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This is first in a series of reviews on free PDF downloads that can help with your blogging and internet business. “Knock, Knock“ by Seth Godin is a set of instructions for setting up your website for maximum efficiency. Godin sets two “Big Picture” goals for the website:

Number one: A website must do at least one of two things, but probably both:

• Turn a stranger into a friend, and a friend into a customer.
• Talk in a tone of voice that persuades people to believe the story you’re selling.

What does this mean? Your website must be user-friendly and have a purpose. What is the logical purpose of a website? Well, to sell, of course. Everything is selling, whether you are selling ideas, products, services or just attention. Even a personal website for photos from your family vacation needs to be constructed so that people will “spend” their time looking at your photos. For a more commercial application, your website (or front page) needs to have a purpose, and that purpose is to prepare the viewer for the next step. The first ‘click’ that you get needs to lead to a place that does the exact same thing, it is a step in a process that leads to the next step.

“And soon (as soon as possible), your web pages lead people to do the thing you wanted them to do all along, the reason you built your web site in the first place.“

That reason can of course, be anything. Are you looking for email addressess? contact information to send a mailing or catalog? a donation for your charity?

This brings us to Big Picture number two:

“A web site can cause only four things to happen in the moments after someone sees it:

1. She clicks and goes somewhere else you want her to go.
2. She clicks and gives you permission to follow up by email or phone.
3. She clicks and buys something.
4. She tells a friend, either by clicking or by blogging or phoning or talking.

That’s it.
If your site is attempting to do more than this, you’re wasting your time and money and, more important, focus.”

This e-book is loaded with advice and guidance on reviewing your website and/or constructing your website to accomplish this goal. It’s a “less is more” philosophy that definitely applies. Just because you can have a spinning, flaming logo flash animation, doesn’t mean that you should.

Keep it simple, get to the point, and you will be able to lead your viewer where you want them to go.

Download “Knock, Knock” here.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/6one34. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen