| LED Digest 2461: Urgency Marketing |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom www.GetWebContent.com/LED : the LED's Key Sponsor The Web's Most Experienced SEO Content Providers. www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ : the LED's Premier Sponsor Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. August 1, 2007 Issue no. 2460 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ======= NEW ===================== --== Urgency Marketing ==-- ~ Will Bontrager "Does this kind of urgency marketing really work?" --== SEO and Web Standards ==-- ~ Al Toman "I constantly read SEO's disclaiming web standards and its relative importance..." ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Marketing Ethics ==-- ~ Barry S Mills "I don't feel that pledges change anything." ~ Elliot Borin "Just goes to show that all's fair in inet marketing..." ~ Nancy Cardinali "What's the point?" --== The Hard Sell of 'Free' ==-- ~ Simon McArdle "...it is the free stuff itself that is devaluing the brand." ========== NEW =================================== From: Will Bontrager Subject: Urgency Marketing > [Starting out] at 5 cents and increasing it by 5 cents > with each purchase or starting at .99 cents and > increasing the cost a nickel or dime an hour until > it reaches a certain dollar figure. - Ron Coble, LED Digest 2459 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1867/190/ Does this kind of urgency marketing really work? I am very much interested in hearing from LEDers who have tried it. Did it work as well as expected? Would you do it again? From the other perspective, if you've seen such ads, did you experience a heightened desire to buy? It seems I'm full of questions, of late. Will Bontrager http://willmaster.com/ -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Al Toman Subject: New-old Topic - SEO and Web Standards I constantly read SEO's disclaiming web standards and its relative importance to SEO. Considering, I'll toss in my 2 cents into the discussion and get blasted~! Firstly, use of the basic html tags is following web standards. If these SEO web sites sport the html, head, title, and body html tags, then, these SEO can see the importance of web standards to SEO. Naturally, no one said that SEO have to tout their SEO businesses on a html document. They could publish theirs simply as text documents. But they don't. Rather, they follow web standards. SEO's will tell you that Google disrespects web standards in regards to SEO. For the most part this is true, if you will. However, even Google recognizes the importance of web standards. Google maps will NOT always work in html documents that do not sport a DOCTYPE. Their guideline instructions make a point of telling those of us who play with the Google maps API, you MUST use a DOCTYPE. Deep in their hearts, Google understands the importance of following web standards. What if Tim Berners-Lee (invented the W.W.W) followed the Google business model? My guess would be that Tim would charge Google, or any other web page creator, $1,000 for every non-compliant web page. If that were the case and I personally wish that it was, then, would SEO be a different car-toone!?! Of course Microsoft isn't out of the woods either. They as a browser purveyor attempt to under mind web compliancy whenever and however they can. How many times have you heard SEO charge black hats with the practice of obfuscating text by using colors? That is, white font on white background. Well, if web standards was respected, then, white on white or black on black would never be an issue. Anytime you validate your web page and you specify a color font but forget to specify a color background, the w3c validator will let you know about it. Amateur web designers don't know how to work around this issue. However, it's usually pretty simple. And how about the alt tag and the validator? And how about ... and on and on ... ? Are these NOT SEO issues? Worse, web standards is so, so, so E-Z (and it's well documented). Does this tell me that SEO (SEO is not well documented) cannot do E-Z? I as a web designer would strongly direct my client to a SEO, if you will. However, why would an SEO NOT direct their client to a web compliant web designer? Worse, raising our noses to web standards is educating, instructing, and challenging our youngsters how??? Okay, so that was 4-1/2 cents. Al Toman studio9 web design ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: Barry Mills Subject: Ethics pledge Shel asked for ideas for the business ethics pledge project. Sorry Shel, you won't like this, but after 3 years it's probably time to accept that this isn't going anywhere, and find another hobby horse. You have given this a fair crack and people just aren't buying it. You shouldn't necessarily give up on your goals or assume this means the whole world is unethical. I believe very much in conducting ethical business, but I couldn't get enthusiastic about your pledge. I don't feel that pledges change anything. I don't believe that people are more likely to think I am ethical because I signed the pledge, and I don't think anyone else who has signed the pledge is more likely to be ethical. Because, when you think about it, the people with most to gain from signing the pledge if people believed in it are the unethical -- indeed out and out con artists. Having no ethics, they won't mind that they are being deceitful by signing the pledge. Or do we expect that such people will sign a declaration of dishonesty so we know who they are? If your goal is to promote ethical business, I think you need a change of strategy. Why not set up a UCG site and get users to report on what they see as ethical and unethical practices, and reward the companies concerned with good & bad publicity accordingly? You'll need a new twist, but it's a proven model and people are far more likely to believe it if your customers say you are ethical than if you do. Barry S Mills Chairman Netstep Corporate Communications http://www.netstep.co.uk ============ Sponsor Message =========== Blogging can improve your site's ranking with both search engines and end users. Now, would you like us to tell you something you maybe don't already know? OK. A blog shouldn't be written like other web content. Here's why. http://www.getwebcontent.com/blog/?p=16 http://GetWebContent.com/LED : Blogging are us. ============ Sponsor Message =========== -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Elliot Borin Subject: Sales deception? This is a wonderful pitch for the "business ethics pledge." Definitely convinced me to sign, I even clicked the link to http://www.business-ethics-pledge.org and it was also very high-sounding and noble -- until I got to the line that said "I believe that if I can get 25,000 business leaders -- 25,000 people to make a commitment to spread the ideas in Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First." Than I saw the picture of the book cover and the menu bar item which leads to the site where Mr. Horowitz, the great ethicist, peddles his books. Just goes to show that all's fair in inet marketing, even leading people to your order page by pretending to be a beleaugered, lone crusader against deception. Elliot Borin -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Nancy Cardinali Subject: Ethics pledge Shel, The first thing I thought of when I first saw your pledge (I don't remember where... probably your newsletter..) was, "What a great idea!" The second thing, "What good will signing a virtual piece of paper do? I don't need to sign to validate my resolve to act ethically." I went to the page you provided ( http://www.business-ethics-pledge.org ). It probably has information that might answer the questions I just posed, but... well, I admit I usually skim. And I think most folks do. Maybe less is more? State your position in a bulleted list along with what the signatures will ultimately cause to happen. I didn't state that quite right, I hope you'll get what I mean. I guess it would boil down to, "What's the point?" Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great idea, but... what's the point? Nancy Cardinali www.CardinaliDesigns.com *Consolidate your online and print image for name recognition* -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Simon McArdle Subject: Selling free Will Bontrager says "It may be time to abandon free." The problem with free is that to have anything of worth usually costs a bucket load of cash to develop and is a massive gamble for the "Seller." It's not that the brand of free is becoming lower value rather it is the free stuff itself that is devaluing the brand. I have spent the last year developing a free application (shameless self promo) and now I am launching it onto the market. I am using this free software to drive paying customers to one of my other businesses. It's a big gamble as the development costs run into many thousands of dollars. Hosting alone is $500 a month. The reason I have done this is because I am sick of the Google rollercoaster ride. Orders up one week and down the next. I have too much reliance on search engines and want to drive traffic another way entirely. So if you want to see what free can still buy you then drop on over to http://www.logoease.com If you are not impressed (and I know you are a hard bunch to please) with my free logo maker I will eat my shirt :) Simon McArdle http://www.logoease.com ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by: GetWebContent.com The Web's Most Experienced SEO Content Providers. 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