Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello Everyone....

I was wondering if you have any knowledge in making my main banner image have navigation within it? I am thinking about adding some navigation to the main banner. Your thoughts or can you send me in the right direction?

Thanks, Mika

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Little Black Book of Beauty
248.289.6660
http://www.littleblackbookofbeauty.com
mnw@littleblackbookofbeauty.com

Mika,

if you main aim is to get me to sign up for your newsletter, I feel you should entice me to do so. What is exclusive about the newsletter? What do I have to give you to sign-up?

Andrew

 

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Andrew:

I am not sure how to make the newsletter more interesting at this point...Working on it....The newsletter is free.


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Little Black Book of Beauty
248.289.6660
http://www.littleblackbookofbeauty.com
mnw@littleblackbookofbeauty.com

What makes anything interesting? The key is to match your content to a problem people perceive they`re having, then provide information and possible solutions.

So the main question is what sort of person is your "profile" visitor? To make it fun, consider what you would write if the people you expect would mostly visit your site are very ugly.

What would your newsletter talk about, and HOW would it be phrased to solve problems and help ugly people?

Yes, I`m playing a bit, but the point is to develop a profile of your likely visitor. It`s much like building a profile of a criminal in an FBI case, or writing out a character history for a novelist. Who is the person you`re looking at from inside your monitor as they click on your site, then wander around?

What`s on their mind? What are their trials and tribulations? What worries them, and what brings them joy? How is their life going these days, and what do they dream? Do they have success and riches in their life, or are they lost and afraid?

The more realistic you can develop your profile---and you can certainly write it down for ongoing reference---the more you`ll feel like you`re talking to someone who`s alive, sitting in your living room, listening to you speaking. That`s what goes into a newsletter.

Mika,

It is the enticing I am referring to. As a customer, I would like to see something on your home page which says...`sign up this exclusive newsletter because.....`

What do beauty magazines say on their front covers?

`Get the latest beauty tips`

`Expert tips for a new you`

etc, etc.

What is the problem your newsletter will solve for your clients - as per Craigs note above.

Also, do you want me just to add my email to get the newsletter? I assume you do. Again as a customer I might need intructions.

Hope this is helping.

Andrew

Actually, Andrew raises an excellent point about newsletters, one that too few people keep in mind: An introduction.

There are a few really good sites for information, and in many of them, when you sign up, you get an introductory newsletter. It`s not the current topics and issues, but rather, the "original" newsletter. It sets forth the mission of the business or organization, why they came into being, and what they intend to do. There`s usually a central article that also explains who are the publishers and people, and what you can expect in the future issues.

That should go to people when they first sign up. Personally, I find it annoying to get a newsletter that just sort of appears midstream. It`s much nicer to sort of get "caught up" with the issue that started it all. :-) Y`know?

I have not read all of the other responses, so I hope I`m not too redundant. I am a graphic artist/web site designer/software interface designer. I am excited to give you some feedback.

The color scheme and feel of the site is fantastic. That is more than half the battle. I do think, however, that there are a few small modifications you can make that will bring your site to a new level.

First, you are losing a lot of VALUABLE vertical space. You want to move your content up toward the top of the page, and get rid of empty white space. There really is no reason for this site to have a vertical scroll. If you can fit it all on the  page the user will see when they first arrive to the site you will have better results.

Second, the ad for the "NuU" people is as prominent as your own logo! NO NO! This is your site! That being said, I think you can put a smaller advertisement for them.

If possible, try to move your own logo up to maybe a 1/4 inch max below the toolbar for the browser. Right now it`s like 2" and that`s wasted space. And, if you can redesign the logo a bit, I would shrink it as much as possible.

Then you will be able to move your menu up towards the top and it will be easier for the user to get a feel for what the site is actually about.

All in all, I think you have a great looking site. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors!

Also, to answer your question:

"...making my main banner image have navigation within it..."

There are two ways to go -

1. You can align the image and some html so that they look like they`re attached.

2. Or, you can make the links/text images, and assign targets for where they will take the user when clicked (see example: http://www.autooneins.com/ where "home", "resources", etc. are images that look like text.

Best wishes,

Stacie

Hi Stacie:

I was  wondering if we can talk offline.. Could I have your email address? Thanks, Mika


-------------------------

Little Black Book of Beauty
248.289.6660
http://www.littleblackbookofbeauty.com
mnw@littleblackbookofbeauty.com