Within our office we often get into debates about fashion faux pas.  One of our Account Exec’s, Brandon, absolutely despises wedges and is adamant that they should never be worn under any circumstance.  Garrick often wears skinny jeans on casual Friday’s and we debate how “skinny” is too skinny for a grown man.  Others argue the shortcomings of Ugg boots.  It seems like every time I walk through the mall with my wife I see an article of clothing and say, “who in the world would actually wear that?!?”

There have been countless occasions when I’ve looked at our clients ad copy and think the same thought… “who in the world wrote that?!?”  Your ad copy is the critical first impression.  One wrong word here or there can lead to the loss of a sale.  In the same way you want to make sure your skinny jeans aren’t too skinny, you should make sure your ad copy has the right balance of word choice.

As a follow up to yesterdays post, here’s a list of 7 things Yahoo! Advertising says you  should not do to your ad copy:

Give us a call if you need some feedback or assistance with your creatives.  We’d love to help.

– Michael Won

Now that Halloween is behind us, it’s time to focus on everyone’s favorite time of year.  Ok, maybe not everyone… as a surfer, the water temp drops and the mornings are so chilly I don’t want to head down to the beach.  Other than that, the malls are full of Holiday cheer, Starbucks is serving pumpkin spice lattes, the morning air is cool & crisp, and it’s a time for families to come together and truly appreciate each other.

Yahoo! Advertising recently released their 13 tips for effective ad copy during the holiday season.  As you’ll see, many of these tips are fundamentally  effective year-round.  Cheers!

Best practices for marketing holiday gifts

• Personalization: Be sure to promote any monogramming/name engraving or other personalization offers that are available, whether the gift is for children or adults.
• Uniqueness: Many people like to know that a gift for their loved one will be rare or “one-of-a-kind,” and not simply something that is available in every store.
• Have a Holly Jolly Holiday: Holiday gifts for both kids and adults are for fun, so be sure your ad copy emphasizes the fun factor appropriately.
• Family Occasion: Emphasize family togetherness for holiday offers like recipes, food, candy, board games, etc.
• ’Tis Better to Give than to Receive: Ads that contain copy about giving gifts tend to perform better than copy talking about receiving them.
• Holiday and Seasonal References: Tailor copy that is appropriate to the festive season with special holiday language and references.
• Big Selection: An emphasis on a large selection from which to find exactly the right gift is important when bidding on general holiday shopping keywords.
• Shiny and New: People like to know that their gift will be hip, trendy and the latest fashionable thing.
• Gift Wrapping: If a gift wrapping option is offered, be sure to mention it.
• Free Content: Spotlight anything about the offer that is free.
• Shipping – Fast and Free: People prefer free shipping when it is offered at all times. During the holidays, fast/same day or overnight shipping verbiage is equally important, since the user must be sure that the item will arrive in time.
• Famous Brands and Trademarks: Appropriate use of trademark symbols with official brand names can increase user confidence and click-through rates.
• Deadlines and Calls-to-Action: Subtle language encouraging a click today can perform well. Sales with a specific end date, or an upcoming holiday deadline to prepare for, encourage the user to click and get the deal before it’s too late. (But be sure that your copy does not promote a date or season that has already passed!)

– Michael Won

I don’t use Apple products.  More notably I’m known in my office as the guy who is extremely annoyed by “Mac people.”  I have an Android Phone.  My newest toy is the Samsung Series 9 which is a PC knockoff of the Macbook Air.  I admit, I did receive an iPad as a gift but it sits idly on my nightstand collecting dust.  For our company’s outside sales team I purchased the Motorola Xoom tablet.

So why did I decide to come out of blogging hibernation today to discuss the man who spearheaded the culture that irked me so?  Because as a businessman I loved Steve Jobs.  I spent the last few years back in school earning my MBA.  I wrote countless pages on the topic of the recession, growth, people, and innovation.  Let me rephrase that… I spent endless hours confirming the theory that people need to innovate in order to spur the growth necessary to climb out of this recession.   It all starts with people.  People like Steve Jobs.  People like you and me who can carry on his spirit of innovation.

Never, in my lifetime, has someone been able to blend art & science with such vigor.  Mr. Jobs was able to make geeks cool.  He made the cool want the geeky.  Never has anyone been able to merge form and function so beautifully.  His products were truly superior.  And this is an admission coming from someone who is turned off by “Mac people.”  In order for our nation to grow we need to innovate.

I know what you’re thinking… “I don’t make electronics!”  You don’t have to.  I don’t.  I’m in the business of online advertising.  A culture of innovation is the state of mind.  It’s about seeing things differently.  It’s about questioning the status quo.  Instead of just thinking outside the box, tear down the box and throw it in the recycling bin.  It’s about taking the argumentative “yeah but…” out of your vocabulary and replacing that with questions of what “could be.”  It’s about doing good… correction… it’s about being at your best instead of simply trying to hit numbers.  It’s about selling differently no matter what you sell.  It’s about working with passion and bringing fun back into whatever you do.  It’s about saying “I can” when people say you can’t.  It’s a belief.  It’s contagious.  It’s about people.  Not products or job roles.  It’s about making geeky cool and cool geeky.

I’ll end this rant with this final thought.  Last night my wife walked in the house and the first words out of my mouth were “I’m sad.  Steve Jobs just died.”  I continued on to say, “there are only a few people our country really needs right now.  There are only a handful of people I want my kids to grow up and meet someday.  Steve Jobs was one of them.”  Well, all that’s left for us to do is to be that person.  Strive to be a businessman, parent, or friend that people will want their kids to meet someday.

-Michael

Nett Solutions is a SEM agency working with Yahoo! and Google. We are a SoCal based company built of an eclectic cornucopia of: marketers, mothers & fathers, husbands & wives, college grads & MBA’s, surfers, church-goers, athletes, comedians (and those who think they are comedians). Our common bond is that we like to help people succeed.

I grew up playing water polo & swimming here in sunny Southern California.  As an former “aqua jock,” I watch swimming events with scrutiny.  I analyze a swimmer’s form.  I critique their turns.  I study their routine on the starting blocks.  One of my favorite races of all time was the 2008 Men’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay at the Beijing Olympics.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVZrne7X5ww

I remember watching this particular relay race with a group of friends who weren’t competitive swimmers.  On the final lap, when France took a body length lead, all my friends slumped down on the couch saying things like “dammit, it’s over” and “there’s no chance to catch up.”  I was still leaning forward in my seat watching the TV intently.  With about 35 meters to go, I yelled out “He’s getting shorter!”  My friends had no idea what I was talking about and looked at me like I was crazy when I continued to yell at the U.S. anchor (fellow Orange County resident), Jason Lezak, to “Stay long!”  As I began jumping up and down screaming at the television, my friends thought I had lost my mind…  until they realized the gap closing between Lezak and the French swimmer.  What I noticed was the French swimmer’s stroke was getting shorter.  You can even hear the NBC announcer exclaim “he’s tightening up.”  A shortened stroke is a telltale sign that a swimmer is fatigued.  On the other hand, Lezak kept his form…  and I was yelling at him like a maniac to keep his stroke long and smooth.

It was one of those moments where I just knew Lezak would surpass the Frenchman.  It wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when.’  It was just a matter of time.

I’ve been watching a similar race take place in the online world.  Sure, it’s not nearly as exciting as that Olympic race.  In fact this race was akin to watching a snail race a slug.  However it’s one of those races where you just knew it was a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if.’  Well, ‘when’ has arrived.  If you look at the chart below, you’ll notice the Millenials (18-29) have finally broken the barrier in the News race.  According to the Pew Research Center, Millenials (those rascals who wear their pants too low, play their music too loud, and text message faster than most people type) now say that the Internet is the primary way for them to get news.    Everyone knew this day would come as the TV news armstrokes tightened up and the internet stayed long.  I expect this gap to close for the Gen-X-ers as well in the coming years.  Increasing broadband has made the internet a multimedia platform for news.  You can watch the news, read the news, and listen to the news all on the internet.  The most alarming statistic is the drastic decline in newspaper readers.

Our company has been able to capitalize on this growing trend by adding our “Boomerang” retargeting service.  There will be more on this in the next newsletter but I’ll give you a brief overview… companies spend a lot of money bringing people to their site.  However, 98% of visitors leave the site without converting.  This is where the boomerang kicks in.  We place your ad in front of these visitors as they browse the web to check the news, sports scores, or read up on the latest fashion trends.  It makes sense since more people are going to turn to the internet for news.  Basically, people who visit your site are high quality prospects since they’ve already taken the first step of finding you.  They’ve already shown interest in your product or service.  Boomerang finds them as they peruse other sites, such as news sites, to bring them back when they’re ready to buy.  It’s an efficient and cost-friendly way to grow your business.  Give us a call if you’re interested.  We’d love to share more details with you.

- Michael

Nett Solutions is a SEM agency working with Yahoo! and Google. We are a SoCal based company built of an eclectic cornucopia of: marketers, mothers & fathers, husbands & wives, college grads & MBA’s, surfers, church-goers, athletes, comedians (and those who think they are comedians). Our common bond is that we like to help people succeed.

A commercial and residential phone book were walking past a haunted house when they hear a terrifying scream.

Commercial phone book: “Did you hear that?  It came from the haunted house!”

Residential phone book:  “We need to go in and investigate.”

Commercial phone book: “No way man.”

Residential phone book:  “What’s the matter?  You yellow?”

Ok, sorry for the silly joke.  What’s even sillier is the huge stacks of phone books delivered to my condo building every year.  I live in a rather large development so there are enough phone books in the mail room to easily fill 2 pallets.  These phone books sit idle, wrapped in plastic, hoping for someone take them home.  Week after week these things sit there untouched.  The only time I was tempted to pick one up was when I needed paper to ignite my charcoal chimney (that’s right folks, real men bbq with coals, not gas).

Well it looks like this nuisance is coming to an end.  At the end of 2010, Verizon Communications received permission from New York, Pennsylvania and Florida (with Virginia pending) to stop distributing phone books.  This is a milestone that is far overdue.  I don’t remember the last time I heard anyone say “check the phone book” when they needed a phone number.  Nowadays, all you hear is “Google it” or “check Bing.”  When you need to find someone or something, you can find it much faster online and get more information than you would in a phone book.  (Don’t believe me?  Go to www.Spokeo.com and search for your own name.)  On top of that, phone books only record information in your local area while the internet provides access to people around the world.    The bottom line is very few people depend on the yellow or white pages so I fully expect to see this trend continue.   My only question is:  What took so long?

We’re seeing a similar shift in newsprint.  Advertising in phone books and newspapers are down as these companies try to figure out how to monetize their online assets.  Advertisers are shifting their budgets online.  Newsprint and phone books need ad revenue to survive so we’ll see how they continue to evolve.

My favorite benefit of eliminating the yellow and white?  We’re going more green.

– Michael

Nett Solutions is a SEM agency working with Yahoo! and Google. We are a SoCal based company built of an eclectic cornucopia of: marketers, mothers & fathers, husbands & wives, college grads & MBA’s, surfers, church-goers, athletes, comedians (and those who think they are comedians). Our common bond is that we like to help people succeed.

My big sis is 2 years older than me.  Her first summer in Jr. High marked the start of her road to independence.  She wanted to hang out with her clique of friends rather than with the family.  She wanted to go to the mall to see and be seen.  Her daily schedule was to wake up to do her hair (white Aqua Net spray can, bangs teased really high… it was 1986), try on 8 different outfits before “settling” for one, and then would call her posse to come over and hang out at the house (we were latch key kids so we had the house to ourselves).  On any given day we had at least half a dozen of her friends over.  As a little 5^th grader I was content spending my days playing Atari 2600.  However this summer was different.  Whenever the “big” 7^th & 8^th grade boys would come over they decided it would be fun to pick on me.  Day in and day out they would pick fights with me, tease me, and try to bully me around.  I had no choice but to take it like a man.  If you have an older sibling, you know what I mean when I say I hated them.

Years later we started becoming good friends.  They still picked on me but it was more of a big brother-little brother relationship.  Then a funny thing happened.  I hit my growth spurt.  It soon dawned on me that I was taller and stronger than some of them.  When they picked on me I began to fight back… and win.  There were other guys who were bigger and stronger than me but one by one, little by little, I began to hold my ground against the older brothers. 

Well it looks like the little search bro (Bing) may be growing up.  Last month Nielsen announced that Bing finally surpassed Yahoo! in US search volume with a share of 13.9%.  Yahoo dipped to 13.1%.  Of course it all depends on who you ask and how you measure market share.  Calculating search market share is a lot like rating the best steakhouse… everybody’s rating system is slightly different.  For example, comScore still has Yahoo well ahead of Bing in search volume by a hefty 6% margin.  Without getting into an argument about which source is the most accurate, I’d like to focus on the one common theme amongst all the search rankings:  Bing is growing.  Bing has been growing consistently all year.  Bing, IMO, will continue to grow.  I remember just last year how people were writing off Microsoft as a major search player.  My how quickly this industry changes. 

This may not seem like a big deal to the general public but if you’ve followed the search industry for a while, I’m sure you understand the impact.  Google and Yahoo! have held their ground in the #1 & #2 spots for a number of years now.  For years the two have been battling for users like “Kate plus 8” and “the Real Housewives” battle for reality show viewers.  Replacing Yahoo! as #2 is like switching Batman’s Robin or the Lone Rangers Tonto.  The questions have always been a Yahoo! vs. Google debate.  MSN has been an afterthought for quite some time.  If Google is the head cheerleader and prom queen, then Yahoo! is the well known student body president.  MSN?  MSN was always that quiet, shy, nerdy girl with coke bottle glasses who you would only acknowledge when you needed to copy homework.  Well guess what folks?  That quiet, nerdy girl just got Lasik, has been hitting the gym for a year, and got accepted into an Ivy League school… keep an eye out because she may transform into someone very powerful.   

The idea of turning the “MSN search engine” into the “Bing Decision Engine” may be a matter of semantics to some.  Others may find that Microsoft has successfully reverse engineered the search process to deliver much better results.  Who knows, it could just be the multi-million dollar advertising campaign to promote Bing.  Whatever they did is working.  They are growing consistently and that is the ultimate goal.

Will they be able to slay Goliath?  They’re a long way from toppling Google’s 65% market share but they’re heading in the right direction.  Will Google Instant counter Bing’s growth?  We’ll see.  Our October Newsletter will feature an article which answers the most common  questions we’ve been asked about Google Instant.  Keep an eye out for it in your Inbox.  If you aren’t subscribed to our Newsletter, you can sign up by clicking here.

– Michael

Nett Solutions is a SEM agency working with Yahoo! and Google. We are a SoCal based company built of an eclectic cornucopia of: marketers, mothers & fathers, husbands & wives, college grads & MBA’s, surfers, church-goers, athletes, comedians (and those who think they are comedians). Our common bond is that we like to help people succeed.

I used to spend every other week traveling throughout 13 states in the Midwest for business.  I have seen the Corn Palace in South Dakota (http://www.cornpalace.org/).  I’ve driven an SUV on frozen Lake Minnetonka.   I’ve had a chance to compare Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Texas BBQ in a one month span.  I’ve visited family and friends all along the east coast.  I have taken a number of road trips through Oregon, Washington and Nevada.  I like to think I’m a well traveled man. 

The one lesson I’ve learned is there is no place like home.  California, the Golden State.  Home of USC, UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford, Pepperdine, CSUF, among the many other fine institutions.  We have Silicon Valley and the Housewives of the OC, Snoop Dogg and Mickey Mouse.  We have THIS!!! I like frigid 60 degree winter days.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy snowboarding.  It’s just that I prefer to go to the snow instead of having it come to me.  I enjoy driving to the white, snow-capped Sierra’s in an hour… wearing shorts and flip flops.  More than that, I like the fact that I can enjoy a day snowboarding and still make it to a sunset dinner on the beach in the same day.  Sure traffic is horrific, botox and silicone abounds, and it costs $800k to buy a 1600sq foot condo but I’ll take it.  I have the sun, snow, Hollywood, and beaches all at my finger tips.

Sounds great doesn’t it?  Not so much.  As I open my morning e-newspaper, I’m slapped with a brutal reminder of our reality.  California is hurting.  Recent headlines read “84 companies added to the ‘leaving California’ list.”  “California dominates small-business bankruptcies.”  “Is California A Sinking Ship?”  Ouch.  Sure our regulations and taxes need to be more business-friendly but for a State that has so much to offer, it seems we should be able to figure out how to boost our economy.  Well, the California Tourism Board came out with a number of TV Ads that I’ve seen repeatedly on major networks. 

Tourism makes up a huge chunk of our tax revenues so I like the idea.  My only question is why I, a SoCal resident, keep seeing these ads on major TV networks here in the state?  I know it takes a hefty sum of money to purchase ad space and produce ads.  Why are they targeting Californians with an ad that has our Governator telling us “you’ll be back.”  We’ll be back???  We’re already here!

Granted, I haven’t seen metrics on the ad campaign but at face value it looks like they’re targeting the wrong people with the wrong ad.  This happens so often with businesses today.  One recent example we spoke to is a airport Town Car service who serves business travelers.  This company’s ad campaign was targeted to his local area so they were missing all the business travelers flying into town from other states.  While this is a blatant example, the principle holds true… it is always important to evaluate your ad campaigns to ensure your money is being maximized.  Our consultants have been a tremendous resource for many businesses and enjoy working with clients to maximize their ad spend in these tough times.  Give us a call…  I assure you, “You’ll be back.”

– Michael

Nett Solutions is a SEM agency working with Yahoo! and Google. We are a SoCal based company built of an eclectic cornucopia of: marketers, mothers & fathers, husbands & wives, college grads & MBA’s, surfers, church-goers, athletes, comedians (and those who think they are comedians). Our common bond is that we like to help people succeed.

As a child I remember begging my parents for a new pair of batting gloves.  I thought they would help me hit better.  Later I asked for a new bike so it would help me ride better.  In Jr. High I asked my mom for a pair of Nike Flight ‘88’s because I wanted to shoot jumpers better.  A few years back I bought a nice surfboard hoping it would help me surf better.  I recently purchased a triathlon wetsuit so I can race faster.  All these things may be true but batting gloves, bikes, shoes, surfboards, and wetsuits are only going to be as good as the human being using them.  Many people think Google itself holds the keys to success.  I believe Google is only as great as the users who take advantage of the tool. 

Recently, a Los Angeles resident wanted walking directions during her visit to Utah.  She used Google Maps and it led her onto a major highway.  She get’s hit by a car and files suit (sounds like she’s recovered from her fractures so I use this example in jest).  Here is her claim:

Defendant Google, through its “Google Maps” service provided Plaintiff Lauren Rosenberg with walking directions that led her out onto Deer valley Drive, a.k.a. State Route 224, a rural highway wit no sidewalks, and a roadway that exhibits motor vehicles traveling at high speeds, that is not reasonably safe for pedestrians.

The Defendant Google expects uses of the walking map site to rely on the accuracy of the walking directions given….

As a direct and proximate cause of Defendant Google’s careless, reckless, and negligent providing of unsafe directions, Plaintiff Laren Rosenberg was led onto a dangerous highway, and was thereby stricken by a motor vehicle…

Now, I can go on and on about the whole “if Google told me to walk off a cliff” analogy and poke fun at Ms. Rosenbergs lack of common sense.   Believe me, I really REALLY want to.  C’mon, she walked onto a highway and blames a map?!?  But I’ll segue into a more important topic… the human element of Google.  I feel a growing concern as I have conversations with business owners.  I am happy to see so many organizations take advantage of online marketing tools yet I realize they are removing the human aspect from their Google & Yahoo! efforts.  Google is a good tool just like my cool new surfboard.  However businesses must realize it is up to humans to make it great.  Advertising on search engines will get you in front of customers but I don’t see enough companies taking the baton and running with it.

Here are some examples that may help illustrate my point.  Retailer X rejoices after getting an e-commerce sale from the search engine campaign.  However this same retailer neglects the fact that a follow up phone call or email from a HUMAN can turn that one purchase into multiple repeat purchases.  Local service provider Y begins online ads and gets her phone to ring.  This business never requests how the customer found them nor do they ask for referrals.  Worse yet, they’re rarely around to pick up the phone when a customer calls.  Company Z spends $1000 for a search campaign this month.  Based on a ‘gut feeling’ he decides to cancel the campaign or add to it without taking time to look at the metrics.  This leads to missed opportunity or wasteful spending.

Businesses are still built and operated by human beings.  Search engines are a wonderful tool to help us succeed.  We just need to make sure we, as people, stay engaged in the process to maximize the benefits and avoid walking across any “dangerous highways” along the way.  Sprinkle some humanity into your online marketing, add a dash of effort, and a pinch of emotion to turn a good Google/Yahoo tool into a great benefit.

Ok, so I can’t resist.  Here’s to you, Ms. Rosenberg: http://www.geeksugar.com/Michael-Dwight-from-Office-1572902

– Michael

Nett Solutions is a SEM agency working with Yahoo! and Google. We are a SoCal based company built of an eclectic cornucopia of: marketers, mothers & fathers, husbands & wives, college grads & MBA’s, surfers, church-goers, athletes, comedians (and those who think they are comedians). Our common bond is that we like to help people succeed.

In college I was involved with a campus group.  Every so often we would host our brother or sister chapters from other campuses.  One week my roommates and I were asked to host a group from UC San Diego.  Being a house full of teenage males, we really wanted to impress the group from SD; mainly because girls were coming.  We had a roommate meeting and decided to go all out… BBQ Steak Dinner!  No cheap burgers or hot dogs at this party.  Steak was the plan.  There was just one problem.  I was a 19 year old video store clerk working for minimum wage and a couple of my roommates were barely making rent with their financial aid checks.  Whether it was ego or the allure of impressing the ladies, we still decided to serve steaks.  (I promise I’m going somewhere with this story)

I drove to our local supermarket and started looking at the filet mignon, porterhouse, and beautifully marbled rib-eye steaks.  They were marvelous cuts, but they were expensive.  Not knowing much about cuts of meat, I looked over and saw the packages of top round.  These were cut into very large steaks at a fraction of the price.  As a bachelor on a tight budget, the choice was simple… I loaded up the shopping cart with top round steak.

The night of the BBQ had arrived.  Our house was packed with about 30 guests.  I vividly remember carrying a stacked tray of seasoned steaks on my way to the grill to the “ooohs” and “aaahs” of the crowd.  Yes, I was a rockstar.  I grilled the steaks and dinner was served.  All the hungry guests grabbed a paper plate and plastic utensils to dig in.  Within seconds there was the sound of plastic forks and knives snapping into pieces.  The few souls unlucky enough to actually cut a bite sized morsel of leather steak were left chewing on it like a cow chewing cud.  The lesson of the day:  it’s not about “expensive” or “inexpensive”.  It’s about “cheap”.

“Cheap” is a word that is too often defined as “inexpensive”.  This is a mistake.  The top round steak was both cheap and inexpensive (you get what you pay for).  Some things can be cheap and expensive (Rip Offs).  Other things can be inexpensive but not cheap (Value).  But generally speaking, things that are not cheap are almost always expensive.  A lot of people we speak to feel internet marketing is, or should be, “cheap”.   Let me dissect this by splitting up the word “cheap” into two camps:

First, cheap is defined as low quality.  Search engine marketing (SEM) is highly targeted, easily trackable, and nimbly scalable.  When you understand SEM and fully digest the proper keyword strategies, it becomes the highest quality advertising medium available today.  High quality is NOT “cheap”.  Thus SEM is not cheap.

Second, “cheap” is often interchanged with “inexpensive”.  I’m generally defining expensive as ‘high perceived price tag’ and inexpensive as ‘low perceived price tag.’  My experience working in 2 dot-com’s and 2 traditional companies taught me that good advertising always seems “expensive.”  Sure I can send mailers out to a small handful of zip codes for less money, or set a very low daily budget in my PPC campaign but I’ve realized advertising generally takes a significant investment to do it properly; and reap the full potential benefits.  Print costs alone for a small, local circulation will run well over a thousand per month.  Relative ad costs are the same online.  Expensive or inexpensive, advertising is an investment.  Solid advertising investments always seem nerverackingly “expensive” at first, but once you receive a positive ROI it magically seems “inexpensive” after all.

The truth is Internet Marketing is not cheap (low quality).  When done properly it is an efficient, high quality channel to gain new business.  Much like a first class airline seat, a luxury car, or a Rib Eye steak, quality is rarely cheap or inexpensive.  However, the benefits usually outweigh the cost when done right.  Many SMB’s find it tough to invest hundreds or even thousands of dollars into their advertising.  I empathize with you.  However I encourage you to lower risk by exploring your options and chasing the higher quality ad channels to ensure you get a positive ROI.  Avoid the cheap ad channels… and by cheap I mean low quality. 

“Cheap” just leads to broken plastic forks and a lot of painful chewing. 

I was watching the latest episode of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” on Sunday night and was intrigued by two multi-gold medalists, Summer Sanders and Michael Johnson, facing off as Project Managers.  FWIW, I was just as intrigued by Donald’s awful comb-over.  The guest judge for the project was Gavin Maloof, owner of the Palms Casino, Sacramento Kings, and countless marketing ventures.  The task at hand was to create an Advertorial for the new Norton-LifeLock bundle package.  It was interesting to watch the two teams take opposite approaches to the task.  As an aside, an Advertorial is:

Advertorial = Advertisement + Editorial

Michael Johnson’s team put together a ton of wordy content in very small font.  Gavin Maloof’s criticism really stood out to me as a marketer.  He shared that the advertorial was too verbose so nobody would read through it.  His two key points were a) you only have 2 or 3 seconds to grab a reader’s attention and b) there was way too much copy for an advertorial.  In summary, Michael Johnson’s team followed the equation:  Advertorial = Advertisement + Editorial

Summer Sander’s team put together an advertorial with full sized images on each page and very little ad copy.  The pictures themselves were compelling and well put together, however Norton-LifeLock representatives and Gavin had a major concern… there was no phone number!  The Print looked great but there was no way for potential customers to contact the company.  In the end, Summer ended up with an off equation: Advertorial = Advertisement + Editorial

(view the advertorials here: http://www.lifelock.com/apprentice/submit-ad#)

Ultimately, the Norton-LifeLock representatives decided they need to combine the two advertorials to make an effective final print.  What does this have to do with your website succeeding?  Nett Solutions reviews hundreds of websites’ a month to see if they are a good fit for our advertising campaigns.  A majority of our prospective clients fall into two camps.

Camp Michael – Too Much Copy:  Some websites contain so much copy and content it loses the attention of the visitor.  Gavin was right when he said we only have a couple seconds to capture someone’s attention.  If your website is too wordy, people will click the ‘Back’ button and leave before you have a chance to sell them. 

Camp Summer – No Call to Action: We have seen many aesthetically pleasing websites without a call to action.  If you offer a service, your phone number or contact info should be strategically placed on each and every page of your site.  If you sell a product, you should have an easy to navigate shopping platform and eye catching messages such as “Free Shipping if you buy now!” 

Which camp does your website fall into?  If you need a set of fresh eyes to review your website and optimize your advertising, give us a call and we’d love to help.   Just click on the ‘Contact Us’ link above.

-          Michael

Nett Solutions is a SEM agency working with Yahoo! and Google. We are a SoCal based company built of an eclectic cornucopia of: marketers, mothers & fathers, husbands & wives, college grads & MBA’s, surfers, church-goers, athletes, comedians (and those who think they are comedians). Our common bond is that we like to help people succeed.