Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

I hope this blog post finds you well and enjoying this festive season. We have made many changes at the International Internet Marketing Association in the past three months. These improvements will continue throughout 2010 as we bring you more content, more events, and more services. Our membership is growing and we are reaching out to new global territories connecting with the world’s leading marketing experts. In April/September 2010, Vancouver will be the host to the world class Internet Marketing Conference. We hope you can participate.

Sincerely,
James Laitinen – Director / @jlate

Upcoming Events

IIMA Event Review: Social Media: Where’s the ROI?

By Charlene Brisson, MAPC
Marketing & Communication Specialist, @charlenebrisson
What an opportunity it was to attend the Dec 9th IIMA session Social Media: Where’s the ROI! Return on Investment is the holy grail of social media (SM) that marketers are seeking to produce immediately successful campaigns. Proof of time and money spent is critical to show clients and bosses that SM marketing efforts aren’t merely the exploits of fantasy, but will actually lead to customer acquisition. The full house at the event followed up by an active Q&A provides further proof that the topic is hot and marketers want to know more. Presenters Darren Barefoot, (@dbarefoot) of Capulet Communications, Warren Sukernek, (@warrenss) of Lift9 and Stephen Smith (@webnames) of Webnames.ca did an excellent job presenting. Read more…

January 13th, Connect with Jason Billingsley

By James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA
Some of the feedback we received regarding the Dec 9th event was for a pre-event opportunity to ask the speaker questions and have them answered at the event. We would like to make those changes and give you a new forum to have your questions asked, and answered by our expert presenter. To submit your questions regarding E-commerce: 42 Things You Can to Sell More Online Next Week we have setup the following options.  

Email: info@iimaonline.org with your first name, last name, company and question for Jason.
Twitter: @iimaonline and use the hash tag #iimajan13
Phone: (778) 373-8785
All questions will be condensed, and a full report will be provided after the event with all the answers for registrants of the event and IIMA members.

Resources & Guides

 
Step By Step Guide: Using Microsoft Windows Live Messenger to Integrate With Your Facebook Profile
By James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA
One of the tools that I have always loved is Microsoft Windows Live Messenger. The free downloadable/web versions have only gotten better with the Windows Live services. Considering the user base, the zero cost entry for people to adopt it’s a pretty compelling story. Additional benefits are also now for your contacts are now replicated through your email. You can seamlessly integrate with the Windows Live Mail email client, and it’s a great way to have all your contacts, communications in one place to connect with people. Read more…

13 Simple Tactics to Prevent, Detect Content Plagiarism
How can you prevent and detect Content Plagiarism? Plagiarism is a serious issue in the blog world and it is a prime duty for all bloggers to prevent their content from getting copied and also take the corrective action when needed. Every blogger gets annoyed when someone copies their content and ranks higher than them in the search engines. While it is highly unlikely to stop blog scrappers and splogs from emerging there are some simple measures that a blogger can do to tackle this effectively. As we always know prevention is better than cure and hence the first step is to take preventive steps which will make it hard for the scrappers to copy your content. Read more…

#FollowFriday: The Anatomy of a Twitter Trend
What if you didn’t know who to follow on Twitter? Would you randomly start following people? Would you follow people you see mentioned by those you already follow? Most likely you would ask your friends for recommendations since you can trust that your friends will suggest people who are worth following. Which is exactly how FollowFriday began. Read more…

How To: Find A Job On Twitter
Tough economic times call for innovative approaches. An estimated 51 million people internationally are expected to lose their jobs in 2009, and with the unemployment rate on the rise, how does one find career opportunities fast? One great option is Twitter. Read more…

 

Recipes For The Holidays

Peppermint Martini Recipe - submitted by Charity Robertson @charitysweb, Director of Communications IIMA
Ginger Cookies Recipe - submitted by James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA

Just For Fun!

1. Best Christmas Card of the Year! (See the card…)
2. What Not To Do For SEO: Over Disclose on Twitter (Watch the Video)
3. Home Depot – Watch and Listen to Jingle Bells Played with Power Tools (Watch the Video)
4. Host An Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! (Read more…)

Charity’s Book Wishlist (Reading List)

Charity Robertson @charitysweb, Director of Communications IIMA

The Big Switch: Rewiring The World From Edison To Google
Author: Nicholas Carr
While it may seem that we’re in the midst of an unprecedented technological transition, Carr (Does IT Matter?) posits that the direction of the digital revolution has a strong historical corollary: electrification. Carr argues that computing, no longer personal, is going the way of a power utility. Read more…

Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
Author: Seth Godin
The classic bestseller that taught the business world that safe is risky; very good is bad; and above all, you’re either remarkable or invisible. In 2002, Seth Godin asked a simple question that turned the business world upside down: What do Starbucks and JetBlue and Apple and Dutch Boy and Hard Candy have that other companies don’t? How did they confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind formerly tried-and-true brands? Godin showed. Read more…

Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer
Author: Bryan Eisenberg et al.
Stop guessing, start testing, and enjoy greater success with your website. If you’re looking for more leads, sales, and profit from your website, then look no further than this expert guide to Google’s free A/B and multivariate website testing tool, Google Website Optimizer. Recognized online marketing guru and New York Times bestselling author, Bryan Eisenberg. Read more…

I hope this blog post finds you well and enjoying this festive season. We have made many changes at the International Internet Marketing Association in the past three months. These improvements will continue throughout 2010 as we bring you more content, more events, and more services. Our membership is growing and we are reaching out to new global territories connecting with the world’s leading marketing experts. In April/September 2010, Vancouver will be the host to the world class Internet Marketing Conference. We hope you can participate.

Sincerely,
James Laitinen – Director / @jlate

Upcoming Events

IIMA Event Review: Social Media: Where’s the ROI?

By Charlene Brisson, MAPC
Marketing & Communication Specialist, @charlenebrisson
What an opportunity it was to attend the Dec 9th IIMA session Social Media: Where’s the ROI! Return on Investment is the holy grail of social media (SM) that marketers are seeking to produce immediately successful campaigns. Proof of time and money spent is critical to show clients and bosses that SM marketing efforts aren’t merely the exploits of fantasy, but will actually lead to customer acquisition. The full house at the event followed up by an active Q&A provides further proof that the topic is hot and marketers want to know more. Presenters Darren Barefoot, (@dbarefoot) of Capulet Communications, Warren Sukernek, (@warrenss) of Lift9 and Stephen Smith (@webnames) of Webnames.ca did an excellent job presenting. Read more…

January 13th, Connect with Jason Billingsley

By James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA
Some of the feedback we received regarding the Dec 9th event was for a pre-event opportunity to ask the speaker questions and have them answered at the event. We would like to make those changes and give you a new forum to have your questions asked, and answered by our expert presenter. To submit your questions regarding E-commerce: 42 Things You Can to Sell More Online Next Week we have setup the following options.  

Email: info@iimaonline.org with your first name, last name, company and question for Jason.
Twitter: @iimaonline and use the hash tag #iimajan13
Phone: (778) 373-8785
All questions will be condensed, and a full report will be provided after the event with all the answers for registrants of the event and IIMA members.

Resources & Guides

 
Step By Step Guide: Using Microsoft Windows Live Messenger to Integrate With Your Facebook Profile
By James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA
One of the tools that I have always loved is Microsoft Windows Live Messenger. The free downloadable/web versions have only gotten better with the Windows Live services. Considering the user base, the zero cost entry for people to adopt it’s a pretty compelling story. Additional benefits are also now for your contacts are now replicated through your email. You can seamlessly integrate with the Windows Live Mail email client, and it’s a great way to have all your contacts, communications in one place to connect with people. Read more…

13 Simple Tactics to Prevent, Detect Content Plagiarism
How can you prevent and detect Content Plagiarism? Plagiarism is a serious issue in the blog world and it is a prime duty for all bloggers to prevent their content from getting copied and also take the corrective action when needed. Every blogger gets annoyed when someone copies their content and ranks higher than them in the search engines. While it is highly unlikely to stop blog scrappers and splogs from emerging there are some simple measures that a blogger can do to tackle this effectively. As we always know prevention is better than cure and hence the first step is to take preventive steps which will make it hard for the scrappers to copy your content. Read more…

#FollowFriday: The Anatomy of a Twitter Trend
What if you didn’t know who to follow on Twitter? Would you randomly start following people? Would you follow people you see mentioned by those you already follow? Most likely you would ask your friends for recommendations since you can trust that your friends will suggest people who are worth following. Which is exactly how FollowFriday began. Read more…

How To: Find A Job On Twitter
Tough economic times call for innovative approaches. An estimated 51 million people internationally are expected to lose their jobs in 2009, and with the unemployment rate on the rise, how does one find career opportunities fast? One great option is Twitter. Read more…

 

Recipes For The Holidays

Peppermint Martini Recipe - submitted by Charity Robertson @charitysweb, Director of Communications IIMA
Ginger Cookies Recipe - submitted by James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA

Just For Fun!

1. Best Christmas Card of the Year! (See the card…)
2. What Not To Do For SEO: Over Disclose on Twitter (Watch the Video)
3. Home Depot – Watch and Listen to Jingle Bells Played with Power Tools (Watch the Video)
4. Host An Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! (Read more…)

Charity’s Book Wishlist (Reading List)

Charity Robertson @charitysweb, Director of Communications IIMA

The Big Switch: Rewiring The World From Edison To Google
Author: Nicholas Carr
While it may seem that we’re in the midst of an unprecedented technological transition, Carr (Does IT Matter?) posits that the direction of the digital revolution has a strong historical corollary: electrification. Carr argues that computing, no longer personal, is going the way of a power utility. Read more…

Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
Author: Seth Godin
The classic bestseller that taught the business world that safe is risky; very good is bad; and above all, you’re either remarkable or invisible. In 2002, Seth Godin asked a simple question that turned the business world upside down: What do Starbucks and JetBlue and Apple and Dutch Boy and Hard Candy have that other companies don’t? How did they confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind formerly tried-and-true brands? Godin showed. Read more…

Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer
Author: Bryan Eisenberg et al.
Stop guessing, start testing, and enjoy greater success with your website. If you’re looking for more leads, sales, and profit from your website, then look no further than this expert guide to Google’s free A/B and multivariate website testing tool, Google Website Optimizer. Recognized online marketing guru and New York Times bestselling author, Bryan Eisenberg. Read more…

I hope this blog post finds you well and enjoying this festive season. We have made many changes at the International Internet Marketing Association in the past three months. These improvements will continue throughout 2010 as we bring you more content, more events, and more services. Our membership is growing and we are reaching out to new global territories connecting with the world’s leading marketing experts. In April/September 2010, Vancouver will be the host to the world class Internet Marketing Conference. We hope you can participate.

Sincerely,
James Laitinen – Director / @jlate

Upcoming Events

IIMA Event Review: Social Media: Where’s the ROI?

By Charlene Brisson, MAPC
Marketing & Communication Specialist, @charlenebrisson
What an opportunity it was to attend the Dec 9th IIMA session Social Media: Where’s the ROI! Return on Investment is the holy grail of social media (SM) that marketers are seeking to produce immediately successful campaigns. Proof of time and money spent is critical to show clients and bosses that SM marketing efforts aren’t merely the exploits of fantasy, but will actually lead to customer acquisition. The full house at the event followed up by an active Q&A provides further proof that the topic is hot and marketers want to know more. Presenters Darren Barefoot, (@dbarefoot) of Capulet Communications, Warren Sukernek, (@warrenss) of Lift9 and Stephen Smith (@webnames) of Webnames.ca did an excellent job presenting. Read more…

January 13th, Connect with Jason Billingsley

By James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA
Some of the feedback we received regarding the Dec 9th event was for a pre-event opportunity to ask the speaker questions and have them answered at the event. We would like to make those changes and give you a new forum to have your questions asked, and answered by our expert presenter. To submit your questions regarding E-commerce: 42 Things You Can to Sell More Online Next Week we have setup the following options.  

Email: info@iimaonline.org with your first name, last name, company and question for Jason.
Twitter: @iimaonline and use the hash tag #iimajan13
Phone: (778) 373-8785
All questions will be condensed, and a full report will be provided after the event with all the answers for registrants of the event and IIMA members.

Resources & Guides

 
Step By Step Guide: Using Microsoft Windows Live Messenger to Integrate With Your Facebook Profile
By James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA
One of the tools that I have always loved is Microsoft Windows Live Messenger. The free downloadable/web versions have only gotten better with the Windows Live services. Considering the user base, the zero cost entry for people to adopt it’s a pretty compelling story. Additional benefits are also now for your contacts are now replicated through your email. You can seamlessly integrate with the Windows Live Mail email client, and it’s a great way to have all your contacts, communications in one place to connect with people. Read more…

13 Simple Tactics to Prevent, Detect Content Plagiarism
How can you prevent and detect Content Plagiarism? Plagiarism is a serious issue in the blog world and it is a prime duty for all bloggers to prevent their content from getting copied and also take the corrective action when needed. Every blogger gets annoyed when someone copies their content and ranks higher than them in the search engines. While it is highly unlikely to stop blog scrappers and splogs from emerging there are some simple measures that a blogger can do to tackle this effectively. As we always know prevention is better than cure and hence the first step is to take preventive steps which will make it hard for the scrappers to copy your content. Read more…

#FollowFriday: The Anatomy of a Twitter Trend
What if you didn’t know who to follow on Twitter? Would you randomly start following people? Would you follow people you see mentioned by those you already follow? Most likely you would ask your friends for recommendations since you can trust that your friends will suggest people who are worth following. Which is exactly how FollowFriday began. Read more…

How To: Find A Job On Twitter
Tough economic times call for innovative approaches. An estimated 51 million people internationally are expected to lose their jobs in 2009, and with the unemployment rate on the rise, how does one find career opportunities fast? One great option is Twitter. Read more…

 

Recipes For The Holidays

Peppermint Martini Recipe - submitted by Charity Robertson @charitysweb, Director of Communications IIMA
Ginger Cookies Recipe - submitted by James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA

Just For Fun!

1. Best Christmas Card of the Year! (See the card…)
2. What Not To Do For SEO: Over Disclose on Twitter (Watch the Video)
3. Home Depot – Watch and Listen to Jingle Bells Played with Power Tools (Watch the Video)
4. Host An Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! (Read more…)

Charity’s Book Wishlist (Reading List)

Charity Robertson @charitysweb, Director of Communications IIMA

The Big Switch: Rewiring The World From Edison To Google
Author: Nicholas Carr
While it may seem that we’re in the midst of an unprecedented technological transition, Carr (Does IT Matter?) posits that the direction of the digital revolution has a strong historical corollary: electrification. Carr argues that computing, no longer personal, is going the way of a power utility. Read more…

Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
Author: Seth Godin
The classic bestseller that taught the business world that safe is risky; very good is bad; and above all, you’re either remarkable or invisible. In 2002, Seth Godin asked a simple question that turned the business world upside down: What do Starbucks and JetBlue and Apple and Dutch Boy and Hard Candy have that other companies don’t? How did they confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind formerly tried-and-true brands? Godin showed. Read more…

Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer
Author: Bryan Eisenberg et al.
Stop guessing, start testing, and enjoy greater success with your website. If you’re looking for more leads, sales, and profit from your website, then look no further than this expert guide to Google’s free A/B and multivariate website testing tool, Google Website Optimizer. Recognized online marketing guru and New York Times bestselling author, Bryan Eisenberg. Read more…

I hope this blog post finds you well and enjoying this festive season. We have made many changes at the International Internet Marketing Association in the past three months. These improvements will continue throughout 2010 as we bring you more content, more events, and more services. Our membership is growing and we are reaching out to new global territories connecting with the world’s leading marketing experts. In April/September 2010, Vancouver will be the host to the world class Internet Marketing Conference. We hope you can participate.

Sincerely,
James Laitinen – Director / @jlate

Upcoming Events

IIMA Event Review: Social Media: Where’s the ROI?

By Charlene Brisson, MAPC
Marketing & Communication Specialist, @charlenebrisson
What an opportunity it was to attend the Dec 9th IIMA session Social Media: Where’s the ROI! Return on Investment is the holy grail of social media (SM) that marketers are seeking to produce immediately successful campaigns. Proof of time and money spent is critical to show clients and bosses that SM marketing efforts aren’t merely the exploits of fantasy, but will actually lead to customer acquisition. The full house at the event followed up by an active Q&A provides further proof that the topic is hot and marketers want to know more. Presenters Darren Barefoot, (@dbarefoot) of Capulet Communications, Warren Sukernek, (@warrenss) of Lift9 and Stephen Smith (@webnames) of Webnames.ca did an excellent job presenting. Read more…

January 13th, Connect with Jason Billingsley

By James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA
Some of the feedback we received regarding the Dec 9th event was for a pre-event opportunity to ask the speaker questions and have them answered at the event. We would like to make those changes and give you a new forum to have your questions asked, and answered by our expert presenter. To submit your questions regarding E-commerce: 42 Things You Can to Sell More Online Next Week we have setup the following options.  

Email: info@iimaonline.org with your first name, last name, company and question for Jason.
Twitter: @iimaonline and use the hash tag #iimajan13
Phone: (778) 373-8785
All questions will be condensed, and a full report will be provided after the event with all the answers for registrants of the event and IIMA members.

Resources & Guides

 
Step By Step Guide: Using Microsoft Windows Live Messenger to Integrate With Your Facebook Profile
By James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA
One of the tools that I have always loved is Microsoft Windows Live Messenger. The free downloadable/web versions have only gotten better with the Windows Live services. Considering the user base, the zero cost entry for people to adopt it’s a pretty compelling story. Additional benefits are also now for your contacts are now replicated through your email. You can seamlessly integrate with the Windows Live Mail email client, and it’s a great way to have all your contacts, communications in one place to connect with people. Read more…

13 Simple Tactics to Prevent, Detect Content Plagiarism
How can you prevent and detect Content Plagiarism? Plagiarism is a serious issue in the blog world and it is a prime duty for all bloggers to prevent their content from getting copied and also take the corrective action when needed. Every blogger gets annoyed when someone copies their content and ranks higher than them in the search engines. While it is highly unlikely to stop blog scrappers and splogs from emerging there are some simple measures that a blogger can do to tackle this effectively. As we always know prevention is better than cure and hence the first step is to take preventive steps which will make it hard for the scrappers to copy your content. Read more…

#FollowFriday: The Anatomy of a Twitter Trend
What if you didn’t know who to follow on Twitter? Would you randomly start following people? Would you follow people you see mentioned by those you already follow? Most likely you would ask your friends for recommendations since you can trust that your friends will suggest people who are worth following. Which is exactly how FollowFriday began. Read more…

How To: Find A Job On Twitter
Tough economic times call for innovative approaches. An estimated 51 million people internationally are expected to lose their jobs in 2009, and with the unemployment rate on the rise, how does one find career opportunities fast? One great option is Twitter. Read more…

 

Recipes For The Holidays

Peppermint Martini Recipe - submitted by Charity Robertson @charitysweb, Director of Communications IIMA
Ginger Cookies Recipe - submitted by James Laitinen @jlate, Director IIMA

Just For Fun!

1. Best Christmas Card of the Year! (See the card…)
2. What Not To Do For SEO: Over Disclose on Twitter (Watch the Video)
3. Home Depot – Watch and Listen to Jingle Bells Played with Power Tools (Watch the Video)
4. Host An Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! (Read more…)

Charity’s Book Wishlist (Reading List)

Charity Robertson @charitysweb, Director of Communications IIMA

The Big Switch: Rewiring The World From Edison To Google
Author: Nicholas Carr
While it may seem that we’re in the midst of an unprecedented technological transition, Carr (Does IT Matter?) posits that the direction of the digital revolution has a strong historical corollary: electrification. Carr argues that computing, no longer personal, is going the way of a power utility. Read more…

Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
Author: Seth Godin
The classic bestseller that taught the business world that safe is risky; very good is bad; and above all, you’re either remarkable or invisible. In 2002, Seth Godin asked a simple question that turned the business world upside down: What do Starbucks and JetBlue and Apple and Dutch Boy and Hard Candy have that other companies don’t? How did they confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind formerly tried-and-true brands? Godin showed. Read more…

Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer
Author: Bryan Eisenberg et al.
Stop guessing, start testing, and enjoy greater success with your website. If you’re looking for more leads, sales, and profit from your website, then look no further than this expert guide to Google’s free A/B and multivariate website testing tool, Google Website Optimizer. Recognized online marketing guru and New York Times bestselling author, Bryan Eisenberg. Read more…

Speaker Interview – IIMA presents an interview with Jason Billingsley, founder of Flip Retail. Jason shares his unique perspective on ecommerce including his entrepreneurial success as the co-founder of Elastic Path and the blog Get Elastic. On January 13th Jason will be presenting tactical information in a presentation coined “42 Ways to Sell More Online.” In this two hour session, Jason will deliver information that will help you sell or improve your lead generation online and allow you to make money at it next week.
 
Please find attached to this post a link to the PDF version of the interview. This is an opportunity to learn and glean some strategic insight regarding ecommerce from one of the best local industry experts available!

Speaker Interview – IIMA presents an interview with Jason Billingsley, founder of Flip Retail. Jason shares his unique perspective on ecommerce including his entrepreneurial success as the co-founder of Elastic Path and the blog Get Elastic. On January 13th Jason will be presenting tactical information in a presentation coined “42 Ways to Sell More Online.” In this two hour session, Jason will deliver information that will help you sell or improve your lead generation online and allow you to make money at it next week.
 
Please find attached to this post a link to the PDF version of the interview. This is an opportunity to learn and glean some strategic insight regarding ecommerce from one of the best local industry experts available!

by Charlene Brisson, MAPC
Marketing & Communication Specialist, @charlenebrisson

Jason Billingsley, ecommerce guru and founder of http://www.elasticpath.com/, promised to unveil 42 ways to sell more online. To the IIMA event audience, leaving with this info would be a terrific benefit. So when Jason over-delivered with more than 100+ tips – and all of them valuable – the audience was thrilled.

The presentation focused on B2C retail, although one can easily transform any one of Jason’s recommendations to a B2B site. His sense of humor showed immediately when he presented his favorite website http://www.arngren.net. His moral, “no matter how bad you think your site or your client’s site is – this one is worse – so DON’T PANIC.” 

Jason encouraged the crowd to “keep asking yourself if the project is achieving the goal.” To help accomplish the goal, he provided proven ideas to enhance sales in five main components of an ecommerce site (SEO, email, PPC, the home page and product pages).

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Shorter URLs … domain.com/product will convert higher in the rankings. Place product name as close to the base domain as possible.
• Optimize for the first Link. Crawlers hit first link on a page and follow it out.
• Put text link first as Google gives them a higher rank than an image link. Visit http://www.firstlinkchecker.com/ to check out your links.

Pay Per Click (PPC)

• Bid exact match campaigns slightly higher – the campaign will double as it drift-nets all the words that can’t be thought of.
• Separate out content ads from search queries. People aren’t in a hunting mode, they’re in a browsing mode so use a product category or 10% off if you click here.
• Ensure the landing page delivers on the promise.

Email

• Email is the highest converting channel in almost all instances in retail channels.
• Put your offer in the first line of your email so it will show in the preview panel of the viewers email provider.
• Make sure your emails are getting delivered. Set up test accounts in Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail and send ALL your emails through before delivering to your list – for both transactional AND marketing efforts.

Home Page

• Sites with more products on the home page sell more and show search engines that it’s an ecommerce site. Amazon.com is the granddaddy of showing products and prices on the homepage.
• Google has search results that show 50% of people will scroll down, but only 12–15% will go to page 2. If you have lots of products show them. http://www.clicktale.com/ has fantastic research on scrolling vs. clicking.
• If you have a model on the page, make sure they look at the product – eye tracking shows that people will follow her/his eye to the product.

Product Pages

• Image size and context is critical. Show 500 pixels by default if your layout allows and zoom to 1000 pixels. If there are other colors show them, or they’ll never sell them.  
• Set a baseline of what the product value is – ie. show manufacturers list price and calculate how much they save. See this example http://tinyurl.com/yh77nov  Use color and prominence to show your pricing.
• Eliminate uncertainties. As soon as possible show buyers the total cost. It will decrease abandonment on the cart. 
• BONUS TIP: Get the money first. Use an anonymous check out giving buyers an option to get a password at the end.

Random and Q&A

• A site that loads in 2 seconds out-performs one that loads in 8 seconds.    http://www.compuware.com/fastcal/ will tell you how much money you’re losing by having a slow site.
• To build confidence, customer reviews are a MUST.
• If you place a $300 and $50 product with one for $100, the $100 product will sell the most.

Best Event Tip: http://www.getelastic.com/  is the most popular ecommerce blog in the world with 15,000 readers. Sign up now!

Now a professional ecommerce coach, speaker and owner of flipretail.com, Jason is looking for two e-coaching clients that are $1-2m and one client in the $10m range. If that may be your company, contact him at Jason@flipretail.com or 604-270-6959.

Follow Jason on twitter @jbillingsley

IMC’s first event in Montréal gave us great insights into what topics are hottest in our Industry today. Next week IMC’s tour arrives in Calgary & the week after IMC hits Stockholm. To be part of IMC events is to take part in cutting edge knowledge for Internet Marketers that can change the direction of a project, business unit or an entire business model.

IMC is also coming to Copenhagen, Helsinki, Vancouver, New York, Barcelona & San Francisco and please email us if you’d like us to hit your city.

Lennart Svanberg
Producer
http://InternetMarketingConference.Com

Written from Stockhom covered in snow.

Liveblogged by Guacira Naves (The Online Strategy House)

Shortly, we’ll be liveblogging Richard J. Goossen’s presentation on “Harnessing the power of a crowd”, CEO of MakeGood and author of “E-Preneur – From Wall Street to Wiki: Succeeding as a Crowdpreneur™ in the New Virtual Marketplace.”

If you’re livetweeting this event, feel free to use #IIMA in your updates.

Ean Jackson is introducing Richard Goossen and his book, “E-Preneur”. Richard is on the faculty of Trinity Western University. You may follow him on Twitter through @make_good.

A couple of things that Richard is pointing out on the outset: the world of the Internet is fascinating because things change so quickly. He’s done this same presentation in April, and Facebook had 100 million users. Now, it has 400 million. Eventhough things change, somethings stay the change, such as principles related to how innovation happens that have worked for hundreds of years.

Richard is referring to Peter Drucker (the father of entrepreneurship), and that his principles still apply nowadays.

Richard’s introduction to the context to the principle of crowdsourcing: he’s mentioning John Harrison, from England. He’s relevant because he was involved in the one of the original concepts of crowdsourcing, and in managing the principle of longitude. The parliament in England at the time used the principle of crowdsourcing to come up with a solution to the longitude problem, in 1714. At the time, Cambridge had been around for approximately 400 years, and yet, they couldn’t figure out the problem.

John Harrison was a cabinet maker in West Yorkshire, and sickly as a young lad. He retired as a millionaire after solving the issue regarding longitude by using crowdsourcing as the solution. So, if John Harrison was able to achieve such advances in a time where communication was so more challenging and technology was not where it is now, imagine what can be done nowadays.

Richard is now speaking about the Generational Test and is showing a slide of Bonanza as a generational test, and how, in conferences, most people 25 and under cannot make the reference. There’s a generational divide. Richard is showing a classification of Gen Z as the generation that comes after Gen Y (born after 1981, until now). Gen Z doesn’t even know a world where Facebook doesn’t exist. At the rate of how technology changes, generations should be classified in gaps of 5 years.

Global brands – circa 100 have taken hundreds of years to become established – such as Ford, etc. Now, in 1990s, brands like eBay (established in 95), Google (98) and Napster (99), the pace of change keeps going faster, are some of the top brands in the world, and have only been around during the last couple of decades. Wikipedia (2001), Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006) – all these brands are now so ubiquitous. This illustrates how quickly things change.

The New Virtual Marketplace

Going from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0

• Web 1.o is static, unidimensional – where as 2.0 includes user generated interface, where we’re co-creators.
• Network effects: the more connections there are, the more important a social network becomes.
• Long tail (expanded by Chris Anderson’s book). Most retailers can’t stock all the books that the audience is interested in, but Amazon is probably able to. Companies can now make $ off micro-niched markets.
• In the Cloud (pushed a lot by Google): your computer will not have any software on it. All programs you need will be online. Just log into the cloud and programs will be available. The concept of having a computer with your own program in it might be outdated for the next generation. Akin to “when I was your age, I had to walk 20 miles to go to school”.

All of this means a lot to today’s businesses.

The Madness of Crowds

One might think that the crowd is a mob. Key thing to think about is a point in “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds”, relating to tulips. Tulips were a reference to a person’s worth at one time in Holland.

How do we get to the wisdom of the crowd? Can the crowd be wise? “Under the right circumstances, groups are smarter than the smarter people in them”. Three types of problems where the crowd wisdom can be helpful:

• Coordination problems
• Topics like “who will win the Superbowl”
• Cooperation problems – motivating people to fix the problem

“The wisdom of the crowd is best when individuals are acting separately, but addressing the same issue”. (paraphase from the book that Richard is referring to). We have been wired to be collectively smart. How this influences business:

• Open Innovation (for e.g., Firefox)
• Collective Intelligence (term used by Tim O’Reilly. There’s an interview w/ Tim in Richard’s book, e-Preneur).
• Crowdsourcing (coined by Jeff Howe, from Wired Magazine) – throwing a problem out to a group of people who will respond independently to the problem.

The Crowdpreneur

Crowd Power + entrepreneurial application = crowdpreneur

How do we harness crowd power for an entrepreneurial application?

Companies currently using crowd power: Cambrian House / VenCorps, Chaordix (the crowdsourcing engine for companies), Threadless, whereto you can “submit an idea for a chance at fame, friends and twenty-five hundred dollars!”. Simple concept: “when people tell you what they want, you give it to them”. Another example: NowPublic: the crowd determines what news will show on their website. It’s “Crowd Powered Media”.

Now, Richard is using Fluevog as an example of crowdpreneur & shoes – crowdsourced shoes! But you need to have a crowd to launch a project like this. It worked for Fluevog because of their number of followers. This ties back to John Harrison’s time in England, but technology allows for crowdsourcing to happen a lot faster. In addition, Fluevog can take this risk, because even if there weren’t crowdsourcing, they would still succeed.

The Crowdpreneur & Good – Make Good

Make Good:

• A community that is “good for business”
• Crowdsourced ideas for giving
• Changing the nature of doing good

It’s an unbiased way of advertising of what the company is doing that is good. This related to crowdsourcing because they’ve been looking at which causes should be supported by going to the wisdom of the crowd.

Takeaways

6 Principles of Crowd Power

• If want to be the room where the conversation takes place, give them good drinks!
• Vetting vs. Creating: there’s a big difference.
• Give credit to people who are the experts.
• Give people recognition
• Reward! Make it worth people’s while to participate. Now Public is an example.
• This is not 18th Century French Court! The language on a site, for example, should not sound like a brochure from an accounting firm, etc. Make it engaging!

Crowpreneur – Business Model

• It reduces risks
• It expands resources (NowPublic, for e.g.)
• Fosters Brand Loyalty (e.g. Fluevog). Now it’s no longer an unidimensional transaction. When there’s a sense of ownership, there’s a sense of loyalty
• Increase in revenue/sales (Threadless)

The Future of Crowdpreneur

• Shift Worldwide
• Cameesa – Crowdfunding Tees (www.cameesa.com). Different from Threadless, because through this site, the idea is that you put the concept out there, and people come together to make the shirt happen.
• www.Indiegogo.com – a collaborative way to fund ideas & innovation

“The future is here; it is just not evenly distributed yet”

J. Craig Ventor, Genomic Research Scientist, Web 2.0 Summit, October 2007