This is the MOST important thing you can do for your online business, and my #1 piece of advice.

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The #1 Website Mistake
© Charlie Page

Sometimes it seems that there is so much to do in order to make a website successful.

* "Copy is king!" cry the copywriters.
* "Advertise or die!" shout the ad sites.
* "Joint ventures are it!" proclaim the JV "brokers"

So who is right and who is full of hot air?

Truthfully ... no one knows.

What we DO know is this. There are basic tactics that you MUST use if you want your site to make sales.

Follow these tactics and you will succeed in time. Avoid using these tactics and your success will be limited, and you will be trapped, trying to get ever more visitors.

There is a truth that eludes most people, and it's this. You don't need more traffic as much as you need more sales from your existing traffic.

What are these basic tactics? They include, but are not limited to ...

* A product people want. (Many people miss this one)
* Copy that is persuasive.
* A price that is appealing.
* A way to create urgency.
* Getting targeted traffic.

And - the topic of today's article - following up with people who don't buy.

If you were my brother or sister, and I could give you ONE piece of advice, it would be this.

Create the strongest follow up system you can if you want to succeed online!

Yes my friend, it is true. NOT using an email follow up system is THE #1 MISTAKE WEBSITES MAKE TODAY!

The logic on this simply can not be denied. Think about this for a moment.

The very BEST sites on the Internet convert sales at a rate of about 10%.

That means that only 10 out of every 100 visitors buys something from the site.

This leads us to the most important question we can ask.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER 90 VISITORS??

I can tell you right now what happens to them.

* They forget your site.
* They get distracted.
* They spend their money on something else.
* They buy a product like yours from someone else.
* Bottom line - they do NOT buy from you.

The fact is this ... on the Internet it is the LAST site a person visits who gets the sale.

This is why we MUST remind them to come back and visit again WE must remind them, not hope they will return.

Now if all of this "lost sales" talk is getting you down let me tell you that you can be of good cheer. There IS an answer.

The answer is to create an email follow up system.

Email is THE killer application of the Internet. Always has been, and still is today.

You can talk until you are blue in the face about alternatives like RSS or desktop readers if you want to. But while you are doing that, people everywhere are getting rich using what may be the most low-tech tool online ... email.

If you are with me so far, and you think that creating a follow up system might be right for you, read on.

=====> How To Create An Email Follow Up System

To be fair, I wrote a book about this and can't repeat is all here. There is just too much. If you want the book, you can have it for HALF PRICE if you are one of the first 150 to order using this special link.

http://www.RealWorldTactics.com/cmd.php?ad=187676

NOTE: The discount is applied *after* you click Check Out.

For those of you who don't want to buy the book, here is the five step formula you can use to create a follow up system.

Using this process will help you create a basic follow up system that WILL increase your sales over time.

There are many ways in my book to create a more sophisticated system, but this basic process works like wings, and is 100% better than no follow up system!

Remember, you do NOT need to be a great writer to do this. Something is much better than nothing. Candidly, I have seen nothing more than "Thank you for visiting -I want your business" work very well.

===> Step 1

Make a list of 10 reasons someone should buy your product. If you have trouble with this, say it out loud like you were telling your best friend.

If you can't come up with 10 reasons, come up with 5. If you can't come up with 5, find another product.  ;)

===> Step 2

Make each of the 10 reasons into a short message. Here's how to do that.

Write one paragraph of introduction. It can be as simple as "Thank you for visiting my site. I hope this information helps you".

Write one paragraph about the reason to buy you are covering.

Write one paragraph that summarizes your message, and asks the reader to take a specific action. Please note that being specific is the key. Tell them what to do next. Don't hope they will figure it out.

IMPORTANT: Write your messages in a text editor like NotePad, not a word processor like Word.

===> Step 3

Now that you have your messages, you need a way to deliver them and get people to sign up.

Create an account with an autoresponder company or use the autoresponder feature in your shopping cart for this.

Any reputable company will help you create a sign up form, and help you get it on your website as well.

===> Step 4

Set your message to go out every five days. Some argue for other schedules, but this one works and is a good starting point when beginning. You can 'fine tune' later.

===> Step 5

Add a sign up box to every page on your website, inviting visitors to ask for more information.

Why every page and not just the home page? Because it takes time for people to get comfortable enough to want more information. Because they might miss it on the first page. Because repetition works on the Internet, and
the more you ask, the more you get!

When you have time later, you can add power to this by offering a gift, or using a "name squeeze" technique, but for now getting started is what counts.

If you have followed the steps above, you now have a basic follow up system that WILL help you make more sales.

As time goes by, you can add more messages, make the messages stronger, analyze which messages work best (and more) to make your series work better.

But hear me when I say that NOTHING you can do is more important than getting this basic system set up today.

When you have a follow up system in place, you have the chance to make more sales automatically, and get a greater return on your advertising dollars than ever before.

You have a chance to make the most of every visitor, which is called in fancy language "maximizing visitor value".

Best of all, you make time your ally instead of your enemy, and have the best possible chance of making more sales with less effort.

And that is a beautiful thing indeed!

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Charlie Page helps people succeed online. How can he help you? Find out now at http://www.RealWorldTactics.com