Sitewire

The Economics of Spam
- Scott Kaufmann

Ever wonder just when Spam will finally stop?
Let me share some interesting statistics with you that might help shed a little light on the subject. According to a recent survey by Mirapoint (a security firm) and Radicati Group (a market research company), up to 1 in 3 frequent email users have opened a Spam email and clicked on a link in the email. And nearly 1 in 10 has actually bought a product advertised in junk Spam email. So we can conclude that even with the increasing amount of legislature addressing the Spam issue; Spam won't be stopping anytime soon. But why?

(I know what you're saying. "Great Scott, you write about Spam all the time, there better be something interesting in this article." Well, go ahead and risk the 3 minutes to read on - I won't let you down.)

To answer this we'll have to take a quick trip back to college economics (don't worry, since this is my class, I'll allow cheating on the quiz at the end). Back in college, my economics teacher taught about supply and demand. The legend of these mysterious forces went something like this. In an economic system there are always two opposing forces present. Legend also held that there was some uncertain relationship between a certain Ms. Supply and Mr. Demand. One school of thought said that demand forces drove the economic system, and another said just the opposite. I don't know which is correct, but in this situation when something is being supplied, and there is an action on the part of the consumer reaffirming the demand for what has been supplied, more of the product will be supplied until there is no longer a demand. In plain terms, until we stop opening and clicking on the links in Spam emails, we will continue to get more and more Spam.

The first step to stopping SPAM: Cut down reaffirmation of demand. We could all start by simply deleting SPAM and not clicking on the links. If you really do want to get rich quick, or are desperate for some fake prescription medication, just go onto Google and type in "get rich quick" or "offshore pharmacy"; I'm confident there will be no shortage of companies who are willing to take your money. (For that matter, if you can't find anything else to spend your hard earned money on, I'm currently accepting personal checks in any denomination - please mail to Scott c/o Sitewire).

Remember, together we can stop Spam. Or at least find something to eat with a bit less sodium.

Keep it Classy. See you next time...

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Customer Focus: The new online marketing trend
- Katie McNally

I have just returned from an advertising technology conference held in San Francisco, the known technology home base of the nation. I went to the conference with the intention of getting up to speed on all industry trends and standards and to learn about the newest technologies and tools available to internet marketers. While I was able to accomplish all of those goals, I think the most poignant theme I found running throughout the conference was not some new technology that we can use to track marketing efforts or the name of the hottest media provider of the year. Rather, the underlying theme of the conference that stood out to me was a returning focus on the customer.

While we operate in this medium where our customers are faceless and identified by a profile or a market segment, it doesn't change the fact that there are people on the other end of our marketing efforts and these people dictate how effective our efforts are. While at the conference, traveling from discussion session to discussion session, I found that what kept sticking out in my mind were ways to better communicate with and get feedback from our customers. In the case of Sitewire, a business to business service provider, this translates into how we can better help our customers communicate with their customers. I discovered countless examples at the conference of how a company reaching out to their customers really makes a difference, whether this is in the form of a customer satisfaction survey, a birthday special or just allowing customers the chance to designate interests in order to better focus communication. What a novel concept; ask your customers how to better serve them and they will tell you.

So while the original lure to the internet for customers may be anonymity, I think that we are finding that as our lives reside more and more online we, meaning all internet users, need to be treated as real people with opinions in order to feel like valued customers. And we, as internet marketers, should keep this in mind when developing campaigns and helping our customers better serve and communicate with their customers.

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The Art of E-mail Marketing Campaigns
- Leslie Jackson

E-mail blasting is an effective means of marketing to existing customers as well as obtaining new customers. However, there are various criteria that go into the development of a successful e-mail campaign that will ultimately lead to conversion (purchase/customer).

E-mail marketing is nothing like sending e-mails to your co-workers or your long lost friends. In today's workplace, people are inundated with e-mail messages ALL DAY long and often don't have the time, energy or interest to spend another second reading an e-mail. Therefore, it is necessary to follow a few key rules when planning, composing and executing upon an e-mail marketing campaign.

Three days of the week have been identified as the most effective for sending e-mail communication. We suggest that an e-mail blast be sent either late at night or early morning for the audience to have the message in their inbox Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday morning. You may ask - what's wrong with Monday or Friday? Why not the weekends?

Well folks, we know Mondays are manic...in fact I start my Monday mornings off with the Bangles song just as a reminder of the craziness that lies ahead. We open our e-mail to find hundreds of messages in the inbox - most of them SPAM - which leads to a mass delete mission. If your marketing e-mail happens to be one of those Monday messages, it goes ignored and unopened - opportunity missed.

You may ask "Why not Friday? I am sending them a weekend special." If you are anything like me, I spend my Friday's buckled down to finish my work so I can get to happy hour faster and not be concerned with deadlines over the weekend. I often avoid checking e-mail altogether and as a result it all ends up in the Monday pile. For further justification - refer to the "Manic Monday" rule above.

The same theory applies to the weekends because in some instances, your target customer won't check their e-mail on the weekends and will receive the message on Monday.

"OKAY OKAY - so I will send my e-mail message Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday - but why does it matter WHAT TIME OF DAY I send my message?" The same principle applies here as well. Studies have shown that inefficiencies in the workplace result from receiving and reading e-mails while amidst other tasks. Therefore, e-mails that are not considered high priority will often go unread facing the destiny of the dreaded deleted items folder - unopened, ignored - opportunity missed.

My rule of thumb is - send e-mails when YOU would want to receive e-mail marketing messages. Following that guideline will assist you in understanding the reasoning for suggesting the messaging time be limited to Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday early morning or late night.

What about the content and subject line? According to CAN SPAM rules, the subject line can be 'catchy' - salesy if you will - but should clearly represent the content of the e-mail. You should avoid the use of words such as "Free!," "Congratulations!," "You have Won!" and "Big Winner!" and ensure that it accurately represents the content of the e-mail. For example:

Good: "Fairway Fun and Free Food at Golf Course this weekend"
Bad: "Free Male Enhancements" or "Why haven't you called?"

As for the actual text in the e-mail, my rule is always to keep it short, sweet, clear, concise - QUICK. You will want to ensure that your call to action is very clear and distinguishable. Please note a "call to action" is the function you would like the e-mail recipient to take once they receive the e-mail. For example, book a round of golf or fill out a form. The offer should be relevant to the audience and should define the offer in small print to avoid the chance of miscommunication.

Below are a few other rules to follow when creating an e-mail blast:

• Avoid extra large font size
• Avoid extra fancy font type
• Avoid the over use of colored text
• Avoid large graphics that will prevent the e-mail from loading correctly

Keep it clean and classy - less like a used car ad in the paper.

You may have not known that e-mail marketing could be so complicated - but ultimately successful campaigns are in tune with their audience behavior so to ensure their message is not only seen and heard, but also leads to a conversion or purchase.

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What do you want your Web site visitors to DO?
- Kimberly LaVasseur

If you do not have a clear objective about what you want your Web site to DO for your business, it is most likely very unclear to your potential customers as well. In order to achieve the best rate of conversion and ultimately gauge the overall effectiveness and ROI of your Web site, you need to define the site's purpose. Is it to sell something? Is it to generate leads for your sales force? Is it to provide information that can be downloaded? The days of the online brochure are over. Customers want information, but they also want to be able to take action in one place at the same time. Don't create a compelling site and messaging, and then make the only call to action to CALL someone. That takes an extra step in the process; the fewer the steps a customer has to take, the higher your rate of conversion. Here are some other things to consider when evaluating how best to improve conversion on your Web site:

1. Understand the traffic patterns on your Web site: You should have a site traffic reporting tool hooked up with your Web site, so that you can gain a clear understanding of what your customers are most interested in and where they are abandoning your site. This is the best way to gauge problem areas within the site and fix them to improve conversion.
2. Don't invest in Search Engine Optimization without investing in the User Experience: It's sort of like putting the cart in front of the horse. You will be attracting customers to your site, but you have no idea if your objective is clear and if the user experience is as optimal as possible for your customers to achieve your objective. There are over 100 documented factors that influence conversion on a site that does not conduct commerce and over 200 factors for sites that do. There is a direct correlation between the number of factors your site conforms to and your conversion rate. This practice is known as Usability Interface (UI) Analysis. If you would like Sitewire to evaluate your site from a usability perspective, please contact Market Development Manger, Elif Affan, for a complimentary usability brief.
3. Learn from the big boys: IBM redesigned its site to enhance usability -- in the first week sales increased 400% (IBM, 2004). Amazon.com converts double the number of new visitors as does Barnes&Noble.com just based on usability. Amazon is 72% compliant while BN.com is 53% compliant with the more than 200 usability standards for online retail.

Stay tuned; now that you are ATTRACTING and CONVERTING customers online, next month we are going to give you some helpful tips on how to RETAIN them over the long haul.

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Sitewire in the Community
- Elif Affan

April was an exciting month at Sitewire as we were presented with two great honors for our team's involvement in the community.

Margie Traylor, our co-founder and President, was announced as one of five finalists for the Golden Heart of Business Award, which is part of the Who's Who in Business event hosted by Arizona Woman Magazine. The Golden Heart of Business award honors women for their demonstration of caring, giving, and nurturing in her professional and community endeavors.

Sitewire received the Community Spirit award at the Excellence in Corporate Volunteerism event from the Volunteer Center of Maricopa County. The event, which was sponsored by the Phoenix Business Journal, honored Valley companies who went beyond the call of duty in community service. Sitewire has always played an active role in the community, with team members participating in multiple action committees and boards, and providing pro bono marketing services to multiple non-profit organizations each year.

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