I’m not so naïve to think great copywriting is all you need to boost online sales – though it definitely helps. Experts are recommending companies with weak online sales up their traffic through doing a web site redesign (overhaul, if necessary).

This month, Internet Retailer reports as many as 60% of 240-plus retail companies surveyed have already done a redesign in the past year; 75% expect to do so within the next 12 months: www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=23262

Some interesting facts, according to the IR article:

• Timeframe for most Web site redesigns is 3 to 18 months, depending on the complexity.
• Costs for a Web site redesign depends on the size and scope: A small retailer, $3,000 for outside creative help; a mid-size retailer can range from $5,000 to $15,000; big retailers, up to $50,000.
• Most merchants are focusing on better navigation and organization.

Some e-tailers are also opting for Flash (web animations), which is a big no-no. Dallas copywriter and web designer Leslie Lee, who runs www.laughingcatarts.com, warns against the perils of Flash for the very reason that Flash doesn’t contain text, which is how a search engine locates, indexes and ranks your web site. Out of search engine sight is out of the searchers mind, as they say.

So, redesign tip: skip the “flashy” intro and focus on adding effective, well-optimized copy.

Here’s an example of copywriting at its best. A great headline about some less-than-great news: “D’ow! Credit fear socks it to stocks,” from the July 27th edition of the New York Daily News, about last week’s 311 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. What investor – especially those who lost tons of mula – couldn’t relate to Homer’s famous expletive? A good reminder that the best copy is punchy, artful and something memorable.

This month, E-Commerce Times ranked the most significant e-commerce developments to happen in the last decade. The article is titled: “10 E-Commerce Events That Shook the Last 10 Years,” presumably for dramatic effect. Guess who was number one? Big surprise.

1. Google (Sept. 1998)
2. Broadband Penetration of US Internet Users Reaches 50 percent (June 2004)
3. eBay Auctions (Launched Sept. 1997)
4. Amazon.com (IPO May 1997)
5. Google Ad Words (2000)
6. Open Standards (HTML 4.0 released - 1997)
7. WiFi (802.11 launched - 1997)
8. User-Generated Content (YouTube 2005)
9. iTunes (2001)
10. BlackBerry (1999)

It’s quite possible a car company could make the list in the next decade, according to some analysts. Already, car companies Jeep and BMW are designing vehicles with Internet capabilities. All you do is plug your Web-cell phone or Blackberry into a port located near the transmission and you can surf the Web by watching it on the Heads-Up Display (HUD) of your windshield.

And you thought fender-benders from people gabbing on cell phones was high. Even still, this could be the next big thing in the search business. Drivers want more than GPS systems to help when they’re lost. Imagine locating the nearest place to tune-up or finding the nearest movieplex without having to call information.

Sites that are the best optimized will fare best in this new landscape of search driving.

In copywriting, you can’t stake a reputation on sounding pretty. But this Indian newspaper has been successful for 80 years by LOOKING pretty. A team of calligraphers at “The Musalman” toil three hours each day transferring reporter’s stories into Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, also spoken in India. Talk about a model of inefficiency! The paper maintains this archaic process, however, because of its faithful audience. The predominantly Muslim readership favors handwritten language as part of a long cultural tradition ¬– one that, with the advent of computer automation, is fading. The Musalman is thought to be one of the last known handwritten newspapers in the world.
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/last_calligraphers

Here’s a retail shocker: Pier 1 Imports is quitting the catalog and online shopping business. The venerable home furnishings store, among the nation’s largest, continues to struggle with cost cutting and profitability, according to the online trade magazine, Multichannel Merchant. That’s unfortunate because Pier 1’s marketing copywriting is some of the best on the Web. Check out this copy on a simple settee from the Pier 1’s site:

“Inspired by the mythological Phoenix bird that represents eternity, our hand-woven rattan settee is a timeless favorite. Its gracefully curved fan back is reminiscent of the beautiful span of the bird’s tail. Perfectly at home in a variety of indoor environments, our hand-crafted settee is stained dark brown with a lacquer finish. Coordinating pieces also available. A Pier 1 exclusive.”

Graceful and creative copywriting without overdoing it. I was fond of former CEO Marvin Girouard. He was a character and fun to speak with, kind of like a 60-year-old kid. He built Pier 1 Place, which I wrote about: dbartel.com/work/dbj/dbj92704.html, in 2004, the year before he retired. The enormous structure was designed in the shape of a giant “M” which stood for “Momentum,” he told me. Unfortunately, the company has seen anything but that.

The end of the catalog and Internet business doesn’t bode well for the company - that is, unless the current chief, Alex Smith, can spin straw into gold. Smith might send away for the Allen Questrom “Guide to Retail Turnaround” (if only one existed).

The once-invincible segment of online retailing is showing weakness, according to the New York Times. Online shopping has tapered off significantly since the dizzying heights of 2004 when growth was a booming 25%. Further calming is expected to continue, the article said. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/technology/17ecom.html?
ei=5124&en=2c7eebf2cf9202d9&ex=1339819200&adxnnl=1&p
artner=permalink&exprod=permalink&adxnnlx=1182791817-3Zg
fQ6P42gM+YRT0loSJkg

An overall lag makes sense when you consider the overabundance on the Web. Once boon to shoppers with mall phobias, online shopping has turned into a headache. Customers get the stuffing knocked out with all the different options – the same curtains available in 30 different colors, on 15 different Web sites, in 20 different countries. It’s enough to drive you mad.

To combat the Internet fatigue, the E-commerce Times recommends targeting the “Long Tail” end of the market.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/57766.html
This low-volume, low-demand segment is comprised of shoppers looking for very specific or esoteric items, e.g. a fishing enthusiast looking for an antique lure, or a book collector seeking a rare volume.

These types of sales don’t add up to that much - individually, that is. In truth, long tail customers make up a silent majority. Studies of e-tailers like Bizrate.com or Amazon point to a high proportion of customers seeking obscure items not stocked by mainstream brick-and-mortar operations. Niche or specialty businesses that tap a micro-segment can reap fantastic profits by “offering an unlimited selection of high-margin items at a fraction of the cost of a brick-and-mortar,” the article said.

The article also mentioned psychology terms that e-tailers should start adopting such as the “wisdom of crowds.” Merchandiser should stop trying to predict what customers want and starts paying attention to recommendations they’re making to each other. E-tailers have to think about the group instead of the individual.

I can understand emotion marketing from companies like Apple and Starbucks. But Seagate? The computer storage giant has unleashed a new wave of packaging and flashy ads intended to spark new interest. Take their Web site for instance: a flurry of screen captures clinging to handsome, on-the-go people all under a new slogan: Your On. (Grammar intentional)

PC World picked up on Seagate’s style makeover at the CES 2007 in Las Vegas and offered some tongue-in-cheek observances of the new FreeAgent design, which “looks (as if) they were designed to sit a on coffee table.”

Funniest of all was mention of the company’s upgraded marketing copy: “The packaging…features mysterious phrases drawn from Seagate focus groups about drives and the things people store on them. http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/003448.html

I noticed the same after purchasing my Seagate FreeAgent drive last weekend. The Seagate box includes about 40 other little FreeAssociations such as:

“Okay, not a bad; Want to see it again; This song rocks; Is this obsessive; There’s my room; Nice rug; How did you do that; Who’s the dork; Please don’t make fun; My agent think it has potential; Chapter six is my favorite”

Can’t quite make heads or tails of any of it. I got the drive because it pretty much backs up all the pictures, music and movies we own or will ever own. So in that sense, its handiness trumps any hip or “cool” factor it may have. Right now, the devise inhabits a humble place under our laptop desk where no one can see it (so much for its decorative element).

Emotional connection certainly makes sense for a rbeverage company or jeans maker. While the “Whereever you are. Whenever you needed it” copy here is provocative, it just seems a little overdone. It’s more important to connect with your audience than trying to wow them with pretty words.

You can become your own hip-hop producer with this way cool feature on Verizon’s Web site. This is one of the most innovative tactics I’ve seen yet for creating a more interactive experience for visitors. Must’ve taken forever to design. Try it out. It’s fun , but takes some practice.

www.beatboxmixer.com

So it happened at work today. A woman at the soda machine sorting through her change looked up in astonishment to see the price for a 20-ounce Coke had jumped one quarter to $1.25. “They just raised the price,” she heard. “Creeps!” she shot back. I felt for her. There’s something sacred about a whole 25-cent piece. To know you’re spending more of them definitely raises the “ouch” factor.

The WSJ said not to be surprised by the increased costs for sweets coming up. Costs for high-fructose corn syrup used to sweeten everything from candy to soft drinks is going up due to a sharp increase in corn-based ethanol used in gasoline. So what do food companies do? Pass the cost on to us. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117400578730838787.htmlmod
=todays_us_money_and_investing

Now, I’m not here to focus on economics, but I find it particularly weird when economists say inflation is under control, and then you see the price of food and energy rising. Isn’t that inflation? What about $2.50-plus for regular at the pump? Inflation is pretty frustrating because it means tricky little dimes and quarters that end up costing you bundles in the end. Chewing gum, movie tickets, gasoline, cans of corn, bottles of soda. They all go up over time.

Thankfully, the regular 12-ounce cans of soda I go for are still 60 cents. Those have managed to hover under the radar. So far.

Sometimes it’s better to be a stock spectator than a speculator. Tuesday was a great example. One whiff of stinky fish in Shanghai sent global investors running for the exit doors. Boom. The Dow drops 400 points in a single day. I’m like, “no way,” when I heard on the radio. You get so accustomed to the Dow humming along, “up 20 points, down 15 points, up 30 points.” And then stuff like that hits.

Aside from giving investors pause to consider just how risky the Asian market is, the bedlam reminded us of how markets can move on a single word. This past weekend, former Fed chief Alan Greenspan told a group of Hong Kong folks that a “recession” was possible. He said this in spite of a previous agreement that he’d shoosh himself from making economic comments after he resigned. Whatever. The guy knows he’s still the “Maestro,” and couldn’t help himself. Greenspan blows his nose and the market moves, which is even more reason for him to keep a lid on it.

The business media is waiting – nay praying – for influential people to make silly claims so they run up a huge readership. One snappy headline is all you need, “Greenspan predicts recession,” and everyone tunes in: is everything going to hell? What about my retirement? Is this 2001 all over again? What about my job? News happens, the economy tips, everything shifts into chaos.

You have to hand it to Ben Bernanke. He brought calm to the whole thing when everyone’s causing a storm. Investors really seem to appreciate the guy’s handle on the economy, especially with regard to inflation. The Fed has one card to play: interest rates. And you have to time that sucker perfectly, or else.

Investors seem to trust Bernanke’s market knowledge: the economy is performing fairly well, he said recently, in spite of a homebuilding surplus and a huge number of folks defaulting on their mortgages. The last thing he needs is some old retiree with loose lips, dishing out hot-button words like “recession.” Message to Greenie: The most you should be doing right now is bouncing grandkids on your knee, entering Yoda look-a-like contests, and tooting your clarinet. Zip it, will ya?