5 sure fire ways to boost Christmas sales with Email With the Christmas season well under way, finding ways to effectively market to existing and new customers is essential. Whilst some have dismissed email marketing as a cheap and ineffective marketing strategy, the reality is that an email marketing campaign can serve as a very productive strategy when implemented correctly. After all, every person on your mailing list has expressed an interest in receiving information from your company, so it makes perfect sense to take advantage of the opportunity to build and maintain relationships with new and existing customers. By keeping the following 5 tips in mind, you can effectively boost your ...

Social Media Spotlight: Google+ Pages The Google+ social networking platform has now become available to businesses in the form of Google+ Pages, bringing with it many new opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Whilst the benefits of social networking are self-evident, some of the features you will find with Google+ Pages can be particularly beneficial to businesses. As you might expect, Google+ Pages incorporates much of the functionality as Google+, such as being able to add people to circles (with permission), edit profile information, share content in a number of different formats and create Hang Outs. Here's a look at how Google+ Pages can benefit your business. Avoiding the Clutte...

5 Tips for Marketing With QR Codes Whilst some marketers may think QR codes are nothing more than a passing fad, the truth is that a properly used and displayed QR code can help a business gather important data while also increasing sales and customer engagement. The trick to enjoying these benefits involves putting together a good marketing campaign that uses QR codes effectively and keeps the customer coming back time and time again. To get the most out of a marketing campaign using QR codes, be sure to keep these five tips in mind. 1. Have a Purpose As with any marketing campaign, the key to success with QR codes is to have clearly-defined objectives. Whether you want to collect email ad...

5 Step Plan to Local Search Success As the web usage grows so the focus becomes more local. If your services are limited geographically, you need to pay attention to local search marketing opportunities. A number of networking sites like Foursquare and services such as Google Places exist to help connect local web traffic with businesses in their area. If a search marketer offers the earth, be very wary, achieving top search result places should not be guaranteed. Instead, following genuine tried and tested techniques in identifying your business as local and relevant to searches will always be the best approach. This article reviews a five step plan using some of the best practice techniqu...

Why Video is Great For eCommerce As internet technologies advance and bandwidth speeds are boosted, online shoppers’ expectations naturally increase. While this trend may be unstoppable, the golden rule ‘content is king’ (long live the king by the way) is still true, the consumption of that content however, is becoming steadily more sophisticated. Text and images have a key role to play in getting your message across. Well crafted copy and good use of product pictures will always entice sales – but with video having an increasingly significant impact on internet activity, websites limited to static content may soon be in danger of being left behind. Video integration is steadily being embra...

Social Media Spotlight: Tumblr Tumblr.com is a new method of blogging similar to the likes of Twitter and WordPress. In fact, you could say it takes the best features from each and combines them by providing an attractive display, simply organised content and user friendly publishing tools. While Tumblr does share similarities with other blogging platforms, it has many differences that set it apart from the “social media crowd”. A tumblr blog, or “tumblelog” uses short and minimalistic posts such as images or links to convey messages and thoughts in favour of the more conventional long winded editorial posts on other sites. Due to this approach, tumblr is widely known as a microblogger. Wit...

5 Twitter Techniques to Avoid While many people still may not value Twitter, its adoption by some mainstream media (TV shows giving out their Twitter address during their programming for example) is helping to fuel its impressive growth. The Twitter micro blogging platform enables real-time sharing of information, the gathering of market intelligence and an opportunity for building stronger customer relationships; all in 140 characters or less. Like Facebook and YouTube, there is no cost associated with using Twitter for business, which makes it an attractive proposition for marketers wishing to engage their audience in new and innovative ways. It comes with a warning though, joining the co...

Top Tips for Product Page Perfection – Part Two Your website marketing activities are geared to getting a qualified audience to your product pages, where typically the action you want to persuade a shopper to make is to click the ‘Add to Basket' button. As such, your product pages are key to successfully converting visitors into customers. In the first of this two part article we touched on the following ways to improve your product pages: Make the most of your copy Clearly present product options Use great looking product images Allow shoppers to zoom in on product pictures Improve presentation using models Keep the purchase process clear and simple Cross sell by promoting related items In...

Choosing a Winning Web Developer You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so when it comes to your website, hiring the right web developer is one of the most important decisions you will make. A good web developer will not only deliver the mechanics of building a usable website but also help increase your business's chances of being successful online, identifying real opportunities to find new customers, improve your service to existing customers, reduce your costs and improve communications with customers and staff. Understanding Your Business Make sure your developer knows your business well. A good web developer will ask a lot of questions to determine your short term an...