Tips For Calling Visitors To Action

A blog is a blog. But without a call to action, you risk losing readers. Or worse, if your goal is to activate or mobilize, you risk missing your goal.

A call to action is anything that encourages visitors to act. Whether signing up for email updates, following your twitter feed, or forwarding to a friend, calls to action are key. Calls to action span into the political and non-profit world as well. Succesful websites with purpose also ask for donations, letters to the editor, or general registration.

Here are some of the most effective methods, and associated tips for calling your visitors to action.

1. Social Media

Email Updates

Remember to place the signup form prominently, above the fold. Also, the simpler the better when it comes to signing up. When calling visitors to action, don’t ask for their life story; a simple name and email address form is ideal.

Twitter

Don’t over-do the Twitter thing. If people want to follow you on Twitter, they know how to find your information. Consider placing above the fold, but it doesn’t need to be huge.

RSS

Most modern browsers offer a way to identify sites with RSS feeds, but it doesn’t hurt to offer an easy-to-find image linking to your feed. It can be handy to offer multiple feeds based on categories or tags. I am certainly more inclined to subscribe if I can compartmentalze and choose specific areas.

Related Content, Popular Posts, Most Commented, Etc.

I call these types of tactics “Content Wrap-rounds” because they link readers to another part of your site, thereby increasing time on the site, demonstrating the diversity of content, and increasing the likelihood of retention.

2. Social Bookmarking

Digg, Stumbleupon, Reddit, Technorati, etc.

These sites are pivotal to spreading the word. Of course, no site is successful without quality content. Nor are any successful that aren’t read. See how these relate?

3. Mobilize, Activate

General Registration

This is a rarely utilized but powerful tactic for engaging and retaining visitors. Signing them up as “members” or whatever you may call it will allow you to provide access to various engagement techniques such as following you on Twitter, promoting your site to friends, even writing letters or making phone calls for your cause.

Another tactic used by membership sites is sending sporadic emails encouraging users who haven’t visited in a while to visit again.

Contribute, Donate

Donate and contribute buttons are often utilized by political websites, and under-utilized by non-profits. Whether a simple Paypal donate button, or a complex payment gateway, donation buttons should be the most prominent button on your site. Unless, of course, you don’t need any money.

More about design techniques below, but your donate button needs to have contrast, and to pop from the page.

Engage

Giving finite engagement requests like writing letters, making phone calls, donating, signup up for updates, etc., on the front page is key. Don’t rely on inside pages to engage people. If it’s important, put it right on front.

Schedule

What’s going on in your world? Is your candidate or cause going to be in my area? Utilize calendar widgets and other boxes to tell people about what’s happening right now. Don’t delay or rely on emails to your list.

4. Design Tactics

Utilize Negative Space

Negative space is not necessarily white, but rather a space created by the absence of design elements. Use this space to your advantage. Placing calls to action within these spaces alone will encourage action.

Contrast Colors

Each quality website design has a color scheme. Choose a contrasting but thematic color from the scheme and use it to draw attention to various calls to action. If none of the colors in your scheme contrast signficantly from the rest, choose a new one that “goes” but easily draws attention.

Utilize Size

Larger elements attract the eye first, regardless of the reader’s intention. Pay attention to the size of your call to action and tweak as necessary. Some people say there is a ceiling in terms of size, I disagree. The size of your buttons should scale with the importance of the element.

Typography Matters

Choose typography carefully. This tool can be very helpful. As web browsers evolve, more fonts become “Web-friendly” and usable across platforms.

Follow the Eye

Consider where the eye will move naturally, and take advantage of this. Research shows people naturally read left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Also, the mouse pointer often starts at the top right of the screen. This political season, look for the most important button: the donate link. It will most often be located in the upper right area of the site.

Dimension

Dimension is very Web 2.0. Use things like dropshadows and overlaps to give dimension to elements. This brings focus to the particular element by giving the impression that it sits out from the page.

Wrap-Up

These points outline why and how a good website calls visitors to action. Every website should be doing it on some level, some more than most. Follow these guidelines and you’ll see increased conversions and effectiveness.

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How To Develop A Homepage Layout That Sells ?

You couldn’t have failed to notice that pretty much every website on the face of the planet has a homepage, and that every homepage uses the same basic layout. Masthead at the top, navigation underneath and/or along the side(s), main content taking up most of the page, and a footer at the bottom.

It’s common because it works. It differentiates the content that needs to be differentiated, it presents it in a logical order that follows how people read and interact with websites, and it’s relatively simple to code. In fact, HTML5 encourages you to code this way.

If you want to succeed as a web designer, you should stick to this paradigm.

The trouble is, although you know you need a header, navigation links, main content and a footer, it’s pretty hard to decide exactly where to position each, what margins and padding and fonts and colors to use, what items to include or exclude, and all those other details. You need a process you can rely on to ensure that you meet your client’s needs, and aren’t just shooting in the dark. Here’s mine:

1. Determine The Homepage’s Objective

Design is the art and science of creating and arranging elements to achieve an objective. On the web, that objective is usually to sell. That doesn’t necessarily mean making literal sales—but the objective of the site you’re designing is almost certainly to sell people on something. If it’s not to have them plonk down cash, it could be to have them subscribe or comment or share or learn—or heck, just to remember.

The site’s objective will point you toward the homepage’s objective. If the site’s objective is to get users to subscribe to a newsletter, then the homepage’s objective might be to convince them to click through to the signup page. If the site’s objective is to get people to buy widgets, then the homepage’s objective could be to inform them about the widgets, and entice them to view an online shop.

If you don’t know your objective (or objectives), you can’t even begin the design. Design is always a process heading toward a goal. Without the goal, there is no design. So your first step is to find out and then clearly state the objective of the homepage in specific, factual language.

2. List Every Element That Directly Contributes To The Objective

Once you know the page’s objective, you can pretty easily figure out what its most important elements are. If something doesn’t directly contribute to the objective, then it’s not as important as something that does.

For example, if the homepage’s objective is to get users to request a free quote for a service, then the following items are of great importance:

• Any written content (copy) which explains the service they’ll be getting a quote on, and why they need it.
• Any headline which draws them into the copy.
• Any call to action which directs them toward the goal (whether this goes directly or indirectly to the request page).
• Any images which demonstrate the service, such as before/after shots.
• Any testimonials or reviews demonstrating the value of the service.
• No doubt the list could go on.

3. List Every Element That Doesn’t Directly Contribute To The Objective

There are plenty of other things you must include on a typical homepage which support its objective without directly contributing to it. For example:

• The company and/or product logo.
• A tagline or blurb.
• Navigation links.
• Basic copyright and contact information.

No one is going to buy from an anonymous website; and no one is going to use a site without navigation either. Knowing the objective of the homepage simply allows you to prioritize the elements in a logical way—you don’t want to exclude necessary elements just because they don’t directly contribute to the objective.

4. Arrange The Critical Elements

Using whatever method works for you (I like squares of paper with names written on them) get all the homepage’s elements together. Put aside the ones you’ve determined are not critical to its objective. Now, experiment with arranging what’s left, focusing on the best way to guide the user to the objective. You might call this wireframing, but it should involve experimentation with color and images if appropriate, which most wireframing doesn’t seem to for whatever reason.

Don’t think that the first layout you bang out is the best one. There are lots of different ways to skin the average cat. Here are some principles to keep in mind:

Natural Reading Patterns.

Unless you’re in quite a foreign country, people read from left to right and top to bottom. More specifically, they scan in an F-shaped pattern, taking in the headline, then the stuff along the left of the page, then the lede, and then some of the first words along the left margin. So positioning your headline on the right, for instance, is not necessarily the best option. Don’t be afraid to break the rules, but be aware of what that will mean, and have a good reason.

Typography

Let me say it again. Typography. It’s not choosing a font. Typography is nothing less than the science of presenting written information in the most readable, useful way. Web design is 95% typography, so if you aren’t up to scratch here, it’s time to start swatting. Choosing the best measure, leading, color, font-sizes, body and heading styles and so on is all very, very important.

Colors

Many wireframes don’t contain color. Sometimes it isn’t necessary—but often it is, because the use of color can dramatically change the priority of elements. On a black-and-white page, a large headline will stand out the most against normal text. But if you then highlight some of that text in red, that’s where your users’ eyes are going to be drawn. You need to be able to select colors which are appropriate, combine them into a palette which is interesting without being too varied, use this to draw your reader’s attention to the right elements, and then guide him to the objective.

Images

Like colors, images are very attention-grabbing. Use them wisely. “Hero shots” should be positioned high on the page, with the hero’s eyes looking toward an important element—because people always look to where other people are looking, even if they’re in a picture. Supplementary images shouldn’t be so large or colorful that they will distract the reader from the objective.

Negative Space

A webpage is like a meal. The elements on it are courses. Too much space between them and your reader’s eye gets bored and leaves for a better restaurant. But too close together, and he can’t take it all in—he doesn’t know what to eat first, so he gives up and again goes to a better restaurant. You want your whitespace to emphasize the elements on the page, just as a well-spaced meal will let your palate savor each course. The elements should be natural places for your reader’s eye to rest, in a natural order. Using negative space to differentiate elements is almost always better than resorting to putting boxes around everything.

5. Arrange The Non-Critical Elements

Now that you have a robust layout that will guide your user unerringly to the page’s objective, you can start adding in the additional elements you know need to be included. The same principles apply as are listed above—plus a healthy dose of common sense. Obviously you don’t want to clutter the layout at this stage, and neither do you want to draw emphasis away from the critical elements. It’s easy to get scared and “make the logo bigger”—but chances are it’s just fine sitting there unobtrusively at the top. Anyone looking for it can’t miss it, and it’s not intruding on getting your user from A to B. The same goes for navigation. Just don’t make text too small in an effort to make it less obtrusive. It still has to be readable.

You’re Done!

Once you’re happy with your layout, get it signed off and coded up. Then the whole process can begin again – because now you need to lay out the commitment page, where your user gets taken after deciding to fulfill the homepage’s objective.

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Google Ajax Search With Your Adsense Ads

All of you might have seen the New Ajax Search Gadget on your Layout > Add Gadget Page. This Ajax search gadget doesn't support adsense ads.But you can now have a Google ad supported Google Ajax search widget on your blog.

The speciality of the Ajax Search is that it can search your blog, without actually leaving yourblog.(no need to go to a new page.. it acts like an inline search)

The Ad supported Ajax search Code is available at Google Web Elements .You can see 3 options there.

1. Automatically Search My Site
2. Search my Site and use Adsense for Search
3. Use an existing Custom Search Engine

For showing adsense ads you have to opt for option 2 or 3 .If you choose to use the second option,then you will have to provide you Adsense publisher id(which looks like pub-xxxxxxxx).If you opt for the option 3, you will have to provide the Custom search ID, which will be present in your Google Custom search Code.[Code is generated inline when you enter any of these ids.]

After grabbing this code, just go to your Blogger > Layout page and add a newHTML/JavaScript Gadget and paste the Google Web Element Custom Search code there and save the gadget. The Gadget will look better if you drag it to above the Blog Posts Widget and save it.[that area has got enough space to display the ads :)]

 

Here is a preview of what you should see.

If you want to change the colours and styling of the search results, you will have to add additional CSS Classes.

Update: – Now Google CSE has added all these things. and much more(themes and other customization stuff) So it would be easier for you guys.. :)

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How to Place Google Ads Below and Above Blogger Post ?

• Login to Your Blogger Account

• On Your Dashboard, Click on Layout (see below shown picture for further assistance)

• Now Click on HTML (see below shown picture for further assistance)

• Now Check the box of Expand Widget Templates (see below shown picture for assistance)

• Convert Your Google Adsense Code into XML Format using http://centricle.com/tools/html-entities/(This does not violate Google Adsense TOS)

• Now Search For <data:post.body/>

Paste the Code given below before and after <data:post.body/>

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'>
GOOGLE ADSENSE CONVERTED CODE HERE
</b:if>

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Easy to get credit cards for Indian bloggers and web developers

Most of the Indian bloggers, webmasters and web developers are using Paypal service for making online transactions. The major feature of Paypal that attract customers is the security that it provides while making transactions. Here users don’t need a credit card, and they can simply use their email to pay the bills. However, Paypal itself asks users to verify each account with credit card for further security and more features. 

Although Indian Paypal accounts can be verified using a bank account, it’s better to get a real credit card considering few other causes. Some online stores and web hosting companies doesn’t accept Paypal as a medium of payment. Furthermore, the subscription based services, like theme clubs, web services, etc. need a credit card attached to the Paypal account for automatic renewal.

Paypal now has some issues with Indian bank regulators that made it further difficult to make a transaction through this medium. So at this point it would be better if you can get a real credit card. Many of us think that credit cards are only for employed or business professionals drawing huge salary. Actually there are no income proof credit cards in India available through many private and public sector banks. ICICI, HDFC, AXIS and some other banks offer instant credit cards against a fixed deposit.

The credit limit of no income proof credit cards is calculated based on fixed deposit at corresponding bank branches. Most banks give around 80% of the deposit as credit. This can be extended to 100% in certain banks, on request. Here we invite your attention to two fixed deposit credit cards schemes offered by ICICI bank and AXIS bank in India.

AXIS bank Easy credit card eligibility and features:

Easy Platinum credit card

Axis bank offers three variants of credit cards based on the initial deposit made. They include Easy platinum advantage, Easy Platinum and Easy Gold. The following is the minimum deposit required for each card.

Easy Platinum series: RS 10000

Easy Gold:  RS 25000

The procedure is very simple if you have an AXIS bank savings account. No additional income proof or address proof is required. The Easy platinum and gold credit cards comes with Visa sign, and offers most facilities of usual credit cards. You can shop online and offline at discounts, reward points and cash back. The interest of credit card transactionis 1.95% month, that totals to around 24% annually. Axis bank fixed deposit credit cards also offer interest free period of up to 50 days on shopping transactions, provided the user doesn’t have any outstanding bills.

The initial credit limit after the issue of card is 40% of the fixed deposit. This can be extended by calling customer care. Other features of AXIS bank Easy credit card includes EMI facility, insurance cover, mobile alerts, etc. Credit card bills can be paid through internet banking, at branches or ATM.

ICICI fixed deposit instant credit card:

ICICI gold credit card

Like its name, here you will get instant approval and activation of credit card if you have an ICICI bank account, and a fixed deposit. ICICI offers Visa signed Gold credit cards for a minimum deposit of 20000 INR. The credit limit of ICICI bank instant credit card is 85% of fixed deposit. ICICI fixed deposit credit card doesn’t have many features of Axis band Easy credit card. The per month interest rate of this card is 1.99%.

Tax savings fixed deposits, deposits by societies, Flexi-Deposits will not get accepted forinstant credit cards. ICICI and AXIS bank fixed deposit credit cards can be used to verify Paypal, make hosting payments and all other online transactions.

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