Friday, September 30  

A Few Quick Hints If You Run A Gym

A Few Quick hints If You Run A Gym

As regular readers will know, I'm always checking out other business to see how they could do it better.

Here's what could of happened after I joined up the gym yesterday.

1. Received an SMS (mobile phone text message) a few hours after I joined saying "Hi Brendon. I've just finished your paperwork - all done. Thanks so much for joining - it's a great club and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun and get fit. Let me know if I can ever help with anything. Mary."

2. Received an email message a couple of days latter saying "Hello Brendon, I see you've been in a couple of times already. Great stuff! Don't forget your personal session on the 8th at 8 am. Mary."

I'd also send an SMS and/or email reminder for that session on the 8th. I'd send an SMS to me on my birthday. And I'd send SMS messages as I come up to renewal (with some kind of incentive to renew early).

(The club doesn't look like it has an email newsletter either. That's the first thing I'd develop.)

What The Above Will Do

Those simple, cheap (an SMS message costs 12 c - I buy my SMS messages in lots of 1,000 from Distributeit.com.au so I can SMS from my computer) and easy (you can set SMS and emails up so they go out when you want them to) strategies would do the following:

• Reduce number of people who cancel after the initial cooling off period (you can cancel the membership within 7 days - buyer's remorse can kick in quickly)
• Increase the likelihood of people renewing their membership

Can you implement those quick, easy and cheap strategies into your business?

Regards

Brendon

Thursday, September 29  

How To Get Fit

In just weeks I'll be Superman again!

It's The Same In Business

It's the same in business. Have a plan. Document it. Then do it. Just like losing weight or getting fit, the results will come in small improvements but when you add it all up at the end of 3 months those little things now equal a big change.

Cheers. I'm off to buy a pie for morning tea.......just kidding! It's sultanas for morning tea.

Brendon

Wednesday, September 28  

Why You Need A Maths Background To Be Good At Web Site Marketing

Why You Need A Maths Background To Be Good At Web Site Marketing


Maths Expertise Is Needed

Tuesday, September 27  

The Best Answer I've Heard (& The Best Line I've Ever Used)

The Best Answer I've Heard

We are currently doing a web site for a client who hires equipment. I'm writing some of the web site copy.

I asked him, via email, why it's better if people hire rather than buy.

The answer?

"Because I make more money that way."

Fair enough!

The Best Line I've Ever Used

I gave a speech to 200 Business Students this morning. My wife was in the audience.

I was talking about how advertisers use attractive women in marketing because when a guy looks at an attractive woman a part of his brain gets more active. This part of the brain makes the guy feel happy.

Next time the guy sees the product (minus the attractive woman) he feels happy and is more likely to buy it.

I pointed out my wife in the audience and said....wait for it........."Looking at my wife for the past 16 years means I've been happy every day."

My wife blushed just a little.

What a line! What a guy! I'm becoming a new age sensitive man. ;o)

Cheers

Brendon

Monday, September 26  

Search Engine Optimization Book Review

Search Engine Optimization Book Review

I get quite a few emails from people asking me what search engine optimization resources they should read to get better search engine rankings. Quality search engine optimization takes a lot of time and expertise and is subsequently quite expensive.

I'd say I've spent a solid few years studying the various elements that make up effective optimization for higher rankings.

The book I direct people to is this one I've just done a review on. Aaron really knows his stuff and, importantly, updates the book frequently.

If you're interested in getting higher search engine rankings for your site then it's the book for you.

Regards

Brendon

Sunday, September 25  

Pay Per Click Information

Pay Per Click Information

I've just been reading a research report from MarketingSherpa concerning a study of 3,271 search marketers (including me).

The survey found a solid 43% of marketers described their Pay Per Click (that's where you get ads on places like Google) results as "very effective."

My own experience has been much the same - we developed huge sales around a Pay Per Click campaign (from $0 to $10,000 a day) with just a couple of days solid work.

If you're interested in learning more about Pay Per Click advertising the best advice I can give you is to read this review (and buy and read the book) on what I consider to be the best book on the Internet regarding Pay Per Click advertising.

It's Perry Marshall's The Definitive Guide To Google Adwords.

Regards

Brendon

Saturday, September 24  

Thanks Kerry

Thanks Kerry

This is what I love about the Internet. As I mentioned a few days back my beautiful daughter Laura was off to Japan on a school trip.

Laura has been in Japan since Tuesday
and is having a great time.

A reader of this blog (Kerry) emailed Mel after I wrote the blog and provided a few tips as well as wishing Laura the best for her trip. The main one being that it is quite warm at present and she suggested Laura pack some summer clothes.

So it was out with the thick jumpers and in with the summer tops.

So thanks Kerry. Who said this web site wasn't useful!

Brendon

Friday, September 23  

Why My Hard Copy Newsletter Gets Better Results Than My Email Newsletter

Why My Hard Copy Newsletter Gets Better Results Than My Email Newsletter

In the last issue of the SitePoint Tribune (that's the newsletter I write for SitePoint) I wrote about the hard copy newsletter I write for clients of Tailored Consulting. This newsletter works wonders for us in generating new business - this is what I wrote:

"Well, firstly I think people are far more likely to read printed material because they don't receive a lot of it. I'm sure I'm like a lot of people: I get so many emails that any message would have to be darn good to be read amongst all the clutter.

I also feel that, because a hard copy newsletter is a tangible and 'real' thing, people are reluctant to toss it out. 'If it's printed it must be worth reading,' seems to be the thinking."

I've had a few people email and ask what the hard copy newsletter is about. I've converted it into a pdf file - it's here (it's just 89 kb).

Why It's Formatted Like That

By the way, it is formatted like it is because we simply print it in black into our colourful newsletter 'shell' - saves us hundreds of dollars in printing costs and we get a very professional looking newsletter.

Read here for more details on how we do that.

Hope that is of some interest.

Brendon

Thursday, September 22  

Genius - $1 million from 1 page

Genius - $1 Million From 1 Page

Here's a guy who is trying to make $1 million from 1 web page. You pay $1 per pixel (minimum buy is 100 pixels). He's apparently already made in excess of $US67,300.

Here's a case study on how effective it has been for one company already.

Here's Why It Will Work For Advertisers & The Publisher

1. The site will attract huge visitor numbers (especially initially)
2. Advertiser sites will get lots of visitors from that
3. The site will be very well linked to (i.e. I've linked to the site)
4. Outgoing links from the site to the advertisers site will help the advertisers site with search engine rankings

Cheers

Brendon

Wednesday, September 21  

Looking Good - Why I Didn't Have To Lie

Looking Good - Why I Didn't Have To Lie

On Monday evening my lovely wife and I (and our 3 kids) went along to a local Film Festival called In The Bin. We went along because one of our clients who sell jewelry online (Philip and Toni Powell) are also amateur film makers.

Their production company - Fingerpaint Productions - produced a 7 minute film called "Looking Good."

We went along expecting an average amateur film and we'd make the usual noises of "Great film....Enjoyed it...etc, etc."

We didn't have to pretend - Looking Good was the best short film I've ever seen. A magnificent story, beautifully shot (their daughter Hailey was the cameraperson and the film looks amazing) and it really makes you think.

Toni had never made any sort of film before - which makes this brilliant piece even more remarkable.

If you get the chance to see it, get along. It's been entered in quite a few Film Festivals around the world (they won a major Festival if LA earlier this year) and, hopefully, is coming to a place near you.

Hailey's New Short

As I mentioned, Hailey is Philip and Toni's daughter and is a brilliant cameraperson. She has completed her first short film and entered into the ABC Video Lives competition.

Take a look and you'll see what I mean - if you like it give her a vote if you'd be so kind.

Cheers

Brendon

ABC Radio Show Today - Building A Web Site

ABC Radio Show Today - Building A Web Site

Howdy.

On today's ABC Radio Show I talked about getting a web site designed.

There are basically 3 ways to do this:

1. Do it yourself - for those with limited technical knowledge a solution is to buy a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) program such as Microsoft's FrontPage (there are many similar programs).

Using this you can quickly and easily design a site (the program has many templates to choose from).

2. Buy a design template - go to a site like Monster Template and but a professional design. Nothing could be simpler. But you will need some technical help to get the site ready to be uploaded to your web host.

These sites look fantastic and are an excellent solution to keep your costs down.

3. Engage the services of a web developer - contract someone like me to design and develop your web site. The advantage of this solution is that you'll have the important (but little know) aspects of web development attended to - such as search engine optimisation, quick load times, etc.

Hope that is of help. If you would like more specific advice relevant to your particular situation then please let me know.

Regards

Brendon

Tuesday, September 20  

What To Do For Higher Rankings

What To Do For Higher Rankings

We're doing more and more search engine optimisation work lately.

What that means is we develop your site to gain a higher search engine ranking. The vast majority of the work we do is on existing sites and the optimisation can make a huge difference to the web site.

Reviews For $400

Many people ask me how much for a review of a web site and a report on what needs doing. Obviously it depends on the web site size, but take $400 for a two- (2) hour review and a one- (1) hour meeting to report the findings and suggest ways to improve the site.

We use a range of tools in our assessment, from the latest in software to our own deep experience.

Ongoing Search Engine Optimisation Work

Again, this varies enormously. Prices start from $150 per month for basic ongoing optimisation. We've had clients paying in excess of $15,000 per month for ongoing work - obviously a bit more work that the site paying $150 per month!

If you'd like to have a chat about our search engine optimisation services just shoot me an email at seo@tailored.com.au.

Regards

Brendon

Monday, September 19  

Clickfraud Still An Issue

Clickfraud Still An Issue

Clickfraud has always troubled me (by "clickfraud" I mean where people either click on Pay Per Click ads themselves or set up software programs to do it - means the advertiser pays for 'fake' visitors to their site and the person whose site the ads are on makes a % of the money).

As someone who spends upwards some days of $1,500 on Google AdWords I've been concerned that a % of that spend is completely wasted because of fraudsters. Using a clickfraud detection service is a gimme for people sp[ending a good amount of money on pay Per Click ads.

I've just read this article by a former clickfraudster - he suggests up to 35% of all clicks on Pay Per Click ads are fraudulent.

The 2 big tips from the article:

1. Use a fraud detection service
2. Do not place your ads within other site's content (only on the search engine itself)

Solid advice.

Regards

Brendon

Sunday, September 18  

Why We Share So Much Information

Why We Share So Much Information

Having written the kit, writing the SitePoint Tribune newsletter, doing the radio show, writing this blog (and others) I'm often asked why I give away so much information (not that the kit is free!).

We spend a lot of time here in the office keeping up with (especially) the latest in web usability and search engine optimisation (which simply means developing a web page so it comes up high in the search engines).

And we share that information quite freely (we don't share it all, but I'd guess we share 90% of what we learn).

And I saw it written the other day how I see it.

They're Not Our Competition, They're Our Community

I don't see other web firms or developers as our competition. I see them as our community.

I get that sense much more with search engine optimisation (SEO) specialists than with web designers. SEO is such a hard and never-ending process that I find it very reassuring to know I have other SEO colleagues to bounce ideas off when the time comes.

It's that sense of sharing and that sense of community that gives me hope for the future for the entire web development industry.

Regards

Brendon

Saturday, September 17  

More Reasons Why Your Web Site Should Have A Blog (And How To Write On It)

More Reasons Why Your Web Site Should Have a Blog (And How To Write On It)

I recommend the use of a blog on many client sites. Sometimes they get excited and take it up. Sometimes they don't.

Here is an excellent report about blogging (including tips on how to write an effective blog).

Cheers

Brendon

How To Miss A Huge Opportunity - The Story Of Joe (And Me)

How To Miss A Huge Opportunity - The Story of Joe (And Me)

I've always been a big fan of Bob Parsons the founder of major US domain registrar Go Daddy.

Bob's blog is one I read regulary - he makes some terrific points about business.

Anyhoo, one of Bob's masterstrokes in advertising his Go Daddy business was his very controversial TV ads that aired (or didn't air) at the last SuperBowl - you can read about it here.

Bob has followed up with some new TV commercials. He has 6 testimonials ads in the mix. I've just checked out the ads and some of the sites associated with the ads.

Being a male I was naturally attracted to the web site of JoeBikini.com after viewing the ad.

Joe Is Wasting This Opportunity

Man, is this Joe guy wasting an opportunity. Joe would be receiving thousands and thousands of visitors. But, unfortunately, his web site is a mish-mash of stuff that is completely confusing. It took me probably 5 minutes on the site before I figure out what the site is for.

Once I figured that out I eventually found a 'Buy" button and was presented with a poor order form that would turn most web visitors off.

The point of this? (I don't want to bag Joe. After all he's done a good job getting the exposure)

The point is your web site needs to be simple to understand. Simple to use. Simple to buy from.

Joe has huge potential right now to make some good sales, but his web site is so poor that he's letting prime potential customers down.

But He's Not Alone

Joe's not alone on this. We run a few web sites and one of those is about ugg boots. We set the site up for testing purposes and part of that was to run some Google Adsense ads on the site.

We worked on the site for a little (just testing a few different things) and then promptly forgot about the site. When the domain name (ugg-boots-direct.com) came up for renewal I declined.
After all, the site was no use to me anymore.

It was only about a month later that I realised the site had been generating some nice revenues from the advertising on the site! Ooooops! I quickly renewed the domain and put it back into service.

Regards

Brendon

Friday, September 16  

Controversy Works - How To Sell A Lot Of Books

Controversy Works - How To Sell A Lot Of Books

Here in Australia we'd had a retired politician write his memoirs. Specifically, these were the diary entries of a guy called Mark Latham.

Mark was the Leader of the Labour Party - he was up for election as the Australian Prime Minister last year. he lost and then retired.

Now these sort of books are basically a snore fest. You read it and fall asleep. Political memoirs aren't exactly thrilling.

But this one is different.

It's aggressive and controversial (and that's just the extracts I've read!).

Everyone Gets A Bucketing

In his book and the interviews he's had so far, Mark lets loose. He very honestly and openly provides his opinion - and his opinions are shared very forcefully.

And with the controversy has come the best publicity for a book I've seen for a political figure.

This will be, without question, the biggest selling book by a retired politician here in Australia ever. Controversy works. Mark's publishers must be rubbing their hands together with glee.

Have a good weekend.

Brendon

Thursday, September 15  

Do You Want A Set Email Address For Life?

Do You Want A Set Email Address For Life?

A good reason to have a set email address for life is that it makes things very easy.

If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is, let's say, Bigpond here in Australia your email address will be something like bobsmith26@bigpond.com.au.

But what happens when you want to change your ISP for whatever reason - price, special deal, poor service, etc? Well, what happens is that your email address will no longer be current.

Let's say you join with Optus as your ISP. Your email address now will be bobsmith26@optus.com.au.

Now you have to tell all of your friends and family the new address, you might need to get new business cards printed, etc.

The Solutions

There are a couple of simply way to get an email address for life:

1. Go with one of the free email services - Hotmail and Gmail spring to mind. Both good, both free and both have decent spam filters. I recommend Gmail.

2. The second option is to register your own domain name. It can be something to do with your family name, your business, whatever.

If you want a .com name register it at Go Daddy for just $8.95 pa (by the way, I don't get paid for recommending them. They're just good.)

If you want to register a .com.au name you can register it with us for $99. But you can register it at Redback Hosting at the moment for $50 for 2 years!

There are a few criteria to meet when you register a .com.au name - check out this page for details.

Once The Domain Is Registered

Once the domain is registered you then simply use the email forwarding service provided by both of the above domain name registrars to have the email for your domain name forwarded to any email address you wish.

So if you start off with an email address of bobsmith26@bigpond.com.au you simply have the mail sent to @yourdomainname.com sent to that email address.

If you then get Optus as your ISP you have your email sent to @yourdomainname.com sent to your Optus email address.

No one knows that bigpond or Optus are your ISP. they just send the emails to you@yourdomainname.com and it automatically gets sent to whatever email address you say.

And, thus, you have an email address for life.

Hope that is of some help.

Brendon

Wednesday, September 14  

How To Register A Domain Name

How To Register A Domain Name

A domain name is simply your web site address on the Internet. The domain name for my business is tailored.com.au.

Domain names come with all sorts of extensions. An extension is the end bit: .com.au is the extension of this domain name. .com is generally the extension for commercial sites (often in the US), .org is the extension for organisations (usually non profit), .biz is a fairly new extension for businesses. For a more detailed explanation on domain name extensions go here.

It's important to know that different domain name extensions come with different criteria to be met to be allowed to have the domain name.

.com domain names - anyone can register.
.com.au domain names - there are some limiting criteria mostly related to ensuring the domain name has some relevancy to what you are doing or selling. In the old days here in Australia it used to be that you could only register domain names that were exactly as your business name, an abbreviation or acronym.

These days it is much more relaxed - you can register a .com.au domain name based on the service or product you supply, etc.

How Much Will It Cost

There are many places you can register your domain name. You can do it with us here (we charge $99 for .com.au names for 2 years & $25 for a .com domain name for 1 year).

Or you can find your own damn domain name registrar and get off this site!! Just kidding ;o)

For .com domain names I'd recommend Go Daddy. Go Daddy is the world's biggest domain name registrar and provide an exceptional service at a great price. Their .com domain names are as low as $9 US (about $13). We sell our .com domain names at $25 because we can only buy them wholesale at $15.

Once you have your domain name you then need to find a web host to host your domain name. There are many different web hosts about offering many different levels of hosting. I won't recommend any one host here because there are so many issues that need to be reviewed prior to selection that my suggestion might well be worthless.

One Last Thing

One last thing - registering a domain name and then organising hosting can be a tricky process. If you need any help with it give us a call as we can assist (having done it a million times before means we know all the tricks and all of the things to look out for).

Hope that's been of some help.

Regards

Brendon

Tuesday, September 13  

Forgot To Mention... The Sinclair Children Are On A Roll

Forgot To Mention... The Sinclair Children Are On A Roll

Harry Sinclair (the one in the red) won his soccer grand final on Saturday. Jack's team (Jack is the one in the blue) won his Australian Rules premiership the week before.



Laura (my 14 yo daughter) is off to Japan in 8 days (she has a countdown going that goes something like this: "Aaaaaaaargh, only 8 days to go, 8 days to go, 8 days to go.......").

Jack just won an Academic Scholarship for his High School next year.

It's all happening here at the Sinclair household!

Me? I'm still working away (though I did play golf here today).

And the gorgeous Mel? She's keeping fit with 6 am training sessions (I suspect she only keep exercising so she can continue to eat all the cakes that she does) and working here in the office.

Anyway, that's it for today. I'm off home for dinner and to kiss my wife and kids.

Cheers

Brendon

Scouts Fundraiser Was More Than A Fundraiser

Scouts Fundraiser Was More Than A Fundraiser

The Scouts fundraiser we held on Saturday night at the Palm Beach Scouts was a wonderful night. 68 people came along for our Trivia Night and we raised a good amount of money.

One of my kids (Harry aged 11) won the major raffle prize. Oooooops. (Note to self - stop rigging the raffle prizes!)

Anyway, the night was about raising some funds for the Scouts. But it was also a lot more. Here's what else we did:

1. We got parents into the Scout Hall for a social occasion (they now know where it is, what door to come in, what's inside once they get there, where they can park, etc)
2. The Scout parents mingled together socially and met the Scout Leaders and members of the committee
3. We made sure everyone had an enjoyable time

It's All About Branding

It's all about branding. These people have now become more familiar with our 'product'. They've had a positive experience with our 'product'.

And those 2 things are important. Because what it means is that next time we have something to 'sell' - Scout membership, an invitation to another fundraiser, a request for help with a Clean Up Day, etc these people are far, far more likely to now assist.

It's not only about raising money. It's also about creating a positive experience with your brand so you can elicit a positive response when next you require it.

How can you provide a positive experience with your brand? Are you doing it now? What does your 'brand' mean to your customers?

Regards

Brendon

Friday, September 9  

Making Business Simple

A Great Indicator

It’s true in my business, and in a lot of businesses, that our clients want convenience and simplicity.  A simple solution.  

This was driven home to me today with 3 very simple examples.

# 1 is a new client for whom we developed a web site.  He wanted to be found for his business name.  That’s fair enough.  And it’s also fairly easy.

It’s now 3 days since we launched the site and the client is # 1 in Google for his business name.  I rang him just now to let him know and he was thrilled.  He doesn’t want to know how it is done or the technicalities behind it.  

He just wanted a solution.

Client # 2

# 2 is an ‘old’ client (Andrew, if you’re reading this I don’t mean you’re old, I just mean you’ve been a client for years!).  Andrew owns a business that is “flying”.  As a result he is finding it difficult to update his own web site.

I rang him today and offered to take over the maintenance of the site and explained how we could make it as easy as possible for him.  That’s exactly what he wanted.  So from today we’re managing his site.
Example # 3

Example number 3 is me.  I was searching for some software to provide a solution to a problem this afternoon.  I searched on Google, checked out the first result, that met my needs so I bought it.

An easy and simple solution.
Approximately 90% of people who search in search engines don’t get past the 2nd page of results.  We’re all busy.  We all want simple and easy solutions.

That’s what I hope our business provides and what all business need to strive to provide.

Have a good weekend.  I have my son’s (Harry) soccer grand final tomorrow morning, a BBQ with friends in the afternoon and the Scouts trivia night at night.  

Harry is the goalie for his soccer team.  Mel almost gives herself an ulcer with the stress every time the ball goes anywhere near him – she actually watches about ½ the match with her hands over her eyes!
Anyway, take care.

Regards

Brendon

Wednesday, September 7  

Media Players

Media Players - The Lowdown

This morning's show (I do a regular spot on ABC Radio) was on media players (it also featured me saying how good looking I am and accusing the host (Peter Gooch) of wearing a dress but that's a story for another time!).

A media player is simply a piece of software that will play audio and video files. Audio and video come in lots of different formats as companies have developed their own proprietary way of doing this to try and gain a market advantage.

(Having said that, there are things called codec files that can help convert file formats to the format you need.)


Standard Formats

There are a few standard sort of formats (wav and mp3 for audio, avi for video) that all media players will read. Most media players read the vast majority but not all players play all formats - but that doesn't matter too much because the vast majority of audio and video online is in a format that the major media players will read.

Media player developers try and outdo each other with added features to try and encourage you to use their player - these sort of features includes a way to manage you files/songs, whilst others have features such as CD burning and extended controls.

Some media players charge an upgrade fee of about $20 US to get access to more features (I generally find the free versions are suitable for the vast majority of people).

The Main Media Players

The main players are as following:

Windows Media Player
Quicktime
Real Player
iTunes
Winamp

Hope that is of some help.

Regards

Brendon

Few New Sites Launched

Few New Sites Launched

We've just launched a few new sites that are fairly different and reflect the owners own tastes as well as being influenced by our recommendations.

Coastal Turf - this is a business supplying turf to landscapers, developers, etc. The client wanted a very simple site that demonstrated their expertise and qualifications. With lots of content, this site does the job very nicely.

If you're after titanium jewelry then Titanium Crafts is the site for you. These colourful pieces are handcrafted and reflect the owners creative spark and the inspiring landscape around them.

The Golf School - this site has been developed for some long-standing clients of our who are professional golfers and Australian golf coaches.

ABC Brick Sales is one of Australia's leading retailers of bricks, pavers and blocks. The site has a huge database of products - search and ye shall find!

Tens machines - Peter's site is clean, informative and kept up to date. The site provides lots of Tens machine information as well as an e-commerce store.

Regards

Brendon

Tuesday, September 6  

The Effect Of Petrol/Gas at $1.29 litre/$4.87 gallon

It's More Expensive To Do This In Australian Than In The USA

Anyway, whatever the figure is it’s a lot. A whole lot more than people are used to. And this is what I see happening.

1. People are starting to really have a look at their expenses – the current affairs TV shows, news shows and newspapers are filled with price comparisons between running a small car versus running a big car.

2. People will either start buying smaller cars (no matter what happens to the fuel prices over the next 6-12 months).

3. People will start to more seriously consider alternatives – gas (as in LPG) conversions for cars, electric cars, motor bikes/scooters and pedal power.


Good Jobs Right Now

1. Small car sellers, hybrid car sellers, motorbike/scooter sellers
2. LPG conversion businesses (these guys would be laughing all the way to the bank)


Rising fuel prices are a huge opportunity for some, a drain for many and maybe, just maybe, the start to a less oil-dependent future.

Regards

Brendon

Web Site Reporting

Web Site Reporting

One of the services we offer is where we manage a web site on an ongoing basis with such things as:

• editing pages
• adding pages
• search engine optimisation of pages
• advertising management
• strategy advice
• reporting

We tailor what we do for each individual client so that you get the best possible result for your web site at the budget that is appropriate to you.

Click here for a basic sample report we give clients. (It's a PDF file)

If you'd like us to review your ongoing web site management needs then please call us on 07 5598 4898 (+61 7 5598 4898 for international clients) or at tailored @ gmail.com on Google Talk.

Regards

Brendon

Monday, September 5  

How To Sell Online

How To Sell Online

I was chatting with a client today about selling online. It's not a simple matter of putting up an Internet shop and saying you're open for business.

Here are the basics:

1. Easy to use shopping cart - don't make it hard to buy
2. Secure shopping cart - not just secure, but tell your customer just how and why it is so secure
3. Guarantee - make it 100%, no fuss
4. Easy return policy - favour the customer. If the product doesn't fit/is the wrong colour/whatever, make it easy and fair for the customer to return it
5. Offer different payment methods - when we put on PayPal as an alternative form of payment on one of our e-commerce sites sales increased 14% (fax/mailed forms that can be printed off the web site account for 11% of all sales)
6. Accept as many credit cards as possible - make it as easy to buy as possible

For a successful, quality e-commerce site that's just the very start.

Regards

Brendon

Friday, September 2  

It's A Holiday Here

It's A Holiday Here......

Hello. Hope you are well.

It's a holiday here in Queensland - Show Day where I live - and all the offices and stores are closed.

I'm in the office dealing with a couple of things before I need to get home and get ready for dinner - we're having some friends over.

Here's a post from this web site from a couple of years ago:

I had a terrific meeting this afternoon with a guy who will do very well with a business he has just started. He told me this story:

A friend of his got a job in London with one of the huge, high profile advertising companies.

On the first day he was called into the boss' office:

"What is it you think we do here?"

"Well, you develop magnificent advertising campaigns to inspire, entice.............."

"Stop right there. Nope, that's wrong. All we do is get our lazy clients to get off their butt and actually do some marketing."

Marketing works. My philosophy has always been to "just do something."

The more marketing you do, the more business you will get. Simple.

I know that's not a particularly interesting bit of information, but it is (surprisingly) one of the most needed bits of advice I give.

Hope you have a good day.

Brendon

Thursday, September 1  

Getting High Search Engines Rankings

Getting High Search Engines Rankings

I made a pitch for a web site a few weeks back and lost out to another web developer (the owner had a major customer's son do the site). That's fine, especially in light of the post below.

The owner asked me today why the site wasn't high in the search engines - "Why don't we get found when we search for our own business name?"

There were a whole range of factors that I won't go into now.

But here's the first tip for getting a decent search engine ranking:

Whatever the keyword/phrase that you want to be found for should be in the title of the page. That is, the title of this page is the wording at the top (in the blue bit). The title of this page is "web site marketing media with Tailored Consulting".

If you do a search on Google for the term "web site marketing media" you'll see the Tailored.com.au site is ranked at # 10.

The title of this site I saw today was "FRONT PAGE". It should have been whatever the name of the business was (or whatever keyword/phrase the business wants to be found for).

Cheers

Brendon

Do Unto Others.....

Do Unto Others.....

Hello. My son Jack (below) is a Scout at Palm Beach Scouts. I'm on the committee of the Scouts. Part of my role is to generate some funds. We're doing this mainly through what we've called a Club 100.

It's where we ask local businesses to donate $100 to the Scouts - in return they receive our gratitude, a framed certificate and acknowledgement in the Scouts newsletter.

One of the local camping stores donated $100. As we were walking around local stores yesterday was telling me what he wants for his birthday.

He wants a MYOBelt 5 headlamp (he's a mad keen bushwalker) - he was telling me how he can get it cheaper online than if he buys it at the same camping store that donated $100 to the Scouts.

I'm All For Internet Sales But.....

As a guy with web stores I'm all for Internet sales. But in this instance I had to explain some things to Jack.

1. The camping store guy donated $100 to the Scouts because he wants the Scouts to have a good time.
2. We should return his support by buying stuff from him rather than save $20 by buying online.

• Being a customer isn't always about getting the lowest price.
• Being a store owner isn't always about taking.

Sometimes life is about supporting others even if it costs you a few extra bucks.

Brendon