It oughta be a law, or something. As a simple condition of their continued existence, internet merchants should be required to buy all of their material needs online. I’m talking everything: from toilet paper to shoelaces, and from DVDs to food (Omaha Steaks serves up an absolutely delectable Chocolate Lover’s Cake). In my opinion, it’s an idea that’s been way too long in coming.
Think of the positive implications. First of all, it’s never a bad idea—always a great one, in fact—to support the local economy. And if that “local” economy just happens to be the world wide web, so be it. Same principle, right? But there’s actually an even better reason for it. It’s something that could be easily filed under “educational purposes” but would really be more of a “public service” issue. Because maybe (just maybe) if online merchants really knew what it was like to live a day in the shoes of us cybershoppers, life would get a lot easier for everyone.
Believe it or not, shopping cart abandonment is a serious deal. And it actually comes as a surprise to some online merchants that upwards of 75 percent of their shoppers are walking away (clicking away is more appropriate) before finalizing their transactions. It’s become a point of controversy so severe that some have even hired help to try and figure out why their shopping cart abandonment rates are so high. They should have asked me. I’d only have charged them $20.
The secret? Don’t give me an opportunity to change my mind! If your checkout process is so long and tedious that I actually have time to get buyer’s remorse before finalizing the sale, your process needs a serious overhaul. A smart merchant compares their checkout process against all others, and wastes no time making improvements.
Vince Font is a freelance writer with a burning desire to teach the world the difference between there, they’re and their. He currently resides in Utah with his wife, two dogs and a mouse he’s convinced the D-Con didn’t get rid of.
Image from www.grokdotcom.com
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Website content comes in many forms. Implement these innovative ideas to set your site apart from the millions of other pages of content on the Web.
White Papers
Nothing says authority like a white paper. Go beyond the mundane, and infuse yours with your corporate personality, humor, even graphics and video.
A professional freelance writer can take even the most technical topic and make it easy for anyone—even beginners in your field—to understand.
Not Your Ordinary User’s Manual
Have a new product? Re-print the user’s manual on your website. But we’re not talking about the same, boring content. Spice it up with a blend of humor, anecdotes and quick tips and tricks to make using your new product the fun experience you know it can be. Well, unless you make something like dentist’s drills, of course.
Articles
Anyone can write articles, but only the best content providers will offer timely, unique information helpful to your site’s visitors. Every article you post on your site should give the reader information they didn’t have before, that will help them in some way.
Dawn Allcot is a full-time freelance writer and blogger. She frequently writes about technology, business, parenting and paintball.
Image from blog.eicrasoft.com
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 We love Betty White's appearance in this year's Super Bowl ads!
Most people really don’t care for advertisements and blatant marketing pitches. The popularity of the Tivo is evidence of that. However, each year, people who have zero interest in football gather around the television – to watch the ads.
Why is this? Because the cost of a spot during the Super Bowl is so expensive, advertisers pull out their big guns to make their commercial truly worth it: Memorable, entertaining, surprising, uplifting – even controversial – and all in 30-second, 45-second and 1-minutes bites. In case you missed them, you can take a look at all the 2010 Super Bowl ads on Creativity Online (oh, and New Orleans won by the way).
It goes to show you that if you can give value to people and entertain them, which is the whole premise behind content marketing, people don’t mind the sales pitch that comes with it. We also learn from the Super Bowl ad phenomenon that prioritizing the audience and what they get out of your marketing effort makes a big difference in your final product (be it an ad, a blog post or another content marketing tactic). Compare one of the Super Bowl XLIV spots to a non-Super Bowl ad of the same company. Which one is primarily about your entertainment and which one is primarily about product features? Which one shows the most creativity and which one features predictable (even cliched) writing? By simply setting a different audience-driven goal the outcome is better.
Think about this when you’re developing your content marketing. Are you thinking about whether your audience, readers or customers are truly getting anything out of your work? Is it unique? Is it something people will want to talk about and share with others? It’s a big task, so consider contracting a content marketing company or hiring a freelance writer to help you achieve something truly buzz-worthy.
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Have lunch plans tomorrow? If not, consider having that roast beef sandwich and Activia with us!
January 28th, 1 PM EST
Join us for the monthly ideaLaunch Content Marketing Webinar v8 focused [...]
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Think your organization is too conservative to get into blogging? Too bureaucratic to start content marketing efforts?
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Byron White, President of ideaLaunch, and Carolyn McKibbin, Director of Content Services, presented a Webinar entitled “Tracking Content ROI” at the BrightTALK Content Marketing Summit on January 20th.
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That’s right, you heard me.
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