Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello Everyone!

I am looking for first impressions and/or critique of any of the following areas...

- Usability / Nav
- Copy - Relevant, Compelling, etc.
- Content - Prefessional, clean, relevant, etc.
- SEO - within context of Flash-based format
- Goal - are we on track, suggestions to help us reach the "website goal"
- Don't stop here...all comments, critiques welcome.

Thank you in advance "StartupNation" members for having a look at what I have put together. Show no mercy...I want the investment of time and energy to achieve ROI so do not hold back.

Website: www.builduppeople.com

Our Business: direct sales, nutrition, development of distribution networks, this is a network marketing business based on products that have impacted our lives in very tangible ways. The manufacturer is Reliv International, based in Chesterfield, Missouri.

Website Goal: My primary goal is to be different (there are 100s of 1000s of cookie-cutter sites pushing products and business opps) and compel people to reach out to us, learn more and understand if what we are doing could be a fit for them. "It may or may not be a fit, but after several minutes on the phone or in person...you will know if this is something that you want to continue learning more about." We are looking for people who will interact (get on the phone or swap email) or meet with us (face-to-face or webex).

Marketing Strategy: I believe visibility of the humanitarian side of our business and the unique business networking culture that exists within the Reliv circle are key differentiators.

Website Strategy: My perspective on web strategy is that it is next to impossible to differentiate myself from the millions of people pushing product and business opps online, and for that matter build trust, with just HTML on a page. Where I can differentiate myself is when I am face-to-face and/or on the phone with people who are looking for answers. So my online strategy is simply to move people from the website, ideally to the phone since we are international, secondarily to email where we can begin to develop trust. This is a worthy challenge! I do not expect it to be easy!

Website Design: I did 100% of the copy and graphic design myself. The project took quite some time to complete because of the distractions of life. If I had dedicated all of my resources and time to the project it probably would have been a 40-60 hour effort. My goal for the design is to glean whatever differentiation I can by simply looking different. Professional, clean and above-the-fold design is what I am after. I want to present an image that resonates with people in every walk of life. I also want to communicate credibility with the design. For navigation, I must admit that I do not have any real rhyme or reason to how I laid out the nav. I let common sense be my guide.

NOTE: Still in development - I am having a video interview of my wife and I (and family) professionally produced. A "HOME" page will be added to the front of the site and our personal video will be accessible there along with a professional but casual picture of the two of us as a welcome for visitors to the site. I am also working on access to some additional testimonial videos that will be playable through an integrated Clover media player. The media player can be seen via the "RESOURCES" page. Password is "revolution". I posted some radio ad samples there for a radio exec in Florida to listen too as we head into a marketing push in September.

SEO: I must admit that this is another area where I have a lot to learn and I would love some critique and advice that anyone cares to offer for optimizing the site. Recommended reading? I understand there may be SEO limitations inherent in Flash-based sites, and I am okay with this for now. Any comments and suggestions within the context of SEO for Flash is appreciated. Clover does make my site mobile-friendly with an HTML version that is viewable on my iPhone.

Per my personal perspective on "website strategy" laid out above, investments to drive up Google rank is not a priority early on. Again, I am open to any advice that will help me grow in rank organically. Please feel free to dismantle my perspective. I am open-minded.

CMS: The site is a Clover template with an AWESOME back end CMS. I am a big fan! Their CMS is very intuitive and professional. Team Clover is very active with their enhancement releases and support is excellent.

 

 

 

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www.BuildUpPeople.com - Independent Reliv Distributor, Oregon

You are asking for a complete review. I am only giving you my first impression. 

The first page of your site does not disclose the product you are promoting. Your narrative sounds familiar, and although I am open to the possibility that you may have found something that is life changing, I am weary of hearing and reading about products that give such effect to one's life. So far, these fall short of expectations. 

In other words. I think you take a big risk by expecting that people will be curious anough to follow the tracks. I guess it depends on whether they find you through a search engine while they are looking for your specific product. 

The look of your site, the graphic design, is below average. Black backgrounds often remind me of malaware sites. I think black can work, but I think a very good design is required to pull it off. 

Bests,

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Small Business Web Design | Small Business Web Design Los angeles | Web Design | Web Design Los Angeles

First impressions are the most revealing because that is what ultimately influences people to stick around. Thank you for sharing yours!

I think the most valuable takeaway from your impression is that my "narrative sounds familiar". Sounding "different" is my goal and my challenge online because what we have in Reliv is unique. Your feedback tells me that I have some work to do still to find a "unique" voice that creates curiosity and enough interest to cause people to walk down the path and find out if Reliv fits.

As I stated in my description, Google rankings and moving traffic to the site is not a priority. Having an online tool to support the people-2-people connecting that we do throughout our day, everyday, is the site's real role in our business. So, in that regard, the risk is low.

If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know.

Thanks again IberoMedia!

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www.BuildUpPeople.com - Independent Reliv Distributor, Oregon

IberoMedia,

I have a question for you...

You mentioned in your comments that "black can work, but I think a very good design is required to pull it off." Would you please provide just one example of a "very good design" element that makes "black work"? Do you have a LIVE site that I can browse out to for ideas?

Thanks again!

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www.BuildUpPeople.com - Independent Reliv Distributor, Oregon