How To Achieve Your Goals

Monte Huebsch asked:


Email Marketing - A call to action is a “Call”.

Successful email marketing campaigns are a result of “calls to action” that get results. What results are expected from an email marketing campaign? Usually they are either a click to a web site or a phone call to a 1-800 or 800 number.

In today’s spam controlled environment, many emails just do not get through, even those that are desired, double opt-in and legitimate. Estimates are as high as 20% rejection. The frustration is that the email marketeers do not even know. These email are not bounced, just caught in nondelivery spam traps.

Of those that do get through, often only 50 percent get opened. Things start to get frustrating at this point, and this is even before a call to action is viewed.

Let’s assume that your email is now open on the viewer’s screen. It better be quick and to the point. The call to action needs to be urgent and relevant.

One call to action is to direct the reader to a web site, where you hope that another call to action will result in the desired reader behaviour. This is usually to buy something as you already have their email address so this is not your goal.

Your email may also have a call to action that seeks a phone call. This can be better in that there is not a two-step process between you and the reader. The downside is many readers will put off making the call until later. (This often happens with a click to a web site call to action as well). Additionally, more and more we are becoming reluctant to call, as we never know when a machine will answer us. We do not have the time or desire to press 1, 2 or 3. We don’t want to be placed in a queue and told our call maybe recorded for training purposes. We want to talk to a live human being.

For the email marketeer the best outcome is a sale. This can be easily achieved if the company supporting the emails is willing and prepared to provide real customer service and transform “lookers into bookers”. All that is required is a proactive technology that makes out bound calls and a compelling call to action.

If you saw a banner or button that said. “We will call you right now. No charge to you. No waiting in a queue. Talk to a real person. Click here for …. (what ever your value proposition is), do think this would work?

Well it does. Research has shown that closure rates in shopping carts and on booking engines can go from low single digits i.e. 1.4% - 3.8% to as high at 29.7%

Its not that we won’t use a web site for a transaction or pick up the phone and make a call. It’s just that often there is one small unanswered question in our self-serve process. For a hotel booking, it may be if a cot is available if we have small children. For an airfare, it may be about wheel chair access. A quick call will seal the sale if it is answered by a human and dealt with quickly, personally and efficiently.

For the email-marketing program, the option to add push to talk technology is now a non-decision. The service can be set up for free. There are no recurring fees or minimum usage charges. The only cost in the call costs. Which email marketing campaign would not try this technology when no risk exists? Worse case is too many buyers!

We found out long ago that the paperless office was a myth and never occurred. We are now finding out that the people-less sale is just as elusive. To make sales, especially big ones, we need personal and immediate contact. It is your phone manner not your email marketing program that determine your success when you use push to talk technology



Allyson

Kevin Sinclair asked:


Have you ever been around someone that was inclined to take action immediately and always? It can be a great experience, but at the same time an embarrassing one.

It’s a great thing because these people have an energy about them. They have an air of making things happen, simply because that’s exactly what they are doing. They don’t necessarily take action without giving things sufficient thought, but they certainly don’t waste time by postponing the action any longer than they should.

It’s as if these action-oriented individuals have no procrastination filter in place. As if it doesn’t even dawn on them that they could postpone taking action. They just go ahead as if it were the only logical thing to do. Of course in many cases that’s exactly what moving into action is: the only logical thing to do. Yet how many times have you found yourself in a situation where, for some strange reason, you didn’t shift into gear immediately? Instead you thought about it for a while and then you decided to make a mental note and pick it up somewhere later in the day or perhaps later in the week. Only to find that whatever it was you intended to do, you never came around to doing it.

Being around an individual that’s action oriented can also be quite embarrassing because it often confronts us with our own habits of procrastinating. Most of us put off many things for a variety of reasons. Actually the word ‘reason’ isn’t really correct in this context. The word ‘excuse’ comes much closer to the truth. Sometimes the excuses are obvious. Making a phone call to someone can be painful if you have to deliver bad news or, perhaps worse, if you expect to be on the receiving end of bad news.

However many times people tend to put off little things that really aren’t worth fussing over. Things like setting an appointment with the local car repair shop to get your windshield fixed or cleaning out a desk drawer; actions that would be over and done with in a couple of minutes that we sometimes put off for weeks for no apparent reason.

Without getting into any specific actions it can be said that the tendency to take action leads to better results in business and in life in general. Samuel Golden, a well-known Hollywood motion picture producer stated, “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. Early in the twentieth century he was at the cradle of the company that later evolved into Paramount Pictures. A decade later he joined forces with two other Broadway producers to found the Golden Pictures Corporation. This company was eventually purchased by Metro Pictures Corporation forming the well-known Metro-Golden-Mayer.

Samuels statement on the correlation between taking action and good fortune sure rang true for him and it still does to this day for many other people. It just seems that successful people are more inclined to take action. And of course this is no coincidence. Empirical evidence supports the theory that lady luck really does favor the action-oriented man. The more actions you will undertake the more successes you can expect to encounter. Of course you will also encounter your share of so-called failures, but failures are part and parcel of becoming a success.

Anyone that is considered a successful person can tell you that they have undertaken more actions than the average person, probably many more. But somehow they don’t think of it as a chore. Many of them just do it and as a result of that doing they get all the rewards.



Kaleb

Enoch Tan asked:


One of the fallacies that people make when it comes to utilizing the law of attraction is that they think all they need for manifestation is simply their intention. That is the reason why many people fail to manifest their intention. They are not taking one of the crucial steps in the process of manifestation. Taking action is not for the purpose of creating something we don’t yet have. Everything we intend is already created, action is a means by which we receive it into physical reality. Action is the act of receiving.

In order to experience the complete manifestation of our intention, we need to be in complete vibrational harmony with it. That includes our actions as well. We must act as if our desires have manifested and in the process of manifesting. If you intend wealth, you must act like you’re a wealthy person and take actions to receive it. Wealthy people don’t complain about lack but they use money when it is appropriate and feel abundant about it. Wealthy people set up businesses and systems to receive money.

Action is the means by which we experience the manifestation of our desires. We are the channels by which the process of manifestation occur through because the universe creates through us. It is a joy to be part of the manifestation process physically and seeing things happening through us as we watch ourselves create them. Taking physical action allows us to feel the joy of being a creator of reality as the work happens through our hands. That is why we are meant to enjoy the work of creating.

When you know the reason that manifestation in the physical universe happens through physical action is so that you can enjoy the experience of being physically part of the creation process, you will feel good about it and enthusiastically act out your dreams. Why would you want to avoid doing the work necessary for creating what you desire? You would love doing it because you want to be part of the process of manifestation. You want to be involved and immersed in the experience of creating reality.

Passion is the energy of physical action for manifesting our desires. The more passionate you are in what you do, the more energy you are channeling for the manifestation of your dreams. All our work of creation should come from the love that we have in our hearts. When we love what we do and what we are creating, the manifestation of our efforts will be filled with the energy of that love. The love that we put into our work will touch the hearts of those that experience it and be blessed by it.

Action is the expression of spirit. Action is the means by which the inner world gets translated into the outer world. Through action you physically become part of your creation. You are not just creating the thing or situation you desire, but you are also creating yourself in the process. Through action, you get to experience and develop yourself in a physical way. You sharpen the connection between your mental and physical capabilities and you hone your physical skills and body to much greater levels.

With the energy of passion, work is no longer work but it is the giving of yourself through your actions. You give yourself over to the process of manifestation as you allow the work of creation to happen through you in a physical way. You become the tool by which the universe uses along with every other tool involved as well. You are in harmony with the flow of creation as you physically co-create with the universe by doing your part in it. It is through the giving of yourself by which you receive your desire.

Intention alone does causes things to happen. It is not true that nothing happens when we do not put in any physical action. Intention rearranges the flow of events so that situations can show up as opportunities for us to physically act in it. These opportune situations seem like coincidences because they are incidences that are co-created and coordinated by our intentions. These synchronicities are only part of the process. Taking action is the other part. The door may appear but you have to walk through it.

We can cause certain things to happen by thought, and we can cause certain things to happen by action. Both are needed for things to happen completely. Thought without action is halfway manifestation. Action without thought is inaccurate manifestation. Thought is always the beginning of the manifestation process. Action is the finishing of the manifestation process. When you have your thoughts and actions fully aligned, you will have complete manifestation of your desire without any part lacking.

There are times when the manifestation of our intention can be purely mental without any physical action involved. That is possible when the universe intends it to be so, and we are intending in harmony with it. The rest of the time, the manifestation of our intention requires us to be physically involved in the process with our actions. It is a gift for us to experience the work of creation happening through our physical being and we should fully embrace it in every way possible. Enjoy doing the work of creating.



Jesus

Dr. Isabella Santorini asked:


Inspired action occurs when someone acts efficiently and easily, to create a greater result than they normally would have been able to. Have you ever found that you’re in “the zone” in a certain project, where get more done in less time, with less effort than you ever have—and it’s enjoyable?

Then you’ve experienced Inspired Action. This is the way we’re designed to work. We each have a unique collection of talents that are just waiting to be used. We want to use our natural gifts and we have a desire to do so. When we act in harmony with these talents, life becomes easy.

This is the secret of Inspired Action: to act upon our drive to use our abilities. We possess endless energy to act upon our greatest desire. But most of the time, we’re far too concerned about doing other things that we think we “should” be doing. This is not to say that we should ignore our responsibilities. Instead, we can add the use of our abilities to every day life.

When we learn about Inspired Action, a common misconception is that in order to take inspired action on a consistent basis, we can just pick from an infinite list of whims that catch our attention at any given time. This is not so. Taking inspired action day after day relies upon our attention to following our bliss. When we’re doing that, we’re tapping in to our natural drive. Inspired action comes from tapping into what is within all of us: a desire to express our talents.

In using inspired action, which is enjoyable and productive, keep yourself focused upon using your natural gifts. But don’t limit what your gifts are. Talents are so natural and easy for us, it is easy to overlook them. For instance, I would never have considered that I was a good organizer had I not been paying attention to what I have a longing to do and an aptitude for. Now that I’ve realized that I have a talent for organization, I incorporate it into my day, looking at ways to further organize my life for more efficiency and enjoyment.

Another erroneous belief is that we’re good at only one thing and that should be our profession. That is a sure way to squelch many talents that we have that don’t fit easily into a job. We have many abilities and the more we use them in every area of our lives,

the more talents we discover. Be open to more and more as you go along, making sure to notice when you’re enjoying something. That is a great sign of you using your innate abilities.

In closing, the main crux of the secret of Inspired Action is to act using your unique abilities. Notice your many talents throughout the day and make it a point to use them.



Kyler

Debby Brown asked:


Action Sports are very popular these days and there are many types. They include sports such as Motocross racing, Surfing, Waterskiing, Parasailing, Rock Climbing and the list goes on. Here is a brief history of the beginnings of a few of the more popular Action Sports.

History of Skateboarding.

Skateboarding began in Southern California sometime in the late 40s or early 50s. Southern California has some of the most popular surfing spots in the state which attract surfers from all over the world. Even when the waves were not right the surfers wanted to be able to surf so somehow skateboarding evolved, no one really knows who built the very first skateboard, but the idea caught on and spread like wild fire. Today there are skateparks, ramp skating, trick skating and the Skateboard itself has evolved to allow skaters the ability to perform very complicated tricks and maneuvers.

History of Snowboarding.

The first Snowboard was called the Snurfer and was manufactured as a toy in 1966. I was basically a Skateboard with no wheels that you would steer with a rope. It had no bindings but would allow your boots to adhere to the board. In the early 70s a surfer developed a Snowboard called the Winterstick based on the feel of a surfboard but with the same function as skis. Through the years Snowboards and Snowboarding have increased greatly in popularity with the boards now being designed to enable Snowboards to race and perform freestyle tricks.

History of Skiing.

Skiing began as a means of travel and transportation. Sondre Norheim of Norway helped develop Skiing as Recreation and a Sport. In the mid to late 1800s lighter, thinner, cambered skis and a new stiff binding were developed which made it possible for skiers to swing, jump and maneuver turns while skiing down hill.

Some types of skiing are;

Alpine Skiing is what you do when you go to a ski resort, ride the lift and let gravity propel you down the run.

Alpine Freestyle or Jib skiing is where skiers use jumps or kicks to do aerial tricks.

Back Country Skiing or Nordic touring uses Nordic style equipment which allows skiers to ski up hill in areas where there are no chairlifts.

Cross Country Racing is one third up hill, one third downhill and one third flat.

Adaptive Skiing is done by people with physical disabilities and allows for adaptations to standard ski equipment.

Military Skiing is recreational and a means of transportation for the military, many armies train for ski warfare.

Nordic Jumping or ski flying is where skiers slide down a ramp and fly to see who can to the furthest before landing on the ground.

Nordic Skiing is the most popular style and does not require a special ski area and was developed in Scandinavia as a means of travel in winter.

Telemark skiing uses flexible ski boots that do not lock the heels into the skis which allow the skier to travel at higher speeds.

History of Cycling.

Cycling has grown in popularity over the years and throughout the world. In some countries it is a means of transportation through very narrow streets that will not allow cars to travel or countries where cars are too expensive. Cycling as a sport has increased in popularity throughout the world as well and uses bikes that are specially designed for the terrain and speeds.

Action Sports Gifts.

Action Sports are becoming more popular everyday and there are many types. They can include other sports such as Motocross racing, Surfing, Waterskiing, Parasailing, Rock Climbing, 4 Wheeling, Snowmobiling, Drag Racing, Mountain Biking and more.

Some interesting gift ideas for an Action Sports enthusiast might be to decorate a small tree with Action Sports Ornaments. There are Skateboarding Ornaments, Bike Racer Ornaments, Gifts for Snowboarders, Snowboarding Ornaments and Skiing Ornaments. These are just a few of the different types of Action Sports Gifts that are available. They are sure to be a hit with any Action Sport enthusiast.



Sofia

Holly Cox asked:


I love you! These three words mean so much…some of the time. At other times, they can merely be hollow words with nothing evident in sight to back them up.

What they often mean is “I love you as long as I get that warm fuzzy feeling inside when I’m around you or when I think of you. Just don’t ask me to demonstrate my love by asking too much of me.”

When we equate love with internal feelings of bliss, it becomes dependent on our “loved” ones pleasing us on a consistent basis and asking very little in return. It’s easy to feel “love” when it does not make many demands on us or our time.

Too often, we work harder to please relative strangers than those we say we “love.” When we feel secure in our relationships, we tend to take them for granted and forget the importance of demonstrating our love on a day-to-day basis.

Love, in the truest sense of the word, is an action verb. We can say “I love you” and truly feel like we mean it, but the proof of our love is in our actions.

To see how our love stacks up in terms of action, we can ask ourselves these questions:

1. How do I demonstrate my love through action?

2. How do my loved ones experience my love?

3. If I didn’t say the words, could they tell by my actions that I love them?

4. Do I demonstrate my love even when I don’t feel “loving?”

5. Do my loved ones have to please me to “feel” wrapped in my love?

6. What actions from others do I experience as “loving?”

7. Do I only show love when I am “feeling” loved?

8. Who in my life demonstrates their love for me through their actions?

9. Are there people in my life who say they love me without providing any evidence of this love other than mere words?

10. What can I do differently to demonstrate my love?

11. Do I show love for myself in my actions - even when I don’t “feel” deserving of this love?

When we reflect on these questions, we can heighten our awareness of our own ability to put love into action- with others and with ourselves. We can DECIDE to love when we see it as an active force rather than merely a feeling. True love exists when our actions match our words!



Oscar

Dan Brown asked:


Wanting to enjoy a good life is common to us all. We all want the same things, good health, positive relationships, fulfilling career, and enough money to live comfortably. But, there are others that want a life of abundance and prosperity. These are the ones that have dreams of doing great things, having successful businesses, visiting interesting places, meeting extraordinary people, and having the ability to help others financially.

If you are going to enjoy a life of abundance and prosperity it will require some action. This should be obvious. But, sometimes the obvious is frequently overlooked.

You didn’t get to where you are today without taking some sort of action. So, it makes sense that if you have a vision in your head about where you would like to be in the future, it will require action.

The problem with most people is, even though they may have the knowledge to do some particular thing, they lack putting the necessary action behind that knowledge.

We often hear that “knowledge is power.” But, knowledge is really only power in reserve. It remains useless if it’s not tapped into by applying action. Knowledge that is not put to action remains just knowledge in your head and provides no benefit. It’s completely wasted.

To accomplish results we must couple our knowledge with the necessary action to attain results. The formula for achieving results is: Knowledge Times Action = Results. If you were to apply massive action to your knowledge it would have a faster, and even greater impact on your life.

Why is it that most people find it difficult to put the necessary action behind their knowledge? I believe it is nothing more than a lack of belief.

Your belief system is the driving force behind your behaviors and your results. If you can change your beliefs, you will change your behaviors. When you change your behaviors, you will change your results. Then, when you change your results, you will change your life.

It all starts with your belief system. Jesus said, “If you can believe… all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).

Many things can keep one from believing. But, I think the biggest factor that keeps one from believing is fear. It is a fact that it takes courage to succeed. But, keep in mind that courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s the ability to press on despite the presence of fear. Many times, the solution to any fear is simply to do the thing you fear. It’s amazing how the fear will disappear!

The smallest of actions, even the ones that seem trivial and insignificant, can lead to great success. It’s been said that, “Actions, like pictures, are worth a thousand words.”

Without action, you could have the greatest idea and the greatest plan in the world and you would still fail. Where as a modest idea and an incomplete plan often produces success when accompanied by enough action.

You just got to get moving. Sir Isaac Newton’s principle that states, “A body at rest tends to remain at rest, and a body in motion tends to remain in motion,” definitely applies to the action principle. Once you’ve taken the first step, the next steps seem easier to take.

It’s a natural law that if you do nothing, nothing will happen; if you take minimum action, results are going to be minimal; but, if you take massive action, then you will be rewarded with massive results. Hugely successful people, the kind who go from mediocre to millions almost overnight, know that the major key to their success was taking massive action.

If you want to become hugely successful you must start at the beginning. Most beginnings are small, and appear trivial and insignificant, but in reality they are extremely important.

It’s not only the right beginning that is important, it’s beginning in the first place. It’s about applying that powerful little six-letter-word called “action.”



Melody

Raven Smith asked:


The New Year is a great time to re-evaluate where you are putting your energy and what specific steps you can implement to create lasting change in your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Here is an effective step-by-step process to identify what you want, be aware of what keeps you from getting it, and create a plan to take action to reach your goal.

What Do You Want?

Start by picking one, two, or all three areas you would like to focus on: mental, emotional, and/or physical. Start slowly so you do not overwhelm yourself. I recommend starting with one area, getting clear on your action step, doing it for a week, and then seeing if you can add more actions and stay balanced. The lovely thing is that no matter what area you focus on, it will affect all the areas in your life.

When you do this process make sure you come from your heart, rather than your head. Deepen into a feeling space rather than a thinking space. Trust what arises. Close your eyes and ask yourself, “Where do I want to put my focus for the next week?” Now go through the areas: mental, emotional, physical. What calls out to you the most? If they all feel equal or you do not get a clear message, just pick one without too much thought or worry. Make it a simple process.

Once you have the area you want to work with, explore what it is you want to embody or transform into. Here are some questions to ask:

* Mental integrity: What would you like to experience in your mind? What is your goal or desired mental state during the day?

* Emotional integrity: How would you like to feel? How would you like to respond to others or experience yourself emotionally?

* Physical integrity: What do you want to experience in relationship to your physical body? What is a desired vision you want to manifest in your physical world?

What Does It Feel Like?

When you have an answer, close your eyes again and feel the desired state or transformation in your body. For example: If you want to have a sense of ease and calm in your mind at work, imagine what that feels and looks like. If you want to be financially stable doing work you love, imagine that is true right now. Make it as real and visceral as possible. You can also make it real by remembering if there was a time that you did feel that way. Anchor this feeling into your body, so it becomes your guidepost. This feeling is your goal; it’s what you are moving yourself towards.

What Gets in the Way?

Now look back over the past month of your life. What keeps you from holding this state? Go explore where you have thoughts or reactions or fears or strategies that take you out of the feeling you just anchored in your body. Where do you go out of balance or get stuck in terms of your integrity in that area? Some questions to ask include the following:

* Mental integrity: What thoughts or beliefs are causing you to suffer or dampen your energy? What is your mind telling you? Where do you go into worst-case scenario thinking?

* Emotional integrity: What reactions or fears cause you to lose your emotional fluidity? Where do you block your emotions? Where do you go out of balance emotionally?

* Physical integrity: Where do you judge your body or the material world? Where do you feel you do not deserve? How do you sabotage your creations?

Keep asking questions until you identify core obstacles to your goal. These are the habits or patterns that block you from being in your integrity, from living the life you truly want. It helps me to visualize my goal, and then see the obstacles that stand in the way as something tangible but smaller than my intent.

What Can You Do Differently?

Now comes the time for specific actions! The question to ask is, “If I want to get there and these things are in my way, what actions can I take to create more spaciousness and energy, or to dissolve the obstacle?” Come up with one specific action.

Examples:

Let’s say your desire is to be centered and focused at work, with a sense of mental ease. As you delve into the obstacle, you find a strong voice that yells at you, “There is not enough time! You don’t have what it takes! You are going to fail!”

Anchor the feeling of being centered with focused ease at work; then look at the obstacle from that point of view.

Here are some actions you might take:

1. Positive self-talk: Every time you notice that loud voice, you breathe deeply, pause, and repeat, “I have plenty of time. I can do this.”

2. Commit to only step into your office when you are centered and feel a sense of ease. The moment you hear the loud voices, leave your office and go do something to shift your state.

3. Do a recapitulation of all the times you have felt there is not enough time or that you are going to fail. Call all the energy back, and release the energy you took on from others. Any time you hear the voice, recapitulate. Identify where that voice comes from, and bring your energy back, while releasing what is not yours. Step back into your intent.

Stay Centered, Focused, and Willing

At first it may seem challenging or overwhelming to take new actions to shift old agreements or emotions. Follow these simple steps to stay centered in your actions:

1. STOP! Take a breath, slow down, and embrace yourself energetically. Remind yourself of your intent and anchor it into your body. Take as much time as you need to get the feeling solid.

2. LOOK! What is the obstacle that has arisen between you and your intent? Name it: this gives you power over it. Then move into your own stillness, beyond any shallow fears and busyness. Sharpen your awareness to find the faulty belief that keeps you from reaching for your depth in this moment.

3. LISTEN! Go back to the action step you had set for yourself, or make another concrete action step. No matter how small, taking a next conscious action is movement in the right direction.

Find your willingness to do these three steps over and over and over again! Don’t think that the problem will be fixed after a single try. You may be stopping, looking, and listening in a new way every few seconds.

Breathe, look, listen, and have fun!



Mackenzie

Brian Baldwin asked:


It’s been said that knowledge is power. While that’s true to an extent, it isn’t the whole truth. Knowledge without action is almost useless. It doesn’t help to be a genius if you never do anything with the knowledge. I tend to think of knowledge as ammunition and action as a gun. (It’s a typical guy thought, I know but it works for me.) Think about it. If you have bullets and no gun, they’re pretty much useless. If you have a gun and no bullets, the best you can do is throw (action) the gun at the target. Not as useless as the bullets (knowledge) since action without knowledge is more productive than knowledge without action

The reason I’ve been thinking about this lately is that I’ve been reading article after article about how to make money, get high search engine ranking, find customers & prospects, motivate myself and others and several other subjects and realized that regardless of how much info I’ve gained, it’s worthless if I don’t act on the knowledge. And it’s the same for everyone. It wouldn’t matter if you had a PhD in Quantum Physics if you worked at McDonalds, or a library full of books and never used the knowledge within, now would it? I’ve met some really intelligent homeless people and some stupid millionaires and the biggest difference is action. Let me say this again, ACTION. Action makes people successful to a certain degree. Not to say that any action will make people successful. Jumping up and down or changing channels will not do it, but action of any kind that propels you toward your target goal will get you they eventually.

Another way to think of it is like having a map. I could give you a map to a lost treasure, but if you never left your house, it wouldn’t do much good would it?

So here’s a question; what action will you do today, to reach your goal? Reading a book will only take you so far.



Ray

Donna Gunter asked:


Copyright (c) 2008 OnlineBizU.com

One of the things I often notice on websites is that I’m not sure where to go or what to do when I arrive. There are those websites that are simply online brochures that tell me all about the features of a product or service, but don’t ask anything of me. There are other websites that give me a headache, as they try to send me in too many directions at once. When faced with too many choices, I become overwhelmed and ultimately leave the site without taking any action.

How do you get your visitor to stay on your site and convert to a prospect? By presenting one clear call to action on every page of your site.

Do you want the visitor to listen to an audio clip? How about signing up for your email newsletter? Do you want the visitor to call a toll-free number and listen to a message? Would you like them to subscribe to your blog updates? Do you have a free ecourse that you’re offering to your visitors? Don’t be shy about telling your visitor what to do. Most people don’t want to have to think when they arrive at a site (myself included), and are more than happy to follow whatever directions you provide and actions that you outline.

For owners of service businesses, I strongly believe that the most important call to action that should appear on your site is asking your visitor to get on your email list. This information becomes the gold in your marketing funnel. You begin to build a list in this fashion, and can email your contacts on this list on a regular basis with special offers, new programs, or just news updates.

The primary way that I capture someone’s contact information is through my email broadcast service, aWeber, which offers me the coding for a subscription form that I can place on any page of my website. Once they have opted in to my list, they begin to receive my email newsletter, as well as emails about special offers, sales, and other pertinent news about my business.

Too many times I hear my clients lament that they’re getting traffic to their websites, but the phone isn’t ringing. I think it’s pretty unrealistic for you to expect a visitor to buy from you immediately upon “meeting” you via your website or becoming acquainted with your service, unless you offer a very highly specialized product or service that visitors cannot obtain elsewhere. Think of your own buying habits. I’ll bet that you fall in the 7-10 “touches” category that marketing experts say is needed in order to get someone to purchase what you’re selling. What do I mean by a “touch”? It could be an email newsletter that you send out regularly, a direct mail postcard that you send, a phone call that you make, or a lunch date that you set. It takes roughly 7-10 contacts (touches) for someone to begin to get to know you, respect you, and like you enough to make the decision to buy from you.

If your offer is compelling enough, 1%-3% of the visitors to your website will convert, or take the action you want them to take. What constitutes a compelling offer? Once upon a time, it was simply an invitation to subscribe to your email newsletter. However, it seems that everyone is writing an email newsletter these days, and with the levels of spam growing increasingly larger day-by-day, a free email newsletter is no longer as enticing as it once was. Instead, offer a free giveaway that provides a solution to a problem that keeps your visitor up at night. Make it compelling enough that your visitors doesn’t hesitate to give you his name and primary email address.

To be effective, your call to action needs to prominently displayed on your homepage, not hidden mid-way down the page in a paragraph of text, or “above the fold”, to borrow an old newspaper term. In this case, your call to action, should be the first thing a visitor sees when arriving at your homepage. In some cases, you may want to have the call to action appear on every page, making it crystal clear to your visitors what action you want them to take.

What compelling piece of information can you offer visitors to capture their names and email addresses? Once you have that info, what is your plan to follow up regularly? Creating a clear call to action on your website, along with an effective follow-up strategy, will measurably increase your sales. Isn’t that we all want from our businesses?



Ebony