Make the most of your online store

If you want to be at the forefront of internet marketing then check out this: 30 Day Challenge. Tips, ideas and how tos - advice on how to make your firs US$10 in 30 days online when setting up a new internet site.

In my experience a picture speaks a thousand words. I worked in the photo library industry for 15 years before setting up Cebra and I know what I am talking about.



Take for example the Cebra - ethical chic homepage. I did a complete revamp of the site a few months ago (with the help of a very talented web designer of course). I then proceeded to experiment with various images and a slogan. The current slogan is easy to change. Just one word - and you've got a whole new approach!

The picture that is now on my homepage is by far the most successful in drawing attention to my site and my products. ALWAYS use a picture of a human being, preferably a woman, preferably young and good looking. And she must look straight into the camera. Eye contact is one of the most important things in sales. And the person must not be threatening, not over bearingly good looking, not kitschy. Just - natural.

Change the main picture on your homepage once a month. At least. It costs a lot of time and effort to find the right picture but it is worth it.

You can get pictures for as little as £1 but I find those are your run-of-the-mill images. I prefer the more professional photograph with a professional model in it. Costs around £20 -£30 per license.

And: use the main image as large as possible. Above the line meaning this is what people see first when they click on your link for your homepage. If they like what they see, their eyes get drawn to the text around the picture and then they scroll further down the page for more info.

Examples for great picture libraries are: Corbis, Fotolia, The Photographers Library, Imagesource. Just google them and their website will come up.
Or google for royalty free images. You find quite a few picture libraries out there selling images at reasonable prices.

I found that since I started to offer free UK delivery , my sales have gone up. Whenever I go and compare prices then I almost always place an order with the shop that offers free delivery - if various shops have the same product that is. Because of what I did, I thought other people do the same when they look at my shop...

When you offer free delivery make it a prominent feature on your website. Not just on the homepage - which very often isn't your landing page - put it at the top of each page in big letters. You have nothing to hide, so stand by your promise!

In my case I offer customers the option to pay for a speedier delivery or to pay for insured delivery, however I decided to offer free guaranteed delivery for orders over £75.

Always mention this and other terms in your "terms & conditions" which are a must for each internet shop. And make these easily accessible. If customers have to hunt around for your T&c then they become suspicious and click off to another site that makes it easy for them to find the information. Also, it look unprofessional if you don't have any terms & conditions or hide them somewhere deep in the folds of your shop....