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After seven years of marketing online, I just learned something new.
Feedback Truly is Like Gold.
No, I'm not talking about feedback in the form of testimonials to post at your site. I'm talking about pure, unadulterated, brutally honest \"opinions\".
That's the stuff that gold is made of. Well, web gold anyway. ;-)
Let me explain...
I decided to try something a little different with my web business this month and it has already begun to pay big dividends. My guess is it could help your web business too, so give today's tip a good read.
It all stared a month ago when I decide to update my main site at make-a-living-online.com. I realized that the site had become a bit outdated so I asked one person for some feedback and man, did I ever receive it. In fact, the feedback I got resulted in so many changes that I'm now asking everybody who visits my site to share their brutal honesty.
The first person I asked to \"attack\" my site was a fellow by the name of David Jardine. You may have heard of him already. He's one of Australia's leading web copywriters and at his site, websuccessreview.com he offers a \"no cost, Impartial, 30+ Point Web Site Review And Critique... In Exchange For A Handshake\". And man, did he ever go to town on my site.
To make a long story short, after David was done sharing his little gold nuggets with me, I hired him to overhaul my site, implementing all his key points. The new site is quite an upgrade from the old one.
But I wanted to hear what my visitors thought of the site. So I decided to take this feedback thing a bit further...
When visitors read my site, some are presented with a popup that gives away my downloadable Internet Business Starter Kit. To get some visitor feedback I simply changed the giveaway to a \"reward for opinion\" offer.
And man, did the opinions ever start flowing. It seems folks just love to spout off and let you know what they think. Especially when they're getting a reward for it. The very first day I received comments from more than 75 website visitors.
I'd like to share a random sampling of 10 comments so you can see some of the good, the bad and the ugly you might expect if you try this experiment at your site...
1. What I liked/disliked about your site...Easy to read, straight forward and clean. I don't like it when marketers use caps and exclamation points in advertising though - makes it seem not legitimate.
2. What I liked/disliked about your site...I do believe what you say.. But it was too wordy for me. I was falling asleep.
3. What I liked/disliked about your site...I like the way you are honest about the possibilities of making money on the web, without making outlandish promises.
4. What I liked/disliked about your site...I liked the idea of you sharing your ideas. I disliked having to wade through 5 pages.
5. What I liked/disliked about your site...I loved your site. It contains all the elements \"the experts\" indicate are important and it was fun to read. I enjoyed the personal stories and the testimonials. I'm hoping my website will be as fun and friendly soon.
6. What I liked/disliked about your site...I like learning about earning a living online, but could you say it in fewer words? It gets tiring reading on and one and on....
7. What I liked/disliked about your site...Hello Jim, the site you have set up is truly professional, I only wish I had your vision to improve my own life. I just wish you all the success for the future you deserve. I have no negative comments, I realize you are selling a product, I think you are carrying out business in the most honest way possible.
8. What I liked/disliked about your site...Very informative but it's just too darn long.
9. What I liked/disliked about your site...This site is great. I truly admire the fact that you took the time to show others how they can make a successful business online and just gave it away free.
10. What I liked/disliked about your site...Great job explaining the vital basic aspects of internet marketing Jim. There is far too much hype out on the net these days. It distracts people and confuses them. But I think you could help more people with that site if you offered a shorter version.
Noticing a trend there?
That's where the fun really began...
Getting all that feedback was fun and all, but the real value it holds is the ability to adapt. When you know what people like or dislike about your site, then it is easy to fix the bad stuff and ad more of the good! So I went to work right away.
It was obvious that most people were pleased with the content at make-a-living-online.com - but there was a problem... it was too darn looooong! Most folks simply did not have time to go through all five pages of the guide, so they were missing out on some important information.
The solution? I needed to give them exactly what they were asking for. So up went a condensed, one-page version of the site.
Now from my main page, visitors can choose a shortened version of the site. I'm now getting feedback on that and adapting even more.
And another great aspect to this flow of feedback, is that I get a chance to respond personally to all these visitors. I thank them for their comments and let them know about the changes. That lets them see there is a real person behind the site who cares what they think. (That's a great tool for increasing sales by the way. ;-) )
Are you starting to get the idea that maybe you are in the dark about what your website visitors think? I know I was for many years. And only after ASKING them was I able to make significant improvements that will not only affect THEM, but my bottom line as well.
So I strongly urge you to ask your visitors for some feedback. Even if you do it for only a month or so. All it takes is editing your giveaway or adding a link to your site. It's fun and it can yield some great results at your site.
And now that we're on the subject of feedback, I'd like to close this tip by giving you a change to grab a nice prize, simply for sharing some feedback with David Jardine. (Remember him from earlier in this tip?) David would like to get your opinion on a few things... and since you are a BizWeb Gazette subscriber, he's giving you $154 worth of powerful marketing ebooks.
Your cost? 5 minutes of your time.
The ebooks are 10 of the latest marketing manuals, not last years old throw-aways with no real value. Titles include:
* eBay Marketing 2003
* Classified Ad Secrets 2003
* The Internet Marketer's Secret Guide
* The Ultimate eLibrary...
... and a whole lot more, it's definitely worth a couple of simple 'point-and-click' answers. And this is a great chance to give some good feedback on things you've bought online. It's worth doing even if you just want the free ebooks. ;-)
You can find the survey at:
http://www.websuccessreview.com/survey
Please Note: This survey isn't open to just anyone, it is by invitation only to you as my subscriber. Please do not forward this on to anyone.
That's it for today's tip. See ya in December.
To your success,
Jim Daniels
http://www.make-a-living-online.com
(The Site that Explains How to Make a Living Online.)
P.S. At that just-updated guide you'll discover some of my deepest, darkest secrets about online business. If you are not having the success you expected online, I can help you personally, just like I've helped these folks.
About the author:
Article used with permission from Jim Daniels. Jim's free guide to website marketing (http://www.make-a-living-online.com) and his website promotion (http://www.bizweb2000.com) help site show you how to get low-cost website traffic and make money online.
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