Archive for June, 2007

Even after 12 hours, nobody bothered to fix it. LOL.

Having a focused, promise-keeping landing page is a concept that experienced Pay Per Click advertisers know well. Often learning this truism happens the hard way - after spending thousands of wasted dollars. One of the most important design lessons that I’ve learned when it comes to any sort of web page is this:

The Landing Page Must Meet The Customer Where They Are.

Use whatever technology or methodology that’s necessary. Never make the customer come to you - and with landing pages this means that your page content should seem like an extension of the conversation already in their mind before they ever visited your site.

Create content that engages them at speed. Think of the way the fighter jets have to line up to the airborne tankers for refueling. They must match speed, altitude and discharge static electricity. There is a net airspeed difference of zero as they exchange the payload. The same is true on a Landing Pag - if you require them to change direction you will not connect.

 

Assure the Visitor of Safety and Security

If your conversation with the customer is weighted by their worry of future spam, pressure, or added costs, you need to find ways of setting them at ease. This often happens by putting yourself in their shoes. But you must also turn their shoes over and see where they’ve been. Think back to the keywords, and the ads they clicked on. Remember who they are, and what their intent was. What were their alternatives, should they leave your site? What is your leverage? How tentative are they?

If your site and company are unfamiliar to them, display third party reliability indicators which underscore your commitment to their security and demonstrate your technical competence to conduct secured commerce.

Maintain a Positive Balance in Your Time & Goodwill Bucket

Internet searching is work. It’s an investment of time that is competing against other things in a persons’ life. To find a result through a search, click on it, and begin consuming content is an additional investment of their time. Quickly and early in the content the visitor must feel like they are being given relevant information at a rate faster than they could have acquired it through their own efforts.

Be sure the Call to Action is a Natural, if not Anticipated, Next Step

No jarring “Go Here Now” buttons. The next step should be something the reader is almost seeking out. If the landing page text is well written, the reader should be almost anticipating moving forward to the next step. If it’s a sign up, or a lead form - the anticipation should be for that form.

Maintain Low Friction When Asking for Their Information

Put off as much information gathering as you can for your business scenario. Much can be gathered at later stages. The longer the form, the lower your conversion rate will be. Remember the game “Don’t Break The Ice”? It’s like this. You want to get as much as you can without breaking the threshold. If you lose a customer you’ve just paid $1.20 for in PPC, that money is gone forever.

Use Search Text (or topically related text) in the Page Headlines/Captions When Possible.

If you can, use the search text (or text that represents it) inside the landing page text. This is available from most modern Pay-per-click engines as parameters. Make sure it reads well. This gives the page a tightly relevant feeling. But be careful, it can also look unnatural if used improperly.

Show them the Light at the End of the Tunnel

Don’t make visitors wonder how long the process of interacting with your page will take. Make the pages have a definite end, and make it clear. I like “signatures” or “PS.” blocks. These are a natural language for “closure” in the minds of readers. This closure tells people that the investment they’re making is limited, and helps with the economic decision of time we all make when viewing a website. “Yes, it’s worth it to stick around long enough to read it… it’s not that long.”

 

Wouldn’t Google Street View be more interesting if Immersive told us when and where they were doing the photos? We could spruce up our businesses, pull up our pants, and line the streets with voluntary interestingness. Right now, people are just freaking over privacy concerns (good move on the removal system.) Let us wave! It’s wierding people out that we aren’t really sure when/if you’re coming by.

But please don’t sneak around like an imperial probe droid.

People already get nervous as hell when I used to carry around my camera with a right-angle lens for human interest shots, like this Opteka Voyeur Right Angle Spy Lens. I ended up stopping after using it only a couple of times despite the awesomely funny pictures you can get. People would stop me even when the camera was hanging from my shoulder, even though it was really hard to tell it was on there. Paranoia is pretty powerful.

Oh yeah…If you have a dark colored VW bug, you can have great fun right now by mounting a little tripod on top and putting something that looks like the camera (above) on top. You may get people acting nutty around you all day long, making your commute just a little less boring.

I guess it remains to be seen how many actually use the system. For tourism and relocation, this has to be one of the biggest leaps forward I’ve yet seen.

I’m certain it will shortly be integrated into auto navigation, hand-held systems, and even phones. I am sure people will find ways to use it in art, literature, and other socially fascinating modes.

Winners know when to quit.

To those of you who have not read Seth Godin’s new book “The Dip” I recommend that you immediately find a copy. It’s listed in my recommended books section.

Godin explains the “dip” as a barrier between where we are and the rarefied territory of superstars who’ve made it across to reap the disproportionally rich rewards offered them. These folks have been faced with many options, most likely, and “quit” all but those they knew they could conquer. To maintain tangental, medocre projects that you aren’t really leaning into is to suck the life from your ability to rise to the top.

• In your web project, do you have parts that dead-end, with little chance of making you the best in your industry?
• Are there areas you should focus on in hopes of reaching the other side of the dip, joining the elite players of your business?
• Are you ready to sort those out, focus on the ones that matter and discard the rest?

If so, let’s do it, systematically, and determine which are the real “dips” you’re facing - and which are the cul-de-sacs. I’m going to be doing it, too.

One of the most promenant “dips” faced by my clients is the one encountered during testing. It’s excrutiating to wait for research or a/b split results. It’s often unpleasent to learn that what your intuition told you about a products’ opportunity doesn’t bear out. This process is the dip. It’s not easy, it’s not fast. To quit within this period is to throw out the essence of “Finding the Sweet Spot.” - all is lost.

To learn which opportunities are dead-ends and which are just dips to be crossed is a skill posessed only by the best.

Which is the winning strategy?

Not only should my potential clients ask them these questions - but so should I. Each entrepreneur or company I encounter piles a new set of ideas and projects on the table - each with their own profiles, opportunities, closeness to the goal. And I also plot my business’ interest in those goals, choosing clients as they choose me, based on what they lean into, and what they quit.

So, I am going to be isolating the cul-de-sacs in my business. There are parts that shouldn’t be taking my time or energy. Others need more. I could be doing much more in Social Search Marketing if I wasn’t dealing with certain technical hassles related to areas of my business that simply shouldn’t exist. I am already listed in Seth’s roster of quitters, and now … I’m doing some more of it.

What are the areas I want to be the best in the world? Where should I simply quit? Where am I providing “average” service, and where am I extrodinary? Lots of big questions that I think will push my firm ahead. Your ideas and suggestions are always appreciated.

If you’re presenting at a conference and using a powerpoint deck or some illustrations, don’t post a URL for your stuff to be downloaded. Instead, set up an email box with a responder into which attendees should send an email if they want copies of the presentation. It can return the presentation as an attachment or simply provide a URL. This way, you can follow up with updates, new thoughts, and follow up emails.  Don’t publish the address on your site, as this opens it up to spamming.Â

You can tell attendees that you will be posting the deck on your blog (give address) in a week or so and that they should subscribe so you can notify them when it’s up. It’s also a good time to introduce some kind of added item that only subscribers will see in the RSS feed. The feed address should be ultra-short if possible. I would leave a page at the end of the deck that says “mystery tips 15-20 available only on my blog, and only through the feed.” If your feed is ungainly, make a 301 redirect to it or use tinyurl. This method is also better if you think spammers are possibly among your audience members.

The chances of them ever opening that presentation are slim… but having a growing list helps to compensate you for the work you do and stay in touch with a very good audience.

Surely some funny Brit is going to bound out, Monty Python-Style, and tell us they were kidding…. Please? The 2012 Summer Olympics Logo, which emerged from a sober and straight faced committee, was meant to be “very different from what had gone before”…”A brave endeavor.”  At the same time, thousands of talented English graphic artists cry in their Guinness at the horror of it all. And now… the epilepsy scare after complaints and a failure of the HardingFPA flash and Pattern Analyzer test suite.

Tony Blair said: “When people see the new brand, we want them to be inspired to make a positive change in their life.”  I think this change may come in the form of turning away from this hideous thing.Â

Dear Seth, perhaps this is the reason for the jaggy picture?

 Still one bright spot is the collection of user-generated uploads found on the Design Gallery, a large number of which are more attractive and moving than the chosen one. Among my favorites, are George Wasall’s design, William’s from London, and Chris’ from Malaga Spain. One I found particularly disturbing was the mushroom-cloud-like design here.

Side note… Wolff Ollins’ work normally blows me away. WTF with this logo?