Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi Julie,

Here's what I recommend/noticed:

On the homepage don't just have all that text, but display your products also. Perhaps have the most popular one or the one in season stand out most. Have a call to action on your homepage that lead the user to do something. Right now the home page doesn't really do anything for the user.

Do you ship your product in jars? Show the finals images of your product and if you still want you can then display the fruit next to it. For example, take a look at Smuckers http://www.smuckers.com/products/ I understand that you're probably thinking that you're just a home based business, but presentation is everything and I'm sure you can achieve it.

Products: If something is not in season, don't display it on the site or least don't have it as the very first item.

Blog: Your blog looks so very different from your website. Keep it consistent! Also, I've noticed that when you click on the homepage link from your site, it takes you to a different home page (the one that doesn't have the blog link highlighted) http://jumpinjellies.com/?page_id=17

Plus, your blog doesn't have a link back to your main site nor any images to steer up that appetite for your readers.

Nutrition page: There's no way of getting back to the homepage and buying the products.

Oh and yes the shipping charge is crazy, there's no way I would pay $21.95 for a $6 product.

Hope this helps,

- Yiana

We are having a bug with the shipping... if anyone knows how to fix this please let me know.

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Website. Blog. YouTube.

Go back to my original response on this.

My "rules" for shipping:

1 - Free is good for sales.
2 - If free is too costly, then flat-rate the shipping.  Also good for sales and so darned easy to implement.  As I said, this is my model.  I charge a flat rate of $5 to ship any of my product, regardless of the actual shipping cost.  I use USPS Priority Mail Flat-Rate boxes.  Most of my shipments cost me $4.95, and those that cost me more, well let's say that the profit of such a large order is worth the extra shipping cost.

3 - Most important to all shippers - DO NOT try to make your shipping into a profit center.  This can only be counter-productive because your competition can easily exploit this.

Your mileage may vary.

Myself, personally - because I live thirty miles from a reasonable shopping mall and 40 miles from anything resembling a computer store, I have been buying a lot of equipment on the web.  I find myself returning first to those sites that offer free or flat-rate shipping.  If they have what I am looking for, those with calculated ship rates don't even get an opportunity to how me their prices.

Steve Mann

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Steve Mann
Internet Videographer
MannMade Digital Video
My Email

I went to your website not knowing what to really expect. When I got there I found one tiny picture of either a cherry or an apple. Your products, at least a few best selling ones need to be on the home page, and they need to include a picture.

Forget pricing, navigation, layout, whatever....right now your sites #1 problem is that the home page bores people to death with reading. Got a killer strawberry jelly? Brag about it, and put it on the home page.

Think about a visitor here. They just heard about your site, or they just saw a link to it. They visit it, and get text text text, and a tiny apple icon. Is this the site?

Now take a look at one of your competitors. I'm a new guy so won't link, but search Google for Blue Ridge Jams. It was the first site I found that competes with yours. I wasn't much of a fan of their site layout, but I do know this. I want their jam more than yours because theirs looks good. Yours is text. Get it?