If you have a restaurant, entertainment, tourism or service type business, there are a lot of new “Deal” type websites popping up on the scene. Some of these sites that have been able to attract a good following can help you generate instant sales and buzz for your business.
GROUPON is just one of many collective buying, or daily deal websites popping up.
Take the most popular one, GROUPON, they offer up a deal-of-the-day (one for each major city) in which users are required to purchase that day in order to secure the deal. Some of these new sites are just trying to be glorified coupon sites, however what Groupon does is focus on just one business per day by offering an extraordinary deal—they can achieve this by guaranteeing the merchant that “x” number of sales will be made. If the users don’t gravitate toward a deal and “x” number are not sold, then the deal is off.
Some Merchants may feel that giving a 50% discount is too tough on the bottom line, but what they need to consider is that this type of promotion is not a hit on sales, but rather a marketing investment. In addition to exposing your business to a great number of people, the ones that purchase are now future customers.
I love when I discover a cool and useful new product or service. I recently upgraded to a new computer and I use several browsers, so of course I can never find the “bookmark” I’m looking for. In comes Xmarks, an easy-to-use tool that synchronizes all of your bookmarks across multiple computers and browsers—you can even log into Xmarks from a remote computer to access your favorite sites.
Xmarks is not all that new and actually used to be called “Foxmarks” as it used to only work with FireFox. With the expanded usage, Foxmarks changed to Xmarks. The Wall Street Journal did a nice piece with video earlier in 2009 when the company was still “Foxmarks.” I just synced all of my computers and browsers…worked great. Let me know how it works for you.
Listen up all you entrepreneurs and small business owners…before you start your company or launch a new product…the very FIRST thing you need to do before you do ANYTHING else is…reserve your domain name(s)! It sounds so elementary to so many, but I can’t tell you how many people I still run into that don’t do it.
Tips on reserving a domain name:
In addition to reserving your domain name (before telling anyone about your business)—reserve social media urls as well, for example Twitter.com/YourDomain, or Facebook.com/YourDomain or LinkinedIn.com/in/YourDomain, etc.
If possible, try and integrate a keyword in your domain…for example: ShubicWebDesign.com (“Web Design” being the keyword). BTW, the reason I used “Web Design” in my domain rather than say, “Web Development” (which is a more accurate term for what I do) is because “Web Design” is searched a whole lot more than “Web Development.”
Reserve your domain for a long period of time; at least five years…this is a search friendly technique. All too often spam-type sites are registered for short periods of time and the search engines know it.
Reserve possible misspellings or variations of your domain and re-direct those domains to your main site. For example, if your main domain is Web2Mail.com you would want to reserve WebTwoMail.com and WebToMail.com…if they were available.
Don’t discount urls with dashes! If you have an online business where you are going to get most of your traffic from search engines, having a domain with dashes is perfectly acceptable and can offer up a keyword rich url where the variation with no dashes is already taken. For example AZWEbDesign.com could be AZ-Web-Design.com
Lastly, there are a ton of Registrars out there, the two I’ve used the most are GoDaddy and Register.com, both are very good.
This is a big and exciting week with respect to technology (hardware that is), as it’s time once again for CES (the Consumer Electronics Show). Having been to CES myself once, I can appreciate all the hype—it’s a time when all the big electronic manufacturers show off their latest gadgets. In the spirit of innovation, I have highlighted ten up-and-coming start-ups who’ve created the latest web-based apps that I think you’ll be interested in learning more about.
Forget cumbersome mobile browsing, Aloga makes finding your favorite restaurant or store super simple by proactively notifying you of interesting places, events and other activities near you…no matter where you are.
WildFire will help you promote your business using social networks with their simple “Wildfire Promotional Builder.”
Square credit card processing
SquareUp has created a super easy way to accept credit cards in the field. No contracts, monthly fees or hidden costs…what’s not to love?
CitySourced provides a free, simple, and intuitive tool empowering citizens to identify civil issues (potholes, graffiti, trash, snow removal, etc.) and report them to city hall for quick resolution. Anything that will make government more efficient has to be a good thing.
Are expense reports dragging you down? Expensify might be a solution for you. Throw away your paper receipts and stop tedious paperwork, get IRS-ready eReceipts.
Remember when the fax machine was the latest and greatest way to communicate—then came e-mail? Well, Google might just revolutionize e-mail and it’s called “Wave.” Currently Wave is in beta stage and you need to get an invite from Google to participate. I have been a Wave Beta user for a few weeks now, and while I don’t fully understand it yet, I can see the enormous potential. Frankly, I’m not even sure Google fully understands how Wave will work just yet as it continues to evolve.
Need to move inventory or put butts in seats? GroupOn might be for you. GroupOn is a bit like a coupon, but uses collective buying power to get good deals for their users. Say a local theater has an event that is only half sold out, they can tell GroupOn that their $50 tickets can be sold for $25 if 500 people agree/buy. Unlike cluttered coupon sites, GroupOn only serves up one deal per day (per city).
You’ve heard the slogan, “There’s an app for that.” Now, there is an app to make an app. Check out appmakr
GPS enabled smart phones are spawning all kinds of interesting new products. Gowalla will enable you to share your experiences with others while also rewarding you for “stamping your passport” (so to speak).
The true convergence between T.V. and the web might just be here…thanks to Boxee.
I know there are a ton of cool new tools, services and start-ups out there, but at the moment, this is my top 10. Please share or contribute to this post if you run into something revolutionary…or at least a 7 on the coolness factor.
I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about Google’s mobile Android OS and that there was rumor that Google would unveil their own
Google Nexus One Smart Phone
phone soon—well, looks like that day has come sooner than most expected. Later today Google is expected to announce the launch of Nexus One (or Nexus 1). Nexus One could be the first smart phone to truly compete with the iPhone. Everyone I’ve talked with who has an Android phone absolutely loves the OS. The unlocked version of Nexus 1 is expected to be around $550.
I subscribe to many newsletters and I have one in particular that always ends up in my “junk” folder. Unfortunately, email delivery is a big problem these days, so to help improve your email newsletter delivery rate, check out some of these terms to avoid and some alternatives to consider.
SPAM TO AVOID
SUGGESTIONS/ALTERNATIVES
Do not repeat words>>
Be succinct; try to avoid ’spam’ words.
Do not use all CAPS>>
Keep everything in lowercase if possible.
Do not use !, $, or 100%>>
Keep punctuation to a minimum.
Affordable>>
Reasonably priced, reasonable, within your means, inexpensive
YouTube is of course the #1 video sharing website out there, however there are a lot of other great ones that should not be overlooked…here are just a few I recommend to clients:
If you want to submit your video to all the top sites in one fell swoop, check out Tube Mogul. And, if you want to download a streaming video, check out KeepVID.
Paying homage to the 12 Days of Christmas, I have compiled a list of 12 web-related tactical items to consider for the New Year.
1) On the first day of Christmas my true love said to me (I know, it’s supposed to be “sent,” but that didn’t make sense) … “Who are you and where did you come from?” You don’t know if you’re not tracking your website traffic. You also have no idea if your website is helping or hindering your online efforts—nor do you know what marketing tactics are working and which ones are not! Call Santa (that’s me) and I can set you up for a nominal fee.
2) On the second day of Christmas my true love said to me… “Why can’t I find you on the web?” Because rarely do people use the Yellow Pages anymore to find a business/service, most go to the web. If you don’t come up high in the search engine search results, especially when someone types in your exact company name…you’ve got a problem! If you want to drive more traffic to your website, let me know and I’ll explain how.
3) On the third day of Christmas my true love said to me…”Why do you not like me?” Social media is all the rage right now, if you choose to dip your toes in, make sure you have a plan. Marketing is about building relationships with your prospects in hopes of turning them into customers. If you throw darts at a target blindfolded, you’ll never hit the bulls eye.
4) On the fourth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”You look tired.” If you haven’t updated your website in a few years, it’s time for a makeover! The web, unlike other mediums is also a technology, therefore it’s ever-changing…in order to stay relevant, you must change with the times.
5) On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love said to me…”Why do you never call back?” Today, people want quick responses from us, 24 hours is NOT soon enough! All too often when someone sends a company an e-mail inquiry, they don’t get a response for days— if ever. Or, if they call a business they get lost in a mirage of telephone prompts. If you have the resources and bandwidth internally, a “Live Chat” feature on your website is a great way to connect with your prospects. Your customer support staff can chat live with your prospects and/or can even call the prospect so they don’t have to muddle through phone prompts to try and reach the right person. Might sound expensive, but I guarantee your conversion rates will increase.
6) On the sixth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”Why don’t you ever tell anyone about us?” The new rules of Public Relations have changed…no longer do you need to know the editor of your local publication to get a news story written about your company. Today there are services likePRWeb and PRNewsWire that will distribute your news releases to a targeted or broad audience.
7) On the seventh day of Christmas my true love said to me…”Someday they’ll make movies about us.”“Some Day” is today! Video is huge and it allows you to communicate and connect with your prospects in a very personal way. Video is so simple today and can be quite inexpensive. You can get a 60-90 second professional self-promotional video for as little as $500. Click here for more info. You can use your videos on your website, share on social networking and video sites such as YouTube, DailyMotion or Metacafe.
8) On the eighth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”We’re old and stagnate, we need to change.” It’s innate that humans resist change, but if you have the right interactive partner, they can walk you through the process. Today, the interactive industry changes at warp speed, but that doesn’t mean you should continue to sit on the sidelines. There are tools that can make your website more efficient and effective for both you and your customer. From CMS (Content management systems that allow you to easily update your website without the need of a webmaster), to customer service tools like live chat and social media.
9) On the ninth day of Christmas my true love said to me… “Why does no one talk of our love affair?” Viral marketing can spread your wares like wild fire. If you can get creative, and can build relationships with your prospects, you can create viral attention for your product/services. If you need help or ideas on creating online word-of-mouth advertising, give me a call.
10) On the tenth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”You’re so complicated; I just don’t understand you sometimes.” With the new rules of marketing, there is a lot to know and understand, you need to find a web partner with experience, knowledge and passion for the new ways of marketing…someone that can walk you through the process in layman terms. Call me for a free consultation.
11) On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love said to me… “You’re never at home anymore, where can I find you?” Mobile baby! A decade ago people wondered whether there would be a convergence or a divergence between TV and the Web…while the debate has been answered, it’s taken awhile to materialize. Two areas that won’t take as long to marry/materialize is web-mobile, mobile-web. We are in the midst of Web 2.0 (the second generation of the web), a main component to Web 3.0 will certainly be the convergence of the web and mobile devices. You’re already seeing thousands of applications being built for mobile devices. As more people adopt smart and GPS enabled phones you’re going to start to see a lot of marketing opportunities…so, I would highly suggest keeping this at the forefront of your future marketing plans.
12) On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”He who snoozes looses.” If you don’t lead your industry, then you need to follow, if you’re not willing to follow, then you need to get out of the way for those building the businesses of the future. My blog is a great resource for interactive tips, tools and news on web development and online marketing related items. Use it. Beware of shortcuts, and those who proclaim to be capably. Web developers and such are popping up like real estate agents of yesteryear…everyone knows one. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially for things you don’t understand.
There are new rules to marketing today and they ALL revolve around the web…so to that, I wish your holidays to be filled with Clicks, Conversions and Customers! Be safe, well and may the New Year be a fruitful one.
No one understands the web better than Google! As the mobile landscape begins to change as it converges with the web, Google could begin to dominate the industry with its Android Mobile OS.
Motorola Droid by Verizon Wireless running the Google Android OS
In addition, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google actually has plans to develop their own phone and will begin selling it directly to consumers instead of through a mobile carrier. Apparently, some Google employees are already testing the new mobile device that runs on the company’s Android operating system. Currently there are only a handful of phones running the Google OS, and only two carriers…T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.
