Bryan Eisenberg just sent me this link to a Lifehack article about 50 different writing tools.  And I must be a bit groggy because I didn’t instantly recognize that title as belonging to one of my very favorite writing books.

I recommend Roy Peter Clark’s book frequently and have even given copies of it away during Persuasive Online Copywriting courses.   In fact, the famous screenwriting coach and video game guru, David Freeman, won a copy at our last POC course and he…

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Bryan, Lisa & John are all excited because Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer  sold out in less than a month. Wiley had to order a second edition and we know that it will barely cover the back orders. Nice job!

I read their book. It’s a great book. I’m just trying not to read any books that aren’t available for my Kindle. I love my Kindle! You just have to love a device that allows you…

...continue to read "Why I love My Kindle Even More"

I just finished Web Form Design by Luke Wroblewski, and I’m glad this useful book came out.  It’s not only a useful guide to designing better online forms, but a reminder that forms are the “bread and butter” of almost every website!

Whether it’s the Contact Us form on a B2B site, the Sign Up form on a social networking site, or the Checkout of an eCommerce site, they all have forms in common. And in every case, forms are what stands between our site…

...continue to read "Is Your Landing Page 2008…and your Action Page 1998?"

Sometimes when you’re trying to get all the hard stuff right, you forget the easy stuff.  Then your buddies mock you.

Hard:  Write another book.

Easy:  Tell people where they can get a free sample chapter.

Idiot:  Skip the Easy part.

With all the hoopla surrounding the release of our latest book, “Always Be Testing“, both Bryan and I forgot to let you know we’ve a sample chapter available online as a PDF.  Enjoy.

So busy was I trying not to drink the kool-aid, that I…

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On Monday, August 18, 2008 at 12:30pm, my co-author friend and colleague Bryan Eisenberg, founder of FutureNow and co-author of the New York Times bestselling books, “Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?” and “Call to Action”, will launch “Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer” at Search Engine Strategies (SES) San Jose ( http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/sanjose). The event will be held August 18-21, 2008 at the San Jose McEnery Center.

Bryan will be presenting the session “Pay Per Conversation” together…

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Amazon is already shipping FutureNow’s latest book Always Be Testing. Co-authored with FutureNow’s Chief Scientist, John Quarto-vonTivadar and contributor, Lisa T. Davis; the book is meant for anyone looking to get more leads, sales, and profits from their website.

The first reviews on Amazon are live (including the first time that I have seen a video review for a book). Daniel Waisberg writes:

When I first saw that this book was coming to light I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I…

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I’m always looking for another good read, especially if it’s on my Kindle. My friend, Patrick Sullivan, Jr. spoiled me by giving me a Kindle as a gift. How did I ever live without it?

Joe Nocera lists 14 books he likes in no particular order in “The Best Business Books Ever?”

“Liar’s Poker,” by Michael Lewis (even though I’ve since become convinced that the anecdote that gives the book its title never happened). “The Devil’s Candy,” by Julie Salamon. (Greatest dissection of the…

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This is the 10th Annual Search Engine Strategies (SES) event this August in San Jose, California. SES San Jose affords delegates the largest learning and networking opportunity of the year, as the 70+ sessions (80% of the sessions are new to the agenda) will cover everything that is search related and the numerous networking parties are back, including the famed Google Dance and Search Bash.

Fellow marketers, webmasters, executive decision makers, including first timers and SES Alumni, will converge to learn…

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The other week, Holly wrote about using video to build better customer relationships. But what if you have a specific product to sell?

Here’s a great example of using video to sell a book online:

Riverhead Books and Penguin Books hired Lindsey Testolin to make made the words of Daniel H. Pink and the illustrations of Rob Ten Pas come to life in the shape of a film trailer — complete with gratuitous needle-dragging-on-record sound effect to suggest a sudden change of expectations.…

...continue to read "Johnny Bunko Sure Knows How to Market a Book"

This may not come as a shock, but new research suggests that, yes, our friends are more influential than so-called “influencers” like bloggers.

According to MediaPost,

…a new study from Canadian research firm Pollara, self-described social media users put far more trust in friends and family online than in popular bloggers, or strangers with 10,000 MySpace “friends.”

Of more than 1,100 adults polled in December, nearly 80% said they were very or somewhat more likely to consider buying products recommended by real-world friends and…

...continue to read "Are Friends More Influential Than “Influencers”?"