Client Spotlight: Heather Saffer of The Dollop Book of Frosting and HeatherSaffer.com

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Hi there.  It’s Cass.  I note that because I use a whole lot of I here and we tend to be a “we” company but this is an I thing. 

A couple of years ago I met this chick and upon meeting her I thought: This girl is a FORCE of nature.

She was running a great (no, not just great:  AMAZING) cupcake shop in our new hometown. We met through Adam (I love how small the world is) and before I knew it I was sitting next to Heather at the screening of her big win on The Food Networks Cupcake Wars.

In the months after the win Heather felt that thing that you feel when you’ve given something all you’ve got and you want more.  There were hours spent strategizing thinking about what the right next move was.

And then Heather took some time to marinate.  (this is always a good idea – marinate a bit,  you’ll know when you’re ready to make the move)

Fast forward to a few months ago Heather and I are talking over coffee and she says: I need a new site. I need to reinvent what I’m doing so it feels like ME. I just want to be ME online and get paid for it.  And you know what?  That’s exactly what we did.

In scope for this project was a complete redesign – consolidation of a whole lot of different brands – editorial planning for the next three months (including video) as she prepares to see her incredible frostings in print (you can go pre-order her book The Dollop Book of Frosting: Sweet and Savory Icings, Spreads, Meringues, and Ganaches for Dessert and Beyond today on Amazon – you will not regret this decision) and figuring out a monetization plan for her site that worked for her life.

My favorite parts about the site: It is so Heather that I feel that same feeling of: This chick is a force of nature from being on the site.  On top of that we integrated social COMPLETELY because Heather lives and breathes in the social space and they love her there.

Check the full site out here: heathersaffer.com

 

 

What Do Fish, Mice and Your Customers Have In Common?

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Could be anything, right? Sometimes it’s hard to get a handle on your customers – they can be slippery like a fish. They often do things you don’t expect – they’re sneaky like mice. But what are you really trying to do with each of these three things? That’s right, you’re trying to catch them. To lure them in. And how do you do that?

With bait.

Some fish like worms, some like minnows and some just chase shiny things. Some mice like cheese, others like peanut butter and some are too smart for any of that. Customers are the same way. The real problem is finding the perfect bait. You have to think of what’s REALLY going to motivate your customer to visit your page, sign up for your list or buy your product. Here are 2 things you should consider when trying to find the perfect bait:

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  • What is the customer’s alternative? If you’re a gym or fitness trainer, your competition is the free running trail or the $20 pull-up bar in the customer’s doorway at home. You’ll need to give them an incentive to give up their cheap option and get them hooked on your superior offering. Maybe a free or reduced price membership is the key. Once they’ve tried you, they’ll have to admit your service is worth the money.
  • What is most important in a customer’s decision? If you’re a photographer, there’s a good chance this is how amazing your photographs are. What you need are beautiful Instagram and Pinterest pages to catch the attention of all those wannabe photographers so they share your images far and wide and bring in potential new customers.

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Two weeks ago we talked a lot about content. Now that you have that content in place, it’s time to draw your customers to that content and make sure that they stick around for the really good stuff. And that starts with finding just the right bait.

Do Not Listen To Your Lawyer*

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We love Nutella. Like, seriously love it. It’s amazing and makes almost everything taste better. Don’t believe us? Try it on anything. If you find something with which it doesn’t work, let us know.

All that awesomeness has garnered the brand legions of followers, none more passionate than Sara Rosso, a blogger and brand advocate who started World Nutella Day back in 2007. The event has over 40,000 likes on Facebook and is celebrated throughout the world. Did Ferrero (the company that makes Nutella) embrace this phenomenon? NO! The company’s attorneys yesterday sent Rosso a cease-and-desist letter demanding she end all activities surrounding World Nutella Day. The resulting PR and social media backlash is a prime example of why you should not listen to your lawyer.

*Ok, you should usually listen to your lawyer. But on social media matters, you should really take any lawyerly advice with a grain of salt. Here’s why:

Having a successful brand in social media is about trust.

As a brand in social media you must trust your fans and advocates if you want to be successful. You must trust that they will promote you in a positive way that will ultimately be in the best interest of your brand.

A lawyer’s goal, however, is to minimize risk. Minimizing risk for a lawyer means not trusting anyone. Lawyers like to control things to make sure no liability results. One of the lessons we’ve learned from social media is that you can’t control it. You can engage, guide and encourage but if  you try to control your brand in the social media storm you’ll just be blown away. Your lawyer doesn’t understand this, which is why Ferrero beat a hasty retreat from it’s cease-and-desist order and is now working with Ms. Rosso to work out a beneficial solution for both parties that keeps World Nutella Day alive and well for all of its adoring fans.

If only they hadn’t listened to the lawyer in the first place…

The 3 Metrics that Say You’re Getting it Right Online

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There are three metrics that you want to look at when you’re assessing if you’re getting it right with your online content….

One: Time On Page

For your top pages check out how long people are spending on those pages.  Time yourself reading the page.  Is it about the same?  Is it more?  Is it way less? If people aren’t taking the time to really process your content, or if it’s too confusing, you may need to do some re-working.

Two: Increase in Page Views

If your content (blog post, sales page, about page) is great and it’s driving people to share it and love it then the number of people viewing it will increase.

Three: Engagement

If your content is getting social media likes, shares, favorites and comments, it shows that your readers have really found value in what you’ve produced. Engagement starts a conversation that can take your content to the next level.

Five Signs That Your Content is Weak

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Fear is a paralyzing thing and when you worry that your content is weak you don’t publish.  When you don’t publish you can’t help support what your business’ online presence is really for.  Here are five signs that your content is weak:

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  1. If you read your own blog posts and you’re not nodding or smiling: It’s weak.  Great content is about engagement and engagement is about emotion – if your content doesn’t bring out ANY emotion in you….it’s probably not doing much for your reader.
  2. It’s laced with errors.  Grammatical, spelling, incomplete thoughts mid-sentence.  The best way to avoid this one is to save your work – let it sit for 15 minutes or a day and then read it again with fresh eyes.
  3. There is nothing to DO with it. Like it, love it, hate it, comment, click.  LET there be SOMETHING to do with it.
  4. You used 500 words – you needed 15.  Fluff has a place online….but is it on your site?
  5. You don’t provide a unique viewpoint. If you’re recycling content from other sites/thought leaders, you need to at least put your own spin on it. Add value, or your reader will find it somewhere else.

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Once you’ve made sure that your content is strong, you can be confident in publishing it and take full advantage of your burgeoning online presence. Strong content = strong business!