Internet Marketing Blog

Websites We Love: Site Evolution

02/22/2012 17:30:00

In this installment of Websites We Love, we asked our Internet Marketing Facebook community how they encourage their customers and/or Website visitors to get in touch with them. As usual, we received a number of awesome responses, but had to choose just ONE winner.

This week's Website We Love comes from Erica Jayne Clavin, who thinks that when it comes to customers getting in contact with her, simple is sometimes best! "I encourage visitors to fill out a simple contact form connected to my website email," she says. She also points out that a successful website is constantly evolving, and your customers dictate what's added to the site. "I also encourage them to view my other online locations, as I am currently redeveloping my website to better suit my visitors needs," she says. "If [customers] are close enough to my area, they can visit me at the salon, or join on my many volunteer activities!" Congrats, Erica!

Do you agree? How important is your site's evolution? Tell us in the comments section!

Websites We Love: Great Design

02/15/2012 17:35:00

It’s week two of Websites We Love, and we received a number of great responses from our Internet Marketing Facebook Community about what they’re most proud of when it comes to their site. It was very difficult for us to choose just ONE to feature here on our blog, but we had to crown a winner! This week’s Website We Love comes from Jennifer Gates, who is most proud of her site’s design. We agree, and think the design is awesome! We’re also big fans of her super-creative business name, "Cake Placid." (It's a cake business in — you guessed it — Lake Placid, New York.) Congrats, Jennifer!

Want your site to be featured here? Keep an eye on our Facebook page for our next Websites We Love announcement! In the meantime, you can check out all the great sites that were posted here and here.

Welcome to Websites We Love

02/08/2012 15:30:00

When thinking about how to showcase all the great sites our customers build, we came up with a neat idea: ask our Internet Marketing Facebook Community to share theirs! We received such a great response, we're turning it into a weekly feature. Every Wednesday, we'll highlight one awesome site here on the blog, and on our Facebook page.

As we mentioned, we received a ton of great responses, so it was very hard for us to choose just one to highlight. Our first Website We Love comes from Lisa Draisey of Parkland Bridal. Her favorite feature? The blog, where there is a ton of info for customers! We're also big fans of her clean design, great content and picture-packed testimonials section. Congrats, Lisa!

Seven Simple Tips for Going Mobile

02/06/2012 12:31:00

Whether it’s at work, a restaurant or the gym, it seems as though iPhones, Androids and iPads are everywhere. According to Digital Buzz, that’s not very far from the truth; in fact, mobile devices are fast becoming the most popular way to access the Web. But what is the difference between a standard website and a mobile site? The easy answer is accessibility. Imagine trying to fit everything on your home page onto your phone’s screen. Not pretty, right? It would be overcrowded, difficult to read, and even harder to navigate. Mobile sites can alleviate those usability issues, reduce load time and, perhaps most importantly, make it super-simple for users to contact you while they’re on the go. And now, you can set up a mobile site through Vistaprint!

Small Tips, Big Benefits

Setting up a mobile site isn’t as difficult as you might think, and following the tactics below can help you — and your customers — get the most out of your mobile site.

Make it useful. A customer is probably accessing your business’s site from a mobile device because he or she wants to get in touch with you…what he or she doesn’t want to do is navigate through a number of pages before finding out how to reach you. Keep the info your visitors are looking for on the home page, at their fingertips, and make sure it’s easy to read and click.
Hint: Try adding a prominent “Contact Us”button.
Stick with easy navigation.Large font, big buttons and short sentences can help make your mobile site easier to navigate. Forcing visitors to work hard to view info will likely cause them to give up, and move on. A major advantage of mobile sites is that they’re formatted to mobile devices, so everything is larger, but contained within a specific width so users won’t have to scroll to find their way through your site.
Hint: Check out your mobile site on an actual mobile device…if you find it difficult to navigate, imagine how visitors will feel!

Keep it simple. Remember, on a mobile device, viewers are likely interested in learning about your products, finding directions or getting in touch with you. And while you want your site to be informative, too much info will give your visitors more pages to sift through before they get to their desired destination.
Hint: If you think you’ve added too much content, chances are you have. Think about consolidating it through the use of bullet points.
Speed it up. Tons of images, videos and unnecessary content can make your mobile site’s load time far too long.
Hint: Save the flashy stuff for your main website! You don’t need to trash all the bells and whistles you love, just think mobile = minimal.
Proofread. Performing simple checks, such as confirming your phone number is accurate and verifying that your address is up-to-date, will pay off in the long run…and make for happier customers.
Hint: Don’t forget to spell- and grammar-check. Knowing the difference between “you’re” and “your” can go a long way.
Publish your hours of operation. Although it might seem obvious, forgetting to publish and update your store hours is a common mistake. Remember, users will likely be looking at your site when they’re on the go, or when they’re looking to contact you; inaccurate hours can mean a missed business opportunity.
Hint: Be sure to keep this info front and center, along with your phone number.
Get social! Adding social media buttons to your site so you can communicate with users in the social space is key.

Hint: No need to add every social site on the Internet — Facebook and Twitter is a good place to start.

Don’t forget to check out our website, where in just a few steps, you can now set up your own mobile site!

Digital Marketing Dictionary

01/31/2012 16:33:00

We get it — when it comes to getting listed online, the process can be overwhelming. The first step is understanding what terms such as “local search” and “organic search” mean, and how they relate to your site.

Key Terms

Local Search: The basic definition revolves around geography. Results are displayed when a potential customer searches online for a product or service within a specific geographic location. For example, if you type “landscaping, Boston” into Google, Yahoo orYelp, it will return Local Search results for landscaping businesses in Boston.

Social Media: According to Merriam-Webster, Social Media includes “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos).” Whether or not you use Social Media in your personal life, utilizing it as a marketing tool for your business can have big benefits. Popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter make it easy to engage with existing customers and connect with new ones.

Organic Search: The original type of results in a search engine that include a list of websites. Major search engines such as Google evaluate websites based on credibility and relevancy so that searchers find the best matches for their search.

Search Engine Optimization: Otherwise known as SEO, it is the process of optimizing your website so it shows up in organic search. One specific way to do this is to think about various keywords that you use within your content.

Keywords: Think for a moment about what words you type in to your preferred search engine when you’re looking for something specific. For instance, if you were searching online for a restaurant that served a particular dish, but you couldn’t recall the name of the restaurant, you would likely type in keywords such as your location, the dish’s name, or perhaps even the main elements of the dish.

Paid Search: Results are advertisements or "sponsored links" in search engines that businesses can purchase from sites such as Google. Paid Search is a useful form of online marketing for some businesses because one can see results immediately, however, unlike other more gradual types of online marketing, it does cost money.

Over the next few months, we’ll be posting specific content about how you can utilize these key digital marketing terms. Can’t wait for the post? Keep in mind that we have an extensive Online Guide that can be found on your dashboard!

Group Buying 101

01/27/2012 15:56:00

This post originally appeared on Vistaprint's Micro Business Perspectives Blog.

Here is a general overview of group buying and how small businesses are using it.

If you type “group buying” into Google, you’ll get over 44,500,000 results. The most recognized player however, is probably Groupon, a Chicago-based company that has enjoyed explosive growth over the past few years. The business model is simple: Groupon typically keeps half of the money generated from the deal, and the other half goes to the featured retailer. If, for instance, a $160 dinner is offered for $80 on the site, Groupon and the restaurant split the $80. As we mentioned, Groupon is just one of many group buying sites. Others in the space include LivingSocial, Google Offers and Gilt.

What about my business?

The big question, of course, is how does (or doesn’t) group buying fit into the world of a micro business owner? The first step might be looking at a few pros and cons. Although there are a number of advantages to consider when it comes to group buying, the biggest is likely the opportunity to generate buzz and in the end, reach a deep pool of new consumers you might not have been able to before. According to a Financial Times piece, Groupon CEO Andrew Mason thinks his company is the perfect way for small businesses to do just that: “We’re hands down the best way to get customers through the door,” he says. “Which for small businesses is the difference between success and failure.” And while customer procurement is undoubtedly vital, small business owners also have to weigh a number of important risk factors like potential financial impact, and whether or not they’ll be able to honor the deal if it takes off.

ToMuse takes a hard look at whether or not group buying is cost effective, and ultimately comes to the conclusion that it really depends on the offer. And as for delivering on the deal, one cautionary tale comes in the form of a cupcake. Rachel Brown, who runs a small bakery outside of London, featured what she thought was a simple deal on Groupon (a 75 percent discount on a dozen cupcakes) that would maybe generate a few hundred orders. Instead, she was flooded, finally cutting the orders off at a staggering 8,500 — which, for the record, is a lot of cupcakes. According to the Daily Mail, her business took a massive hit. “Because [Brown’s] deal had been so generous and the demand so huge, she made a loss on every order – wiping out her profits for the entire year,” the publication reports.

In the end, not all businesses are the same, and the decision comes down to you as a small business owner asking the right questions, such as: Is the risk worth the potential gain? Can I afford to offer such a deep discount? Am I prepared to honor the terms of the offer if there’s no limit? We’ve only scratched the surface of group buying, but hopefully you’ve gained a little insight.

Tell us in the comments section: Do you think you’ll consider group buying or will you stick to more traditional methods?

Image: Groupon

Adding Social Media Widgets

01/25/2012 16:38:00

One question we get a lot is,“How can
I add social media buttons to my Vistaprint website or email marketing campaign?” And the answer is: It’s easy! (Not to mention a great way for customers to share your content with their contacts, and grow your business.)

The Basics
So what are social media widgets, anyway? If you’ve ever browsed the Web (which we are assuming you have) chances are, you’ve come across these handy applications on a number of occasions, and you might have even used them. Widgets are buttons that can be added to your website, email marketing campaign, blog or social media page; you can use widgets from social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to engage your site’s visitors, to increase brand awareness and attract more customers. You can checkout examples on sites such as Boston.com, and even right here on our blog to see how these versatile buttons are typically used.

How do I add them to my site?
Incorporating widgets is a simple process, with just a few steps once you’re logged in:

1. Go to your “Extras” menu in the Site Builder.
2. Click the “Add Social Media” icon.
3. Select the type of social media you’d like to add to your website. You can choose among “Like” and “Share” buttons from Facebook, Twitter extras like “Follow” and “Tweet” or a host of other social media widgets.

4. Once you choose the widget you want, set up the options for the given widget, and add it to your Website or Email Marketing Campaign!

Hopefully this quick how-to inspires you to get social with your site or campaign! Do you think you’ll be socializing your site or campaign anytime soon? Let us know in the comments section!

New updates for Vistaprint Websites

09/20/2011 10:45:00

Over the past few months you have given our team great feedback on our suite of Internet Marketing products and how we can improve them. We truly appreciate this feedback and it allows us to our products updated and fresh. We have recently rolled out two improvements to the photo functionality from this feedback and wanted to give you an overview of the changes.

Light-Boxes

Updating the light-boxes for single images was the first improvement we made. When a visitor to your site clicks on any of your images to “view larger,” they’ll see a light-box that highlights your picture. Below is a screenshot of the new light-boxes in action:

Filmstrip

The other new addition that has been made is to our “filmstrip” image gallery extra. The new features include: updated thumbnails, enlarge your “filmstrip”, and the ability to browse through existing albums. Below is a screenshot of the updated filmstrip functionality:

These new features are available for you to use now. Be sure to take a look at them and let us know what you think.

Consider These Extras to Boost Your Website Activity

04/25/2011 17:10:00

Please upgrade to a browser that supports frames.

I wanted to look at Vistaprint’s website users’ favorite features to keep visitors engaged. In addition to the text and general info that you share on your site, here are tools I’d suggest using based on what’s succeeded for other businesses like yours:

Get the word out with Social Media

Make it easy for visitors to spread the word about your business to their friends by adding social media links to your website. We have lots of options to get you connected.

A “Like” button allows visitors to interact with your site, or a “Share” button enables users to share your website on their Facebook Wall and Newsfeed.

If you make updates through Facebook or Twitter for your business, I’d suggest adding the Facebook or Twitter Feed. This option automatically adds your posts to your website, keeping your content fresh and updated which search engines like Google® tend to reward with higher rankings.

Here you can find more information if you’re just starting out with Social Media: Social Media and Your Business.

Don’t Just Say It, Show It with an Image

We’ve all heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and it’s something all website owners should consider. Businesses can showcase their entire product lines, special events and staff. Add just one photo or entire photo galleries with captions.

Add a Little Action with Videos

Videos can really spice up your site and intrigue your site visitors to learn more about you or your business. You may consider a product demonstration or customer testimonials to personalize online visits. If you have a personal website, post clips of your wedding, baby milestones, celebrations or just funny videos you want to share with friends and family.

Pin-Point Yourself with a Map

Visualizing where customers can find you reminds clientele that you are local and easy to reach. The maps feature also offers a link for Driving Directions to your location so customers can get to you quickly.

Gather Visitor Information with a Form

Forms provide a convenient way for customers to contact you 24/7. I’ve also seen many Vistaprint customers customize forms for things like quote requests and job postings with their own titles and dropdown or radio buttons. See the Connect with Customers with Forms article for more on how to maximize your forms.

Sell Your Products with PayPal®

Purchases are the lifeline to any business, so why not let your customers buy or donate through your website with PayPal®? If you’re new to PayPal please check out our September post: Start Taking Payments Through PayPal in Less Than 30 Minutes.

Set the Tone with Music

Music can help to convey the tone of your website. You may want to play your company jingle to reinforce your marketing message, a non-profit organization or social awareness campaign may choose a poignant song to evoke emotion, or you may want to simply play all of your favorites on your different web pages. There’s only one rule when it comes to song selection – make sure it complements the content of your website.

These favorites can be added from the “Extras” button on your Site Builder’s toolbar. Please let us know what your favorite Extras are, or other features you’re interested in.

Website Help Is Here!

04/19/2011 15:22:00

Have you ever felt overwhelmed before sitting down to build your first website? Do you stare at your computer for hours hoping that it will build itself? Do you constantly ask yourself: “Where should I start?”

I know how hard it can be to get your first website off the ground, especially if you’re new to internet marketing. We’ve all wrestled with major decisions from “What’s the purpose of my site?” to “What type of design to use,” to “What kinds of pages should I include?” Don’t we all wish that someone would sit next to us and help get that site published?

Everyone looking for guidance is in luck! We recently introduced an integrated Website Setup Wizard and Checklist that will make it easier than ever for you to make an awesome site so you can announce your business to the world.

Website Wizard

So you just signed up for your free trial and you think “wow, what do I do now?” As soon as you get to your dashboard, you will be able to get all the help you need by clicking “Help Me Get Started” on the left of the following screen:

This Setup Wizard will put you through a path that really helps address everything you need to get your site started. We will get your name and message on your site and we will even recommend a website design that matches your other marketing materials or industry, which means everything can stay consistently branded. If you’re having difficulty picking a website package, we have an interactive package selector to help. We’ll ask you some questions that focus in on the website package that really suits your needs. You’ll also be able to set up all the pages you want, your website URL, and the email associated with your site.

If something comes up while you’re going through the Setup Wizard, you can save at any point. Next time you come back to your dashboard, you’ll be able get back in to where you left off from the dashboard message center. Once you’re finished with the Setup Wizard, all you have to do is edit your content in the Website Builder and publish your site!

Website Checklist

The Setup Wizard is great for those of you just starting up your site, but why stop there? The Setup Wizard provides the essentials, but our new Website Checklist really helps grow your site. Your personal checklist can be accessed from both your website dashboard and builder:

Dashboard:

Builder:

The checklist will really help you bring your site to the next level. This interactive checklist will help you monitor your site and will give you guidance about what to add to your site - like maps, social media widgets and images. The checklist will also help you easily edit your website keywords and add a guest book to connect with your customers. It’ll even show the date you completed an item so you can reference it going forward! This new feature will really help you get the most out of your site.

We really hope that the new Website Setup Wizard and Checklist help to get your site to the next level. These tools are here to help you continue to grow your business online. Looking forward to hearing your comments and thanks for your continued support.