In a recent comment I received on one of my older blog posts, a reader pointed out that much of the advice I had provided was for people who were just beginning optimization efforts and they (the commenter) wanted something more meaty for themselves to sink their teeth into.  This is not the first time I’ve seen this type of comment on a blog post, and I know that many of the Grok’s readers are DIY-ers who get frustrated…

...continue to read "Your Website is Unique. Don’t Settle for Best Practices."

The core of FutureNow’s service offering is helping clients persuade their visitors to move from one stage in their buying process to the next, to ultimately convert more visitors into customers.  One common question we get from B2B marketers is how to design marketing efforts that “graduate” their prospects from one stage of their buying process to the next.

If you’re familiar with FutureNow’s process or are a frequent grok reader, you’ll already know that our process involves not only designing…

...continue to read "Graduating Prospects: Getting the Most Out of Your Customer Information Form"

Last week, I posted the first three tips for savvy DIY-entrepreneurs wanting to start their own website (check out tips 1-3 in Part 1).  Now, without further delay, I’d like to get right back into providing you with the next 3 steps:

4. Buy a domain name. I suggest to do this even if you don’t want to start a website for a few years. I’d even suggest this if you don’t know what you want your website to be centered…

...continue to read "Creating a Website: Something from Nothing Part 2"

Last week, I ran into an old high school friend while I was out to dinner with my parents.  As we got to chatting, he told me that he was interested in starting a website for his future photography business.  Since he’s still in school, and doesn’t have a lot of capital to put forward, he asked me for advice on where to begin in creating his website, and how he can get started in a way that…

...continue to read "Creating a Website: Something from Nothing (and Where to Begin) Part I"

I recently finished up a darn good book on B2B marketing called Digital Body Language: Deciphering Customer Intentions in an Online World. It was written by Steven Woods, who co-founded the ‘marketing automation platform’ vendor, Eloqua, in 1999.

I’m going to attempt to summarize, review, and add some commentary as it pertains to how we at FutureNow use this concept of ‘digital body language’ to increase the marketing effectiveness of lead generation sites.

First off, I would say that the title of…

...continue to read "B2B Marketing Book Review and Commentary, Part 1"

Sorry about the headline – the 80s flashbacks are getting to me.  Still, I really do “play stupid” as a Website optimizer and online copywriter.  Or at least I play ignorant.

Why?  Because all those terms and concepts you think everyone understands about your business and what you’re selling – well, you’re wrong about them!  Wrong about both the terms themselves and your potential audience.  If you think I’m mistaken, go back and watch the video…

...continue to read "I’m not an idiot, but I play one online – and so should you!"

Here’s the first thing to remember about frame switching as it applies to copywriting:

All copywriting stories are “nested.”

In writing copy you inevitably create – at a minimum – one frame of reference: the one between your authorial voice and the reader.

In fact, copywriting teachers often advise aspiring writers to “talk” onto the page as if they’re talking to a best friend, simply because that mental exercise animates that almost invisible frame of reference in the mind of the writer.* Writers who…

...continue to read "A Copywriter’s Intro to Frame-switching and Nested Storytelling"

Most companies measure keyword performance – and especially PPC keyword performance – based on one factor: did that word or phrase bring converting visitors to the site on the visit in which they converted.

So the natural thing to do is trim non-performing words and phrases in order to increase the efficiency of your PPC spend.  And that’s exactly what one client did, except rather than increasing his efficiency, he dropped his sales by 30%.

Why?

Because, depending on what you…

...continue to read "Are Your Analytics Causing You to Lose 30% of Your Sales?"

As weird as it sounds, it’s the norm for businesses with sales cycles that might be as long as several months to a year and that might involve multiple decision makers and influencers to utterly fail to take these factors into consideration when constructing their website or selecting an analytics package.

In fact, whenever I work with B2B and complex sales clients it’s a sure bet their website won’t:

1) Adequately address the multiple decision-makers and influencers involved in securing the lead…

...continue to read "Can your Website Handle the Complexity of your Sale?"

Long and short are linear terms (they refer to length, right?).  So they work fine to categorize or describe copy found in a sales letters or print advertisements.

But (most) websites aren’t linear because hyperlinks break linearity (aka subvert hierarchy).

People don’t read (most) Websites one full page at a time in a numbered order; they read/scan/move from one link that interests them to the next link that interests them, often entering or starting on something other than page #1 (what bad web…

...continue to read "How to Think About Long vs. Short Copy"