There have to be some perks to being a temporary refugee in the US , so I obviously couldn’t resist visiting the local Best Buy store with company credit card in hand. I found myself intrigued by the iPad display, and it didn’t take long for the first (of many) irritatingly friendly Best Buy’ assistants’ to ask me how I was doing. … Read More
China, Google AdWords and me
One week from today I’ll be on my way to China for the Chinese Software Global Summit in Shanghai. I like to think of myself as well educated, and yet have realised how little I know about so much of the world. I’m going to a country with a population of over 1.3 billion, and despite the fact that we … Read More
CNET Downloads reviews changes – better late than never?
From CNET’s Software Publisher Newsletter: “As of March 16th, reviews on CNET Downloads are changing in a small but significant way. Since we began reviewing software nearly eight years ago, we have reviewed only the trial version of any software title that was also available for purchase. Going forward, we will begin reviewing and rating software based on the full … Read More
Google Wave bye-bye
Hype is a powerful thing, but behind all great marketing has to be (at the very least) a good product. Otherwise it’s little more than noise. Google Wave set out to be a solution to a problem that most people don’t have. Which is why, according to Business Insider, web visits to Google Wave have dropped sharply. Having used it … Read More
Track ANY website changes (for free) with Google Reader
Google Reader is one of those tools that I like, understand, but don’t really use. At least not until now. I’ve been using FeedDemon longer than I can remember; certainly long before most normal people had ever heard of RSS feeds. And that’s the root of the problem with RSS: Most people have never heard of it, many of those … Read More
Preaching to the choir is good for your business
A good friend told me that he’d recently been buying a lot of things in preparation for the birth of his first child. And like any red-blooded male, he’s been doing most of his shopping online. The father-to-be that is, not the child. Following almost every order, the company he bought from sent him an email containing a coupon towards … Read More
Short, sharp headlines that work
A newspaper headline is written in large letters, and is supposed to indicate the content of the article. Front page headlines are the most important, as they need to be eye catching enough to snare the interest of passers-by. You can probably see where I’m going with this. Our own company sells services to help (mainly) software developers increase their … Read More
Why won’t website visitors do what I want?
Pulling-in targeted visitors to your website is relatively easy. There’s Google AdWords, AdCenter, press releases, twitter, blogs and hundreds of other opportunities for jumping in front of the right people and waving your arms around so they don’t forget you. Getting them to stay, however, is more difficult. Many small and medium-sized companies make the mistake of too many assumptions. … Read More
Embrace the disposable customer
In days gone by, it was considered good business practice to treat your customers well. They were handled promptly, courteously and with genuine respect. Thank goodness those days over. Today’s customers are disposable. As soon as their credit card details have been processed we can cut them off, forget about them, and ignore them when they need our help. Why? … Read More
Clarity: -=+
We’re all busy and we’re all overloaded. So get to the point. What can you do for me? What solution do you sell? I know what my company sells. We sell money at a lower price. You pay me $1,000 and I generate $1,500 in sales. I sell expertise that generates cash. I sell sales. What do you have for … Read More