April 2013

Glenn and Tom review two Websites that are addictive: Etsy.com and Pinterest.com. These two sites have grown dramatically in the past few years. They have done so well that they are major influences in the marketplace for products aimed at women.

The Draw of Etsy and Pinterest

• Both Websites draw in the visitor on a highly emotional and basic level.
• Engagement levels are very high on both sites.
• The sites build desire through photos and captions.
• Employers must hate these sites because they are time killers!
• Both sites have a very solid eCommerce model, with Etsy leading.
• There is no quick fix to success with either site.

Etsy and the path to a small business

•  There is no need to have a job you hate or be unemployed when you can be on Etsy.
• Build, design, sell.
• Etsy is a great kickstart to a launch a business.
• You get out of it what you put in.

Pinterest Builds Community

• Allows the visitor to share and spreads the visual fix.
• Captions make the photos 10 times more effective.
• Captions are the call to action.
• Pinterest builds a community and Etsy gives you the channel for sales. The two sites look alike and this is not by accident.

The key action items from this podcast:

• Make your Website addictive to your users.
• User desire is present in all your visitors–the key is how to tap it.
• What do your users want to see visually and read about?
• Use captions and excellent photos.
• Leverage these two Websites to tap into female target markets.

March 2013

Glenn and Tom have made a list of the top 10 things to do right now to improve your Website. Listen in to hear more details.

1. Keep it Simple

• Remember the ten-out-of-ten rule.
• What are your top three things?
• Simplicity equals great sales.

2. Have a Great Tagline

• It is the first content to get noticed on your Website.
• Marketing-Speak vs. real content.
• Clearly explain your value to Website visitors.

3. Use Captions on all Images

• Social media driving this trend.
• Most important form of messaging online.
• Entire Website strategies are based on captions.

4. Keep Navigation Intuitive

• Most interactive part of the Internet.
• Keep main navigation on all pages and use 8-10 menu items.
• Avoid pull-down and fly-out menus.

5. Build Your Website in WordPress

• An open source CMS is best.
• WordPress is user friendly and great for most Websites.
• Do your research and keep it simple.

6. Develop a Content Marketing Strategy

• See our related content in this area.
• A new rule of marketing and pull strategies.
• Regular content updates are a must.

7. Target your Sweet Spot Keyword

• What is the top keyword on your wish list?
• How competitive is the term?
• How popular is the term?

8. Use Google Webmaster Tools

• Your communication with Google.
• Very important SEO tool.
• Set-up Webmaster Tools and learn how it works.

9. Design for your Audience

• Graphic design should be targeted to the visitor, not the site owner.
• Too much design is worse than too little design.
• Work with an experienced graphic design professional.

 10. Conduct Market Research

• UserTesting.com is an excellent resource.
• Informal phone surveys can work well.
• Set-Up screen sharing with Join.me or GoToMeeting.

The key action items from this podcast:

• Use this list as your check list for a Website update.
• It also applies to new Website projects.
• Be aware of page URL changes and 301 re-directs.

Every Website is unique, but these 10 rules apply to all sites.

Contact us today to find out how well you are doing with these 10 items.

We have a new client announcing software that will change the way we view and share high resolution images. This new app, under development by HifiPix, aims to make any image on the Internet support the ability to quickly grow to 10 times the resolution at the click of the button. Loading your images onto a HifiPix enabled server and using the lower resolution Website image it generates will ensure those images can be seen with their original high resolution quality.  All users need to do is click on that Website image and the HifiPix app quickly loads and zooms up your original image to 10 times the resolution in front of their eyes.

What happens when your content marketing becomes so successful that you don’t have time to write and distribute content? Your content marketing plan must have strict rules to follow when the growth created by content marketing takes over valuable marketing time.

Here are a few rules to consider when time is at a premium:

• Learn to be concise, to the point, and say something important.
• Have a plan for converting rough notes to polished content.
• Keep track of daily conversions that become those notes.
• Some content is better than nothing.
• Write a weekly blog post even when super busy.

Content marketing is meant to cause growth and continue to make time for it, even when that business growth fills your schedule.

Google offers dozens of free Web services and tools. All of these tools have a strategic purpose within Google to make their ads more targeted. Google+ is one of these tools that is becoming a cornerstone of Google’s services.

Google is looking to make Google+ account holders the center point for local and mobile search results. Google understands the importance of mobile search and will soon be displaying ads for mobile search and from their map app through Google AdWords. I don’t know this for sure, but my guess is that it is coming soon.

Take advantage of this trend by setting up a solid Google+ profile and understanding how local searches find your Google+ page. People arriving early to Google+ will benefit from free organic listings for local and mobile search. Those that come late will not have as strong a position and will need to rely on ads to target traffic. There are also benefits for regional and nationwide Google searches as well.

There is very little downside to getting on Google+ and a great amount of potential upside. Learn more about Google+ and get started right away.

The Web marketing term “long tail” is used to describe unique search phrases with several keywords. For example, say you are looking for a pair of headphones as a gift. You could type in the word “headphones” in Google and see a very competitive search dominated by big names in the industry. Or you could use a long tail search such as “wireless blue headphones with heavy bass.” This is a long tail search term and a very unique combinations of words that is not used very often, but highly relevant.

About 30% of searches are unique, one-time searches comprised of long tail keywords. This is a substantial amount of searches for most online marketplaces. Best of all, these terms have less competition and variations around a keyword theme can drive targeted traffic to your Website that can convert at high levels.

Contact us today to learn more about long tail searches and for a free consultation on how to research and target these terms for your Website.

What Selling Used to Be

• Knowledge was fragmented.
• Salespeople worked a process and funnel.
• Prospecting was huge in the past.
• Questions ruled the sales process.
• Salespeople were either prospectors or closers.
• The sales pitch was very important in closing.

The New Sales Funnel

• Prospecting has changed–in fact, it’s dead.
• Approaching milestones is now based more on content and subscriptions.
• Qualifying is much more focused and oriented on self-service.
• Presenting is 100% customized and focused.
• Closing will always be an art.

Stay-in-touch Automation has become a critical part of the New Sales Funnel. Here’s a brief list of extremely useful approaches that generate leads and keep interest going:

• Email Newsletters – Collect email names and send newsletters monthly.
• Webinars – Develop a free 45 minute Webinar to present quarterly.
• Podcasting - Reach a massive audience for free on iTunes through at least 10-minute audio files.
• Blogs - Keep a running journal of value-added content that informs and tells a story.
• Website Content Updates – Develop a process of regular updates to your Websites.
• Content Distribution – Send content out to Websites visited by your target market.
• Social Media – Drive content and relationships through social media platforms.

Utilize these services to keep yourself at an advantage in a market that has changed. Despite some of the changes in how we approach sales and marketing, there are fundamentals that will never change.

• New Consumers are users and readers. They’re impatient and want convenience.
• They scan and don’t like to read on a computer screen.
• They will read on portable screens.
• Offer quick, concrete, relevant and timely advice.
• Most just read, some want to comment or ask a question.
• New Consumers look for organized Websites with content standards.
• They are a part of the self-service world.
• People are more important than companies or brands to drive leads.
• A smart consumer can see through the sizzle.
• Transparency is important!
• New Consumers recognize the important of selecting the right technology.
• The New Consumer wants to trust you.
• The New Consumer is inundated with noise!
• They are very skeptical of what they don’t know.
• Loyalty is more important to minimize options.

For more about what customers want, read about the fundamentals.

• Direct and simple communication
• Information to solve a problem
• Enhancement of their lives and convenience
• Product and service information
• An understanding of what exactly you do
• Lots of details
• Price options
• How to contact the company
• Business locations
• Delivery and shipping information
• Access to interactive information, search and research

This is just a brief rundown of what people look for and expect when deciding on a product or service from your Website.

Upon visiting Fitocracy.com the user might have several questions:

How to Pronounce the Name?

• The first user issue is the pronunciation of the Website’s name.
• Spell it phonetically next to the name.
• Or say that it rhymes with…
• The Website has a nice modern design, but it needs more clarity.

What does the Website do?

• What is “Fitness Motivation”?
• What is the icon next to the tagline?

Other Key Points

• Once the user gets past fundamental questions, they will then look into signing up.
• It would be nice to know how many people use the site.
• The site has a very specific demographic.
• How do the rewards work?
• What is the business model and how does the site make money?
• How does the site avoid spam and the wrong user type.

The key action items from this podcast:

• The target market is critical for this site to grow and site owners need to find them.
• The site can grow organically through sports and fitness groups.
• Growth will be organic and by workout type and group interests.
• Develop a video to explain the benefits.
• A great resource for fitness trainers and other advertisers.
• Fitness leaders can also drive growth of the site.
• Make sure the Website does not “sell-out.”