|
|
| Information |
|
|
Set Yourself Apart From The Ordinary
I have written at length about the need to anticipate your visitors' needs. I have talked about how the first screen of the homepage needs to connect immediately and directly with the task each visitor has on his or her mind. I have talked about finding the search words and phrases people use to find your site, so you can use these same words on your homepage. And so on and so on. And I think it is all good advice. When visitors arrive at your site for the first time, the best outcome you can hope for is that they think, "Excellent, I'm in exactly the right place. I can find what I'm looking for right here." The problem is, the more you write the page to suit the needs of the reader, the less character it has. There is a danger that you will become like that person at a party who roams from group to group, agreeing with everyone and simply reflecting back everyone's opinions and views. People like that are boring and ultimately very irritating. They never risk expressing opinions of their own. The same thing can happen with a website. The more you try to please people, the thinner the character of your company or organization becomes. The web has always been a place where strong views and opinions are highly valued. Think about the newsletters you subscribe to and the discussion lists you take part in. The most valuable contributions are those that express real character, where people take a strong position and are not afraid to express it and stand by it. So there is a balance here. Yes, write your homepage to appeal to the reader, but also let some of the character of your organization shine through. This doesn't mean adding the mission statement, or shoveling the latest corporate sound bites onto your site. Heaven forbid. But you can express some character. You can say what you believe. You can take a position and let people know what you stand for, and what you stand against. The benefit? You'll differentiate your site from others in the same space. You'll stand out from the crowd. You'll be recognized. You'll earn respect for taking a position. You'll catch people's attention. You'll make them want to tell their friends and colleagues about your site. You don't have to take it to extremes. You simply need to write in a recognizable voice. Enough to set you apart from the ordinary. Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news News Corp exec becomes chief of Germany's Premiere (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's chief financial officer for Europe and Asia has been named chief executive of German pay television group Premiere, following the resignation of Michael Boernicke, Premiere said on Wednesday. News Corporation to redevelop London Wapping site (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is to redevelop its Wapping site in London, moving all its UK businesses, including News International, Harper Collins, MySpace and Dow Jones, under one roof. UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News (UPI) Chesney nominated for 7 CMAs ... Hoffman: I'm not playing Penguin ... 'RocknRolla' No. 1 at U.K. box office ... Jessica Simpson stops song on 'GMA' ... News from United Press International. Get the latest news in racing (Daily Racing Form) In order to read Daily Racing Form's free daily news stories it is required that you have a DRF.com free membership. If you do not have a DRF.com free membership, please register here . You will NOT need to be logged in to read each day's free news stories. DailyMe: News tailored to your individual tastes (The Christian Science Monitor) Column: Custom news websites come and go, but this one gets it right. Sarah Palin docu wins record ratings for Fox News (Reuters via Yahoo! News) In a week of records surrounding the Republican National Convention, Fox News Channel earned another one with its weekend documentary on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. MySpace ad business ahead of target: News Corp (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's (NWSa.N) MySpace advertising business is operating ahead of expectations and its digital ad business is performing better than the marketplace, the company's chief operating officer said on Tuesday. UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News (UPI) Mars Lander set to run last of experiments ? Protein found to suppress skin cancer ? NASA: Gamma-ray burst was aimed at Earth ? Study: Continuous blood sugar monitor best ... Health/Science news from UPI. News 25's Gina Morss Speaks with Senator Dick Durbin (WEEK-TV Peoria) You probably noticed the price of gas jumped up about a quarter a gallon in the past 24 hours. That's apparently a reaction to Hurricane Ike. Senator Dick Durbin tells News 25 he believes oil companies and the president could do more to keep prices at the pump lower. UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News (UPI) Peabody Hotel in Memphis declares amnesty ? Night at Hearst Castle up for grabs ? Mother: 6-year-old got stuck in washer ? Couple may keep home thanks to rare coin ? UPI Quirks in the News. Site: news - Google News Gas Supplies To Poland Stable, No New Caps Planned - Operator - CNNMoney.com
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for ecommerce Chain Reaction Ecommerce gets $5 million boost (BizJournals) Atlanta-based Chain Reaction Ecommerce Inc.(CRE) has raised $5 million from a local venture capital firm. MyECheck Launched on 25 eCommerce Sites With Online Commerce Group (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance) MyECheck Inc., an electronic transaction processor and provider of alternative payment solutions, is pleased to announce that is has deployed its service on 25 eCommerce websites owned and operated by Online Commerce Group, LLC. Ecommerce Provider UniteU Achieves PCI Compliance (PRWeb via Yahoo! News) On-demand Ecommerce Platform Protects Consumers and Merchants Demandware Powers Stylish New eCommerce Site for Barneys New York (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) WOBURN, Mass.----Demandware, developer of the only enterprise-class, on-demand ecommerce platform, today announced that luxury retailer Barneys New York is now live on the Demandware eCommerce Platform. USA Technologies Launches an eCommerce Site to Sell Their EnergyMiser(TM) Product Line (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) MALVERN, Pa.----USA Technologies Inc. , a leading provider of energy management technology designed to reduce the cost and environmental consequence of running everyday devices such as vending machines and coolers, announced today the launch of its eCommerce system for purchasing its EnergyMiser line of products. Corel Streamlines Global Operations to Improve Operational Efficiency and Focus Investment on Growth Opportunities (Centre Daily Times) Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL) (TSX:CRE) today announced it is streamlining its global operations in order to become more operationally efficient and to increase its investment in key growth opportunities, including emerging markets and eCommerce. As part of this effort, the Company will reduce its global workforce by approximately 8% or 90 employees worldwide. Corel Streamlines Global Operations to Improve Operational Efficiency and Focus Investment on Growth Opportunities (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) OTTAWA----Corel Corporation today announced it is streamlining its global operations in order to become more operationally efficient and to increase its investment in key growth opportunities, including emerging markets and eCommerce. Putting Your Product Pages to Work (SEO Chat) Visitors to your site s product pages want to achieve certain goals. Make it easy for them and you can increase your sales. Many of the tweaks and changes mentioned in this article owe as much to good web site design as they do to SEO. We ll look at how successful ecommerce companies such as Amazon and Dell pull it off.... Automate Software Builds with Visual Build Pro Easily create an ... UpSellit's Virtual Chat Agent Creates New Sales Opportunities This Holiday Season for Online Retailers (Centre Daily Times) In time for holiday sales, citing a predicted 14.3 percent growth in eCommerce from 2007-2008 (eMarketer, 2008), etailers are turning to UpSellit to prepare for this seasons' spike in opportunity. UpSellit, a virtual chat technology company that provides online solutions for enhanced, intelligent communications, announced today a 15 percent increase in eCommerce clients during the past six ... Kensington Global Private Equity Fund invests in Walden Venture Capital VII, L.P. (CNW Group via Yahoo! Finance) Kensington Capital Partners Limited, Canada's leading independent private equity fund investor, is pleased to announce a commitment of US$2,500,000 by the Kensington Global Private Equity Fund to Walden Venture Capital VII, L.P., a venture capital fund managed by Walden Venture Capital, based in San Francisco, specializing in the digital media, consumer and enterprise services, and eCommerce ... Site: ecommerce - Google News Coremetrics Reports Mixed eCommerce Signals in December - MSNBC
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Tale of Two Revolutions - Ecommerce: A Historical Perspective The World As It Then WasThe dynamic economic growth of the late 19th century placed greater and greater demand on horses to deliver manufactured goods between train and local destinations. Horses pulled stagecoaches, buggies, omnibuses, cabs and even shipping barges in canals. Ecommerce Comes from Customer Satisfaction Online shopping is convenient, but many companies whose web sites do brisk sales often leave consumers wanting. That's according to ForeSee Results, a research company that studied customer satisfaction among Internet shoppers. Your Readers are Publishers Too Too often we charge ahead and treat the web as if it were just like any other medium. We know it isn't, but somehow we just can't resist retaining complete control of the creation and publication of our website and newsletter content. Credit Card Merchant Account Basics Knowing which credit card merchant account to get can be very confusing. There are thousands and thousands of banks, merchant account providers and third party sales teams that can offer you all kinds of incentives. Conducting Business through B2B E-marketplaces Businesses, which are still sitting on sidelines and not doing business on the Internet, should think seriously about their position! If you are one of them, chances are there, that you have to pay dearly for your indecision as you might lose significant market share to your more proactive competitors in a very short period of time.Apart from the fact that e-commerce is growing at the rate of more than 25 percent a year, the use of online features can bring efficiency to virtually every aspect of business process, be it supply chain management or customer support management. How To Eliminate Credit Card Refunds From Digital Thieves Can you encounter the number of times where a Credit Card Sale was generated, only to receive a "Refund Notification" from your contracted e-commerce processor on behalf the "customer"?Welcome to the electronic world of "cyber-shoplifting".Unscrupulous surfers, disguised as potential "customers", systematically opt to ordering goods (using credit cards) in electronic form of delivery, only to request a refund minutes or days later after receiving the product. Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built - Now What? When I first got my web site built, I thought I finally hada presence on-line. Wrong! I soon found out that I needed someone to host my site, and I needed a domain name. How Measuring Key Performance Indicators Can Improve E-Commerce Strategy - Part Two Why time spent on your site is importantAll websites regardless of type should measure this KPI, simply because all websites can use it as a gauge to see how compelling their offers are as well as check web site performance. It doesn't matter whether you're running a content portal or an e-commerce sales operation, time spent on your pages is an important metric to measure. Short Story: The Benefits of Shopping Online Maria's new lifestyle: Short story about the benefits shopping on the Net has given to a dedicated artist.I've got this strange friend; her name is Maria. How To Start An Internet Business - Site Layout The fourth step of how to start an Internet business involves the layout of your site. When organizing it, two audiences must be considered. Ecommerce Marketing Plan Concept of ServiceThe current work deals with marketing offer of e-commerce service. It highlights the essential steps of marketing of a brand-new firm offering services of website construction, design, programming, development, and promotion. Guide To Safe Online Shopping Online shopping can be a little frightening to people who are new to the internet,but as long as you follow a few easy rules you should have no problem shopping online.What are the rules ?First before buying from an online store find out what that online stores return policy is. How to Start a Business on the Internet So you want to start a business? Good for you. Really, I mean that sincerely. Do You Need A Merchant Account? Deciding when to get your own merchant account for internet sales can be a confusing and expensive venture. If you have a small to medium sized business and only sell a small amount of products then having your own merchant account may not be the answer for you. Is Your Website Credit Card Friendly? In my last column I discussed the process of credit card enabling your brick-and-mortar business. I pointed out that research has shown that accepting credit cards can help increase revenue and enhance cash flow. Intranet Project - RAD or Waterfall? Building BridgesI have often used the analogy of building a bridge to explain to business colleagues the difference between Rapid Application Development (RAD) and Waterfall.Let's say that we are in the middle ages and the Mayor of Kingston-upon-Thames is evaluating whether or not to build a bridge over the river to the north side, to replace the current ferry. Chinas IT Industry to Maintain Fast Growth China's IT industry is expected to see a sales revenue of 2.68 trillion yuan (US$322. Business Online - Blind Hunt Do you sell something online? Do you have a business in the Internet? Have you read the "How to generate more traffic and convert it to sales" articles? Have you played the "Be #1 in SEO" game?Now, you are ready to believe - nobody knows how to do it absolutely right.Nobody can know everything. Cheap Cigarettes, Discount Tobacco and Cigars Online - Is It Legal? Many people online today still believe that buying tobacco products via the Internet is an experience that is doomed to failure. Either, the package will go astray, or the HM Customs and Excise storm troopers will smash down the door and abseil from the roof to collect the pennies that they are allegedly due for "tax evasion". Home Sweet Home Page "Your home page is the world's introduction to you and your company. Make it COUNT!" - Heidi RichardsThink of your home page as the cover of your brochure.
|
| Home | Site Map | Resource Links |
