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In each issue of future digests, we're
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Each success story will have a portion of
the Digest dedicated to it and a link to the archived story
will be available on each issue of the digest for 1 year.
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story links will be displayed.
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Recent Success
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Digest New Initiatives
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Adland Digest Editor
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Adland Digest Tip of the Week |
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Internet and Profit Newbies
If you're new to making money on the internet, get to know the Do's and Don'ts
of taking the step into the world of generating income online. |
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Linda Caroll |
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The Rich Niche
Snitch
When I hear people
talk of riches from niches,
my eyes
start to cross and I get the twitches.
The trick,
so you know, with niches and riches,
is not in
the pitches, but scratching the itches.
I've come to realize that a lot of people
confuse "mini site" with "niche site." They are not the same.
You know what mini means right? Most people
do, which explains those obnoxious Viagra ads. Anyway, mini means
something that is distinctively smaller than others of its type. In a
website, mini means less than 10 pages. Often less than 5 pages.
Sometimes only one page.
It's a no frills kind of site. Buy what it
sells or leave. There's nothing else here for you. It's about the
pitches, not scratching your itches, unless what it pitches scratches
what itches. Then maybe you'll buy.
But, do you know what niche means? Even the
pronunciation is confusing. You can say niche - to rhyme with rich, or
you can say neesh - to rhyme with sheesh - and that's okay, too. Go
figure.
No matter how you say it, niche means "a
situation or activity specially suited to a person's interests,
abilities, or nature." Go ahead, look it up at dictionary.com. I'll
wait.
I read an interview with a guy who makes his
living with mini sites. He said he has hundreds of them. He said that if
he has hundreds of sites making even a hundred dollars a week, it's a
pretty good living. His only regret is that he didn't start building
more of them earlier.
I guess... But it seems to me that having
hundreds of domain names to renew every year and hundreds of websites
that you need to host and hundreds of websites to promote maybe isn't
the ideal solution for everyone. Especially a newbie. And the glitch is
that you won't get rich with just one mini-niche.
Each mini site is, of course, a niche. I mean,
really, how many products can you cover in 1-5 pages? Unless you have
hundreds of blinking banners on one page, but we all know those sites
don't work.
Then I think of Adam's site at
dogproblems.com. Now there's a niche, but it's no mini. If you click on
the articles page, you'll see what I mean. Know what Adam's site does?
It's not just a pitch, it also scratches an itch. If you have a dog,
you'll find something helpful there. Maybe lots of somethings. It's not
just a one page "buy my ebook or flake off" kind of site. He makes his
living from that site.
Know why it works so well? Because he actually
knows dogs. He doesn't just play a dog trainer on tv or the Internet,
he's a real dog trainer in his real life. He actually knows dogs and how
to make them behave.
It's all a matter of perspective. You have to
decide what's right for you, but to do that, you have to know the
difference. So here it is.
A mini site is usually a niche site.
A niche site doesn't have to be a mini site.
Mini sites are like potato chips. You can't
just have one.
See? |
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Site Design and Search Engine Optimization
Get nuts and bolts tips on how to plan, build, and optimize your web site for
maximum online impact. |
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Peter Browne |
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The
Three Click Rule or Not
In a recent review I conducted, I made
mention of The "Three Click" Rule and I would like to address
this somewhat further in this article.
There is always a lot of debate on what
constitutes good design elements and The "Three-Click" Rule has
been around for along time. Is it right or true that people will abandon
a website if they cannot find what they are looking for in Three Clicks?
The basic convention is that site navigation
should be so simple that a visitor never has to click more than three
times to reach the desired content. The fact is that recent studies have
shown that the so-called "three click rule" may be more myth than
reality. What's really important is creating an effective Navigation
System that directs visitors where they want to go.
The three-click rule is simple: a visitor
should never have to visit more than three pages after the home page to
find the information they are looking for. Some designers even include
the main page, which then means information has to be available within
two clicks of the main page.
It is a published and known fact that 92% of
online hotel reservation web sites conform to the three-click rule. KPMG
has an on-line
REPORT all about it.
Navigation must be designed to assist
visitors in finding the information you want them to find quickly -
hence The Three Click Rule. Recently some design and usability
professionals question the accuracy of this.
It is a fact that when people are interested
by the content provided at a website, they will click from front to back
to find read what you are offering, especially if the content matters to
them. This in fact negates The Three Click Rule.
What is more important is Navigation.
It has to be usable and accurate. Getting from page to page should be
easy and the visitor should always be able to reverse navigate just as
easily.
Website visitors usually do not mind the few
extra clicks it takes to get to the information they are after. However,
they hate wandering through a site with no clear destination in sight.
The structure and navigation should help your visitors find information
quickly and easily. It should also help you promote your site to search
engines. Do you know what type of navigation elements are readable to a
search engine bot and which are not?
While there is a lot of dispute over The
Three Click Rule, and I do agree 100% that navigation is much
more important. Where it really still comes into play is when you
operate a shopping cart.
When you have a potential buyer all set to
make the commitment and purchase from you, this is where the fewer the
clicks the better, still counts.
In a lot of cases, you took time to build the
relationship and trust with the customer. You might have spent
considerable sums of money to attract and acquire the targeted traffic
that was this potential customer and you do not want to jeopardize that
trust by using a confusing order process.
The reality of The Three Click Rule is
that we should not be critical of a rule that, in essence, has a purpose
and effect of helping to keep the focus on visitors and their
requirements or needs. The real problem we should look at is the quality
of content and the ease at which it is presented.
So while we have always had The Three Click
Rule and will have for a long time never forget NAVIGATION RULES!
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Peter G Browne
A Website For
Christmas
Bengal Marketing
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The Science of Advertising
It's all about getting visitors to your site, customers through your door, and
everyone remembering who you and your business are. Class is in. I'm
your teacher Mr. Page. |
Clay Page |
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Do You Really Need
An Advertising Plan?
"Life will not go
according to plan if you do not have a plan!" The
same holds true to your advertising efforts, if you
do not have a plan, you're wasting time and money!
To begin, there the old
saying of Paul Gaugin that speaks volumes when he
said "I shut my eyes in order to see."
What I believe he means to
a degree is in order for greater success, you have
to stop thinking about the norm and seek out those
means that are new, different or innovated ways of
approaching new ideas.
For an example, think
about the many automotive adverts we see each day
that are promoted by all the major car manufactures.
If one idea or ad worked, we would see the same ad
over and over, but we don't.
So in this series of
lessons we want to expand the opportunity to reach
outside the standard norm of advertising a product
or service and start in a new direction of promoting
the sale rather than the traditional means of
selling the product.
Over the years I've worked
with clients who devoted countless hours and capital
to develop a database of products and services but
invested little attention or money in promoting
their offers. To me it was like buying a Ferrari and
then using the cheapest fuel. Sure it will run, but
will it give you optimal performance you expect?
What is the difference
between promoting the "selling process" over that of
"selling the product"?
We all know that a
successful selling process will "inspire" the reader
(consumer) to purchase the product and that is done
through the concept of promoting the product rather
that selling the main points of the product.
So what is the difference
between promoting and selling? For a great example,
evaluate the following two adverts for a set of
gloves.
The first is the standard,
although very good copy, norm for selling the
benefits of a product.
Headlines: Fun in the
snow? He needs serious performance!
- Waterproof, windproof,
and insulated to keep hands warm and dry.
- Fingers are specially
constructed to fit better.
- Reinforced fingertips
won't blow out.
- Palms give you a good
grip.
Now the next ad copy
"promotes" the product in more of a personal way of
communicating and affords the reader to fill in the
blanks and to "imagine" the benefits that the reader
sees or relates with if they purchased the product.
Headlines: Let nary a
pinky go cold!
The warmest parka in the
world won't do much good if your hands get cold and
soggy. Slip on our sporty snow gloves, and you'll be
ready to play all day. First, the rugged nylon shell
is ready for rough wear, and we've reinforced key
stress areas like the palm and fingertips.
Next, a waterproof liner
protects the insulation, so these gloves keep their
warming power. And the inside is lined with
cloud-soft microfleece, a haven on raw days. Even
the fingers will fit better, thanks to technical
fourchette construction.
Gloves have elastic wrists
with cinch strap to seal out snow and slush. Plus
there's a small zip pocket on the back of the hand
for a locker key. Ready for a full day in the snow?
Don't forget our sporty snow gloves and they are
machine washable!
As you can see in the
above ad copy there's a description that tells a
beautiful story about the product and inspires you
to "feel" how it will improve your quality of life.
In the traditional selling of a product you'll get
the vital statistics: size, fabric, color, etc. and
some elusive description of the benefits the product
offers.
Which one makes you want
to buy?
So when creating a
powerful ad campaign and plan, you must plan on
communicating with the reader (consumer) in a way
that really is communicating face-to-face.
Imagine we are at a party
and you ask me what I'm selling and I answered with
the first ad copy and stopped. Would you be inspired
to buy from me?
The latter copy
(communication/story) leaves you thinking/feeling
and I bet you would be more inclined to carry on the
conversation with me about the product, the start of
the selling process.
(Later I will show you how
to use your ALP forum to continue with the above
tactic to increase your success)
Point One:
The idea is to "promote"
the start of a conversation with the reader about
the product instead of leaving the reader with a
choice of yes or no after hearing the ad copy. You
want the imagination of the reader to lead them to
desiring to know more and the best way to get that
started is through telling a story about the
product/service.
So how do you develop a
new idea for ad copy that promotes/inspires the
reader to "feel" how it will improve the quality of
their life and desire to learn more?
Developing a new idea is
daunting when you don't know where to start, so the
best place to start is investing a little time when
it comes to building a collection of background
material on the product.
The Secret for New
Ideas
Get your hands/eyes on
everything you can get your hands on about the
product: information on brand positioning, marketing
materials, press releases, research reports,
examples of competitors' web sites, industry
publications, etc.
Don't filter what you
think will be relevant to the task, thinking you'll
save time. You never know what might spur an idea
from the information you've gathered while working
on a project. The more information you collect and
read, the more you are fueling your creative machine
(mind) that will sooner than later, evolved into
some great ideas!
Some of the best ideas
ever, have come not when concentrating on developing
such an idea but when the subconscious takes you by
surprise. The more information you have gathered
about the product/service, you'll leave little to
chance.
Remember what I mentioned
in the beginning: Buying a Ferrari and then using
the cheapest fuel will not deliver the performance
you're expecting, so invest the time to get to know
your product and the ideas will evolve.
The adage of "an
interesting story is well worth the investment in
personal research" is understated when it comes to
building a successful ad campaign and plan.
A great promotional story
not only makes for better reading, it can
differentiate your message from the competition's,
so make an investment in high performance fuel to
power your selling machine.
So the best way to inspire
the ideas that will be the cornerstone of your ad
campaign is to nurture an active and open mind that
will more readily furnish you with bright,
innovative concepts.
So remember, "I shut my
eyes in order to see" (Paul Gaugin) is really
letting go of the traditional way of advertising and
start promoting a story that inspires the reader,
and anyone can achieve greater results.
If you cannot join us on
the conference call, please check back for a summary
of the call (recording) where you can listen to the
highlights of the discussion.
Also, if you have any
questions about lesson one, please post your
question or comments below to start the
conversation.
Have a great adventure in
creating an ad masterpiece!
Additional Resources
for Your Consideration...
* Communications That Get
Results! - Beverly Armstrong
http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShowPost.aspx?PostID=89515
* Prospecting 101 -
Beverly Armstrong
http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShowPost.aspx?PostID=109924
- Introduction of Lessons
http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShowPost.aspx?PostID=183685
- Lesson One (Reading Now)
- Lesson Two
http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShowPost.aspx?PostID=190500
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Clay Page
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Web Logs, Blogs and the Art of Blogging
The ongoing growth of Blogs and RSS feeds |
Kenneth Sword |
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Blogs
Are Like Transformers ...
We all are hearing about it and seeing
more of it ... Blogs and Blogging.
It's hot but people are still not sure of what
it is or how to use it.
Bill Dugan, an AdlandPro member has a forum
that covers the setup and basic understanding of a blog and how to get
it syndicated.
http://community.adlandpro.com/forumShow.aspx?ForumID=9305
Blogs are becoming more sophisticated in how
you can use them. Looking into adding features to my company's blog
service has me studying other technologies.
Phone text messaging and podcasting are coming
into the picture now and look to be coming on STRONG!
So, let me briefly tell about text messaging
using cell phones and email sends.
First, to use a cell phone, you need to have
email service through your mobile service provider (MSP).
Same as receiving email you can send email.
Now, if your blog service is equipped for
mobile text messaging you will need to supply your blog in it's setup
the email address you have with your MSP.
Some blog services will give you a special
addy to put in your cell phone to send to your blog. It's a security
feature so you don't get a lot of postings you don't wish to receive
from other cell phones and you will know where the post came from.
Why would you want to send from your cell
phone a message to your blog.
Let's say you are in the sporting goods
business. You hear that the city is going to allocate a huge amount of
money into Parks and Recreations and that means equipment sales.
Why would you send this to your blog? If your
blog is private and used as an idea journal you can enter info like as
if it's a daytimer. A reminder for later.
Let's say though you have a public blog,
instead of sending info on sporting equipment you know the city will be
looking for landscapers and other contractors that are not in
competition with you.
Posting it could get you in touch as a middle
person for more info and start a network with other fields that can work
together, expanding your business as well.
This is only an example and don't be afraid to
use your imagination.
Also, you can use your regular email to send
to the blog, too. Setup is similar and used the same.
I'll cover podcasting soon.
Kenneth R Sword Jr |
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