The Secret to a Web Site That Sells
When I first got into sales, my boss gave me some sales tapes to listen to in the car. The only one I ever enjoyed was Brian Tracy, I believe it was the Psychology of Sales or something like that. He told the following story.
When plexiglass first came out, one of the best sales people would bring along a pane of plexiglass and a ball-peen hammer. Since people had never seen plexiglass, when the salesman would take the ball-peen hammer to the plexiglass, the prospect would invariably flinch. They were amazed that the product would stand up to that type of impact, and would immediately start buying some.
At the sales conference that year, they asked this salesman what his secret was, he told them. Immediately, all the sales people went out and bought ball-peen hammers.
At the sales conference the following year this salesman was still number one, way ahead of everything else. They asked him again, what he did this year to stay on top. "Well, since I knew everyone else would go out and buy ball-peen hammers, I knew I had to change tactics. So now, when I go into the office of a prospect, I still bring in the hammer and the glass, but now I give the hammer to the prospect. Once the prospect has a go of it with the hammer they have to order a truckload of product."
I'm not sure how true that story was, or how close I got to it since I haven't heard the story from Tracy in over 10 years. However, it stuck with me. Getting the prospect involved with the sales process increases your chance of closing. Period.
In this month's issue of flyte log, our free email newsletter, the subject is The Secret to a Web Site That Sells. Although I've just spilled the secret, I provide a number of ideas that you can use on your own Web site to better engage your visitor, and put the ball-peen hammer in their hands.
Rich Brooks
Maine Web Site Design & Development
Web Site Video: Which Format is Right for You?
As high-speed bandwidth becomes more popular and the cost of storage goes down, it's not surprising that more and more Web site owners are looking to add audio and video to their Web sites.
The question we often get is what format should a site owner use? QuickTime? Windows Media? Real Player? Right now I'd argue that Flash is the way to go for most people. It's got 97% market penetration, the quality is good enough (I've seen better QuickTime movies and Windows Media videos) and it's easy to set up.
Even if you don't own Flash, or don't feel comfortable working with it, there are some nice 3rd party applications that will create the movies for you. I've been playing around with Video2SWF which works for the Mac and the PC.
For the purpose of this experiment I recorded myself using my MacBook Pro's built-in video camera and Conference Recorder 2 by eCamm. I then dragged-and-dropped the file Conference Recorder created into a Video2SWF window, made a couple of changes to the default settings, and hit "export." It created the Flash movie and the html page (which gave me the code I needed to put it in the blog post.)
In any case, I'd love to hear some feedback on the quality of the video, or if you have some other options for both Flash conversion or alternatives to Flash you feel work better.
Free Web 2.0 Handouts to Download
Yesterday I spoke at the Maine Marketing Association's Web 2.0 Conference; my topic was Web Sites for Action! Anne Kennedy of Beyond Ink spoke about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Aileen Cahill talked on Online and On Target which talked about the benefits of a Web 2.0 Web site and how to get your customers participating.
It was a great turnout--I'm guessing over 80 people--and there were a lot of good questions for all three presenters. Whether you were able to attend or not, the Maine Marketing Association has posted all three presentations up at their Web site for anyone to download.
PowerPoint handouts (or in my case, Apple's Keynote) are pretty hard to understand if you weren't there for the presentation, so if you review the handouts and still have questions on Maine Web Design or Internet Marketing, please feel free to ask.
Rich Brooks is Back in Jail
Yes, it's true I'm going to be locked up in a Mexican prison. However, that prison is Tortilla Flat out in Westbrook, and by helping raise my bail, you'll be helping the MDA keep up the fight against muscular dystrophy.
Last year I had to raise $600; this year I need to raise $650. (Apparently, the cost of buying one's freedom has gone up.) If I don't, I'll have to man the phones asking strangers for bail money.
My mom told me never to speak to strangers! You can see the dilemma I'm in!
Just to sweeten the pot, anyone who donates $50 or more to my bail will get a link to a Web page of their choice from this blog. (I reserve the right not to link to anything offensive.)
The MDA serves people with neuromuscular disease by
providing clinics, support groups, assistance with the purchase and
repair of wheelchairs, braces and communication devices, and summer
camp for kids. MDA also funds research grants to help find treatments
and cures for some 43 neuromuscular diseases that affect people of all
ages.
So please help me raise funds to keep up the fight against muscular dystrophy.
What is Web 2.0 Anyway?
If you've been looking for information on Web 2.0 and how you can use it to turbo-charge your Internet marketing, I've got some good news.
The Maine Marketing Association will be putting on Web 2.0 - Internet Strategies for Power Marketing on Monday, May 21st, 2007.
There will be three workshops in this all-morning event:
- Online and On Target - Strategies for One to One Marketing at the Speed of Light by Aileen Cahill, author of Internet Marketing: Building Advantage in a Networked Economy
- Web Design for Action! by Rich Brooks (that's me!)
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by Anne Kennedy of Beyond Ink
The festivities begin at 8:30am and will be held at the Ambromson Center in the new Hannaford Hall building.
Registration is $35 for members and students, $45 for everyone else. Pre-registration is appreciated.
Big Speaker on Small Business Comes to Maine
A few months ago I wrote a review of Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big
This was a great book, that looked at a number of small businesses that could have grown, but focused instead on just being the best company they could have. Since so many stories we read in business magazines are about mergers, acquisitions, and unbridled growth, seeing successful companies that chose another path can be refreshing for a small business owner who doesn't feel that she needs to be big to succeed.
Well, Bo Burlingham is coming to Portland, Maine on Thursday, June 7th, 2007, thanks to MEBSR, Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility.
The event will be held at the Mariners Church Banquet Center. Cocktails & Hors d'oeuvres start at 5:30, the presentation begins at 7.
Unlike other events, space is very limited. Right now you can call 207.338.8908 to pay by credit card, but once I get a PDF of the signup sheet I'll post that as well.
Members pay $35, non-members pay $50.
Can Link Baiting Help Your Search Engine Marketing?
What a lot of Web site owners don't know about search engine optimization is that half the battle is getting quality incoming links to their Web site. (The other half is creating quality, keyword rich content on their sites.)
In this week's issue of Practical Ecommerce, Stephan Spencer has a great article on improving your search engine rank through incoming links called SEO: Link Baiting Type To 'Juice' Your Site.
Spencer breaks down what makes for good link bait (humor), whether it will work on an e-commerce site (doubtful, or at least difficult), and gives some examples of link baiting campaigns that have worked.
If you've been looking for ways to increase your search engine visibility and site traffic, this article is worth a look.
Doing Business in Maine
I know this blog isn't the place to be too self-promotional, but I'm too stoked not to mention it: flyte is celebrating it's 10th anniversary today!
It took a lot of hard work and a lot of good people to get to this milestone. Although there's no orchestra to rush me off stage, I'll try and keep this brief.
I'd like to thank my current crew (in order of appearance) of Ryan Goan, Gloria Maher, Robin Lowell, Jonathan Braden, Carolyn Phillips, and the beautiful, charming Cybele Brooks. I'd also like to extend a special thanks to ex-crew members Beth Deutsche and Réal Deprez.
I'd like to thank all of our clients, some of whom are listed here. I'd also like to thank the independent contractors--designers, developers, and programmers--who have allowed us to grow without having to grab more real estate in the Old Port.
I'd especially like to thank my parents, Bob and Marilyn Brooks. Their support, emotional and financial, as I got this company going was invaluable. I know it's just because they didn't want me moving back home, but still it was nice.
To coincide with this little celebration, flyte recently launched our new Web site, which features never-before-seen photos of Portland, taken by local photographer Stacey Cramp. Because of a tight deadline we didn't get all of her photos up there, but we'll be adding more over the next few weeks. To get a full rundown of what went into building our Web site, check out my other blog's post on the subject.
According to statistics, 90% of businesses fail in their first five years, and 90% of the survivors don't make it through the following five years. That makes me especially proud of what our team has accomplished.
I sometimes feel like there's a lot of negativity about the business climate here in Maine, but yet our clients, my friends who run businesses and just about everyone I talk to is extremely busy. Let me say this loud and clear: Maine is a great place to do business; I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I especially love working in the Old Port. I love running into friends and clients as I walk to Market Street Eats, or Granny's, or Anthony's or any of my other favorite lunch haunts. I love the view of Casco Bay, the brick buildings and the cobblestone streets. Friends and clients who come to visit us always rave about the city. (Makes me wonder what their preconceptions of Portland and Maine were, but that's another story.)
Just yesterday I ran into Patty Smith from Planet Dog at a MEBSR conference who told me they just celebrated their 10th anniversary on Wednesday. Congrats to them, and every business who has reached their 10 year anniversary.
Whether you're "native" or Maine is your adopted home--like it is for me--I hope you love doing business here as much as I do. Now, cut out of work and head over to Gritty's, or J's, or Coffee by Design or whatever your favorite haunt is, and raise a glass and celebrate the fact that you live in one of the coolest places on earth.
Have a great weekend.
Net Neutrality Press Conference in Portland
I'll be part of a Net Neutality press conference today. If you're not sure what Net Neutrality is, and how important it is to small businesses and the Maine economy, check out this blog post about What is Net Neutrality and my Net Neutrality Meeting with Senator Susan Collins.
MEDIA ADVISORY MEDIA ADVISORY MEDIA ADVISORY
Diverse Bipartisan Coalition Announces Support for Net Neutrality Legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 7, 2007
Contact: Shenna Bellows, MCLU, 774-5444
Portland- Computer professionals, free speech advocates and Maine business representatives have joined forces to call on the Maine State Legislature to restore Network Neutrality principles in this state. They will announce their support for LD 1675, “An Act to Protect Network Neutrality,” at a press conference Tuesday, May 8 at 10:00 a.m. at the Community Television Network, 516 Congress Street, Portland.
“Net neutrality means a free and open internet and the freedom to choose what content you read and what applications you use,” said Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. “The internet has always been an arena of democracy where every person could speak up and be heard and the Maine Legislature should do its best to keep it that way by supporting LD 1675.”
“Restoring longstanding network neutrality principles is not only essential to ensuring access to political speech online, but also to fostering the tech and creative industries so important to the future of Maine’s economy,” said Jon Bartholomew, National Media and Democracy Organizer for Common Cause. “Without Network Neutrality, small businesses will no longer be able to compete with large corporations that can afford to pay a premium to ensure their content loads properly on the web.”
Who:
Shenna Bellows, Executive Director, Maine Civil Liberties Union
Jon Bartholomew, National Media and Democracy Organizer, Common Cause
Rich Brooks, President, Flyte New Media
John Goran, Community Television Association of Maine
Brian Hiatt, Maine Director of Communications and Online Organizing, The League of Young Voters
What: Press conference to restore Network Neutrality principles in Maine
When: Tuesday, May 8, 10:00 am
Where: Community Television Network, 516 Congress St., Portland
LD 1675 is sponsored by Senator Ethan Strimling of Portland. Among other things, it seeks to protect small Maine companies who can’t afford to pay high fees to post their content to the web and to prevent content discrimination and censorship.
###
Rachel L. Myers
Field Organizer
Maine Civil Liberties Union
(207)774-5444
http://www.mclu.org
Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself
Email Open Rates: Best and Worst
Tara Robinson of Zugunruhe Coaching forwarded me a link to a study at MailChimp, an email service provider, that listed the subject lines of the best and worst open rates for clients using their service. The results were very surprising based on my experience. Here are the top 5 for each side:
THE BEST (60% - 87%):
- [COMPANYNAME] Sales & Marketing Newsletter
- Eye on the [COMPANYNAME] Update (Oct 31 - Nov 4)
- [COMPANYNAME] Staff Shirts & Photos
- [COMPANYNAME] May 2005 News Bulletin!
- [COMPANYNAME] Newsletter - February 2006
THE WORST (1% - 14%):
- Last Minute Gift - We Have The Answer
- Valentines - Shop Early & Save 10%
- Give a Gift Certificate this Holiday
- Valentine's Day Salon and Spa Specials!
- Gift Certificates - Easy & Elegant Giving - Let Them Choose
At first glance, it would appear that boring, generic, subject lines with company names listed beat out Valentine's day gift lines every time. In fact, MailChimp says:
On the "best" side, you'll notice the subject lines are pretty
straightforward. They're not very "salesy" or "pushy" at all. Heck,
some people might even say they're "boring." On the "worst" side
however, notice how the subject lines read like headlines from advertisements you'd see in the Sunday paper. They might look more "creative," but their open rates are horrible.
However, there are a couple of variables NOT mentioned here that might make all the difference in the world.
First off is the size of these lists. I've seen it reported before, and I've certainly noticed it from anecdotal evidence, that the larger your list, the lower your open rate. Now, obviously a 1% open rate is abysmal, no matter your list size. Maybe this is because over time subscribers become less likely to open your email newsletters. Generally, they know what you have to say, and they may be so busy that they don't have time to read another article on Web marketing, or they already bought their Valentine's day gifts.
Secondly, the spamminess/deliverability of the messages. If the "worst" ranked subject lines were coming from companies that used words and phrases that set off junk filters, that would definitely reduce the deliverability and thus open rates of these email missives.
Thirdly, many of the "best" messages appear to be intra-office messages. If companies are using this email service provider to send messages to staff, (i.e., [COMPANYNAME] Staff Shirts & Photos, ATTENTION [COMPANYNAME] Staff! and ATTENTION [COMPANYNAME] West Staff!!) then it's likely that the staff needs to read these emails.
Fourthly, what appears in the "from" line. Other studies have shown that the "from" line has the biggest impact on open rates, even more than subject lines.
Fifthly (is that even a word?), how these companies got their list. I'm assuming that MailChimp is a legitimate email service provider (ESP), so they have rules on how you can generate a list. For example, most ESP's won't let you import a purchased list. In fact, Constant Contact will call you if you import a list that's big enough to raise a red flag to ask how you developed your list.
Lastly, the companies behind these emails. Now, I'm not sure if the following email subject lines are related to the MailChimp brand, but look at these subject lines from the "worst" list:
- [COMPANYNAME] Pioneers in Banana Technology
- Technology Company Works with [COMPANYNAME] on Bananas Efforts
- Now Offering Banana Services!
- True automation of your Banana Research
I'm guessing these banana missives are all coming from the same company, and perhaps they've already proven that their email newsletters provide no value to their readers.
And even though I've already used the word "lastly" already, how about the time of day these emails are delivered, or their frequency, or whether they deliver on the promise when people first subscribed to them?
There's a number of reasons why an email may fall on the "best" and "worst" list, and subject line is just one variable.
MailChimp sums up by saying:
So what's our advice for email subject lines? This is going to sound
"stupid simple" to a lot of people, but here goes: Your subject line
should (drum roll please): Describe the subject of your email. Yep, that's it.When it comes to email marketing, the best subject lines tell what's inside, and the worst subject lines sell what's inside.
I'm not sure that this is what I took away from their list. There are a lot of email subject lines in the worst list that describes what's in the body of the email, i.e. "Valentines - Shop Early and Save 10%." And, I'm not sure that "[COMPANYNAME] Newsletter - February 2006" from the best list is very descriptive.
I will agree with one of the findings of MailChimp, however:
Always set your subscribers' expectations during the opt-in process
about what kinds of emails they'll be receiving. Don't confuse
newsletters with promotions.
You can see the full list of best and worst performing email subject lines here.
If you'd like to learn more on how to build your email subscriber base, and get your emails delivered and read, be sure to check out our Working Lunch Seminar, How to Use Email Marketing to Build Your Business, this Wednesday, May 9th in our offices in Portland, Maine.
Is Your Business Sustainable?
If you're like me, you want your business to succeed over the long run. You're also six feet tall, have brown hair and blue eyes, and like playing video games...but I digress. You'd like to be more profitable, but you also want to run a business that is environmentally sound and socially responsible.
Is this even possible?
I'd argue that it's not only possible, but it's inevitable. Every business magazine I read, from BusinessWeek to Fast Company to Inc. to Business 2.0 to Entrepreneur to Wired, has cover story after cover story on how businesses are succeeding by "going green", or offering more flexibility to employees, or reducing waste. (Yes, I read a lot!)
So how can your Maine business benefit?
I'm on the board of MEBSR, Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility. We're putting on a full day conference on how to create and run a sustainable business called "From Awareness to Action." We've got a couple of great keynote speakers and a host of workshops that you might be interested in. Everything from "brand positioning" to "global climate change" to "improving workplace productivity" to "holistic Web marketing," which I'll be putting on.
Whether you already run a successful business and are looking for ideas and tools to improve your bottom line, or you're a start up looking to build a sustainable business, this is a conference you can't afford to miss.
I hope you'll join me on Thursday, May 10th, from 8am - 5pm at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport.
The cost is $150 for members, $175 for non-members. If you are unable to attend, please consider sending someone else from your organization. It could be the best investment you make in your company this year.
For more information and to register, call 207.338.8908 or visit http://www.mebsr.org. The direct link to the registration form can be found here: http://fcw.mebsr.org/mebsr_events/I009CC16F
Rich Brooks
Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility
What Is "Ethical" Search Engine Optimization?
Brian Ortiz--no relation to Big Papi as far as I know--has a great article in this week's MarketingProfs called Ethical Search Engine Optimization Meets the Consistent Value Proposition. Ortiz states:
There are two main schools within the search engine optimization
(SEO) world. The first is to work against the search engines (and your
clients) with trickery, smoke and mirrors, unrealistic expectations,
and short-term thinking.
The second is to work in tandem with the search engines and your
clients who have reasonable expectations, by following the rules the
search engines put forth to create a quality, user friendly, relevant,
unique, valuable, engaging, sticky, thought-provoking, fresh, and
intuitive website.
This is another way of discussing the division between "white hat" SEO and "black hat" SEO. If your SEO company guaranteed you page one results, chances are they're working against the search engines. If they guaranteed you quick top ten results, chances are they're working against the search engines.
Ortiz says, "Ask yourself: Are my SEO's actions setting me up for now or the future?" It's a good question to ask yourself about SEO, as well as every other aspect of your business.
Take 5 minutes out of your day and check out Ethical Search Engine Optimization.
Attend Flyte's Working Lunch Seminar: How to Use Email Marketing to Grow Your Business - 5/9/07
Got E-Commerce Questions?
Are you looking for answers to your e-commerce questions? Then Josh Hurley, president of Hurley Solutions, LLC, has the answers. He'll be speaking on Strategic E-Commerce Solutions for MESDA's Web Designers Users Group. There's a scant bit more info on MESDA's event page. You'll have to scroll down to the 5/21 date.
It takes place on Monday, May 21st from 6pm - 8pm at MESDA's Westbrook office. People who register are eligible for the door prize, which I believe is Josh's new Ferrari.
We've partnered with Josh on a number of projects, and he knows what he's talking about; it will be well worth your time to attend. He's a good friend, a savvy business person, a top-notch programmer, and a mediocre XBox gamer.
After you've seen me at the Maine Marketers Association's Web 2.0 conference earlier in the day you can get work done in the afternoon, then shoot over to Westbrook to learn about e-commerce. All in all a good day.
(Actually, Josh is a pretty good gamer. Just don't tell him I said so.)
Attend Flyte's Working Lunch Seminar: How to Use Email Marketing to Grow Your Business - 5/9/07
Blogging Myths That Are Holding You Back
By the Hammer of Thor there's a lot of blogging myths out there!
Chances are, if you have been holding off on starting your own blog, you're buying into at least one of them. Perhaps you don't think you have enough time? Or that blogging is just for navel-gazing teenagers who want to discuss American Idol? Or perhaps you think, "this, too, will pass?"
You've got more excuses than Hercules had labors!
Listen, it's time to debunk those myths and get to business. A blog can help your company rank higher at the search engines, establish your expertise, and drive more qualified leads to your Web site. What's not to like?
Blogging doesn't have to be a Sisyphean challenge!
If you know that blogging can help you better market your business, but you just haven't gotten around to it yet, or you've been using excuses to get going, or you honestly believe that your users don't read blogs, then check out Six Blogging Myths That Are Holding You Back, this month's issue of flyte log.
(And don't forget, if you're too lazy to read, you can always listen to the simul-podcast.)
Attend Flyte's Working Lunch Seminar: How to Use Email Marketing to Grow Your Business - 5/9/07
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