FROM THE DESK, MIND AND HEART OF JEFF HODGES
Hey Everybody,
I hope this beautiful Easter Sunday has found each and every one of you reaching your goals and living your dreams. It’s Springtime and the air is filled with new life and new energy. I just can’t get enough of it. The grass is turning green, the trees are beginning to bud and I’m ready to take advantage of what Mother Nature has to offer. I would like to welcome all my regulars back and throw out the welcome mat to all my new readers. As always, if you are new and want to read the previous editions or maybe you just missed one, you can take care of that by going to either…..
http://www.letmemakeyousuccessful.com/links.html (bottom left corner of the page)
OR
http://www.jeffhodges.blogspot.com
********************* Success University *********************
Jim Rohn is quoted as saying, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” There is a lot of truth in that. I have learned that from my own personal experiences. That’s why I choose to get my self-education at Success University. Success University is a place where the Best of the Best, like Jim Rohn, have come together as faculty members to bring you the absolute best in quality information and training !!! And, on top of that, you will earn an amazing residual income while you are learning. How much better can it get than that ??? Take is from me and go check out what Success University has to offer YOU !!!!!
http://www.jhodges1.successuniversity.com
************************************************************
Ok, so you have a web site and everybody is telling you that you just MUST have a landing page !!! Well, I must say that I agree BUT no advertising tool is effective if you don’t create and use it properly. So, I have put together a list of ten tips to take into consideration when creating and using your landing page. I hope you find them helpful.
1. First Impressions Matter: When a prospect scans your landing page, they decide in just a few seconds whether they are going to hang around and check things out or move on. When making this decision, they consider two things: “Does this page look hard or complicated?” and “Is this page relevant to my search?”. Design, copy, font size, and form length all influence the first. To influence the second, make sure your page (especially the headline) is directly geared toward the search criteria that most likely brought them to your site.
2. Have an Offer: Your landing page doesn’t need to sell your product, service, or company. It just needs to sell them on your offer. Focus your page around a single call to action, such as a free report or free sample. And don’t bore them to tears by trying to cram a bunch of information about your company onto the page. They’ll learn about all that after they click through.
3. No Navigation: This isn’t your home page, so don’t have a navigation bar there. Simpler pages almost always work better for lead generation. In eye tracking studies, the navigation draws attention away from your offer and conversion action. It’s tempting to leave those links just in case the visitor wants to dig through your site and learn more. Forget that. Your goal is to sell your offer, and the only thing those links can do is reduce your conversions. You can always share additional information after they convert on the thank you page or by your follow up emails in your auto responder.
4. Use Graphics Wisely: Graphics are the #1 thing that draws the eye. Use them carefully since the wrong graphic can distract from the offer and conversion. Two other tips: Let people click the graphics to get more info (visitors often click on graphics) and be sure to have a caption (besides the headline, captions are the most read copy on the page).
5. Make Your Content Scan-able: People don’t read landing pages, they scan them. Use bullets, if you can. Be sure your copy sells your offer when someone scans just the first three words of each bullet or paragraph. Bold your key words. Consider using things such as an audio clip or short video on your landing page. This can engage buyers who want more infomation without making the page look overwhelming.
6. Only Ask What You Really Need: Every field you ask to be filled in reduces your conversion rate, so collect as little information as you really need to route the lead and stay in touch. You can always collect more during your follow up process.
7. Capture Implicit Information: Use hidden fields to capture additional information about your leads. You can also use “click paths” to capture implicit information. For example, if you want to know the prospect’s occupation, add some navigation on the left that lists all the major occupations. This is different than your site navigation. Prospects are likely to click on the link for their occupation, so you can take them to an even more targeted landing page and capture their occupation as a hidden field.
8. Have Reasons to Give Valid Information: After conversion, don’t just hand the offer to the prospect, email it to them. This is a great method to ensure that you get a valid email address. Also, be sure to place a link to your privacy statement near the location where you ask for their information.
9. Say Thank You: After a customer converts, take them to a thank you page. This is important to track the conversion rate. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to deepen the relationship by making another offer, promoting your blog, asking for feedback, or running a poll. Up to 40% of prospects say they are willing to share additional information after they convert. Why not take advantage of that percentage and rack up all the available information that you can about them?
10. Test: Testing lets visitors vote with their actions, removing any doubt about what works and what doesn’t work. The most valuable things to test are the headline, graphic captions, the submit button, form length, and graphical elements.
Well, there you have it. These tips, properly applied (application is the key to effectiveness), should serve you well and help you to get the absolute MOST out of your landing page efforts. Lets’ face it, we have enough to do without wasting our time learning everything the hard way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
************************************************************
“As technology advances, it reverses the characteristics of every situation again and again. The age of automation is going to be the age of DO IT YOURSELF.”
- Marshall McLuhan
************************************************************
Do any of you remember a movie called “Pay It Forward”? It was about a little boy who is caught up by an intriguing assignment from his new social studies teacher. The assignment: think of something that would change the world and put it into action. He conjures up the notion of paying a favor not back, but forward--repaying good deeds not with payback, but with new good deeds done to three new people. The idea being that if everyone involved sticks with the concept that in a very short period of time the World in general would be completely engulfed in doing good deeds for their fellow man/woman. How AWESOME of a concept is that !?!
The concept was described by Benjamin Franklin in a letter to Benjamin Webb, dated April 22, 1784:
“I do not pretend to give such a Sum; I only lend it to you. When you meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro' many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.”
Think about this for a moment. In which way is the Greater Good served; by you Giving to those in need and the kindness ending there, by Loaning them that which they need and then burdening them with the chore of repaying that which they lacked to begin with OR Loaning them what they need with the repayment requirement being that, when it is within their capability to do so, they be required to show that kindness to another and another and another ???
Every time I think about this it just brings such joy to my heart. I’ve always been a giver but throughout most of my life, prior to being exposed to this concept, it always stopped there. I have been cheating the World out of countless acts of kindness until I came upon this new vision. Sometimes I think about what wonderful things could be accomplished if we could ever get the multitudes involved. There are a lot of people in this World that need help and there are equally large numbers of people that are in a position to give that help. How wonderful it would be to set the wheels in motion to cause them to cross paths !!!
The thing is that it isn’t about money !!! In fact, the vast majority of the time, these acts of kindness never have to even involve money. Your elderly neighbor may need you to change the tire on their car. They may not be able to change their own tire but they may be able to pay it forward by babysitting for a young mother that needs to go to work. That young mother may be able to pay it forward by tutoring a child that is experiencing educational challenges. It just goes on and on.
Folks, it can be really easy to get so wrapped up in your day to day business affairs that you don’t even see what’s going on around you. Sometimes I’m as guilty of that as the next person but we all need to work on that. We need to pause occasionally and look around us. Sometimes another person’s needs don’t just jump out at you. Sometimes you have to stop and take note of them. Believe me, if you want to be a help to somebody all you have to do is look around you. I can GUARANTEE you that you are SURROUNDED by people in need. I challenge each and every one of you to do that very thing daily. Believe me when I tell you that you never, never know when that person in need might be YOU !!!!!!!!!! So, PAY IT FORWARD….. It WILL find it’s way back to you !!!!
************************************************************
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advise, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”
- Henri Nouwen
************************************************************
Well, I don’t know about you guys and gals but I’m about ready to relax and take in the rest of this beautiful Spring evening. It’s really amazing how the time flies when I’m visiting with all of you and equally amazing how the time flies until the next Sunday. I do LOVE sharing with you and will continue to do so as long as the Good Lord sees fit to make it possible. Here’s to a wonderful and prosperous new week for all of you !!! May each and every one of you reach your goals and live your dreams and until the Good Lord grants us this opportunity again just remember to always………
JUST SAY “NO” TO NEGATIVITY !!!
Sincerely,
Jeff Hodges
JeffreyHodges@thedreameffect.com
http://www.thedreameffect.com
http://www.letmemakeyousuccessful.com
http://www.jhodges1.successuniversity.com
http://www.jeffhodges.blogspot.com
270-320-1324
Skype ID : jeffhodges1
