^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| The deadlock Despatch |
| --------------------- |
| March 1999 |
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From Jim at The Art Of Business Web Site Promotion
Co-authored by Wanda Loskot at Success Connection
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Help Us To Help You
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All this info is free. All we ask is that you take a moment
to tell us what you think of it, so we can make the next
issue even better. Here are three methods of helping
yourself (we'd love you to use all of them!):
Method A: rate this issue.
In the contents section below, delete as necessary
and send it (deleting the rest of the newsletter
will be helpful). For example:
1. Do you like this newsletter system? --> Y
2. New promotion site -------------------> 4
3. Electronic referrals -----------------> 3
etc...
Method B: suggest a topic
The sayings that tend to stick in my mind are the
simple ones. Here's one coined by a long-lost
school friend: "If you don't ask, you don't get."
So go ahead and tell us what you'd like to see,
it only takes a moment.
Method C: contribute some info
If you have a good tip, let's hear it! If we use
it, your Web site gets a mention and thousands of
Despatch readers flock to your site (if they know
what's good for them!)
If you sent feedback on the last issue, thank you, we read
it carefully. Although we can't reply personally to
everybody, we do appreciate it. If you'd like to see how
the last issue fared, you can see a pretty chart at
http://deadlock.com/despatch/feb-99.html
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In This Issue:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1. Do You Like This Newsletter System? --> Y/N
2. New Promotion Site -------------------> 4 3 2 1
3. Electronic Referrals -----------------> 4 3 2 1
4. Free Page Counters -------------------> 4 3 2 1
5. Payback Time -------------------------> 4 3 2 1
6. Follow Your Dreams! ------------------> 4 3 2 1
7. The Life Value Of Your Customer ------> 4 3 2 1
8. How Loyal Are Your Customers? --------> 4 3 2 1
9. WOW! Quality Customer Service --------> 4 3 2 1
10. Seven Steps To Powerful Writing ------> 4 3 2 1
11. Marketing Blunders -------------------> 4 3 2 1
12. Think Differently! -------------------> 4 3 2 1
Rating: 4 - outstanding!!
3 - good stuff, I found this useful
2 - I read this with mild interest
1 - No interest
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1. Do You Like This Newsletter System?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Last month several people said "it's too long" ( the girls
are always telling me that ;-P ) but I despaired at the
idea of having less info, so I've come up with this idea of
summary followed by a full despatch if requested. Please
place your vote.
The alternative is to go back to the old method of sending
the whole thing, or perhaps you have another suggestion?
Sorry, a weekly Despatch is out of the question I'm afraid.
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2. New Promotion Site
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't intend to make a habit of plugging my own site, but
this month it would be ridiculous not to. A couple of weeks
ago I sat down to add some new software, then I thought of
another little tidbit to add... It sort of escalated from
there and info came spewing out of my head like something
out of 'The Excorcist'. It was quite frightening.
Anyway, the whole site has been rewritten and redesigned
and it's grown to about twice the size it used to be. If I
had to point out areas of particular interest they would
probably be:
How to submit to Yahoo!
http://deadlock.com/promote/search-engines/yahoo.html
No less than THREE new software titles
http://deadlock.com/promote/software/
I hope this is a good enough excuse for the tardiness of
this month's issue! I wonder if anyone will dare to give
this section a '3'...
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3. Electronic Referrals
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You might be familiar with Recommend-It! at
http://recommend-it.com It's a great service and deserves
all the kudos it gets. I was considering using it on my
site but a few things held me back:
* The user would have to leave my site to make the
recommendation, which I'm kinda paranoid about -- I don't
like to let people escape too easily! Also, the fact that
it needs one extra button click to take the user to the
Recommend-It site reduces the chance of people using it.
One extra button click may not sound like much, but it
reduces the response dramatically.
* I wasn't keen on the 'From' address -
rec-bot@recommend-it.com - in the referral message. I
thought it would be better for the message to look like
it had come directly from the referrer's mail program.
* The webmaster doesn't get the names and addresses of
either the person making the referral or the recipients.
Remember, qualified email addresses = marketing power.
* It's limited to three referrals.
So, I decided to make one myself. You can see it in action
at the bottom of http://deadlock.com/promote/
The advantages of my system are:
* The form fields are right there on the page, ready to be
filled.
* The results page prompts the user for six more referrals,
and it keeps coming back for more!
* The referral message is written by me but it looks like
the sender wrote it, with personalised salutation and
signature. The advantages are: a) less effort for the
user, so they can concentrate on writing names and
addresses and b) my text sells the site more strongly
than a message written by the sender.
* No advertising, and all addresses point to the sender.
The email looks exactly as it would if the user had sent
it directly.
* I (the webmaster) get lists of all the names and
addresses so I can follow up whenever I like.
My hair has been standing on end (even more than usual) at
the number of addresses pouring into my mailbox, I'm
absolutely flabbergasted by it. This is not adding to my
traffic, it's MULTIPLYING it!
Now, here's the good news. I'm giving it away! If you go to
http://deadlock.com/refer/ you can have it up
and running in 5 minutes flat, just cut 'n' paste!
If you want to play around with it and see what the
webmaster message looks like, go to
http://deadlock.com/refer-test/
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4. Free Page Counters
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I touched briefly on logging tools last month, and several
people have since pointed out free counters. There's a
major difference between log analysis tools and the free
counters I'm about to review:
* Server logs count accesses of a PAGE, BEFORE it loads. In
other words, it's impossible for a user to see your page
without having their details logged.
* Graphical counters log accesses of an IMAGE. Images load
AFTER the page. In other words, users can, and frequently
do, view the page without being logged.
There are reasons why graphical counters, especially the
free ones, can be highly inaccurate. First, if a visitor
has his graphics switched off he's invisible to your
counter. Second, because these services are free, there are
a lot of people using the system and it can get too busy to
deal with your page; it might show a "busy" graphic, the
graphic might not load at all (broken image) or it might
take so long to load that the visitor clicks through to a
new page before it has time to load.
Quite apart from the technical aspects, ask yourself if
there are any advantages of displaying your page accesses
for all the world to see? Do people really care? If you've
had six visits, how does that make your site look? If
you've had six million, so what? It doesn't improve the
site content, does it? You, as a webmaster, certainly need
to know how much traffic you're getting, but you don't need
to show anyone else.
Are there any advantages to graphical counters? Well,
actually, yes. They're EASY TO INSTALL. Much easier than
logging tools.
I've checked out a few of the most popular free counters,
here's my report...
Siteflow ---> http://www.siteflow.com/
The prettiest site of the bunch. You get displayed
graphical digits on your page, with choice of fonts, plus
more detailed stats (referrer URL etc.)
Extreme Tracking ---> http://www.extreme-dm.com/tracking/
The most detailed reports, as good as a CGI-based logging
scripts if not better. Cute 41*38 gif image.
Pagecount ---> http://www.pagecount.com/
The displayed image has to be one of their in-yer-face
banners. Yuck.
WebsiteStory ---> http://www.hitbox.com
This is the most fascinating one. It's Java based, which is
unique, and it's its own promotion tool too. Hard to
explain, but you compete within your category and the more
traffic you get, the higher up the list you go.
WebCounter ---> http://digits.com
This has got to be the longest-running service (it's now
part of WebTrends discussed last month), I remember using
it way-back-when. My count showed about 10% of the actual
hits because the graphics never used to load due to
excessive usage. It may have improved though.
Marketwave ---> http://www.marketwave.com/
This is not a graphical counter, it's a log analysis tool
like the ones I discussed last month. It's not bad, not
brilliant.
~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to the following webmasters for pointing these out:
WebMastery http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~mat5ajjh/
Lewis Saddle Shop http://www.lewis-saddles.com/
ShowRoom Floor Systems http://idaho-web.com/showroom
Pecuniary Marketing http://www.pecuniary.com/
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5. Payback Time
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you receive other newsletters then you're probably used
to seeing adverts from paid sponsors sprinkled liberally
throughout the text, so what's the deal here with all this
free info and no adverts month after month? Am I deluded?
Crazy? Well, yes, but that's another story... The reason
I've been pumping you full of freebies up to now is to
build your trust and confidence, ready for the Big One, for
the occasion when it really counts. Which is now.
Once in a blue moon I'm allowed to shout at you rudely
until you comply. Those are the rules.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>> 30 DAY NO-QUESTIONS-ASKED MONEY BACK GUARANTEE! <<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>> NEW TITLES FOR WIN95 <<<<<<<<
CLICK ---> http://deadlock.com/promote/software/ <--- CLICK
=====================================
WEBPOSITION ANALYZER --- Don't let it slip! Stay at the top
of the list!! Climb above the competition in COLD BLOOD!!
>>>>>>> http://deadlock.com/promote/software/wpa/ <<<<<<<
TAGMASTER ---- Beat the robots with your OWN robot! Perfect
META tags every time! 100,000 word library! Only $20! Yes,
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TWENTY DOLLARS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>>>> http://deadlock.com/promote/software/tagmaster/ <<<<
CHECKNIQUE --- Never wait for a check again! No credit card
fees!!! Close the sale and bank the check the SAME DAY!!!!
>>>> http://deadlock.com/promote/software/checknique/ <<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
...and on that high note, over to you Wanda.
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6. Follow Your Dreams!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you are not following your dreams as effectively as you
feel you should, read on. You are invited to participate in
my special telephone conference. It will be packed with
useful strategies that will fine tune your goal-setting
skills, so that you can follow your dreams relentlessly...
My guest will be motivational trainer and speaker, Jeff
Keller - you can read some of his articles here:
http://www.salesdoctors.com/keller/index.htm
The conference will have a format of interview followed by
Q&A - questions from participants are encouraged.
DATE: Wednesday, March 25 - TIME: 9 to 10 p.m. US Eastern
Standard (or 6 to 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time).
For more information about this and for the full calendar
of my events go to:
http://loska.com/successconnection/events.html
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7. The Life Value Of Your Customer
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Treating people like they are the most important thing to
your business is common sense. But the majority of business
owners very seldom realize that the game of marketing is
not only about GETTING customers, but about KEEPING them.
About keeping them for life!
So, here is a question. Do you know what is the residual
value of your customer? Yes - residual. The value of a
good customer - like any other good investment - grows with
time. The life value of your customer is how much money he
or she brings to your business in the entire time you run
your enterprise. Most people never think about it - do you?
Here is how it works. Let's say, you sell a product or
service for $60 - you make a profit and feel good about
yourself (and you should!). But wait a minute! Will he (or
she) come back? How often will she buy? Will she send you
referrals? How many and how often?
Let's assume now that your customer will need additional
service or a product replacement just once a year - for
next 10 years. And let's say that your own profit is 50% of
each sale. How much is this customer worth to you now? Easy
math - $600 gross sales equals $300 in your profit in 10
years, right? (That's a big step up from the original $60
sale - and 30 bucks of profit, don't you agree?)
But let's go further. Suppose this customer refers you to
five similar customers and each of them refers you to five
others as well. How much is that first customer worth to
you now?
Acha! - I knew that I will make you think (perhaps even
reach for a pen and paper). Now your customer is worth
literally thousands of dollars!
When you realize the earning potential from just one of
your customers - you can see why record companies sell you
10 CD's for 1 dollar (you knew that they didn't make money
on that one right?). It often makes sense to spend money on
the sale just to get new customers and it always makes
sense to loose money to keep your existing customer
delighted. That's the wisest marketing expense you can
possibly have.
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8. How Loyal Are Your Customers?
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A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda
carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed
onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the
phone, and proceeded to punch in seven digits.
He said, "Lady, I want to cut your lawn." The woman
replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn."
"Lady, I'll cut your lawn for half the price of the person
who cuts your lawn now." The woman responded that she was
very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting
her lawn.
The little boy found yet more perseverance and offered,
"Lady, I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on
Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of North
Palm Beach, Florida." Again, the woman answered in the
negative.
With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the
receiver. The druggist walked over to the boy and said,
"Son, I would like to offer you a job."
The little boy replied, "No thanks. I don't need a job - I
was just checking on the job I already have." Are your
customers as loyal to you?
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9. WOW! Quality Customer Service
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Here is another true story from the Customer Edge:
"Lee Valley Tools is a small specialty tool manufacturer &
retailer, with 5 or 6 retail outlets across Canada. They
advertise a 90 day 'no questions asked' return policy, and
I've had occasion to take advantage of it.
I had a woodworking project requiring a special router bit,
and went to Lee Valley to purchase it, even though they're
out of my way and occasionally a little pricey. 10 minutes
into my project the bit broke. Disappointing, but at
least, I figured, they'd replace it for me. I took it back
and they cheerfully gave me a new one. When I broke THAT
one, 10 minutes further into the project, I realized it was
probably something to do with the way I was using the tool.
I went back again - not even planning to get a replacement,
but looking for advice. I explained to the man behind the
counter what I had done, and that since I'd broken two bits
I figured I was using it wrong. He gave me some good tips,
and then replaced the bit. I protested that it was my
fault, and I didn't expect them to replace a $40 tool
again, but he said that was their policy, and that was
that.
So even after we'd agreed that the customer was wrong - the
customer was right! Needless to say, I'm a dedicated
customer.
For more stories like that go to http://customeredge.com
and subscribe to David Goldsmith's newsletter
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10. Seven Steps To Powerful Writing
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In the age of instant communication your writing skills are
more important than ever - and I am not talking about
spelling and grammar only. You must be able to express
yourself without the benefit of facial expression, voice
tone and body language. The message must be clear, easy to
read and VERY interesting because people will quit reading
much quicker than they will quit listening (even if you are
boring, most people will listen to you to be polite - no
such luck when it comes to reading your e-mail or website
content!)
For "Seven Steps to Writing a Piece That Will be
Understood, Believed, Remembered and Acted Upon" send a
blank e-mail to info@loska.com with a message "get
7steps" on the subject line (without the quotation marks!)
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11. Marketing Blunders
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Humor can be effective marketing strategy, unless you don't
realize you're being funny. Get a load of the marketing
blunders found recently while surfing the net:
"Used cars: Why go elsewhere to be cheated? Come here
first!"
"And now, the Superstore! -unequaled in size, unmatched in
variety, and unrivaled in convenience."
"Auto repair service. Free pickup and delivery. Try us
once, you'll never go anywhere again."
"Illiterate? Write today for free help."
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12. Think Differently!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A friend sent me this recently - and I have a feeling that
many of you will love it as much as I did.
Here's to the crazy ones,
the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers,
the round pegs in the square holes,
the ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules
and they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them,
glorify or vilify them.
The only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things,
they push the human race forward,
and while some may see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough
To think they can change the world
Are the ones who do.
Think Different!
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=================== Copyright Notice ====================
You may use all the advice in this newsletter as a part of
your marketing campaign. You may print it for your own
reference and you're encouraged to forward it to as many
people as possible ** IN ITS ENTIRETY **
You MAY NOT copy any part of the text itself on your Web
site / newsletter / book / magazine or any other commercial
media without permission from the authors.
___________________________________________________________
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