Most Web Operators Need to Go Back to Marketing 101

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Most Web Operators Need to Go Back to Marketing 101

Popular New Book Says Even Best Websites Often Forget Basics

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 2, 2005 -- Recognizing the difference between features and benefits is elementary in old-school marketing. So why are so many websites filled with the bad marketing-think of advertising intellectual features instead of emotional benefits?

"Call To Action" by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg, a book that raced to the top of the business bestsellers lists in the last weeks, says that it's because its to think like the end user when you’re manning the controls at a company.

"One of the common problems companies have translating their products or service features into benefits is that they are looking at the label from the inside of the bottle," explains Jeffrey Eisenberg. "In other words, because they know too much about their businesses, they often assume that others, too, not only want to know them but also should know them."

These companies, the Eisenbergs write, spend time and money assuming and "should-ing" all over themselves.

They give an example: "This ring features a 1.4 carat, pear-shaped cut white diamond with SI1 clarity grade and an H color rating." Huh? Unless you're a gemologist or you understand the four Cs, that's just gibberish. Here's what might sell diamonds better: "Imagine that special evening when you gently slip this on her finger and stare intensely into her eyes. She peers at this symbol of your devotion, the promise of your future together, and tears begin to glisten. An adoring smile spreads across her face, and at that moment your love is sealed forever."

"Would it be indelicate," write the Eisenbergs, "to ask that gentleman if he cared about the four C's the next morning?"

Bryan Eisenberg and Jeffrey Eisenberg are co-founders of Future Now, Inc., a marketing boutique focused on helping clients convert their website's traffic into leads, customers and sales by applying Persuasion Architecture, copywriting, usability and web analytics to design, redesign and optimize websites and other online marketing efforts. Future Now, Inc. has helped clients such as Dell, GE Volvo, Overstock & Disney.

Contact:
Bryan Eisenberg or Jeffrey Eisenberg
http://www.futurenowinc.com
877-643-7244
http://www.calltoactionbook.com/

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Other Releases by this Member

* “Converting Search Engine Traffic” is a complete analysis and ranking of the top 15 converting search engines together with recommendations and conversion rate resources is now available from Future Now, Inc. 2003-11-03
* Bryan Eisenberg Publishes 200th ROI Marketing Column for ClickZ.com Network 2005-02-04
* Future Now Inc. Announces Bryan Eisenberg as Founder and Chairman of the First Web Analytics Industry Association 2005-02-21
* One-Time Buyers Too Costly For Website Owners 2005-05-11
* When it Comes to Websites, People are the Same 2005-05-12
* Is Your Website Too Self-Centered? 2005-05-13
* How Customer Friendly is Your Website? 2005-05-16
* Why You Need to Keep Your Web Customers Moving 2005-05-17
* Want to Convert More Web Customers? 2005-05-18
* On Your Website, Give Your Customers a Choice Between Yes, and Yes 2005-05-19
* How to Write Web Content for Sales 2005-05-23
* How Sweating the Small Stuff Pays Off on the Web 2005-06-01
* Are You Distracting Your Website Visitors? 2005-05-24
* What Web Measurement Tools are You Missing? 2005-05-25
* New Book Asks, "How Relevant is Your Website?" 2005-05-26
* How Companies Mess Up Their Websites 2005-05-30
* How Do You Turn More Prospects into Paying Customers? 2005-05-31
* Book Hits NY Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists in Two Weeks with No Advertising 2005-05-31

How Sweating the Small Stuff Pays Off on the Web

New Book Says Small Tweaks Lead to Higher Sales

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 1, 2005 -- Are you aware of how many sales are missed online, every single day, because small but extremely important details are overlooked on websites?

That doesn't have to happen. In a bestselling new book, "Call To Action," Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg explain that the little things do matter online. The brothers then outline some easy-to-implement changes that web owners can use to improve their websites—as well as their conversion rates.

"One thing that's often overlooked is photograph quality," says Jeffrey Eisenberg. "I'm always amazed at how bad some product pictures look online. It's those grainy shots from the manufacturer, rather than a photo that will appeal to the eye and create desire for the product. Big mistake."

Website owners should instead use beautiful photos of their products, preferably with some human element involved. To increase conversion rate even more, they can zoom in on the product, rotate the product, or even use 3-D imaging.

Like photos, product captions don't always get the attention they deserve online. Captions need to evoke emotions. It's often the only way a web visitor can get a "feel" for the item.

"One of my favorite websites is Landsends.com because they do this so well," says Jeffrey Eisenberg. "The caption for their men's cotton polo shirt reads 'This long-sleeve version is perfect for chillier days and cool summer nights.' You can imagine yourself wearing it, just from the caption."

Contact:
Bryan Eisenberg or Jeffrey Eisenberg
http://www.futurenowinc.com
877-643-7244
http://www.calltoactionbook.com/

Want to Convert More Web Customers?

Bestselling Book Makes it Simple

New York, NY (PRWEB) May 18, 2005 -- Fast, short and compelling. If your website is extremely good at turning browsers into buyers, it's probably all of these.

"Call To Action," a new book written by web gurus Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg, explains that powerful websites are quick and powerful. The book offers this advice:

1 – Make it fast: conversion rates jump dramatically if your pages load faster than 8-10 seconds

2 – Make it short: optimize your copy to give people what they want and then get out of the way

3 – Make it compelling: give your customers something of value if they convert

"Web users are often there expecting convenience and speed," explains Bryan Eisenberg. "If your website makes converting more difficult than expected, you can expect to lose that customer."

Contact:
Bryan Eisenberg or Jeffrey Eisenberg
http://www.futurenowinc.com
877-643-7244
http://www.calltoactionbook.com/

How Companies Mess Up Their Websites

New Book Describes Avoidable Goofs

New York, NY (PRWEB) May 30, 2005 -- Many companies are making it difficult for customers to purchase their products and services online—and are completely unaware of it.

In "Call To Action" a book recently published, Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg demonstrate the major areas where "corporate thinking" prevents a satisfactory visitor experience. These mistakes, although seemingly harmless, send customers scurrying to other websites.

Here's one such mistake. Too many times, the pages on a website look completely different from one section to the next. It's obvious to the web visitor that different divisions of the company handle different sections of the website. It's also obvious that the company doesn't have its act together.

"In the company's view, it probably seems easier to have each division create their own section," says Bryan Eisenberg. "But without realizing it, they’re showing their corporate underpants. It's better to have an integrated site design...one that offers a holistic customer experience."

Another mistake comes when companies make changes to their website. Instead of spending the money to get it right, companies often prefer "down and dirty" solutions, slapping a bunch of things on the original site that don't belong there. They think the web visitor won’t notice, but they always do.

Finally, companies goof when they don't define globally what they mean by "the customer". Every employee may have a completely different idea. Before you know it, there are hundreds of imaginary customers running around in their heads, all impacting the website's design and function.

In this situation, who knows what you'll end up with? It's certainly not a website that speaks to the real needs of the customer. Rather, it's a strange mix of subjective ideas.

Contact:
Bryan Eisenberg or Jeffrey Eisenberg
http://www.futurenowinc.com
877-643-7244
http://www.calltoactionbook.com/

“Converting Search Engine Traffic” is a complete analysis and ranking of the top 15 converting search engines together with recommendations and conversion rate resources is now available from Future Now, Inc.

Brooklyn, NY (PRWEB) November 3, 2003 -- The importance of search engines to marketers is growing. In 2003 over $1.6 billion will be spent in paid search alone. The most obvious question on online retailers’ minds is: will that convert into sales? The answer impacts the bottom line directly. In this report Future Now, Inc. explains in detail how the top 15 search engines are converting and analyzes that data so the online retailer can maximize their return on investment.

The study reflects more than 29 million search engine visits to dozens of e-commerce sites using WebSideStory’s outsourced HitBox services (www.hitbox.com). The e-commerce sites used in the study cover a broad range of products and services, everything from gifts and electronics to shoes and office equipment. The search engine visits include those generated by both paid search keywords and organic listings. All orders resulting from search engine visits were generated in the same session. The study does not include shopping-specific search engines. Future Now, Inc.’s analysis is focused on why different search engines have such different conversion rates, the factors that may be impacting those conversion rates and what marketers can do to improve their results.

“Future Now was the obvious choice to partner with to release this exclusive data,” said Rand Schulman, Chief Marketing Officer for WebSideStory, the leader in online marketing analytics and optimization. “Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg and their team are the recognized experts in online conversion rates.”

“We’re grateful and proud that WebSideStory chose us as the analysts for this exclusive and very important data. In 1998, when we started specializing in improving conversion rates to increase sales, you couldn’t find a soul who wanted to discuss them; it was all about getting more traffic to drive sales. The market has grown up and now smart marketers are demanding return on their online advertising investments. Improving conversion rates is still a relatively new topic for many online marketers. In this report we not only analyze the data, which does not reflect the common wisdom, but we also include a set of critical recommendations and resources for our readers. In addition we offer a link to download an MS Excel spreadsheet to calculate how an advertising budget should drive sales or how profit or sales targets drive an advertising budget” ; said Jeffrey Eisenberg, co-founder of Future Now, Inc.

Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder of Future Now, Inc., provides an insight from the report: “AOL is the largest ISP because it markets to a mass audience with the premise that, “It’s so simple; no wonder we’re #1”. Smart marketers have always known that the AOL audience spends more money online than other audiences. Unfortunately, for many years AOL was way too expensive. A deeper analysis of this data set shows there is a back door for marketers coveting AOL’s high converting audience.”

To order a copy of this report, go to http://www.cafepress.com/futurenowinc. For more information about Future Now, Inc, or its services, please visit www.futurenowinc.com or call 877-643-7244

About Future Now, Inc.

Future Now, Inc. is a marketing boutique focused on helping clients convert their website and online traffic into leads, customers and sales by applying persuasion architecture, copywriting, usability and web analytics to design, redesign and optimize websites and other online marketing efforts. Future Now, Inc., is based in Brooklyn, NY and was founded in 1998 with the sole purpose of helping clients increase their conversion rates. Future Now provides its unique and proprietary processes and expertise with a broad range of middle-market B2B and B2C clients nationwide by providing training, consulting, speaking, assessment services and publishing.

Future Now, Inc.
2401 East 23rd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11235
Phone 718-332-1205
Fax 718-332-5580

Contact: Michael R. Drew
Promote A Book (http://www.promoteabook.com)
Phone 714-540-0331
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How to Write Web Content for Sales

Bestselling Book Says it's Different than Print Copy

New York, NY (PRWEB) May 23, 2005 -- According to a book making waves in bookstores and Internet circles alike, writing web copy with a print copy mindset will cost you sales.

The book, "Call To Action," by New York brothers Bryan and Jeff Eisenberg, says the different dynamics in how people use the internet, makes how you write copy vital.

"Internet users are different than those using print copy," explains Bryan Eisenberg. "So it should only make sense that the copy selling to them will work in a different manner."

Eisenberg explains that one major difference is a website's ability to be built using multiple links. A website, it's explained, should use multiple links to cater to exactly what a prospective customer is looking for.

"There's unlimited space on a website," says Eisenberg. "Where print copy is limited, and has to guess at who is targeted and what they're looking for, a website has the particular ability to filter people to places they want to be to do the things they’d like to do. Creating web content without taking advantage of the real power of its non-linear make-up is leaving it all on the table."

Another difference "Call To Action" points out is a web user's relative impatience compared to someone reading a print piece. Whereas readers of print material have, by choosing to read, in essence, opted in, web users more often are looking for something specific. The point: keep the copy shorter, and avoid long-winded statements of why what you’re selling is the best. Very often such copy, the book says, is just getting in your user’s way.

Contact:
Bryan Eisenberg or Jeffrey Eisenberg
http://www.futurenowinc.com
877-643-7244
http://www.calltoactionbook.com/