Carol Stiefer Jeff Lerner Review
Meet Carol Stiefer. She’s been a real estate agent for over 20 years. Carol was moved by Jeff’s passion to help others. And since joining ENTRE, she’s thinking BIG and taking action. Carol is building a digital marketing agency for real estate agents. She also plans to build a real estate coaching business soon after. ENTRE has helped her to think beyond herself so she’s growing personally and becoming stronger professionally.
Welcome to another episode of Millionaire Secrets!
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Marco has created the largest nationwide provider of turnkey cash-flow investment property and he shows no sign of slowing down.
I was first introduced to Marco at an event I was speaking at by a friend of mine who told me I HAD to meet him!
After a 14-second long synopsis on Marco’s life story, I knew I DID have to meet him, and so do you.
This is your opportunity to hear Marco’s story about how he got where he is, how he got started at age 18, and how he built the BIGGEST provider of turnkey cash-flow investment property.
Invest in yourself by spending some time listening to this genius!
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Carol Stiefer
Making Websites Win: Apply the Customer-Centric Methodology That Has Doubled the Sales of Many Leading Websites Kindle Edition
by Karl Blanks (Author), Ben Jesson (Author), Avinash Kaushik (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars
The majority of websites fail. Almost all of them.
There are many who never make any money. As with chocolate teapots, they appear nice, but they fail once you put hot customers in them.
Some are successful initially however, they soon get beaten by rivals.
This book focuses on how you can defy the trend--to create websites that users appreciate and are wildly profitable.
The method is unique and distinctive. Based on the authors' award-winning efforts in creating some of the biggest internet businesses and hundreds of smaller, market-leading companies. in over eighty different industries . Inside this guide, you'll discover
What web-based businesses that are successful are doing differently (and other companies make the same mistakes)
How to quickly identify the biggest opportunities on your site
A gold mine of tried and tested solutions for expanding companies
Find out how you can grow your income by creating successful websites that are loved by people.
Scientific methods to boosting traffic conversion
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2018
This book is not just a theoretical romp. Blanks and Jesson tell you how to use the right tools to actually perform the kinds of user tests you've been reading about and ignoring for years. You can read all of the cool user-centered design books by big name design firms, or you can implement even a small number of the methods in Making Websites Win to scientifically improve sites and make more money.
When I was a kid, my mom worked with a guy who actually had a sign on his desk that said "Think." I saw it many times. It may seem ironic or silly now that it has been satirized so often, but honestly, I would love it if more people took that admonition to heart. Making Websites Win is packed with techniques for how to actually think about your website, your traffic, and your customers. This isn't some, "change that button from green to red" and you'll be rich kind of book. Frankly, as I've gone through the book, I've thought, "This is harder than I thought it would be," even though it's not really that hard--it's just that we're so used to things being so simple. Don't agree? How fast can you buy a domain name and put up a website? How fast could you do it 15 years ago? Trust me, we're conditioned to "easy." But, what Making Websites Win prescribes is a good kind of hard work. Just reading through the main sections, I'm itching to try this stuff out. It gives me that "this is what I've been looking for" feeling.
What these guys write about is how to create experiences that attract action from your customers. How to really create those experiences, test them, and fix them to make them better. Their chapter on how to write better copy is spot-on, including links to some books that I've never seen before. And I've been writing for a living for over 30 years. Their chapters on UX and testing, even if you have a low-traffic site, are groundbreaking. This is not one of those books that tells you "oh, you need to do eye-tracking studies, have fun..." The authors describe how to perform eye-tracking studies AND how to analyze and understand the results. I just spent 15 minutes going through the full-blown case study at the back of the book too, and it's worth the price of admission. Really.
Honestly, I wish every web designer and web developer read this book and Steve Krug's books, and then implemented just 20% of what they recommend. The Web would be a more enjoyable and more effective place to spend time.
16 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2018
More than just theory, Making Websites Win gives you step-by-step directions to turn an average website into a high performer. Readers will gain a workable, battle tested, and proven strategy that is backed up by well documented case studies and stringent testing. It gives the scoop on the latest and best conversion rate tactics and tools.
You’ll see how you can systematically increase CRO, whether you’re a cash strapped entrepreneur (the book shows you how to DIY with a variety of free and low tactics) or running a big budget marketing department.
In these pages you will discover how to uncover what your target audience really wants, and how to develop and improve your messaging systematically.
As you work through the process of research and testing, you can’t help but see improvements to your offer, copy and layout.
Take the guesswork out of conversion with the scientific approach the authors advocate and teach in this indispensable book. A fascinating and fun read.
4 people found this helpful
If You Sell Online Then You MUST Get This Book!
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2018
I've got probably 2 dozen books on e-commerce / online marketing within arms reach of me as I write this review, and now all but 2 of them can be retired. This WILL become your go-to reference 'Bible' for CRO/Conversion Rate Optimization of e-commerce websites just as Perry Marshall's "80/20 Sales & Marketing" and "Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords" have become the best in their niche. These guys literally invented CRO. Their book is very well organized, clearly written and (frankly) worth it's weight in gold. I couldn't put it down. If you can't put this book to good use vastly improving your online sales performance then you should give up, because you're beyond help. These guys work for BIG, RICH corporate clients who pay them a bundle ...and now with their book the rest of us can employ those same powerful CRO strategies and tactics to do sell even more effectively online. This book is UNDER-priced ...get it fast before your competitors beat you to it.
How to “create pages that visitors love and that convert like crazy.”
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2018
The first thing you notice about the book is the care with which it was created. I bought the hardcover and it is packaged in a slipcase with a fixed ribbon marker (you will need more of these). The professionally designed interior, with loads of website design illustrations, photos, and other helpful visuals, matches the superb packaging.
You quickly learn that there is a reason for this. It’s a reference book you’ll want to keep handy and continue to dip into as you work on your website, or those for clients.
I wasn’t sure if the book would be relevant to my needs. My past experience is with large corporate websites but these days I’m more focused on my own small business websites in the book publishing space. But as the authors point out, their advice is as applicable to SquareSpace and Wix users as it is to Google and Apple (clients).
It is not a book about SEO, how to code a website, or online advertising. It is about CRO—conversion rate optimization. The content is divided into 3 sections followed by a detailed case study.
I thought I’d skip the first section, the introductory setup of why web design is done wrong and how to do it right. Instead, my attempt to skim it kept getting bogged down because this section forms the foundation for the author’s framework and methodologies to follow in sections 2 and 3. It is entertaining, useful and necessary.
The rest of the book is even more difficult to skim. You’ll find yourself dipping in and out of the 22 different approaches to diagnostics and the 14 problem solutions, i.e. what to do if your users aren’t persuaded by your benefits, and, as Avinash Kaushik, Google’s digital marketing evangelist points out in his foreword, step 7: what winning websites do to manage complexity.
This is a reference book you’ll find yourself turning to time and again. Why? Because of “Principal 3: For reasons that are subtle, the top companies make frequent, incremental changes, and rarely (if ever) have huge site redesigns.”
A fantastic read, chock-full of tips that have produced 2x or 5x sales!
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2018
Making websites win is a fantastic read, full of both elegant concepts and in-the-trenches actionable tactics that have produced 2x to 5x for CRE’s clients. The authors are CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) practitioners and it shows. Here are a few of the things I like about the book:
1. Simple, clear and concise writing.
2. Lots of examples and case studies drawn from their real-world consulting practice.
3. An exhaustive list of books and resources to learn more. Books on writing, Tools for user testing, tools for A/B testing, mobile friendly CRO tools, numerous useful links and websites (like 'This is a Website')
4. Discussion of broader business topics that go beyond simple page optimization e.g. niching for success, fulfilling more of your customers’ needs (to increase lifetime value and amortize acquisition costs), and holistically building the kind of company that is deserving of success (versus treating CRO as a bolt-on afterthought)
5. Karl and Ben's quintessentially British wit and humor!
In the last 8 years I’ve read roughly a new book every week. Only rarely do I come across books that need to be re-read many times to fully internalize the lessons. Eugene Schwartz's Breatkthrough Advertising and John Caples Tested Advertising Methods are such books. To this short list, I now add Karl and Ben’s Making Websites Win. How can I not, with gems like these?
“How can you overcome the curse of knowledge? Design your processes for what you perceive to be a busy, lazy, drunk, amnesiac idiot—what lawyers call a “moron in a hurry” (really). Even geniuses with time on their hands will be grateful that you did.”
“conversion is not an afterthought. Conversion is identifying what type of company your visitors would ideally love to do business with…and then becoming that company.”
“A guarantee can be powerful, like a chainsaw. Used right, it can cut through customer objections. Used wrong, it can cut through profits. In this chapter, we’ll describe how to know if a guarantee would work for your business—and how to design and implement a guarantee that works.”
“Many people agree that they need to focus more. But they think that focus means concentrate. It doesn’t. Focus means neglect. As Steve Jobs said, “Focus means saying no to the hundred other good ideas.” Focusing doesn’t feel empowering; it feels embarrassing, upsetting, and scary. A sign that you are focusing is that you frequently cringe at the things you aren’t doing.”
“The best way to ‘beat your competitors’ is often to redefine yourself so that you have fewer of them.”
The one piece of constructive criticism I could offer is perhaps to introduce the case studies earlier and weave them more thoroughly into all the chapters. E.g. start with the GoHenry case study and then introduce concepts by referring to examples already shown.
One person found this helpful
The Ultimate Bible For Anyone Serious About CRO
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2020
This book provide a complete framework to follow to optimise any website or funnel to it's full potential... and more! It is literally jam-packed with premium content and ideas for both business owners and CRO practitioners.
As someone who optimises funnels for clients this is the ultimate playbook I had been looking for. I now have one book that I can refer to whenever unsure what to do next to optimise a funnel.
Whether you a newbie or a seasoned professional at CRO, you will get something out of this book. It's one of the rare books that deserves to reread again and again, as each time you'll likely come across another golden nugget and light bulb moment.
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2018
I’m sure this will become the Bible of conversion optimization. I filled up my notebook reading this. It’s simple, concise, and actionable. So many useful insights and proven strategies to grow ANY business (even if it’s not online). If you’re looking for a zero-fluff, scientific approach to growing your business through conversion optimization this is it.
As a web designer and digital marketer turned entrepreneur, I’ve read or seen almost every conversion trick or hack you can think of. This book is not that. They cover timeless principles and just what you need to take action.
Every chapter is organized in simple bite sized actionable items with real world examples. They also provide a ton of resources and tools to use. In fact, I’ve already implemented some of their recommended tools and techniques with success for my own projects and clients after just the first few chapters. I plan to make this a required reading for all my team members no matter their position in the company.
It's almost a crime that a book with so much valuable information has been published
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020
This book is a very solid distillation of a huge number of the key ideas that the authors and their company have used to grow many already successful companies' websites into even more successful websites. While reading it I was continuously struck with the thought, "amazing that ideas this good are just available to people like me to read in a book, considering that their consulting clients likely pay enormous sums of money for this very advice."
Required Reading for Anyone Looking to TRULY Make Their Website Perform
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2018
This book, and the works in general, of the team at Conversion Rate Experts is inimitable. I've met with clients for over a decade asking them a simple question: "Why does your website exist?" From Fortune 500 to mom and pop operations - the silence hangs in the air as their immediate response. Despite being at a mature digital stage, most companies STILL cant articulate why their website exists beyond the vague and generic.
Making Websites Win casts a spotlight on proven methods and an approach to making one's website actually be a conversion engine. With this resource available to the masses, there's far less room to be unprepared for maximizing the efficiency of one's online experience.
Clear, actionable, useful information, no matter the size of your business
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2018
Starting with what to monitor, moving to why, then to how, and back to what to fix, this book provides the complete framework for making successful changes to improve your website. The authors share the same proven tools they use to see what wins, how to implement it, and how to test for continual improvements.
Providing sufficient theory to help you understand why and what to test, the bulk of the book is on how to do it, along with what to do next. Within just a few minutes, you'll understand why the majority of today's websites are pretty but not functional and leave you wanting more. This book shows you how to fix that, in simple terms with tools that are easily accessible.
Want to take your business to the next level? Read on....
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2018
Shhhh....hear that leaking sound....it's that coming from.....your brand website?
If you are obsessed in taking your business to the next level, you need to learn inside out to turn your visitors into paying customers from the guys whom coined the term - conversion rate optimization (CRO) - Dr. Karl Blanks and Ben Jesson.
Whether you are a one man brand, a small business or a senior manager in a larger entity, Dr. Karl Blanks and Ben Jesson will share with you the methodology behind on how they have helped to grow some of the bigger boys in the tech industry from Google, Apple, Amazon, to Facebook and how you can start applying them as you read along.
Devoured in a weekend! Amazing!
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2018
This is not just a book about CRO, this is a whole manual about how to grow a business in a smart way. What I found particularly helpful is the step by step process they run through every time they go into a new business. 99% of the CRO experts talk about tactics to grow revenue. CRE is all about the scientific process to grow profits. I feel I am a smarter person after reading this book.
One person found this helpful
This is going to be my go-to reference...
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2018
There's so much more to this book than I expected.
My (current) favourite section is all about method marketing (think of method acting and you'll get the idea). There's lots of ideas that I hadn't thought of around getting close to the customer and learning what language they use.
Alongside the paperback version are links to further resources - which flesh things out every further.
I appreciate an evidence-based, scientific approach and that's what the authors deliver, with a good dose of British humour.
If you want your website to work, read this.
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2018
This is genuinely the most useful marketing book I've read in years.
If you've been in digital marketing long, especially if you value user experience, nothing you read here will be completely foreign to you.
However, they pull the whole picture together in something that's one part narrative and one part how to manual.
Most websites *do* fail. This book will help you solve for that.
Also, page 30 includes a metaphor about chocolate, so you get an early win right off the bat.
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2021
Just finished reading “Making Websites Win” and have lost count of how many “aha!” moments I’ve experienced throughout the read. Makes you realise how the vast majority of websites are doing very little in the way of making the sort of positive impact on a business’ growth in the way they could… if only a small potion of the knowledge described in this book was applied… I’m off to reading it all over again, this time with a view to implement, step by step.
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2018
While I'm pretty sure they haven't A/B optimized their book for easy reading, all their experience in website optimization seems to have given them an advantage. This book is easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to implement. Win, win, win!
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2019
I still can't believe this book was 1.99...I am going to keep it by my side forever and will keep re-reading it. Any website designer should read this book because it will make you create lots of value for your customers. It is not just about knowing php or mysql or C++ these skills from this book, will give you a competitive edge.
You can't afford not to read this
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2018
A book on Conversion Rate Optimization by the people who coined the term "Conversion Rate Optimization". This book is pure gold. As a Conversion Rate Consultant, its insights are fantastic. This isn't one of those many books that promises and then underdelivers. This delivers! Whether you're new to CRO or you're an expert, there's something here for everyone.
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2018
The book is chock full of actionable ideas delivered without fluff. You will very likely find something to implement on your own projects. Highly recommended for any marketer or product manager.
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2019
They cover all the important parts of building and improving websites as goal driven and to convert. Worth the price 5 times over.
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2019
Excellent book. A must have!.
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2019
If you don't finish reading this with at least one new concrete idea for how you can improve your online business, you're likely running the most successful company in the world.
THE resource for all your CRO needs!
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2018
I just recently stumbled upon CRE guys and what can i say, i bought the book immediately and had got back so much valuable information how to aproach conversion optimization. Prior to finding about them i spent half a year researching internet marketing and how to create authority websites so when i read this book it all had so much more sense. Like they crowned the topic with it.
Look no further :)
practical guidelines from expert
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2018
I was persuaded by CRO taught in this book and I've redesigned my website since reading chapter 1. After reading many books on digital marketing, i highly recommend this one.
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2018
A complete manual on how to build a winning website, written by people who hVe tested and proved it for themselves.
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2019
Really recommended if you want to know the tricks behind a bad ass website.
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2019
Great book with lots of real life examples. I will use it as a field manual when starting my web agency
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2019
Good
This is what Deming did for Toyota,. Only for YOU!
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2018
The nuts and bolts of website conversion, and how to improve it. Brilliant book.
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2019
I have shared this jewel of a book with many people. Certainly the best $1.99 I have ever spent, it was like a well-paying lottery ticket.
This is more than just a simple tool!
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2019
Absolutely knowledgeable and easy to follow. So many valuable resources that you will want to run to your website and work on them ASAP! Thanks for share all your experience within this book!
The Bible for All Internet Marketers
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2018
If you’ve followed CRE for any amount of time, then you’ll know about all of the quality content they’ve published on their blog. Now, it's as if the Council of Nicea put together a single resource for the definitive text for conversion rate optimization and marketing.
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2018
Disclosure: I've known Karl and Ben for about ten years, they've spoken at several of my events and I've been a huge fan of their work since Day One.
I've been marketing online for 25 years (started in 1993) and while I can't say I've seen it all, I've seen a lot. I've also made my own contributions to the web. If you Google my name and Time Magazine, you'll see they credit me with being the first person to recognize the the significance of the click through rate as an important metric for studying web design effectiveness.
I only say all this to give some credibility to my comments: Karl and Ben are among the very, very best students of what works on the web that the world has so far produced. I'm glad to see that companies like Google, PayPal, Moz, GrowthHackers.com, Vodaphone, Hertz, Jenny Craig, Dropbox and Eventbrite agree.
Thorough, honest, fun, humble and whip smart, these guys know how to shake the money tree when it comes to the web. If you put a gun to my head and said I had to make a web site work (i.e. make money) and I could only choose one resource, this is the one I'd grab. The web world is a better place because of these guys.
A Great book to focus on what really matters
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2021
It's the first book I read on CRO, and I found it amazing unlike other online resources that focus on the tactics without really understanding their customers!
I'm enjoying reading this valuable book. and it's one of the best books I've ever read.
Pros:
- Very Practical
- let you focus on your customers
- Authors expertise in the field through their agency
- Most of advice the was extremely helpful to me and Enlighted me to new tools (for me) to optimize CRO
- Resources lists, for example in the "improve writing" chapter was amazing.
Cons:
- The Table of content is describing the content in long sentences, I don't like that, however some people may find it's give an overview before reading it.
These are the most Brilliant Marketers - read and study to learn success online conversion !
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2018
The Conversion Rate Experts are Dr. Karl Blanks ( yes he really was a rocket scientist) and Ben Jesson ( an accomplished internet marketing expert) have written a book totally filled with important and usable information on marketing from your web site based on their multi million dollar global business helping major brands vastly increase their sales conversion. They are brilliant !!! I was given a pdf of the book to review and I just bought the hard copy because this is now my go to for marketing. Guys- thank you so much for sharing your proven techniques with us in a book !
I got instant results from the first thing I did after reading this
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2018
One site I manage has low traffic. This book suggested putting the phone number big and bold at the top to increase calls. I did this on Monday. It also suggested using software to record site visits. I set this up on Tuesday. On Wednesday I watched a recording of a site visit. In the very first site recording I watched, the visitor clicked the phone number at the top of the site that I had just added! Talk about useful, practical advice. This book is gold!
The only problem with it is that you can only read a few pages before you simply have to stop and go research what they are talking about. It is so interesting that you just can't carry on reading - you have to start doing!
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2020
I've followed Conversion Rate Experts for a few years now. I love their newsletters and articles - they are packed with interesting & useful ideas, recommendations for tools, etc that are useful for any CRO practitioner.
This book stitches together their methods. I'm not sure if everything in the book is already on their website, but it's very useful to have everything in a book in a clear sequence. They write very lucidly, so there's little fluff, the information density is high, but it's not a boring textbook by any stretch. Their sense of humor makes it a fun read.
The case study in the second half gives specific examples about how they apply the methods & tools they describe in the first half.
I consider this my holy book of CRO. I often go back to it to come up with ideas, watch out for blind spots and just remind myself of the 'first principles' approach to CRO.
Anyone working with any web business must use this book, IMO. CRO should be your #1 priority if you're working on/ with a web business, and this book is very powerful in helping you understand how to do CRO well.
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2018
I had a road trip the weekend after getting a copy of the ebook and quickly tore through the first 200 pages while taking notes so I could share with my coworkers. I've already recommended it to two people on my team. The book is full of great tactics, many of which we're already familiar with but described in a way that helps me understand the 'how' and 'why' more fully.
What makes this book stand apart is how well they frame the topic (e.g. Power law of CRO can be used to help sales team), how easy it is to read, and how comprehensive it is. If you work with websites at all—design, developer, marketer—you need to read this book.
This book lead to over $1M in ARR for our company
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2021
Making Websites Win is the most actionable book on marketing I've ever read.
I read through it in a few days and immediately started running AB tests for our SaaS. After a few tests, we were able to increase our signup & conversion rates by over 10% that equates to an increase of over $1M in ARR.
Couldn't speak more highly of this book. If you're building websites, especially if you work in SaaS, be sure to read Making Websites Win.
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2018
The books I have read about web marketing would stack several metres high (if it wasn't that many of them are on Kindle). Only a handful stand out and this is one of them.
In a field where the vast majority of the literature is just rehashing what others have been saying, Making Websites Win is actually original, and manages to be original while also covering basics, a real trick at this stage of the game. It's also witty and easy to read. It revived my enthusiasm for the chosen subject of my career.