Scrappy Marketing Solutions Blog

Making the Most of your Website - A helpful checklist for success

Originally published in Memorytrends Magazine, April 2007
By Angie Pedersen

There's no getting around it. The Internet is a common tool for shopping research – research to compare prices and choices, research for store locations and hours, research for project ideas. Conducted before the sale, this research can in fact lead to the sale. Does your web presence help guide your customers to the sale? Does it guide customers to anything?

A website is basically your 24-hour marketing force. It's an online marketing brochure, providing information about your business – information that can convince customers to do business with you. Here’s how you can make the most of your "brochure".

Start with the Basics
The key components for a website are basically the same whether you're a retailer or a manufacturer. You can add or subtract sections, based on your company's needs. Your website should have the following sections to effectively share essential information about your company:

• Your homepage should describe what kind of business you have, and your main target audience -- basically, what do you provide, and for whom? Your homepage can also list current specials, promotions, and/or product releases. The homepage is a crucial place to use keywords that people might type into search engines to find businesses like yours.

• "About Us" – this section should describe the history of your company, and name the key players. You can also include the company mission statement or main business goals. This page answers the question, “Who will I be doing business with?”

• Products – list the products (types and/or brands) you carry in your store, or the products you manufacture.

• Classes/Events – list your class descriptions, fees, and schedule. If you travel to teach classes at scrapbooking events, include an online itinerary, listing the dates and location names where you will be teaching.

• Services – list any special services you offer, such as color copies, layout scanning, or scrapping-for-hire, and rates for each service.

• Location and Directions – make it easy for people to find you. Give your full mailing address: street address, city, state, and zip code. You can offer brief driving directions from each direction or major highways, or just link to directions on Mapquest.com or Expedia.com.

• Store hours – provide store hours for every day of the week. Specify when you're closed, and when you stay open late.

• Contact Us – tell site visitors how to contact you. Provide your postal address, email address, phone and fax numbers.

Be a Resource
When you post informational resources on your website, you become a resource for information. Provide articles, how-to’s, and message boards and your customers will know they can come to you when they have questions or need inspiration.  These resources make your website “sticky”, encouraging visitors to visit frequently and stay longer.  Kate Griswold, web designer and owner of Kaleidoscope Concepts, suggests the following tools to provide additional resources on your business website...

Are You Ready for Your Customers?

I recently received an email from a representative of a charity, asking me if I would spread the word that said charity was seeking scrapbookers to help create projects to donate for their next fundraiser.  She very basically described the project and what the pieces would be used for, and asked if I would forward the email on to anyone who might be interested.

Her email included her personal email address and the website of the charity.  But that was it.  No mention of a deadline for submission of the projects, no mention of the date or location of the fundraiser, no real specifics.

Here's a tip: If you are planning to ask someone for help, give them the tools they need to help you.  That often means spelling out exactly what you need, when you need, where to go or send their submission.  Provide instructions, illustrations, and examples, if need be, to help people...help you.  (insert chant from "Jerry Macguire here: "Help ME help YOU!").

The same goes for your business.

If people don't know how to contact you, they won't.
If people don't know how to find your business, they won't swing by.
If people don't know when your sales or events are, they won't come.

I responded back to the charity volunteer with some feedback:

Do you have a webpage where you have information posted about this "call for help"?  If so, I can share the link in a blog post or through Twitter. That would be the most efficient way of spreading the information.  Plus that would (hopefully) provide all the information about deadlines for contributions, where to send or drop off contributions, and perhaps share a photo of a finished example, so people know what you're looking for.

If you don't have the call posted - consider it!  Crafters are always looking for ways to contribute to charities.  If you have the 'power', I would suggest posting the info on the How You Can Help page on the charity website.  

The underlying lesson here is to take the time to make sure you have basic information posted on your website, and available at your place of business before you start any promotional campaign.  If your campaign is successful - meaning it alerts people to your products or services, and brings them in seeking more information - make sure you have the information available to better serve them.  If you don't have that available, and the people can't find what they're looking for, they'll get frustrated and leave.  And that does nothing to improve your business.

Marketing Tip Roundup for @AngiePedersen: week of 3/8

• From Photo Industry Reporter - Retailer Roundtable: Building Traffic in Tough Times


• Angie says Uff da! Just turned in the promotional copy I was working on. Put a fork in me, and call it DONE, folks!


• working on a rush job promo piece for a new marketing client


• On Kizer & Bender's blog - Mystified by Twitter? Trend Central explains it all


• See the Top 20 Scrapbooking Twitter'ers


• Chinese fortune from lunch: Investigate new possibilities with friends. Now is the time! Hmmm, any ideas for joint ventures out there? ;)


• How Specialty Color Services Makes Social Networking Work for Them by Dan Havlik at PhotoReporter.com


• Reading: "How to Keep a Career Log" at wikiHow.com


• Reading: 6 Tips for Responding to HARO Queries


• Reading: 5 Tips for Revamping Your Freelance PR/Consultant Resume


• Reading: CEO of LinkedIn.com gives you tips on how to use LinkedIn, w/ CNN Video


• TIP: lot of people use http://twitpic.com/ to post pictures to Twitter.


• #CPSIA - Tracking labels required on children's products by Aug09 - comment by April 27


• The difference between PR and publicity, per Seth Godin


• Take @KimGuymon's Virtual Tour of the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show

Marketing Tip: Don't Worry about Giving 'Too Much' Away

I recently received an email seeking advice on how to approach a challenge many small business owners face (edited/paraphrased to protect certain specific issues):

Hi Angie, I need some advice … I am not sure if this is something you can help me with or if you can point me in the right direction. Here is the short version…. I have been teaching classes at consumer shows for 2 years. As the show season was winding down last year I noticed I was hearing more from my students that they loved my classes and the projects but they also really wanted to increase productivity. I spent the off season developing a series of workshops as well as a super 3 hour workshop. Now the main focus of my classes is a system I have developed, including a handy guidebook with techniques and tips.

My question is how to describe a special part of my system. I provide a basic starting point, as well as some unique templates….and this is the part I struggle with describing. In order for folks to want to take my classes or learn about the system, I need to tell them something about it, but if I tell too much I am basically giving away the idea and they could make their own ( I suppose that is true of anything).  I think it is a fine line and I am struggling with it. My question is how to explain this without giving away too much?

My response:
Don't worry so much about giving 'too much' away, especially in your description of the product/process. If, by you explaining how the templates work, someone else could easily create their own system, they'll do it anyway. Some people are DIY like that. Generally, most products are created and sold because they make it EASIER for someone to do something.

Think of the 100-calorie pack snacks. Someone could buy a full-size bag of Doritos, and a box of snack size baggies, and make their own 100-calorie snack packs. But it sure is easier if the manufacturer does all the thinking, measuring, and packaging *for* them. The customer can just grab the snack pack and go. Same with your templates/system.

The selling point is that you've done all the designing and measuring *for* them already - they just pick a template and get started. Stop struggling with the description and paralyzing yourself. If people have already signed up for the classes, you already know there is a need for the content (and the system). Fine-tune your description for a different audience - the people who *will* want to know more about your system - the time-starved, can't-fit-another-idea-book-on-my-bookshelf, don't-feel-like-putting-it-together-myself, just-do-it-for-me consumer. Think about all the work you put into designing this system, then remind your audience that all that thinking has *already been done for them*.

@AngiePedersen Marketing Twitter Roundup - Week of 12/14/08

Via @Etsy: Five steps you can take to save natural/handmade companies from the CPSC and CPSIA

Via Kizer & Bender, Nat'l Retail Federation says 40M+ shoppers, mostly men, haven't started shopping yet.

Via @TopSEOBlogs - A Small Business Year-End Marketing Checklist

Kizer & Bender offer tips on how to Increase Holiday Sales with Suggestive Selling

Via @CraftyCoach - What kind of investments are you thinking about making in your business for 2009?

Via @freelancefolder, 70 Tools Freelancers Rely On

Via Digg, an article on SitePoint.com » The Day Web 2.0 Died

Via @PRsarahevans - recap 4 last night's #journchat

From Kizer & Bender - Increase your Crackle Factor in 2009

Via @MarketingProfs - 50 Social Media & Marketing Predictions for 2009

Blog Marketing tip: include your contact info in the sidebar to make it easier for people to do business w/ you.  No contact = no business!

@AngiePedersen Marketing Twitter Roundup - Week of 12/7/08

• @irenekoehler is organizing a Twitter-wide "How Can I Help You Today?" campaign - use #canihelp tag


• Via @roundpeg - Offer Choices to Raise Your Price! Allow customers 2 compare b/w 3 prices; they'll choose middle.


• Kizer & Bender say retailers are offering discounted gift certificates to entice customers to December sales


• @MAKE blogged abt Google Zeitgeist Top 10 DIY searches & marketed their own resources. Can you do the same? 


• From @FreelanceFolder - 3 Powerful Ways To Bring In More End-Of-Year Freelance Business


• Useful tips from @chrisbrogan on How to Start Speaking at Events (and yes, I am available to speak!)


• from @chrisbrogan - "100 Blog Posts I Hope You Write"


• From @journchat: What is #journchat? http://tinyurl.com/5uqwoz


• To @WriterGal39: here is how I have used del.icio.us for branding/expertise purposes: http://delicious.com/scrapbookmarketing

@AngiePedersen Marketing Twitter Roundup - Week of 11/30/08

Just joined Social Media Club KC - looking forward to meeting some new local 'social' people

via @heidimiller: Best Practices for Twitter

Kizer & Bender post: How to make your "Top 10 List of Holiday Gifts" work harder for your business

Via @kimguymon - Scrap businesses putting out tip jars to stay in business?? Video Business Tip: Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Reading: "Twittin' Secrets: 100 World's Greatest Twitter Tips & Twitter Secrets"

@AngiePedersen Marketing Twitter Roundup - Week of 11/23/08

Here are some highlights from the marketing-related "tweets" I posted to Twitter this past week.

• @KimDushinski is hosting a free teleseminar next week: "7 Ways to Build Your Business with Mobile Marketing"


• Here's an add'l idea: create same info product in multiple mediums - ebook, hard copy, mp3 AND video. To give customers a choice. [posted in response to @LindaLocke 's post on business idea for stay-at-home moms]


• Good ? from @chrisbrogan: How do you refresh your media making? What ways are you challenging yourself in the coming months?


• Via @BianaBabinsky: Take A Few Minutes And Thank A Few People Who Help You With Your Biz. Here is how: http://tinyurl.com/6jptjp


• Via @TopSEOBlogs- Three Ways to Kick Up Your Local Marketing


• Web marketing tip: use <alt> tags to describe images for search engine juice. Here's a How To:  netmechanics.com


• Photoshop template to customize your Twitter profile page

Is Your Business 'Peter Perfect'?

I've found the latest resource for your marketing education - it's a show called "Peter Perfect", on the Style network.  It's a one-hour reality makeover series with a twist - British hairstylist Peter Ishkhans visits troubled small businesses and helps the owners recreate their business image, addressing issues of appearance, style and marketing.

The first episode I saw was the makeover of struggling surf shop.  Ishkhans came in and gave the store-owners an eye-opening look at a typical first impression of their shop, and it wasn't pretty.  Ishkhans is pretty loud and flamboyant - the store owners had no question about what he really thought.  That's part of the entertainment value of the show.  But Ishkhans made strong suggestions on key marketing concepts the store owners were missing. 

Watching this episode I saw the situation many small business owners find themselves in, whether retail store or service provider, or whatever.  Many small business owners are so busy working on daily tasks, they don't see the bigger picture.  They don't see that their storefront isn't particularly inviting, they don't see how tired they look, they don't see that the merchandising doesn't encourage purchases.  I particularly noticed how worn-down the surf shop owners looked, pre-makeover.  They looked like so many scrapbooking store owners I've seen - exhausted, burned-out, and a bit desperate.  That does nothing to encourage business.

You can see short clips of "Peter Perfect" on veoh and hulu to get a taste of Ishkahns' advice, but I encourage you to set your Tivo or DVR for the full episodes, and see what you might be missing about your own business.

You could also call on Kizer & Bender for more personal attention to your own situation - I hear they work *wonders* with retail store makeovers!

Marketing to GenZ

According to a recent post on KIZER and BENDER's blog, I am the parent of two GenZ kids.

The oldest Generation Zers were in 1994, making them the ripe old age of 14. The youngest are yet to be born. They come from smaller families with over-indulgent parents who want their kids to experience it all. Statistics show Gen Z to be the most empowered generation of children our world has ever known.

They are also the most technological. Gen Zers were digital in diapers, introduced to computers at age three and surfing the web by age six. Today, five year olds have their own cell phones – with voice mail. Technology is as familiar to them as an Erector Set is to you.

I'd have to say this describes them pretty well.  And I know it takes a specific set of criteria to get their attention and motivate them to action (perhaps that's spoken as a mom, seeking a clean room, but I digress...)

Fortunately for retailers warily eying this target market, Kizer and Bender are offering two seminars at CHA (Craft & Hobby Association, in Chicago) in a couple of weeks - a live panel discussion with ten kids, ages 10-14 (Business Seminar S109), and a educational seminar (Business Seminar S114) that provides real-life resources for promoting events and activities that bring this age group into your store. 

I've been to several K&B seminars and they are jam-packed with resources and tips.  Trust me, no one leaves without a brain buzzing with possibilities for ways to revamp and revitalize their marketing program.  I'm bummed that I won't be at the show, because you can bet I'd be at these events.