You Better Start Swimming Or You'll Sink Like A Stone

... For the times they are a changing."

(This comes from the introduction of a recent speech I made to an audience of start up marketers at McHenry County College. It has a few seeds which I want to preserve for cultivation later on... gj)


"Remember the song? Driving my daughter to High School last week, she put the CD in the dashboard player. I smiled when I heard the song. "I didn't know you liked Bob Dylan," I said. She smiled. "Of course! Everyone likes Bob Dylan dad."

Then it hits me. It's 6:30 AM and I realize Bob Dylan is a very successful marketer. Indeed, we might listened and learn:

* Successful marketers know how to swim!
* They know what it takes.
* They have learned to kick hard while under water.


For start up marketers the truth of these lyrics couldn't be more succinct.

* You'd better start swimming, or else!
* Start ups must be on target with their product strategy.
* They have to know exactly what they want in planning, spending, and doing the right things.
* A start up company must be smart, or lucky (or both).
* The stats: one out of five make it.

Then there are the more grown up corporate realities on marketing: The average tenure of a CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is now less than two years; Ditto for the average agency relationship with clients; Most major metropolitan newspapers are scrambling to maintain their franchise (attempting to reinvent themselves online due to falling readership; And, few family firms survive past the first generation.

Better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone!

Here's more:

* The internet is now the fastest growing advertising medium in the world.
* This year brought new pressure on the up-front market. First time ever another medium has put pressure on TV spending.
* Consumer generated media is all the rage. Consider the rise of Blogs, Facebook, YouTube, wireless computing, and Google's unbelievable run.
* Not to mention the long tail (more on this later). Now we have the long tail of the internet to consider
* The internet has brought unprecedented change.
* Technology now allows us to do things we could only dream.

If there's a point that I want you to remember it's this: marketing is very serious business. It always has been serious. But it is even more so now. For the times they are a changing!

Sometimes I think clients often continue to react to marketing as if it is just fun and games. Big mistake. Great marketing is resolute. Great marketing is supported by strong data and analysis. It is the product of a well founded strategy executed with passion and intelligence.

When you "go to market" you're placing a substantial bet on the future.

Tonight we're going to talk about how to swim. How to go to market. What to worry about, etc. Yet, we're also going think about changing times."

How To Leverage The Positive Perceptions of Email Newsletters

Email newsletters are much more than mere "SPAM."

Growing evidence suggests that email users are bonding to their online subscriptions. Done well, with concise copy and compelling content, an email newsletter program can build better relationships with customers than any other single enhancement you can make to your current website.

According to The Nielsen Norman Group (NNG) Report on "Email Newsletter Usability," online subscribers can often experience very emotional and positive reactions to email newsletters (see http://www.nngroup.com/reports/newsletters/summary.html).

Indeed, this significant finding is good news for marketers who want to enhance their online relationships. The emotional attachment people feel with email newsletters can create a stronger bond between readers and companies. More so than anything a website can achieve. When users glance at a website, their immediate task or question reins supreme. Users want to get in and get out of a website "as quickly as possible."

Not so with Email newsletters, which "...feel personal because they arrive in users' inboxes and users have an ongoing relationship with them." In fact, according to the NNG report, the email inbox is "information central" for most of us, a special place where we check for personal messages and mail.

Here's a few points to remember when designing an email newsletter:

• Though people are emotionally attached to email newsletters, there's so much traffic, the stress of processing the mailbox continues to make them wary;
• Skimming is the "dominant mode" of dealing with a cluttered inbox. Over 69% of readers skim the contents rather than read each issue.
• Only 23% of email newsletters are read thoroughly.
• With so much to read, a rigorous edit is needed so readers can scan the contents. The writing style needs to support readers who will focus on a limited portion of the layout.
• Be relevant, address specific needs with work related news, professional tips or advice, events, prices, deadlines, sales, premiums, important dates, personal interests and hobbies (remember, this is a personal medium).
• Your attitude counts a great deal. An email newsletter that's a pain to use, unsubscribe from, or that comes in too frequently, can create real animosity. Never attempt to trap the user into accepting your email newsletter or keeping them from dropping out by making the unsubscribe link hard to find. It's far better to let them go and focus on building a quality permission based list.

How do you gain subscribers in a saturated market?

Your pitch to the reader should be made from a position of strength. Place your new Email Newsletter in its rightful place of importance and support it accordingly. Commit to a regular publishing schedule that's not too frequent. The emotional engagement of readers is a precious commodity, offering strong potential. Don't take it lightly.

• Your best prospect may be someone who is literally waiting to hear from you.
• Make his life a little bit easier, better, or more profitable.
• Let him know that your email newsletter will be easy to read and use.

Notes to a Copy writer on advertising

Dear Copywriter,

It’s never so easy.

Here’s a few thoughts.

1) Bernbach once said: touch the emotions of the reader and you’ll touch their soul, etc. (or words to this effect.).

2) Try removing any mention of the company or brand name from the appeal, concept or headline and work directly with the subject, thinking only of the reader. You did this very well in our last project. In this case, the reader will see the logo in its place. We don’t need to push their name. Unless of course, a very compelling headline extols something about the brand that’s newsworthy (we can do this, but I think it will miss the essence of the product and what it means to the customer).

3) Try to make a little bit of magic happen! We need to introduce this product in a new way.

4) Capture the reader’s attention with a fundamental truth, stated memorably. If we can link a selling angle (USP) through the copy or subhead or positioning, so much the better. But even without a USP, let’s try to capture the magic of the product and build readership for the message.

Here are a couple of quick headline ideas that might be promising (suggestions only, they need more work):

* A few samples followed up on this
* Then I got back to the overall theme

You have a few nice starts, like the less is more headline. But we need a bit more search, or creative push. We need a memorable twist, but not too cute or clever. As a journalist, report on what the product will do. But be more intimate in style. We’re trying to capture the interest of a reader by appealing directly to her desires and self interest. We’re trying to capture a fundamental truth or essence on the “uniqueness of relationship between the customer and the product.”

If you feel totally stifled, try writing a very personal letter to a friend. Show lots of enthusiasm for the product and how it will make her feel better, help her do more things, or improve her health. Don’t even think of mentioning the client. Just capture the story in the most compelling way. That letter is likely to produce a few lines of copy and headline. Maybe a strong headline.

Remember, it’s the emotions of the reader we want to touch.


Greg

How To Fix Your Website, And Stay Grounded

Fixing your website is easy, right?

But, how are you going to stay grounded when doing this?

It's tempting to say: "touch the edge of your computer's main frame!" But no, I'm not referring to static electricity. Instead I want to reinforce the importance of staying grounded in your thinking when you plan a website, or revise one that's currently online.

Most clients fall into distinct categories of web development:

1. Those who yearn for new applications, technology and dazzling effects;
2. And those who want a more effective business tool.

Now, you may think we prefer clients who want new applications and technology. Yet, our practice tends to attract more practical, grounded business people who are less focused on pyrotechnics or dynamic functionality. In fact, most of our customers don't feel very romantic about the internet. Instead, they want sound methodology and analysis to provide a more profitable return on their investment.

We're happy to comply with their needs. After all, it's their demand that drives our business.

However, this duality can present a curious dilemma: Despite the growth of new media, desire for new technology must be considered in light of a site plan that's based on the appropriate use of today's resources. Right now, the web is the fastest growing advertising medium in the world, out pacing television, newspapers, magazines, radio and other traditional media (which still lead in market share, but the gap is narrowing). Many leading marketers are seeking a competitive edge in user generated content, wireless computing, video blogs, social networking websites, behavioral targeting, and the continuing evolution in search engine marketing.

Yet, website developers and clients often confuse methods and goals in becoming deadlocked or compromised for the wrong reasons on site development priorities. The rush for new database functionality, online video or multimedia may seem promising. Yet, basic navigational problems, obscure page designs or difficult information architecture may be doing more harm than good. It is here that a well grounded viewpoint can help.

The grounded business person will move carefully with a well development plan based on improved usability, well designed and informative product pages, better writing, and a solid navigational scheme.

We know of one construction implement manufacturer who was so caught up in a protracted redevelopment process that they let their site languish unchanged while the redevelopment effort bogged down. They're intentions changed from basic makeover to a bigger project that could have been done in phases. The impact in lost business may never be fully realized or known.

At times the rush to be with it by making use of the latest web functionality, may lead you down the wrong path. High tech enthusiasm may send the wrong signal. Though your next website should reflect a timely image, it may be more profitable to revisit the basics first. In essence if you stay grounded, you may be better off.

Here's what current usability studies tell us to address as a first priority:

1. Fix the stuff that's broken. There's a good chance your language is drawn out and difficult to read online. Your photos may be too small or poorly lit. Try running a usability test of your current site with a small targeted group. You may be surprised to learn that the most important action items may not be high tech.
2. Consider this: people don't spend much time with the first visit to a website (they move on quickly if they don't find what they're looking for). Because of this its important to design each main topic page as a landing page for your site. In supporting deep link visitors you'll need to think critically about the content on all of these pages. It is crucial to the success of your site.
3. Check your navigation. Make sure it's consistent, well thought out and easy to use, with good descriptive text for labels and links. Each page title should match the link names. Many sites lose visitors through poor information architecture.
4. Make sure every page communicates the essence of what your site is about. People will scan the page to make their decision to read further, or move on. Make sure they get the point quickly on every page of your site.
5. Provide information that real users actually want. The purpose of a site is often obscured by the many creators and cooks who conspire to build it. The problem comes when someone pays a visit. Users want to know whether your services meet their needs, and why they should do business with you.
6. Now that you have done justice to the basics, look to the burgeoning world wide web and its many high tech innovations. By staying grounded at first, you'll be in a better position to seize that new competitive advantage.

Draw Them In To Your Site With The Right "Scent"

Let me hit you with this one: Successful websites can be analyzed by understanding the visitor's sense of smell!

You think I'm kidding, right?

Yet, as crazy as it sounds this concept reflects scientific findings in human-computer interaction research which date back to the early 90's (a nearly pre-historic age in computer technology) at the Palo Alto Research Center in California. Back then Stuart Card and Peter Pirolli used the analogy of wild animals gathering food to better understand how humans collect information online. This led them to the concept of "information foraging." Hence the idea of information scent in predicting how people actually follow up on a spoor of data and then continue in following the path to hit upon the information they're seeking to find.

It's all so figurative, of course. But, that's what makes the analogy so appealing. You can't actually smell anything online (unless your computer keyboard becomes very dirty). But your eyes can translate what you're seeing and reading into a warmer feeling, which is akin to the scent a predator picks up as it follows a path to its prey.

The website developer's job is to make that scent appear when it should, to make it a bit stronger at every step, so the information forager continues on the right path and reaches his goal on your site.

There's an inversion of natural selection here. No prey wants to be caught; but your website does. You want your site to be easily found and captured. You want people to satisfy their quest on your site's pages and links. It's our job to make it as easy as possible. We want them to catch the scent of a successsful hunt and reinforce it as they click the links. To do this we make your site a nutritious meal (or even a delicious little snack) and allow the forager to sniff it out early as an easy catch.

Here are a few things we do to enhance the smell of success for information foraging:

1) Spend time on links and category discriptions. This takes some analysis and pre-production time, but it's very much worthwhile. With so many navigational options available through a search query, the hunter has too many choices at every step. She can loose the scent quite easily. There's work to be done here that you don't want to short-change.

2) Avoid using jargon and cute words that have no common usage or "scent." Slogans cannot be saught out ahead of time by people who don't know what they mean. Unless you have a universal household trade name, try to make use of short, common English nouns and verbs to in your headings, link names, navigational elements, and copy.

3) Keep it easy for the visitor to know where they are in your site at all times, and provide stimulating links and for them to continue their efforts in drilling down to interior pages and information that will satisfy their search.

4) Use informative product pages. Don't assume anyone knows your product names and model numbers. They won't know them or find them on their own. Too often product pages are nearly barren of any real meat (hence no real scent to smell).

5) Use great product photography with people shown enjoying product benefits. This helps the visitor identify with the information and understand how the product will help them.

6) Drawing the visitor with the right scent is a cummulative process. Make sure these message elements find their way into main topic pages as well as the "deep links" on your site.

Four Things Site Visitors Do Online That You Should Know

Today Web visitors use search engines as 'answer engines.' They have learned much about the World Wide Web and they now view it as a single, integrated resource (for a great discussion of this pick up a copy of "Prioritizing Web Usability" by Nielsen and Loranger). The result of this shift means they don't think or care very much about individual websites. Their information grazing habits have turned them into answer engine query animals turning stones to find digestible nuggets of information. Here are the four things they do when they visit your site:

1) They go to their preferred search engine and type a few descriptive words.

2) The look at the top listings of the search engine results page.

3) They visit some of the sites they find on that page, but leave quickly after a minute or two... at best.

4) They view most pages for less than half a minute.

With such pressure to communicate effectively, you'll want to avoid fluffy talk, vague language, misleading statements, or poor graphics and photography. You'll want to give them well written and concise information, and avoid the temptation to engage in a concentrated sales pitch. You'll want to make sure your site is lean, well designed, easy to navigate, and standards compliant.

This takes a fusion of marketing, research, strategy, creative thinking and some experience with usability studies on how people succeed in their tasks using the web, and how they fail.

How Scrolling Affects Your Website

Most Web users simply do not take the time to scroll down a web page, at least not very far down anyway. This may be disconcerting if you're a website publisher or marketer. It's likely you have worked hard on your site's content and delivered a lot of good material and data.

Did you do the right thing in developing longer copy that takes up several screens of information?

Or, should you start over with shorter pages which require less scrolling?

It is a question every site designer will consider at some point. Just how much information constitutes a page? Based on usability and tracking data, most site visitors don't scroll past the first screen of a landing page. Just over 40% of them remain for a short time on the first screen before choosing to move on, or back to the search engine results page (SERP) to click another link. For professional and business to business sites a higher proportion of users will take more time to investigate site offerings. In fact, more experienced web users will do more scrolling than people who are less comfortable on the web. The experienced user knows that important information is often hidden below the first screen on many websites. However, for any site geared to consumers, it's very important to think through the content that will appear "above the fold" (i.e. the top portion of a folded newspaper) on the first screen of the landing page.

This is a quick business. People feel pressed having to go through so much information. They're impatient in searching through web pages looking for what they need. Since most web pages offer up convoluted writing and limited information at best, users often make the right decision to keep on clicking instead of scrolling and reading. It is important to be there with what they want by providing well written headlines, subheads, and pin-pointed copy above the fold, on the landing page for their keyword query.

Eliminate scrolling, or use longer copy? What's the best approach?

Shorter pages can be seen and assesed more easily. Yet genuine in-depth content requires longer treatment. Learn the proper way to engage the visitor with strong opening copy. Make sure the first two sentences effectively introduce and summarize what the page offers. Make good use of text links within the content so your visitors can find related information easily without leaving your site or returning to the search engine results page.

It's in your interest to keep them engaged and interested. Additionally, don't be shy in helping them find your product or service offerings. You must know how to present good copy headlines above the fold to gain their interest and engagement.