You've got to hand it to these pain in the #$%* scammers - some of the letters they write are funny.
Parts are even eloquent.
Here's a bit from Mrs. Casey Hardwicke who wants to give me a lazy 87 million pounds (over $200 million).
"My husband was a businessman before the cold hand of death took him away on the 3rd of December, 2005 at about 2:00am. Our marriage lasted for over a decade without any fruit of the womb."
Yep, "the cold hand of death" and "without any fruit of the womb" - lovely stuff.
I've already had a few people asking me if we'd be selling our bike storage product here in Australia.
The answer to that is a big yes .......................but not yet.
You see, we're started the USA site to test a few things because the data collection we can do is so much faster with the US site (there are a lot more searches done for the niche).
Overhead Garage Storage - I Liked The Product So Much I Bought The Company!
Well, not quite. But I have started a little site selling the product.
I have 9 bikes at home and they've been clogging up the garage - I thought that there must be an overhead garage storage solution because the space overhead in a lot of garages is simply wasted. After a fair bit of searching I found the perfect bike storage system - the Bike Lift Ceiling Mount is easy to install and really is the perfect solution.
A Brilliant Way To Store Bikes Out Of The Way
Anyhow, I bought one and installed it and it is simply brilliant. I can't think of a better way to store bikes.
So much so that I thought here's something I could sell.
After all, I really believe in how great it is and that's half the battle in selling something.
Check Out Store Your Bike
So if you're looking for overhead garage storage ideas, then check out Store Your Bike for a simple solution that uses otherwise unused space.
If you're not on the look out for a overhead garage storage solution, then don't. ;o)
Q. What's the most important metric for a web site?
Easy - sales. No other metric even comes close.
You can talk about conversion rates, unique visitors, page views and more all you want but all that really, truly matters is sales.
Q. What's the best way to start to market my new web site?
Almost always the answer is Pay Per Click advertising (i.e Google AdWords). Not only do you get visitors fast, but you also get fantastic data about marketing your site that you can use in developing a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Q. What's the best way to make money on the Internet?
By best, you probably mean easiest.
By easiest, it's setting up a site and putting Google Adsense ads on it.
How To Lose A $30 Repeat Customer By Not Giving Him A 5c Fork
Here's one that I thought would be a gimme.
The last 2 Friday nights my 14 yo son has played soccer.
My wife and I have dropped him off at the game for his warm up and then darted off to get some takeaway pasta.
Both times we did this the pasta joints didn't provide cutlery with the food.
Sure, I eat like the photo shows most of the time, but when I'm eating with my wife I try and act a little nicer!
You would have thought that providing a plastic knife and fork would be a pretty obvious thing to provide with takeaway food. But nope.
"No Fork For You - One Year!"
The first place gave us a steel fork, the second place gave us nothing and then very begrudgingly allowed us to sit at an outside table of the empty restaurant so we could eat (this was after I offered them $5 for a fork and they said no).
Yep, I was willing to fork out for a fork ;o)
Thai Restaurant To The Rescue
As we went to sit down we noticed a Thai restaurant a couple of doors up - they kindly gave us some plastic knives and forks.
Who do you think we'll buy takeaway from next time?
All for the sake of a 5c plastic fork.
Sometimes things that seem very obvious to you as the buyer aren't so obvious to the seller.
Each week, almost without fail, we get a phone call from someone searching for a client's product.
You see, a year or so ago we developed the web site for this client. We mentioned the site on our blog and in the Case Studies part of this site.
Now when you search for his product in a certain way, Google ranks our site at # 1. In the copy that Google displays for each result is the name of the product and our phone number.
So we get calls.
I initially thought that people do the search and are too lazy to click the link and visit the site.
But that's not it. People Don't Always Know How Google Works
Some people do the search, see the 2 lines of copy Google displays and calls us because (and here's the very interesting bit) they think that's it.
Some people don't realize that you can click on the results that Google displays. These people think that what shows on the search results page is it.
The Point Of All This
The point is this - if you wan more calls, it may pay to get your business phone number in the meta description so that it's likely Google displays it.
What we see here at Tailored Web Services (first mention of the new name!) when we look at a web page is usually completely different to what our clients or prospects see.
Mel, who is the least computer literate in the office, explained it beautifully a few days ago when she said:
"When you (Brendon) look at a web page you analyse hundreds of different aspects including:
colors
balance
font size
copywriting
suitability for target market
search engine optimization
where the important elements are positioned
trustworthiness
use of white space
links on the page
branding effectiveness and
much, much more
When others look at a web page they see a picture. They think "That's pretty" and like it, or don't like it, because of the way it looks."
Beautifully put.
Remember, your site has to work. That's what it is there for.
Yep, after almost 10 years we've made the name move from Tailored Consulting to Tailored Web Services.
We're making this move to reflect the changing structure and positioning of the business in an effort to positively influence the key decision makers of our target market, blah, blah, blah!
The Real Reason For The Change - Our Name Is Stupid
Ok, ok. The real reason is because Tailored Consulting is a stupid name and doesn't actually say what we do. And that's kind of dumb.
I'm not blaming anyone for that name (but if I did it would be Mel!) - it seemed decent enough all those years ago. But now it just seems, well, stupid and unhelpful.
So out with the stupid old and in with the new/descriptive/relevant. Same people, same skills, same service, same everything - just a better name.
I have just answered a comment that Mel says may well be the most insightful thing I've ever said.
I'm not sure about that - I mean I don't say much insightful stuff, not that I say so much insightful stuff that it would be hard to beat previous stuff (that's for all the haters!).
With SEOBook following Brian Clark's paid content lead are there any thoughts to you running your (awesome) web design business kit in a similar fashion?
PS When / Why did you take your photo off the homepage?
=================
Answer:
Hi Ted
Thanks for the comment - not at this stage.
I'm in talks with someone about contributing to what he is doing.
I have a ton of useful info for people running web businesses but 2 things happen:
* people don't implement * they don't want to pay
I have a very simple strategy that would increase every web developer's income by $30,000 a year (and the business value by probably $300,000).
BUT like I say, people won't pay for the info.
And because they won't pay, they don't see the value if I just give it away.
If they don't see it as valuable information, then they won't implement.
If they don't implement, nothing happens.
It's mostly a waste of their time and mine.
And yes, for $10,000 I will guarantee your web design/development business an extra $30,000 a year in income!
It's a simple and basic strategy/angle/skill that I divulge in my Kit and have done on this blog a few times before.
That's a long answer to say no, I'm not looking at providing paid content because I don't think people get value from it in most cases (but that's not to say the content isn't tremendously valuable).
I received a fax offer for a Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor from Dell yesterday.
The heading says:
"85% Of Small Business Managers Want Environmentally Friendly IT Products"
Ummmm, no Dell. They don't. The correct heading would be:
"85% Of Small Business Managers Will Say They Want Environmentally Friendly IT Products, But When They Go To Purchase They'll Buy The Cheapest IT Products That Will Do The Job They Want Done."
It's the classic mistake marketers make.
Always, always, always ignore what people say they'll do and act upon what they actually do. They're usually 2 completely different things.
The 2 Best Corporate Videos Ever - Take It Away Boys
Okay, many are saying that this is a serious video from Microsoft for their Vista salesforce.
I think those people need to get a sense of humour.
This is brilliant, cheesy internal marketing from Microsoft having a bit of fun. There is no way this could be serious. No way in the world.....I'm pretty sure. ;o)
As good/bad as it is, it still doesn't beat the all time cheesiest corporate video - ladies and gentlemen, I give you Bank of America One!..... with the corniest line even sung: "We'll live out our core values..."
I'll just share some simple advice I gave a client today on what works with web sites - you see, most of our work these days seems to be working on existing web sites to get them working at their best.
Sort of like Gordon Ramsay except not every 2nd word starts with 'F'!
The Basics of A ^%@#%$@ Successful Web Site!
Nice looking, fast loading site with loads of great content that gets
updated on a regular basis.
The site needs to have strong copywriting, along with a very personal style
(i.e written in the 1st person by you) to resonate with the reader so you
build trust.
Your site needs to get found in the search engines for the major relevant
terms your customers would search for - not # 40, but # 1 or 2 in
Google.
You need to promote the web site at every opportunity.
Okay, here are 2 great marketing tips from the real world:
Example # 1
Play the clip below for a kid called Andrew on one of those talent shows.
# 1: He's in front of the right target market. # 2: He has a story that resonates with the audience and gets them onside - being bullied. # 3: He delivers something totally unexpected - a different sort of song that you wouldn't expect from a 13 yo. # 4: The whole package is something that gets noticed and talked about.
Perfect marketing.
Example # 2:
Here are 2 brilliant PR strategies that have result in tremendous coverage and benefits.
The first one is in the case of the Carla Bruni nude photo being sold for $US91,000.
The photographer then promised to donate the money to a charity.
But like the intended recipient says "The idea behind this gift was to get publicity for the auction and the photographer. "It was a way of using us."
So they used right back in a brilliant way.
The intended recipient refused the donation.
The Story Has Flipped
Now instead of the story being about the donation and what a wonderful fellow the donor is, the story has suddenly become a story on how the donor exploits naked women and how the intended charity has taken a stand - it's all about them now. Read here for the full story.
Erin Loves A Cockatoo
The next example is simply classic marketing. Absolutely the perfect example of getting attention.
Step 1: Hire a well known model to promote your wine - called Cockatoo Ridge. Step 2: Do something offensive - the main print ad had a picture of Erin with a cockatoo on her shoulder. The caption read "She Loves A Cockatoo". Step 3: Wait for the media outrage. Step 4: Have the model tearfully say she didn't know the advertising was going to be so rude. Step 5: (This one is my favourite) Have one of the company's directors (Peter Perrin) come out and deny the line was meant to be what everyone has taken it to mean.
Ha! That's a good one Peter!
I think that denial was a mistake. I don't think anyone actually believes the director and that kind of dilutes the impact of their very aggressive and bold positioning in the market.
(This blog is one I wrote 4 years ago and never published. Well, until now anyway.)
Mr Adventure Man Rides Again
I'm thinking of changing my name to "Mr. Adventure Man". Seriously! I'll wear a cape, look very serious and, yep.....you guessed it, I'll wear my underwear on the outside!
Oh yeh, baby!
After camping, boating, swimming, running on the weekend, doing lots of business this week, lecturing business students, writing lots and much, much more (!) I went flying today.
Super Waco biplane
Jack and I took to the skies in a magnificent Super Waco, a reproduction of the classic 1935 biplane. An hour's flight in and around the Gold Coast taking in the great beaches, the magnificent hinterland and impressive Mt Warning - we flew around the peak so close you could almost reach out and touch it.
And although in my early days I trained to be a commercial pilot, it's been a while since I've been up in a light plane. And first time for an open cockpit.
Fantastic feeling.
Had a chat with the pilot
The pilot was a lovely fellow called Joe. We had a chat on how Joe came to be flying the Waco out of Gold Coast Airport.
After joining the Air Force at 15, Joe spent 12 years as a mechanic. From there it was work as a Flight Engineer. Then training as a Pilot. After 20 years with the Air Force, Joe took a job flying 747's for one of the world's big airline.
After 10 years of that, Joe settled into semi-retirement on the Gold Coast flying his beautiful Super Waco for fun and a few extra dollars.
The point of all that is this.
How many people today would wait out 12 as a mechanic to get their shot at a dream - to be a pilot. And another few years as a Flight Engineer.
Not too many.
In these days of instant everything, perserverance is an admirable and increasingly rare quality.
Failing isn't not succeeding. Failing is giving up.
Keep going, keep pushing. Believe in yourself and never, ever give up.
(Note: I think I must have been a bit grumpy when I wrote this.)
I've been in business for 10 years now.
The vast majority of that time has been developing web sites. We still have our very first ever client.
One of the niches we operate in is an industry where various companies try and sell an online sales system to our clients.
Now, we develop perfectly good sales process for our clients and they are thrilled with the results.
But then Company A comes along and via high pressure tactics (and, I must say, a pretty convincing spiel) sells my clients this sales system.
They promise the world with this sales system. All of their competitors essentially sell the same sales system.
Which is fine.
Except what happens is this: the site fails.
You see, the sales system is, in a word, crap.
It simply doesn't work. It's cumbersome, time wasting, illogical and simply ineffective.
Whereas our client have generated x10 $1,000 sales with our system, the new system will come along and sales will dive.
Often to zero.
The point is this.
None of these big companies care. All they do is churn through salespeople like you wouldn't believe, pushing their terrible product onto unsuspecting clients.
Our clients suffer a pretty significant financial loss and their business goes backwards.
But the big company doesn't care. Because it will be a new guy in the salesperson seat next week and he's not their to build a long term relationship.
He's just there to meet his quota for the day.
So when you're searching for suppliers, the big tip is to find someone who cares about your business.
Maybe someone small enough so you are a decent part of their income.
Draft 6: Decker Marketing New CEO Makes It Look Like Child's Play
Look, I don't want to have another go at anyone (you might remember the Craig Harper blow up of Feb 25), but Sam Decker over at Decker Marketing has finally been demoted after a fierce 9 month struggle.
Even his wife is happy the the new guy has arrived.
I'm a two time Telly Award winner, and two time Emmy Award nominee.
I am the Chief Illustrator and Character Designer of the children's TV program here in the U.S. called "My Bedbugs".
"My Bedbugs" is broadcast to 100 million homes. They have their own line of toys. And books.
So for $150 on 99Designs.com (SitePoint's design contest spin off) you can get a brilliant design from a brilliant artist with a brilliant track record.
If you know the movie, you'll know that Muriel ends up in an arranged marriage with a South African swimmer here in Australia who was looking for a woman to marry so he could stay in Australia, make the Olympic team and fulfill his dream of competing at the Olympics.
Well, all that's based on a true story - and that South African swimmer is Gary!
Yep, Gary did all that in the 80's and inspired the movie!
Now he spends his time smashing me in swimming races at the Noosa Triathlon, teaching kids to swim and generally having a laugh about his time looking for a wife.
He/she was a grumpy commenter who commented in a very negative way.
My argument about this site is this:
It's not great looking
It works
It is tremendously valuable for us in search engines
You see, it's not about the design of your web developers' site you should be worried about.
The only criteria on whether your web site is a good one is if it works great at what it's meant to do.
No-one (apart from obnoxious designers) cares how your site looks.
(And yes, I know that your site has to look okay - but there are many, many other factors that matter more.)
So even though our site isn't great looking, it doesn't matter.
# 1 because that doesn't mean your site is going to look like this one # 2 because having a successful site isn't about having the world's most beautiful site.
Here's a testimonial I received (completely unsolicited) from a Gold Coast computer repairs owner.
===========================
Hi Brendon
It’s been 4mths now since the launch of our website and we have been monitoring our sales and enquiry rate during this time and have to saythe results are outstanding.
We receive nothing but praise regarding the web site design and ease of use for my clients.
Congratulations to you and your design team.
Our sales and service calls have been increasing every month at a steady 25% growth rate. We can only attribute this to your expertise in search engine optimisation and overall marketing strategy.
Both Lillian and myself can only congratulate you and your professional staff and look forward to a continued association with Tailored Consulting
Regards Steve & Lillian
======================
What Steve & Lillian Don't Care About
Do you think Steve and Lillian could care about how the site looked if it wasn't performing.
The best looking site doesn't win. The best marketed site with the right information at the right time for the right visitor wins!
Okay, but having said all that..................;o)
We will be redesigning this site in the next little while.
Not because of the design, but because the navigation is becoming a little messy. It's about ease of use for the visitor in finding the information they want.
Cheers
Brendon "I'll step down off my high horse now" Sinclair
Humorist Dave Barry is a lot smarter than me. Dave's Pearls of Wisdom include:
# 5: You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
I know that. I agree entirely.
But there was this 1 time..........I met this woman who was very obviously 9 months (if not more) pregnant.
I asked her when she was due. Oh dear.
Things get kind of ugly when you ask a woman when she's due and she isn't actually pregnant. She's just fat.
Moral(s) of the story: Some things just shouldn't be mentioned. I can outrun an obese 30 yo woman.
The auDA board has just announced the date for the relaxation of Australian domain name transfers.
From June 1, 2008 "the the registrant transfers policy be relaxed to allow a registrant to transfer their domain name licence to another eligible entity, for any reason."
That means you can now sell your .com.au domain name.
The Corrective Holistic Kinesiology Exercise Centre is home to Jan Carton and her team, widely regarded as one of the absolute best trainers in Australia.
If you're looking for Jan's place you'll find it here or give her a call on 5593 8990 (and let her know you found her site from here - thanks) and you could soon be training with the people who give Steph Gilmore and Mick Fanning the dge.
I've had a couple of questions over the past week that I thought I'd share:
Question 1: What is the best term to optimize my web site for?
makeup
make-up
make up
Answer:
I have no idea!
But here's how you find out - open up a Google AdWords account and bid on these 3 terms.
Within 24-48 hours you'll know exactly which one is the most searched for term.
Easy!
================================
Question 2:
I have been contacted by a fellow for a web site. He's in an industry (the guy asking the question told me the industry but I won't mention it here) that probably doesn't get many searches in Google.
Should I just tell him a web site wouldn't be useful for him?
Answer:
I'd get accurate figures through running Google AdWords
Don't underestimate the importance to him of being # 1 - from the perspective of beating his competitor and the importance of branding (#1 is perceived as a better business than # 2).
What's the lifetime value of his customer - after all, each customer would be ongoing for years?
Let's say he get a customer a week off his site at $50 profit pa for life.
That's $2,600 at a minimum after the first year (more like $5,000 pa). Year 2 would be close to $12,000 profit pa.
An Extra $12,000 pa
$12,000 profit pa (after just 2 years) would equate to increasing the value of his business (if he sells it) by a significant amount.
Whilst it might not look like a web site would be useful, get the research done to confirm what really happens in the market - and be aware of the lifetime value of a customer.
=========================
Those 2 examples above are solid examples on how simple research can uncover critical information - helping you to avoid making decisions based on a rough guess.
I spent the day in Melbourne (2,000 kms away) yesterday at a corporate Golf Day as the guest of David White, the Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Australia.
Pura Milk Big Sponsors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Australia
Pura Milk is a huge sponsor of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program here in Australia and provide David and his team with tremendous support, encouragement and resources so they can continue there terrific work.
Anyhow, Pura Milk is owned by National Foods and David scored an invite to their corporate Golf Day - all funds raised on the day went to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Australia.
National Foods have offered to donate a massive $20,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters if anyone can get a hole in 1 on the day. The 84 players before us had no luck.
It was up to us.
The First 3 Players Missed The Green
Simon tees off first and misses the green. I'm next and my shot doesn't trouble the dance floor. Nick's up and he's wayward too.
Up steps David White.
He's the Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Australia.
A guy who has devoted 25 years of his life to helping kids who need a hand.
He's playing the last shot of the day.
On a hole where he could win $20,000 for his own charity.
To describe his golf before this hole as "ordinary" is being very, very generous!
But the Gods may have just been playing with him!
So up steps David.
He tees up. Takes aim. Swings the club. The ball heads skyward straight for the flag 147 metres away.
It doesn't deviate.
"Get In The Hole!!"
There are shouts of "In the hole, get in the hole!!"
The ball lands and does what it's told - it heads for the hole.
The 4 of us stand there willing this little white spec to disappear from view into the hole.
The ball rolls and rolls towards the cup. We lose sight of it....................... but then it reappears, still rolling.
The dream was shattered when the ball slowly came to rest.
David missed that hole in 1 - and $20,000 for his charity - by 30 centimetres.
It would have made a hell of a story!
Bad luck David. And no, 1 good shot doesn't make you the best golfer on the day ;0)
Which is just the generic home page for this business selling ink cartridges.
What it should do, of course, is send me straight to a specific selling page for the Canon MP530 Ink cartridge - because that's what I searched for.
So I spend 30 seconds trying to find the Canon MP530 ink. No luck.
So I use their search facility on the site..........and I get these words:
There are currently no products in this range.
What a waste of money that is: Advertising and paying good money on a product you don't even sell.
Crazy.
Brendon
P.S: There are times when you might use this strategy - for when you're testing out the viability of selling a product - but this doesn't look to be one of those times.
One of my colleagues - Dan over at Web Circle - forwarded through an email someone sent him a few weeks back.
Dan provides search engine services and had some Google AdWords advertising this. He received an email from a very angry ant!
"Why in the hell would anyone want to use your SEO and web marketing service when you cant even get your own site on the first page of google. You have to use PPC."
I hear comments like this all the time and, basically, they're from people who don't understand what they are talking about.
Here's why:
Getting a high Google ranking for a competitive term (a word or phrase that gets searched on a lot) takes a lot of time and hard work. It can cost a lot of $$$.
People might search on 100 different terms to find the thing you're selling.
To optimise your web site for all of these terms - especially if they're all very competitive terms would be incredibly resource intensive - in other words, it would cost you a ton of money to achieve it.
Simple Way To Let People Know Of Your Product or Service
A very simple way then is to let people know about your services via Google AdWords. Cheap, easy and relevant.
So no, if you see an ad on Google for a search engine optimisation expert it doesn't mean he's rubbish at getting high search engine rankings.
It just means that he sees a better return on his resources by running ads at that time.
Cheers
Brendon
P.S: The next question might be why do I mention a competitor in a nice way and give him a link to his web site?
Well, aside from the fact that I find Dan endlessly amusing - last time we had lunch he ended up with more food on his shirt than in his mouth - he's a good guy doing a good job.
I guess he's a competitor, but there is tons of work for everyone and it's important we all build the industry to get the best job for clients to help the industry grow.
I've referred clients who are better suited to Dan's skills than ours before. Oooooooh sorry Billy, I don't think I've referred anyone to you. Have a cry ya big baby!!
That Michelle over at refrigerated transport company Gaby Cool thought it was hilarious and different and contacted us for some work is just one example.
So keep writing about your business, your industry, your expertise - it's all solid stuff to market your business.
A couple of weeks back I mentioned Blue Host as one of our preferred hosts.
I've just received a note from them today:
"I am writing today to announce a new service that we have added to all our web hosting accounts that are hosted with us.
This new service is called SimpleScripts. It is 100% free to use for all current and new accounts and does many fun and important tasks that were previously difficult to do."
The new service makes your web site hosting just that bit easier.
That's the thing with Blue Host, they're always upgrading their service.
Check them out if you're looking for a quality host.
(4 and 5 are done so we can get an idea on what choice influences impact upon the buying customer - essential information when we're writing the web site copy.)
Doing the above is all about getting the right information to be able to make the right decisions.
The prize list is extensive (56+ prizes) and it's very simple to enter (lots of different way).
Joel's site is a great way to create awareness for 'green' issues and we're all becoming more aware of the things we need to do to conserve our water, our energy and our planet.
