Archive for February 2006

Though this slide show from Forbes is about the worst moments for CEOs in 2005, it’s common sense advice we can all take away. While we might think it’s common sense, obviously some people are lacking in that department. So play it safe and get up to speed on what not to do. One of them might be surprising for some people as many consider cursing as no big deal.

Dealing with a computer that’s between life and death (limbo). Spending the entire day transfering data over to my laptop. I do have a backup drive, but when it’s a software problem, both drives are in trouble. So I need to get a bigger USB drive to use for backing up data. Tried using GMail to back up important files, but it didn’t go over well.

From the sponsor: Time to think about prom? Get the lowdown on cheap prom dresses. Why spend big bucks for wearing a dress once?

We hear messages like “Do email newsletters!” “Start a blog!” “Build a forum!” “Provide a feed!” These sound like each is the only thing we should do to add content to Web sites. The way to go is to diversify your content. Invest a little here and a little there for a better return on your emarketing efforts.

Read about diversifying content and how to show clients you care in the February issue of eNewsletter Journal.

February ends tomorrow! Time to get moving!

From the sponsor: Diesel Jeans don’t have gasoline in them. The link takes you to a blog gives the lowdown on Diesel.

I love Scrabble and geeky stuff. Enter the perfect gift for people who like the same: L33T Tiles. But when do I have time to play Scrabble? Maybe the tiles will still be around a few years from now when all of my kids are old enough and can play the game.

From the sponsor: Why is a hair restoration ad in here? ‘Cuz Meryl is a sellout.

Authors believe that going on Oprah is the ultimate thing to do for a book. Being an Oprah Book Club selection, no doubt, leads to a best seller. But what about those authors who just appear on the show when it covers their subject? Dan Janal has posted an Oprah PR Leads Challenge.

He asks folks to send proof if they’ve sold more than $10,000 books after appearing on Oprah. The top five get a free subscription and glowing testimonials (in other words, he’ll eat his words). He announced the results and no one beat his challenge. But then again, how many people knew about his challenge?

Regardless, while appearing on Oprah is indeed a big PR coup for anyone who appears as a professional rather as someone who has been scorned, lived a rough life, or some other sob story — it’s no magic bullet. A good place to start is with the local media (newspapers, radio stations, and organizations). Build from there. Your chances are greater when you start small than trying to shoot for a national program.

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Suddenly, Taking My Own Picture is hot. Hmm… I remember a couple of little sites called The Mirror Project and Picture Yourself. But I agree with the article that today’s kids are less self-conscious about getting their pictures taken. All my friends (me included) in their 30s and 40s, often say, “Oh, no! Don’t take my picture!”

Part of it is that I don’t want to look bad in the picture and part of it is that in-built thing that a person shouldn’t show-off. However, I think having a nice photo on a Web site, especially a business one, is important because it connects you with your visitors and clients — puts a face behind the company.

On the other hand, I remember looking for mother / daughter pictures and struggling to find any. No matter what I think of myself… it’s important to have a visual history of ourselves with the important people in our lives.

From the sponsor: Learn something about couture and read clothes reviews at Couture Clothing.

I’ve noticed a nasty trend lately… gray text on white. This isn’t a cool trend as it’s harder to read text. On top of that, on many sites you can’t change the size of the text unless you’re using a browser like Firefox. So what if black text is boring? There’s a reason for that — it’s readable.

Most of us scan rather than read Web pages. Gray text is a barrier for scanning because it requires working harder to make out the text as it doesn’t have a strong contrast to the background. It’s okay to use some gray text, but not for most of the page’s contents.

But I’d rather read gray on white than something like white or black on hot pink (OK, so that’s a teen’s MySpace page, not an actual Web site). Seriously though, white background is preferred to a color background although I’ve seen some that are well done. In most cases, the font and background selections don’t work well.

From the sponsor: The cosmetic surgery Los Angeles Web site uses black text on white. The doctor is an artist and a perfectionist who prides himself on achieving a properly proportioned and well-balanced look for his patients.

Who knew selling could be fun? Learn how to use metaphors in making the sale. The book isn’t just for people who do sales, but anyone who has to do any kind of persuasion even for marketing a one-person business. It’s a surprise this book isn’t better known as it’s a superb, fun, and educational read.

Why not just buy a book on language or read up on metaphors? Miller uses examples of applying metaphors in business situations, something you won’t find in metaphor-related books.

The book starts off with the “Sorry Seven,” seven kinds of people who tend to put listeners to sleep. The book is divided into four sections. The first shows why you should use metaphors in making your case. They help appeal to both sides of the brain. Miller uses Robin Williams and Joe Friday to represent the right and left brains respectively. This is a clever way to remember which side of the brain is which in terms of telling (Joe Friday) and showing (Robin Williams).

Section two shows how to create effective metaphors with a four-step workout (no running involved). Section three is about applying the power of metaphors in the selling process. You’ve heard “Practice makes perfect” and section four is about practicing with the metaphors. In this section, Miller encourages becoming a clipper for clipping quotes and other gems. She also shares her valuable collection of quotes to get you started.

This book not only serves as an educational read that’s as fluid as reading a work of fiction, but also as a reference and a workbook as the end of each chapter has worksheets to practice using metaphors.

Title: Metaphorically Selling
Author: Anne Miller
Publisher: Chiron Associates
ISBN: 0976279401
Date: December 2004
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
Cover Price: USD: $14.95 Amazon: $10.17

Earlier this week, I reported that Cool Sites for Kids Leads to Problems. WSJ says that MySpace is working to make its popular site a safer place for teens. One step it plans to take is appointing a “safety czar” (I like that) to oversee the site.

You know it’s a problem when Playboy has a casting call for “Girls of MySpace.” And the company says this is the best response it has gotten for a casting call.

As a mom of an almost-teenager, I just try to keep talking to her and showing her these articles. Let’s hope it’s enough.

From the sponsor: Kid thinking about prom already? Get help from Dress and gown info.

Have you ever abandoned a shopping cart during the checkout stage — other than to find out the price (like Amazon says to add to basket to find out price)? I’m sure I have, but the reasons why are not coming to me at the moment (call it human virus-infected memory syndrome — no worries, this entry was scrubbed and declared germ-free). I’m sure a couple of times it was simply that I changed my mind and just didn’t need it. But was it ever because of the interface and the way the checkout pages were designed? Possibly.

Ah ha! Just recalled another reason. Shipping charges. Some places don’t let you find out the shipping charges until you’re halfway through the checkout process. There’s nothing in the FAQ, customer service or help pages giving an indication on the cost of shipping. Shipping costs can make or break a deal, at least for me. An item could cost more elsewhere, but be cheaper in the long run because shipping costs are lower. If the shipping isn’t obvious, I may not even bother with the checkout process. Depends on how much I need the item. So why put up another barrier?

E-Commerice Site Design looks at what every well-designed checkout page should contain. I strongly agree with including a “return to shopping” link. Some carts cut you off from the rest of the site and you have to resort to the back button to get back to it and you might lose information in the process. When using “return to shopping,” data tends to be saved. Heck, if someone wants to buy more things… who am I to stop them?

Registration is another big problem I watch for. While it’s nice to register and not have to enter your info every time you shop at a specific site, some people just don’t want to do it or think it’s very unlikely they’ll shop there again. So give them the option of registering or proceeding with the order without registration. Again, don’t lose an order just because you can’t store a new account.

The fewer barriers, the more likely you’ll make the sale.

Textual annoyances shares three things that annoy Mark Hurst, who wrote the entry. Maybe it has to do with where I live and what I do because I haven’t run into the problems he has.

Of course, when I’m trying to think of an annoyance, only one comes to mind (and there are plenty that bug me as a word freak). “[Fill in blank] anyone?” as in “Chess, anyone?” “Science Club, anyone?” You might not see this much as this phrase frequently appears in local and community publications.

What phrases or words annoy you? Why?

Just remembered another one. The use of ’s to make things plural not possessive. FAQ’s. Picture’s. Those who think nothing of FAQ’s have a good argument because it’s an abbreviation rather than a word. Since Q represents “questions,” why bother using an S at all?

From the sponsor: Viral Marketing may have a strange name but it can be a very effective way to create exponential growth and greatly increase your company’s visibility and influence.