Mini site Design Layouts :: Part 3

By AlexCercel · Comments (0)
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

Layouts? Not really a choices fiesta in mini site design

The usual layout of a modern selling mini site and the most spread mini site design layout is mainly focused around making sales. So there’re not many options as far as layout goes. Basically you have a 1 column mini site with a pretty standard set of elements.

This is the basic structure for mini site design

However the actual mini site design can make a HUGE difference on how different mini sites look and feel. A few simple tricks are having a full width header (a T layout as I like to call it), a header that gets lost (fades) into the background, a graphic title that pops out off the page (bigger width than the main page width) and such.

 

Here’s a quick list of usual layouts used in mini site design for products marketing:

Full blown mini site design:

  • Graphic header
  • Optional menu < usually not used in mini site design unless really needed
  • Video or Audio < this is optional
  • Graphic title
  • Graphic subtitle
  • Sales content
  • Testimonials
  • Johnson box (order form)
  • Author signature
  • P.S. section
  • Order button
  • Footer
  • Menu

Video sales letter

  • graphic header
  • Video
  • timed order button
  • footer

Talking about a marketing mini site layout the next thing coming to my mind is “dude, what after I make the sale?”. Now listen to this. Making a sale is wonderful! But not enough to build an income :( In order to accomplish that you need more sales or for the same traffic….

Sales Funnels.

The money’s in the list. The list of buyers!

The practice made us understand that relying on front sales only is a huge mistake. It’s just a simple way of leaving money on the table!

 

Just think about it. You make a sale. That person trusted you with his/her money. You established more than a transaction there. It’s a bit of a relationship based on trust. So if they already trust you AND have their credit card in hand, why not make some more money? Try an upsell. Sold a 17 bucks report on dog training? Well, why not trying to sell them on a $47 video course?

 

Now, there are two types of upsells that are actually going UP and DOWN

  • Upsells < trying to sell a higher priced item
  • Downsells < trying to sell a lower priced item

The usual structure of a sales funnel used in mini site design is:

  • squeeze page
  • sales letter
  • OTO (one time offer)
  • (optional) upsell
  • (optional) downsell

Click Here to read about Mini site Design

Click Here to read about Mini site as in Mini Store

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WPRobot

By AlexCercel · Comments (0)
Thursday, October 20th, 2011

WPRobot – Autoblogging on steroids

WPRobot came to life because the thought of earning money online for very little effort appeals to most people.  The reality of the situation is that, in the most part, it’s just a dream and most people have to work hard for every cent they earn online.

 

One of the areas of internet marketing that gets the closest to this dream is autoblogging – when done correctly.  So what is autoblogging?  It’s when content is added automatically to your blog, without you having to do anything, apart from the initial setup.  Although it sounds like a dream come true, it’s not as simple as it sounds as most people who try it fail.

 

The main reason for failure is the quality of the content that is being retrieved.  The content should look like it’s been written for your visitor in mind and not purely for the search engines.  Providing quality content through autoblogging is what the WordPress plugin called WPRobot does best.  Not only does it add content but it gives you the option of having 9 different income streams on top of using a Google Adsense plugin to make that a round 10 income streams and that’s only the income streams!

WPRobot – choices to create content

WPRobot has in total 20 different modules that you can use to create your content.  There is the choice of buying the entire package of 20 modules plus bonuses or you can pick and choose which modules you want to use.  The different modules include Clickbank, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo Answers, YouTube videos, Commission Junction products, Shopzilla comparisons, articles and lots more.

 

Adding articles and other content automatically is great for when you find it hard to come up with regular fresh content for your site or you are working in a niche that you have very little knowledge on.  It’s much cheaper than getting someone to create the content for you, and what makes this even more valuable is that you can install WPRobot onto more than one site, in fact you can install it on an unlimited number of your own sites.  By having multiple autoblogging sites you will soon begin to see the true power behind autoblogging.

In the flipping business? Try WPRobot

If you build websites to flip, having WPRobot installed can help you build content and get the site profitable quickly.  If you invest in the developers license of this plugin then you can pass on a version of it to your customer, which they can then use on a total of 3 of their websites, making your minisite much more valuable to potential customers.

Translation Module Built in!

Another great tip is that although we automatically think that English is the main language of the internet community, it’s definitely not the only one.  Another way of multiplying your income streams is to have your minisite translated into another language.  Unfortunately it’s expensive to get one article translated, let alone a whole site.  Luckily for you, WPRobot comes with a translation module that allows you to translate content, opening up new markets to you.

 

With WPRobot you can build your mini site your way, only adding the types of content that you want.  If you are unsure whether autoblogging is for you, why not install their free version, which you can install on up to 3 sites to test it out.  This version doesn’t come with all the modules, but it will let you see how powerful autoblogging can be or perhaps you’ve seen the money making potential of using this plugin and see that you can make your investment back many times over.  Whichever decision you make, make sure that WPRobot is your autoblogging tool that is part of your online business.

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WordPress eMember

By AlexCercel · Comments (0)
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

When looking to set up your membership site, you will find that there are lots of different ways you can create one and it can be confusing about which system to choose.  If you are planning on building your membership site on WordPress then there are quite a few plugins that you can choose that will get the job done.  However, there are a few things that you should take into consideration when making your choice.

If you have never set up a membership site before then it is a good idea to make sure that the solution you choose has reliable customer support.  This is one area in which WordPress eMember from Tips and Tricks HQ excels.  The creator of this plugin answers support questions on the forums daily, as well as using customer requests to make the software better.  The great thing about this is that you get lifetime updates of the plugin so you too can benefit from any enhancements that are made, as well as request them.  You can also be sure that whenever WordPress upgrades, the plugin will also get upgraded to make sure that it’s compatible with the latest version of WordPress.  You need to fill in a request form to get an update, it doesn’t automatically appear within WordPress that an upgrade is available.

It is very simple to set up different membership models using WordPress eMember.  The plugin itself integrates with PayPal so you can start taking payments as soon as you launch.  The simplest type of membership is the one time payment for lifetime access model.  Using this model you could have your membership site ready in no time. WordPress eMember also allows you to drip feed content, which is great for creating a continuity program and just staying ahead of creating content for the oldest member.

Another thing you may decide to do with this plugin is to offer pay per view content for non-members.  By charging a larger fee for viewing the content, which can be text, audio or video, and giving your paying members access as part of their membership, it can encourage non-members to join, just to get a better deal at viewing all your content.

Keeping regular contact with your members is made easy too, because it integrates with Aweber, GetResponse and MailChimp.  Although you can post notices within your membership, you may find that not all of your members visit your site regularly.  Being able to send them an email or to add them to an autoresponder series is an added bonus.

Once you see the power of what a membership site model can do for your business as well as your monthly income, then you will no doubt have plans to create more membership sites.  With the license for WordPress eMember you can use it on an unlimited number of your own websites, opening up an endless stream of opportunity for no extra investment.

Tips and Tricks HQ are offering a bundle deal of products, where you can get WordPress eMember and WordPress eStore together and save nearly a third on the total price.  It will be one of the best investments you can make for your online business.

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Content Minisites – Minisite Design Part 4

By AlexCercel · Comments (1)
Thursday, August 11th, 2011

Marketing versus Content Mini sites

As said before the best use for a minisite and the actual minisite design and layout is making sales. However along side actual marketing minisites there are also content minisites.

 

Minisite design

The content minisites are like a softer version of marketing mini sites. The main goal here is still making sales but in a more indirect way: by providing value first and asking for the sale later thus the different minisite design rules applied.

 

Minisite design and layouts for content minisites

Following the above idea there are basically two main types:

  • Blog like/content minisite
  • Review minisite

The Blog Like/Content Minisite

This type was very common before blogging platforms became a standard for blogging. Blogs (web logs) are actually mini sites with a content management system.

 

This kind of minisite design was usually a 2 or a 3 column layout, using a header, a menu, sidebars, a content column in the middle, and a footer for copyright and menu.

The Review mini site

Is actually still used at the moment of writing (Jan. 2011). It’s basically a site that reviews products for making affiliate sales. The structure is:

  • Home Page
    • Menu containing a few items such as the reviewed products home pages and 10 or more articles
    • Header
    • 2 column layout
    • 3 or more reviews with excerpts of text, each having a rating and a “read more” button
    • a vertical menu on the right sidebar
  • Indidvidual review page. Here the user is presented with an indepth review of a product, with pros and cons and is guided on how to poses the product (is given buying instructions)

 

Minisite Design – Use different layouts to fit your needs

I tried covering as many things as I possibly could within my restricted time span but if you have questions, arguments, etc, please let me know and I will get back to you or update the post accordingly.

Hope you found some value in this post and please don’t be shy! Let me know your take on the subject. This is the last post from my  “Minisite design on Wikipedia” post in the series but as I said it will update over time.

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Mini Site as in Mini Store :: Part 2

By AlexCercel
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

a Mini site is just like a mini storeA mini site is just like a mini store.

It’s small, it’s not selling everything on the planet and then some, but it’s geared towards being a fun, even a one man team business but with a large income potential and a very good ROI.

So, when thinking about marketing minisites you would be better off comparing them to a one item shop rather than a SuperMarket.

 

Start small, grow HUGE with Good mini site design

Think of these mini sites as you were to open a brick and mortar shop where you would only sell ONE item (one kind of bread), but where your income would also be built on upsells (sell the buyer a knife, then plate, then a table and why not even the house where he could eat that bread. Get the idea?)

The pocket knife of  good sales men is a good mini site

So no matter you’re actually selling a product on a marketing mini site or simply running a content mini site you should always keep in mind that the whole reason of owning a mini site is to target a niche, a small one, and try to dominate that. But for that you need more than just a good mini site design. For a succesful mini site you need a traffic strategy, a sales funnel and a good marketing plan.

 

Click Here to read about Minisite Design Layouts

Click Here to read about Minisite Design On Wikipedia

Please let me know what you think. Do you have/own/run a mini site?

Categories : Minisite Design
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WordPress Squeeze Page Plugin

By AlexCercel · Comments (0)
Monday, April 25th, 2011

WordPress Squeeze Page Plugin Complete Review

WordPress Squeeze Page Plugin is just the plugin you’ve been looking for if you are looking to easily set up a squeeze page on your WordPress site and continue to use your existing theme.  Unfortunately with most WordPress templates, when you want to set up a squeeze page through WordPress it’s made difficult because most of the WordPress squeeze pages come as themes and not plugins. What this means is that it’s not compatible with your existing theme, which is most likely branded for your business or niche, and it requires an entirely fresh install of WordPress to work.  This obviously adds much more time and effort than really should be given to this simple, yet highly important part of building an online business.

 

The main reason for using a squeeze page instead of relying on an opt-in box in your theme’s header or sidebar is that there will be other distracting things on your page, therefore losing it’s effectiveness and affecting your conversions.  The squeeze page has one job and one job only, to capture the visitors email address, and build your mailing list with no distractions.

 

Usually setting up a squeeze page meant you had to use html templates that worked outside your WordPress installation and had to know some html to get it to look like it was supposed to.  It certainly wasn’t for beginners. Using the WordPress Squeeze Page Plugin allows you to do this, within your existing WordPress install and using your existing WordPress knowledge.

 

So what can the WordPress Squeeze Page plugin offer you?

It’s simple to install.  Rather than having to upload a new page template to your existing theme through your hosting account, you just install the plugin.  Once activated you will notice, when you create a new page, that when you click on the pull down menu on the right hand side under page attributes and templates, new options appear with the WPSP prefix (stands for WordPress Squeeze Page) such as WPSP – Sales Page.  Choose the appropriate template and you are ready to go.

 

Setting up your squeeze page is made extremely easy for any level of user as there are step by step videos to follow in the members area.  With the main object of the squeeze page being to capture email addresses, this plugin caters for this too.  Rather than having to play about with code, users of Aweber, GetResponse and MailChimp can just enter their autoresponder username and list name and it’s completed.  For users of other mailing list software, just copy and paste your opt-in box code into the space provided and it’s done!

 

To test what your page looks like you can either view the draft, or publish the page and ensure that it doesn’t appear in your menu so that your visitors can’t see it until you are ready.  You can do this by installing a plugin such as Exclude Pages From Navigation, and ticking the box that appears after you have activated it.

Still have doubts if the WordPress Squeeze Page  Plugin is the tool for YOU?

If you are serious about building your mailing list through the use of squeeze pages on your WordPress site, then this is an invaluable plugin to have.  If you also want to sell digital products using a sales page, then that’s even more reason to get the WordPress Squeeze Page plugin, as it does it all!

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