Tendenci for Business: CMS and Newsletters

CMS / NewslettersUsing these tools to get MORE BUSINESS

Tim Newton and Rodney SabrsulaPresented at Tendenci User Conference

2007www.tendenci.com/uc2007

What is the goal of your website?

1.Know the basic rules of a site user

2.Know your specific audience

3.Create CMS pages to talk directly to your audience

4. Create newsletters that keep your users informed

How can you generate more business with your web site?

Knowing your audience begins with knowing the 3 basic rules

of a site user

Rule #1 A site user will know within two seconds if they’re in the right spot

Rule #2 They respond if you talk directly to them. Use words that they’re looking for.

Rule #3 They know exactly what they want and they want it NOW!

Now that we’ve covered the basic rules, how do you really get to know YOUR audience?

This begins with a little bit of research

Personas help to visualize who you’re talking to through your site. By creating personas, you are deciding what their needs are and anticipating where they would click by creating scenarios that get them to the correct pages to find their answers.

The story of the Leo Diamond as written in the book, “Waiting for your Cat to Bark”

How does this apply to my site?

Let’s use Tendenci as an example.

http://www.tendenci.com

1.Find out what your users are interested in

“Hello I’m Brad. Here is a little bit of info about

me.”

1.I Work in the IT department of my company

2.I’m 28 years old

3.I’m looking for the fastest solution – for my boss

4.I’m very computer savvy

5.I’ve heard of SEO, but don’t know much about it

6.I have a son and a wife

7.I need editing capabilities

2. Capture Brad’s attention immediately

3. Create hierarchies of what’s most important, second most, third, etc.

4.Take them from page to page answering their questions

“I can’t wait to start my new Tendenci

site!”

How to use all of this information on YOUR

CMS pages

Beware of falling into commonmistakes made by numerous

web sites.

Common Mistake #1 Talking too much about yourself too early

Solution: Start by answering the question: “How can you help ME?”

Mistake Solution

Common Mistake #2 Dead End Pages…Nowhere to go.

Solution: Links, Links, Links. Give them multiple ways to get to the information

Mistake Solution

Common Mistake #3 Using big bodies of text that look like big bodies of text

Solution: Break up the content with bold words, links, and images.

Mistake Solution

Common Mistake #4 Cluttering your page with too many pretty graphics and clever taglines with no real information

Solution: Make sure you’re answering the user’s questions first.

So far we have learned what to do and what not to do, now let’s brush up on how to do it.

Headline: Always fill it in with relevant content. Think – “what would someone type to get to this page.”

Content: Break up paragraphs with links, bold words, and images.

Things to remember: 1. No more then three different fonts or sizes2. What words are the user expecting to see? Make them stand out3. People are more likely to click on links within content than the nav

Help File: How to use the keyword density analyzerhttp://www.tendenci.com/en/cms/?191

Tip: use the keyword density analyzer located on every

page.

Display Page: This is great for your viewer AND the search engines.

Tip: Please keep it /oneword/

Ratings: This is a great way to get feedback from your users. Use this information to write more targeted pages of content.

Comments: This is also a great way to get feedback from your users. At the same time, you are interacting with them.

Create newsletters that keep your users informed

Newsletters:What would YOU like to see in your inbox?

1.Your subject line needs to be relevant and not spammy

2.Use plenty of links.

3.Make sure the recipient can understand what the newsletter is about quickly

4.Bold the words that get the point across

5.Watch out for text that can get your newsletter blocked.

Thank you!

Tim Newtontnewton@schipul.com

Presented at the Tendenci User Conference 2007Find all presentations at: www.tendenci.com/uc2007

Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930Houston, TX 77079 USA

www.schipul.com

SPAMSpam

Are you getting it?

Rodney Sabrsula

Presented at Tendenci User Conference 2007

www.tendenci.com/uc2007

•Origins of the Word

•Who’s Watching

•The weight of Spam

Origins of the wordhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYILv7-xfoM

Who’s Watching?

1. ISPs (Internet Service Provider)

2.Blacklist Servers

3.Firewalls

4.Mail servers

5.Client Spam Filters

The Weight of Spam

Is its content

1.Domain

2.Subject

3.URLs

4.HTML

5.Words and phrases

= weight

Domain Has a Rep Your mail server’s domain and your

sending domain have a reputation. Email frequencies from domains are monitored for acceptable levels. Those with higher levels are often throttled back or black listed all together.

What’s the subject?1. Vague, generic and missing subject

lines are the marks of spammer.

2. Save the marketing terminology for the telemarketers.

3. Stand out with something relevant to the content.

Stay on target1. URL References are often

necessary and appreciated. Keep them relevant and at a minimum.

2. Are the URLs referenced reputable?

That Looks GreatToo bad no one is going to see it

HTML elements catch the eye of the spam filters as well as your target audience.

1. Are all those colors necessary?

2. How many type fonts is too many?

3. You may want to rethink those tables, images, etc.

Free Limited Time Offer

Not interested? Neither is the spam filter.

Content is weighted by individual words, repetition, and phrases.

The phrase above is worse then the words used individually through out the email

Best Practices

•Know your audience and format your newsletters to their needs

•Use relevant subject lines

•Stay away from spam words and word repetition

•Check the reputation of your sources

•Don’t go overboard using too many colors, fonts, images, tables and links.

Thank you!

Rodney Sabrsularsabrsula@schipul.com

Presented at the Tendenci User Conference 2007Find all presentations at: www.tendenci.com/uc2007

Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930Houston, TX 77079 USA

www.schipul.com