Website Landing Page Conversions

Whatever your landing page is designed to do, generate sales, download software or read an article it needs to convert and it needs to do it at a decent cost especially if you are using AdWords or other advertising. Everyone needs increased conversion.

This great study on Landing Page Conversion uses real life case studies and shows real results. It's worth testing the ideas here and seeing what happens.

I'll be testing and reporting back my findings.

How to check if your site has pages in Google's Supplemental Results

Supplemental results for any site are a disaster. Google's supplemental results are the ones Google keeps in the back file in case the main results can't answer a search query.

And as Google's main results are so great, the supplemental ones don't get used very often.

To check if your site has pages in supplemental results, you can use this search query in the Google search box.

site:www.yoursite.com *** -sjpked

Just substitute yoursite.com for the url of the site you want to check.

If you have pages listed in here, check to see that your navigation links work ok, and start to try to build good pagerank for these pages.

Hiring a PR Executive in Huddersfield

My PR Executive Stacey, is sadly leaving us for pastures new. I really don't want her to leave but hey, that's life.

Problem is I now need to replace her. This is my blog so it's as good a place as any.

Here's the job description, let me know if your interested or pass it to a friend. The job's in Huddersfield, UK.

About Applied Language
A career handing Applied Language’s PR is not for the faint hearted. You’ll need to hit the ground running, be able to think on your feet and act very quickly. The job is very varied and changes hour to hour. You will need to continue to build on our already strong relationship with both local and national press, radio and TV.

On top of that you’ll need to be very well organised as well as creative. To get this job you’ll also need to demonstrate that you can build great long term relationships with the media and be able to keep lots of plates spinning all at once.

We’re looking for a very special person!

Role
Your role is to develop the PR presence of Applied Language

This will include:
· Liaison with both Trade and news press representatives.
· Writing Press Releases
· Co-ordinating events
· Case Studies
· Handling on-line PR activity, including posting on forums and other social media.
· Writing and proofreading copy for the website and printed publications
· Research for articles and information for the website
· Working with the international offices to co-ordinate Marketing and PR activity
· Keeping accurate records of PR Activity

Essential Requirements
Degree in marketing and PR
Experience in using PR Planner
Experience of putting together press releases
Strong English language skills
Good IT Skills
Knowledge of Internet and marketing techniques

Email opening times

I send a lot of Business to Business emails. Normally there aren't many trends, but recently after looking at the opened over time statistics I've spotted that the further away you get from the date of the initial email being sent, the more people open their emails at about 11 am.

I've no evidence as to why this should happen. Maybe it's because there's a slow down before lunch and people are more likely to take a glance at an email they thought they'd save for later.

Internet Masterclass

Yesterday I gave my first "Internet Masterclass". I was asked by the Yorkshire UKTI to do this for the people they have on their Passport to Export Scheme.

I was a bit worried mainly because I'd never thought of myself as an Internet master, which would be a good start to give an Internet Masterclass you'd have thought.

The funny thing about being asked to present anything is that you don't realise how much you know about something until you begin to explain it to others. The group was only a small one but that helped because I could give more personal information to the delegates.

If you were asked to give an "Internet Masterclass" what one bit of advice would you give? I'd love to know because I'm sure whatever you think, I bet I forgot it, or didn't know it in the first place.

If you'd like to see the presentation and read the document I put together, then drop me an email and I'll send it on. I'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts.

Google Analytics Beta dashboard sucks

I use Google Analytic to measure the traffic to this blog and a lot of my other sites. It's free, easy to use and gives some great data. The current layout is great and very simple to navigate and use.

But some bright spark thought they could improve it and today they added a new beta view. Look I'm all for new developments, but this one should never had got passed the sketch pad let alone into Beta testing. It's just bad it should be dropped now.

Sorry Google got it wrong.

Why Marketers should be concerned with Return on Investment

I get a daily email from Drayton Bird, a master at Direct Marketing. Check out Drayton's books on Amazon.

Today's nugget from Drayton is about why Marketers should focus on getting cash in the till above all else. Here's probably the best section from the email. It's a story you may have heard about Sergio Zyman, former chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola.

One of his best stories tells how he showed his first Coca-Cola ads in 1993 to his boss Roberto Goizueta, who said, "I don't like those ads." "Look, Roberto," he replied, "If you're willing to buy 100% of the volume worldwide then I'm happy to do the advertising that you like. Otherwise I've got to keep doing it to those damned consumers."

I think this say it all really.

NLP training day 1

Today I started my first day of NLP training. My company, Applied Language, is the most forward thinking I have worked for. Still only a small company they see the benefit of advanced NLP training for the whole company.

Today was just basics about being able to read peoples states and eye movements. It's still day one so I can't think that too much has sunk in yet. But as a lot of the stuff is talking to my unconscious mind, I've probably pick up more than I think.

I'll keep posting how it's going.

Exibiting - the expensive folly

This week I exhibited at Internet World at Earls Court in London.

We had a great time and the exhibition went very well, our stand was nice and busy and we got loads of great leads. Translation is a difficult thing to get across but at least the people we spoke to were interested and not just collecting bags, pens, folders snow storms or any other type of crap available.

This is the bit of exhibiting I don't get. Why do companies insist on having their stands covered in giveaway stuff. Sure they get lots of crowds, but all that happens is you quickly run out of your stuff and you don't get one lead because you were too busy re-stocking your stand. We got less visitors that the stand with dancing girls, sure. But the people we spoke to hung around for about 15 minutes and left having arranged an sale, demo or at least a follow-up.

So before you buy loads of pens and spend a fortune on your next stand, stop, think. What exactly are you achieving?

how much is customer worth to you? - Drayton Bird

I'm on a mailing list for Drayton Bird's Helpful Ideas. He's sending out 51 helpful ideas each day. Today's was number 35. Today's helpful idea is - how much is a customer worth? Not many people think about long term customer value. Drayton helps to explain why you should.

Remember, the currency of your business is customers - and act accordingly.

So the big marketing question is, "how much is customer worth to you?" If you've been in business for a while you can measure how long customers stay with you, and how much profit they provide in that time.

Then you discount the sum to determine what you can afford to recruit and retain a customer, allowing for a profit.It is true that some sales are not repetitive, but in those cases you can often, if not always, cross-sell other things.

The importance of customer value came home to a client who sold what they call an fmcg (fast moving consumer goods) product here - and packaged goods in the U.S. He asked me, "If the gross margin on one sale is 80 pence, how can I afford to send out direct mail at 100 pence a time?" I asked him if he knew the average value of a customer over time - not just one sale. He said he'd never given it a thought. And I said, "You can easily afford it if you know your average customer buys 200 packs a year and stays with you for five years - and you think not about making an immediate sale, but making and keeping a customer". He became my largest client. The same principle applies if you work out how many cars you can sell a customer over a lifetime. You can afford a series of very expensive direct communications - DVDs, books, lavish mailing packs and so forth.

But it all starts by thinking in terms not of expenditure, but return on investment, and taking a lot of trouble to try and assess what a customer is worth.

Hendersons has it's own myspace

Hendersons update

Just done a bit more surfing for Hendersons Relish. It's so popular in Sheffield it's got its own Myspace page. Its got loads of friends including Jarvis from Pulp.

the art of marketing without marketing - the ultimate viral campaign

I'm from Sheffield in the UK. Now Sheffield isn't famous for many things it a northern town which used to have a lot of industry mainly steel, you'll have heard of Sheffield Steel. It has a few famous rock stars too, Def Leopard (I can't stand them), Pulp, The Human League and recently the Arctic Monkeys.

But if you're from Sheffield there's one thing which connects you to everyone else in what's know as Yorkshire's biggest village.

Hendersons Relish

Hendersons Relish, is like black gold. It looks like Worcester sauce but is nothing like it, it's kind of sweet and sour and has a curious aftertaste too. There truly is nothing that compares to Hendersons Relish.

The strange thing about Hendersons is that, as far as I'm aware and I've lived Sheffield for 34 years, they have never, ever advertised. Nothing, not a sausage, not even sponsorship. Even the bottles are simplicity itself, they still have the same orange label they always have. In stores it is displayed in plain brown boxes, no point of sale.

Yet I guarantee that every house in Sheffield has a bottle and cherishes it. There is shouting if it's stew for tea that there's no Hendersons.

I put it all down to mystique marketing, the building for Hendersons has always been the same, you never see anyone enter or leave and there are no Hendersons delivery trucks. I've never heard anyone say they work there. Its as if the stuff just appears from thin air.

You can now order it on line as they've finally relented and built a very understated (what do you expect) website. Even that builds on the mystique.

Hendersons is truly the art of marketing without marketing.

Order some online now I guarantee you'll be hooked, just don't tell anyone just think it.

BEST Website Ever - WORST Product Ever

This website is almost too slick, the timing and pretence are amazing. It's just infulfilling at the end, a real shame



read more | digg story

Nude women and beer - the ultimate offer!

The Portman Group in the UK who look after the drinks industry have just banned Rubbel Sexy Lager from the UK. The ins and outs are that in the UK you can't say that drinking will enhance your sexual prowess.

The bottle has a picture of a Bikini Clad lady on the bottle. The fabric of the bikini is made from scratch able foil, underneath she's naked. Some older UK readers may remember when peanuts used to be sold in English pubs in much the same way. Each time a packet was bought it revealed more and more of a naked lady on the card holding the packets.

Search engines through the looking glass

I just found this great article on Search Engine Optimisation on a site I'd not come across before Stuntduble.com

It's a great article full of amazing information, take a look now.

Email campaigns the easy way

If you're working on a small budget, or maybe no budget email campaigns are very effective. The problem is that if you have a tight budget, you'll probably end up using Outlook or another email system to send your emails.

This is fine up to a limit. Once you get pass about 10 recipients it makes a real mess because you'd have to send them individually. Don't even think about using BCC or god forbid sending them as one mass email with all the addresses in.

The best think I've found to send out Email campaigns is Campaign Monitor. All you need to do is create your email. Load your list into their system and then click send. Campaign monitor has great in depth reporting, handles bouncebacks (sou don't get loads of undeliverable messages) and unsubscribes.

Added to all this the cost is fantastic. They charge a $5 set up charge per campaign and then $0.01 per email. I'm in the UK so an email campaign to 10,000 customers will only cost me £52.50.

The Return on Investment is a doddle at that cost to output.

Give it a go you won't be disappointed!

Getting things right when you write!

If you write any thing like me you probably have so many ideas to get onto your word document that they get mixed up. This happens especially when editing, you get half way through and decide to change tack in a sentence. In the creative haze it's easy to read what you want to read and over look errors. There are a couple of ways to help this.

1. Use your spellcheck function, and make sure it's set to the correct language! Microsoft think that all English is US English. If you're audience is in the UK they won't appreciate z's in specialise and Americans want a z.
2. Always, always have another person proofread your copy (maybe two or three).
3. Listen to what they say.
4. Use the 30 minute rule. Pretty much every thing can wait 30 minutes. Put your copy to one side for half an hour and then re-read it. Your spot a lot of thing you didn't before.

I just realised this is my 101st blog entry. When I started I didn't think I'd ever get this far - well done me!

Where does all the jargon come from?

I'm sure you've sat in meetings where people come out with so-called "business speak".

'Run it up the flag pole and see who salutes' is my all time favourite.

Well I've found if not The source, a bloody good source of new business gibberish. Have a go at the Web Economy Bullshit Generator. It brings a whole new least of life to crap!

Google tighten their grip

Google are tightening up the webmarketing world again with their purchase of DoubleClick.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6554595.stm

Top ranking factors for Google

Over on SEOMoz, they've just published a great report on the top ranking factors for Google. This is invaluable for anyone involved in web marketing and is a must read.

I just wish someone at Google would confirm or deny these. Still that would just ruin the fun of it.