Entrepreneur. Web Marketer. Lifelong Student.
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Blog Directories?

November 23rd, 2007

I was starting to submit my blog for Second Nature Snowmaking to a few directories tonight but figured I would keep track of the ones I was submitting to in order to see how long it takes to get them submitted, how many visitors and subscribers I am getting from each, and if they are showing up as backlinks in search engine results. So, here’s the list:

-BlogFlux.com
-Technorati.com
-BlogCatalog.com
-Blogarama.com
-BlogTopList.com
-BlogDirs.com
-Blogdup.com
-Bloggeries.com
-BestBlogs.org
-Blog-directory.org

The Marketing of Shipping

November 20th, 2007

I was listening to and studying the notes from MarketingExperiments.com’s study on shipping and shipping charges for online retailers. Here is a quick review:

Three Shipping Tactics

Tactic 1 – Low Prices / High Shipping
-Risk losing repeat customers
Tactic 2 – Average Prices w/ Free Shipping
-Customers first evaluate on price, then check on shipping
-Offer a Rush Order Upgrade Where it Ships Out That Day, No Extra Cost But Added Benefit
Tactic 3 – Free Shipping as an Incentive

Four Guidelines

1) Do not set threshold price too high
2) Do not set threshold price lower than average order price
3) Make sure customers are 100% aware of free shipping offer
4) Use a clearance item are to help customer reach free shipping threshold

In Action

I wanted to see these principles in action so I did a quick Google search for free shipping offers and found a few that we’re interesting to think about with these principles in mind.

ETOYS.COM – Minimum order of $99 required for free shipping, with most items being priced from $10-$30 it would require multiple items to be purchased and it would be hard to hit $99 right on the nose. But, $99 doesn’t feel very far out of reach when thinking about toys so I would imagine it would be a good incentive.

BACKCOUNTRY.COM – I love backcountry.com and noticed on this visit the “free shipping on orders over $50″ link in the upper right hand corner. If you know this site, you will know that most products cost at least $100, but I think the products this $50 threshold are geared towards are the smaller things like nalgene bottles, t-shirts, and beanies where normally that would just be a one item purchase, but the free shipping offer may encourage customers to order two or three to get the free offer.

ABEBOOKS.COM – They offer free shipping on almost everything in their store! As I thought about this one my guess is its all about their competition. Books are books, no matter where you buy them from and it is fairly easy to head down to Border’s and snag something. Shipping is also very inexpensive for books, if you can give them the added convenience of shopping from home without having to pay for the shipping then the appeal of online book shopping would increase.

MEC Labs – Shipping Charges Tested

What Happened to Peace and Quiet?

November 19th, 2007

I went fishing today after I took a midterm in Corporate Finance. It was a chilly morning and I decided to stay fairly close to the mouth of the Logan Canyon so I decided to fish along a stretch of the river that has a wide trail frequented by joggers and bikers. Here I was in this beautiful place, a perfect time to enjoy the scenery (pictured below) and think and was the one thing that every jogger had in common?

Every single jogger…and I mean EVERY SINGLE jogger had an ipod on!  Who knows what they were listening to, but what happened to thinking and pondering?  What does this have to do with business? Everything!  If I want my business to grow and thrive, I need time to take a step back and think.  To look at where things are going and make sure I haven’t become to wrapped up in what I am doing and lost focus on what could be needs to be done to improve my business.

Now, it is true that the joggers I shared the trail with this morning probably weren’t too concerned about a budding business they had waiting for them at home, but it is the pattern I see that is strage.  As I walk to school, everyone has an iPod.   When I am home, my roommates are always watching TV shows over and over again like Smallville, 24, and House.  We are so attached to our cell phones we put those goofy Bluetooth earpieces in and wear them everywhere (including to my uncles funeral, i wanted to punch the guy).

I guess to me its always been important to unplug my life and step back.  Think about where things are going and get rid of all the noise that surrounds me the rest of the time.  I don’t see how we can think clearly when we are always trying to fill your mind with distractions.

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