[Daniel Franklin]

If your sales pages hope to cash in on international sales, you can't afford to overlook the universal language of pictures.

Pictures and people are inextricably linked. Where there are human beings, there are pictures. From the prehistoric caves at Lascaux to the subway walls of New York, man leaves his mark by making pictures.

There's no mystery in that. Pictures are, after all, our first language. As babies, we understand the picture of the apple long before we can read or recite "A is for Apple."

Pictures precede language in our development, and supercede language in our adult communications. You may speak only English and the fellow next to you may speak only Hindi, but you can agree on having hamburgers for lunch simply by pointing to pictures on the menu board.

That's why pictures are so important when it comes to internet sales. When you post a sales page to the internet, you're inviting people of diverse cultures and communities to consider buying your product.

With people from Kansas to Karachi tuning in, text becomes more of a challenge. Pictures, on the other hand, whether they're delivered in graphic images or in video, quickly convey complex messages, delivering both emotional and informational messages with ease.

Hollywood knows this. Because international sales now account for a large percentage of profits for American-made movies, we're seeing a proliferation of films that contain little dialogue but a lot of action. Why? Because the man in Kansas and the man in Karachi may not share a language, but they do share an appreciation for seeing a truck explode.

You can translate this into your own business by giving careful consideration to the addition of images in your internet sales pages. Well-designed graphs and pie charts can convey complex information without tripping over language barriers. And picture of happy people buying and using your product can have tremendous emotional impact whether or not the language in your text is understood.

When you're speaking to the world, remember that pictures are the universal language.

Want to know more about doing business on the internet? Bonnie Boots publishes The Internet Wizards Magazine filled with interviews, tips and tutorials in every issue. We are real journalism-no junk. Register here for a no-cost one-year subscription: http://www.theinternetwizards.com