Networking

Often little more than an afterthought, a "Thank You" page is an opportunity to leave a good impression on your customers, cross-sell them relevant products, and reassure them that their order has processed OK.

This report from Snow Valley is an excellent guide to what makes a Thank You page work, and what to avoid.

Here are some common pitfalls:

No-one wants to put their photo on their website. To be quite honest, I don't. I'd rather present a little blurb about myself and leave the photo off our about us page. So why do I have one there? Putting a photo on your site establishes rapport and trust. When you meet someone face to face, have a chat, and hand over your brochure you've had a chance to build up the start of a relationship. Online, you are simply handing over the brochure. Without presenting some personal information along with a photograph, they have no reason to trust you. Make it personal, win trust. Ben

Another post unrelated to pure web strategy, however - Speed Networking is pretty good. I tried it today for the first time, and I have to admit, I quite liked it. Here are the rules:

• You have a given amount of time (60 seconds or so) to pitch.
• You then listen to the pitch from the person opposite.

It's that simple.

My advice: