My 2 Missions
Do you have a mission or why??? If not, take the time today to figure out your mission and make it an important one for you. If it’s not a big enough mission and won’t make much of a difference in your life, this won’t work.
Keep your mission your main focus and I’ll guarantee you that it will keep you motivated even when things get tough and you’re discouraged on a bad business day.
As an added bonus, here are a few tips on using graphics and multimedia on your mini sites.
Using Graphics on Your Mini Site
Mini sites are not known for being flashy. And there’s a good reason for that. Too much flash and splash detracts from the message you’re trying to get across. And when your site is made up of only one or a few pages, your message must get through quickly.
But as we all know, a page full of plain old text isn’t particularly appealing. And even if formatting is used to make certain things stand out, a bright and prominent graphic does a much better job of drawing our attention. So even though graphics should be used sparingly on a mini site, it’s crucial to make sure that the graphics we do use are effective.
The first graphic people will see when they visit your mini site is your page header. It stands to reason that it should be attractive and captivating. It doesn’t have to be a complex work of art, but it should be brightly colored and include the name of your product. A few more words might be in order, but don’t go overboard. The headline will provide more detailed information about what you have to offer.
Most mini sites have a bulleted list somewhere on the page. They are bulleted because they contain important information, such as your product’s key benefits or what’s included with it. So attention-getting bullets in bright colors are good things to have.
And then there are your buttons and boxes. Boxes are used to bring things like testimonials and calls to action to the reader’s attention. The most commonly used button is the order button, and that should definitely stand out.
A mini site is not the place for a graphic design exhibition (unless, of course, you’re selling graphics). The graphics used should be prominent and professional looking, yet not so fancy that they take the visitor’s attention away from the text.
Multimedia and Mini Sites
It’s hard to believe that only a couple of decades ago, the Internet was a land of nothing but text. Today, it is filled with graphics, animation, audio and video. These things have not only made the World Wide Web a more entertaining place, they have also brought forth new ways of sharing information.
Improved hardware and software, along with websites such as YouTube, have made it easy for any webmaster to utilize multimedia on his website. But not everyone agrees that this is a good thing. Some employers have banned the use of certain sites in the workplace because of it, citing decreased productivity. And some Internet users are not fond of music or video popping up without warning.
This has led some mini site owners to shy away from using multimedia on their sites. They worry about turning their visitors off, so they stick with text and graphics. But is that really necessary?
Audio and video are great educational aids. They can also make an impact in a way that the written word just can’t. And these days, most Internet users are accustomed to being greeted with sounds and moving pictures when they visit a website. Those who need to keep things quiet for one reason or another usually keep the volume turned down or muted.
If you’re still worried about upsetting visitors with multimedia, there’s a simple compromise you can make. Just adjust your code so that the audio or video doesn’t start automatically when the page is opened. Those that want to listen can click the play button, and those who prefer not to can leave it be.
Audio and video can inject personality into your site. It brings your words to life and makes it much easier to illustrate certain things. Don’t be afraid of it. Use it to make your mini site more attractive and useful.
Talk to you soon,
Alicia Bowyer
The Mom Marketer