Excelleweb Blog by Tom Anderson

Creating a Favorable First Impression...

2009-05-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Creating a Favorable First Impression

I know, you've been saying to yourself all month, "when is Tom publishing his June Newsletter?" It's been very hectic all month with lots of good stuff going on. But don't think I will ever forget my 'monthly' newsletter being published.

This month I want to write about leaving good first impressions. Often times web sites will be the first impression someone receives from your business. How do others perceive your business by visiting your web site?

I cringe when I hear people say that they purposely do not tell others their web address because they're embarrassed about their web site. If they really feel that way, they should take it down altogether. It's worse having a bad web site than not having one at all.

Let me share with you a very positive experience I had this month, even though it was not through a web site.

Central Ohio Golf Outing Held On June 19th

I was in charge of organizing a golf outing for other business people that I network with regularly. I'd had a bit of experience helping on committees before, but was never the person in charge.
I chose Chapel Hill golf course in Mount Vernon, Ohio for this year's outing. I've always liked the course and they offer some nice outing packages. Brian and Anthony at Chapel Hill could not have been any more helpful in organizing the outing for us.

Everything from registration to food to planning assignments to scoring and waiting out a rain delay went extremely well. They were flexible to meet our needs and made the whole experience fun for everyone.

The point is this. When building a brand for your business, your web site can create an experience for your visitors. Do they find it enjoyable to use or frustrating to find information? You can also create a positive experience for your customers by being customer-focused just like Brian and Anthony are at Chapel Hill Golf Course.

A bad web site can hurt you, but so can not being accommodating to your customers. Imagine how successful you could be if your customer service and your web site both left positive first impressions?

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

June 2009

What's your story?

2009-04-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

What's Your Story?

Everyone has a story to tell. At least they should. When you meet someone at a networking event and they ask, 'What do you do?', how do you respond?

Storytelling is about the absolute best thing you can do to connect with your target audiences. Your web site should be no different.

How often have you visited a web site filled with jargon and 'industry-speak' that talks of 'leveraging opportunities' and creating 'win-win situations' and 'going to the next level'? Wouldn't it be more effective to reference a few success stories you've had with other clients and speak in layman's terms?

Web site visitors need to know that you can offer them help to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity. If they see themselves in the context of others you have helped, they will feel compelled to interact with you. If they're lost in trying to translate all your technical terms, they'll most likely leave your site not knowing whether you could help them or not.

Keep your stories brief and highlight the results. That will be the magic formula to bring more prospects to your doorstep asking you to help them.

Elmer's Products Releases Earth Day Newsletter

Excelleweb works with Elmer's Products to create and execute their email newsletters on an ongoing basis. They have developed a program to help teachers and students learn the importance of recycling products called the 'Glue Crew'. You can learn more about this program by going to the Glue Crew web site. To view the Earth Day Newsletter, click here.

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

April 2009

Getting Permission

2009-03-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Do You Really Have Permission?

I'll do my best this month to not sound like I am ranting and offer my best advice. Several events over the past month have fired me up about the whole concept of getting permission to market to others.

With the explosion of social media outlets like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. people are becoming more connected than any time in history. That's a good thing and potentially a very bad thing.

Just because I accepted your link to 'connect' or 'become friends' it does not necessarily mean that you now have permission to inundate me with dozens of emails a month. But that is exactly what is happening. Here's an idea. Ask me first. Be direct. I may want to get your company newsletter or related information from your industry. Just don't assume without asking.

The social media connection is not enough permission to send me email offers continuously. I've disconnected to several people abusing this already. Not only were they assuming permission, they were sending 5 or more emails a week. The frequency alone was a big turn off beyond the incorrect assumption of consent.

Consent Is Most Important

Recently, a person 'harvested' the entire membership database of an organization that I belong to in the Columbus, Ohio area. He solicited members by offering them an incentive to give him business referrals. Many members thought he must already be a member and was offering the incentive to fellow members.

But he was not a member and no one had provided consent to receive his solicitation. He defended himself by stating that because he did not send in 'bulk' and offers were delivered to individual email addresses one at a time, he was technically innocent. Absolutely wrong.

Any time you send email with an identical (or nearly identical) offer without consent being given you are violating the can-spam laws. It is still considered 'bulk' email. Here's the definition provided by Spamhaus, one of the reporting agencies fighting against junk email and protecting consumers. (http://www.spamhaus.org/definition.html)

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

March 2009

Tom Anderson
President/CEO

Excelleweb

Quote of the Month:

"Integrity... it means doing what is right. Not necessarily what is correct -- no one is correct all the time. But doing what is right."
-- Robert Goizueta, former CEO of Coca-Cola

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Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com...

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Waterproofing Your Web Site...

2009-02-19T13:43:00.000-08:00

As the snow melts and Winter turns to Spring, it's that time of year when people experience leaky roofs and/or basements. How about your web site? Does it leak too?

Let me explain. How do you know if you have a web site that leaks? Every time you have an anonymous web site visitor come to your web site and do nothing, you have a leaky web site. If they're not reaching out to you or taking some sort of action you have a bit of a problem. Granted, not every single visitor is going to call you right away and jump at the chance to buy your products and/or services. But your conversion rate should be monitored so you know if you're getting a fair amount of people interacting with you.

Your bounce rate is a great indicator of conversions. A bounce occurs when someone visits, but leaves immediately without doing anything on the web page. If your bounce rate is under 25% you should be glad. Anything over 40% and you should consider changes to the web site. Your web site statistics with give you this type of information.

If you want to read a really great article on this topic, please visit this link. You'll also learn about other factors that can help you 'waterproof' your web site.

Webinars Being Planned

I made an announcement recently about a series of webinars I plan to offer to the public. I've found additional content to add to the webinars to make them even better, so please bear with me as I put the finishing touches on some of these events.

Many of you have already expressed an interest in attending and have asked that I provide the specific details. I promise that I will have the info ready to distribute very soon. I want to keep the costs affordable for everyone, but also ensure I provide great value so attendees will be pleased with the knowledge gained from their participation in the webinars.

Other Blogs By Tom Anderson
AmSpirit Business Connections

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

February 2009

Missing the Point with Social Media

2009-01-15T11:55:00.000-08:00

Social Media is one of the hottest topics on the planet right now. The funny thing is, some think they know everything about it, while others have no idea what that term even means. As Wikipedia defines it, Social Media is the collection of "primarily Internet and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings."

That's a good start. Using mediums like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and many others allows you to create profiles. There you can post commentary, video, audio, links, etc.

But what about business? Many see these web sites as a purely social network to upload their child's birthday party pictures and share witty comments about American Idol or whatever ballgame they watched last night. They're wrong. It's much more than that.

I was fascinated to read an article this week where results of a survey stated that a large percentage of CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) had little or no interest in employing Social Media as part of their overall marketing strategy. What!!?? Read the article here.

How should this be interpreted? I believe it's one of two things. Either traditional marketers are threatened by change in how marketing gets done or they're uninformed about how to really implement a correct strategy.

I'm launching a series of webinars including how to apply social media to business sometime in February. If you're interested in attending any of these events, please send me an email at webinar@excelleweb.com. I'll be sure to notify you of exact dates/times of the events.

Performance Dynamics Systems Launches New Web Site

Excelleweb is pleased to announce the launch of Performance Dynamic Systems new web site. Dave Smith, Owner of PDS, works in the Columbus, Ohio area. Dave helps clients get past many challenges in their business or assists them in getting even better results than they're alreading getting. He has many programs designed to help build profits, help organizations find the right employees, and build cohesive teams.

Dave asked for Excelleweb's help in building his company brand through the web site. He wanted a fresh design, yet simple and easy to find information. While there are still a few areas to be edited with new content, the new site better portrays Dave Smith as the professional business coach that he truly is. Visit the new site here.

Tom Anderson to Speak in Wooster, Ohio on Feb. 11th

I have the pleasure of speaking to the Wayne-Holmes County Marketing network at noon on Feb. 11th at the Wooster Public Library. If you find yourself in Wooster that day, stop by to learn all about "Email Marketing in 2009". Here is a link to the newspaper announcement.

Other Blogs By Tom Anderson
AmSpirit Business Connections
Westerville Woods Civic Association

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

January 2009

Final Thought for 2008

2008-12-17T03:52:00.000-08:00

Final Thought for 2008

At this time of year, I always reflect on what I was able to accomplish and what I could have done differently to get even better results; both professionally and personally.

What could you have done in your business this year to get better results? I think my greatest lesson learned this year was that making a decision, any decision, was far better than no decision at all. At least if I made a bad decision, I could learn and grow as a result of it. Each experience I have helps me to grow and learn along the way.

I'm not advocating anyone recklessly says 'yes' to everything, but taking action means you're moving in a direction somewhere. Most business leaders know that there is no such thing as 'staying the same'. You're either getting better or getting worse.

Which direction will you and your business be going in 2009?

Perry Ryno Launches New Web Site

Excelleweb is pleased to announce the launch of Perry Ryno's new web site. Perry is a well-respected and successful Realtor in the Columbus, Ohio area. Perry wanted an updated design that represented his brand more accurately.

He wanted a simple, yet easy-to-navigate design that helped his clients find listings and information quickly. Another huge benefit to Perry is that he has complete control over the editing of his listings through a custom-built administration tool.

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

December 2008

Wishing You a Joyous Holiday Season

from
Excelleweb

Quote of the Month:

"My new favorite word is 'awkward.'...The reason we need to be in search of awkward is that awkward is the barrier between us and excellence, between where we are and the remarkable. If it were easy, everyone would have done it already, and it wouldn't be worth the effort."
-- Seth Godin, author and marketing guru

If this email does not display properly, please visit my blog to view the text version.

Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com...

Tips For Your Next Email Newsletter

2008-11-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

I receive a lot of email every day, as we all do. I also subscribe to quite a few email newsletters. I see a lot of mistakes being made that are easily fixed. I thought I'd spend a few minutes addressing some of these mistakes this month.

Frequency is too much.

Some people send out too many newsletters in too short a time. You'll find that if you keep to a strict schedule more subscribers will open your email newsletters and you'll have less people 'unsubscribe' to your newsletter. How do you know if you're sending too frequently? Look at your 'open' rates in your admin area. If less people are opening messages, there is a strong possibility you need to send less. Maybe that weekly email should be monthly?
Have some consistency with formatting text and use of colors.

Too often I'll see an email newsletter that uses fonts that are too big, or they'll have several colors highlighting text. It looks a tad unprofessional. More importantly, many email filters will label multi-colored fonts and larger fonts as unsolicited bulk email (commonly referred to as sp*m). I didn't spell it because even using that word in my newsletter can trigger filters!
Say something meaningful in the subject line.

I actually received a newsletter awhile ago that had the subject line of 'Newsletter 1'. It didn't do much to pique my curiosity. You can use a catchy tag-line or just inform what your newsletter will be about that month.
Compress any photos/images so that they load quickly.

If you regularly send email newsletters and plan to use photos/images in them, do yourself a big favor and purchase a copy of PhotoShop Elements. This software enables you to re-size photos easily and compress them so that they display properly on the web and in your emails. Too often I'll see someone add a nice picture to their message, yet it takes 5-10 seconds for the image to load on my screen so that I may view it. Sometimes you'll get a big red X on your screen meaning that it will not load at all.

PhotoShop Elements is not too expensive (less than $100) and it'll save you headaches when trying to get your photos to display properly.

I'm sure I could think of more tips, but just remembering these few suggestions will portray you and your company in a more professional manner. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll see you next month for the December edition of my newsletter!

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

November 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

from
Excelleweb

Quote of the Month:

" If you put off everything until you're sure of it, you'll get nothing done.."
-- Norman Vincent Peale

Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com...

Twitter or Treat?

2008-10-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

Several friends and colleagues have asked me about Twitter lately. What is it? How is it used? What are the benefits?

Two sources, YouTube and Wikipedia, do a nice job of summarizing what it is, how it works, and why you may want to establish a complimentary account with Twitter at www.twitter.com.

Here is a link to the information on Wikipedia, explaining Twitter and a brief history...

Here is a video illustrating one example of how you could potentially use Twitter in conjunction with a blog for your business. My friend Jim Coe will especially like this one. It's about a guy selling pens through his blog.

Do not underestimate the importance of tools such as Twitter. It's best to stay educated as best you can on evolving applications like this and think creatively about its applications in your particular business.

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, is famous for the following quote: "Change before you have to." In this instance, I wouldn't say it's so much about 'change' as it is about 'evolving'. 'Change', to me, implies a completely different direction. 'Evolving' is a way to explain a process of creatively modifying aspects of your business in a way that will enhance results for the better. At least that's how I'm interpreting it here.

If any of you have any creative ways you're currently using Twitter, please share with me and I can use case studies in a future monthly newsletter. Happy Halloween and I'll check in with you next month!

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

October 2008

Happy Halloween

from
Excelleweb

Quote of the Month:

" In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
-- Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. President (1858-1919)

Invest in your own personal development, visit the AmSpirit Development Forum on Mondays (7:30am) at Scrambler's Restaurant at Cleveland Avenue and I-270. Learn more at www.amspiritdevforum.com...

Keep Them Coming Back...

2008-09-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

Keep Them Coming Back...

One of the most important goals of any web site is to keep visitors coming back. The worst scenario would be to have an anonymous visitor come to the site, get frustrated because they can't find what they need, and leave, never to return. Or maybe they're just unimpressed because you've not done a very good job of compelling them to learn more, dig deeper into the site, or complete your 'contact us' form to begin a dialogue with you.

So what should you do to prevent this from happening? In Seth Godin's book, 'The Big Red Fez', he uses the analogy of web site visitors being much like monkeys looking for bananas. If that banana isn't easy to see and easy to get, your visitor is gone with a quick click on the 'back' button.

You must write compelling web site copy that keeps the interest of the visitor. You must also create the navigation on your web site so that they can easily find any information. Remember, if they can't find the 'banana', they will get frustrated and leave.

I need to remind myself all the time that I need to keep refining my own web site to keep it updated with new text. Not only because it will keep visitors coming back, but search engines also will value your web site more if they see it as evolving and not stagnant.

Always think of your web site as a 'work in progress' and you'll be much more successful in getting your web visitors to keep coming back.

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

September 2008

Excelleweb August 2008 Newsletter: Tips for Domain Shopping

2008-08-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

Have you ever shopped the internet registrars to find out if a domain name is available (i.e., www.mycompany.com)? Sometimes it can be difficult for a new business or for a business getting their first web site in place to find a domain name that hasn't already been taken.

Here's a useful tip, though, for those of you who have found a domain name that they'd like to use once they find out it is available for purchase. Buy it! Do not hesitate to do so. There are organizations out there on the web monitoring web site names that have been searched upon for availability. If you don't buy it right away, they will. Then they'll try selling it back to you for a huge profit. Nice!

Recently, I convinced my accountant that he should really brand himself with his domain name. I found that www.stevebarnard.com was available. However, by the time he had approved the purchase of the domain name it had been snatched away, but was available if we wanted to buy it from this other company. I had to then register www.steve-barnard.com instead.

Actually, it worked out because search engines will sometimes prefer seeing a 'dash' between words in a domain name. I'm not sure exactly why,but that's the way it is. So, remember, shopping and then not buying the domain name right away is risky. You may find that someone else snatched it right from under your nose, then wants to sell it to you.

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Quote of the Month:
" Live out of your imagination, not your history."
-- Stephen Covey

How To Not Look 'Desperate'...

2008-07-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting experience recently subscribing to someone else's newsletter. I was researching some health information for a family member and found a health web site that offered email newsletters. I added my name to their list and looked forward to seeing the upcoming communications.

What I didn't expect was that I'd be getting close to 10 emails each week. While the information provided was interesting, it was too much. I couldn't possibly keep up with this much reading every week.

Here's the interesting thing, though. First, it was difficult to find the fine print in the newsletter where I could 'opt-out'. Then, when I did click on it to remove my name, I received the following message on my screen: "Wait, are we sending you messages too frequently? If so, would you like to get just one per week or one per month?" If they had any inkling they were already bombarding subscribers, why would they do so in the first place, I thought? Then, when I checked that I still wanted out, another message popped up saying, "Before you go, here's another newsletter you can subscribe to every week". Again, I checked 'no thanks' and was finally able to exit the system.

This was definitely a bad campaign put in place. If you think you're overwhelming your subscribers, you probably are. Stop it. If people want out, make it easy for them to do so. I got the mental picture of a salesperson holding onto my leg as I'm dragging them out of the store, trying to walk away. It just looked desperate.

If you only opt-in people who are truly interested, stick to a regular publishing schedule, don't overwhelm with too much communication, and keep messages brief (adding value too) you will be far more successful in your efforts to 'stay on top of mind'. See you next month!

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Quote of the Month

"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen."
-- Frank Lloyd Wright

Surf These Web Sites at Your Own Risk

2008-06-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

A recent article appeared in the Columbus Dispatch regarding unsafe web sites. McAfee, one of the world's most prominent antivirus-software vendors, released a study dangerous domain extensions.

The companies responsible for assigning domain names have, in some cases, taken short cuts when it comes to security for some domain extensions. The extensions listed in the report as the most dangerous include:

.hk (Hong Kong)
.cn (China)
.info (Information)

Of all “.hk” sites McAfee tested, 19.2 percent were flagged as dangerous or potentially dangerous to visitors. It flagged 11.8 percent of “.cn” sites and 11.7 percent of “.info” sites that way. The most popular domain extension (.com) only reported a little more than 5 percent as being risky.

So if you get a message to click on a web site link with any of the 3 types of web site extensions listed above, be sure you trust the source of the message. It may save you a trip to the computer repair shop to have someone fix the viruses running rampant on your PC.

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

June 2008

Referrals from those who know, like, and trust you can be the lifeblood for any business.
If you'd like to learn more about building business relationships with other professionals, visit www.amspirit.com to learn more...

Read my new AmSpirit Business Connections Blog for networking tips...

Quote of the Month:

" Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."
-- Thomas Jefferson

Tips for Better Email Subject Lines

2008-05-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

If you send any kind of email communications out to your customers and/or prospects, ideally you'd like most or all of them to actually open the email that you sent to them, right? Many people, though, mistakenly send out email messages with bad subject lines. It does not pique the curiosity of anyone to open and read further.

Here are some really good examples from an article written by Josh Nason on www.marketingprofs.com. His rule to remember is this: "Tell what's inside, don't sell what's inside".

From: Facebook
Subject: Pat Magoon sent you a message on Facebook...

This is about as straightforward as it gets, as I know the sender and I know the immediate reason I'm being contacted. Granted, this is an auto-responder based on a specific action, but there is no such thing as a wasted email.

From: Russell Goldstein
Subject: (none)

This was from the ESPN assistant to Le Anne Schreiber, the sports network's ombudsman. It was another auto-reply, but still... no "Thanks for the email to ESPN" or "Your ESPN comment has been received"?

From: AirTran Airways Net Escapes
Subject: 3 Days of Sale Fares for Your Much Needed Vacation!

If I've ever shopped for vacations, I'm usually going for a set location or region and not just a vague offer. Sell me a bit here, guys. Also, do we need a full four-word descriptor for the From? AirTran Airways isn't good enough?

From: Borders
Subject: 30% Coupon—Limited Time

Direct offer, simple source, timeframe established: nice work. I'd like to see "30% off everything" for future mailings to really nail it down.

From: Domino's Pizza
Subject: A Special Offer from your local Domino's Pizza

Ugh. Why so vague? Pizza chain emails traditionally are terrible and do more to deflect opens than intrigue. To date, I have never been blown away or enticed by one of these offers. Ever.

From: AAA Northern New England
Subject: AAA Newsletter—February 2008

Ah, the dreaded (Company X) Newsletter with the month and date. Fun! When I opened up the newsletter, there were all kinds of great discount offers; but, instead, this subject line reads more "library" than "block party."

From: Bob Marley
Subject: Comedian Bob Marley Returns To Boston!!

It's a direct statement that his fans in that area would likely open. Since "Bob Marley" is already in the From line, there's no need to repeat in the subject line. I'd try "Boston dates coming up soon!" instead. Why waste the valuable real estate?

These are but a few examples, but hopefully this will help you as you decide how to best grab the attention of your subscribers. Best of luck with your marketing efforts!

Spring Cleaning for Your Email

2008-03-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

Spring is just about here, finally! It's time to clean out the garage, wash those dirty storm windows, detail your car from all that winter crud, and clean up your email list. Email list? That's right, you read it correctly.

Those of you who are already using email tools like iContact, may also have an extensive list of email addresses you've collected over the years. But how many of those email addresses are getting bounced? Do you even know? For those not using iContact or something similar, you might not even have reporting to let you know which email addresses may be bad.

So what should you do? You could send an email to everyone on the list asking them to re-opt in to your email communications. You'd have a much smaller list, but at least it would definitely be comprised of only those who do want to hear from you regularly.

Better yet, perhaps, is to use a software application that checks all of your email addresses in your list and lets you know which email addresses are no longer valid. I recently found a software application that does just that.

I am not affiliated with this company in any way nor am I a current user of their software. But if and when I do need to run my email lists to clean out invalid entries I will certainly give this software a try. From what I've seen it is very user-friendly and produces a nice result.
[http://www.deskshare.com/sev.aspx] Here is a link to the web site.

If you do use this application, I would be interested to hear from you on whether you found this to be a useful tool or not. Or if you know of other applications you like even better for this purpose please email me at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com and let me know what they might be. I can suggest again in a future installment of the monthly newsletter.

Excelleweb Mentioned in Business First

I was interviewed in the most recent edition of Business First regarding decisions small business owners must make when starting a new business. Read the full article here.

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Is Your Web Site Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

2008-02-15T12:48:00.000-08:00

I'm sure at some point you've experienced great frustration when visiting a web site. We've all had that experience, unfortunately more than once. Either the information is buried somewhere in the web site and you can't find it, or the navigation is so befuddling that you need a sherpa to help you get anywhere in the site, or you're just plain confused.

Any of those scenarios will cause you to leave the web site in search of one that is easier to navigate and find what you're looking for. Why does this happen? How could the web site owners let it happen? Designers and web site owners are often guilty of building web sites that serve themselves and not their target audiences. They know how to look for and find information because they have intimate knowledge of how everything is structured on the site. They use terminology that they are very familiar with, even acronyms.

What they fail to remember is that their target audiences may not have any clue about the terminology or the thought process being used to structure the content of the web site. You have to assume people visiting your web site know nothing about you or how to use your web site. Make the navigation plain enough that a 5th Grader could easily use it.

So the answer to the question, "Is your web site smarter than a 5th Grader?", should be 'no'. Keep your navigation and text simple enough that any layperson without industry knowledge can understand who you are, and what your unique value proposition is. Don't over-complicate your products and/or services so few may understand them. Your web visitors must know that you can either help them solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity.

Oh, and if you want to 'emotionally connect' with your web site visitors, invest in high quality graphic design and leave the clipart where it belongs: in bad PowerPoint presentations.

Does Your Web Site Serve Others?

2008-01-29T10:00:00.000-08:00

Most people think of their web site as 'billboard' to showcase their products and services. Sometimes that works perfectly. Often times, you sell yourself short when that is all you provide through your web site.

Take Jonathan Holfinger's company, Arrow Title Agency, for example. Jonathan is the owner of the company and his web site can be found at www.arrowtitle.com. In the web site, there are all kinds of useful bits of information including several calculators to help you determine closing costs under many different scenarios.

Jonathan could have just as easily copied and pasted some info about himself and the company only. Maybe add a few testimonials from clients, and finished the site. But he knows that to separate himself from others in his industry, he must provide a unique experience. That's why he focused on creating a web site that serves others as a resource for them. Realtors and others frequently visit just to use the tools listed on the site. Web visitors' perception of the quality Arrow Title provides is much higher even before they meet with Jonathan, because of the experience he's created for them through the web site.

Oh, and by the way, Excelleweb assisted Jonathan in the design for the site (shameless plug inserted here).

As you ponder what you'd like to improve with your web site in 2008, think about ways you can improve your business relationship with your customers and prospects. What is it that you could provide to make their interaction with you even better?

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Who's on Your Wall of Gratitude?

2007-12-13T18:35:00.000-08:00

Recently, I had an opportunity to see a variety of motivational speakers here in Columbus, Ohio. Maybe you even attended the 'Get Motivated' event. One of the speakers, Zig Ziglar, was especially inspiring to me. For those not familiar with Zig (visit his web site here), he has been writing books and delivering speeches for many years. He is well known around the world for his unique style and enthusiasm.

Earlier this year, Zig took a fall down some stairs and it has severely hampered his memory and ability to get around as well as he used to. The mere fact that Zig still wanted to travel and speak to large groups, inspiring them, was in itself very motivating. How many of us would have taken time off, or hid from the world when we weren't doing so well physically or emotionally?

Zig spoke of the importance of his 'wall of gratitude'. Those people throughout his life that have inspired him to be a better person and helped him reach greater heights in his personal and professional life, he has honored them by putting their pictures on a wall in his office. It is a daily reminder to him that he must aspire to be the best he can be.

That really resonated with me. A few days after the event, I wrote to Zig asking him if he would be willing to send me an autographed photo of himself for my 'wall of gratitude'. With all of the requests and correspondence he must receive, I didn't know if my note would get his attention. Sure enough, a week or so later Zig's assistant responded saying how grateful they were for my letter and that Zig would be honored to send me a picture. It now is displayed prominently in my home office.

Who has influenced you in your business and/or personal life? Why not recognize them for their contribution to your success? Not only is it a nice gesture honoring them, but it is extremely motivating for you to have a constant reminder of being the best you can be.

Happy Holidays! Make 2008 the best year you've ever had!

Excelleweb Launches Cox Colvin & Associates Web Site

Excelleweb has been working with Cox Colvin & Associates to redesign and launch their new web site. An environmental consulting firm located in Plain City, Ohio, Cox Colvin & Associates provides expertise in a number of areas. Please visit the new web site to learn more about their services by clicking on the following picture:

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Googling At The Gas Station

2007-11-14T11:48:00.001-08:00

Before I dive into this month's topics, let me say 'thanks' for another great year at Excelleweb. Without the support from my subscribers who've given me referrals or afforded me the opportunity to work with them directly, Excelleweb would not have been nearly as successful!

Google Coming To Your Neighborhood

Recently the Columbus Dispatch posted an article about Google partnering with gas stations to provide Google Maps at the pump. Thank God for Google! For as long as I've been married and traveled around the country on vacations, I've been the typical husband who hates to ask for directions. I'd much rather figure it out. My Dad was the same way. I must have picked that gene up from him.

Not only can I now get directions, but I can find the nearest restaurants, golf courses, hotels, etc. Now at least I've got something to smile about at the gas station while I fill up at $3.20 a gallon! Read the full article here.

A Desktop We Can All Appreciate

I stumbled across a very cool new desktop interface called BumpTop. It's one of the most creative things I've ever seen. It enables you to organize the desktop of your computer just like you would with an ordinary 'piece of furniture' type of desk.

How many of you out there have icons filling up nearly the entire portion of your monitor screen? Then you have to scan over the entire monitor to find the shortcut link to open a document or a program. Watch this video to see how simple, yet extremely creative you can be in organizing your computer files and applications.

The two items posted this month only go to prove that with creativity your business can be a success. What great ideas do you have for your business?

Only you can kill that idea in your mind. Take the next step. Then another one after that. Google and BumpTop would never have come into existence without the relentless pursuit of putting ideas into action.

One last thing...Happy Thanksiving!

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Quote of the Month:

"Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress."
--Thomas Edison

Thoughts on Email

2007-10-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

This month I've been getting asked more about email, so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to address it in my newsletter.

Use Your Own Email Account

Every time I meet someone and they hand me their business card I look to see their email address (by the way, everyone should have one on their card). If their email address is their name followed by @yahoo.com or @hotmail.com I instantly wonder about their credibility. I'm not being snobby, but it makes you wonder whether their business is in dire straits if they could not afford to set up a simple email address.

It requires very little expense for email hosting. I even have some clients who continue using their Yahoo or hotmail accounts, but it is forwarded to those email addresses from their new company email address. It just makes good business sense that you have your company name as the email address name instead of a third party like Yahoo or hotmail.

Still not convinced? Here other reasons why you should not use complimentary 'no-cost' email services:

There is an increased chance that online merchants will refuse your order. Why? Because too much fraud is associated with these types of accounts. It's less risky for merchants to simply refuse orders from these email accounts.

It can be difficult to even find an email address that's available, let alone memorable. There are just too many variations.

When you send email from accounts like Yahoo or hotmail, often times ads and promotions are inserted in the bottom of the email. Do you really want to have that attached to your message when you're conducting business with others? It cheapens your company brand.

If you need assistance with setting up email hosting or web hosting please get in touch with me to learn more about available options.

3 Web Site Goals to Remember

2007-09-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

If you don't remember anything else about successful web sites, remember these 3 web site goals:

Have compelling text and graphics

Make your web site easy to use

Optimize your web site to rank high in search engines

Have Compelling Text and Graphics

Write the text on your web site with your customers in mind, not for you to tell the world how great you are. Refrain from using statements like 'we're the best' or 'the market leaders', etc. Everyone says they're the best, so why should I, Mr. Customer, choose to do business with you?

Tell stories of helping other clients in similar situations. Why? Because if the customer identifies with that situation, you'll have a better chance of getting their attention and getting them to contact you.

I've written about this many times before, but it goes without saying that you must use professional looking graphics that work well on all web browsers. Don't let your web developer get by just using Internet Explorer for viewing your web site. More people are using Mozilla Firefox and other browsers that are just as important to viewing web sites. Lazy developers will only develop for one browser and not check to see how the web site looks on other browsers.

Make Your Web Site Easy To Use

Don't make web visitors guess about where to navigate on your web site. Keep it simple and easy for them to find what they need quickly. It would be very helpful to 'map' out a web site using a flowchart type of program so that you can see how the hierarchy of the web site is established.

By doing this, you ensure that you do not forget anything important and you also make sure you have the proper flow of information on the site. Does it take too many clicks to find important pages? Should this page be a sub page under another section? Mapping out the site first will alert you to these types of problems.

Optimize Your Web Site for Search Engines

What good is your web site if no one can find it? Again, those of you who have been subscribers for awhile have read this in past newsletters.

But, here is a piece of information you may not have read in my past months' newsletters: Being ranked high in Google and other engines loses its importance if very few people ever search on those terms. That's why you need to work with a professional firm who can offer specialists in search engine marketing. They understand that not only do they need to optimize the web site for keywords and phrases, but to use the terms and phrases that are actually being searched on in the engines.

One more thing to implement: once you have the right keywords/terms/phrases, also check to find out how many other web sites are competing for those same terms. The most successful web sites find a happy medium where they choose popular keywords/phrases, but also those that aren't competing with millions of other sites.

Focus on these 3 key areas and you will be building a successful web site presence. Oh, and don't forget, this is an ongoing process that continually evolves over time. Embrace the journey and never rest on your laurels!

Interested in using email to market your business or organization? Send me an email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com and I can provide you with a complimentary trial using the same tools that I used to create this newsletter.

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Referrals from those who know, like, and trust you can be the lifeblood for any business.
If you'd like to learn more about building business relationships with other professionals, visit www.amspirit.com to learn more...

Read my new AmSpirit Business Connections Blog for networking tips...

Quote of the Month:
"The real leader has no need to lead--he is content to point the way."
--Henry Miller

What Does My Web Site Have In Common With Tigger?

2007-08-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

I hope you all remember Tigger from your childhood, the fictional character from Winnie the Pooh and a very popular Character at Disney World and Disneyland. Tigger’s most memorable quote is, “Bouncing is what Tiggers do best!” However, the bounce rate of your web site is an entirely different story!

What is a ‘Bounce Rate’?

The Bounce Rate is the number of people who visit your web site and leave instantly without digging deeper into the site. All pages of your web site and also have a bounce rate. So what good is this information?

We all strive to ensure we have ‘qualified’ visitors coming to our web sites. One way to think about this would be to measure the traffic being referred to you from other web sites. If the visitors coming from another link have a very high ‘bounce rate’, it might be time to reconsider having a link from them.

Obviously, visitors may have been expecting something else when they clicked on the link. You must ask yourself if the traffic from that other web site is really relevant to your business. I get offers all the time to link to other web sites that promise to send lots of traffic my way. 'More' is not always better. I'd much rather have qualified visitors who are specifically looking for help with their web sites or want to use the web or email for marketing. Getting lots of web visitors to your web site doesn’t mean much if no one stays once they get there.

Most web hosts should be able to provide this report along with all other web statistics as part of their hosting services. If you’re not getting this type of reporting, it might be time to change hosts.

It’s sometimes frustrating to hear people discuss how they get hosting at little or no cost, but what they fail to understand is that they get little or no reporting with that. If you’d like to learn more about web hosting services from Excelleweb, please call me at 614-679-0912 and I can share with you sample reporting that will give you a competitive advantage over your competition.

To read an excellent article further discussing ‘bounce rates’, visit this link.

Interested in using email to market your business or organization? Send me an email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com and I can provide you with a complimentary trial using the same tools that I used to create this newsletter.

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Read my new AmSpirit Business Connections Blog for networking tips...

Quote of the Month: "Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
--Thomas Edison

Critical Steps in Marketing

2007-07-26T20:26:00.001-07:00

Critical Steps For Marketing

Marketing is a double-edged sword. Do it the right way and your business will be swimming in new opportunities. Miss a few steps and you’ve potentially damaged your business for months or even years. It’s difficult to recover once you’ve been tagged as ‘mediocre’ by your target audiences.

Much of the effort around good marketing stems from setting expectations. How often do organizations get the interest from future clients, then perform horribly at following up on leads? It’s never a good idea to make a client wait while their interest wanes in your products/services.

If you can’t follow up immediately, simply set the expectation of when they should expect a follow up call. I get leads all the time through my web site that sometimes cannot be responded to immediately, but I will take two minutes to jot a quick note to them letting them know when we can respond.

With that, I’ve thought about three critical steps your business or organization should implement when launching any marketing campaigns. I’m sure many of you may already be doing this, so let this be a refresher for you. And those of you who aren’t doing this, better think about it before your marketing takes a nose-dive!

Create a game plan

After your campaign is officially launched, plan for increases in inquiries; whether the call to action is by phone, your web site, email responses, etc. Be prepared to handle the responses flooding in the door. Remember the old IBM commercial where the marketing department slapped ‘high-fives’ with each other when they saw how many new visits were coming into the web site? Then someone asked if anyone told the IT department about the expected wave of new traffic, and then their servers crashed.

Have a System in Place

Another key to remember is to have a system in place to handle the new inquiries. Hire a temp, if you have to, in order to respond. Don’t let anything fall through the cracks. Personally, I prefer most of my leads come back through my web site to email so that it is more easily managed. Track every inquiry that comes in so that you know what’s working and what is not.

Let Everyone Know About The Marketing Campaigns

It's very frustrating when consumers call to inquire about a promotion or offer, only to be told by the person answering the phone that s/he isn't aware of it. How shortsighted. It leaves a distinct impression that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. By the time a buyer explains what s/he is looking for, the buyer's motivation can wane quickly.

Those of you who have read my previous newsletters know how much I caution others to ‘protect their brand’. This is no different. Looking silly or uninformed in front of clients can have negative effects on your business.

Ensure that future clients are told the truth about wait times or follow-ups. Don't promise that someone will arrive for an in-home estimate on a Monday and then not call until Wednesday. If a product is involved, ensure there's plenty in stock to fulfill anticipated orders.

Be honest and advise customers that the campaign has been very successful and you can deliver the product or service on a specific date. If handled correctly and professionally, they may feel that the wait is worth it. If there are any delays, communicate with customers before they call to inquire why their expectations haven't been met. Under-promise and over-deliver.

Summary

Smaller businesses often find growth management a challenge. It's a balancing act to have the accurate number of staff and resources to handle increased sales while ensuring that customers have a positive brand experience at every touch point.

The marketing mix can have a variety of tactics to attract new customers. Yet, when a widespread advertising or marketing campaign is employed, it's wise to be as prepared as possible for the possible onslaught of activity.

It may come slowly and build over time, or it may come overnight. Either way, responding to customers in a timely fashion and ensuring your company is credible, professional, and caring are the keys to growing your business.

Using Email to Create Forecasts

2007-06-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

I know you're dying to know...

How can you use email to forecast sales projections? Here's how:

Email & Sales Forecasting

Email can be extremely effective because you may learn so much about your customers and form opinions about future clients too. You can identify behavior by tracking what people do with the emails you send to them.

Put links in the emails that take customers and prospects to various pages on your web site. Using 'permission email' tools enable you to track which links are being visited on your web site and by whom.

By tracking your web statistics, you can determine which pages 'convert' prospects into customers. The more people you can drive to that specific page or pages will result in an increase in new customers.

It's important that you know your numbers in the business, especially if you're just getting started using any type of email marketing.

Make sure everyone in your business is aware of your marketing campaigns so that they can be prepared for any resulting changes in demand.

Summary

Most all organizations forecast based upon past sales, which is good, but it only predicts future results by looking backward. Business trends and industries evolve constantly today. That's why I suggest that it's far better to watch how people respond to promotions and track where they go on web sites. You're much better prepared to predict consumer behaviors.

Now what if you have an 'information only' web site that is either internally focused or you're a non profit organization not selling products/services? Your intent then is to ensure you're providing relevant content. Track the click-throughs on your newsletter to see what interests the subscribers.

Either way, your email communications can be used to predict future sales or empower you to continue providing quality content.

Jet Planning International, LLC Launches New Web Site

Excelleweb is pleased to announce the launch of Jet Planning International, LLC's new web site (www.jpifly.com). Philip Barry and James Arzadon, co-owners of JPI, worked closely with the Excelleweb team to define their web strategy, web design, and web marketing.

JPI offers a variety of services including fuel purchasing for aircraft, trip planning, training, and assisting corporate flight departments with their needs. Any organization with fleet aircraft could benefit from working with JPI's team based in Columbus, Ohio. JPI's clients are located both domestically and internationally.

Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Quote of the Month:

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all ."

--Sam Ewing

Do You Have a Primary Aim?

2007-05-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

In Michael Gerber's book, The E-Myth Revisited, he discusses how important it is for business owners to have a 'primary aim'. The 'primary aim' is what they value most. A purpose, if you will.

Web Sites' Primary Aim

The primary aim for any web site is its reason for existence on the internet. You must decide whether it is a marketing tool, an information tool, a way to deepen relationships with your customers, a storefront where visitors can shop and purchase items, or a way to automate some business process thereby creating efficiencies and saving money. It may be a combination of several of those.

I'm sure you can think of other reasons for web sites beyond the above examples. What is interesting is that many web sites on the net today can confuse the visitors to the site. The navigation may be complex and the text may be ambiguous and hard to follow. This results in a less than enthusiastic web site visit.

Be clear about what your web site should do for the visitor. Spell it out in no uncertain terms. Don't use 'fluff' in your text. Get to the point. Tell visitors what they will find on the site and why they should keep coming back. Compel them to want to interact with you!

Suggestions for Future Newsletters...

If you have a topic that you'd like for me to write about in future monthly newsletters, please call me or email me so I can use your suggestions and respond with newsletters based upon your interest areas.

Tom Anderson is the owner of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Quote of the Month: "Don't go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Are You Hurting Your Brand?

2007-04-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Maybe we should define 'brand' first. My definition is: "Distinguishing a product or service from the competition and creating a lasting impression with your target audience." Now ask yourself again, 'are you hurting your brand?'

Your brand takes on many forms. It is everything about your organization (some call this a 360 degree view). The quality of products/services, the professionalism of your sales staff, the friendliness of your customer service staff/receptionists, your print materials, your web site, your written communications, promotional products with your logo, etc.

Recent Example

Here is a recent example of a brand violator. A national company with a local presence decided they needed more 'marketing'. To attract more business, they posted a white cardboard sign written in magic marker in front of one of their locations. Granted, it was posted on a heavily traveled street.

My first few thoughts when I read the sign were:

They seemed desperate. Maybe they're going out of business?
They don't have enough money to budget for a professionally printed sign?
Maybe they're just cheap?
Maybe they have no marketing strategy, so they don't know what to do?

The bottom line is I wasn't left with any positive impressions. Who knows? Maybe they did get more customers from the sign. But how many more could they have gotten with a well branded strategy? I have to think they did more harm to their brand than good.

New Seminar Coming Soon...

I, along with three other colleagues of mine, am working on developing a new seminar. It will provide information on building and protecting your brand. It will be hosted in the Columbus, Ohio area this summer. We'll look at 'brand' as it relates to web sites, marketing messages, print materials, and promotional product campaigns.

If you'd like to attend, please email me so I can send you details when they become available.

Arrow Title Launches Web Site

Jonathan Holfinger, owner of Arrow Title Agency in Columbus, Ohio, worked with the Excelleweb team to redesign his existing web site. The new site offers an updated look and lots of useful information for his clients and prospects. Click on the image to visit Jonathan's new web site.

April 2007

Referrals from those who know, like, and trust you can be the lifeblood for any business. If you'd like to learn more about building business relationships with other professionals, visit www.amspirit.com to learn more...

Read my new AmSpirit Business Connections Blog for networking tips...

Quote of the Month:

"Always do right. You'll gratify some and astonish the rest."
--Mark Twain