Thursday, June 30  

Never Rains But It Pours

Never Rains But It Pours

Here in Southern Queensland where I live we've had a drought for the past 5 or 6 years. Water restrictions, the Dam getting to record low levels, the whole bit.

It started raining on Sunday. It hasn't stopped since.

Here's real-time radar imagery of rainfall (based on cloud density and a bunch of other factors). Looks like it might be slowing.

I had to walk into work this morning because roads are closed (that page made look a little weird because the page is meant to be a pop-up). This was taken on the street about 50 metres from the office about 10 minutes ago:

Brendon

Why I Don't Tell Everything

Why I Don't Tell Everything

Hello. A few people have contacted me and asked my why I've "XXXXXXed" out the contact details on this media release that I posted on the site a few days back.

As a business supplying a mostly sophisticated and integrated skillset we source a range of experts in their field to enable us to provide our clients with the best possible solution.

What that means in plain English is that when we need a particular skill, we contract the person on a project-by project basis because we wouldn't have enough full-time work to employ that person.

A good part of our success lies in our ability to find the best people in their fields and be able to convince them to work with us.

• So if a pitch for a project requires a Graphic Artist who produces very modern and funky work, then we know the guy for the job.
  
• If a project requires the services of a Graphic Artist with vast experience in high-level public company corporate work, then we have access to that person as well.
  
• And on it goes.

Another Part Of Our Success

Another part of our success lies in being better than our competition in terms of the quality of the work we produce and the quality and effectiveness of our own marketing.

Any smart competitor will benchmark against their competition and see how they're marketing. And they'll see what works. And if they're real smart they'll use those very same tactics (and the same people if they're able).

PR Agency On A Retainer

As the business has grown we've recognised the need to free up some time to better focus on our clients. To this end we saw the need to employ a PR Agency to take care of our own PR.
So we've contracted a talented young PR professional to manage our PR.

The Results So Far

The results so far have been terrific.

For example, just this week I've had 2 mentions in local media - one where I was quoted as an Internet specialist and another today (in The Gold Coast Bulletin - Page 62 if you're on the Gold Coast) where I was the subject of a feature article - with a nice pic off my beautiful daughter Laura and I.

And the PR company also assist with writing of a range of online newsletter we develop on behalf of clients.

Do I Want My Competitors To Know Who Does Our PR?

Do I want our competitors to know who does our PR?

Well firstly, it wouldn't be that hard to find out. Secondly, I wouldn't be too fussed. It's no biggie really.

And having said all of that, we do recommend our PR company to others (we're not trying to just hog them for ourselves!), we just don't broadcast who we use for the fact that it can give our competitors access to a resource/asset/skillset that they wouldn't have otherwise been aware of.

But the point of this entry is that it takes a lot of work, experience and expertise to identify and develop an effective working relationship with our suppliers (like our PR company). For us to broadcast who we use for some elements of our business wouldn't be that smart.......not that I get accused of being smart too often!

Some things are better left unsaid....or in this case "xxxxxxxed" out.

Have a good weekend.

Brendon

Wednesday, June 29  

Google Starts to Take Over The World

Google Starts to Take Over The World

Guess they thought they'd have to map it first.

Free software download available at http://earth.google.com

Here's some of the things you can see:

• Video playback of driving directions
• 3D terrain showing mountains, valleys, and canyons around the world
• Tilt, rotate, and activate 3D terrain and buildings for a different perspective on a location
• 3D buildings in major cities across the United States

Brendon

Why A Web Designer Shouldn't Develop Your Web Site

Why A Web Designer Shouldn't Develop Your Web Site

I stumbled my way through the ABC radio interview this morning - I sound like someone with a peg stuck over their nose!

Anyway, the thing I said that has generated the most calls and emails was that you shouldn't get a web designer to develop your web site. My thinking being that you need to develop your site's strategy in consultation with your customer for best results - and then get a web designer involved.

Here's are 2 articles regarding web development that might be of interest:

What To Look For In A Web Developer

The Main Reasons Web Sites Fail

Have a good night.

Brendon

P.S: We recorded the interview from the ABC Coast web site - it streams in - using my favourite Audio editor called Audacity (it's a great free program).

From the playback I noticed 3 things:

1. I speak too fast - should slow down and be clearer
2. I sound drunk - shouldn't have beer for breakfast
3. I sound like I have 2 kilos of cotton balls stuffed up each nostril - get a smaller nose

Tuesday, June 28  

Radio Interview

Radio Interview

I'm being interviewed on ABC Radio 91.7 FM tomorrow morning at about 11.15 am on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

The topic is How To Make Your Web Site Work.

I have a good head for radio. Hope you can tune in.

Cheers

Brendon

Should We Educate Our Customers?

Should We Educate Our Customers?

Hello. One aspect of our marketing I've always been passionate about has been the education process - my thinking being that if our clients understand what we do then they'll be more likely to "get it" and thus more likely to recognise us as the people who'll provide the best solution.

I think I was wrong.

I gave a presentation today for some people who are interested in having a web site. Part of the presentation was used to educate the client on how people usually find web sites and why that was relevant to the solution I was about to suggest.

The Glazed Eyes

But I could tell by the glazed eyes that the clients didn't want to know how we solve the problem, they only wanted to know that we could and that we would.

You see, web sites are about results. They're about providing solutions to problems.

I promise not to bore another client with the details!

Brendon

Monday, June 27  

Making The Most Of Every Day

Making The Most Of Every Day

Hello.

Hope you've had a good weekend.

My daughter does really well at school - she's got that combination of being smart and being hard-working. Laura makes the most of every day in an effort to be her best.

Here are two- (2) examples:

Learning Japanese during some solo time!

And here's my favourite: Japanese language tips taped on the outside of the shower-screen (Laura says this is only useful for a minute or 2 as the shower-screen tends to fog up once the hot water starts.)

Learning in the shower

Making the most of our day is important to all of us. These two- (2) tips for squeezing that bit extra out of your available time are brought to you by Laura Sinclair. Thanks Laura!

Regards

Brendon

Friday, June 24  

Buying Domains Names - Consider This

Buying Domains Names - Consider This

Hello. Hope you are well and behaving.

In a local newspaper here on Tuesday a front-page story ran regarding a Cayman Islands company that had purchased many.com domain names of towns close to where I live.

The names - such as Murwillumbah.com - we're being offered for sale for $25,000 - $30,000.

The local Chambers of Commerce and various community groups expressed their outrage at what many saw was an illegal attempt to profit from names of their towns.

We sent out this Media Release (it's a PDF file) and I was quoted in a follow up article yesterday (Thursday). What I essentially say in the release was this:

• A domain name is only worth the web site behind it.
• If you have a great domain name and a bad web site it won't be successful.
• If you have a bad domain name and a fantastic web site (informative, entertaining & ever-changing) and it is well-marketed, then the site will be successful.
• People generally find web site through search engines, links and print media - not by guesisng what the domain name might be.
• Companies selling these .com domain names at hugely inflated prices are hoping some sucker comes along who doesn't understand the above.

Two- (2) other issues here worth pointing out:

1. ICANN - the private sector, non-profit corporation created in 1998 to assume responsibility for that has responsibility for Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation - has a dispute resolution policy whereby they frown on people or companies buying domain names for the express purpose of reselling them for a profit.

If you (or you town) have a legitimate claim to a name then you can ask ICANN to remove the domain from the owner and give it to you. BUT........ if the owner of the domain demonstrates that they are using the domain name legitimately, then it's highly unlikely you'll win the case.

What many of the people selling domain names for big profits do is set up a one- (1) page web site, pop on some Google Adsense advertisements and WHAM! They've created a web site behind the domain name and the purpose of that site is to generate income and thus meet much of the criteria established by ICANN to be allowed to keep that domain name (even though your claim to the domain name might be legitimate).

2. .com.au domain names cannot be resold. And the very simple reason for that is because when you register a .com.au domain name you don't actually buy it, you simply license the right to use the domain name. And you can't onsell that (you can in exceptional circumstances such as the death of a business owner, sale of the business who have the domain name, etc). For more info check out the policy here.

If you have any questions please contact us.

Regards

Brendon

Thursday, June 23  

Fit To Screen - Maybe Not

Fit To Screen - Maybe Not

As people's computer screens get bigger more and more issues pop up regarding usability.

I've always thought that designing a site to 'Fit to screen' - that is the site takes up the entire screen - was a good idea. But when I saw this in practice, it's not so great.

Here are recent stats on the screen resolutions of people visiting this site:


3287 1024x768
937 800x600
792 1280x1024
251 1152x864
156 1280x800
83 1280x960
72 1400x1050
65 1600x1200
54 1680x1050
51 1280x854
45 1440x900
33 1280x768
30 1920x1200
18 1152x870
14 640x480
10 2560x1024
6 1024x1280
5 2048x768

Resolutions Are Getting Bigger

As you can see, screen resolutions are getting bigger. And when you develop a site to fit to the screen resolution what happens is the text goes all the way across the screen.

And we, as humans, find it difficult to read text that covers across such a big area width wise. About 63 characters wide is how the human eye likes the text formatted.

Here's This Site At 1280 x 1024


This site at 1280 x 1024 resolution

Notice the 'columns' of faded blue/grey down both sides keeping the web site content centred. I've done that to keep the text within boundaries that people find it easy to read.

When you develop your web site be aware that there are literally hundreds of usability issues to be considered. Make it as easy as possible for people to read your site and you'll reap the rewards that a quality site can provide.

Regards

Brendon

iPod Culture Still Climbing

iPod Culture Still Climbing

Hello.

I went out for dinner last night with some friends and their son, Mitchell Stevens. A gay old time was had by all.

Anyway, Mitchell was telling me that about half of his class own iPods. That's amazing considering the cost of these portable players.

With figures like that, iPods will continue on for many a long year as the product is so well-branded and so integrated into the mindset of people.

Are there better players available? Probably.
Are there better marketed players available? Nope.

Just goes to show, again, that the best marketing wins.

Cheers

Brendon

Wednesday, June 22  

Have Broadband Will Buy

Have Broadband Will Buy

That's the findings of the latest study looking at the impact of the increasing use of broadband in the online world.

"The correlation between broadband and online shopping and buying has been identified in numerous studies over the last few years. Many of the early studies pointed toward demographic characteristics (particularly the relative wealth of broadband users compared to dial-up users) in explaining why broadband users were more willing to shop and buy online than dial-up users."

Click here for more...

Regards

Brendon

Tuesday, June 21  

This Is What Happens When You Feed Them

This Is What Happens When You Feed Them

This is what happens when you feed your kids.

My wife is hitting 40 in a few weeks time. I'm finding it harder than ever to keep fit. My kids grow taller by the day. Just when I didn't need anything to remind me that I'm getting older I stumbled across the photo below from 1993.

It's taken beside Richmond Bridge in Tasmania. It's Australia's oldest bridge.

It seemed strangely familiar. After a quick search I found the photo below that my wife took when we visited Tasmania over Christmas last year. Taken 12 years later, Laura and I were standing in pretty much the same spot.

My Hair Is Thinner.....

My hair is thinner, I seem a bit thicker and the tiny little girl I had with me is now a tall, lanky 14 year old!


Brendon & Laura 1993


Laura and Brendon 12 years later

Time is moving on......

Brendon

Monday, June 20  

"My underpants were on crooked" - and how people buy

(Note: this is one of my favourite all time posts. It's from January 2004. )

I played a bit of table tennis today with the family. I beat Harry, my 9-year-old son, 21-0 in one game. Then I started mouthing off about what a champion I am. He may be 9, but a win is a win!

Harry was justifying to his brother and mum why he didn't win a point.

"My underpants were on crooked."

Yep, you read that right the first time. His underpants were on crooked.

Apparently, according to Harry, his underpants were on crooked. Which made them uncomfortable. Which restricted his movement. Which meant he couldn't play properly (the mind works in mysterious ways).

Humans are unique in that we can pretty much justify anything to ourselves. Anything at all.

And that leads to this point.

People buy on emotion. People buy on emotion and find 'logical' reasons to justify the purchase. After all, it makes no sense to buy a $250,000 when a $5,000 car will do the exact same thing.

It makes no sense to buy a $200 pair of jeans when a $10 pair will do the same job.

And it sure doesn't make sense to buy a $20,000 watch when a $5 watch will do the exact same thing.

But people buy the more expensive product time after time. And then they justify the purchase to themselves logically.

"It is an expensive car, but I've worked hard and I deserve it. It's an investment. It's a collectors item. It's a .........."

"These jeans look so good on me. And it will aid my image if people see me wearing this brand. And that will help my career."

"It's not just a watch, it's an investment in the future. These watches hold their value and they......"

Use emotive words and descriptions

People buy on emotion. So make sure to include emotion in your marketing and selling. Feeling words, rather than purley descriptive words.

It can make all the difference.

Have a good day.

Brendon

Friday, June 17  

Jobs Address

Jobs Address

Howdy.

It's late on Friday afternoon as I write this. There's only Anthony and I in the office at the moment (and Nigel of course).

I've started catching up on some reading after a busy day. One of the things I try and avoid with this blog is just providing a link over to article with a quick comment.

But rules are made to be broken.

Steve Jobs' (Founder of Apple) gave the 2005 Commencement Address to Stanford Univertsity's Graduates.

It's an interesting speech and well worth a read.

Anyway, I'm off to buy Anthony and I a beer with which to finish the day.

Cheers and have a good weekend.

Brendon

Wednesday, June 15  

Unknown Unknowns

Unknown Unknowns

One of my favourite all time gobblegook (I'm not sure that's a word) was from Donald Rumsfeld answering a question in a news briefing. He said this:

"As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."

That is beautiful work.

Use Simple Words

Unless your a politician use simple words. When you make an offer of your services or products you need as many people as possible to understand you. Avoid jargon, avoid big long words and avoid complex instructions where possible.

Regards

Brendon

Tuesday, June 14  

Do A Survey - It's Critical For Success

Do A Survey - It's Critical For Success

We do a lot of surveys here at Tailored. Usability surveys for web sites, client satisfaction surveys, product review surveys for clients.....the list goes on.

I've always known that surveys are a great thing to do not only for the direct information you receice. But they're also great because the person taking the survey will be more positive towards your company/business/web site/whatever because you're seen as taking the trouble to ask their opinion.

Here's an excellent white paper (it's a 2 page pdf file) that articulates that (and presents some evidence!) much better than I ever could.

Bottom line: do more surveys.

Regards

Brendon

Friday, June 10  

Bits & Pieces

Bits & Pieces

1. I've just sent out the latest online Tailored Newsletter.

For those keen web users, here are some bits and pieces from the last few days:

2. Firefox is a challenger to Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser (not a big threat in terms of market share, but they're growing and growing fast). One of the best features of Firefox is the ability to browse using a tabbed browser.

I love that feature and it's the biggest reason I use Firefox at times.

Now Internet Explorer have introduced a tabbed browser (trouble is from what I can see, is that you have to download the Microsoft Toolbar to get it).

3. Web ad sales hit $2.8 billion for the first quarter (that's 26% up on the same time last year).

4. Yahoo.com.au is pretty poorly managed. Here are 2 reasons why:

• Yahoo.com.au getting greedy
  
• On Tuesday I rang Yahoo.com.au to find out how much their ad rates are and to see what their minimum spend is. Left a message.
  
  By yesterday they hadn't called back.
  
  So I called them back. They told me I had to buy through Overture. Rang them. They said I had to buy through Yahoo.com.au. Rang them. Left another message with the advertising department (1 guy I suspect).
  
  Hadn't rang me back by today. I rang back.
  
  Finally got hold of the guy. he told me the info in 5 seconds and that was it. No follow up, no extra mile. No nothing (my client's budget is online advertising budget is $120,000 pa).

I suspect they don't care because online advertising is growing so damn fast they can't keep up anyway. But it'll catch up with them at some stage.

Regards

Brendon

Thursday, June 9  

How To Create A Great Brand

How To Create A Great Brand

Here in Australia we have a fruit drink brand called Nudie. Nudie was started a couple of years ago and has, through quirky imagery, copywriting, etc, quickly developed a highly visible brand.

I was reading an Industry magazine today where I learnt that the guys at Nudie have "taken the successful innocent brand from the UK and replicated every detail" (take a look at the web sites and you'll see some very marketed style similarities).

That's a bit disappointing. As a marketer I know that we'll all be influenced by what others are doing. But not the the extent these Nudie guys have done.

That has completely changed the brand for me - now I don't see Nudie as a fresh, innovative company, but just as a sneaky little company that is completely unoriginal, not authentic and not decent.

And that lessens the brand. And means that I probably won't buy Nudie again, I won't recommend Nudie and I'll more than likely tell others not to buy them.

Your brand is everything - it has to be real.

Cheers

Brendon

Tuesday, June 7  

I'm An Internet Entrepreneur

I'm An Internet Entrepreneur

Someone called me that today......I wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not.

But then I figured I am an Internet Entrepreneur.

As a guy who develops Internet businesses quickly here's a few things I do:

1. Watch out for opportunities
2. Analyse the risk to reward ratio
3. Make my move

I Do That Everyday

All I do in business is make offers.

"Want a web site?"
"Can I sell your product?"
"Can I do this for you.....it will cost you $x."

Sometimes I structure deals very unorthodoxically (is that even a word/?!). Just yesterday I gave a quote to a client for a $21,000 web site.

But because of a few factors (we'd worked with him before, he wanted to see if the site would work before committing to the 'premium' site we'd quoted, etc) I suggested he pay me $7,000 upfront and the balance in 10 weeks once the site proved successful.

That way everybody wins

He'll get a site that works and works well.
I'll get paid $21,000 when he wasn't going to commit that much to the project.

And I think it's the best possible deal for the client.

Think Differently

I have a meeting in the morning with a client who manages a holiday resort. We do a lot of holiday resort web sites (and they're very successful) - with this guy I'm thinking of offering something completely out of left field and something that I intuitively think could prove hugely, hugely popular.

Being in business is about being different and daring and making offers. That way you stand out. And that's the way to start growing your business.

Cheers

Brendon

Saturday, June 4  

My 2 Favourites

My 2 Favourites

No business in this entry.

My favourite all time joke till now was the time my wife and I called in to visit my sister and her husband, Gary.

As we were leaving to go out to dinner the TV was on. There was a women riding a horse side-saddle.

I asked, "Why do women ride side-saddle? What's the advantage?"

Gary replied, "On the whole, it's better."

New Winner from Thursday night

On Thursday night a mate (Alister) and I traveled down to Byron Bay (100 km) away to play tennis with another mate (Greg).

Because there was the 3 of us we played a Round Robin - we played each other alternatively.

After tennis (where Alister, who reads this blog by the way, didn't win a game against me.....gee, bad luck Alister!), we went for dinner at Greg's place and then out for a few beers at the Byron Bay hotel.

"We played a Round Robin"

I got home at about 1 am and was climbing into bed.

My wife (Mel) asked, "How did you go?"

I replied, "We played a Round Robin......"

"Why?, Mel asked, "Wouldn't she get out of the way?!"

We have a new winner!

Cheers.

Brendon

Thursday, June 2  

Google Ranks Us As The World's 2nd Best Webdesigner

Google Ranks Us As The World's 2nd Best Webdesigner

Hello. Hope you are well.

A few weeks back (20 days to be precise) I wrote this article about me being the world's best web designer.

I wrote it after seeing a web site say they are Ranked No.1 by Top search engines for the term "Internet Marketing Coach". Whilst that sounds very impressive, all it means is the site comes up # 1 for the term "internet marketing coach" - of course Google (and others) doesn't and can't make judgements about who is the best in their particular field. That's ridiculous.

But some companies attempt to play with words and make it sound like they are the best in the world. When in fact they aren't.

• So, am I really the world's # 2 ranked webdesigner? Nope, of course not. That's a very subjective thing.
  
  
• Does my article get the # 2 (actually # 3 but I'm counting the top 2 results - the same site - as 1) spot when someone searches for the term "worlds best webdesigner" on Google? Yep. So that means I seem to know what I'm doing when it comes to search engine rankings.
  
  
• By the way, I'm # 4 ranked in Google for the term "worlds best web designer" (notice that the term web designer is now 2 words rather than 1).
  

The Best Part Of All That

The best part of all that is it demonstrated that I know a bit about how to get high search engine rankings.

The other thing is that I said: "If I had lots and lots of links to this world's best web designer page my ranking would be higher for that term. But I'll just stop here and see if this does the job (I'm guessing a top 6 spot for the term "world's best web designer" - on Google)."

I made # 4 after 20 days.

What Will Happen Now

A couple of things will happen now.

1. Because I've written about it and linked over to the article from this blog my rankings might improve 1 or 2 spots for those search terms ("world's best web designer/webdesigner") over the next week or 4.


2. But after that there will probably be a slow and steady decline in the rankings as I ignore the page, nobody links to it and I don't add any relevant content to it.

Because all search engines want for their customers/visitors are web pages that are relevant, informative and up to date. That way everybody wins.

Hope that has been of interest.

Edited: 11.42 am June 2, 2005:

I've had some people notice that I'm # 1 on Google for "worlds best web designer", yet for others I'm # 4 and for other still I'm nowhere in the top 10.

The reason is simple: On Google.com.au if you type in "worlds best web designer" and search Australian pages only, I'm # 1 for the term. And if you search the entire web from Google.com.au I'm still # 1.

Click here for the screenshot.

On Google.com I'm # 4 when you search the web.

That's just a little issue with where you are searching from and what Google sees as the most relevant results for you.

Cheers.

Brendon

Wednesday, June 1  

We Launched A Web Site 12 Days ago.....

We Launched A Web Site 12 Days Ago.....

We launched a web site 12 days ago for some new clients. The site apparently hadn't made a sale in 6 months.

The client sent out a newsletter to her stakeholders today. Here's a bit she wrote about the web site:

"Our new website was launched last Thursday and since that time we have been totally inundated with enquiries!

In fact, the website has been so successful in generating sales we have had to put both Leslie and Emily on for as many hours as they can manage to keep up with the continual emails and phone calls."

Yes, web sites do work and if done right, they work very, very well.

Before you abandon your web site business/as part of your marketing because it doesn't work talk to us to make sure it's not just a bad site. We can usually help.

Regards

Brendon

Beat Violence - Wear Thicker Clothes

Beat Violence - Wear Thicker Clothes

Now I know this web site doesn't often delve away from business issues, but here's an item that caught my eye today:

A woman rang a domestic violence hotline complaining of being punched by her husband and was told, if you can believe this, to wear thicker clothes.

Women's groups say the counselors on the hotline, from the free counseling service Lifeline, are not equipped to deal with violence and rape victims. Lifeline has denied the charges.

That is either great lateral thinking by the counselor, or just plain crazy.

And I don't want to poke fun at Lifeline - they are a fantastic organisation that does a lot of good here in Australia (and I used to work as a volunteer for them as a 12-13 year-old collecting and sorting donated goods).

Crisis Management

So this claim has been made against the good name of Lifeline and they know it will be picked up by the local (and even international) media. So what do they do about it:

1. In the best spot on the Home Page of their web site they address the issue
2. The CEO elaborates just a little on an inside page (and you'll notice she even has her phone number at the bottom of the response).

That's a good, quick response.

Years Of Quality Count

And here's where years of quality service and giving count. You see, Lifeline are a tremendously respected organization here and I'm thinking the vast majority of people, when hearing of the allegation would think:

"No, that doesn't sound like Lifeline. They're a quality organisation."

The basis of good crisis management is quick, open, honest and transparent communication. Start talking to your stakeholders (customers, donors, shareholders, employees, etc) about the issue and you're on the road to minimising the impact of the issue and perhaps even coming out as a stronger brand than ever before.

Regards

Brendon