1. Find A Role For Your Website
The single most important tip I can give you is to decide on the role your website should play in your marketing program before you order it.  Do you want to educate the market about your products? Provide a 24-hour information resource for current customers? Showcase your products? Generate requests for literature and leads? If you set a set of objectives and stick to them, your website will be a success.

2. Offer The Reader A Compelling Reason To Contact You
Turning a website visitor into a customer is the most-overlooked aspect of web-based marketing -- even on the biggest commercial sites. You want those who visit your website to buy. The easiest way to accomplish the latter is to engage them in a two way dialog, so you can market to them on your own terms. Get them to volunteer their name and you can inform them of specials, product upgrades, events, and new products via e-mail or regular mail. How do you get them to volunteer their name? Offer them something! A free catalog, a free quote, a free analysis, a free reprint of an editorial article -- anything your buyers might find valuable. Other methods might include weekly drawings for free gifts (T-shirts, free product, etc.), or other promotional giveaways.

3. Get Right To The Point
People are not patient. Studies have proven that people will read long ads and marketing materials, but only if it's clear there's "something in it" for them! Be concise. Be quick. Be interesting. Don't beat around the bush with long introductions or unrelated information. Tell your customer what they want to know, and they'll stick around for more!

4. Focus On Your Audience
Remember, your website should appeal to the interests of your audience -- no one else matters! Focus on your target audience and put yourself in their shoes. If they're interested in your product because it saves them time, then focus on convenience -- don't start your pitch with a laundry list of less-important features. Focus on the key benefits of your product and leave the details for later.

5. Market Your Website
Would you open a sales office in a distant city and then not tell your clients in the area that it had opened? Of course not. Think of your website as an automated sales or service office on the Internet -- and let your "universe" of potential buyers know that it's available to them. Put your web address on your stationery, business cards, ads, brochures, and other sales materials -- use a rubber stamp if necessary.  Be creative! For example,send out an "birth" announcement on a postcard.

6. Make Your Website Useful
Make sure the information your prospects or customers want is available. For example, websites are ideal ways to disseminate the latest information about your product -- you can include specifications, case studies, success stories, white papers, or testimonials. And don't forget to include important contact information like your toll-free ordering line, customer service number, or how to get technical support.

7. Make It Easy For Viewers To Respond
You'd think this was obvious, but it's overlooked far too often. You absolutely must make it easy for a reader to express their interest in your website. Plaster your 1-800 number across it, make sure there's a link to your e-mail system -- treat visitors with the care you's show any other prospective buyer. I have seen sales-oriented websites that never once listed a phone number or a "click to send e-mail" button. Some sites would have even forced you to copy a street address for the privilege of sending them a letter. Don't do this!

Below are the topics of pages I generally use to create homepages for individuals.  These are just ideas, you may choose to include other topics of interest to you as well.

You might want to use this to put a photo of yourself. Make it a biographical page.

  Your "Picture Gallery" is typically the first link people click on. It gives people a better feel for who they are dealing with. So be sure to make a good impression here. Put up pictures of everything and anything to let us know who you are and what you're like.

  You may need this page for any home-based business stuff you do. Again, be very specific!

Go nuts! Links let us know lots about you! Put lots of links to stuff you like! Links, links, links...

One of the coolest things about the web is coming across someone else on the web that has the hobbies and interests that you do. So, let us know about your hobbies and interests and and you're bound to get email from others with the same hobbies and interests.

  - You may be able to use this page to let people know about any upcoming local events that might interest you!  

  Here's where you can tell us about your job and what kind of work you do for a living.

Use this page to list what's new in your life, what's new on your web site, or what's new in general!

  Do you have a family or business newsletter? Well, here's the place for it! Put your yearly Christmas letter here! It's a great place for it!

Here's where you can put pictures and links to all your best friends and buddies.

  Put your resume here if you're looking for a job. Even if you aren't looking for a job, you just never know who's going to visit your web page and be impressed and want to hire you on the spot!

  It's a big part of why people put up web pages. Here's where you might want to talk about what makes family special to you! Put pictures of your parents, brothers, sisters, kids, grandkids, you name it.