CAFCU has information on savings accounts, checking accounts, personal loans and more for individuals and commercial banking services to businesses of all sizes. CAFCU has been helping Maine businesses and individuals for over 50 years.
Flyte also built a secure personal loan application form for CAFCU so it could better serve it’s constituents, something it hadn’t had with its previous site.
We also built the site on WordPress, the open-source blogging and content management system so that CAFCU could update and manage their own Web site 24/7 without the help of a Web developer. (Hmmm…did I just put myself out of work? Well, at least I now know where to go for a loan.)
When a business’s Web site isn’t generating the leads or bringing in the sales that were planned, often the first thing an owner does is throw money at a search engine optimization firm to bring in more traffic. More traffic = more business, right?
Not always.
Although sites in general are getting better, there are still too many sites that are simple brochure Web sites and ask the visitor to take a passive role at the site. There are no clear calls-to-action, and just 5 – 10 pages of information.
I used to do sales, and while I was on the road I listened to a lot of sales tapes. One of the techniques they talked about was getting the prospect involved. On a Brian Tracy tape I particularly liked, he told a story of a plexiglass salesperson who sold far and above the most hammers of anyone in the company (this took place a while ago, when plexiglass was brand new.) His secret? Rather than just show that a baltine hammer couldn’t break the plexiglass, he asked his prospect to see if they could break it. Getting them involved was the difference between success and failure.
If your traffic is OK but your conversion rate is low, look at ways to engage your visitor. Can you create a survey/quiz that they complete to get answers to a question? Can you add some interactivity to the site? Maybe a free download? Even a simple Flash movie that requires a visitor’s clicking to forward the story/demo would be a step in the right direction.
The more active you get your site visitors, the more likely they’ll be to fill out a contact form, pick up the phone, or Buy Now!
I’ve never been a fan of giving guarantees on search engine optimization. Sure, it would be nice to promise that we can get a client on the first page of Google, or that their traffic will increase 100% or their business increase 10 fold.
Unfortunately, guaranteeing search engine results is like guaranteeing a fishing trip will bring in fish. You can have the best boat, the best bait, and the best gear, but if the fish ain’t biting, they ain’t biting.
What a good fishing guide can do is increase your chances of success; making sure that you’re using the right bait, that you’re going to fishing grounds that have traditionally fished well but not been over-fished, and bring sandwiches and beer if things don’t go well. You want guarantees that the fish will bite? Call Aquaman.
What a good search engine marketer can do is put you in the best position to rank higher at the search engines. She can do her research, help you craft effective titles and copy, and encourage quality incoming links. But she doesn’t own Google, or Yahoo or any other search engine.
Clients often think search engine optimization is a trick, some sort of magic. More often than not, when I explain that their search engine visibility comes directly from the words they use on their site they’re stunned. Like I’ve just pulled back the curtains on Oz.
Ms. Bird also gives some language they use on their contracts. I have to admit, the first half was a bit too lawyer-y for me to understand, but I definitely liked the second half:
By signing this agreement, you acknowledge that SEOmoz neither owns nor governs the actions of any search engine. You also acknowledge that due to fluctuations in the relative competitiveness of some search terms, recurring changes in the search engine algorithms and other competitive factors, it is impossible to guarantee number one rankings or consistent top ten rankings, or any other specific rankings for any particular search term.
From a client’s perspective I can understand the allure of a guarantee. However, as a vendor, I know that it’s like guaranteeing that it will be sunny on our camping trip in a month. The best I can guarantee is that I’ll bring an umbrella for you. And a change of dry clothing. And the number of a nearby motel. That has cable.
[Ed Moran, a Deloitte consultant] also recommends that businesses put someone who has experience
running an online community in charge of the project. This doesn’t
sound particularly earth-shattering, but consider that about 30% of the
businesses Deloitte studied have only one part-time worker in charge of
their communities. Most other businesses put a single marketing pro in
charge of their sites.
"The fact that close to 60% of these businesses have spent over $1 million on their community projects" but only have a part-time worker managing their communities signifies a major disconnect to me. If you’re going to throw a cool mil at a project, why not add two or three full-time employees to the mix? That’s basically a rounding error at that point. Like home care workers or nurses, this could be the fastest growing job market of the next decade…but only if companies take these online communities seriously.
Personally, I don’t know if I’d invest the money in an online community, but it would greatly depend on my product or service. Is it something people love and love to talk about? Even so, I wouldn’t join a Slush Puppie community, or even a Spider-Man community. (OK, maybe I would, but only if the username PeterParker was still available.)
I also question what’s the benefit of joining yet-another-corporate-online-community when so many general ones exist with larger user groups. I guess I’m satisfied with just Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Plurk.
That’s right, flyte’s hiring again! Who are we looking for? You!
You have experience building Web sites with XHTML and CSS. You build
sites using DreamWeaver, but you can also hand code to fine tune a
site. You’ve worked in an office before and are comfortable working
with customers.
You are organized and detail-oriented.
You can follow directions, but you also take initiative and are
comfortable sharing new ideas to help build a better product. In a
perfect world you’re familiar with Joomla and WordPress.
Your
duties will include updating current site, building new sites,
developing HTML email campaigns and business blogs, as well as light
office duties.
At flyte you’ll find a fun, challenging, engaging workplace. You’ll be forced to learn new skills and grow as a developer.
If
you’re up for a challenge, if you want to make an impact, if you want a
full-time position with room to grow, flyte new media is looking for
you.
Angela Ploetz and Christa Wagner founded A Red Bench and developed
coaching classes designed for organizers who have started a business
and want to ensure they meet and exceed their goals while maintaining
life balance.
Although Angela and Christa focus on professional organizers, the teleclass will be good for any business owner or service provider.
The teleclass is free to members and available to the general public for $19. If you’re complaining about $19 for an hour or more of solid information on how to start or improve the return on investment of your blog, you’ve got bigger issues.
If you’re complaining that you don’t want to be inside on a summer evening at 7:30…well, I hear you. I’ll actually be coming back from seeing my friend Charlie’s band play down at the Portland Lobster Co., so I might have a couple pints in me at that point, which might make for a very interesting interview.
Since the site seems to sell previous classes, I’m guessing you can skip the class and buy the recording if you can’t bring your phone outside.
Here’s one I wouldn’t have thought of, but it’s a great tip to get you to thin your closets each season:
Hang the items ‘backwards’ (note
the hanger in this picture). Once you wear the item, return it to the
closet ‘forwards.’ At the end of the season all of the backward hangers
are clothes you did not wear.
I might find myself purposely wearing my old flannel shirts with the worn elbows in five minute spurts at the end just to keep them, but at least I’d be aware of it.
Sorry I have been quiet for a while, just got back from vacation. Here’s something I found in my inbox:
From: United Parcel Service <admkgtxokpqc@bodiesbymahmood.com> Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:00:05 -0600 To: flyte new media <contact@flyte.biz> Subject: UPS Paket N3754519698
Unfortunately we were not able to deliver postal package you sent on July the 1st in time because the recipient’s address is not correct. Please print out the invoice copy attached and collect the package at our office
Your UPS
First tip-off that this wasn’t legitimate? Misspelling the word "packet." Second tip-off was the poor grammar of the first letter. Third was the missing period at the end of the last sentence.
Final tip-off was the return email address. I don’t believe UPS owns the bodiesbymahmood.com domain. Just saying.
I first met Margie Kelly when she took my Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs course over at the University of Southern Maine. After the course was over, she approached me and asked if I would be interested in develop a Web site for her business; teaching business manners in a blue jeans world.
If you ever have the pleasure of meeting Margie, you’ll know there was no way I could say no to her. She’s sweet, with a great southern accent, and impeccably polite. (No surprise, there.) She exudes warmth and charm and it’s a pleasure to do business with her.
The idea of business manners and etiquette may seem out of date if all you’re thinking about is which fork to use. However, Margie has worked with giant corporations and camp staff to help them greet parents the right way. She’s helped CEOs and people looking for a new job who are struggling with the interview process.
