CleverNews May 2009

What’s News at CleverLink

Client Spot Light

WEA Illawarra

When WEA Illawarra approached CleverLink, they wanted to update their image and embrace technology. They also needed to meld with new with old! The new website needed to work with their existing offline database, accept payment online and save time for their admin staff.
Due to the complex nature of this project, WEA wanted to continue working with their existing suppliers and enlisted CleverLink to fill skill gaps, research just what technology was available, and to oversee the project.
While CleverLink usually takes care of graphic design and database technology for their clients, for this project our client’s suppliers took care of those tasks and while the CleverLink team concentrated on delivering:

• real time payment facility - which allowed clients to enroll and pay online
• Linking the new information supplied by clients, directly to internal database
• Student login - they can update their information and see their results online
• Tutor login – they can update information and publish student results
• Streamlined administration tasks: WEA staff can print reports and check student & tutor details
• Online marketing

The new WEA Illawarra website marks the beginning of a new vision and CleverLink are proud to have been able work together with other suppliers to make sure one of the Illawarra’s oldest and best-loved institutions continues to grow and offer quality education to the community.

Up Coming Events

Power Words

So, you’d like to write a book?

What an excellent idea!  All of us has a book inside, so let’s look at some of the steps involved in getting your very own book out of your head and into your hands.

Step one, is to choose what you will write about. There are so many topics, but choosing something you are very passionate about, defining your purpose and having an audience in mind is a great start. If you are having trouble with any aspect of your work, why not join your local Writing Centre – or seek a mentor.

Step two is to forget the idea that writing will always feel good. When it gets difficult this is the time it is so important to keep going. After all, the big difference between someone who has finished a book and someone who hasn’t is simply dogged perseverance!

Step three is all about drafting and editing. You might need to draft your work several times before it is ready to be edited and then your editor may ask you to draft parts of the work again! Remember, your favourite author’s latest novel will be worlds away from their first drafts.

Step four is where things get really exciting! It’s the pre-publishing phase! The big question at this point is whether to seek out a publisher or to self-publish.  The reality is that publishers are extremely picky – and if they do sign you up, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your work will be published. What it means is that your publisher has control of your work. 

Self-publishing gives you complete control and this is very useful if you would like to take your own opportunities to promote your work. You are also free to choose how many copies to print, what the cover will look like, when to launch - and - you keep all the profits. It pays to take keep the purpose for writing your book in mind at this point.  You end goal can help you steer you in the right direction.

What is involved in publishing your own book? Here are some of the main areas you will need to consider:

• Cover Design: a book is so often chosen by its cover – however wrong that is! Your designer will help you design something that really encompasses what your book is all about.
• Typesetting: your typesetter will set the work out and ensure the minor details are looked after. Like, beginning chapters on the right hand page etc
• Printing & binding: what kind of paper stock will it be printed on? Hard or Soft cover? Spiral bound, glued or stitched?
• Editing & proofreading: Editing will ensure your work is smooth and reader friendly - and proofreading is done after typesetting to catch inconsistencies before going to print
• ISBN & Barcode: Important if you want to sell through retail outlets – even libraries won’t take your work without a barcode!

Although it can seem only the very gifted ever get to hold a bound copy of their ambition in their hands, if you follow the steps set out above and stay determined to finish each step, you will see your book published. Imagine that!

If you have a book ready to be published and would like to discuss your next step with us, please call us today on 1300 721 837 or email service@cleverlink.com.au.

Traditional Marketing

Best Practices in Web Design ( Part 1)

The internet has been around for fairly short time in comparison to other marketing media.  However, there are several design & navigation conventions that have become universally accepted. 

Organisations that neglect these basic principles run the risk of the site visitors running into usability issues, eventually becoming frustrated and then giving up. One way of overcoming this is by understanding exactly what your site’s customers or visitors are trying to accomplish; you anticipate them and make them easy to accomplish. Here’s a guide to finding purpose:

1. Place your most important content or links “above the fold” so that visitors do not have to scroll down the page. Remember that monitor sizes vary so you should check to see how your content is displayed on different types of monitors. Avoid horizontal scrolling which most users find irritating.
2. Provide a search box that is easy to see in the top left or right hand corner of the screen. This should be for searching for items within your own site not a link to a search engine. Understand the search terms your customers may use so you can link them to relevant content within your own site.
3. Don’t ask users to register in order to browse the product range or information pages. Many visitors will resent having to register and will search for a competitors website instead. Also offer to allow customers to purchase as a guest and not have to register.
4. Allow customers to meet their objective as soon as possible. If your site is a shopping site allow users to shop from the homepage or at the most one click away from the homepage. The homepage should clearly convey what users can do at the site. The average user spends less than 6 seconds on a homepage and it is also the most frequent abandonment point. While you do not necessarily need to be able to shop from the homepage on a shopping site you should able to figure out it is a shopping site.
5. Essentially web visitors do not read; they skim over content quickly, so text presentation should be different from print media- more abbreviated, more use of bullets, highlighted key words and more white space in between columns. To test this, check whether it is easy to skim the text and still understand the point. Knowing your target market and delivering to them is the key.
6. Allow users to easily access information about the full cost of products before buying. This should include any taxes payable, freight etc. Surprising shoppers with these add-ons at the end of the checkout are a frequent cause of abandonment. 

If you would like to discuss your marketing with us, please call today on (02)4284 3600 or email service@cleverlink.com.au and we will get back to you.

Ecommerce

Digital Marketing & SEO

Tips for Effective Calls to Action

When many people think of improving their internet marketing efforts, they think of driving additional traffic to a site. However this is not the only way to improve your ROI.

Improving a website’s conversion rates can be a significantly easier task and can often be more effective. How can this be achieved?

Calling All Marketers!

The majority of websites have a goal or a purpose (an action you want the visitor to take). These goals can vary from ‘buying a product’, ‘generating a lead’, ‘subscribing to newsletter’ or ‘using the contact form’. Getting your customer to this goal is the work of the copywriter and it usually culminates in a ‘call to action’ (Let’s call it a CTA from now on).

A CTA is the copy / graphic which is used to entice a visitor to take a desired action. Well designed landing pages and well placed CTAs can increase your conversions and help you meet your goals.

So what makes a good CTA? Below are some best practices:

Use Images
Placing images near the CTA can attract the user’s eye. One particularly effective method is to use an image of a person’s face looking at the CTA.

Use Contrasting Colours
Contrasting colours can draw a visitor’s eye to any action you require them to take.

Be Specific
Avoid vague copy on your site and instead be direct and tell them to click, sign up, contact us or download. Tell the visitor exactly what you want them to do.

It can also be effective to place specific information and let the visitor know exactly what they should expect once they take this action, making sure to avoid generalities.

Position
CTAs in the sidebar do not usually ‘convert’ as well as those in the main content area. Calls To Action above “the fold” usually do a lot better than those that are not. Try to put the CTA where the rest of the page leads the visitor’s eye.

Loading Times
A more debatable method of improving a landing page is the time it takes to load. Research has shown ... pages that load slowly often do not even finish loading before a visitor leaves the site.

Create Urgency
This can be either discreet measurements of time like, “Call Now” or “Contact Us Today” or the more obvious time restraints, such as “Contact Us Before the 1st of June and You Will Receive ...”

Make It Clean
One mistake often seen is too many CTA’s on one page or quite simply the design is too crowded and noisy. REMEMBER: the less you have on the page the more likely a visitor will click on your CTA. Don’t make your visitor search for it ... remember you have an average of about 6 seconds to engage a reader!

Use Standards
Make sure visitors know what is clickable. Try to make your text links have an underline (preferably blue as well) and make your images look like a button. Both should change when hovered over also to indicate the clickable area.

Test, Test & Test Some More
Split testing is a great way to compare areas of a webpage. Google Website Optimizer is an easy way to do this.

If you would like to find out how SEO and copywriting can increase your returns, call us on 11300 721 837 or email service@cleverlink.com.au

CleverLink can help get your website on the map! We provide comprehensive SEO services - Contact Us today!

B2B

Want to increase business efficiency and make sales online?
This article will show you how payment gateway works and why you need it for online sales.

What is a Payment Gateway?
A payment gateway is a service which connects your Web site with your bank. The key benefits of having a payment gateway are:

• the bank will validate the transaction for you and if valid, money will go into your account instantly rather waiting for days
• Your customers will know immediately if their Credit Card is valid or invalid because they will immediately see a message which tells them.
• Your customer has a chance to make their transaction immediately -  and if the card is invalid, they then have a chance to re-enter the details correctly or try another card or payment method etc., Great news for those trying to buy a gift with only days to spare!

Payment Gateway is not only convenient for your customers, it will save you time and most importantly generate more sales by catching those who ‘want it now’. And the peace of mind that comes with knowing that once your customers buy, that money is in your account is well worth it.

We answer your FAQs

I want to accept credit cards payment:  You will either need a merchant account with a bank or you can accept CC payment via PayPal.

I want to accept credit card payment in real time and let the money transfer directly into my bank account: You will need a Payment Gateway as well as merchant account.

I want to accept payment using PayPal:  You simply need a bank account but it is not necessary to have a merchant account or a Payment Gateway

Want to know more about Payment Gateway? Well, there are three basic types:

Type 1: API (Application Programming Interface). This means that the customer never sees the payment gateway supplier Web site. This is because your shopping cart communicates with it behind the scenes. The entire process happens on your site and this maintains the confidence of your customers. They have trusted you enough to buy your product so stay within the site at this point is a good for customer confidence.  Most people don’t like the idea of being transferred to another site and you don’t want to lose your customer at this crucial moment.

Type 2: Third-party payment gateway. The customer starts the checkout process on your site, but completes payment on the third party payment gateway site. While this can be simpler to setup and cost less, you’ll probably lose a few sales because some customers simply do not like being transferred to another site. When they lose that confidence – they stop buying and go somewhere else. Note that some third-party payment gateways allow you to customise the design of the payment page but again, it takes time & money to do it.

Type 3: Integrated payment gateways. With this type of payment gateway you don’t need a merchant account from your bank – the payment gateway does everything for you.
The best known integrated gateways are PayPal and 2Checkout and these options are good for start up businesses. These days, customers are familiar with these gateways and trust their security.
CleverLink can help you set up your Payment Gateway - and setting up your online business!

Many of our clients use Payment Gateway on their sites - here are examples of the types they use:

• www.englishskillsonline.com.au  uses both type 1 & type 3
• www.tbresources.com.au  uses  type 1
• www.massageandbeautycruise.com.au uses type 1
• www.kokodatips.com.au  uses type 3
• www.weaillawarra.com.au  uses type 1

(The CleverLink team prefer to use types 1 & 2. In our experience type 2 has the potential to loose sales and the cost to customise this type means it’s often not worth considering)

Are you interested in having Payment Gateway on your website? Contact us today to discuss which type is best for you!  Call now on 1300 721 837 or email service@cleverlink.com.au.

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Website of the Month

Food for My Brain

Self-Managing Success

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take your breath away.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgement, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space.

We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose to either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind work to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to, you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment from someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take your breath away.

This masterpiece is by GEORGE CARLIN (Gebrge died in July 2008 – followed the death of his wife). George Carlin was a comedian of the 70s and 80s. Thanks to Principal Norma Blinkhorn for sharing this.  Now it is your turn to share it with your contacts – send to friend

Go to the Food For My Brain website to explore brain food! If you would like to learn more about Camtu’s positive approach to success, take a look at her book, Aim High Fly Fast: Creating a Wonderful World for Yourself and Others

Go to Food For my Brain Web site to explore brain food! If you would like to learn more about Camtu’s positive approach to success, take a look at her book, Aim High Fly Fast: Creating a Wonderful World for Yourself and Others

Positive Mind

The effective manager: The managers' output is the result of the team, the ability to select key members, set objectives and expectations, delegate responsibility and finally, get the job done, is central to success in management.

"The quality of our expectations determines the quality of our actions."

-- Andres Godin

"Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.

--  H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Clever Tool Box

Listening Techniques

L              Like to Listen.
I               Ignore Distractions.
S              Summarise.
T              Tame Emotions.
E              Eliminate Hasty Judgements.
N             Never Interrupt.
I               Inspire Openness.
N             Need to Listen.
G             Generate Conclusions.

from How to Listen Effectively (Success/Communication Program).

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