If you sell haemorrhoid treatments, you have a number of problems. Problem 1: Despite haemorrhoids being incredibly common, no-one likes to admit that they have them. Even to themselves. Problem 2: Haemorrhoids really aren’t amusing, yet they’re somehow funny to talk about. Problem 3: Haemorrhoids are associated with a very intimate part of the body, whose main function is to emit poo. Problem 4: Haemorrhoids are often associated with old … Read More
Google are going to kill conversion tracking – here’s why
If you’re spending on AdWords (or other online ads) then you’re probably paying close attention to conversion rates. Doing so is understandable but flawed. And it may be hurting you and also Google. At risk of oversimplifying how conversion tracking works, a person clicks on your ad, a cookie is placed in their browser, and when they buy your product, this registers as a conversion. Voilà . … Read More
Data can cause pain and irreparable damage
Tracking is deadly. It skews our perception of reality, gives us a dangerously false sense of security, and pushes us into making poor decisions. In our own company, we track the work that we do to near-psychotic levels of accuracy. Note that isn’t a boast thinly veiled to look like criticism (I’m thinking of “my greatest weakness is my attention … Read More
Does the name really matter?
An enormous amount of time is usually spent naming a product or service, but is this necessary or justified? Conventional marketing thinking certainly thinks so, but I’m starting to think that this may not matter as much as it once did. There are the obvious blunders to avoid – names that are too easily mispronounced, misspelt, have sexual connotations or … Read More
Good news everyone!
Every morning I spend half an hour looking at news and commentary from a wide variety of sources. Yet it’s only recently that I’ve become aware of how the quality and creativity of the headlines and titles have improved dramatically over the years. I think that David Ogilvy may be to blame. And yes there is blame: “On the average, … Read More
Pain is a catalyst for change
Moving from inertia to action usually requires some sort of change in circumstances. Too often, status quo appears to be the easiest option – even when it isn’t. Many online businesses stick with using poor support and tracking systems for their customers. Not because they are so attached to the systems in question, but because the pain of switching to … Read More
Bad Content is the Fast Food of the Web
No-one questions the wisdom of creating good content. It reinforces authority and expertise. It acts as a catalyst for creativity. It’s good for search engine traffic, marketing, sales, and (shudder) social media. So why is there so little good content? There’s a seemingly infinite amount of content, but almost all of it is sorely lacking when it comes to quality. … Read More
Interview with Rob Walling
This week we’re interviewing Rob Walling. Rob owns long tail SEO keyword tool HitTail and soon-to-launch email marketing application Drip, along with co-hosting the popular startup podcast, Startups for the Rest of Us. Rob is also the co-founder of the incredible MicroConf Conference, and I personally rate this as one of the best software conferences of all of them. Dave:  What … Read More
Mobile is here and you’re not ready
It’s easy to forget that the PC in your pocket is a mobile phone. It’s easy to forget that it’s even a phone. I rarely use the torch/flashlight app, but it still gets used more than the phone functionality of my device. The figures for mobile web usage are incredible: 56% of American adults are now smartphone owners. Amazon, Wikipedia, and … Read More
10 reasons you shouldn’t be using 10 reasons lists for publicity (or anything)
1 – They’re easy to read, easy to absorb and easy to forget. 2 – The main message they communicate is that you’re no more original than the other 1.4 billion writers (see point seven). 3 – They never fail to disappoint. 4 – It’s almost impossible to maintain quality. Points 1-3 may be semi-reasonable, but 8-10 will be little … Read More
