Every day I hear: “We have 102 patents.” “We’ve spent 10 years researching and developing and testing this product.” “We’ve spent over $50,000,000 in R&D on this patented procedure.” “Our gizmo is the easiest to use.” “Our doo-hickey has the most features.” Followed by: “Sales are down.” “Morale is down.” “Turnover is up.” “Competition is up.” “Returns are up.” “Margins are down.” “My blood pressure is up.” To which I respond: “I know. And you want to know why? Because nothing matters until you master building your list. You build your list with a website that sells. You build a website that sells by mastering these 5 critical components: Graphics. Functionality. Content. Inducement. Opt-in Form. You must then market your presence / offer / inducement via every viable means including social media, direct mail, blogging, PPC, advertisements, even trade shows and Chambers of Commerce. You must then master the art [...]