Wow! This is a gold mine of valuable strategies! It makes me wonder if I offer too many paper choices for my fine art prints. I agree with Graham, it’s a fine line, because some people want the choice. Maybe a default choice can solve this problem (other options still available for those who need them).

I am already preparing a follow-up email for every sale using those awesome questions you listed in the “Identify” section. Thank you!!

Todd Smith’s last blog post…The Lost Coast

Absolutely, eliminating choices is tough. Especially when we’ve all seen big sites that ignore the rule, and we assume they’re doing fine… but if you could look inside their numbers they often aren’t getting a return you could live with, even for all their (heavily subsidized) traffic.

It’s an ideal that’s not really possible to achieve, but by making sure that the one action you do want visitors to take is always there and obvious, and streamlining what you can, you’re aiming for that effect. (And I happen to know you get pretty darn close to that ideal!)

Regards,

Kelly

Lately I’ve been trying to balance the two by writing shorter pages, but allowing the reader to access more information with another click if they want to. Although it is definitely a compromise, I find that it meets the needs of both types of visitors.

I’d also add that website owners should make that “one thing” to do as easy as possible. For example, if the point of your website is to get people to contact you for a quote, make sure you have one (or more…) links on EVERY page that says “Click Here to Contact Me for a Quote”. It doesn’t have to be pushy, just available (that Open Box theory again…)

~Graham