From the desk of Stacy Karacostas, Dear Entrepreneur, Are you thinking about having a new Website designed? Or redesigning the one you have now? Or maybe even building one yourself? If so, you owe it to yourself to read this letter. Because if you don’t you could easily end up with a Website that:
In all three cases you might as well just take a match to the money you spent. And sadly, ineffective Websites are the norm (not the exception). Think about it… How many times have you landed on a Website, only to leave in frustration a few seconds later? Maybe it was one those sites you discover doing a search. Only once you click on the link, you can’t find what you were after anywhere... Or maybe you clicked a couple links into the site, then couldn’t find your way back to where you started… Or you didn’t find the information you needed to confidently buy the product or service… Or the page took so long to load you went to another Website… Or you couldn’t even tell what the site offered at all! So what did you do? You clicked away and went to another site in search of what you wanted. Right? The funny thing is, we can all recognize a bad Website in a heartbeat when it’s somebody else’s. But it’s hard to know if your own site is making business-killing mistakes because you’re too close to it. Yet if you don’t know, you could be wasting time and money. And you’re missing out on the opportunity to put at least part of your sales process on autopilot. Clearly, with all the competition out there, just having a Website isn’t enough. You need a site that effectively sells your products or services. Otherwise someone with a better Website is going to take business away from you. Here’s the thing… You have just 4 seconds to grab someone’s attention on the Web AND let them know you have what they want! Then you have to make it really easy for them to find it. If you don’t, people can (and will) click away from your site in a heartbeat.
Your Website has to be organized, designed and built the right way, or you are going to lose visitors—and sales. Sadly, most Websites aren’t built to sell a gosh-darned thing—not even you or your services. The thing is…Making money online isn’t about having a pretty Website. All too often, even the best looking sites don’t make a dime (no leads, no sales, no nothing!). It’s about having a site that’s clean, well-organized and professional. And one that is designed and built with a specific goal or purpose in mind. But most sites are designed with no other goal than letting people know you exist. Or the generic “grow and market my business”. Why would you pay for that when your Website can be a powerful (and super- inexpensive) tool for growing your business? It could be funneling hot leads into your Inbox… Or getting people to pick up the phone and call, sign up, or whip out their credit card and buy from you (without you having to do any sales in person or on the phone!)? Of course, you can’t make all this happen with any old Website. But you can turn your current site into one heck of a salesperson. Or have one built for you that does the job quite nicely—without breaking the bank. The best part is, these are often the easiest and cheapest type of site to build. But they’re not the type of Website most small business owners have built for them—because they don’t know any better. And their Web person probably doesn’t either (more on this shortly).
Most entrepreneurs end
up with one of these 3 types
Why are there so many bad Websites ? I teach workshops and seminars on turning your Website into your #1 salesperson, so I’m constantly approached by entrepreneurs looking for help. Most of them paid way too much for a Website that does absolutely nothing to attract new clients or make sales. From what I can tell, this happens for two main reasons...
Reason #1: Most small business owners aren’t Website experts. You shouldn’t be. You have your own area of expertise and plenty of other things to do running your business. But unless you know at least a little something about how Websites work— and what makes one more effective than another—it’s easy to get talked into spending money on extras you don’t need. Or a site that isn’t designed to make sales. And unless you can understand what a Web designer is telling you, you might not even hire the right person to do the job. That alone can cost you a small fortune (and add a bunch of gray hairs to your head). Even if you’re going to build your site yourself (using templates or from scratch) you have to understand the basics of making sales on the Web. Otherwise you’re just going to waste your time. And you’ll probably end paying someone else to rebuild your site later. Reason #2: Most entrepreneurs hire a Web designer or developer, and expect them to know everything about creating an effective Website. An awful lot goes into creating a money-making Website; from how to organize your site, to what it needs to say…How it needs to be said…How to get people to your site…How to get them to take action…What action they should take…And a whole lot more. But unless your Web person has studied direct response marketing, they probably don’t know the answers to these questions any more than you do. The real reason so many Websites are poorly designed and A Web designer is a specialist in knowing how to design nice-looking Websites. They may know how to build sites too (but it’s kind of a right brain/left brain thing, so few are truly talented at both). Web developers are specialists in building Websites—especially complicated sites with back-end databases, searchable areas, and all kinds of fancy interactivity. Some do design too, but usually not well (see comment above). Very few of either are also sales and marketing experts. It’s not their job. And it’s not what they’re best at. You can’t expect your Web person to You can only expect them to design or build you a nice-looking site. Web design and development are time-consuming, highly technical specialties in an ever-changing field. While sales, marketing and copywriting (not to mention search engine optimization) are completely different areas of study. It would be very hard for one person to be an expert at all of them. So in order to create a money-making Website, your Web designer or developer needs direction. Ideally that should come from you because you know your business and customer best. Of course, if you don’t know anything about sales, marketing or what makes a Website effective, you have a problem. Because chances are, the kind of Website that makes sales isn’t what you had in mind. You see, it’s not necessarily the prettiest or fanciest site that makes the most money. Direct marketing experts will tell you that an ugly site—if the content is written and organized right—will sell more than most pretty sites any day of the week. If you want a Website to really
work for you,
Now you can crack the code for
creating a Website Are you ready to wake up each morning and find $27, $270 or even $2700 had been deposited into your bank account overnight? Or that three new people are eager for you to call so they can do business with you (and only you)? Believe me, it can happen. You just have to understand the basics of what works and what doesn’t. That means knowing some terminology. And learning a few key sales and marketing concepts so you can make sure your Website gets built to do the job right. That’s exactly what you learn in the pages of The Small Business Website Bible. The complete guide to everything you need to know to get a Website that sells—without spending a fortune.
Plus, you get this info-packed bonus…
A downloadable copy of my valuable PDF book 50Bright Ideas for Building Your Business. It’s a compilation of 50 of my most helpful newsletter articles. Each one jam-packed with tips on Websites, sales, marketing, copywriting and small business success! Get electronic, PDF copies of both books for just $37!
Get the print version PLUS all the electronic PDF's for $57!
And it’s backed by my
no-questions-asked, Buy it, read it, and see for yourself just how valuable the information is—at no risk to you. If you don’t think you’ve saved yourself a bundle, and a ton of frustration, by reading this book just let me know and I’ll refund your money (plus 10% for your time and trouble). Maybe you’re wondering why you should listen to me Fair enough. If I was in your shoes I would be too. First off, I want to say that I am not a professional Web designer or developer. But I have built a few sites from scratch. And I’ve often updated content on my own site as well. So I speak “Web” and I understand the pros and cons of different methods for building sites. I’ve also spent more than 14 years as a copywriter and marketing consultant in small businesses—including writing tons of Web content. And I’ve worked with more than 30 different Website designers and developers to help my clients get Websites that grow their businesses.
Needless to say, I’ve really learned a lot about Websites along the way. When I started my old copywriting business years ago I knew as much about Websites as most entrepreneurs. I knew I needed a Website for credibility. But I didn’t really understand what a Website could do for my business. So I had someone build me a nice, brochure style Website. Then, when people wanted to learn more about what I did, or see writing samples, I sent them there. It was a good start. And thanks to my copywriting skills I got a couple leads a month from the site. But most people only decided to hire me after I’d spent WAY too much time on free phone and in-person meetings. I knew my website wasn’t doing all it could. Since I subscribed to a lot of top marketer’s newsletters, I kept hearing stories of people making buckets of cash with their Website. So I started learning all I could about Websites and marketing on the Web. And I slowly added pieces to my site to capture people’s contact info, and stay in touch with them. I learned to use email autoresponders to automate my newsletters and campaigns. I created info-laden downloadable reports. I added audios and articles. By the time I started my current business, I had it pretty well dialed. I launched my first downloadable book online right before leaving on a 4-day ski trip. When I got back I’d paid for the trip! It felt so good to have actually made money when I wasn’t working. Way better than just trading hours for dollars. So I started helping my clients create money-making Websites. That’s how I realized how many of my clients had Websites that weren’t effective Websites—no matter how much money they’d spent. In fact, I’ve regularly had disagreements with Web people. Because far too many insist on building a site a certain way so it looks nice… Or because that’s how they build sites for all their clients… Or worse, because they wanted to sell my client on some high-priced flash animation or back-end software… …Instead of designing the site to make sales. And the last thing I ever want is for my clients to waste money on a Website that won’t grow their business. Of course, you absolutely can find some amazing Website designers and developers who DO know something about sales and marketing. It’s just that most only know how to create nice, functioning Websites. Plus, you have to keep in mind there is no certification process for Web designers and developers. You don’t have to go to school to build Websites. You just need a computer and some business cards and you’re all set. You don’t even have to know how to build a nice-looking Website to open your doors, let alone sales and marketing. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of seeing Web designers and developers take entrepreneurs to the cleaners and leave them with a site that does nothing for their business. I’ve met with too many clients whose designers talked them into spending thousands on what was basically a glorified brochure site. Let me give a few examples of what I mean… One added flash animation to the navigation (which never worked right and took up half the page). And they used proprietary backend software to generate content for a simple site. The site was clunky and did nothing to sell her business. Plus it cost about 8 times more than it should have. To add insult to injury, when my client tried to fire them, they told her she had to pay them to uncouple her site from their backend! And she would lose all functionality!!! Another client kept trying to save a few bucks by hiring art school students or trading for a site. They ended up spending about $4000 to have 4 different, equally bad sites built. Instead they could have spent the same or less on one good site. But they just didn’t know any better. Some developers promise the moon, then just don’t deliver. I had a client who spent $8-10,000 on each of three Websites. Because different Web developers kept saying they could make it sell better. Only the results got worse with each version. In each of these examples, the problem was my clients were flying blind. They didn’t know that much about Websites or marketing, so they just trusted the advice of their designer or developer. Since most Web professionals don’t know the first thing about sales and marketing, they advise you to do what looks nice…Or what costs more money…Or what they know how to build…Or what’s fun to build because it’s creative… Instead of creating a site that does the sales job for you. That’s why I decided to write The Small Business Website Bible. This totally non-technical book gives you all the information you need to have an effective Website designed and built for you—without spending a fortune. Whether you already have a Website or not, The Small Business Website Bible teaches you everything you need to know to have a site that:
So you can start waking up to an email Inbox crammed full of orders, and messages from prospects eager to do business with you.
Let’s face it, having a Website costs money. On top of paying to have it built, and updated, you have to pay for a web domain and monthly hosting fees . . . Yet once you have a sales-making Website, it can be a really inexpensive part of your marketing. Why not turn your site into a profit center instead of a money sink? The Small Business Website Bible takes all the mystery out of getting a site that sells. If you already have a Website, you get practical tips and techniques you can put to work right away. If you don’t have a Website yet, this book tells you everything you need to know to get a site that makes you money—without getting taken to the cleaners. So what are you waiting for? Applying just one of the tips in this book could increase your sales, conversion or lead generation rates by as much as 300%!! Click the button below to grab your copy now. Get electronic, PDF copies of both books for just $37!
Get the print version PLUS all the electronic PDF's for $57!
My 110%, Absolutely No-Risk Guarantee to You As a fellow entrepreneur I understand just how valuable your time and money are. So if you buy this book and honestly don't think it’s worth every penny, just let me know within 1 year and I'll refund your money—plus 10% for your trouble! No questions asked. Remember, you don’t have to become a Website expert. You just need to know enough to hire the right person and have them build a site that sells. Then you can relax while your Website works for you… Here's to your future success!
P.S. Want to get your Website up to speed even faster? Grab a copy of Turn Your Website into You #1 Salesperson workshop audio (w/transcripts) when you buy The Small Business Website Bible, and save even more. It’s the perfect compliment to the book!
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“Stacy,
what a fabulous communicator you are—clear, concise
and to the point! You filled in so many blanks
in my mind about practical ways to make my Website my
#1 salesperson. I would have saved a few thousand
dollars if I had heard this information before hiring
my last two Web designers. EVERY business person who has
a Website MUST listen to you FIRST!” Dawn Jones - Successful Booking 
"They
say there is a fine line between fishing and standing
on the shore like an idiot ~~ and Stacy's expertise really
illuminates the difference. Her magic worked on
my new website. I continue to get better
than an order a week (that's going on 3 months now)- which
is actually a record number of sales for me for
this time of year in 34 years of paddle making.
“Boy
Stacy, this is probably the most concise, complete,
comprehensive and up to date book of
information about websites any business owner
could buy in one place! I teach this stuff to my clients
too and you’ve really honed in on what’s
important, all the necessary details
and NOT the ones we don’t need to know about which
is great! Although the internet and website technology
changes all the time, if you keep revising this book;
it truly could be the best ‘bible’
for website strategy on the market today!”
Katrina Sawa, The JumpStart Your Biz Coach, Sacramento,
CA 
“Stacy
Karacostas has written an easy-to-read, practical guide
to support small business owners’ success in launching
a great, business-building website and avoiding costly
mistakes in the process. Her down-to-earth, engaging writing
style is refreshing and helpful. Best of all, Stacy makes
clear the nitty-gritty basics so even technophobes can
proceed with confidence. That is cause for celebration.”
Nancy S. Juetten,Chief Publicity Officer
– Main Street Media Savvy
“Stacy
Karacostas is an expert copywriter and marketer, and her
new book, “The Small Business Website Bible”,
will guide you step by step through the process of creating
your own website that works for you around the clock to
bring you prospects and make more money. I’ve learned
more from reading this one book than I have from many
other resources combined. This handy guide is worth every
penny.” James Palmer, Independent Copywriter
“Stacy, after reading your book, The Small Business Website Bible, I’ve found it consistent with what I’ve come to expect from you, personally; wall-to-wall, practical value. Let’s face it, we all need to be experts at marketing our own business or blog and a website or two plays a major role. Whether someone chooses a do-it-yourself website building service, or hires a designer/builder, having the knowledge that’s in your book is a must in directing those efforts. I’ll use your book as a reference as I move my own projects forward. You’re a RockStar!!!”
