The Secret to Persuasive Design is in the Invitation
If a web site falls in the search engine forest, would anyone hear it? If the web site belonged to Victoria’s Secret, it wouldn’t be missed by a shopper like my daughter. She doesn’t need search engines to find the site because they send her discount cards in the mail every month to lure her with 20% off or “Buy One, Get One Free” offers. They know she uses them and bribes mom to come to their store so she can talk me into buying more “Pink” sweatpants. Being...
Read MoreLazy, Greedy, Incompetent: Marketers, Management and Web Developers
Here is an example of what happens around the world over and over again. The Marketing Department for a big company buys up ad space and pay per click ads in search engines, spending about $250,000, to advertise the launch of a new online product . The product is still in QA, not signed off on, not even ready for Production. It’s literally not working, not passing performance testing and has had no user or usability testing whatsoever. Management demands the IT department to work...
Read MoreKim Krause Berg Interviews Future Now’s Holly Buchanan
When it comes to marketing to women on the Internet, there’s only one person I turn to for advice and insight, and that’s Holly Buchanan. When she and Michelle Miller wrote The Soccer Mom Myth, Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys, I couldn’t get my hands on the book fast enough. Adding to their fun to read book, Holly writes in her Marketing to Women Online blog. Michelle’s blog is also a strong resource for marketing to women topics,...
Read MoreDo You Support Your Favorite Bloggers?
NOT EVEN BEING NOMINATED for Hottest Female Blogger, hurt my feelings is a giant relief! Because as it goes, several of my friends were nominated by their fans and made the Hottest Female Blogger Calendar poll. I was faced with having to pick just one. Ridiculous! As one who rarely wins anything (my blog, wet t-shirt contests, sexy working ass off mom awards), I have to say that these contests are a marketing dream annoyance. First of all, it frustrates the heck out of me because I’m...
Read MoreMarketing to Men (Or How to Help Your Husband Buy a Thong)
Let me begin by saying I was given permission to write about this. Considering it’s about men’s underwear, you may or may not be interested in the topic. However, how men and women shop for men’s clothing fascinates me and here’s my story. Ever since reading “The Soccer Mom Myth” by Holly Buchanan and Michele Miller and The Female Brain by Louann Md Brizendine, I’ve been silently observing how my family shops. My husband and sons will willingly...
Read MoreFireworks Art
My canvas was the night sky last night at a Community Day fireworks display in my town. Flying Apple Click to enlarge Twin Towers Click to enlarge String Theory Click to enlarge Exploding Sun Click to enlarge God is Watching Click to enlarge Close Encounters Click to enlarge Sea Creature Click to enlarge Dedicated to “iamlost” Click to enlarge Native American PowWow Click to enlarge More View Fireworks images here. All pictures owned by Kim Krause Berg, Cre8pc.com Taken on...
Read MorePersuasive User Experience Design Has a Long Way to Go
One thing you can count on when it comes to “usable” web site design is that nobody can agree on what that is. Is the perfect user experience when a web page comes up near the top in search engine rank? Is it high conversions? Is it a site that blind persons can use? One of the quirks of Twitter is that you can participate in spontaneous one on one conversations and your “followers” can “listen” in. The other day my friend Elizabeth Able picked my brain...
Read MoreAngry? Destroy Their Reputation Online!
An old friend once told me back in 1995, “Assume that every email you send will eventually land on the lunchroom bulletin board for everyone to see.” It was great advice for email. It’s even better advice for blogs. Miffed at someone? Kill them with words. With the Web as ammo, it’s easy to wreck someone’s job, life and reputation. Google has a great memory. Glen Allsopp wrote about three women who went off to raise a little hell at their boyfriends in A New...
Read MoreDoes Your Online Store Make Customers Sing?
There’s a scene in the movie version of “Oliver” where merchants walk along the street outside his bedroom window peddling their wares. They sing out “Who will buy?” this or that, holding up samples for passersby to see. Oliver has never witnessed such a thing before. He sings, Who will buy this wonderful morning? Such a sky you never did see! Who will tie it up with a ribbon, And put it in a box for me? I visited a web site today that sells dessert products. ...
Read MoreOnline Marketing Book: “The Soccer Mom Myth” Tackles Today’s Female Consumer
When I was a young girl growing up, a particular TV commercial aggravated me. It was about a liquid vitamin supplement called Geritol used for “iron poor blood” that contained alcohol and was said to give women lots of energy and ambition. The TV husband would rave about the miraculous feats his wife could perform while taking Geritol. The commercial ended with, “My wife. I’ll think I’ll keep her.” The message I got from it was that if I wasn’t perfect in every way, there...
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