How Barack Obama Can Help You Go Viral

Okay, maybe Obama himself didn’t think this up, but his very smart online marketing strategy team has come up with a great idea on how to use your thank-you page to get people telling other people about your business.

We’ve always said that your thank-you page is another fantastic opportunity to sell — one that most businesses overlook.

Check out this this article from the MarketingSherpa blog to see how the Obama team has taken the idea a step further!

Got Five Seconds to Ramp Up Your Sales?

So you’ve found a niche and a blockbuster product for it, written your salescopy, and built your website…

… Now you’re ready to start counting your money, right?

Not so fast!

Before you do anything else, do this quick five-second test to make sure your site is EASY to use!

Just how important IS website usability?

For an e-commerce site, it’s CRUCIAL. If people can’t follow your navigation scheme, they won’t be able to find your products…

… And if they can’t find your products, how can they BUY them?

In fact, according to market research from the Gartner Group, more than 50% of web sales are LOST because visitors can’t find what they’re looking for!

With results like these, I firmly believe EVERYONE should test their sites for usability.

And with the five-second test I’m about to show you, you can find out key information very quickly: Your visitors’ first impressions

Major roadblocks in your site navigation

How well your web page communicates its MOST important content.

Don’t think five seconds is long enough to learn anything useful?

Well, that’s roughly how long the majority of web surfers spend deciding if YOUR site has what they’re looking for! (The maximum is 10 seconds.)

Here’s what you do…

The Five-Second Usability Test

Step 1: Find several people who fit your target market and ask them to be your focus group.

Step 2: Give your users a focused goal. Let’s say you sell computer software tutorials. The goal you give them might be something like, "Find tutorials relevant to your skills and interests."

Step 3: Display your homepage for five seconds, then ask your focus group to try to remember everything they see.

Step 4: Once you’ve removed the page, ask your test subjects to write down everything they remember about the page.

Step 5: Ask two relevant questions to see whether your page allowed them to find what they were looking for.

For example, "What kind of tutorials does my site offer?" or "Did you spot a tutorial that fits your current skill level?"

If any of your subjects AREN’T able to recall the most important elements on your page, make adjustments to your layout… then re-test.

That’s it!

(Still in the planning stages of building your site? All the better to find out valuable info BEFORE you invest time and money in it…

… Just do the test using a sketch of your homepage.)

 

I’d love to hear the results of YOUR Five-Second test when you’re done.

Did you: Learn anything new?

Get unexpected results?

Wish you’d skipped the whole experience?

I have to admit - I was a little nervous…

The video series I just finished really put me to the test.

Here’s why:

1) I took the challenge, but I have to admit… I was a little nervous.

See, the video series was 100% unscripted…

When it was time to shoot the first one, I walked in front of the camera without any idea of what I was going to say.

And no business idea, NOTHING.

And my first thought was… "What if I can’t come up with one?"

My stomach was churning.

I’ve spent pretty much all of my working life in the niche I like best - helping people start their own moneymaking Internet businesses. But I knew it wouldn’t be fair to build a business on a niche anywhere close to Internet marketing…

Talk about getting out of your comfort zone!

2) I had to put myself in YOUR shoes.

Having dedicated the last 6 months to developing BeBiz, I couldn’t think of anything better than doing this video series to really test the full arsenal of its tools and resources from YOUR perspective.

The result?

I’m REALLY pleased and amazed by what my development team has created!

So now what?

Well, I said I’d build an Internet business before your eyes in just 4 days, and I’ve achieved that.

Now that I’ve completed my site, I feel a real sense of accomplishment knowing we’ve created something very unique designed for ANYONE who wants to start their own Internet business from scratch.

But now that you’ve seen me do it, I want to prove to you that YOU can also create an Internet business in 4 steps…

Now I am getting ready for my 28-day challenge. Back to the studio to create another 4 videos for those taking it up.

May is going to be a landmark month. My goal is to see 250 new sites come alive in 250 niches.

I have one more video for you next week.

I’ll be doing a final summary of the site I created and will let you in on our advanced strategies you can use after your site is up.

If you haven’t seen the series, I have re-opened the signup for another week - and it will close by May 5th - when we begin The 28-day "Build A Biz Challenge"

I’ll be back in the studio creating another 4 videos for those who choose to take it.

I’ll be letting just 250 people in the door, and I’m stoked. May is going to be a landmark month. My goal is to see 250 new Internet businesses come alive in 250 different niches.

But before I start the 28-day "Build A Biz Challenge," I’ll have ONE MORE VIDEO for you next week…

A final "tying it all together" summary of the website I created, where I’ll also cover some advanced strategies you can use to drive swarms of targeted traffic to your new Internet business!

You won’t want to miss out on these strategies.

If you haven’t had a chance to see the first 3 videos in the series, I’ve re-opened access for one more week… but only until May 5th, when we begin the 28-day "Build a Biz Challenge."

(If you haven’t checked out the challenge details, You can sign up by clicking here.)

I seriously encourage you to block off an hour each day, watch the series, and know that in the end you’ll have a SOLID understanding of all of the aspects of starting your own Internet business!

To your success,

Derek Gehl

P.S. Let me if I have overlooked anything. Your input will be used to make sure that the final video answers any questions you may have.

No negative feedback on eBay - good or bad?

What you CAN do when you can’t leave negative feedback for bad buyers

As of May, sellers will no longer be able to leave negative feedback for buyers. So how can you protect yourself from, and warn other sellers about, bad bidders?

eBay has promised to overhaul the way it handles bad bidders.

Seller help systems, like filing Unpaid Item disputes and reporting buyers who try to cheat the system, are already in place, but sellers are apprehensive. These dispute processes have traditionally been very slow, and not terribly sympathetic to the seller.

eBay has said it will deal with problem buyers more quickly and effectively under the new system. All those resources that eBay now uses to resolve feedback disputes will be redirected toward removing non-paying bidders and users who try to abuse the feedback system.

So eBay has really started to encourage sellers to use the proper dispute mechanisms to report problem buyers.

These are the ripoffs you can report:

• Unpaid items: Buyers who bid on an item but never pay are one of the biggest headaches sellers have. You can file an unpaid item dispute from 7 - 45 days after the listing closes. Or you can file one immediately if a) both you and the buyer want to stop the transaction or b) the buyer is not a registered user. Negative feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings left by unpaid bidders will be removed. For more on the process, go here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/unpaid-item-process.html.

• Feedback extortion: When buyers threaten to leave negative feedback unless the seller cuts them a better deal or reduces the shipping charge, eBay will ban them on the first offense, if the seller provides enough evidence. You can find out more at http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/feedback-extortion.html.
• Feedback abuse: Buyers who leave malicious or dishonest feedback to try to harm a seller’s reputation should be reported. eBay may not ban them immediately, but putting it on their record opens them up to further action if this behavior continues. Learn what constitutes feedback abuse here: http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/feedback-abuse-withdrawal.html.
• Transaction interference: Sellers who have their bids cancelled and then bid again, or make any kind of bid designed to disrupt a seller’s auction are breaking eBay policy. Here’s where you can go to know more: http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/transaction-interference.html.

If a buyer tries any of these tactics on you — or any violation of eBay policy — report it immediately to http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/reportproblem.html.

 

Would really like to hear what you think on these changes… are they good for business? Or bad?

 

Can I REALLY Show You How to Build a Website?

Can I REALLY Show You How to Build a Website — in Just *4 Days*?

Yes, I can.

I’m going to PROVE exactly how easy it can be to build your own money-making website entirely "from scratch"…

… Starting with NO business idea, NO product, NO website, and NO Traffic.

How am I going to do this?

By doing it myself — on camera, right before your eyes!

I’m going to build a complete website from scratch using 4 basic but extremely powerful principles – and I’m going to videotape the entire process, and release the videos over 4 days.

You’ll discover exactly how POWERFUL these principles are…

… Because in the 4 FREE teaching videos I’m about to release, I’ll show you how to make these principles work for YOUR website, so you can learn how to build your OWN money-making website in just a few DAYS!

Each video will focus on one of the 4 essential strategies everyone must follow if you want to build a website that SELLS.

You’ll learn the "whys and hows" of each strategy…

… PLUS, you’ll discover my "top-secret shortcut" that’ll allow you to implement each strategy in a matter of HOURS… instead of the WEEKS — or even months! — most people take to implement them.

BUT: These free videos are NOT for the general public.

Only people who have registered to watch them will receive the emails with the link to each episode.

So if you HAVEN’T yet signed up to take part in this unprecedented event, click here to register NOW.)

Once you’ve signed up you’ll get a link to the first free video  — so keep an eye on your inbox!

… And make sure you have a notebook and pen handy, when you sit down to watch it — you’re going to want to take lots of notes.

(I guarantee the wealth of information is going to blow you away!)

 

Talk to you later,

Derek Gehl

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