Focus Your Web Site... Or Get Out Of Business

Last November, I was jumping up and down absolutely excitedabout my new idea. I was going to create a web site filledwith articles, links and resources on just about any topicyou could imagine. This way no matter who finds my site andfor whatever reason they click on it, I will always makemoney, right?So, I spent time collecting and writing articles on health,beauty, business, finance, insurance, parenting, andcomputers, joined a gazillion of affiliate programs for eachtopic and finally launched my HelpingFoot.com.Three months later I made exactly zero income! I wrote to several e-zine publishers asking for advice. They told me my web site has too much to offer - visitors just don't know where to start, and what direction to go."Yeah, right", I thought. "What do they know? After all,with so many articles and resources my visitors will surelyfind something to do!"I was terribly wrong, and I am glad I realized it beforewasting more of my time. I had to do something to make thissite profitable. But what?I re-designed my HelpingFoot.com completely. But first Iasked myself what I want my visitors to do: order myproducts? sign-up for my newsletter? read articles? visit myweb forum?You see, when you know exactly what you want your visitorsto accomplish on their first visit, you are more likely tocome up with a good design.Since I already had two other web sites devoted to directselling, I decided to use this one entirely for opt-in mailing list by capturing my visitors' e-mails.1) I removed all the links to irrelevant articles and focusedthe entire site around web design for beginners.2) Those old articles are still there (hey, they generated a lot of general traffic from the Search Engines!), but are not linked to from the homepage.3) I created a small pop-up window that asks for my visitorse-mails4) Placed a sign-up form right on my home page, and linked to another page called "free newsletter" in case myvisitors come from a page other than my home page. 5) I have also created an attractive cartoonish logo for mynewsletter.6) Every past issue of my newsletter includes a sign up form atthe bottom so people can subscribe right after reading it.Can you guess what happened?The number of people signing up for my newsletter tripled! I went from 20 subscriptions a week to 60 - in just a fewdays. This means that every month my list will grow byapproximately 240 people! And every self-respecting successful marketer has a growing list to announce newproducts and offers, test marketing strategies, and develop a close relationship with their subscribers.Now, if I wanted to make my web design forum as the mainfocus of HelpingFoot.com, for example, I would emphasize itright on the home page: with graphics, links and incentives.So, ask yourself now: what is my "Most Wanted Response"? Then make sure your entire web site is centered around thisgoal. With the right amount of quality traffic, I guaranteeyou will accomplish that goal.