Website mockups focus on the layout, design and user experience. But the most influential part of any website is the text. Why is it mockups use “Lorem ipsum” as placeholder text yet still claim to have designed the customer’s experience?

Here’s an example of a website’s text that doesn’t improve the customers’ experience. A bank’s credit cards section of its website promotes the five benefits of their preferred credit card. The benefits are listed as top-level headlines, like “No annual fee for your first year.”

Clicking the “Learn More” link should show additional info, but it doesn’t.

The Learn More page for the preferred card shows nearly the same exact text as the previous page. The page asks users to “click to learn more,” but no additional info is shown. For people seeking a little more info before they apply, the page fails to give them what they need.

That means one less conversion for the bank, simply because the copy fails to sell through the benefits of the card.

In this example, no matter how the user experience was planned, the text on the website breaks the experience. And in the end, no matter how much planning went into the website, the experience doesn’t work.

When laying out your website, write the copy along with the mockups. You will give your users a much more seamless, integrated experience, which will likely impact your conversions.

Every visitor to your website is looking for an excuse to leave.

Don’t like the layout? Click the back button. Is the content not relevant? Click the back button. That button doesn’t serve merely as a way to leave the site. Rather, it acts as a lifeline to get users back to familiar ground.

Why would any website give users a reason to leave? Because it wasn’t built from the perspective of the user.

Here’s a website submitted to Mini Sprout. Users can choose from 40 different links in this screenshot alone. But since the layout of the website does not seem to guide users anywhere, I felt compelled to click my back button.

Compare that example to a few others. Dropbox asks visitors to watch a video, or download their app. Details like their privacy policy and support section are hidden below the fold, but someone looking for them can easily find them.

Square follows a similar set of guidelines; ask users to watch a video or sign-up directly.

Transmit from Panic asks users to download the app, buy it directly or find answers to their questions.

Even eBay, a website that struggled with clutter for years, helps guide a user. Users can search, browse a category or visit their deals.

Determining whether or not visitors like your website doesn’t need to be as subjective as critiquing your layout. Instead, use a web analytics tool and watch the bounce rate of your homepage.

Bounce rate can serve as a proxy for how satisfied your users are with their experience. If nearly 100% of your visitors are bouncing, it’s time to make a change.

The photo of this post is copyright (c) 2005 by StevenErat and made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) license. 

Drew Curtis serves as an inspiration for many small businesses and inventors — he went up against a patent troll and won.

The founder from Fark.com tells his story on how he defeated a lawsuit against a frivolous patent. When other companies settled, Curtis stood strong and refused to pay them anything.

How did Curtis win? He fought the infringement, not the patent.

During the discovery phase of the lawsuit, in which either party can obtain evidence from the other side, Curtis’ team asked for screenshots proving Fark.com infringed on their patent. The plantiff’s lawyer immediately called to settle, Curtis offered them nothing, and they agreed.

Here’s what worked for him:

1. He fought the infringement, not the patent. Infringements are easier to defend.
2. He chose to either demonstrate his company didn’t have any money, or made it clear he was willing to spend more on the lawsuit than a settlement.
3. He made the process as difficult and annoying as possible.

He offers last words as his guideline for fighting frivolous patent lawsuits: “Don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

The full video is available below.

In the two years since launching, Pinterest has grown incredibly quickly to become the third most visited social network in the US, only behind Facebook and Twitter.

One of Pinterest’s most recognizable features is its layout. Photos seem to spread out like they were individually placed on a light board. But the layout is not the secret to their success.

So, what did Pinterest do differently? They featured social interactions.

On every Pinterest page, social interactions — repins and comments — take up just as much space as the content itself. Profile photos cover the website, showing conversations are alive and ready for you to join. It’s easy for users to contribute to the discussion as well, because users can log in using their Facebook or Twitter accounts. The design decision to feature the social interactions makes Pinterest feel like a vibrant community in a single glace.

Other networks choose to hide these interactions from the end user. Tumblr has plenty of social interaction across their network, but it’s not showcased. Take a look at the screenshot below:

This particular post has 154 likes, comments or reblogs. That’s a lot of activity for one photo, but the social activity is concealed. Users need to click-through to the post itself to see how readers are responding.

A recent report from comScore shows user engagement rate exactly equal between Tumblr and Pinterest, which means Tumblr isn’t necessarily doing anything wrong. The two networks serve different purposes anyway. Instead, Pinterest’s example shows how social media can be used to their advantage.

Where does social media belong? Front and center, not buried and hidden.

It’s rare to come across a business website that forgets to remind us to “Like” or “Follow” them. On many websites, the opportunity for social media has been compressed into a button. Social widgets are tacked onto web pages almost as an after thought.

It takes a truly integrated approach, like Pinterest, to do social media well. And when websites facilitate conversations, users respond.

An investment fund known as Third Point LLC, which owns a little less than 6% of Yahoo!, issued a press release about Yahoo!’s chief executive.

According to their findings, CEO Scott Thompson lied about holding degrees in both accounting and computer science. Mr. Thompson only holds a degree in accounting.

From Third Point LLC’s press release issued on May 3, 2012:

If Mr. Thompson embellished his academic credentials we think that it 1) undermines his credibility as a technology expert and 2) reflects poorly on the character of the CEO who has been tasked with leading Yahoo! at this critical juncture. Now more than ever Yahoo! investors need a trustworthy CEO.

Let’s put the problem into perspective; it’s a lie on a biography from more than 30 years ago. Typically, when people intentionally lie about education, they fabricate Ph.Ds, MBAs, military experience or even going to college.

Yahoo! acted quickly to correct the problem on its website and released its own statement. “[The error], in no way, alters that fact that Mr. Thompson is a highly qualified executive with a successful track record leading large consumer technology companies. Under Mr. Thompson’s leadership, Yahoo! is moving forward to grow the company and drive shareholder value,” according to the company’s statement.

Given the multiple shifts in strategies and executives, as well as a stock price worth half today than five years ago, it’s not entirely surprising a few shareholders hold a grudge against Mr. Thompson.

However, personal attacks to executives are quickly deflected while their companies swoop in to defend their credentials.

If you’re looking to change a company’s direction, then challenge its strategy and forecasts directly. Don’t hide behind personal accusations.

The photo of this post is copyright (c) 2007 by alykat and made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0) license.

Don’t write a business plan. Business plans are designed to force you to think through every obstacle and potential event. But, if you write a business plan, the only thing you’ll learn is you can convince yourself of anything.

We need to avoid the business plan.

They take too long

You will waste more time fussing with Excel’s chart formatting on a financial break-even analysis than answering real questions about your business. You will make wild predictions about revenue, which may not be grounded in any type of reality.

Take a look at any business plan, and you’ll see revenue predicted to grow exponentially. For most startups, revenue growth is not exponential or even consistent.

You’ll quickly realize business plans are fiction.

Your business will need to change the moment you launch

Within weeks of launching your business, you’ll will find yourself needing to change something about your business. It may be your overzealous revenue prediction, or something else. Either way, whatever you wrote in your business plan will need to adjust significantly.

Unplanned events cause every business to evaluate how they operate, produce or market. Every business will experience them. A 30-page business plan will not necessarily make you any more prepared for those situations.

Investors invest in people, not business plans

Business plans are not for investors. If you’re seeking support from a venture capitalist, you’re not going to spend a meeting reviewing your business plan. Instead, you will give a brief pitch, share your revenue and margins to date, and then answer their questions.

They wouldn’t believe your revenue estimates anyway.

What to do instead

There’s a clear distinction between writing a business plan and the process of business planning. A business plan is a Microsoft Word document with charts and pages of your ideas. Business planning, however, can happen anywhere. Open up TextEdit on your Mac, or grab the back of a bill, and jot down answers to these five questions:

• What will you sell and for how much?
• How will you attract your first customers?
• How much will it cost to acquire each customer?
• What will your expenses be?
• How many customers do you need to be profitable?

If you narrow your business planning down to those few questions, you’ll be able to focus on launching, adjusting and becoming profitable — no executive summary needed.

Then, share your idea. Tell your friends about your idea. Sure, they could try to steal it, but trust me, they won’t be your most serious competition once you launch. You need support from friends, and you need their opinion about your business.

Are your prices too high? Are you pitching your product to the wrong audience? Have you underestimated your expenses? You may arrive at a few of these realizations after spending a lot of time writing a business plan, or your friends may be able to tell you upfront and directly.

It’s your choice.

The photo of this post is copyright (c) 2009 by Yahoo! and made available under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license.

Mike Krieger from Instagram says the secret to a fast app lies in “not the code, but the experience.” That’s a great approach to app development — strong app performance is no longer a developer responsibility, but a shared responsibility. When everyone at Instagram thinks about how the app can feel faster, it leads to a more enjoyable experience for the user.

Take a look at his deck below:

Marketing your startup happens before you write a single line of code. A successful launch is more than just building and submitting to blogs. You need to recruit an audience of advocates before opening to the public.

This guide takes you through each step of launching and marketing your startup.

Let’s get started by building your marketing strategy. Most startup will drive both awareness and sales, and rely on both paid efforts or non-paid efforts. You’ll want to attract users who are most likely to become customers. If web visitors are unlikely become customers, you’re wasting efforts and need to think about how to become more efficient.

It’s possible to launch a startup without investing a dollar into marketing. Ultimately, things like your business model, your connections to the community, and the industry’s saturation will determine how much you need to spend on marketing.

Choose Your Audience

Let’s answer a few key questions about your business:

• Who will use our site?
• How will we reach them?
• How will we cater to their needs?

Focus on what your target does and some of their relevant problems/concerns. Are they established in their careers, just starting out, or are they students? Are you going after parents, freelancers or businesses? You want a specific image of who these people are and what they value in life. In many cases, a part of yourself could represent your target.

Once you figure out who will use your site, it becomes easier to brainstorm how you can reach them.

Web app developers have the benefit of knowing their users will be online. They can refine their marketing tactics to the web and skip other media with high out-of-pocket costs until after they launch.

Think about the different types of websites your users visit online:

• News & Community Sites: Make a list of them and what your target uses them for.
• Social Media: Make a list of them and how they use them.
• Blogs: Make a list of them and why your target reads them.

If you develop strong answers to these questions, you’re on your way to a strong media plan.

Beta Campaign

We’ll come back and talk more about awareness and driving sign-ups later in this post. But first, let’s talk about your beta campaign. In order to have a polished web app for a successful launch day, you need people to test the app and drive initial word-of-mouth awareness.

A few months before your launch, let people know you’re working on a new app. Upload a logo on the site, and write a little post on your blog. Tweet about it across your Twitter account. Stay vague in exactly what you’re launching, but let your readers know something is coming. Collect emails on your homepage for people who are interested. You want to woo the insiders; folks on the cutting edge. Let them know they’ll be getting an exclusive sneak peak.

A few weeks before launch, start previewing features in a blog. Let people access the site (to a select few from your email list). Describe the theme of the product. Post screenshots. Post your principles/manifesto for the app to get people talking. Still continue to collect emails so you have a foundation for when you launch.

Qualify Your Beta Users
Not all beta users will bring the same benefit as others. Look at potential users as more than just n visitors, because they actually are the first candidates to try your product and become paying customers.

I cannot tell you how many times I add my email address to a web app’s beta user recruitment form. A few weeks later, a beta invite will pop up in my inbox, prompting me to register. What’s unfortunate about this scenario is that a young site has extended an invitation for me to play with their tool, without actually knowing anything about me. I could register, but the probability of me returning is low, much less the probability of me upgrading to a paid account. After all, I may not even be in their target audience. They’re playing a numbers game: extend invitations to enough people, and you will eventually find a user willing to pay. That’s not the smartest way to market your app.

Case Study: Chargify Qualified Their First Beta Users

Billing support company Chargify didn’t hand out invites to just anyone for their beta. Before users were invited, they needed to answer questions, such as, “How much do you intend to bill per month?” Users were evaluated first, ensuring high-value prospects received invitations. You can follow Chargify’s smart example with a bit of planning.

Web app developers should try to recruit users with the best opportunity to become profitable. That process begins by recognizing that some potential beta users are more profitable than others. It’s nothing more than efficiency; increase the percentage of people likely to purchase your service.

Qualifying potential beta users is incredibly easy. Many popular web survey options, like SurveyMonkey or Google Docs, already offer this feature. For example, suppose you launched a web app to aid small businesses. You could randomly or sequentially extend beta invitations to people from your beta email list. Or, you could go another route; qualify them.

When you are considering your next batch of beta users, send out a mass mail survey with a few questions. Just mention in the email that you are distributing a brief questionnaire and would love their feedback. The questions could be, “Roughly how many customers do you have at the moment?” and “How much does the average customer pay per month/transaction?”

These questions help weed out the tire-kickers, people who may not own a business, or those who may never upgrade to a paid account. Now, you have answers tied to email addresses. You see the applicants who may pay for the service, so extend them invitations first. As for the other people on your list, you always have the opportunity to reach out to them later.

Use Personalized Invite Codes

A lot of web apps still launch in beta, and they distribute invite codes to larger websites. Web app developers use these codes to track which websites are best at converting pageviews into sign-ups, which may help choose which websites you want to include in an advertising campaign.

Case Study: Web Apps Give Mini Sprout Invite Codes

Sometimes you come across an app review, and we offer an invite code for you to get started. In these instances, the web app owners reached out to us directly and provided a unique code for us to share with our readers. The code could be as simple as “minisprout.” This way, the site knows, out of all the sites that they’ve given invite codes to, which sources have the best conversions.

It’s best to give one invite code to each website, otherwise people will begin sharing invite codes across sites, which will make it difficult to verify the best performing websites.

Launch Campaign

Answers from “Choose Your Audience” will help you craft your launch campaign. Once you identify tactics to target potential customers, you need to start asking some nitty-gritty questions.

Driving Awareness:  Non-Paid Media

Non-paid media is a favorite of a web app developer, mostly because any budget can support it. We’ll cover the basics below:

• Press Releases:  Distribute press releases regarding your launch to major web app and social media websites (don’t forget Mini Sprout). Also focus on websites that feature your industry. For example, if you launch a bookkeeping app, you could promote your new service to web app directories and accounting websites. Make a list of which websites will be included when you send press releases.
• Blog Posts:  Update both your personal account and your company’s blog.
• Social Media:  Create a Facebook fan page and Twitter account. Encourage people to register and keep the conversation alive.
• Email Marketing:  Encourage email sign-ups via your homepage and new user registrations. In many countries, users must first opt-in before they can receive your newsletter. Also, in the United States, users must be given the option to unsubscribe with one-click at the bottom of each email.

Driving Sales & Sign-Ups:  Paid Media

New web apps may receive the majority of their press coverage within the first week of their launch. It’s really up to the developer to keep customers signing up for their services. One option, which is definitely among the most effective, is using paid media.

Paid media is media that you pay to run, like how you may pay to run an ad in a newspaper. That doesn’t mean non-paid media is free; press releases are considered non-paid media because you don’t pay news organizations to run them, even though you may pay a freelancer for writing.

You have plenty of options, but let’s focus on a few digital options:

• Display/Banner Advertising:  If you’re planning on advertising on websites, which websites are you selecting? Would your message resonate well with each websites’ visitors? You may also consider a premium ad network that targets web app audiences. Some websites may give you the option to sponsor their content. Keep in mind that sponsorships are usually great for driving awareness of your app, but you may not get many sign-ups from your sponsorship directly. If you use a sponsorship tactic, use it to balance out a heavily sales-focused campaign.
• Search Campaign:  If you are using a search campaign to drive sales, determine which keywords and ad messages you will use. Search is best used for driving sales and sign-ups, so they may be able to offset your other initiatives that drive awareness.
• Retargeting Through an Ad Network:  Retargeting is related to banner advertising, but we’re calling it out separately because it’s a relatively unused tactic with web app developers. For many websites, people will visit your site and never return. If you’re running an efficient marketing campaign and only driving potential customers to your site, you lost a sale. Retargeting campaigns place a code on your site that assigns a browser cookie to each of your visitors. Then, if a person leaves your site before signing up, he or she could see ads for your service across other websites. Users who leave your site have already demonstrated they’re aware of your service, so you can use a retargeting campaign to focus on driving sales by offering a 30-day trial. Any buys with ad networks usually require a minimum spend level (often between $10,000 and $15,000). For some, it may be best to focus on smaller efforts until you can afford to pay an expert to design your retargeting campaign.

When you launch, send emails out to those who signed up for beta, launch your full marketing site, and spread the word. Get blogs to link to you, post your progress (how many sign ups), what tweaks have you made. Overall, show momentum.

Sustainability Campaign

After initial buzz, how do you keep attracting and retaining users? Maintain a blog, and update it at least once a week with tips. A blog will make a company look alive and human. Include things like,

• FAQs
• How-tos
• Tips and tricks
• New features, updates and fixes
• Buzz/press

Highlight the best blog content in a monthly newsletter to your opt-in customers and fans. For examples of some email marketing campaigns, we profiled a free email newsletter showcase called Emailium during one of our Mini App Round-Ups.

Focus on Your Vertical Markets
Advertising on web-focused blogs is a good first step for your web app, but those traffic sources are really nothing more than spikes. You’ll see a high bounce rate, especially if their audience does not align with your target. Your next step is to delve deeply into the industry that supports your app. If you built an invoicing web app, it’s time to look at the accounting and bookkeeping industry.

Case Study: Bootstrap Networked and Reached Out To Vertical Blogs

Back when Bootstrap, the online bookkeeping web app, launched, its founder identified blogs in the same industry. Then, he emailed each blog directly with a brief, concise summary. He opened his email simply with, “I was reading your blog post today and thought you might be interested in a new web site.” Then, he quickly touched on what made his service standout. That was it; simple and targeted.

Enter into these communities (if you haven’t already), and have a strong, supportive and straight-forward voice. These people are likely to be your best customers, so treat them like clients.

Measure Everything

Once you launch, you’re blind because you have no idea what’s going on with your app, like why people upgrade or cancel their accounts. Determine what data will you need to make business decisions, such as how many pageviews convert to signups. Use analytics, how many people actually sign up, how many people actually login (measure by recording how many people login at least twice), how many people are actually paying to use your service. Compare non-paying visitors with paying visitors to determine how much traffic is needed to drive to your site, which will help you determine if how much to spend on marketing. With this info, you can know make business decisions and determine whether to invest more in marketing or improve your product with additional features.

Record users’ last login. For those who have not logged in over a 30 or 45 day period, send them an email to bring them back (not so much that we miss you; more like tips you can use to improve your workflow/business/self). Otherwise, you’ll likely lose a customer.

Telecommunications companies use business intelligence software to identify the few thousand customers, among millions, most likely to switch to another cellphone carrier. They then create marketing messages specifically for them. For your startup, identify characteristics of a customer most likely to leave, such as has not logged in after n days. Make a list. Then track them and follow up with them through an email campaign.

Wrapping Up

We covered a lot of details in this post. Just remember to begin thinking about your launch and marketing strategy before you begin working on your app. Building a great product is crucial for your web app’s success, but a great product alone won’t succeed without support.

If you have any suggestions, questions or case studies, leave them in the comments.

Everyone loves a great story. The film and publishing industries are based on stories, friends get together to share stories, and people remember events through stories.

For a lot of smaller businesses, the most frequently visited page after the homepage is the About Us page. So why do those businesses use words like, “largest” or “newest” to establish who they are? Why don’t they just tell their story?

When people ask about your business, don’t give them a description like, “we sell widgets to parents.” Don’t give them an analogy either, like “We’re the Netflix of posters.” Instead, tell them a story. Tell them how you got involved in your business and what you’re trying to accomplish. Show them a vision.

There are reasons why stories resonate so well:

• Stories give context. Information that is not shared in a story is just a data point.
• Stories reveal patterns and causes. Without a story structure, causes for wars throughout history would be lost.
• Stories communicate ideas. Concepts are easier to understand and remember when told as a story.
• Stories are relatable. People love rooting for an underdog.
• Stories are comforting. Why else would we watch movies multiple times, or re-read books?

You will win people over significantly faster if you tell them a story.

Follow these guidelines to craft your story:

1. Where were you when it started? Where you getting dinner with an old friend? Or, were you stuck at the office? Establish an environment people can imagine.
2. What did you realize? What were you working on when you came across your idea?
3. What was the catalyst? People have new ideas every day? What made you decide you could turn your idea into a business?
4. How did you get started? Did you take $100 and run with it? Did you launch your idea out of your home?
5. What is your vision for your product? What makes you think you’ve come across something big? What’s the potential? If people have followed your story up until this point, they could be mesmerized by the potential.
6. What has been your success to this date? Have revenues doubled each year or quarter since launching? Are you hiring or growing a team? Are you getting recognized in the press? Are investors or partners contacting you to partner? Show success to establish credibility.

No matter what you’re selling, people are more interested in the stories behind the business and the people involved. They’ll be more engaged, and they’ll likely ask more questions. That could lead to more publicity, or more sign-ups, or more sales.

Love, refine and share your story. It’s among the easiest ways to market a business.

The photo of this post is copyright (c) 2011 by rubberdragon and made available under an Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) license.

Website owners know less about their visitors than they think — and that’s even with web analytics.

Take one search for example, like “how to tie a tie?” A user could search that phrase and land on your site. Seeing that phrase appear in your web analytics dashboard gives some details, but it’s unlikely that user is searching how to tie a tie to practice in his home.

What if he is getting ready for a wedding? If you knew that info, you could guess he ultimately wants to know, “How do I look presentable for a wedding?” Then, you could offer him step-by-step instructions for how to tie a tie, plus how to match a tie to a dress shirt, which button on a suit jacket to button, and how to polish dress shoes.

Business websites should be just as accommodating for their visitors. Here’s an easy process for finding exactly what your visitors want from you.

Use a free online survey tool, and post a link to the survey on your website. It could even be something as simple as using Google Docs.

Ask these two questions:

1. What were you trying to accomplish in today’s visit?
2. Were you able to accomplish that task?

From this simple survey, you will learn more about your visitors than from even the most sophisticated and integrated analytics tools.

How do you give visitors what they want? Ask for it. Use your users’ responses to anticipate their actions, and then tailor your website to align with what they want to accomplish.

Conversions will increase. Revenues will increase. You’ll have more satisfied customers.

Photo by coriehowell