This article may be freely ... provided the contact panel at the end is ... A courtesy copy is ... 197 Lines Wrap at 65 Chars 1266 WordsThe Most ... Question To Ask A This article may be freely republished provided the contact panel at the end is included. A courtesy copy is appreciated.DATA: 197 Lines Wrap at 65 Chars 1266 WordsThe Most Important Question To Ask About Your Web Site!-----------------------------------------------------------------By Martin Gateshill - AdzInMotion - http://www.adzinmotion.com-----------------------------------------------------------------When you design a website how do you start ?Do you start with the banner graphics at the top, or the orderpage or maybe the sales letter ?All of those are areas that have to be created but they'rereally not the place to start.The place to start is by answering one simple question aboutyour site.>> What do I want my visitor to do before she leaves? We'll call the answer to that your primary objective, the singlething you most want a visitor to do before leaving.Of course the answer gives rise to another equally importantquestion...>> If she doesn't do that, what else would I like her to do? We'll call the answer to that your secondary objective, it'syour fall back position. If you fail to convince them to takethe action that you most want them to do, this fall back actionwill still serve a purpose and get you other opportunities toachieve objective one.The answer to these questions will define the design of yoursite for you. Your site will ave to be designed so that it canreact 'on the fly' and lead the visitor to objective 2 if youfail to achieve objective 1.REALISTIC OBJECTIVESLet's take the case of a web site owner who's selling softwaredirect to the end user.What would be the primary objective for such a site?Often the site owner will decide that Objective 1 - the onething he most wants a visitor to do is to buy the software thereand then.Great, that now defines the site for him. To meet the objectivethe site has to be completely focused on that objective but, itmay turn out to be unrealistic to expect to achieve it in onehit.DESIGN THE SITE TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVEThe sales copy has to describe a problem, lay out the solutionsand show how the product available from this very page willsolve the problem now.The copy must be compelling, it must describe the problem thatthe product solves in a way that creates detailed pictures inthe visitors mind. Pictures of the day to day effects of thisproblem that the visitor would really want to solve.The copy must then paint pictures to create thoughts and imagesof life for the visitor without this problem and how much better,easier or more profitable etc life would be if this problemcould be solved.Then, like the 7th cavalry riding in, the copy must link thefeatures of the software to the benefits that go with using itand the problem being solved.The more powerful the links and the more positive imagerycreated in the visitors mind, the more likely it becomes thats/he will be motivated to take action to end the problem and buythe product then and there.The good feelings developed by the copy can be reinforced byglowing testimonials from users who are already enjoying lifewith the software and without the problem defined.A superb close should be used that reinforces all of the goodfeelings achieved so far and adds value by careful positioningof the price to be paid against the real value of the productand the list of wonderful exclusive bonuses on offer if thevisitor orders now.The visitor feels so positive she reaches for her credit card,completes the order form and buys the product.Great! Primary objective achieved. But....WHAT IF IT OBJECTIVE 1 FAILS?Sometimes, even if you get all of the above correct, it's justnot enough. Your visitor may not know you, one visit may notconvince them that you are trust worthy. They not be entirelyconvinced that your software will deliver all the promisedbenefits or that it's worth the money. Perhaps they might bethinking that there might be a better, cheaper, better knownsolution to be had elsewhere.For any or all of these reasons the site owners primaryobjective may prove to be unrealistic and may not be achieved.If this is the case he needs to rapidly switch the purpose ofhis site to achieving his secondary objective. This can betricky to do but there is a simple technique that can beemployed for the purpose.First, what sort of secondary objective might be achievable bythe site owner? We'll look at a couple of examples.NEWSLETTERHe may have a newsletter about the subject area that hissoftware covers.If so, his secondary objective may be to get the visitor to signup for it before leaving.That way the site owner has opportunities to build on thepictures painted by the site. He can use the newsletter toreassure, prove the benefits, introduce other benefits. He canshow more testimonials and provide a stream of useful, valuedinformation to build a relationship of trust with the visitor.FREE TRIALHe may have a 'test drive' version of the software that willallow the visitor to find out first hand what it does and how itwill benefit him to own it. If so his secondary objective mightbe to get the visitor to download the 'test drive' and thensupply him by email with how to's, tutorials and other usefulinformation to get the visitor using the software andexperiencing the benefits first hand.BACK TO OBJECTIVE 1Either of these secondary objectives provide the site ownerfurther opportunities to develop a relationship with the visitoruntil they feel ready to buy the software.HOW TO RE-PURPOSE THE SITEOne of the best ways is the intelligent use of Popups.In this case the site owner only wants to go for objective 2 ifobjective 1 is not achieved. He knows it hasn't been achieved ifthe visitor is leaving the site without going to the order pageor does go there but doesn't buy the product.Time for a great Popup triggered by either event.A good, fast loading Popup inviting the visitor to sign up forthe newsletter or download the test drive works wonders. They'reabout to leave, but now they see something that's so compelling,free, zero risk, high benefit that they'd be crazy not to reactto it.It's a simple technique that has earned a lot of money for a lotof site owners.Set your objectives carefully and structure your site to giveyou the best chance to achieve at least one of them.Look out for more in this series from Martin Gateshillhttp://www.adzinmotion.com ______________________________________________________ ABOUT THIS ARTICLE...This free article has been provided to you courtesy of MartinGateshill of AdzInMotion http://www.adzinmotion.com.AdzInMotion produce innovative software that allows Web SiteOwners of all levels of ability to produce eye catching on sitepromotional materials that do one thing very well - IncreaseSales, Click thru's and Sign ups. To see AdzInMotion in actiongo to http://www.adzinmotion.comCONTACT AND INFOThis article along with may be freely republished provided thispanel is included. A courtesy copy is appreciated.Martin can be contacted at [email protected] ______________________________________________________ Article Tags: Most Important Question, Most Important, Important Question Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com