Mobile Advertising – Get The Scoop

I certainly see mobile advertising as the wave of future.  

Here’s where I’m lost: Conversion.

Besides app downloads, mobile advertising has not proven to generate sales.  Yes, lead gen can work with mobile advertising.  

Net, Net: I’m looking for the answer!

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INFOGRAPHIC: The Mobile Advertising Ecosystem Explained …

http://www.businessinsider.comMon, 13 May 2013 21:00:26 GMT

So, mobile advertising should be a bonanza, right? Not exactly. It has been a bit slow off the ground, and its growth trajectory is not clear cut. Part of the reason is that the mobile ad ecosystem is not as strictly delineated as the …

Massive Mobile Advertising Ecosystem – Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.comTue, 30 Apr 2013 14:10:00 GMT

In a recent report from BI Intelligence on the mobile advertising ecosystem, we explain the complexities and fractures, and examine the central and dynamic roles played by mobile ad networks, demand side platforms, mobile …

Facebook Sees 30% or $375M of Ad Revenue Coming From Mobile …

http://thenextweb.comWed, 01 May 2013 20:13:33 GMT

During Facebook’s Q1 2013 earnings report, the social networking company revealed news regarding its mobile advertising revenue and how it performed.

When I meet with prospective clients, they complain that their website doesn’t generate sales or leads.

Why? In general, their website and webiste copy is inward looking.  The sites talks about products and/or services.

Instead the site should reach out to the prospect, grab them by the hand, and take them through a journey…

Check out these articles on direct response copywriting.  I think you’ll understand.

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How To Sell Without Selling | Copyblogger

http://www.copyblogger.comFri, 03 May 2013 11:00:06 GMT

About the Author: Ben Settle is a direct response copywriter and email marketing strategist. Although Ben no longer accepts clients, he gives away over 700 pages of his bestselling ideas and insights free at BenSettle.com.

Using Direct Response Copywriting to Get Results | Word Gurus

http://www.wordgurus.coMon, 15 Apr 2013 02:42:03 GMT

Direct Response Copywriting is imperative in today’s online market. Why? Isn’t SEO copywriting enough? In a nutshell – No! SEO copywriting, the strategic usage of keywords within copy will only get you 20% of the way to the …

Web Writers: 8 Classic Must-Read Direct Response Copywriting …

http://thecopybot.comFri, 15 Mar 2013 14:49:50 GMT

These are the books I would demand you read if teaching a ground-level course on writing for the web.

I love retargeting!  In fact, it has the best ROI of any online advertising that I do!

Checkout these cool articles on retargeting!

Regards,

Kevin

PS – I love Perfect Audience as a provider.

Facebook Retargeting Startup Perfect Audience Launches A …

http://techcrunch.comWed, 20 Mar 2013 23:19:25 GMT

When Y Combinator-incubated Perfect Audience launched last year, its stated goal was to make it easy for small advertisers (startups, small agencies, and othe..

Foursquare Set To Sell Check-In Data For Ad Retargeting

http://marketingland.comTue, 30 Apr 2013 15:45:26 GMT

As reported earlier this month, Foursquare has been working to woo agencies and big brand advertisers. Now, a leaked presentation deck picked up by Valleyw.

So You Thought Site Retargeting Was Personalized – Marketing Land

http://marketingland.comMon, 22 Apr 2013 13:00:35 GMT

An evolving market has far more benefits than disadvantages, personalization is just one example of this, especially within site retargeting.

Last week Facebook announced that it will rollout the Facebook timeline to all users.

The Facebook timeline is a chronological display of Facebook activity.

Denver Social Media – What You Need To Know About The Facebook Timeline

• Currently, it is optional, but it will be mandatory in the next couple of weeks.
• You can convert your page by searching for "timeline."  At the bottom of the announcement page is a green button that says "Get Timeline."
• Facebook timeline works by displaying your status updates in reverse chronological order.
• The Facebook timeline will replace your profile and wall.
• You can edit your timeline by adjusting the global settings (pen icon in the upper right) or the editing function next to each post or update.
• If you want to delete some of your previous posts, this can be done with the editing function next to each post or update.

Denver Social Media – What Do You Do?

The net, net is that you don't have a choice.  The change is coming!  Facebook is forcing all users to adopt the new platform.

At Denver Social Media by KCC, we believe social media is a critical piece of your online sales funnel.

Choosing an online shopping cart is a big decision.  

The first thing you must decide is whether you want a hosted or open source cart.  Being a proponent of the 80/20 principle, we never use open source carts.  Here's why…

• Paid carts are quick to setup
• Paid carts require little technical skill
• Security and backups are included with paid carts
• And paid carts often include a robust set of features.

Still, there are many open source carts like Magento, OSCommerce, and Zencart that people love, so you should check them out.

Denver Web Design – Shopping Cart Feature Requirements

Regardless of whether you purchase hosted services or download an open source cart, here are some features that are important to us…

• Search engine friendly
• PCI compliant hosting and security
• Up-sells and cross-sells
• Product review feature
• Flexible pricing management
• Easy catalog management
• Analytics and reporting
• Integrated shipping
• Product feed support
• Gift certificates

Denver Web Design – Conclusion

Denver Web Design recommends that you purchase slowly.  If your website is your primary method of customer acquisition, this decision needs to be right!  Take your time and of research.

The #1 reason my clients do not have successful online marketing campaigns is follow up failure.  They have every intention of following up, but they fail because…

1. They forget
2. They get busy working "in" the business, instead of "on" the business
3. They are busy
4. A lack of automation
5. They do not delegate the task

Online Marketing – How To Avoid Follow Up Failure

You can avoid follow up failure using the following tips…

1. Write it down – Make sure you put critical steps into your calendar.  It puts the power of intention behind it.
2. Delegate – As a business owner or manager, you are busy.  Give the task of implementing your online marketing initiatives to a key employee or vendor.
3. Automate – Use automation software and services whenever possible.  Use a writing service to provide content for your blog.  Use a syndication software to post your blog posts to web 2.0 software sites.  Use email service providers to follow up with leads after they op in to a free report or webinar.  Use a CRM to track leads through the lead nurturing process.  All of this helps.

Hi.  I use Authoritylabs.com to track my website rankings in Google and Bing.

In this post, I am going to review the web design and give feedback on what I like, dislike, etc.  Cheers!

Denver Web Design Criteria #1- Get attention

The headline is great…"Rank Monitoring Made Easy"

Denver Web Design Criteria #2 – Identify the problem

The problem is clear, as ranking your website is not as easy as you would think.

Denver Web Design Criteria #3 – Present your credentials

The screen shots of the program shows the credentials.

Denver Web Design Criteria #4 – Show the benefits

Under the primary headline, they have 10 benefits listed…which is good.  Maybe they could use more graphics here, though.

Denver Web Design Criteria #5 – Give social proof

The site has endorsements from Symantec, mint.com, and jobing.com.  Also, there are a couple of testimonials below the fold.

Denver Web Design Criteria #6 – Make Your Offer/Call to Action

The offer is very clear…"Sign up free."

Denver Web Design Criteria #7 – Give a guarantee

The offer is free, so they have implemented risk reversal.  The only other issue is information security, which could be handled by a trust symbol.

Denver Web Design Review – Overall Thoughts

In general, I would give MInt.com an "B" for their design.  I suggest that they add a trust symbol, a guarantee of some sort…maybe for customer service, and more graphics in the "why" section.  Still this is a very good design.

In this book, Eric Ries discusses the lean startup methodology…where the following principles are discussed:

Principles of The Lean Startup

Entrepreneurs are everywhere

You don’t have to work in a garage to be in a startup.

Entrepreneurship is management

A startup is an institution, not just a product, so it requires management, a new kind of management specifically geared to its context.

Validated learning

Startups exist not to make stuff, make money, or serve customers. They exist to learn how to build a sustainable business. This learning can be validated scientifically, by running experiments that allow us to test each element of our vision.

Innovation accounting

To improve entrepreneurial outcomes, and to hold entrepreneurs accountable, we need to focus on the boring stuff: how to measure progress, how to setup milestones, how to prioritize work. This requires a new kind of accounting, specific to startups.

Build-Measure-Learn

The fundamental activity of a startup is to turn ideas into products, measure how customers respond, and then learn whether to pivot or persevere. All successful startup processes should be geared to accelerate that feedback loop.

http://lean.st/

My favorite part of the book was how Erik demonstrates how A/B split testing can be applied to product development in a lean or agile environment using the Build-Measure-Learn continuum.  The benefits include smaller capital costs and faster market introduction. 

- Bottom Line -

If you are a startup or an existing company with a stale product line, you need to read this book.  It will change how you view product development.

Have you ever gone to a website, looked around, and didn't know what to do? 

It happens all of the time!  What happens next is very predictable.  You click the "x" in the upper right and leave the page.

Why?  You have just experienced offer confusion?

Offer confusion is where a website has way to much information, so that the call to action is not clear or defined.  Generally, there are too many different calls to action…buy now, optin in, signup, contact now, etc.

When prospects and customers are faced with too many options, they leave! 

Web Design – What Is Your Call To Action?

When thinking about desiging a webstie or redesigning a website, you need to define your offer first.  Then the site should be designed around creating a clear call to action for your ideal customer. 

And that call to action should either be an opt-in or a sale…period!

I urge you to review your web design…is the call to action clear or confusing?

In some of my web design projects, I recommend trust seals for my clients.  If you don't already know, what is a trust seal?

Trust seals are certification symbols that communicate to potential customers that their data will be safe when they purchase your product from your website. There are hacker safe seals, privacy seals, PCI compliance seals, business validity seals, even industry-specific seals, and more; so you need to determine what seal your online business can profitably use.

Web Design – Do I Need A Web Seal?

If you have an ecommerce website, I would suggest having trust seals. They do increase conversions.

If you have a lead gen site, then you would want to have a clear privacy symbol or certificate that shows the user that their information is safe and that you won't rent, sell, or share their personal information.

And if you have a brochure site, good luck!  It is hard to make money from a brochure site?

Web Design – Is Your Site Performing?

Is your website producing an ROI?  If not, then you need a direct response website…a website that creates leads or sales.  Contact KCC today to learn how you can turn your website into an online sales machine on steriods!