From the NY Times article “Closing the Deal at the Virtual Checkout Counter”:
“In online stores, it is much easier for shoppers to fill their virtual shopping carts — and much easier for them to get distracted by an e-mail message or comparison shopping on other sites. Then there are the design flaws and technical glitches that can get in the way of closing a sale.
These problems have been around since online shopping was invented, but they have taken on more urgency in the last year as consumer spending has shriveled. So e-commerce companies are trying a variety of techniques to push shoppers through the virtual checkout line.”
Two firms the article mentions are http://www.trialpay.com/ and http://www.criteo.com/
Read the whole article here.
From VentureBeat, reported by Paul Boutin:
“For many bloggers, finding and uploading images for their posts are a pain in the neck. WordPress.com, the free blogging site that claims 7.5 million users, has added a way for its users to embed images … from PicApp’s free, legal, real-time library. PicApp includes Getty Images and Corbis among its licensed sources.
Technically, WordPress has added what’s called an embed code for PicApp. To insert a PicApp photo, bloggers copy the embed code from PicApp’s photo catalog and paste it into their WordPress post. It’s a lot less work than Googling for an image and then uploading it into WordPress yourself.
Besides being easy to use, PicApp images are legally safe for use even on commercial sites … PicApp warns that putting Steve’s photo into an ad, or using him as a fake promoter, would be a violation of terms of use.”
Thank you VentureBeat !
“10 Practical Small Business SEO and SEM Marketing Tips” is an excellent resource for anyone wading into the SEO and SEM waters.
1. Set Specific Goals
2. Define Conversions
3. Leverage Online Tools
4. Always A/B Test (especially for SEM)
5. Pay Attention To Landing Pages
6. Get Granular
7. End Poorly Performing Campaigns And Try Something Else
8. Leverage Professionals
9. Ignore The Noise
10. Stay True To Your Business.
An excerpt from point 10 above: “Write for your audience, not for search engines. Why This Is Important: Many businesses forget that they have customers or users and are developing content for their community. SEM and SEO is important – but not at the expense of gutting your site in order to drive traffic – unless that’s ALL you’re trying to do. Over time, real and meaningful content will bring the right kind of traffic to your site. Don’s sacrifice early short-term gains for long-term success.“
Visit the CrowdSpring blog here to read the entire article.
This article in the Wall Street Journal is worth reading if you (or your clients) run a small business website.
Excerpts:
“In the first half of this year, 61% of the Web’s top 100 sites delivered something malicious to visitors because a hacker broke in and planted something nefarious”
“Attackers are increasingly infiltrating small businesses’ Web sites and using them to quietly drop malicious programs, typically designed to steal personal financial information, onto the computers of visitors, security experts say. Some are also digging around in databases for valuable information or trying to capture e-commerce customers’ credit-card numbers. Small businesses often assume that they are too tiny to catch hackers’ attention. But the truth is that hackers don’t care who you are. Most of the time, they use automated programs to exploit a flaw in some piece of common software used by millions and attack them en masse.”
The article also has some helpful tips and resources.
Good luck!
While geared towards advertisers, customAdArt (http://www.customadart.com/) is an interesting alternative to stock photography sites for website builders as well.
customAdArt allows advertisers (or website builders) to post requests for specific shots and then have member photographers shoot and submit their best efforts to satisfy them.
Springwise describes how it works:
Advertisers begin by posting a job on the site, including a description of what they’re looking for, a price (the minimum is USD 100), and a deadline; listing the job costs USD 50. For two weeks—or until a winner is selected—photographers can submit their best entries for the advertiser’s consideration. When clients find a photo they like—they can provide feedback first, if necessary—they pay the artist directly. In return, they gain full rights to the purchased image.
customAdArt has the potential to save advertisers the time and money they would have spent trying to find the perfect image; photographers, meanwhile, are spared the necessity of “blindly shooting and hoping that someone might be interested in their particular image,” as the site puts it.
Good luck!
The Wall Street Journal’s Diana Middleton wrote this article with some good tips.
Here’s a summary:
1. Get over the embarrassment. Don’t be uncomfortable with asking about money—everyone works with the expectation of getting paid.
2. Deal directly with payroll. If you’re constantly getting the runaround from your main contact, cut out the middle man and ask to talk with payroll.
3. Withhold work, if you can. To soften the blow, tell the client you are still continuing work, but won’t deliver projects until payment is received.
4. Offer the company some flexibility (e.g. a bi-weekly payment plan).
5. If the company is local, offer to go to the office to pick up your check. Face-to-face meetings are harder to ignore.
6. Consider adding late fees to your contract, or a prepayment clause.
7. Consider working with freelance-liaison firms. At Guru.com, clients put money in escrow; it is released to the freelancer upon a project’s completion. On oDesk, employers can track freelancers’ work via screen grabs of work in progress.
8. Sue the company in small claims court. Before heading to small claims court, send a demand letter by certified mail to the employer.
Click here to go to the whole article on Wall Street Journal’s website.
Entrepreneur Magazine recently published “Website Marketing Turnoffs 13 things not to do when adapting your product to an online model” By Guy Kawasaki.
Visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/june/201614.html to read the brief article.
Here are the headings of 13 Turnoffs:
1. Forcing immediate registration
2. Having a long URL
3. Windows that don’t generate URLs
4. The unsearchable website (no search box)
5. Sites without Delicious, Digg and Fark bookmarks
6. Limiting contact to e-mail
7. Lack of feeds and e-mail lists
8. Making users retype e-mail addresses
9. No e-mail addresses as usernames
10. Case-sensitive usernames and passwords
11. Friction-full commenting
12. Unreadable confirmation codes
13. E-mails without signatures
Aloha. Seth Godin’s blog turned me onto this blog post by Sonia Simone on CopyBlogger.com about how to convert lookers into buyers on your website.
Here are some excerpts:
What makes people almost buy? What makes them get most of the way there, then drop out of your shopping cart at the last second? What makes them stare at your landing page, wanting what you have to offer, and yet, ultimately, close the page and move on to something else? (Her answer: Fear!)
… (How to overcome your visitors’ fear?) Trustworthiness, transparency, credible authority, lots of high-value content, and just plain old decency are your best weapons.
Everything on your site needs to show that you can be trusted. Real contact information. Showing your photograph. Displaying seals for anti-hacker technology and the Better Business Bureau on your shopping cart. FAQs that actually answer questions. Clear, reassuring calls to action.
Every detail matters. Even things like hosting your site on your own domain, or how frequently you post. Everything you do needs to build trust and kill the troll.
Great advice. Thanks Sonia!
