| Welcome
Back to The Cheshire Group Newsletter |
|
This is the 20th issue of The Better Mousetrap. Many
of you have joined our mailing list after the first issue.
So we have archived all the 19 previous issues on our web
site. It is easy to review all of them. Just click
here for the list or go to the Cheshire Group web site
and click on the link
that says The Better Mousetrap E-Mail Newsletters.
We hope that you are continuing to enjoy
The Better
Mousetrap Online Newsletter. Many of the articles
in this newsletter come from our book, Morsels from
THE BETTER MOUSETRAP. Just
click here to order your copy. Or visit our web site at
www.cheshiregroup.com
so that you can learn more about The Cheshire Group and see
samples of our work.
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HOW
TO MERCHANDISE YOUR WEB SITE
And Tell the World What You've
Got. |
| Now that your
new web site is finally finished, what are you going to do
with it? Sit back and wait for the world to beat a path to
your door? Remember what we always say about better mousetraps:
you have to let the world know yours has been built.
Well, sure, your say, but isn't that
what search engines are for?
It would be nice if it were actually
that simple. But if you rely totally on search engines to
direct traffic to your site, the path to your door is going
to be overgrown rather than beaten.
There are four ways people can get
to your site: 1) they find you on a search engine, 2) they
follow a link from another site to yours, 3) they click on
a banner ad that you run (and pay for) or 4) they type in
your address.
Since this is an article on site merchandising,
we will look only briefly at the first three methods.
1) Creating visibility with search
engines is a fine art that involves keyword phrases, entry
pages, meta and alt tags and an intimate knowledge of the
constantly shifting habits and tastes of search engines such
as Google, Yahoo and MSN. If indexing, or search engine optimization
(SEO) is a black art to you, contact
the Cheshire Group for assistance today.
2) If you are able to link with other
sites, do so. Linking can capture attention for you from others
sites, and it boosts visibility with the search engines as
well.
3) A banner is paid advertising, web
style, and it is an excellent tactic if you have the dollars.
Okay, let's say you have done 1) through
3) or you can't afford to do it, or you don't want to do it.
But if you have a web site, you must
be expecting company. And if you are in business today, folks
expect you to be on the web. Potential customers want to look
you over, they want information on your company products or
services. So here are some tips for merchandising your site:
Go out of your way to tell people about your web site. Include
your web address on EVERYTHING. You don't even have to spell
out an invitation to "See us on the web at html://...." Today
that prefix "www" says it all.
Put your web address on your letterhead and business
cards.
Add your address to your current advertising.
Announce your address through a postcard mailing
Offer an incentive to pull folks to your site.
Can't afford a big media campaign? Run as many mini
ads as you can afford that prominently feature your web address
and suggest that something valuable (information or sales
items) is waiting on your site.
Not everyone needs to be "discovered"
by search engines. Some folks create a web site simply to
build credibility. And there are web sites that exist solely
for the purpose of talking to present customers and clients.
Now that you have a web site, act
like the homely hen crowing about her single egg. Tell the
world what you've got. |
| |
BILL
GATES vs GENERAL MOTORS.
(Courtesy of US Tech). |
| At a recent
computer expo Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer
industry with the auto industry and stated, "IF GM kept
up with technology like the computer industry has, we would
all be driving $25.00 cars that 1,000 miles to the gallon."
In response to  Bill's
comments General Motors issued a press release stating: "If
General Motors had developed technology like Microsoft, we
would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
Every time they repainted the lines in the road you
would have to buy a new car.
Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason.
You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all
the windows, shut off the car, restart it and reopen the windows
before you could continue. For some reason you would simply
accept this.
Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would
cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which
case you would have to reinstall the engine.
Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun,
was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive,
but would run on only five percent of the roads.
The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights
would be all be replaced by a single 'This Car has Performed
an Illegal Operation' warning light.
The airbag system would ask 'Are You Sure?' before deploying.
Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock
you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously
lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of
the radio antenna.
Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have
to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls
would operate in the same manner as the old car.
You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine
off."
|
BET
YOU DIDN'T KNOW.
Trivia Courtesy of Dr Bob. |
|
In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that
a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker
than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb'.
Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented.
It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'...and
thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime
time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than
the U.S . Treasury.
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can
hear better.
Coca-Cola was originally green. |
|
BEEN
THERE. DONE THAT.
More Symptoms That You've Had Too Much Of
Technology.
|
| •
You buy a computer and a week later it's out of date and is
now selling for half the price you paid.
• The concept of using real
money, instead of credit or debit, to make a purchase is foreign
to you.
• Cleaning up the dining area
means getting the fast food bags out of the back of the car.
• Your reason for not staying
in touch with family is that they do not have e-mail addresses.
• You consider 2nd day air
delivery painfully slow.
• You refer to your dining
room table as the flat filing cabinet.
• You hear most of your jokes
via e-mail instead of in person. |
|
|
|
"Men
are disturbed not by things but by the view they
take of them."
Epictetus
|
"You
have to eat oatmeal or you'll dry up. Anybody knows
that."
Kay
Thompson
|
|
| "Build
a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your
door."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
You
can build it but they don't have to come. Let your
market know the product is there.
Advertise!
Promote!
Communicate!
THE
BETTER MOUSETRAP helps you do it. To do it even better call
The Cheshire Group at 978 664-3040 or visit
us at:
www.cheshiregroup.com
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