06.11.09 Posted in Eco Friendly, Reviews, SEO, Social Media by Tim
News/rumors that large layoffs are about to befell MySpace didn’t come as a shock to me. Not sure if that’s the general perception amongst those who pay attention to social media? If a client approaches us with an undetermined plan to launch an online social media campaign our unofficial advice has been that we feel MySpace might not have the demographic you are hoping to target, or simply a suspected feeling that MySpace had peaked in 2007/8.
It seemed that in 2006 MySpace was on everyone’s lips and the punchline to most jokes on the late night circuit. Facebook was still a fringe media, Twitter was left to birds exclusively. Three years later and it does seem that the buzz has slowed (although still a huge traffic site) and the rot might be setting in. For me – it was a combination of three things that made venues such as Facebook far more fun, useful, interesting…..because they didn’t share the ‘issues’.
First, the lack of actual names meant your friend “Sarah” might actually be beachbucket87 and how could you possibly know? Second…spam…and lots of it….Monty Python sketch levels of spam. Lastly was the ‘pimp’ my site features that for the most part resulted in pages being either poorly structured/proportioned , overrun by terrible colors, very slow to load or if you really pimped things too much – all three!
Now I don’t want to see MySpace vanish, and it has been especially good for bands/musicians, but I hope that the recent admission that traffic has dropped 20% means that a complete overhaul is around the corner. Think of Facebook, will we be there in 4 years? My guess is by then 1 or 2 more giant social networks will have taken over the landscape and we’ll be chuckling at how “2009″ Facebook was. As a final note what are we calling this decade?? It’s nearly over and there seems to be no official term. I like the noughties but it seems t0o late to convince anyone…
Tim at greenseedwebdesign.com
06.10.09 Posted in Design by Tim
If you currently own a fully functioning e-commerce site but are finding sales a bit flat there are a number of easy to action methods that can create sales just from the ingenuity.
I’ve sold online for years and promotions (not gimmicks) are effective and natural methods to add some instant pep to your sales. Here are the ones that I find most worthwhile.
Fresh Home Page - For repeat customers and those who have considered purchasing and perhaps left items in their cart, a fresh homepage can do wonders for traffic. It might be as simple as modifying page layout slightly, adjusting navigation buttons or ensuring featured content is changed often. Any method that creates a feeling that your store is a vibrant and dynamic place will help. If your local brick and mortar store didn’t change their windows in six months business would decline, it’s a fact of commerce
Bulk Discounts – If you offer a product where a customer is likely to want quantities in multiples make this an option. Even a moderate savings is enticing. I have to order thermal print address labels for my business, my old supplier offered the same price whether I purchased one roll or twelve. My current supplier offers (slight) discounts for quantity, guess who I am loyal to?
Referral rewards – It’s one of the oldest and best methods to grow sales. It’s also extremely viral which is perfect for e-commerce. The discount benefits can apply to the existing customer, the new one or both. Feature this as part of your confirmation email/shipping process
Free Shipping – The negative feeling toward shipping and handling costs goes back to the K-Tel record commercials from the 1970′s and even advertisements in the comics and magazines of our youth. It’s alive and well today with late night infomercials. No matter how lean your shipping margin is (if you take one) customers still don’t like shipping costs. I’ve run free shipping campaigns either dependent on the value of the order – or for orders placed by a certain date. They are both effective tools, especially if you sell a product that is available elsewhere.
E-commerce is an exciting industry and keeping things fresh will work more than just adding more stock and slashing prices. I hope some of these ideas work for you.
Tim at greenseedwebdesign.com
06.09.09 Posted in Design, Reviews by Tim
Speaking for myself, few things make me lose confidence in a website quicker than spelling errors. No amount of wonderful flash animation or fantastic visuals will paper over the cracks caused by numerous spelling mistakes.
Orangoo have a site that allows you to analyze cut and pasted text but of far more use is software that scans the entire site and emails you the results. Recently I’ve seen spelling errors on fairly large corporate websites which is remarkable. In the race for credibility don’t let poor spelling cost you a potential customer.
I’m reviewing my site now, please try Orangoo spell checker for yourself. Hey…orangoo isn’t a word….
Tim – Greenseedwebdesign.com
