The SitePoint TRIBUNE #303 Copyright (c) 2004 September 23rd, 2004 PLEASE FORWARD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - News, Rants and Case Studies for Web Design Professionals by Matt Mickiewicz ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Note: This newsletter is supported solely by advertisers like the one below. We stand 100% behind every ad that we run. If you ever have a problem with a company that advertises here please contact us and we will try to get it resolved. -- Matt Mickiewicz IN THIS ISSUE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Introduction - Editor's Perspective: Benchmark For Success - What's New on SitePoint! - Hot Forum Topics - New Blog Entries SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Want More Web Development Clients? * The Web Design Business Kit will give you everything you need to start or grow a Web Design or Freelancing Business, including how-to sales and marketing information, sample proposals, business plans, advertising ideas, contracts and more. "We are one of the oldest web development companies in Sydney and thought we had everything sorted. After reading just part of The Web Design Business Kit it's obvious that we have plenty of room for improvement. We have implemented some of the books recommendations and have already noticed a big jump in the customer conversions and customer satisfaction." - Nick Forde, www.aussiecom.com "The kit is awesome. Very practical, very useful. I just won a large contract using some things I learned from the kit, I was definitely the underdog but I walked away with the bone." - Phil Thornton, www.raephillips.com "I highly recommend this kit to anyone starting or currently running a web consulting business. It's well worth the money." - Jamie Hatch, www.jamiehatch.com Get 4 Sample Chapters From The Web Design Business Kit at: http://sitepoint.com/books/freelance1/ * Order before September 31st, and save $50.00 USD * INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I caught the dreaded flu earlier in the week and took a few days off. My business slowed down a little because I wasn't here to do my thing. This is bad in a few ways. I really need to set systems in place so the business runs whether or not I'm here. Although, this would dent my fragile ego (I'm irreplaceable, right?)! Below I'll review a couple of great mailing list management programs, we'll discuss exactly how Amazon does what it does, and, as a special treat, I'll show you how to toss away $1,500 in one easy step! Happy Reading! Brendon Sinclair mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] P.S. If you haven't already, be sure to sign up to receive the monthly SitePoint Design View newsletter -- any designer who wants to stay on the bleeding edge needs this newsletter. (Be sure to reply to the confirmation message you receive in your email): http://sitepoint.com/newsletter/ EDITOR'S PERSPECTIVE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MAILING LIST MANAGEMENT MADE EASY I always know when a piece of software, a Website or an article is good. If it is, I always come back to it. In my business, we send out a few newsletters -- 9 of them, in fact. We send 5 across a couple of my businesses, and 4 other to clients. Total subscribers? Just over 80,000. I first used Constant Contact (http://www.constantcontact.com [1]) about 5 years ago. It was okay and I used it for a while. But, because it was one of the first I'd used, I assumed that if I kept looking I'd find something better. I then moved onto Dada (formerly Mojo) Mail (http://mojo.skazat.com/ [2]). This was a free service that suited my needs for a while. Next on the list was an autoresponder service. It had some advantages, but then one big disadvantage popped up: they went out of business (I could have continued with them when they restarted, but that would have meant reconfiguring everything and I didn't have the time. I was also a little nervous they wouldn't last.). What's the trend through all this? I keep coming back to Constant Contact. The reasons why: - Great range of template newsletter designs (or you can custom-design) - Very simple to use (I showed a client how to set up and go in 10 minutes flat) - Easy importing of existing email lists - Sends in html (but converts to a text email if it doesn't detect an html email reader) - Excellent reports (from subscribers to email bounces to emails opened to links followed to comparative metrics and lots more) We have achieved our best results -- in terms of sales and feedback -- with Constant Contact. An alternative to Constant Contact that looks promising is VerticalResponse.com [3] . Dada Mail A very intuitive Control Panel makes using Dada Mail as easy as 1-2-3.You're in complete control of everything! It's a breeze to use. The developer has an interesting perception of the program -- to him, it's a work of art. You can read more of his philosophy on the site (http://mojo.skazat.com/ [4]). Dada Mail is free software released under the GNU Public License (but if you use it, do send a contribution to Justin, the developer). [1] <http://www.constantcontact.com> [2] <http://mojo.skazat.com/> [3] <http://www.verticalresponse.com> [4] <http://mojo.skazat.com/> SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NEW RELEASE! The Flash Anthology: Cool Effects & Practical ActionScript * Want to learn Flash or upgrade your skills? The Flash Anthology will teach you how to: - Create & customize dozens of Flash effects - Validate Flash forms - Use CSS in Flash - Work with external data - Produce graphs & charts - Build a simple blog reader application - Debug your code quickly and easily - ... and much more! Download three free sample chapters at: http://www.sitepoint.com/books/flashant1/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - AMAZON - A GREAT BENCHMARK Benchmarking is always a great way to improve your business. It lets you see how others are doing things, and gauge how you compare. It gives you the information to improve what you do wherever you can. Benchmarking isn't just about looking at businesses in your specific industry sector, though. It can be really handy to look at other, potentially much larger (or smaller!) businesses to get ideas. Take Amazon, for example. Amazon has: - 19-20 inventory turns a year, with a gross margin of 24% - A negative operating cycle -- Amazon receives a product from its supplier on Day 0; it ships the product to the customer on Day 20; it receives the customer's payment on Day 23, and pays its supplier on Day 44 - Revenue projections for every minute of every day, with upper and lower bounds - Lots and lots and lots of A/B testing in which one aspect of the site is tested against another Even the smallest can learn from the biggest (I'm certain Amazon looks to small, innovative Websites for ideas, too!). Which of Amazon's tactics can you apply to your own business? THE RISE AND RISE OF INSTANT MESSAGING Pew Internet (http://www.pewinternet.org/ [1]) recently released data that shows 42% of online adults in the US use instant messaging (IM). A huge 24% of those IM users say that they now use the service more frequently than email! This could herald the start of a move away from email, as spam continues unchecked. Keep an eye on the IM space for future developments! OVERTURE MOVES TO BROAD MATCHING In the next few weeks, Overture will take the plunge -- they'll start matching terms on a broad basis, rather than the traditional exact match default the search engine has always used. In my view, this is a good move. I think Overture needs to provide 2 things to compete more effectively: 1. Better results for visitors (broad match will help there) 1. An easier interface for advertisers I'm on track to spend almost $400,000 this year on Pay Per Click advertising. But I don't use Overture as much as perhaps I should, because it's just too hard for me to understand. Now, I know I'm not that smart (!), but still, Overture needs to cater to people like me who can't understand their interface at a glance, and don't have the time to devote to figuring it all out. TOSS AWAY $1,500 IN 1 EASY STEP! To help promote the Web design arm of my business, I've taken display ads in my local newspaper for the past 2 weeks (Friday, Wednesday, and Friday). These ads, which have worked wonders in the past, have generated us the grand total of 0 leads so far. At this point in out last campaign (which used the same ads, on the same days -- the same everything!) we'd generated 6 leads, most of which turned into projects. Sometimes all the testing, measuring and hoping in the world doesn't amount to anything! Our most consistent form of lead generation for the past 6 years has been referrals from happy customers. It's the same story for most Web firms. Keeping the customer delighted is your best -- and cheapest -- form of marketing (way better than spending $1,500 on newspaper ads!). [1] <http://www.pewinternet.org/> WHAT'S NEW ON SITEPOINT! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Install And Configure ColdFusion MX 6.1 on Windows by Eric Jones Are you a ColdFusion convert? Now's your chance to get on board as Eric shows how to install ColdFusion 6.1, and explains the steps involved in setting up a ColdFusion Development server on your home computer. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1400 How to Master Influence Skills to Sell More Web Design Services by Andrew Neitlich Selling is all about influence skills... Do *you* have any? Andrew walks us step by step through the principles of influence, then explains how we can create more influential marketing tools and better influence sales opportunities. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1399 Get More out of SQL Server's Web Assistant Wizard by Ruben Heetebrij Embrace the advanced features of SQL Server's Web Assistant Wizard and wave your database manipulation cares goodbye. Displaying selected data is easy with the tools the Assistant provides to manipulate SQL queries and HTML output, as Ruben explains... http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1398 More Usable Forms - Controlling Scroll Position by Robert Symonds Make your forms more usable by controlling the user's scroll position after post-backs. Robert leverages JavaScript to implement this valuable functionality -- in your chosen server side language! http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1397 Introducing PHP 5's Standard Library by Harry Fuecks Program reusable code easily with the Standard PHP Library extension. As Harry explains, this promising functionality snuck into PHP 5 without fanfare, but bodes extremely well for the future of standardised PHP development. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1396 HOT FORUM TOPICS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - can firefox challege IE <http://www.sitepointforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=196960> Client refusing to pay!!! <http://www.sitepointforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=197360> New prospect, when do you talk money? <http://www.sitepointforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=196504> The Top ways to get a High Ranking <http://www.sitepointforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=194761> NEW BLOG ENTRIES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PHP Blog: DYNAMICALLY TYPED Couple-O-Links <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=197650> Wez on PHP5 COM support (2 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=197527> Flash Blog: GO FLASH GO! Photo Flasher Effect Panel for Flash MX 2004 Professional (4 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=197305> Add Some Emphasis to Your Site (9 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=196190> Selling Web Design Services Blog: DOWN TO BUSINESS Getting back a lost client -- a case study in "try, try, and try again" (4 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=197267> Precision (7 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=196748> An important article about influence skills and strategies! (2 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=196163> DHTML & CSS Blog: STYLISH SCRIPTING CSS tricks in both dimensions (1 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=197199> A9 and Google Local (8 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=196678> ColdFusion Blog: INFUSED DB Slowdown after migrating from CF5 to CFMX? <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=197105> New Article! Installing CFMX <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=197034> Design Blog: PIXEL PERFECT Making a Difference (4 comments) <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=195792> .NET Blog: DAILY CATCH News of IIS 7 <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=196427> Open Source Blog: OPEN SOURCERY Open Source Coming of Age <http://www.sitepoint.com/blog-post-view.php?id=195399> ADVERTISING INFORMATION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Find out what thousands of savvy Internet marketers already know: email newsletter advertising works! (You're reading an email ad now, aren't you?) Find out how to get YOUR sponsorship ad in this newsletter and reach 74,000+ opt-in subscribers! Check out http://www.sitepoint.com/mediakit/ for details, or email us at mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] HELP YOUR FRIENDS OUT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - People you care about can take charge of their Website by effectively using the information and resources available on the Internet. Help them learn how - forward them a copy of this week's SitePoint Tribune. ADDRESSES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Send suggestions and comments to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, send a blank email to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] The Archives are located at: http://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/archives.php SitePoint.com is hosted by Rackspace and VenturesOnline: http://www.rackspace.com http://www.venturesonline.com The SitePoint Tribune is hosted by SparkList: http://www.sitepoint.com/newsletters/sparklist/ The SitePoint Tribune is (c) 1998-2004 SitePoint Pty. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 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