So, you've already determined your copy (the written part of any marketing material) is the secret to sales success. Now, let's take it a step further.
Do you know what people read first - practically EVERYTIME they read your copy?
It's your headline. Studies have shown that your headline is the single most important part of any of your marketing, advertising and promotional materials. Think of it as your welcome mat, the tidbit you throw out there to entice people to want more.

Here are two quick examples:

A) Would you like to earn more money?
Chances are this question piqued your interest if you're motivated by money.

B) How to make the world a better place in 5 easy, proven steps.
If you're conscious entrepreneur, this may have piqued your interest.

These headlines could actually both use some more sizzle, but do you see where I'm going with this? You not only have to pique interest, you need to know who you're talking to and what motivates them or your readers won't take the next step - and in the case of copy - that's moving on to read your offer and the ultimately purchasing your product or service.

Headlines should illustrate an immediate result, solution or benefit and leave your audience wanting more. In fact, you headline should stand alone - make a statement of its own and lead your audience into the content. Create headlines to draw your audience in and then keep their interest with strong sales copy.

How strong are your headlines? Do they draw your readers in and leave them wanting more? Review your current copy with a fresh eye. Are your headlines working for you?

Copywriting, Group Mastery Expert

Whether you sell tee-shirts or televisions, your prime goal as an online retailer is to turn browsers into buyers by driving them to your checkout process. The path to (and through) the shopping cart should be a smooth one, with none of the virtual bumps that could potentially cause items to be tossed out and left somewhere along the road.

With today’s widespread market research and usability studies, most designers of eCommerce sites have a firm grasp of effective strategies for keeping customers on a clear, focused shopping path. Even so, there are still a surprisingly large number of websites that commit grave errors in the design and implementation of their shopping carts.

Below are a few of the most common (and easily avoidable) mistakes:

1. Calling it something else. Your site’s sole point of entry into the checkout process is no place to risk confusion by getting overly fancy or “cutesy” with terminology. Resist the urge to be different by calling your cart a bag, basket, or some other alternate label. Just call it what it is, and consider adding an identifying graphic to reinforce it.
2. Hiding the “Add to Cart” button. This should be the easiest action for a customer to take, and should require little to no thinking on their part. Make sure the “Add to Cart” button is in a prominent place on the product page, and that it’s in the same location regardless of which item is being viewed. If you have long, text-heavy descriptions that extend below the fold, you might even consider including two “Add to Cart” buttons (as long as you do so on every page, for consistency).
3. Forcing customers to register. In keeping with the “smooth cart path” strategy, requiring customers to fill out a registration form prior to adding an item to their shopping cart can be conversion suicide. While you definitely want to make it easy for customers to create new accounts, it should never be implied that it’s a condition of purchase.

The last thing you want to do is to cause confusion with your potential customers.  Make it simple for them to purchase from you instead of your competitors.

Regina Baker - Ecommerce Solutions Expert

Regina Baker is the co-creator of Wahmcart and the Ecommerce Solutions Expert for Group Mastery.  She created Wahmcart as a full ecommerce software solution for work at home moms without the huge price tag. She's dedicated to educating the small business individual (sole proprietors) and companies with ecommerce solutions that will allow them to work smarter, not harder while at the same time providing an affordable solution that the “average” person can afford.   More about Wahmcart

Things have been a little quiet around here lately.  What have you all been up to?  Tell us about your latest networking event that you attended - online or offline - meet any new exciting or interesting people? How about some new JV partners?

Netweaving is really a lot of fun and it is the latest, best way to utilize your network.  You can position yourself as a Resource, a go-to person, if you will, one that has a massive contact list and knows just the right people for the right situation and is willing to share that information with others.

You could also position yourself as a Connector, one who helps others by introducing them to key people that may be needed to help develop their business to the next level, or may simply have a need for their services or products.

By helping someone else, focusing on others, your networking efforts are laser-sharpened and people will respond.  By doing these activities without the thought of what's in it for me (WIIFM) or without any anticipated immediate personal payback you are truly netweaving!  You may never be able to attribute a growth in your business from one particular person or event, but you WILL benefit by paying it forward.  I'd love to see you all concentrate on doing that, see what the results are - I know you will be absolutely amazed!  Givers do gain - sometimes the gain is a whole lot more than financial wealth.

A great example of netweaving is exactly what we are doing in our Skype Room network. When someone is having a problem with their blog, Squidoo lens, or website, and need advice on how to fix or solve their problem, they turn to one of us.  We are here to help one another!  Do we expect to be financially paid for our help - no, we don't.  We simply help one another and by helping one another, we all grow.  There are exceptions to this when two people contract with each other to work together and that's perfectly okay - there's nothing saying that services and/or products cannot be paid for - we are running businesses!  But the paying it forward opportunity excels right here, in this network.   I hope you are all aware of the rich contacts you have made here and will continue to help one another - together we will all grow and be wildly successful!

If you're interested in joining our Skype Room Connections, click here.  You do need to have Skype installed on  your computer (it's a free service, you are able to talk computer to computer anywhere in the world, free!) and please be sure to develop your profile on Skype!  As a community, there is a lot of great information that is shared with others and we would love to have you participate too!   We also welcome your comments and your help in generating conversations!

So now tell me - who have you connected with lately?  Have you helped someone grow their business by connecting them with someone in your network or have you helped them solve some sort of problem with their business?  If you are looking for some help for yourself or your business, the easiest way to ask is to start with "who do YOU know WHO . . ." and netweaving begins!  Keep it moving forward and help someone else - share your knowledge, time or talents!  When you are able to help someone else, and they insist on paying for your help, simply ask them to go out and find two (2) other people that they can help in some way.  By giving them the opportunity to help someone else, you are providing them a rich opportunity to grow - giving them the opportunity to wear the "Netweaver's Glow!"

I invite you to join in the conversation here, post your comments and let us get to know more about you!  I'm always available to serve you just let me know.  I'm looking forward to learning more about you and your business!  Make it an awesome day - help someone do something, meet someone, or simply share a business-building tip - you'll be glad you did!

Carol Deckert - Netweaving Expert

Carol Deckert is a Networking Coach and the Netweaving Expert for Group Mastery.  She's the founder of Referrals Unlimited Network, has more than 6,700 first-level connections in LinkedIn and approximately 1,800 “friends” on Facebook and more than 3,000 followers on Twitter!  Carol knows you do need the numbers before you can accumulate quality connections, because not every connection will be a good one for you. Through her netweaving work, she helps others learn to do what she did, save them lots of time and heartache, by teaching them how to network efficiently and effectively.   Contact Carol on Skype: deckert1116