any file on your computer immediately.


** Microsoft Office Shortcuts **

If you use Word or Excel (or any of the Microsoft Office Products), the following shortcuts will help you speed up many common activities.

Spell Checker - Hit the key in any Office application to launch the spell checker.

Quick Save - Hit +S to save any open file (very handy to quickly save a file repeatedly during a heavy typing session without having to grab the mouse).

Quick Copy - Hit +C to copy any highlighted text or cells.

Quick Paste - Hit +V to paste anything on the clipboard into a current document or spreadsheet.

Insert Date - In Word you can insert the date with ++D. You can insert the date in Excel with +; (semi-colon).

It will amaze you how much faster you can get things done just by understanding how to save little bits of time here and there using shortcuts, tools, and better ways of doing things.

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computer tips
time saving tips