What’s new this week at SurviveAndConquerCoaching.com:

http://surviveandconquercoaching.com

Check out the December Special Offers page. I am offering a Monthly Special for December 2008. It is Disaster-proof your Online Business and is heavily discounted. Start the New Year right, by taking charge and protecting your Online Business!

In addition to the Monthly Special, I am offering a different Special each week. This week it is  Survival Guide to Email Marketing the RIGHT Way! I consider this one of the most important issues facing offline Businesses, as well as one of the least understood. NOTE: Do NOT buy this if you are taking the class at TNNA in January!

This week’s Cheat Sheet is a new CORE Cheat Sheet:*What are Local Search and Local SEO? – PART 1*

If you haven’t already done so, check out the latest Short Report: Are You Maximizing Your Web Shop’s Search Options? While its focus is on online Shops, if you have a wholesale site or showcase site, this WILL apply to your site!

And, last but not least… Tactic # 10 has been added to the series on List Building called List Building Tactics and Tactic #9 has been removed from the BASIC Level Membership. There are 24 Tactics in this series.

If you are using WordPress for ANY type of site, the new Survival Course – Create an Effective Web Site YOU can Operate Yourself (even if you know NOTHING about the Internet) is a worthwhile read. It is available in Web Page format as part of Academy – Basic or as a PDF download.

All of these great resources can be found at:

http://surviveandconquercoaching.com

Sharing the Road to Success

Tink

What’s new this week at SurviveAndConquerCoaching.com:

Tactic # 8 has been added to the series on List Building called List Building Tactics and Tactic #7 has been removed from the BASIC Level Membership. There are 24 Tactics in this series.

This week’s Cheat Sheet is *Understanding Online Search and the Differences between External and Internal Searches* It will be available to BASIC members for just a week.

I am introducing a new Short Report this week: Are You Maximizing Your Web Shop’s Search Options?
While its focus is on online Shops, if you have a wholesale site or showcase site, this WILL apply to your site!

Here is a list of the Resources currently available for PREMIER Members. Have YOU downloaded your copies yet?

Cheat Sheets (13)
CORE Cheat Sheets (4)
FREE Special Reports (2)
List Building Tactics (8)
Short Reports (3)
Software (3)
Special Update (1)
Survival Course (2)
Survival Guides (1)
WordPress Resources (5)
Videos (4)

Don’t forget to download the October 2008 WordPress Plugin report, while it is available.

Removed from BASIC Level: *Short Report – The Offline Business Owner’s Guide to Making the MOST of Local Portals & Directories!*. It is 11 pages with 10 question you should be asking about your Portal and Directory opportunities. There are more and more of these coming online, and they represent excellent marketing opportunities… IF you know the right questions to ask.

Just a reminder, if you are using WordPress for ANY type of site, the new Survival Course – Create an Effective Web Site YOU can Operate Yourself (even if you know NOTHING about the Internet) is a worthwhile read. It is available in Web Page format as part of Academy – Basic or as a PDF download.

http://surviveandconquercoaching.com

And… last but not least, check out the NEW Special Offers page! For a limited time, get

Survival Guide to Search, Search Engines, and Web Site Statistics

at a GREAT PRICE! You’ll have to join, but BASIC Level membership is free!

Sharing the Road to Success

Tink

I am addicted to purchasing downloadable ebooks. I LOVE the instant gratification and the variety of stories that are not avaiable in print…

I want to take a moment to share an experience that I just had with one of my reliable publishers… and a wonderful marketing opportunity that could become a negative experience for their customers.

I don’t plan to name any names here or point any fingers of blame, this is simply a learning moment!

I logged on to the site and on the home page there was a new message in red. It said:

If you are entitled to a FREE Download from XXXXX Ebooks in celebration of our second birthday just log into your account and begin browsing. You’ll find a FREE DOWNLOAD button on every book detail page. To select a specific title click on the button and the book will instantaneously pop into your library. This is a limited time offer set to expire soon so don’t delay. Thank you for shopping at XXXXX Ebooks!

This is a wonderful gesture, but in my case, for a variety of reasons, it went sadly wrong.

First off, I will admit, I just glanced at the note as I was clicking on the new title directly below the message. I got to the new title and there was a Free Download link, as mentioned. Without thinking, and before reading the book synopsis, I clicked on the Free Download button.

Without waiting to see what happened, I back up to their home page and read the message, carefully and completely this time…

I was excited because just this AM I had saved a link to one of their books that I wanted… It was the first of a series so I was thinking that I would use the Free Download for the first book and then purchase the second book.

I signed into my account only to discover that I seemed to have inadvertently *purchased* that initial book… which I wasn’t interested in and which wasn’t even available in the book format that I prefer…

Rats! I totally wasted their generous gift!

So… here is how I see the problem…

Clearly, I am at fault for not reading the announcement and for clicking on the button for a book I didn’t want.

However, I think that the publisher could have minimized the possibility of this outcome in several ways:

1) By placing the FREE DOWNLOAD announcement on the page so that it stood out more clearly, rather than including it in the main info text and just changing the color.

Put it in a colored box, with a headline about it, such as *FREE DOWNLOAD for Qualified Customers*.

2) Explain in greater detail how the process works.

A Bulleted list of step by step instructions would have been nice. I am pretty experienced and I managed to mess it up. I am sure that they have a respectable number of customers who are less experienced than I am.

3) Give a clear warning NOT to click on the button until a decision has been made.

4) Consider adding a second step in the process so that the reader can back out of the *Free Download* purchase, during the process… better to have a two step process than a lot of unhappy folks ending up with the WRONG book! LOL

I think of myself as fairly web savvy and yet I managed to totally screw up the process. ;-(

I am frustrated about the experience, which is a shame since that was not the purpose behind such a gracious and generous gift…

So, my suggestion about using a marketing strategy such as this… try to plan for the lowest common denominator and design the process to be a successful one for that segment.

In my case, it was a combination of not paying attention combined with a moment of extreme blondness.

I pride myself on being fair so I am berating myself, not the publisher.

I am also working on the whole *making lemonade* approach and turning this into a learning moment for other businesses, hoping to keep what would seem to be an unstoppable marketing promotion from turning into a negative experience for your web site visitors.

Sharing the road to success,
Tink

The focus of my membership site, SurviveAndConquerCoaching, is to help offline businesses move online. This can be frightening and overwhelming… just one more problem to address in a busy work day. My goal is to provide the resources to minimize the stress, avoid the mistakes, and achieve an easy transition.

I wanted to share a recent email I got from a SurviveAndConquerCoaching member:

Subject: just took lesson 1 for Strategies for Online Retail Success!

I signed up for your basic level membership when you first talked about this on the quiltdesigners list… then it was ‘later’, ‘I dont have time right now’, etc.  I really wish I had MADE the time from the beginning.

You have really opened my eyes, just in the first lesson!  I just wanted to thank you for starting this up!  As soon as I have the funds available I’ll be upgrading.

Thanks Tink!!

Angela R McIntyre

Laughing Cat Designs Etc.!

**************************

NOW! On to what’s new this week at SurviveAndConquerCoaching.com:

Tactic # 7 has been added to the series on List Building called List Building Tactics and Tactic # 6 has been removed from the BASIC Level Membership. There are 24 Tactics in this series.

This week’s Cheat Sheet is *Why Blog?* It will be available to BASIC members for just a week.

A NEW Video Tutorial has been added to the BASIC-Video Vault. It explains *How to Create a PDF file Using Free Software*. It will be available to BASIC Level members for about a  week.

Don’t forget to download the October 2008 WordPress Plugin Report, while it is available.

If you haven’t downloaded the newest Short Report – The Offline Business Owner’s Guide to Making the MOST of Local Portals & Directories! — grab it now! It is 11 pages with 10 question you should be asking about your Portal and Directory opportunities. There are more and more of these coming online, and they represent excellent marketing opportunities… IF you know the right questions to ask.

Just a reminder, if you are using WordPress for ANY type of site, the new Survival Course – Create an Effective Web Site YOU can Operate Yourself (even if you know NOTHING about the Internet) is a worthwhile read. It is available in Web Page format as part of Academy – Basic or as a PDF download.

http://surviveandconquercoaching.com

Sharing the Road to Success

Tink

I have recently been indulging in my love of reading by purchasing ebooks online. I have discovered a LOT of publishers and I have been enjoying the books – although I will admit that the writing skills are often uncertain.

As I have made my purchases from a variety of Publishers and their varied shopping carts, I have created my personal wish list for what I look for in an online buying experience.

Here is a brief excerpt:

• Have a Wish List option that allows me to choose an item and return at a later date to purchase it.

I would prefer that it NOT be kept in the Shopping Cart.

I would also like to be able to click on the item to see its detailed description so that I can refresh my memory and review my choice.

• Allow me to return to my current search page after I look at an item's detail page and I have added it to my shopping cart.

It is annoying to have to recreate the search each time.

• Let the Shopping Cart keep my items even if I have to leave unexpected before finishing the purchase.

Things happen.

We are all busy and interruptions are a given.

If I have to *recreate * my purchase, rest assured… I am unlikely  to bother… and you have lost a sale.

I could continue, but it is late and I am sure that you have gotten the point! LOL

As you surf the web and interact with web sites, watch your own reactions and patterns.

I am sure that it will offer insight into how YOU can improve your site and its online buying experience.

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink

Here is an extremely interesting article about how online ordering has affected Pizza sales.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/biztech/05/08/papa.johns.ap/index.html

I don’t eat (or order) pizza so I was completely unaware of this.

Anyway, it is easy for us to dismiss the internet when it comes to our offline businesses, especially with businesses such as restaurants. Here is proof of what a mistake that can be, and the money that will be left on the table!

I found Domino’s twist of *Pizza Tracking* extremely interesting, especially the fact that you are told the delivery person’s first name. What an effective way to take advantage of the *Internet as a Personality Driven Communications Medium*, something I have been preaching for years! LOL

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink

I have posted another Cheat Sheet over at SurviveAndConquerOnline.

This one is a CORE Cheat Sheet on WHY it is SOOO important to use DIFFERENT companies for Hosting and Domain Registration.

Cheat Sheets are short reports that are focused on an important idea, method, technique, or resource. CORE Cheat Sheets are the Cheat Sheets that contain what I consider to be vitally important information regarding Online business.

The Cheat Sheets are only going to be available at SurviveAndConquerOnline for a short time, and then I’ll be moving them to my new Coaching web site. I have a lot more in the pipeline and will be adding about one per week for the forseeable future! LOL

Check out the Cheat Sheets here:

http://surviveandconqueronline.com/CheatSheets1.htm

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink

I’ve been a busy bee! LOL

I have finished the make over at SurviveAndConquerOnline.com, the sister site for this blog. The two sites now have a new, but still unified, look.

This new version is based on the Gear logo and is a bit less hard edged than the original look I had. What can I say– I am a designer and I like to change the wallpaper and rearrange the furniture!

I have also been adding goodies — there is now an official Cheat Sheet page and the first three Cheat Sheets are available for you to download, read, and I hope, pass along to other busy business owners.

The Cheat Sheet policy is this… while the contents of each Cheat Sheet is copyrighted, you are welcome to send the files along to other motivated business owners, provided you pass along the file in its entirely and you make no changes to the content.

I have also started the Tool Room. This is in its beginning stages, but I have plans to add much more info and many more resources. Be sure and sign up for the SurviveAndConquerOnline SURVIVAL TIPS Newsletter, so you get notified as new resources are added.

Sharing the Road to Success,

Tink

As you may or may not know, I recently taught a bunch of classes at the TNNA Winter Market in Long Beach.

I was thrilled to have one of my students write the following:

My instructor, Tink Boord-Dill is the greatest! Very thorough, well-prepared, etc., etc., etc.

She wrote this on her blog (click HERE to read her post), and thanks to the wonderful Google Alerts Service, I had an email in my Inbox within a couple of hours of her posting.

Any business, whether you have a web site or not, should be signed up with Google Alerts. I put together a little PDF Cheat Sheet on how to sign-up.

Get it here: Cheat Sheet- Google Alerts

Sharing the Road to Success,

Tink

PS – Google Alerts sent me notification of THIS post, since I had the quote using my name.