GrokDotCom

Unspoken Assumptions

Kick the habit of assuming who your customers are, what they should want and how should deliver it

Unspoken Assumptions in Action

Unspoken assumptions in Apple’s conversion process undermine the online purchase of a 30GB iPod

The Grok's Top Ten Countdown

A collection of not-to-be-missed articles from the GrokDotCom archives

Are You Stranding Your Long-Tail Customers?

Make conversion easy for customers coming to your site on long-tail searches

Make Your Live Chat Persuasive

To meet your customers’ and your needs, start thinking of your Live Chat exchanges as persuasion scenarios

How Who Why What

How well does this non-profit site persuade the four dominant personality types?

Doing Unto

The real trick online is figuring out how your customers want to be treated, then doing everything in your power to treat them that way

Would You Rather Know What Customers Do or Why They Do It?

Personas help you understand why customers do what they do, so you can predict and persuade more effectively

Online Planning for Offline Results

Your online persuasive process can help fuel offline sales as well

Lip Service or Customer Service?

Company initiatives to understand customers’ needs must follow through with confidence and relevance

The Case for Courtesy

On the anonymous web, a heartfelt thank you can go a long way

Have It Your Way

I know you have choices … I’m asking you to make a Grokdotcom choice now

Can Your Customers Read What You Write?

Readability scales can help you make your persuasive copywriting more accessible to your audience

Cats Tune-In to Cats

Consumer-generated reviews can help you convert customers on your site and drive customers to your site

Narratives Come Before Scenarios

Capture the dramatic story of your site before you turn to the more detailed process of creating scenarios

Opinions R Us (and What You Can Do About It)

Understand word of mouth and how your business can benefit from it

How Much of My $1000 Rock Climbing Gear Budget Do You Want?

Don’t sell yourself short by misunderstanding your customers’ needs

Transparency

The Transparency Imperative: Moving Beyond the Suggestion Box

In Sales? At Least 9 Things You Can Learn from Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?

Implement strategies to improve your sales efficiency while meeting the needs of your customers

When Shopping Carts Aren't Your Thing

Solve the dilemma of complex B2B sales and lead-generation processes with personas

But We Don't Sell on the Web: At Least 8 Things You Can Learn from Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?

The fact that your products or services aren’t suited to shopping carts doesn’t mean the Web shouldn’t be a focus for implementing your business strategies

The Equation That Matters

Understanding the complexity of your sales topology allows you to create a more effective persuasive system

Doing Business B2B? At Least 9 Things You Can Learn from Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?

Leverage the power of Persuasion Architecture to improve your business-to-business transactions

Conversion versus Persuasion: What's Your Challenge?

Persuasion takes you beyond linear conversion funnels to help you achieve your conversion goals

How to Begin

Applying Persuasion Architecture even in incremental stages will improve results

How Verbs Help You Convert

Use verbs to connect your customers with the emotional dimensions that persuade them to take action

Are You Still Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?

Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? offers an integrated solution for businesses that want to succeed in today’s experience economy

Practice What You Preach!

In an experience economy, customer experience is the brand - you are in control of how you shape that experience

Multi-Channel Marketing: At Least 11 Things You Can Learn from Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?

Learn how to maintain your persuasive momentum and messaging across channels

Are You Ignoring Eager Customers?

Create driving points that reflect the intention of the customers’ questions

Copernicus is Back

How will e-commerce influence catalog marketing?

We Are So Not There Yet!

Think ebusiness has achieved maturity? Well, think again!

Persuasive Copywriting for Beginners (and ‘Dummies’)

When writing persuasively online, it helps to understand the profiling value of dominant personality types

Montreal What Where Huh?

In keywords searches, your customers identify the scent trail they want to follow – it’s up to you not to blow it off

The Great Debate

In the Visits/Visitors debate, side with Unique Visitors

Persuasive Online Hype in Action

Hype-y online copy only persuades your visitors to say goodbye

Dishing Out What the Customer Really Wants

Writing persuasive online copy begins with understanding the questions your customers want answered

Complexograms: Thumbnail Sales Portraits of Your Personas

Understanding the complexity of your sale helps you design better personas and scenarios

A Tool for How the Mind Works

Is mind mapping for you? If so, then this is our favorite software!

The Sense of Scent

Establishing and maintaining a scent trail is essential to providing persuasive momentum

The Cooperative Marketing Waggle

What the honeybee’s Waggle Dance and word-of-mouth marketing have in common—and how to promote it

Didn't You Say This was on Sale?

Breaking your promises and forcing customers to think like you makes for poor conversion practice

What Visitors Find Annoying

Avoid the shabby practices that drive your customers nuts – and away

Does Your Website Stink?

Evaluate whether your site preserves the scent trails your customers want to follow

Word of Mouth Meets the Internet

Learn how to harness the power of old-fashioned word-of-mouth marketing in cyberspace

Victoria's Real Secret

Lay down a good scent trail to sustain momentum beyond your banner ad

Creating and Writing for Personas

Come learn how to create and write persuasively for personas

Men are from CNet, Women are from iVillage

Dig below the surface of gender findings if you really want to woo women online

An Outsider's Perspective on Your Web Site

How to begin evaluating your Web site’s conversion system

Another Dumb Pet Trick

Don't wind up teaching your visitors to beg (or bail)

The Grok's Inner Hispanic

6 tips for reaching out and marketing online to Latinos

No Segment Left Behind

Prioritize your market segments by treating them all equally

A Persuasive Online Copywriter is Worth More

How to justify the value of those who understand persuasive online copywriting

What Exactly is a Scenario?

Toward a definition that meets the needs of marketing, analytics and customers

Good Copywriters Are ...

A baker's dozen of essential qualities for marketers and copywriters alike

Honey v. Vinegar

Error messages that avoid blaming your visitors reinforce your customer focus

The Long and Short of Persuasion

In the “long versus short” debate on copy length, go for “just right”

Use Personas to Increase Conversion rates

Structuring your site to answer the questions your individual vistors ask dramatically increases your conversion rate

Call to Action in Action!

A do-it-yourselfer applies tactics from Call to Action to improve his site's conversion rate

Viral Marketing Online II: How to Spread the Bug

Shape the online tools that encourage your visitors and customers to market on your behalf

Fix the Holes!

Now-immortalized words on how to prioritize your marketing efforts

Viral Marketing Online I: Start with Value

The succeess of your online word-of-mouth efforts begins with offering substance and value

Making Numbers Work for You

Three conversion metrics tips that help you optimize your online efforts

Relevance Rules!

Make sure you're delivering relevance - blissful, utterly reassuring, confidence-building, persuasive relevance - at every turn

3 Tips for Great Web Content

Improve the quality of your content by writing with links, metadata and your customers' tasks in mind

The Blog Does Business

The hows and whys of incorporating a business blog into your online conversion strategies

Keyword Metrics and Accountability

The "average time on site" metric helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your keywords

Evict the Devils in Your Details

Reinforce persuasive momentum by redefining the implications in your tactics

Are You Asking the Right Question?

The key to dramatically improving your conversion rate lies in helping your visitors "buy better"

Calls-to-Action, Points-of-Resolution and Resolving Doors

Develop a hyperlinking strategy that lets their buying decision processes work seamlessly with your sales process

Don't Let Your Customers See Your Corporate Underpants

Maintaining the look/feel accross your various online efforts promotes customer confidence and improves conversion

The Curse of Choice

When the human brain can sift through dozens of choices in a fraction of a second, how do you 'command' choice?

The Bottom-Line Value of Unique Numbers

Using unique "contact us" telephone numbers can help you track the impact of your multichannel efforts

2 Specialist; 2 Customer-Friendly Conversion Tips

Shore up your Web site's customer-friendly focus with these two strategies

Let Them Eat Cake

Design your checkout process to Get The Cash today, tomorrow or even next week!

The Forest for the Trees

B2B or B2C, you persuade most effectively when you map their buying processes to your selling process

Conversion and the Complexity of Your Sale

It's not about your business category or whether your sale is or is not a considered purchase. It's about your persuasive path!

Words: One of Your Better Investments

In this high-tech medium, your low-tech words will always give you the persuasive advantage

Still Falling Short in E(xceptional)-tail?

More ways to examine your site through the eyes of your visitors

When You Create Personas, Stay Clear of Stereotypes

Don't get caught in the "stereotype trap" when you create personas for your Web site's persuasive architecture

Considered Choices

Your business imperative should always shape the design, development and evolution of your Web site

One of Yours?

Think "personas" - grapple with the mindset and needs of your visitors to design a conversion process that satisfies everyone

Does Your Online Writing Have What It Takes?

To get the most from your online writing, make sure it's relevant, persuasive and laid out effectively

The Grok's Biggest Gripes

Participation in Future Now's customer-focused online retail survey highlights frustrating practices.

7 Tips for Generating Leads Online

Seven suggestions to help your Web site convert more leads

What Does That Direct Navigation Statistic Mean?

What does it mean that a large percent of users get to a Web site by direct navigation?

A Day in the Life of a Persuasion Architect

We're blogging: a summertime sampler

Whispered Advice to The Graduate: Personas

The only sane solution to persuading the millions of individuals who visit you

In Search of a Bat

Join me as we play the cyber-field in search of a baseball bat

Tools of the Trade

Ten business tools we wouldn't be without!

Are You Using the Words Your Customers Are Using?

Understanding the keywords and trigger words your customers would use is essential to your ability to persuade

The Nitty Gritty Behind the Glamour

Monitoring your Key Performance Indicators helps you manage your online efforts effectively

Help Yourself to a KPI

Know which Key Performance Indicators are worth measuring

Missed Opportunities?

To improve conversion, make sure your landing pages deliver on their pre-click promise

Sweating the Small Stuff

Three ways to make sure the details always keep your visitors moving forward in your sites persuasive architecture

Landing Pages: Catch Me, If You Can

Understanding the role of a landing page helps you create a stronger conversion process

Let the Purpose Guide You

What you are trying to accomplish should always shape how you go about accomplishing it

Teasing Search Engine Advertising from the Soup

Ways to improve the effectiveness of your pay-per-click advertising programs

Bad Copy: An Example in the Negative

How not to write for your Web site

A Mental Model for Persuasion Architecture

Can't really get a grip on what we mean by Persuasion Architecture? Then think of a book.

The Many Faces of Value

Toward a understanding of value that will reinforce your persuasive process.

How Do You Measure Conversion?

What I'd like conversion to mean to you!

Emotionally Speaking

When you are trying to appeal to your visitors' emotions, ditch the flowery copy.

How You CAN The Spammers

Ask and ye shall receive: how to report spammers under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.

You Talking to Me?

Robert DeNiro and your web site visitors are asking the same question. "Are you talking to me? I'm the only one here."

CAN-SPAM: Loin-Girding 101

The most basic way to understand how changes to your Web site affect your conversion rates.

Volume 84: December 2003

Pop Goes the Weasel

Don't let consumer-sensitive browsing features undo your conversion process.

10 Ways to Keep 'Em in the Cart

Tactics for removing the obstacles from your shopping cart experience.

Volume 83: 11/01/2003

The ABCs of A/B Testing

The most basic way to understand how changes to your Web site affect your conversion rates.

Keep 'Em in the Cart

Is it in your best interest to worry about making your shopping cart 'conversion-friendly' right now?

Volume 82: 10/15/2003

The Devil is in the Details

Don't lose the visitors who make it to your shopping cart over a technological glitch.

The Buying Process Leads to a Decision to Buy

Good Persuasive Architecture merges the buying process with the selling process.

Volume 81: 10/01/2003

So What Exactly Is a Point of Action Assurance?

Just when your visitors are about to click, let them know what to expect.

Go Beyond 'It's the Customer,' Grasshopper!

Lip service to your customers' interests will not help you achieve your potential.

The Relevance of Satisfaction

An illustrated tale of the concept of AIDAs.

Meta-Needs, Core Values and Doing Business

Magic happens when you understand how your needs and your visitors' needs can work together.

How to Fill Your Customer's Needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs provides a compelling framework for marketing and uncovery.

Uncovering You

Uncovery helps you discover the brilliance behind your business.

Actively Stretch Your Brain

Pencils poised for a little quiz on using Active Voice.

Boring Giants?

From a design point of view, what do these top-selling sites have in common?

The Facts about FAQs

You need to do the work for your visitors - don't trust the job to a FAQ.

So What Exactly is a Call to Action?

The ins and outs of asking your visitors to take action.

Online Marketing Research on the Cheap

How to test market your product online without losing your shirt.

Squeaky Clean Subject Lines

Care in crafting the subject lines of your emails will help insure they reach your readers.

Color and Usability

Color may speak volumes to many of your visitors, but some just can't see it.

How You Look at It

Cascading style sheets let you design Web pages that more effectively meet the varied needs of your visitors'.

It's the Same Sandbox

You can provide the structure that allows Marketing, Sales and IT to function as strategic partners.

LCD Design

Do everything in your persuasive power NOT to limit your potential audience.

Help Their Eyes Find It

Tactics that help you design for scanners and skimmers (yes, you must!).

In Search of Happy In-Site Search Experiences

Never put all your eggs in the search function basket of your Web site.

Go With the Flow

Prepare for subtle shifts in buying behavior, don't exploit the situation and hang in there.

Beauty Isn't Skin Deep

As ebusiness matures, it's going to take more than the appearance of credibility to convince your visitors.

Beyond Usability II: Is Your Web Site a Tool?

If you think of your Web site as a software tool, you're using the wrong metaphor.

It's Not About Mind Control

You can persuade your customers to make a decision, but you're not going to change their minds.

Only the Good (and Fast and Cheap) Die Young

When it comes to project development, Persuasion Architecture lets you have it all.

The Price is Right: Shopping Modes

Understanding the difference between transactional and relational shopping modes helps you navigate the price debate.

7 Tips to Generating Leads

Strategies for getting the information you want from your visitors.

An Architect's Secret for Marketers

What the history of traditional architecture can teach us about building a better Web site.

Optimize for Customer Satisfaction

Don't overlook The Big Picture.

Reading the World of Color

The Grok's Collected Color Miscellany examines everyday color associations.

Of Paradigms and Lateral Thinking

Rethink the 'tool-centric' paradigm of ebusiness.

Volume 64: 12/15/2002

The Five Faves

Which Grok articles have you enjoyed the most?' Here are the heavy hitters!

Fear of Flying?

Teleseminars offer budget-conscious alternatives to business trips.

Volume 63: 12/01/2002

Any Road Shall Do...

Clear objectives help you understand what to measure and how to manage.

MAP Your Path to Success

The Minerva Architectural Process is your path to effective Persuasive Architecture

Volume 62: 11/15/2002

What the Shareholders Don't Know

Who are you listening to.

Choosing the Right Color Palette

How to select the right colors for your website.

Volume 61: 11/01/2002

Qualifying Your Visitors

Help your visitors quickly find what they want.

Volume 60: 10/15/2002

The Buying Process Leads to a Decision to Buy

Good Persuasive Architecture merges the buying process with the selling process.

Volume 59: 10/01/2002

Persuasive Architecture: How to Get Your Visitors to Take Action

Architectural theory meets e-business.

You or Me: Theory versus Practice

Before you go rearranging the shop, look at what your visitors 'say' they want.

Fine-Tuning the WIIFM Dial: Personality Revisited

Create 'personality scenarios' that allow your visitors to self-serve from your Web site's buffet.

The Down-Side to Case Studies

Whenever you come across a case study, examine it for principles not rules.

Don't Sell Yourself Short on Copy

Your copy should be the length it needs to be.

The Perspective of Your Copy

Make one point strongly and clearly by giving it a unifying perspective.

Case Study: MaxEffect Before and After

Rethinking look & feel, copy and product presentation made a BIG difference.

The Grok Goes Looking for Return Policies

Some copy must go in a particular place - at the Point of Action.

Sometimes Form's Gotta Follow Function

The design of your site must be sensitive to the function of your site.

The Message Must be Meat

What you need to know about writing 'to the dog.

Before and After Copy Spotlight: NewsBios

How one business reworked its copy to 'speak to the dog.'

Writing 'Basic' with a Global Reach

Some tips for writing when English isn't your reader's first language.

A Marketing Marriage Made in Heaven

Promote viral marketing and build your house list by marrying the power of email to the traditional concept of word-of-mouth.

"Top Ten Internet Marketing Myths" From the Wizards of Web

Like it or not, lists motivate responses and curiosity - and folks adore them.

Practice Pacing the Rhythm

Rhythm enhances the sight and sound imagery of your writing.

The 'Grok Notes' for Web Writing

A quick review of the 6 critical areas that will help you improve your online copy and its presentation.

Speaking to the Analytical Mind

Robert Bly shares 6 observations that help 'Suits' sell to 'Geeks'.

Applying Emily

Image may not be all, but it's worth a lot.

Get That Site to Me Fast '

Simple strategies can keep your visitors happy.

On Becoming a Techno Geek

Deciphering the minds behind Marketing and Technology, a Marketer speaks.

On Becoming a Marketing Weenie

Deciphering the minds behind Marketing and Technology, a Technologist speaks.

1923: The Golden Age of Email Marketing Metrics

Email testing helps you target solutions to declining numbers.

The Case Against Autoresponders

Leave no stone unturned in your efforts to build relationships with your customers

Email Marketing Metrics 101

The numbers that help you improve your email efforts.

Bottom Up, Top Down, Measuring All Around

The skinny on Conversion Rate Metrics.

Advanced Wordsmithing II: 5 Stylistic Ways to Become Memorable

Words, rhythm and grammar help you develop identity through your copy.

7 Avenues to Customer Leads Online

Ideas for growing that field of qualified prospects.

Advanced Wordsmithing I: 5 Frameworks for Becoming Memorable

Strategies for shaping the direction of your copy.

Public Relations Secrets to Make You Cry

Employ "Broca" to rethink your Public Relations.

Volume 43: 2/01/2002

Are Your Messages Remembered Long-Term?

Infuse your communications with staying power.

The Power of Being More Personal Online

Nick Usborne returns with suggestions to help you create online copy that connects with your prospects.

The Power of Emotion

When you tap into your visitors' emotions, you help them make decisions

Why Copywriting Online is Different

Nick Usborne explains why the online environment is different for copywriting.

Volume 41: 1/01/2002

Personality 101- Who Are They?

To improve your conversion process, become intimately acquainted with the four dominant personality profiles of your visitors.

Don't Blow Your Fuse(box)

When you are ready to create your specific web applications, it helps to understand how developers do their jobs.

Volume 40: 12/15/2001

Rev Up Your Writing

These techniques help you craft captivating and memorable copy.

I am Grok Grok I am

Ever wonder what Dr. Seuss might have written about shopping on the Internet?

Unique Selling Proposition: Your Visitors Are Asking Why

If you can't tell your visitors why they should buy from you, they'll turn to someone who can.

D'j' vu: Engineers and Customer Metrics

Some thoughts on metrics that matter.

Volume 38: 11/15/2001

The Other 7 Common Mistakes of Email Marketing

In which we conclude our discussion of how to get the most out of your email marketing efforts.

Beyond Search Engine Positioning

You need more than good rankings to maximize your conversion rate.

Volume 37: 11/01/2001

12 Common Mistakes in Email Marketing

Sound advice from an advertising pro to help your email marketing campaigns operate at peak efficiency.

Set Up Scanning and Skimming So They See

To maximize the usability of your website text, you have to think scannable AND skimmable.

Volume 36: 10/15/2001

Pump Up Your Verbs

Nothing engages or moves your visitors like a good verb.

Picture This

When you gotta have pictures, you gotta use 'em correctly.

Volume 35: 10/01/2001

(Proto)Type-Cast Yourself!

Prototyping saves you time and money by getting your website in order before you raise the curtain.

When Content Isn't King

Don't bloat your site or distract your customers with content that fails to convert them to buyers.

Volume 34: 9/15/2001

Feed the Need

When your customers require instant gratification, there are no second chances.

Tech Gap II

Sometimes the human touch means you get out the cyber equivalent of pen and paper and give your customers a personalized response.

The Eyes Have It!

Maximize your persuasive power by accommodating how folks scan a web page for information.

It's NOT the Price, It's the VALUE!

Your customers' perception of value has little to do with your prices, if anything.

Volume 32: 8/15/2001

Fulfilling Fulfillment

Make sure your back-end fulfillment reinforces your customer's front-end expectations.

Who Ya Gonna Call? Customer Service!

Customer service on the web is a comprehensive package, an on-going dialogue with your shopper.

Shipping Cost Sticker Shock

If you fail to manage shipping charges reasonably, you'll scare your customers away.

Tech Gap I

Sometimes no amount of technology can replace the human touch - do your job right and know when to use which.

Volume 30: 7/15/2001

Shaking Hands Internet-Style

You can't shake your customer's hand to say thanks for the order, but your email can.

All You Gotta Do Is Answer the Question

The last thing you want to do is to distract your customers from their mission to buy.

Wireframe Yourself

The underlying structure for the future of website implementation!

Don't Make Know Mistayque

You may think it's fluff, but grammatical glitches affect your credibility

Volume 28: 6/15/2001

Think Active!

Use active copy that actively engages and actively motivates your customers to be, uh, active!

Harness the Power of the Rainbow

Just because humans can distinguish 16 million different colors doesn't mean you should use them all!

Could It Be Sales Is Like Parenting?

Your customers need you to be a great salesperson.

WIIFM: Are You Listening?

To help clinch a sale, address the fundamental wants and needs of your customer by answering his or her most pressing question: "What's in it for me?"

Volume 26: 5/15/2001

Opting Options Dos and Don'ts

Don't make folks jump through hoops to opt-in or opt-out.

The Prodigal Customer

Doesn't it make sense to manage your site in ways that encourage your customers to return?

Volume 25: 5/1/2001

A GROK Case Study: AdZe

A change in navigation and "Calls to Action" doubled sales!

Designing Useful Navigation

Don't expect your customers to adapt their thinking to your Information Architecture.

Volume 24: 4/15/2001

See It. Gotta Have It

Impulse buying and e-commerce rarely go hand-in-hand.

Establishing Credibility

Soothe your customers' fears about doing business with you online.

Volume 23: 4/1/2001

A GROK Case Study: Total Gym

A Single, Simple, FREE Sales Process Change Increased Sales 39%!

Measuring Performance, Creating Success

Calculation tools will help you target trouble spots plus track the results of your improvement efforts.

Volume 22: 3/15/2001

Clueless Pundits Say the Darndest Things

Sorry, but sex sites have nothing to teach mainstream e-commerce about sales.

Appeal to Emotion

You speak to the needs your customers feel by focusing on benefits, not features.

Volume 21: 3/1/2001

A GROK Case Study: MagMall

Featuring the shopping process and how to implement the 5-Steps of sales.

Keep Them From Bailin'

Strategies that reassure your customers and keep them in the online sales process.

Volume 20: 2/15/2001

P.O.A. - Location Matters

Put critical information where it needs to be: at the Point of Action

Calling all Lemmings: Amazon, the Leader in Pop-Ups??

Just don't do it! Sheesh!

Volume 19: 2/1/2001

Don't Let That Pendulum Hit You... in the Derriere

Dot-coms may come and go, but do you really think e-commerce isn't here to stay?

Buying is Not a Rational Decision

To be successful, your site must recognize people buy based on how they FEEL.

Volume 18: 1/15/2001

Yo! It's MRC, Not CRM!

You can't manage a customer relationship if it doesn't exist in the mind of your customer.

Loyalty Is Priceless

Customer loyalty is not about satisfying them, it is about delighting them.

Volume 17: 1/1/2001

Tickled Pink!

Point your cursor in the direction of three award-winning e-zines.

Volume 16: 12/15/2000

A Commerce Carol

Being a Tale of Visitation by Three Green Spirits.

Volume 15: 12/1/2000

The Grok's REALLY Brief History of Sales

Time-tested offline sales principles do work online - in fact, you can't succeed without them.

It's Time to Go Beyond â€œGee Whizâ€

Darwin in Cyberspace: become Sales-centered or become extinct!

Volume 14: 11/15/2000

Revisiting the Tortoise and the Hare

Being best is WAY more important than being first.

Halloween Redux - Myths That Scare Away Sales

Don't let unfounded myths about e-commerce get in the way of your success.

Volume 13: 11/1/2000

Do the 5-Step...And Dance Your Way To Higher Sales !

The key to success on the Internet lies in strategies already proven in the bricks and mortar world.

IGNORE Marketing and INCREASE Your Revenues?

What's more important than how many sales you can close from your traffic?

Volume 12: 10/15/2000

Marketing is NOT Sales!

Marketing gets you prospects; Sales turns them into buyers.

The Emperor Has No...CLOSE!

If you want to sell MORE, you have to SELL more!

Volume 11: 10/1/2000

Can't Sell That on the Web! Baloney!

You can sell almost ANYTHING on the web if you use the right WORDS!

Would You Trust This Face?

Developing trust on your site is all about your prospect's perception.

Volume 10: 9/15/2000

Beyond Usability

Clearing away obstacles only makes a sale possible. You need to do more to make a sale happen.

E-Business the Old Fashioned Way?

Applying the real world principles of Dale Carnegie to ecommerce.

Volume 9: 9/1/2000

I am Grok Grok I am

Ever wonder what Dr. Seuss might have written about shopping on the Internet?

Your Shopping Cart or Your Life!

How would you prefer your customers to spend their time: buying or staring at their shopping carts?

Volume 8: 8/15/2000

Are People Getting Stuck In Your GUI?

In designing a "sticky" site, don't let your customers get stuck in your Graphical User Interface.

One Click from Goodbye

Consider the frustrations most basic users face just getting the hang of things even before they get to your site. Doesn't it make you want to give them the red-carpet treatment?

Volume 7: 8/1/2000

So You Think You Need an In-Site Search Engine?

They might seem like a good idea, but in-site search engines are a waste of time for most users and usually do more harm than good.

Driving Traffic to Your Site: A Little Horse Sense

Don't put your shopping cart before the horse!

Volume 6: 7/15/2000

"Internet Shminternet"?

The Internet may be the most powerful tool ever for bringing buyers and sellers together, but don't get caught up in the myth that it's more than that.

Will They Trust You With Their Privacy?

Simple strategies for overcoming distrust and inspiring your visitors to do business with you.

Volume 5: 7/1/2000

KISS Your Visitors if You Want Them Back

The Big Guys are successful sellers because they have learned the value of designing a website that can be used easily by most people. Put these Keep - It - Simple - (Stupid) strategies to work for you.

Who Wants to Catch "Viral Marketing"

It's not a disease; it's word-of-mouth on the web and a powerful tool for increasing your traffic.

Volume 4: 6/15/2000

Who's REALLY Running Your Store?

Avante-garde site design from cutting-edge designers and programmers may be awesome, but it can spell ruin for your business if it gets in the way of your website's ability to meet the needs, desires and capabilities of your prospects.

Hey, It's Music to MY Ears!

To encourage your customers to buy, and return to buy again, apply the time-tested sales strageties of AIDAS (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action, and Satisfy) to your website.

Volume 3: 6/1/2000

Build A Better Tree House For Your Stuff

Maximize your opportunities for success by making the sales process the foundation of your website.

Behind the Scenes: E-commerce Secrets from Hollywood?

Just as the process of making a movie begins with a storyboard, so an effective website design should begin with a comprehensive site map.

Volume 2: 5/1/2000

Do You Grok Dot Com? A Martian Perspective On E-Commerce

While technologies may change, people basically remain the same - to succeed on the Internet, merchants must address the needs their customers feel.

What Mom Could Teach You About Your Website

To encourage the fastest-growing segment of the online buying audience to purchase from your website, you will want to address a range of particular needs.

Volume 1: 3/15/2000

WIIFM: Are You Listening?

To help clinch a sale, address the fundamental wants and needs of your customer by answering his or her most pressing question: "What's in it for me?" How Long Do You Spend Staring At Your Shopping Cart?

Websites could make more money by encouraging their customers to shop, rather than forcing them to stare at their shopping carts.

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