We Specilize In The Design And Set-Up Of Microsoft Active Channels
Back
==== NEW ========================
"Domain Name Leasing & More"
Subject: The Domain Name Business
"Optimizing Ad Campaigns"
Subject: Optimize an Ad Campaign
Subject: Re: Are low
prices synonymous with low quality?
Subject: Re: Are Low Prices Synonomous With Low Quality2?
Subject: Far-East Marketing
Subject: Web Design Service
a site that offers assistance with
proposal
"========================
We are planning to close down one of our sites that has been up for
over three years, all due to the fact that we can no longer maintain
it as we see fit due to time constraints. I knew when we launched the
site years ago that we had the best .com domain name available for
its' particular field. Now I have been approached by one of the big
boys in its' particular field about leasing the name (I was a nobody
in the field until I blasted onto the scene with the website; all of a
sudden we were a major power with credibility; that's how important
the web is becoming to the viewing public).
I have never done this. I was wondering if anyone else has and what,
if any, are the pitfalls? I see it as a good situitation to both
retain the name and garnish even more of a url following but have no
idea as to how to price this. My druthers are to sell them the entire
site as it now exists, but that is not the way they want it. They just
want the domain name and not the content (they don't want the
competition to have a chance to get it). I have no desire to give it
away due to the fact that it is worth $200-$500/month in advertising
revenue. Not to mention the 18k visitors a month I have aquired. It
also has a book store that makes money so this is not just some dead
prospect. I have built it as a marketing machine and have yet tapped
into that potential (I doubt we will since we can't even find the time
to maintain it).
Any thoughts or considerations would be appreciated. I like the
thought process involved, but am not aware of the wolves that might
lurk in the bushes. In a lease arrangement, I have already told them
that I would have to maintain it's presence on our servers. At least
that makes me feel I haven't lost control of it.
top
When the Internet surge started a few years back entrepeneurs hit the
water running. No, not when a 9600 baud connection was lightening
fast, but when Toyoto, Disney and those other household names had to
get on the Internet and cost was no object. Computers were becoming
household necessities and people with insight into the technological
miracle that was occuring made several very sound investments.
The web techies of the time went out and started registering URL's
(Uniform Resource Locator). Hundreds of them at a cost of $70 a
piece. The InterNic (wwww.internic.net), the central managing location
for URL registration, began registering more then 5,000 URLs a day.
Companies that had stumbled to hop on the Information Highway soon
found themselves stuck in traffic and that their URLs had already been
purchased. How would Suzuki be able to have a website other than
www.suzuki.com?
But not to fear, that URL could be bought - if the fee was high
enough. With URLs going for more than $10,000 for a $70 investment,
registering URLs became the melting pot of Wall Street and Las Vegas
right here on the Information Highway. There was, and still is, a
high-pay out - if the company wants the correct address and feels it
will drive visitors to their website.
A simple inquiry to jobdirectory.com returned a quote of $13,500.
Well, now is your chance to ride the roller coaster of URL buying with
a new .CC global domain. Yes, that's right, those .com, .net, and
.org's are going to be in the 'hood with a new .cc neighbor.
At last check even linkdigest.cc was still available!!! The cost:
$100 for the first two years and $50 after that, plus a $49
registration fee. Is it worth the gamble???? Take a look for yourself
at http://www.get-a-name.com/COLCO
Recently we have been approached by many web marketers who wanted to
target their customers geographically online. This same question was
also published on many discussion mailing lists. This raises an
important question: How do we optimize our ad campaign?
When we conduct an ad campaign, we always need to optimize it. What
are the important factors we should consider when we optimize an ad
campaign? What portion of your customers can the campaign reach? What
is the cost? How long will it take to reach those people? Just to name
a few.
Can we optimize an ad campaign through an online geographically
targeted banner campaign? I think most of the time this is not the
case.
The reasons are as follows:
1. What portion of your customers are online? Choosing online
geographic targeting will limit your reach to less than 1/3 of the
population.
2. How accurate are the self-reported zip codes? I cannot remember the
number but GVU survey may have some stats on this issue.
3. What portion of your local onliners visits the web site hosting
your banners? This will limit your campaign reach to a very small
fraction of the online local population.
4. How long will it take to deliver enough impressions? If you have
time constraints, you will find it is impossible to target your
banners to certain zip codes.
5. How costly is it to make such targeting? This must be the key
factor that determines whether or not we choose online geographically
targeted banners.
If we compare an online targeted ad campaign with a simple offline ad
campaign (local newspaper or radio) by asking these questions, which
method will we choose?
Most of those people who want to target geographically online are
local businesses (offline). Unless they have other purposes (such as
online branding), it is very unwise to target their customers online.
That might be the reason that people always have difficulty locating a
web site to conduct their online targeted ad campaign. It also might
be the reason that offline promotion in general is more effective than
online banners. (We need to do more research to find it out.)
top
?
A few suggestions for your store:
1) On the category pages where you are presenting the items put a
button "Add to Purchase" or something similar next to it. Make it easy
for people to buy your stuff. If they want to buy do not force them to
click to an extra page that has all the details about the item.
2) Provide a bit more details for each of the products on the category
summary page, maybe even a thumbnail. The names are not totally
descriptive and again it is an extra page download to find out what
each of the products is about. In addition, words sell - especially
on-line where they cannot touch the products. If you tell people to
buy "A cuddly @$#$## with pictures of bears to comfort their babies to
sleep" it is much better then just telling them to buy a @#$$$%.
(Sorry, I am not a creative writer, but I hope you get the idea.)
3) Add the brand name to the products. No names always sell for less
plus each brand gives the product a guarantee of quality.
4) Look into certifications for E-commerce sites. A lot of people are
afraid to buy online from an unknown vendor.
I think the issues outlined above are more critical for your site than
the pricing issue. Sure you have to sell below normal stores, but not
by extremely too much. Also keep telling people how much they would
pay in store. Give them the retail value and tell them how much
discount they are getting. It is fine to give discounts, but you have
to make people aware that they are getting them. Summarize the
savings for them at the checkout.
top
.I visited your sight. It is
well designed with a nice layout and nice shopping cart. The one thing
I did notice about all the product pictures is you showed the product
alone instead of showing a baby using or wearing the product. In many
customers minds it is probably difficult to imagine how cute their
little one will look using the product. That is part of the sizzle
that you need to sell.
Notice how sales papers and catalogs always show somebody using the
product. This may slow the pages loading a little, but probably not
much. People need to be able to see themselves using the product.
It's a lot like having bread baking or having nice decorations out as
you show a house for sale. People can see the potential in a product
better.
Give this a try with a few of your products, maybe change the prices
on a few too. Experiment, but don't just wait for things to get better
on their own.
top
Subject: Far-East Marketing
I've got two clients with established retail stores that are adding
web sites to their sales arsenal. Both sell products that are hot
items in Japan and the far east (or were when those economies were
solid). We've already seen the effects of the far east depression in
the decline of eastern tourists here. So moving to the web for both
these clients could be a very important decision for the next few
years.
Anyway, I have a few contacts in Tokyo, but nowhere else in the Far
East and am not very up on their use of the internet, etc. Does anyone
know more about promoting products over the internet to Japanese
and/or other eastern customers? I have yet to even find any Japanese
search engines, but then my Netscape/NT system doesn't interpret kanji
right so I couldn't use it. Are there venues for advertising to these
markets to reach potential buyers or are they still a few years behind
us in the use of the web. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
top
Subject: Web Design Service
>Another broad generalisation raised recently has been that
academically-trained designers are possibly much more advanced in this
business than others (probably the majority of us).<
Since we are outsourced for various aspects of web site design and
marketing, I thought I'd put my 2 cents in on this generalisation.
I agree that real world experience is what will
ultimately determine the best designers. Based on my personal
experience, academically-trained designers are not all that they are
cracked up to be. It seems to me that college grads are just looking
to build their portfolios and not focusing on a client's business
goals.
The function of a client web site is not to be a graphic designers'
art gallery. The function of a client web site is not to be a computer
programmer's scripting/coding masterpiece. The function of a client's
web site is to inform and to sell. Artwork should enhance the client's
unique selling proposition but not interfere with download time and
functionality. Programming and should make it easier for potential
customers to find products/services and order from the client web
site. The focus should always be on the client.
I believe that computer science and graphic design students need to
take courses in marketing and public relations. And I also believe
that marketing majors that want to specialize in the web need to learn
HTML and how to read and analyze site surveys and statistics.
Unfortunately, I have not encountered any grads with this type of
education.
A truly successful web site is usually accomplished by a group of
individuals who have different strengths and who are all focused on
the client's business goals. Once the main focus falls off of the
client's business goals (such as wanting to build a killer portfolio),
the client's business can be compromised.
It has been brought to my attention that there is a site that offers
assistance with proposal writing to help non-profits seek sponsors for
the creation of their websites. This site not only covers proposal
writing, but also covers information about various grants, and a lot
more. This site is definitely worth visiting.
I am a Y2K management consultant and have been working with Y2K
problems for the last three years. Most companies are unwilling (legal departments!)
or unable to divulge great detail about their Y2K plans. The best you
could hope for is some detail, but you will usually get what you have
been getting: vague affirmative answers.
It also depends on the questions you are asking. If all you are asking
is if they are Y2K compliant, then the answers you get will be vague.
A warning though: Keep in mind that each of the companies that you are
querying are also receiving the same questions from all of their other
customers, making it difficult for them to give a personalized answer.
If they have a website page dealing with the Year 2000 that will
probably be the best you can get.
Keep in mind that there are a lot of links in the supply chain on the
Net. If any of those links break it may not matter if the rest of the
links are fine. A couple of good sites for you to bookmark are Peter
deJaeger's Year 2000 site: http://year2000.com/ and the National
Software Testing Labs Year 2000 freeware PC BIOS test:
http://www.nstl.com/html/ymark_2000.html
Here is the questionnaire that I send out for my clients. Legal stuff:
You are free to use it as you wish as long as you do not change the
contents. This questionnaire is provided as information only. Gowing
Associates does not make any representations as to the completeness of
the questionnaire to ascertain the risk of vendor Y2K compliance.
If anyone would like more information about Year 2000 please free to
contact me at the email address below.
Questions you should ask are:
1. Has your organization assessed the impact of the Year 2000 problem
on the business?
2. There are 5 phases to the Y2K remediation: Awareness, Assessment,
Repair/Replace, Testing/Validation, and Implementation. What stages
has your organization completed along with the completion dates for
these stages, when will the in progress or future phases be completed,
and when is final implementation planned for all Y2K fixes?
3. What percentage of Y2K effort remains?
4. How many of the company's computer systems are mission-critical,
i.e., necessary to remain in business or in an important line of
business?
5. What percentage of mission-critical systems are not currently Y2K
compliant?
6. What percentage of mission-critical systems has been remediated?
7. What percentage of mission-critical systems from third-party
vendors is at risk of non-compliance by December 31, 1999? When will
they be compliant?
8. Estimate the percentage of the company's non-mission critical
systems that will not be compliant by January 1, 2000.
9. Have vendors/suppliers/business partners who are critical to the
well-being and continuous functioning of the company been assessed for
Y2K compliance? Are there any that will are in danger of not achieving
Y2K compliance by June 1999?
10. Is the company preparing, or does it currently have contingency
plans to assure the continuos operation of the company in the event
that one or more key vendors/suppliers/business partners fail in 2000?
Back
---------------------------------------------------