Word of Net

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a techno-geek of the purest kind, but I’m a marketer first. The marketer part of me puts a heavy emphasis on human interaction and relationships. My focus on technology is about how people connect to each other, just through a online medium instead of face-to-face. But at the end of the day, for me and for my clients, its about personal relationships and how those translate into business.

That’s why I was floored when I read an article last night put out on the BBC tech feed. The article was called ‘Action needed’ on internet bullying. I have to admit, my first response was anger.

I grew up in a somewhat small town, less than a hundred kids in my class in middle school. I moved there from a bigger city, with nearly one thousand kids in my class. Being an army brat and moving a ton, meeting new people was no problem. In fact, I looked forward to my new residence and friends. Instead, I was ostracized, ignored, made fun of, abused on my bus, enough where my parents finally removed me from the school and sent me to a private academy.

I do not hold a grudge though, in the end, I got to go to a fantastic school with amazing teachers. And I’m aware that kids are meanest during middle school. However, where were the articles talking about bullying then? I don’t remember ever reading an article like this one. Does it matter less because harmful teasing has gone on since the beginning of time?

I’m not saying that online bullying doesn’t happen, or isn’t a problem, but I think the root of the problem is that kids are mean. This isn’t an online phenomenon, its a fact of life. Deal with the REAL problem. Don’t make it out to be some internet-age disease that only the new generation experiences. If you make websites have certain standards of behavior, you better apply those same rules to schools.

Technology should come second. Its real life that matters more.

What are your thoughts about the BBC article and online bullying?

There are some marketing efforts that just fall into the category of Gimmicks. Marketers use these cheap little “tricks”  to get an action out of people (purchase, share, whatever). These tricks range from taste-testing products to sappy stories made for a few heart-string tugs. Most of us are aware of these gimmicks. We allow them work on us occasionally, but usually we ignore them.

However, there’s a reason that these marketing tactics have endured. Sometimes, they work.

Twitter gives us a great example of a gimmick not only used by marketers but by parents of four-year-olds as well. You’ve probably even said it to someone in the pas month. It goes like this, you tell someone “don’t” when you actually mean “do”. In other words you tell people to do the opposite of what you want them to do, in hopes that they’ll do it just because you said not to.

Twitter hopes by saying don’t do it! More people will tweet and blog about their new Lists.

I’m sure you’ve gotten this little message on your twitter page. I’m not going to talk about lists because Twitter got exactly what they wanted, there’s a million blog posts covering it. But do check out the little highlighted section on Twitter’s notice.

Yeah, Twitter, way to use the oldest trick in the book.Oh and congrats, since its apparently working.

So what DO you think of Twitter lists? If you blogged about it, feel free to share.

Everyone has a passion that drives them in their day-to-day work lives. For business owners its usually some personal belief or action they want to make into reality. Of course the  little things, the constant paper-work, the unwanted phone calls, and the  persistent bills sometimes cloud over this reason. We get caught up in the insignificant things and forget our purpose. Then, one simple thing reminds us and it all comes flooding back. This weekend an AT&T commercial reminded me why I picked social media as part of my career path.

AT&T reminds us with one of those little feel-good moments, what it means to connect to another person without expecting anything in return. Most people feel a tug at their heart strings when they think of a lost pet. Yet, we feel powerless to help. But now the world is connected. We can exchange information in a heartbeat. Sometimes its an ad, sometimes its a news headline but occassionally its for no other reason than to help someone else.

I can’t always help people. I might not have the skills, or the means, but I might know people who do. That’s why I try to work with companies who do want to make a difference, be it big or small. And if I can facilitate their message to one extra person who needs it, then I’ve done my job. My passion is to help people help other people.

What passion drives you in your company? Do you need a little reminder to refocus like I did?

Your brand is not in your hands anymore.

The internet possesses powers that can turn you into a celebrity overnight. But the great god that giveth, doth also taketh away. In other words, deal with your business honestly or you won’t own a business anymore. Think this sounds dramatic? It’s true.

Take the example of Brian King. Brian is media editor (video mostly) and also a podcaster. He’s a freelancer. He lives in LA and does great work. Brian had the opportunity to help someone who needed, more-or-less, a quick and dirty video done. Cheap, fast, you know the drill. Brian had some connections and offered to work on the project. After multiple editing rounds, the client paid. Well… kinda. Brian got a letter from Bank of America saying the client in question had stopped the check. It wasn’t for a whole lot of money, but Brian had paid out of pocket to use facilities and now he was in the hole. Of course, the amount isn’t what matters, its too small of a check to bother hiring a lawyer, but its the principle of thing. So Brian decided he wanted payment, and he was going to do what it took to make that happen.

Brian turned to the internet. First he bought a domain. It just so happens that his client does not own his-name.com: philconti.com Then he promoted the page to his blog. Then he posted it to twitter. Within 2 days he had over 100 retweets and dozen of people making comments on their own blogs and personal websites. If you now google performers Phil Conti & Marlene Arden, mostly negative press shows up.

I found out about Brian’s plight from a webcomic I read: Candi by Starline X. Hodge. She posted about it in her daily update because,

“He’s a good friend of mine, so when he posted it on his blog, I decided to help. I just didn’t like hearing that he got ripped off. Figured if more people knew about it, then maybe they’d pay him for his work.”

I contacted Brian and asked if he’d tell me a little bit about why he chose this course of action (putting pressure on the client through the internet). He said

“They’re entertainers, and I know that entertainers’ web presence is extremely important. If they realize that the internet dislikes them, and their google/twitter/whatever search results are negative, they’re going to have problems.”

Which I agree, it’d be a problem for anyone! I asked Brian what kind of outcome he hope for. He said he’d just like to make up the difference, if they pay in full, he’ll pull down all the pages he wrote mentioning them.

Brian is just one freelancer in California and he completely changed the personal brand of Phil & Marlene. So the next time you deal with a customer or hire a company, be above board. Make sure you hold the keys to your company’s image. Never underestimate the power of the internet and what that means for your brand.

So what do you think? Do you think smearing someone’s brand is justified? Is it too much? Not enough? Have you seen the internet eat another business alive?
If you agree with Brian’s approach be sure to spread the word, ReTweet, blog, link on Facebook. Show his site some love. And Starline too!

Image by AndYaDon’tStop

(Make sure to leave your link-love in the comments!)

Just a quick update. I’m now writing for a UK-tech blog. So if you are a fan based in Europe you may want to subscribe over there! The blog is a little less web design-based and will have more “tech” writing (which should be fun since I’m no IT pro). It will deal with online media based on the UK market and also fun techy news. Please check it out and leave some love.

Let’s make it a link-love day. Got a blog? Share it in the comments.

Twitter made some subtle design changes recently and I couldn’t help but comment on them.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about sleek designs. Except the new bird is kinda weird. But here’s my problem: why is Twitter spending money on a redesign when they could put that cash towards greater/smoother functionality or finding a monetization strategy? Or, you know, adding a “ReTweet” button, like other apps have (TweetDeck, Tweetgrid, so on…). That’d be cool. Hello?? Twitter? Are you listening?

What awesome feature would you have spent Twitter’s money on?

(Also, go rate that video. I lost the password to my YouTube account and I can finally get on it after a year! I need some love.)

Wanted to do a quick blog post. Last week I was a panelist at the Dallas SEO/SEM Meetup along with Damian Skinner & Erick Osia. We discussed a number of topics from social media to viral video to Blackhat SEO. I posted a recording of this event on the Meetup’s Upload section here.

Feel free to go listen to it. I know some of the questions are hard to hear but the answers are great. (If anyone knows how to edit audio, feel free to fix it!) Some examples of questions answered:

• How do I use social media to make money for my business?
• What should I use for my business on Facebook: a profile or a fan page?
• Does Wordpress index its pages?
• What does “Black-hat” mean?
• Should I use forums as part of my social media outreach?

Also wanted to give a shout-out to all the Twitters there!

Panelists:

@erickosia – Erick Osia

@damianstweet – Damian Skinner

@Veribatim – Kat Rice

Our Awesome Guests

@blueprintrealty – Bill Nicholson

@mktgmaster724 – Scott Saldinger

@smartacusguys – Rudy Lopez

@gushin – Dennis Guten

@natefalconer – Nate Falconer

@Andiqa – Andrea Duncan

We had more guests, so if you attended and would like to share your twitter, please leave it in the comments below! Be sure to check out the Dallas SEO/SEM group. Its a fantastic group. And I’m not just saying that because I’m an organizer. Check them out, and consider attending once a month with us.

We have reached the end of our series! Its true, so many little things can ruin your entire website. In the series I tried to touch on each of the most common pages businesses place on their site and then discusses the top ten worst things for each. Here we’ll do a quick summary of those lists.

But what I want you to take away is this: your website is part of your branding. Make sure every page, every line of text exemplifies who you are as a company. That’s the best way to create a great website.

HomePage

1. Too much text
2. Unclear navigation
3. Clutter
4. Screaming Colors
5. Forgetting the Bottom Line
6. No Logo or Branding
7. Flash
8. Too Much Scrolling
9. Ads Taking Up the Top Half of Your Page
10. Skimping in the Design Department

About

1. Huge Pictures of Yourself in Classic Realtor Style
2. Writing for Yourself, Not Your Audience
3. Removing Distinction Between You & Your Company
4. Text Overload
5. Being Boring
6. Not Optimized
7. Repetition from Home Page
8. No Formatting
9. Failure to Highlight the Important Part
10. No Purpose

Contact

1. Wrong Information
2. No Information
3. Contact Form Error
4. Never Hooking Your Email Up to Your Contact Form
5. Never Checking the Email Connected to Your Contact Form
6. Requiring Someone’s Birth Certificate Before They can Use Your Form
7. Making the Form Look Too Long
8. Hiding Your Phone Number
9. Excessive Text
10. TMI

Shopping Cart

1. Log-In Hell
2. Not Saving Contact Information
3. Deleting Everything When There is an Input Error
4. Not Putting the Cart Front & Center
5. Not Giving Prices Upfront
6. Making the Process More than 3 Steps
7. Long Load Time
8. No Options
9. Errors
10. Charging the Wrong Amount

Blog

1. Hiding the RSS Feed
2. Captcha Doesn’t Work to Comment
3. Requiring a Log-in to Comment
4. No Structure in Posts
5. Design doesn’t Mesh with Website
6. Blog Content Doesn’t Match Goal of Website
7. 5th Grade Writing Level – Sometimes You Should Pay for Content
8. Not Using Your Own Work (Or At Least Claiming its Yours When it isn’t)
9. Not Taking Advantage of Titles
10. Clutter

Did you enjoy this series? Is there page you think should be added to the list?

Blogging has become an essential part of good online marketing. Most people have either connected a blog to their site or link to one hosted elsewhere. A blog page has many different aspects, which makes it easy to ruin. Here are my top ten:

1. Hiding the RSS feed

No visible RSS feed might be the most frustrating thing ever. If I find a blog that inspires me, I want to subscribe right then. If I search for 5 minutes and can’t find the feed, I’ll probably leave and never come back. If you want to retain readers, keep your RSS feed at the top and bottom of your page. (Also, consider offering email subscription, too.)

2. Captcha doesn’t work to comment

I admit, I am guilty of this one. For two months no one could leave comments on posts because my captcha created impossible to decipher words. Finally someone told me and I fixed the problem. Check your captcha!

3. Requiring a log-in to comment

Most Wordpress blogs don’t require a log-in unless you add a plugin for that, but some other blogs do. Sure, this deters spam, but it also deters serious responses. I know I will usually fore-go commenting if I have to take an extra step. Note: this is not because I am lazy, but because I am busy. Forcing people to log-in disrespects their time.

4. No structure in posts

Some blog pages show just part of a post, while others show the entire thing. I don’t really have a preference, but if you show an entire post, make sure to give it structure. (Actually, give it structure anyhow.) By structure I mean paragraph breaks, headings… They call it, letting your writing “breathe.” People except one idea to stop before you begin the next one. Structure helps signify those changes.

5. Design doesn’t mesh with website

Sometimes blogs are embedded into a site, or just linked to the main page from another host. The design of the blog may not match the rest of the site. The clash of designs can range from disjointed branding to omg-my-eyes-are-burning.  Strongly consider integrating your blog; or at least matching your blog with the rest of your site.

6. Blog content doesn’t match goal of website

Your blog should play a part in your marketing. If your blog content is too personal or isn’t useful to clients its not functioning in your favor. Make every post work for you in some way. Sit down and think about the goal of your website and your blog. They should be complimentary.

7. Fifth grade writing skills – sometimes you should pay for content

Not everyone can boast beautiful writing technique. I don’t mean you need an English degree or the best grammar. Just make sure your writing is readable. If you just don’t have good writing skills, consider hiring someone or buying content. Don’t give up on a blog just because you can’t spell, but if you’re not willing to invest the time, pay someone else to.

8. Not using your own work (or at least claiming its yours when it isn’t)

DO. NOT. STEAL. Copying may be the highest form of flattery but its not worth it. If you get caught, imagine how that would destroy your credibility. Plus its just wrong. You can point to other blogs and even quote them, just link back and give credit.

9. Not taking advantage of Titles

Even if you don’t display entire posts on your blog page, readers will at least be able to see titles. Use your titles to keep people clicking! This is a great way to convert a causal browser into a possible client. Your posts may already have good information, but your titles aren’t urging people to click RIGHT NOW!

10. Clutter

It happens far too often. You spend hours adding links to your blogroll. You play with all the fun plugins and options. Its easy to suddenly have a blog just covered in random crap. Live by this rule, only add things you would click on someone else’s blog.

So ends our series on How to Ruin Your Website! Was there any particular page you would have liked to cover? Which page do you struggle with?

Not all sites have an e-commerce section, but many do. Today, in our continuation of the Top 10 ways to Ruin your website series, I want to talk a little bit about your “shopping cart”. Any e-commerce site has multiple sections from how products are laid-out to payment options, but I just want to focus on getting through the “cart” area, in other words the process it takes to get from a product to a sale. Not all e-commerce solutions offer flexibility, some are straight-out-of-the-box so to speak. But when you are making the decision, look out for these top ten.

1. Log-in Hell

I understand the need to have customers “log-in” so that you can have their information and contact details. But, this process should be as simple and intuitive as possible. If the log-in frustrates a customer they may give-up and never come back. If you require membership, give your clients an option to sign-up as part of their check-out process.

2. Not saving contact information

Give clients the option to save their information (leave me logged-in, remember my password, that kind of thing). Nowadays we all have 573 passwords we’re supposed to remember. Don’t let the reason you missed a sale be because a customer forgot how to log-in.

3. Deleting everything when there’s an input error

This may be a personal issue but I really hate it when I spend 10 minutes carefully filling out my contact information, my credit card, etc. and then I mistype one number and the page reloads saying: there was an error with your credit card. Then, all the information I painstakingly added, vanishes. I have to do it all over again. This alone has made me give-up and use a different website before.

4. Not making the cart front and center

I don’t see this often, so when I do, it stumps me. Put a link saying “Buy now!” next to every product. There should as many opportunities to click to purchase as possible. This does not mean tricking the client into purchasing, but it means make it easy to get the money.

5. Not giving prices up front

Prices vary for a number of reasons: tax, shipping, bulk ordering. However, simplify the question of cost as much as you can. Let them know if tax will be added. Give them an idea of what shipping costs average. Do not let the final charge completely surprise them. Also, make sure you include prices next to each item in a highly visible way.

6. Making the process more than 3 steps

If it takes more than 3 clicks to get from the product to making the payment, you need to simplify. Places you can cut:

• consolidate like information (shipping & tax, membership & credit card information)
• cut out unnecessary personal information requests
• only ask for approval to bill their credit card once
• Send an email confirmation instead of a page they can print

7. Long Load time

An e-commerce site may have heavy back-end coding. The reasons vary from lots of products to automated systems. These things can cause a slower load time. This is a hard problem to fix. You may need to find a new program or solution if wait time becomes an issue. Not all shopping carts are created equal. Don’t lose clients because your page won’t load.

8. No options:

The average person excepts your site to cater to them. Make sure to give them options. Marketing used to follow the rule: ask forgiveness, not permission. That philosophy went out with the 90s. Now people want to choose. So be sure to offer choices. You have a newsletter? Let them opt-in or out. Give them the opportunity to save their password, or let the site remember their log-in (or even keep them logged in for a period of time). Do they want an email receipt? Why not ask instead of assuming. These are just a few examples of options you can give your customers.

9. Errors

It happens. One misplaced bracket and it throws off the whole page. Check for coding errors. E-commerce requires multiple facets therefore it require extra time to debug. Don’t be surprised if your web company charges extra to check these things, or be willing to walk through yourself.

10. Charging the wrong amount

The worst glitch that can ever happen is charging someone the wrong amount. If you charge too little, you have to charge a second time. If you charge too much, you have a pissed off customer. Much like site errors, these things sometimes happen. The best I advice I can offer you is deal with it immediately. As soon as the error becomes obvious, fix it.

I hate to add this but I will. Sometimes companies charge the wrong amount on purpose. They add a few cents or charge twice, just to see if the customer double checks. Its wrong. Don’t do it. And if you ever do it and get caught, you’ll be lucky to still have a company, so make sure to be honest.

How about some examples of good shopping experiences. If you spend money online, who do you like to shop with?