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Hub You - Are You Making These E-Commerce Excuses? (part 1)
Everywhere I turn, I'm being asked to weigh in on the issue of whether copy should be long or short in a sales letter. I receive countless newsletters on copywriting and marketing, and they are all still debating the issue.I doubt that the question will be answered definitively, but after hearing from other Internet copywriters and after considering the issue myself, I've learned that if you follow three guidelines, the issue of length will become almost irrelevant.Guideline #1) TELL PROSPECTS WHAT THEY WANT AND NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE A BUYING DECISION.Interested prospects will read even a sales letter of several pages long if they are interested and if your sales letter has good content. Many of us are more interested in telling prospects what WE want them to know. But we should all be telling prospects what THEY want and need to know.Guideline #2) OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS.This guideline is actually Rule #17 from Strunk & White's famous little book on writing, _The_Elements_of_Style_. (If you write, you really should read this small but influential book.)
redesign, shopping cart, etc.] started.”
___ “I keep starting a new marketing effort, but I can’t seem to finish it.”
___ “When it comes to [Internet marketing, e-commerce, web sites, etc.], I’m just clueless. I don’t know what to do.”
___ “I know I could benefit from marketing my [web site, products, service, etc.] but I’m not sure what steps to t
As a restaurant owner, what is your style to promote your business? How do you sell your business to people who have completely no idea what your restaurant looks like or what kind of food you serve or the quality of service and the overall impression you have for the majority of the customers?Advertisement!It’s one word that matters most in the business industry and basing on the word alone, there are many ways how you can create advertising by using each and every means and available tools like the media, the Internet, road signs, mails to customers, menu posters, your public relations skills, flyer distribution on public places and of course, nothing beats the old time word of mouth advertising to promote your restaurant and get noticed.Advertising doesn’t only depend on the things that you can inform your customers about your restaurant. What else is important is also the reputation of your restaurant. It would count the most when the people who have heard about your restaurant as a great place, serves good food at a valuable cost has to be what your customer
And I broke them all. *Every single one.* (One of them I broke even before the month of January was over!) For every goal, I had an excuse. And the excuses won.
But this year is different. It’s 2005 – time to get live! At the end of the first quarter, I’m already off to a good start. In January, I launched my new web site, http://www.EcommerceDiva.com and new “Supersize Your Bootcamp” training program. And you’re reading another newsletter issue. So far, so good!
But this article isn’t about me. It’s about YOU! What are *your* Internet marketing goals?
This spring, I intend to (check all that apply):
___ Finally get that web site up and running.
___ Add e-commerce to my current web site.
___ Overhaul my existing web site.
___ Get more web traffic.
___ Get more leads, prospects, or subscribers to my web
site.
___ Get more orders.
Great! But how?
Just like any other kind of goal, Internet marketing goals require ACTION. E-commerce success doesn’t happen overnight. What do you plan to do to make it happen? As the old adage goes, “if you do the same thing you’ve been doing, you’ll get the same results you’ve been getting!”
So, will you do things differently this time? Or will you make the same excuses you made last year for not bringing your web site up to par?
Let’s take a look at some of the most common marketing issues. Do any of these statements sound familiar? Check off any that do.
__ “I just can’t seem to get my [web site, marketing campaign,
redesign, shopping cart, etc.] started.”
___ “I keep starting a new marketing effort, but I can’t seem to finish it.”
___ “When it comes to [Internet marketing, e-commerce, web sites, etc.], I’m just clueless. I don’t know what to do.”
___ “I know I could benefit from marketing my [web site, products, service, etc.] but I’m not sure what steps to t
This should have been simple. I had a 12 hour round-trip drive coming up and I thought I should get an oil change first. The car was over due and I felt it was really important to get it done before I left. So Friday morning I drove over to the local Jiffy Lube figuring they could do it quickly (You know, in a jiffy!). Maybe not. As a drove up, I saw that each of the three bays was completely empty and the four guys inside were just leaning against their tool boxes.I parked in front of the middle bay and walked up the guy who looked most like a manager and asked if he could change my oil. He said he had to check to see if they had a filter for my car, first. With that, two of the guys went below and started digging through the supplies. A few minutes later, the verdict was in: no filter in stock. The manager said that sometimes they have one for my car, but not today. Sorry!With that, I drove away. My next stop was Goodyear. This time every bay was filled and everyone was running around like a chicken with its head cut off (Don’t write me if you work for the chicke
But this article isn’t about me. It’s about YOU! What are *your* Internet marketing goals?
This spring, I intend to (check all that apply):
___ Finally get that web site up and running.
___ Add e-commerce to my current web site.
___ Overhaul my existing web site.
___ Get more web traffic.
___ Get more leads, prospects, or subscribers to my web
site.
___ Get more orders.
Great! But how?
Just like any other kind of goal, Internet marketing goals require ACTION. E-commerce success doesn’t happen overnight. What do you plan to do to make it happen? As the old adage goes, “if you do the same thing you’ve been doing, you’ll get the same results you’ve been getting!”
So, will you do things differently this time? Or will you make the same excuses you made last year for not bringing your web site up to par?
Let’s take a look at some of the most common marketing issues. Do any of these statements sound familiar? Check off any that do.
__ “I just can’t seem to get my [web site, marketing campaign,
redesign, shopping cart, etc.] started.”
___ “I keep starting a new marketing effort, but I can’t seem to finish it.”
___ “When it comes to [Internet marketing, e-commerce, web sites, etc.], I’m just clueless. I don’t know what to do.”
___ “I know I could benefit from marketing my [web site, products, service, etc.] but I’m not sure what steps to t
I was in the car leasing business straight out of college and I did well, but I had a rough time with a memorable customer.He asked me to get him a white Chevy wagon. Nothing fancy, just some air conditioning, and if it had power windows, that was fine.What he didn’t know was at my firm we simply didn’t put out stripped down vehicles, for at least a few reasons.First, as used cars two, three and four years later, they wouldn’t be attractive to resale buyers. They’d remain unsold for long periods, and that loses money in depreciation and flooring costs.Secondly, when it comes to leasing, your rate will not increase substantially, if at all if you have power windows, a good sound system, custom wheel covers, and the like.These items bring up a car’s value on resale, so without going into the math, your monthly lease payment stays in the same range if you have the goodies or not; and of course having them makes driving more pleasurable.My customer wanted a stripped Chevy, so I found the least fancy one the company would buy and I delivered it to
___ Add e-commerce to my current web site.
___ Overhaul my existing web site.
___ Get more web traffic.
___ Get more leads, prospects, or subscribers to my web
site.
___ Get more orders.
Great! But how?
Just like any other kind of goal, Internet marketing goals require ACTION. E-commerce success doesn’t happen overnight. What do you plan to do to make it happen? As the old adage goes, “if you do the same thing you’ve been doing, you’ll get the same results you’ve been getting!”
So, will you do things differently this time? Or will you make the same excuses you made last year for not bringing your web site up to par?
Let’s take a look at some of the most common marketing issues. Do any of these statements sound familiar? Check off any that do.
__ “I just can’t seem to get my [web site, marketing campaign,
redesign, shopping cart, etc.] started.”
___ “I keep starting a new marketing effort, but I can’t seem to finish it.”
___ “When it comes to [Internet marketing, e-commerce, web sites, etc.], I’m just clueless. I don’t know what to do.”
___ “I know I could benefit from marketing my [web site, products, service, etc.] but I’m not sure what steps to t
Starting and running a successful coffee shop can be a dream come true for any coffee lover, and the coffee business can be quite lucrative in the right hands.When starting any business, however, it is important to give it the seriousness and careful planning it deserves. Few people can be successful at owning and running a coffee shop without lots of difficult planning, and one of the key elements of that planning is the creation of a professionally designed coffee shop business plan.==The Coffee Shop Business Plan Is The First Document Any Potential Investor Will Want To See==A business plan is one of the most important, perhaps the most important, of all business documents.That is because the coffee shop business plan is the first document any potential investor will want to see. Before any lender will make a startup loan, he or she will want to get a good look at your business plan, and review it carefully.Likewise, if you are planning to finance your new coffee shop by taking on investors, those potential investors will want to take a
So, will you do things differently this time? Or will you make the same excuses you made last year for not bringing your web site up to par?
Let’s take a look at some of the most common marketing issues. Do any of these statements sound familiar? Check off any that do.
__ “I just can’t seem to get my [web site, marketing campaign,
redesign, shopping cart, etc.] started.”
___ “I keep starting a new marketing effort, but I can’t seem to finish it.”
___ “When it comes to [Internet marketing, e-commerce, web sites, etc.], I’m just clueless. I don’t know what to do.”
___ “I know I could benefit from marketing my [web site, products, service, etc.] but I’m not sure what steps to t
You get what you pay for does not just apply to shopping. You are paying a price, whether you know it or not, at work and you are getting exactly what you pay for.Step 5 – If in step 4 you were unable to identify any way for you to express your authentic self, determine what the payoff is for working in this job. When we continue to do the same thing over and over - in this case going to work at the same job day after day - and we resist making a change, it is partially because there is a pay off for us to stay. We must be getting something out of the situation or else staying would not be an option. So, think about what you are getting by staying. For some it might be a substantial paycheck and for others it may be a flexible schedule or the perks/benefits they get at work. Pay attention to these and don’t minimize them. They may be great reasons to stay but it is also quite possible that these reasons are not exclusive to this job in this company. Look at the bigger picture. You may be able to duplicate them in a variety of situations.I worked with one client w
redesign, shopping cart, etc.] started.”
___ “I keep starting a new marketing effort, but I can’t seem to finish it.”
___ “When it comes to [Internet marketing, e-commerce, web sites, etc.], I’m just clueless. I don’t know what to do.”
___ “I know I could benefit from marketing my [web site, products, service, etc.] but I’m not sure what steps to take. I feel stuck.”
___ “I just don’t have time. I’m too busy dealing with [customers, clients, day job, family, etc.] to deal with my web site.”
___ “Every time I sit down to work on my marketing, I just can’t seem to stay focused.”
Now, let’s look at each statement, and see if there’s any truth to it, or if it’s actually an excuse that’s keeping you and your business from the success you want to achieve.
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Excuses # 1 and #2: “I just can’t seem to get my [web site, marketing campaign, redesign, shopping cart, etc.] started.” And “I keep starting a new marketing effort, but I can’t seem to finish it.”
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Ah, the words of a first-rate procrastinator. I ought to know – this is me! I’ve been a procrastinator since as far back as I can remember. When I was in school, I would always wait until the night before a paper was due to start working on it, no matter how far in advance I knew it was coming. I used to think I just worked better with that last-minute rush of adrenaline, but now I know better. Procrastination is caused by one of two things: LAZINESS or FEAR.
Entrepreneurs, by nature, usually aren’t lazy folks. So let’s deal with the fear. Projects that are big, new, or unfamiliar (such as e-commerce) can often make us feel overwhelmed or intimidated. So we respond with “I’ll just do it later…”
THE REMEDY:
1. MAKE IT SMALL.
The solution is to break up a project into smaller, more manageable chunks. Outline each individual task that needs to be accomplished (such as take product photos, research vendors for e-mail newsletter services, etc.), and ass
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