“Do my videos give my customers content that is unique and interesting?  Is it valuable enough that they are willing to spend their precious time watching it?”

Compelling content that is targeted to your customer is important, even in online videos.  Content is what increases the time people spend on your web site and decreases your bounce rate.

But if you are convinced your video content is first rate and people still aren’t sticking around to watch it, there could be several other factors playing into the mix.

It could be that your viewers are in situations where they either:

1. Can’t turn up the volume
2. Can’t hear or understand the audio

It makes perfect sense when you think about it. In public places such as an office, library, or coffee shop, and sometimes even in the privacy of their own homes, people are hesitant to turn up the volume because they don’t want to disturb those around them.

On the other end of the spectrum, people are often in loud situations and environments where they can’t hear the audio over the background noise.

There are also those who can’t hear what’s being said on videos due to hearing loss.  Statistics show 36 million people in the United States alone suffer from hearing loss, with more than half of them under the age of 65. (It’s not just old folks, young people are affected, too).

If you’re thinking that there’s nothing you can do about this – that the situation is out of your control – you are wrong.  There is one very simple solution that will solve all of these issues and that is:

Caption or subtitle your videos!

According to a trial done at PLYmedia, people will spend up to 40% more time watching videos that have captions or subtitles.  The trial also showed that when captions or subtitles appeared in the video, 80% more people watched the video in its entirety compared to the same video without captions.

That tells us that captioning your videos is a powerful tool that works to keep people watching for a longer period of time.  It knocks down barriers and eliminates excuses.

If that doesn’t completely convince you to caption your videos, than this might:  It’s a good possibility that search engines will soon be able to index the text contained in videos.  They can already index the text in Flash files, so the technology to index video files is very likely just a heartbeat away.

No matter how you look at it, stats like these simply cannot be ignored, in my humble opinion.  There is a need out there that is waiting to be filled.  I believe smart marketers will be quickly moving on this information and adding captioning to their videos. Will you be one of them?

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For starters, I was confused.  Once I clicked on that “Add to Order” button, was I was going to be immediately charged for that extra item? Or would I have the opportunity to remove it from the cart before my order was finalized?  Either way, it didn’t give me any time to think it over, research the product, or do a price comparison.

Secondly, I’m not an impulsive buyer.  I rarely make a purchase unless it is well thought out.  And forcing me to go through multiple pages of upsell products in order to get to my order confirmation page just didn’t sit well with me.

This past week, direct response copywriter and marketer Michel Fortin posted his opinion about this method of upselling on his blog and it has sparked some  passionate comments from his readers.  Michel compares it to taking the customer’s order and holding it hostage.  And his wife, Sylvie, actually refers to this as “upsell hell.”

But what’s interesting is that Michel and Sylvie aren’t against upselling.  In fact, they are big proponents of it.  And in all truth, so am I.  The issue isn’t with the upselling itself, but the timing of it.  The Fortin’s and I believe that upsells on the web should occur *before* the customer enters their credit card number and submits their order.  It’s just common courtesy.

On the flip side, our opponents say that they utilize this method because it works.  It allows them to close the initial sale (they’ve already captured the buyer’s credit card number) and it gives them the opportunity to sell more products without the risk of the customer abandoning the shopping cart.  They believe that they are in jeopardy of losing the sale altogether if they offer upsells before the sale is clinched.

While I agree that statistics prove this method works in the short term (as it did with me), more often than not, it ruins any chance of a long-term relationship with that customer.  Overall, it causes distrust and resentment.  Yes, you may get that extra sale or two, but will the customer come back and buy from you again in the future?  Or have you scared them away forever?

Personally, I’d rather profit less from the initial sale with hopes of profiting more in future sales from customers that come back and buy from me time and time again.  And while this is partially because I am committed to running an ethical business, my desire to get repeat customers runs deeper than that.  Let me explain.

Studies have proven over and over that repeat customers:

• Cost less. Snagging a new customer is costly and time consuming.  We all know how expensive advertising is.  But in addition to that, it takes time and effort to get the customer to trust you and make that initial purchase (a good example would be answering pre-purchase questions.)   In contrast, the repeat customer has already bought from you, already trusts you, and is often eager to buy from you again.
• Buy more. Repeat customers will not only come back and buy from you again, but will often buy larger quantities.  This provides you with more sales revenue that didn’t require you to invest in additional advertising.
• Refer others. Referrals have often already made up their mind that they are going to buy from you.  They’ve heard good things about you from someone they likely trust.  They are less skeptical and more open to you than someone who has never bought from you before.  This results in an easier sale, that again, didn’t cost you additional advertising dollars.

As you can see, it’s just good business sense to try to retain your customers. But it doesn’t work when you use in-your-face selling methods such as the upselling technique we’ve been discussing today.

Instead, it’s a process that means treating your customers with dignity and respect.  It begins before they buy from you, continues when they make the purchase, and ends with exceptional customer service.

The next time you are tempted to jump on board the “upsell hell” bandwagon, remember that the effects are long term.  Ask yourself if it is really worth losing customers and ruining your reputation in the process.

Remember, it’s always about the customer.

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I’ve found this especially holds true when the layout contains several vertical columns.  Too often, the designer or the client become obsessed with filling up the length of each column in order to make them align at the bottom of the page.  Their mentality is that the space is there, therefore, it should be put to good use.

The result, however, is not a pleasing, easy-on-your-eyes design, but a web site that looks cluttered and overwhelming.  The web site visitor doesn’t know what to focus on because there are too many things vying for their attention. Their eyes dart over the page, anxiously looking for a place to rest and finding none.

It can be compared to a room in a home.  Imagine for a moment, that you walk into a kitchen where the countertops are filled with small appliances and cluttered with utensils, dishes and cookbooks…all clean and neatly stacked, but in a state of chaos.

The floor space is cramped with tables and chairs, barstools are jammed together and pictures are tacked to every fillable space on the walls.  Appealing?  Not really.  Is it a place that you want to hang out at?  No, not at all.

Now imagine walking into a kitchen where the countertops are bare, with the exception of a few small appliances.  The dishes, utensils and cookbooks are all neatly tucked away in the cupboards.  A small table with several chairs adorns a corner of the room, allowing ample walking room throughout the kitchen.  A single picture hangs on the wall.

Unlike the cluttered kitchen, this room evokes a sense of peace, organization and comfort.  It draws you in, and it makes you feel relaxed, welcomed and “at home.”

White Space – an Important Design Principle

Empty space, known in design terms as negative space or white space (although it can be any color, not just white) , is as Martha Stewart would say, “a good thing.”

White space brings order and organization to a design.  It prevents distractions by deflecting attention away from itself and towards what is important.  It evokes a sense of simple elegance and increases online readability.

White space is not just allowing empty space in columns, but also consists of the empty space that surrounds blocks of text and other design elements.

A Good Example of a Web Site that Uses White Space

This web site of a Denver retaining wall builder does an excellent job of using white space:

• The left column contains a picture and the navigation – nothing else.  There are no blinking advertisements or other attention-gobbling elements to steal away from the main text of the page.
• There is an ample amount of space cushioning the margins of the text and the pictures, allowing the eyes a place to rest and reducing eye strain.
• Bulleted text organizes points into easy to read chunks and are surrounded by extra white space for easy online reading.

The next time you are tempted to fill every bit of space on your web site, remember that the old adage “less is more” is a good rule to apply.  Your customers will appreciate a web site that is easy on their eyes and may be more apt to stick around.  And who doesn’t want a “sticky” a web site?

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The good-hearted folks over at SitePoint unanimously decided to have a sale in order to raise funds to put towards relief efforts.  So now until Friday, February 13th, 2009, you can get 5 of SitePoint’s top quality web design ebooks for the price of 1.  That’s $149.75 worth of material for only $29.95! All of the proceeds raised from this sale will be donated to the Australian Red Cross.

Some of the web design ebooks included in this sale are:

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design

Deliver First Class Web Sites: 101 Essential Checklists

The Photoshop Anthology: 101 Web Design Tips, Tricks & Techniques

Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way Using HTML & CSS

Be sure to use this link when you order to get the 5 for 1 pricing.  This is a great way to build your web design library and learn new skills while helping the folks in Melbourne.  These books come in PDF format and can be downloaded immediately after purchasing.  Enjoy!

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Here’s the checklist I use with my clients when helping them switch to a new hosting company.  It works like a charm every time:

1. Locate the information needed to log in to your domain registrar.  This is where you registered your domain name.  Popular domain registrars are GoDaddy, Register.com, eNom, Network Solutions, etc.  Then actually log in to your account to make sure the info you have is correct and that your account is accessible.
2. Open up an account with the new host.  They will send you a welcome email with all your set up information on it.  Print it out and keep it in a safe place. Log in to your new control panel and get your email set up. If you use Outlook Express for email, you will notice that there is a checkbox in the program that states, “include this account when checking email or synchronizing.”  Don’t check that box for now. (Also, DON’T delete your current Outlook Express settings for your email that is set up with the current host).
3. Download all your web site files from your current host onto your computer.
4. Upload all your web site files from your computer to your new host.
5. Log in to your domain name registrar and update your nameservers with the info that you received in your welcome/setup email from your new host.  This is the actual step that transfers your web site from one host to the other.  It normally takes 24 – 48 hours for the transfer to complete itself.
6. Once the transfer has taken place, you will no longer receive email from the old host.  If you use Outlook Express, you’ll need to go into the account settings that you set up in #2 and check that box that I told you not to check – “include this account when checking email or synchronizing.” Do that for each email address.  When you’ve verified they are working (when you are receiving email from them), then delete the Outlook Express accounts that use the settings from the former hosting company.
7. When you’re confident everything is working properly, you can cancel your hosting account with the old host.  Most of the time, they will give you a prorated refund if you’ve paid in advance.

You’re done!

Need a host?

I only give recommendations for products and services that I actually use myself.  Therefore, it’s with confidence that I recommend my own hosting company to anyone who is looking for a better host.

Pair.com has been my hosting company since 2003 and is the hosting company I use for almost all of my clients. They are also the host of choice for usability expert, Jakob Nielson.

I honestly have nothing but nice things to say about them.  I’ve never had a minute of downtime that I know about.  Their customer service is superb.  Their control panel is intuitive and easy to use.

What I love most is that they allow you to have multiple domains using just one hosting package.  This feature alone can save you hundreds of dollars a year in comparison to other hosts that require you have a separate hosting package for each domain.

Pair has a nice offering of different packages to choose from, all reasonably priced.  And if your hosting needs change in the future, you can easily upgrade or downgrade right through your control panel.

And here’s a little secret…if you enter in the word REFUGEE in the coupon code box when you sign up, they will waive your set up fees!

If you need a hosting company for a first-time web site or if you’re looking to change because your current host is less than stellar, I think you will love what you get when you switch to Pair.

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