Top 10 Steps To Bankruptcy (Not a Letterman List)	Visited: 1282 Not rated Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by Jim Phillips October 19, 2003

10. Don't post a privacy policy.

Assume that people will know you aren't going to sell their email addresses. They obviously will also understand that their credit-card information is safe and that you use a secure server for sales transactions.

9. Don't build a relationship with visitors to your site.

Don't waste time with newsletters or email promotions. When it's time to buy, they'll remember you.

8. Don't review your ad copy.

You provide a comprehensive list of all of the features of your product. Let them figure out why they should care.

7. Don't build trust.

Your web site doesn't need any of the following: contact information, an "About Us" page, and information about your employees.

6. Don't offer payment options.

It's enough that you take Visa and MasterCard. Nobody orders offline, anyway. Who has a fax number anymore?

5. Try out that cool new design with the unconventional navigation.

After all, visitors are here to learn as well as shop.

4. Give stuff away.

Ask nothing in return. Don't make visitors read through a lot of ad copy to get to the promotion link. Let them click right through to the mug.

3. Reach as many people as you can.

That new ad is generating a lot of hits. Some of those people are probably buying.

2. Never test your results.

It was a good plan last year. A little tweaking, it'll be a good plan next year too.

1. Don't give people a reason to buy now.

Let promotions run forever. That's what makes people buy, right?