Wyoming Entrepreneur.biz Blog

Web Analytics

There is a disconnect between people who are looking on the internet for specific information and web developers that make it hard to find.  People want to do business with you and give up because of a difficult website.

I attended a web analytics conference in May.   It was all about conversion and web measurement.  How will you know if your website is doing its job unless you can measure it in some fashion?  I knew about Google Analytics but I did not know that there is a whole emerging field surrounding analytics that includes not only static web pages but product pages, check outs, forms, surveys and now the ever popular social media including the fastest growing way to reach folks…video.

Everything can be measured; the amount of time people are spending on an interactive page, where and when they left, how much of a video they watched, and how much of a form did they fill out before they got disgusted and left.  All of this information is needed so that a website can be re-worked and customers will stay on your site, resulting in higher revenues.  The key is to not only gather analytical data, but to act on it.  Transform your website into one that will lead to conversions and a richer ROI.

If your website is not doing what you want it to do, I suggest studying up on analytics so that you can have an intelligent conversation with your web developer to see what changes could be made.  The Wyoming Market Research Center offers a website analysis service at no charge to

Wyoming

folks.  Contact us at 307-766-5405 or visit our website at

http://www.wyomingentrepreneur.biz

ROI ON SPONSORED GOOGLE ADS

As some of you may already know - I really Like vacations and planning vacations.  This summer, we are heading to Alaska.  After spending several frustrating weekend mornings trying to figure out how to format this trip, I accidentally arrived at "The Place" (and . . . I'll let you know if this is truly "the place" after our trip in August).  I got into a conversation with the proprietor about how he advertises, as I only found the lodge through a link on a rather obscure outdoors website.  He explained to me that he spends around $10,000/year on a sponsored Google ad, which fills-up all of his cabins all summer annually.  He does essentially no other advertising.  So . . . to all the Wyoming tourist folks, this might be a good (albeit somewhat expensive) medium to try. 

Print Postage from your Computer

Online merchants or anyone else that sells often on the internet, may do well to consider using a a postage printing service like Endicia (pronounced en - dee - sha).  There are many others out there, and I can’t say which is best, but this will give you an idea of what to look for.

 

Remember the postage meters of yesteryear?  This is not so difference except you can use your computer.  To start with a service like this, you open the account, order the equipment and then purchase a certain amount of postage.  When you want to send a package, you will use the software you downloaded.  The amount of postage is determined by the weight, dimensions of the package, and where it’s going, no new information there.

 

Endicia monthly plans go from free, to between $9.95 and $34.95 for paid plans.  Of course, the more you pay for the plan, the more inclusive the services.  For instance, the free plan only allows for domestic, first-class shipping and the like and you still need to buy the printer and scale.  You can also buy packages that include necessary equipment.  The packages start around $249 and include the following:

 

What you get in your package is:

·         account (varies)

·         label printer

·         labels

·         postal scale

 

WATCH VIDEO to see how the system works.  And, go HERE to see a comparison of Endicia monthly plans.

 

So why consider such a service?  It is more inclusive that simply going to USPS and printing from there.  But, if you are selling on eBay, you can print on regular paper in your printer when shipping items sold.

 

Food for thought and happy online selling (and shipping).

 

Is 2009 the Year of the Coupon for Websites?

According to Google, since 2004 the word "coupon" used as a web search term, has increased 257%.  Wow, that's good to know!  As an eCommerce specialist, I frequently recommend to my clients that they use web coupons in their promotional/marketing strategy.

As a Wyoming small business, placing coupons on your website is a fairly inexpensive way to promote your business online.  If you can develop a culture of coupons within your clients, as in they check your site periodically for a coupon, you have arrived, since these coupon-seeking clients will certainly share this information with others.

Practical E-Commerce has an article on the subject which you can read by going HERE.

The article mentions some great strategies like using coupons with RSS feeds so your followers will receive them automatically.

That is a great idea, but it simply placing a coupon on your homepage, and a different one every week, is an easy and should be effective place to start.

Don't have a program with which to build coupons?  Try Coupon Builder or Coupons Ready.

Or, search for a "Free Coupon Template" at a search engine, and you will find something in the public domain like the coffee coupon below.

Don't have a website?  Try Facebook or a Blog; it's free!

Good luck and take advantage of the year of the coupon...2009.

 

eBay Boxes for Christmas

Free Boxes for Selling on eBay

Selling items on eBay for Christmas this year?  You can get free boxes for shipping Priority with the US Postal Service (USPS) and have them mailed right to your home.  Go here to order them; they even have shoe boxes:

Link: http://ebaysupplies.usps.com/

Keep in mind that the flat rate boxes are shipped with a flat rate regardless of weight.  In other words, the small flat rate box costs $10 to ship something in even if it weighs only a few ounces.  On the bright side, you can send something heavy for only $10 (prices do change sometimes) as long as it fits in the box.

eBay's USPS Shipping Zone on eBay.com

Also, eBay has a USPS page on their site where you can buy labels and other supplies.

Link: USPS Shipping Zone

*Note that you need to be a registered eBay user to order the boxes.

Free eBay Counseling with Wyoming Entrepreneur

Finally, need help with eBay?  I can help you for free through couseling.  If you are not close to Rock Springs no problem as we can setup a web meeting where I can demonstrate to you on your computer while we talk on the phone, how to register as a seller, post items, edit photos, etc.

Contact me HERE to sign up for free eBay counseling.

What Sells on eBay

While we do not endorse this company the gentleman in the video has some salient ideas for conducting research about what to sell on eBay.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Selling on eBay!

Sell your products and services on cell phones using "mCommerce"

mCommerce means "mobile" commerce by the way.  : )

More and more people are making purchases with their cell phones.  Practical eCommerce posted an article a few days ago about selling your products and services to cell phone users who want convenience and mobility when making purchases.  The article can be found here:

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/839-Mobile-Commerce-800-Million-Untapped-Users

The article offers promising statistics for undertaking such a venture, and information about making it happen with your website.  One resource offered is a link to a company called  Mobisitegalore.com and there are probably many other companies out there like this one.

So, how many of you have purchased something with your cell phone and if so, would you do it again?  Please add a comment.

Finally, here's a short video about mCommerce, from YouTube:

Guerilla Marketing: Leveraging Social Media to Market on a Shoestring

Jason Kintzler, PitchEngine, Riverton, WY
Presentation Notes

Social media
Internet based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.

Not another channel of marketing.

A whole other aspect – it is a new method.

Typically it has been Push Push Push to people.

Social media is largely due to the Internet and people sharing things faster than ever before, ability for them to engage back and forth.

STATS:

YouTube – 10% of all internet traffic (Ellacoya Networks)
YouTube & Wikipedia among top brands (brandchannel.com)
Five of top 10 sites are social (alexa)
Over 100 million blogs exist (technorati)
120,000 new blogs launched every day (technorati)
One million posts per day (17 per second) (technorati)

Social Networks
Blogs
Microblogs
Bookmarking
Content Creation and Sharing
RSS Feeds
RSS Feed Readers

Traditional Marketing:

Brand – markets newspaper, internet, radio
to People

We are in the business of connecting with consumers.

New Marketing:

Brand – media, social media, people – more interactive

People trust other people more than they trust you, the brand.

Social media – Let consumers market the product for you.

What if my product isn't cool?
Your brand has a story. Your consumers know why they choose your product. Reach out to them and you might be surprised. What is your connection to your consumer.

To engage in social media:

1.Listen & Monitor - twittersearch
2.Strategy & Content
3.Share & Engage

Your brand or product will be talked about. You can choose not to participate, but the benefits will come from being involved in the conversation.

Ask yourself:
1.will you tell the truth?
2.will you tell good news and bad?
3.will you use a human voice (not marketing buzz)
4.will you have thick skin?
5.If you screw up, will you acknowledge it – quickly?
6.if you don't have the answers, will you say so?
7.will you vow to never hide information?
8.will you say nice things about your competitors?
9.will you treat everyone in the social media space with respect?

Strategy & Content
What is valued by your consumers? Creating useful and valuable content specific to your end consumer is critical.
What makes their lives better?

PITCHENGINE
For PR Pros, community to solicit feedback, get product ideas, create a consumer base.
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