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Rescooped by Thomas Faltin from Curation Revolution |
Scoop.it!
Great post from @TMGmedia correctly defining the work horse of any content marketing - your BLOG.
Don't Be Fooled, Blogs Rule Influence and Conversion
Social nets form a vibrating membrane of marketing communications. Social nets vibrate and bang off each other like bumper cars. Social signals are the confirming truth of the new SEO and so very important, but when it comes to conversion and sharable influence your BLOG rules.
This post from @TMGmedia is very specific and helpful in reminding content marketers that blogging is about money. Social nets are moths to a light, needed and important but you won't be the only moth attracted to that flickering light.
Blogs, especially blogs well supported by social media, create distinction and voice. There is only ONE company that sounds like YOU (hopefully that is true even if you have multiple authors writing for you).
Resist the corporate tendency to smooth out all the edges and create a zombie voice. Distinct beliefs voiced with strength and confidence promotes shares and relationships. Be a human or accurately voice your company's human character.
Remember to share as much as you preach and balance your approach (not all long posts, not all short posts). Do what fits the content and your discovery / message and do so with authenticity and honesty and your tribe will grow.
Note: yes those are Magnetic Poetry Kit words, the cool gift item created by David Kapel the gift company I co-founded brought to market all thos years ago :).M
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Rescooped by Thomas Faltin from Must Design |
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CureCancerStarter.org Lessons In Checkout Mechanics
We did a lot of things right with our initial design of http://www.curecancerstarter.org our crowdfunding cancer research website, but there are some "checkout mechanics" that need tuning including:
* 1,2,3 Graphic.
* Trust Marks.
* Ability To SEE what is happening.
* Too many Steps (superfluous information requested).
* Doesn't FEEL Secure.
Your ecommerce or charity donations page should be in lockdown until next year. While checkout process changes can often bring the biggest ROI, they are to be avoided this close to a major deadline like 12.25.
1,2,3 Graphic
Always MAP your checkout process and then use a different color to indicate YOU ARE HERE. This repeatable graphic is a great TRUST creator and costs NOTHING other than the design time to create it.
Trust Marks
When I use the Authorize.net Trust Mark I DON'T use their widget. Widgets allow visitors to click on the Authorize.net logo and hear all about how great they are. NO ONE clicks on that link and the overhead for carrying the JavaScript is too high. I take a picture of the logo and use that (no link). If you must link to something link to your privacy policy, but be sure to include the same graphic at the top and begin with an explanation of the Trust Mark in your copy.
SEEING What Is Happening
Our current CureCancerStarter.org checkout has a popup to save a credit card. PopUps are horrible as they destroy confidence. Confidence is lost when customers can't SEE what they've done and how it relates to the end goal. "Relates to the end goal" is why the graphical map of your checkout process is so crucial.
Too Many STEPS
We have a profile creation page in our current checkout and we aren't doing anything with that data so a BIG NO NO. Don't PROFILE your customers during checkout since you will lose half of them. Profiling should be done via incentives and email marketing WHEN you have a curators need for the data (and not before). Once I can actually USE a picture of a CureCancerStarter.org donor THEN and ONLY THEN should that information be requested.
Must FEEL Secure
Trust Marks are so common no one sees them, but boy you sure see their ABSCENCE. Why make me wonder if you are secure. Slap a logo on your checkout and write the words TRUSTED and SECURE under them. Research shows the presence of the words is valuable as it provides context to the logos AND increases trust.
When we redesign CureCancerStarter.org's checkout I will be sure to share it so we can do a BEFORE and AFTER comparison (and a real graphic designer will polish my rough drafts).
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Rescooped by Thomas Faltin from Daily Magazine |
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![10 Ways You Will Convert More Customers With Easy To Apply Psychology [Infographic] | Digital-News on Scoop.it today | Scoop.it](https://img.scoop.it/sLW0ERHrYEihPGFjksNaEzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVvK0kTmF0xjctABnaLJIm9)
Excerpted from article:
The “secret” to more sales is as simple as understanding just what your buyer wants (and expects) from your business.
We are all different, but in many instances our brains are prone to react in a similar manner.
Understanding these subtleties in the human mind can help your business find creative ways to ethically move more buyers towards saying “Yes!” to your products or services.
In this Infographic are 10 studies that reveal such insights into the minds of your customers.
1. Setting Minimums Helps Customers Break Through Action
2. Create Better Brand Engagement by Labeling Customers
3. Learn How to Sell to Your 3 Types of Buyers
4. Admit to Shortcomings in Order to Highlight Your Strengths
5. Implement Urgency… the Smart Way!
6. Appeal to the Need for Immediate Satisfaction
7. Don’t Be Afraid to Make an Enemy
8. Stand for Something that Customers Support
9. Create Persuasive Arguments by Playing Devil’s Advocate
10. Keep Customers on Their Toes
Curated by Agostino Caniato:
http://bit.ly/Landing-Page-World
To deepen the points just mentioned read the full article here:http://bit.ly/UbnfAU
Marty Note [great tips and write up by Agostino. Kudos to @GregoryCiotti for some great conversion work. He has a free ebook on the link too. Going to download his book and report back.)
CureCancerStarter.org Lessons In Checkout Mechanics
We did a lot of things right with our initial design of http://www.curecancerstarter.org our crowdfunding cancer research website, but there are some "checkout mechanics" that need tuning including:
* 1,2,3 Graphic.
* Trust Marks.
* Ability To SEE what is happening.
* Too many Steps (superfluous information requested).
* Doesn't FEEL Secure.
Your ecommerce or charity donations page should be in lockdown until next year. While checkout process changes can often bring the biggest ROI, they are to be avoided this close to a major deadline like 12.25.
1,2,3 Graphic
Always MAP your checkout process and then use a different color to indicate YOU ARE HERE. This repeatable graphic is a great TRUST creator and costs NOTHING other than the design time to create it.
Trust Marks
When I use the Authorize.net Trust Mark I DON'T use their widget. Widgets allow visitors to click on the Authorize.net logo and hear all about how great they are. NO ONE clicks on that link and the overhead for carrying the JavaScript is too high. I take a picture of the logo and use that (no link). If you must link to something link to your privacy policy, but be sure to include the same graphic at the top and begin with an explanation of the Trust Mark in your copy.
SEEING What Is Happening
Our current CureCancerStarter.org checkout has a popup to save a credit card. PopUps are horrible as they destroy confidence. Confidence is lost when customers can't SEE what they've done and how it relates to the end goal. "Relates to the end goal" is why the graphical map of your checkout process is so crucial.
Too Many STEPS
We have a profile creation page in our current checkout and we aren't doing anything with that data so a BIG NO NO. Don't PROFILE your customers during checkout since you will lose half of them. Profiling should be done via incentives and email marketing WHEN you have a curators need for the data (and not before). Once I can actually USE a picture of a CureCancerStarter.org donor THEN and ONLY THEN should that information be requested.
Must FEEL Secure
Trust Marks are so common no one sees them, but boy you sure see their ABSCENCE. Why make me wonder if you are secure. Slap a logo on your checkout and write the words TRUSTED and SECURE under them. Research shows the presence of the words is valuable as it provides context to the logos AND increases trust.
When we redesign CureCancerStarter.org's checkout I will be sure to share it so we can do a BEFORE and AFTER comparison (and a real graphic designer will polish my rough drafts).
Great tips on good checkout design