Marketers who hype terms like “free” and “instant” are hurting themselves and other marketers. If you have to pay *anything* it is not free. If you have to enter your name and email address, click the Submit button, check email, open a message, and click a link, then go to a site and download a [...]
Posts under ‘Internet Marketing’
Autoplay Sound Turns Us Off!
Autoplay sound or video (with sound) usually makes me leave a site immediately and not come back. Many of us, your potential customers, hate it! The objection to automatically played sound or video is not just personal. It’s practical, too. (But many of us also consider it to be rude.) Like many Internet users, I’m [...]
If Your Product, Site or Support Fails a Customer, It’s *Your* Problem
If your product, website or support fails a customer, is it their problem? No, it’s yours. Heed their feedback. It’s a warning. Customers who complain are doing you a big favor. Instead of telling you that there is a problem, they could just go away mad—and tell all their friends. Just because you have not [...]
Latest Is Not the Greatest for Marketing
If you post a marketing video, you want the most possible people to view it, right? So why make it so that only those who have the latest, up-to-the-minute versions of software installed can watch it? When you do that, you lose a lot of potential customers!
Unless your video is demonstrating the latest special effects game, software, or movie, and your audience is young, affluent geekboys, you don’t need the latest version of Flash, released 5 minutes ago.
Do Not Phone Me! Well, OK, Sometimes…
I keep subscribing to email lists for causes and charities that I’m interested in. I really do read most of the emails, and most of the time I take the actions they request. I donate. I sign petitions. I’m a good member—via email. What I purely hate is when they call me. Calling can be [...]
Either It’s Free. Or not. Period.
C’mon, marketers. Either you are giving me something for free—or you are making a fraudulent come-on.
I’m not saying you have to give anyone anything. Far from it. You are in business. No one expects that.
But be honest about what you are offering. Whether it’s a forced-continuity membership or “low fee for shipping,” that is not free. If there are any strings attached that require payment, it is not free.
Is Twitter Still a Good Marketing Tool?
I just read a blog post by Rich Shefren, in which he advocates twittering constantly, including personal details of your life so as to be “totally transparent.”
The goal is to make money by posting offers and getting people to buy things. Supposedly other Twitter users will like and trust you and want to buy from you because they feel that they know you.
