Contact forms are such a mundane part of a website that they are often neglected. But they are a very important component of a successful website, and should be given consideration. The first thing you should do is to create a contact us page. Ideally, you should have several methods of contact � email, phone, form, chat, etc. The contact form is important, because some people may not be very adept at email and it's easier to just submit a form than type and send an email. Once you've created a contact us page, add a link to this page to your site navigation, and make it easily noticeable. Anytime your customers have a question about something on your website, you want to be quickly and easily available to answer their questions and close the sale. There are other important uses for contact forms. One is to convert your online leads into offline leads. Here is what I mean by that. Joe Doe is browsing your website, looking at your products. If he doesn't buy right away, he may close your website and forget about it. However, if you can get his address before he leaves the site, you can mail him a brochure. He now has a tangible piece of literature to remind him of the benefits of your product, and tell him how to buy it. The same is true for online contact info capturing, though it may not be quite as effective. If you can get Joe Doe to signup for your newsletter before he leaves your site, you can continue to follow up with him, and his chances of making a purchase from you increase. Of course, there are ways to increase the chances that Joe Doe will fill out your contact form and leave you his contact info. One of the best ways is to offer him a free report, ebook, or valuable newsletter in exchange for joining your mailing list. To sum it all up, never neglect your contact forms � they are the crucial link between you and your customers!
