Turn a So-So Web Site into a Magnificent Marketing Machine!

"My web site isn't working!"  It's an epidemic complaint, and usually it involves a site where the visitor can get around fine by clicking here and there.  The web paraphernalia functions fine.  But visitors are not turning into subscribers, hot leads or buyers.

That's where Marcia Yudkin's book on web site marketing makeovers comes in.  Discover step by step the essential ingredients of a site that meets visitors' needs and the crucial details that make or break a web site.  After pondering the in-depth examples and applying web communication principles, you'll transform a mongrel that just sleeps at its URL into a best-of-breed site that gets more hits, higher response and greater profits.

"Before: Confused users leave a site. After: Satisfied users stay and do business. That's the result of the makeovers in this book." - Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D., author, Designing Web Usability

"A must-read for any small business or individual in the beginning stages of designing a Web site as well as current Web site owners who are unhappy with their site's performance." - Lisa Price, co-author, Hot Text:  Web Writing that Works

Like all the testimonials on this site, the customer comments on this page were provided without compensation, incentives or rewards other than, in some cases, a copy of the book.

What's involved in a web site marketing makeover?

The first step in improving your web site is providing visitors with a quick orientation of whose site they're on.  Next they need navigational signposts showing how to locate the information, products or services they're looking for.  Examples and guidelines demonstrate the kind of thinking and wording that appeal to web surfers and slow them down to consider your offerings.

Visitors become drawn into your marketing proposition when you make clear what's in it for them.  Discover how to refashion headlines and marketing text from an offputting "we're so great" emphasis to an enticing "here's how you benefit."  Learn easy-to-implement ways to boost your trustworthiness quotient with newcomers.

"Marcia Yudkin has more to say in an eight-word sentence than most Web writers have to say in eight paragraphs.  I nearly wore out my yellow highlighter the first time I read this book.  Her book integrates design, content and technology into a readable, balanced whole that has something to offer newcomers as well as experienced Webmasters." - Roger C. Parker, author, Web Design & Desktop Publishing for Dummies and 30+ other books

Download a sample chapter discussing navigation links.  (It's in PDF format, so right-click on the link one line up and save the file to your hard disk.)

Learn Through Both Guidelines and Examples

And let's not forget the lure of appealing content.  Find out what kinds of features inspire valuable repeat traffic, links and visitors spreading the word to friends and colleagues.  When the Web copy has done its job and prospects are ready to buy or subscribe, make sure you don't sabotage their inquiries with baffling shopping carts and blundering order forms.

In Part II, the book treats you to eight complete before-and-after transformations, of sites for a single product, multiple products, a solo practitioner, a professional firm, an advocacy organization, an events company, a local business and an Internet services firm.  The book ends with a glossary, a detailed makeover checklist and recommended resources in print and on the Web.

"Yudkin applies her usual intuitive marketing acumen and savvy business knowledge as she acts as coach and brainstorming partner to improve existing Web sites or create dynamic new ones.  There are money-making ideas galore here for veteran and neophyte alike.  And the Makeover Checklist alone is worth the price of the book." - Marilyn Ross, author, Jump Start Your Book Sales and Shameless Marketing for Brazen Hussies

Get a Wealth of Web Wisdom

Not convinced yet?  Here are just a few of the points you'll learn in Web Site Marketing Makeover:

• How to plan for multiple audiences

• Which uses of jargon you should avoid and why

• What element functions best in site headlines (hint:  not your company name!)

• How to arrive at appropriate navigation categories, in six steps

• Which details you must include in descriptions of your offerings

• Why contact information is essential for every site

• How to write compelling individual and company bios - and when photos increase visitors' willingness to trust

• What information to include for the media, an audience most sites fail to cater to

• Which common mistakes unrelentingly drive Web visitors away

• What pitfalls to avoid in using content

• Which subscription sign-up practices can endanger your reputation, and better ways to encourage leads from your site

• What specifically to ask for on your order form, and how

• How time-saving robots can do you more harm than good

• Why you should coordinate your site's look with your desired business image

• How to format text for readability online

• What you can do to increase the drama of your marketing copy and encourage orders

• How to keep a site timely without regular updates

Whether you are selling pet treats, blast furnaces or accounting services - or are trying to change society without selling anything at all - Marcia's book demonstrates the strategies that work. 

"I really disliked this book, for a couple of reasons;  first, it highlighted all the mistakes I am making in the design and layout of my sites, and second, Marcia Yudkin then had the audacity to explain to me just how easy it is to make my site user friendly.  But seriously, this is a book that anyone building any kind of Web site needs to read." - Andy Crockart, Crockart Enterprises

"I feel as if I hired an Internet marketing consultant instead of reading a book.  The advice and examples are clear and understandable." - Bill Sefton, Seftek

"Well written and easy to follow, which is important for non-techies like me!  Abundant examples to get the message across." - Paul East, Pyramid MultiMedia Consulting

"This is the book that most Web site owners and Web designers should read and read again, then put the great ideas into their site.  Marcia fills every page with practical ideas which will improve your site and also your sales." - Garry Janson, eResults

"It provides good suggestions with clear reasoning behind those suggestions.  It also articulated some things that I was vaguely unhappy about with my own Web site, but couldn't quite put my finger on." - Trudy W. Schuett, publisher, The Desert Light Journal