SiteBeat: September 2012
The HEROweb Marketing and Design Newsletter
HEROweb.com · MightyMerchant.com
SiteBeat - September 2012
It's not even the official end of summer, yet here we are already talking about prepping your site and tuning your marketing to focus on holiday shopping. We are also announcing two new features: we're excited to make are the launching of our new "Wish List" feature for our ecommerce customers, and, in conjunction with Rackspace Mail, we have a new mobile sync feature for email.
The first thing to do is create your strategy. Plan out important dates for the coming months: when you will announce sales, end sales, send out your related marketing emails, announce new stock, send out free shipping notices, etc.
Next, evaluate your website and see what needs to be refreshed or updated to reflect the current gift-giving season. Decide which gift items you will feature. If you would like to update your site to include sales suggestions, such as "If you like this item, you'll love this one..." there is still time.
The following HEROweb articles can help you plan your holiday marketing strategies:
"Holiday Prep Checklist" - Provides a guide to important dates and planning your email campaigns
"Optimizing Your Site For Holiday Traffic" - Compiles several articles related to actions you can take to effectively promote your website during the winter shopping season.
The wish list feature is a great way to get customers to keep coming back to your web site and to build up your list of regular shoppers. Customers can "share" their wish lists with family and friends as well! This gets more visitors to your site and also gets those items off your shelf more quickly. If you already have user accounts on your web site, you can add the Wish List feature for $250. If you don't have accounts, the Wish List feature is a great reason to consider adding the accounts feature as well.
Rackspace Webmail, HEROweb's email hosting partner, has introduced Mobile Sync, which solves this problem.
Built on Microsoft ActiveSync technology, the Mobile Sync service syncs your Email, Contacts and Calendars between Webmail and your iPhone or Android device. So, add a Contact on your mobile device and it appears in Webmail. Edit a Calendar event in Webmail and the change appears on your phone. Email is also “push” with Mobile Sync, which means it’s delivered instantly – no more waiting or hitting the refresh icon. Rackspace Webmail users will now see a Mobile Sync link in their Webmail interface explaining the benefits of the service and how to enable it.
If you have any questions about Mobile Sync or its launch, please contact us. HEROweb can add Mobile Sync to any Rackspace mailbox for just $2 per user per month.
At Gutenberg College, Clayton earned a BA that covered western philosophy, history, sociology, science, math, art, Greek and German, and much of the ground in between. His career in Web Design and Development took shape after graduating, when he combined his independent spirit, aesthetic interests, and technical hubris into a freelance web design business.
Read Clayton's bio on our site to learn more about our newest team member.
New Sites:
KipstersGymnastics.com -When your little kipster needs something active to do, check out Kipsters Gymnastics for open gym times for all ages. Kipsters offers age appropriate classes and gym facilities for kids from toddlers to teens. This new facility in Eugene, Oregon also offers adult and family fitness and dance classes. Spanish speaking staff are welcoming to anyone of any age.
K16Distribution.com - This site offers educational software at wholesale prices to educators and schools.
1oftheFamily.com - Your pets are "one of the family," and this site is your one-stop shopping site for organic, fair-trade and eco-friendly pet food,grooming supplies and furniture. Just like you would want for yourself.
CritterIDTags.com - With hundreds of sizes and colors available for engraved pet identification tags, Critter ID Tags can give your pets, or your luggage or other personal belongings, a ticket home if they should ever need one.
Redesigned Sites:
ChocolateCovers.com - What's sweeter than a chocolate bar? One that's got a custom wrapper! Chocolate Covers can design and print a custom wrapper for just about anything, from mini chocolate bars to 5-pound chocolate bars, to popcorn tubs or packs of gum. They do full-service printing as well, for all of your printed paper goods or sweets for special events or business marketing.
BevelEdge.com - Bevel Edge can supply you with all the necessary materials for laminate counter top renewal, including every color or pattern of sheet laminate, countertop trim, backsplash, colored caulk, sinks, tools and adhesives. Bevel Edge manufactures thousands of pattern, color and finish combinations and hundreds of Granite laminate patterns to match Wilsonart and Formica sheet laminate.
Mobile Site:
MightyMerchant Mobile sites allow smart phone or mobile users to view a site with a page layout specifically designer for mobile devices.
CounselingCenter.org - The Counseling Center's new mobile website allows mobile users to view and read the full articles about the Center's services, access contact information and location with the same readability as the full website.
Holiday Shopping Website Prep
It hardly seems fair that before the summer sun has stopped shining we have to begin thinking about the winter months. But now that it is mid-September, we have four months coming up with seemingly non-stop holidays and we need to start planning for our Ecommerce success.The first thing to do is create your strategy. Plan out important dates for the coming months: when you will announce sales, end sales, send out your related marketing emails, announce new stock, send out free shipping notices, etc.
Next, evaluate your website and see what needs to be refreshed or updated to reflect the current gift-giving season. Decide which gift items you will feature. If you would like to update your site to include sales suggestions, such as "If you like this item, you'll love this one..." there is still time.
The following HEROweb articles can help you plan your holiday marketing strategies:
"Holiday Prep Checklist" - Provides a guide to important dates and planning your email campaigns
"Optimizing Your Site For Holiday Traffic" - Compiles several articles related to actions you can take to effectively promote your website during the winter shopping season.
Wishing for a Wish List?
MightyMerchant now offers a Wish List Feature. Your customers can choose to add items to a wish list for purchase later. In order to use the wish list, customers must sign up for an account on your web site so they can view their wish list when they return later. Items on the wish list can be easily added to the shopping cart. Once purchased, the items are automatically removed from the wish list.The wish list feature is a great way to get customers to keep coming back to your web site and to build up your list of regular shoppers. Customers can "share" their wish lists with family and friends as well! This gets more visitors to your site and also gets those items off your shelf more quickly. If you already have user accounts on your web site, you can add the Wish List feature for $250. If you don't have accounts, the Wish List feature is a great reason to consider adding the accounts feature as well.
Mobile Sync Feature for Email
Keeping up with email when you're on the go is sometimes a problem. Contacts that are in your webmail are not always in your phone, and if you send an important email from your phone, there's not always a copy of it in your webmail inbox when you get back to your desk.Rackspace Webmail, HEROweb's email hosting partner, has introduced Mobile Sync, which solves this problem.
Built on Microsoft ActiveSync technology, the Mobile Sync service syncs your Email, Contacts and Calendars between Webmail and your iPhone or Android device. So, add a Contact on your mobile device and it appears in Webmail. Edit a Calendar event in Webmail and the change appears on your phone. Email is also “push” with Mobile Sync, which means it’s delivered instantly – no more waiting or hitting the refresh icon. Rackspace Webmail users will now see a Mobile Sync link in their Webmail interface explaining the benefits of the service and how to enable it.
If you have any questions about Mobile Sync or its launch, please contact us. HEROweb can add Mobile Sync to any Rackspace mailbox for just $2 per user per month.
Welcome to Clayton Glasser, Our New Web Projects Assistant
Clayton is our newest employee, who joins us as Web Projects Assistant. Clayton relocated to Eugene from cold Cleveland, Ohio. He came to attend Gutenberg College, fell in love with Eugene, and stayed. He says that the alternative culture of the Northwest and Eugene’s emerald hills have only sweetened the deal.At Gutenberg College, Clayton earned a BA that covered western philosophy, history, sociology, science, math, art, Greek and German, and much of the ground in between. His career in Web Design and Development took shape after graduating, when he combined his independent spirit, aesthetic interests, and technical hubris into a freelance web design business.
Welcoming New HEROweb Customers, Redesigns & New Mobile Sites
Check out these great new sites, redesigned sites & new mobile sites!New Sites:
KipstersGymnastics.com -When your little kipster needs something active to do, check out Kipsters Gymnastics for open gym times for all ages. Kipsters offers age appropriate classes and gym facilities for kids from toddlers to teens. This new facility in Eugene, Oregon also offers adult and family fitness and dance classes. Spanish speaking staff are welcoming to anyone of any age.
K16Distribution.com - This site offers educational software at wholesale prices to educators and schools.
1oftheFamily.com - Your pets are "one of the family," and this site is your one-stop shopping site for organic, fair-trade and eco-friendly pet food,grooming supplies and furniture. Just like you would want for yourself.
CritterIDTags.com - With hundreds of sizes and colors available for engraved pet identification tags, Critter ID Tags can give your pets, or your luggage or other personal belongings, a ticket home if they should ever need one.
Redesigned Sites:
ChocolateCovers.com - What's sweeter than a chocolate bar? One that's got a custom wrapper! Chocolate Covers can design and print a custom wrapper for just about anything, from mini chocolate bars to 5-pound chocolate bars, to popcorn tubs or packs of gum. They do full-service printing as well, for all of your printed paper goods or sweets for special events or business marketing.
BevelEdge.com - Bevel Edge can supply you with all the necessary materials for laminate counter top renewal, including every color or pattern of sheet laminate, countertop trim, backsplash, colored caulk, sinks, tools and adhesives. Bevel Edge manufactures thousands of pattern, color and finish combinations and hundreds of Granite laminate patterns to match Wilsonart and Formica sheet laminate.
Mobile Site:
MightyMerchant Mobile sites allow smart phone or mobile users to view a site with a page layout specifically designer for mobile devices.
CounselingCenter.org - The Counseling Center's new mobile website allows mobile users to view and read the full articles about the Center's services, access contact information and location with the same readability as the full website.
