By mia, on May 8th, 2013%
I don’t think there’s a formula or recipe for business blogging success, but I do think there are some traits that are common to great company blogs.
You don’t need to have all of these things, but I think your chances of having a successful business blog will be better if at least several of these things describe your blog.
1) Problem-Solving
A great company blog solves people’s problems. It sells through helping and education.
2) Openness
3) Personality
Think of it this way: Nobody likes a stuffy company blog.
4) A Plan
- How often will you publish?
- What types of articles will you publish?
- Who all in your company will be charged with writing for the blog?
- If you have multiple authors, who’s going to manage them?
- What will your comment policy be?
5) Persistence
6) Passion
If you don’t really love and believe in the products or services you offer, it’ll be difficult to convert blog readers into customers.
7) Variety
Your blog posts shouldn’t all read like news releases. They shouldn’t all be designed to sell. They shouldn’t all be the same length. They shouldn’t stick to a company formula. Variety is a great way to keep readers’ interested.
2 Traits You Don’t Need for a Great Business Blog
1) Perfect Writing
2) Technical Skills and/or Money
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By mia, on April 17th, 2013%
Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox:
If you must make your own scrollbars, stay as close to user expectations as possible. Unless your scrollbars look like scrollbars, users might not notice them. Unless your scrollbars behave like scrollbars, users might not be able to bring the desired content into view. In either case, your customers are limited to doing business with you on the basis of the few items that are visible without scrolling, and they might never see the full extent of your offerings. There’s no doubt that ensuring scrollbar usability provides an even higher ROI than most other usability guidelines.
With custom-designed scrollbars, you run a significant risk of creating usability problems. In our user testing of Flash usability , people simply didn’t use many of the homemade scrolling designs. The following figure shows three examples:
Contrast the failed scrollbars with the following examples of effective custom-designed scrollbars:
Scrollbars that worked.
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By mia, on April 10th, 2013%
by Sarah Negugogor
Keep It Short
If there’s any content in your marketing materials that could be considered “fluff,” get rid of it. Keep it short, and more importantly, keep it simple.
Comparison of the AWeber website and the MailChimp website.
Help Users Scan and Find Information
Consistent use of headers is essential on the web, and they need to be descriptive to give users a sense of what content is on the page and where they can find the information they need.
Use Your Audience’s Language
This issue comes up frequently when trying to optimize content for search. If you’re not using the words users are searching for, you won’t be showing up in their search results.
Test With Users
User feedback is the Holy Grail of web writing.
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By mia, on April 4th, 2013%
by Kathleen Fealy
When deciding what to include on your mobile website, start with listing your objectives.
Business Objectives
- What are the objectives of the mobile website?
- Are these objectives measurable?
- Should there be a separate mobile site, or one overall site that is responsive for all users?
- Are all the needed stakeholders — management, marketing, IT, sales — involved?
- What devices do your visitors most frequently use?
Visitor Objectives
- What do your mobile site visitors want to do?
- What do they need to do?
- Do they need to perform specific actions and what are those actions?
- In what environment will they be performing those actions?
- Is there a simpler way to illustrate concepts — graphics vs. words?
- What navigation is necessary to guide your visitors to their desired tasks?
- What functions or tasks need to be performed?
The key to a good customer experience is to determine how you can address the needs of your visitors and provide that functionality. Are they looking for a map? Do they want to order something? Compare prices? Need to book an appointment or make a reservation? Remember, too, that your visitors will use their phones and tablets in multiple scenarios — sitting in the car, on the couch watching TV, or browsing at Starbucks.
At all times, keep in mind that your visitor is using a small screen.
Guidelines for Good Mobile Website Design
Below are the most common recommendations for building a mobile-friendly site.
Remember to be aware of your graphic sizes and keep the file size small. This will help with users that have limited data plans and will also allow for fast page loading.
Layout
- Provide the most important information at top, such as business name, address, phone number, and a link to directions or map.
- When displaying phone numbers, use “click to call.”
- Simplify navigation to the most important buttons based on what your visitors are seeking.
- Don’t be cluttered — make use of space.
- Don’t make users scroll horizontally.
- Provide contrast between text and background.
- Consider how users hold their mobile devices.
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By mia, on March 13th, 2013%
by Andy Curry
Whether you’re a plumber, HVAC contractor, dentist, chiropractor, or mechanic, the wording on your website is enormously important because “what” you say can either repel or attract customers. This is one of the most important yet overlooked considerations when it comes to marketing your business online.
Which Words to Use
So how do you know what wording to use on your website or Facebook page? I’ve found the best approach is to figure it out as scientifically and inexpensively as possible.
Google’s pay-per-click ad system is the fastest and least expensive way to figure out your sales message. You can start an account and set up your live campaign within just a few hours. Plus, you can tell how many times your ad has been seen versus how many times customers sought out further information. You can’t do that with TV, newspaper, or radio. Often you can discover what wording to use by spending $50 to $150 in Google’s advertising. With TV or newspaper, it’s much harder, more expensive, and painfully time consuming to hone your sales message.
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By mia, on March 12th, 2013%
by Bryan Eisenberg
So you’re the biggest, the best, the fastest, the first? So what. Big deal. How do you know if any of that answers the question your customer is asking, “What’s in it for me?” (WIFM).
“Features versus benefits” is Marketing 101. But as I look around the Web, I wonder if anybody heard that through their college-day hangovers. Very few people even talk about benefits, much less make the effort to get really good at translating features into benefits. Yet power-packed words describing benefits are what trigger the emotions that motivate us to spend our money, time, or energy. People (including you and me) buy because of the positive emotions associated with the benefits.
Products’ attributes usually have four principal levels:
Features — what products have. For example, “This application is able to handle multiple users concurrently.”
Advantages — what features do. For example, “This application provides essential information in real time.”
Benefits — what features mean. For example, “This information will allow your managers to keep their fingers on the company’s financial pulse at all times.”
Motives — what features satisfy. For example, “This feature will provide cost-savings, control, and efficiency.”
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By mia, on March 11th, 2013%
by Mandy Porta
To build a solid foundation for your business, you must first identify your typical customer and tailor your marketing pitch accordingly.
Many businesses say they target “anyone interested in my services.” Some may say they target small business owners, homeowners, or stay-at-home moms. All of these targets are too general.
Targeting a specific market does not mean that you have to exclude people that do not fit your criteria from buying from you. Rather, target marketing allows you to focus your marketing dollars and brand message on a specific market that is more likely to buy from you than other markets. This is a much more affordable, efficient, and effective way to reach potential clients and generate business.
How to Define Your Target Market: Look at Your Current Customer Base
How to Define Your Target Market: Check Out Your Competition
How to Define Your Target Market: Analyze Your Product/Service
How to Define Your Target Market: Choose Specific Demographics to Target
Figure out not only who has a need for your product or service, but also who is most likely to buy it. Think about the following factors:
• Age
• Location
• Gender
• Income level
• Education level
• Marital or family status
• Occupation
• Ethnic background
How to Define Your Target Market: Consider the Psychographics of Your Target
Psychographics are more personal characteristics of a person, including:
• Personality
• Attitudes
• Values
• Interests/hobbies
• Lifestyles
• Behavior
How to Define You Target Market: Evaluate Your Decision
Once you’ve decided on a target market, be sure to consider these questions:
• Are there enough people that fit my criteria?
• Will my target really benefit from my product/service? Will they see a need for it?
• Do I understand what drives my target to make decisions?
• Can they afford my product/service?
• Can I reach them with my message? Are they easily accessible?
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By mia, on March 8th, 2013%
by Christian Vasile
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. True or not, images are an important part of any website we create. Since it is so easy to embed an image in a website (even the process of creating your own images is very easy), most websites are filled with them. There are some very good examples out there on how to deal with images in a website from different points of view, but most of the websites do not showcase positive examples.
Web Design Usability Guide – Dealing with Images
Indeed, users want to see photos on websites, but they want them to be relevant. They would prefer a webpage that doesn’t have visual images rather than a webpage that has lots of photos that just make it heavy and cluttered. The key in using images on websites, according to the study, is based on a few basic ideas:
- Image fundamentals - size, composition, quality and exposure are four important things to look for in a good image. People actually look for quality in images, even the contrast makes a huge difference.
- Effectiveness – if the picture creates excitement or interest, then it works. It is down to three characteristics:
- Emotional appeal – does the product in the picture look good and make the user want it?
- Rational appeal – does the image show the benefits of the product?
- and Brand appeal – does the picture fit your brand?
- Transmitted message – this is about the image sending the right message to the website readers.
- Anticipated user response – this is a bit more difficult to put into practice, but the basic idea behind it is that the picture should help decision-making and create a desire for the product. We will talk about this a bit later.
Purely decorative images tend to be ignored unconsciously by our brain.
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By mia, on March 7th, 2013%
by Jacob Gube
Writing content for web users has its challenges. Chief among them is the ease with which your content is read and understood by your visitors (i.e. its readability).
When your content is highly readable, your audience is able to quickly digest the information you share with them — a worthy goal to have for your website, whether you run a blog, an e-store or your company’s domain.
1. Keep Content as Concise as Possible
2. Use Headings to Break Up Long Articles
3. Help Readers Scan Your Webpages Quickly
4. Use Bulleted Lists and Text Formatting
5. Give Text Blocks Sufficient Spacing
6. Make Hyperlinked Text User-Friendly
7. Use Visuals Strategically
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By mia, on March 5th, 2013%
by Drew Coffin
Storytelling is a powerful form of communication. But marketers often neglect storytelling. In this post I will provide you with ways you can begin to integrate storytelling with your brand.
 Show Don’t Tell
If you have ever taken a creative writing class, you probably were told “show, don’t tell,” when writing. The same is true for storytelling within a brand. By simply presenting a setting, character, and action, business storytellers allow customers to enter into the story of their brands in a personal, relatable way. In many cases, the character can be the customer and the action can be the sale.
Tools for Brand Storytelling
Once you have your story in mind, you can begin to use different design elements to craft your story. Here are some of the design elements useful in storytelling.
Words.
Typography.
Color.
Photographs.
Illustrations.
Videos.
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