When I started my publishing business, Monarch Tree Publishing, I had a bare bones Web site designed. The site was nothing fancy or stunning, but it was clean and easy-to-use. My purpose in having the site was to offer easily accessible information about the books available at Monarch Tree Publishing and give visitors the opportunity to order those books from the site.
At the time that the initial Monarch Tree site was uploaded, I had my first book, a couple of additional books, and Larry Heagle's two new CDs to offer. Since then, I have added several more books. A new Larry Heagle comedy CD, CDs of my books, and more books are on the way. Consequently, I felt an urgent desire to redo the site, adding attractiveness to it. I thought that I would keep the change simple and suggested to Jim and Dave at EZ New Media that we just change the front page. My idea was to graphically stack books up the left-hand side of the page and use the spines for linked listings to the books on the site.
Well, they shot down my idea, telling me that they had tried something similar, and the end result was not what they thought I would want. "I have a better idea," e-mailed Dave. "Take a look at this. I think that this design accomplishes the professional, attractive look that you want."
He was right. His design did just that. Using greens and purples, he had created a layered look which was beautiful. Even more, the design allowed me to create cross-selling opportunities though the sidebar on each page. Each sidebar could be customized to recommend other selections that the customer looking at a particular item might like.
The marketer in me was excited. I got much more than I had hoped. Dave helped me achieve my objective of updating the Web site for an attractive new look, and he also opened the door to new selling opportunities.
I'm sharing this with you today because I want to point out to you three notable lessons from this experience. First, start an update to your Web site knowing what you want to accomplish. I wanted to add attractiveness to my site. Second, be open to suggestions from your Web designers and others knowledgeable in marketing online as to how to achieve what you want to accomplish. Dave's suggestion created an attractive site and gave me more. Third, watch for new opportunities that may appear as you consider new designs. Taking advantage of those opportunities may net you more sales and add to your bottom line.
Actually, these three lessons can serve you well in any of your marketing efforts. They were pivotal for me in redoing the Monarch Tree Publishing Web site.
If you would like to see the end result, go to monarchtreepublishing.com.
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