the curious copywriter

Three Online Customer Loyalty Mistakes to Avoid

2006-05-03T08:25:00.000-06:00

Three Online Customer Loyalty Mistakes to Avoid
By Lisa Yorgey Lester, managing editor, Target Marketing
If you fail to serve the customer, you will lose a sale and possibly others that might have followed, which is serious enough. But if you fail to manage your customer relationships intelligently, you will lose their trust and destroy your business relationship, writes Ken Burke, founder and CEO of e-commerce technology and services provider MarketLive, in his book “Intelligent Selling: The Art and Science of Selling Online.”

Burke recommends you avoid the following common mistakes that have a negative impact on customer loyalty.

1. Channel misalignment: Customers get disappointed and lose respect for your business when online discounts are not honored offline, when return policies in one channel are different from another, or when retail store staff is unaware of products offered on your Web site. Any disjoint between what you do and what you say (or what the customer thought you said) can damage the most crucial part of your loyalty-building toolkit—trust.

2. Poor Web site design: The desire to build brand identity can get out of control and lead to overblown graphics and inefficient navigation. Resist the temptation to elevate form over function. In the unique environment of the Web, quick still is more successful than beautiful. And, of course, quick and beautiful are better still. A good Web designer who understands and can work within the limitations imposed by the Web will save you large amounts of money in the long run , and directly improve your ability to satisfy customers and win their loyalty.

3. Lack of helpful tools: In a search to pare your site down to its fastest and most efficient form, there always is the danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water. If you have tools that customers expect to find, that they need, or that they simply like to use, you should keep them, even if they seldom, if ever, lead directly to sales conversions.

Burke can be reached by e-mail at ken@mmlive.com

Target Tightly with Google Demographics

2006-03-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

Want to give your AdWords campaign an even better chance of reaching the right audience? Check out Google Demographics.

Google Demographics allows you to specify sites on which you want your ads to run. The program is only available to US-targeted sites so far, but it certainly is going to take the wind out of AdCenter's sails, since the demographic choices offered by AdWords are greater than those offered by AdCenter.

Although you're not guaranteed that your ad will only run on those sites, this is still a good way of narrowing down the "looky-look" clicks and increasing your ROI.

Google describes AdWords Demographics this way:

A demographic group is an audience that shares a particular trait or characteristic. This trait might be age, gender, income, or some other factor. If your product appeals to young women, for instance, you might want to target sites popular with the female demographic, the 18-24 age demographic, or both.

Please remember that demographic site selection cannot guarantee that your ad will reach only the exact audience you select. Most public websites get a variety of visitors. However, demographic site selection will help you choose sites where you're very likely to find the people you want to reach.

With the price of Adwords skyrocketing in the more popular categories, Google Demographics has the potential to save advertisers a bundle. For example, say you're an online retailer of pre-teen clothing for girls. Demographics allows you to drill down further than "girl's clothing" and select sites that specifically cater to girls, 9-12 years old, from families with a household income of $50,000 or more. Ideally, your ads will run only on the sites you select.

Google Demographics isn't widely known or used yet, and while the demographic information on larger sites is probably well known, on smaller sites, it's less likely to be so. We'll have to watch and see how this one shakes out.

And if you haven't already gotten your copy of The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords, you're losing money right now.

Writing for Tech? Inquiring Buyers Want to Know...

2006-03-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

What Technology Buyers Really Want to Know

“Just tell me what to buy!” is the exasperated lament of technology customers who are overwhelmed by jargon-dense, information-poor marketing materials. Whether in a direct mail piece, brochure, Web content or e-mail, your copy will have a greater impact if it answers the buyer’s real questions.

(read it all here)

Will Podcasting Steal the Show?

2006-02-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

e-Marketer thinks so.

Mike Chapman, eMarketer Editorial Director and author of the new Podcasting: Who's Tuning In? report believes the audience may reach between 20 million and 80 million by 2010.

Consider this: More than 22 million American adults own iPods or MP3 players and more than 6 million of them have downloaded podcasts from the Web so that they could listen to audio files at a time of their choosing.

And that number is growing all the time.

Add to that the new video iPods (and thier ilk), and you have a market that represents a large segment of the online buying public.

Pew Internet and American Life Project data report here.

More Web Users Surfing Just...Because

2006-02-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

On any given day, almost one in three Web users, 30 percent, go online for no particular reason, for fun, or to pass the time. That's according to a recent study released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Pew surveyed 3,000 adults last December, and their results indicate that...broadband users and young adults were more likely to turn to the Web without particular reasons than were dial-up users or senior citizens.

Not surprisingly, 37 percent of respondents between the ages 18 and 29 went online on an average day for no particular reason, compared to 31 percent of those between 30 and 49, 25 percent of people 50 to 64 years old, and 20 percent of people 65 and older.

How does this affect Internet marketing? Consider the desires of your target demographic: if you're aiming for a younger market, you should be looking at ways to make your web site (and their visit) more interactive. Video, audio, interactive games are all a good bet if you want to engage these users and entice them to spend time on your site.

Dial-up users, on the other hand, are mostly using the Internet to seek out specific information, and will not want to wait for large video or flash files to load. Give them solid content, and they will likely stick around for a while.

And don't expect things to stay the same. As more and more Internet users embrace broadband you can expect to see a corresponding increase in surfing behavior. Which means that web sites will have to work even harder to hold a user's interest.

The upside of this is that this Darwinian environment should create better content in the long run.

How To Win at Google AdWords

2006-02-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

If you're using Google AdWords to drive your traffic (and if you're not, you should be at least thinking about it!), and you've got lots of competition, you probably already know how easy it is to burn through your budget.

On the other hand, Google AdWords, done right, can supercharge your business like very little else on the Web. In fact, the majority of online advertising budgets are spent on Pay-Per-Click (PPC). And Google searchers have a higher rate of conversion than any other search engine out there.

To get the most from your Google AdWords budget... I emphatically recommend The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords by my colleague, Perry Marshall.

For beginners, Perry provides an straightforward primer on how to buy PPC without getting burned. And for those with some PPC experience, Perry shows you tips and tricks for getting maximum targeted traffic with minimum spend.

This is not your typical dumbed-down fluff. Every chapter gives you real examples that you can modify, apply and use immediately - to see an almost instant increase in your targeted traffic.

Best of all, you don't have to spend hours learning technical jargon or special coding. The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords is written in plain English; it's easy to understand, and easy to apply.

Google AdWords is not something you can afford to screw up. How savvy you are at playing the AdWords game makes a huge difference in the price you pay for every click.

Get The Guide. Learn to work the system correctly, and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

Google AdWords - Prettier in Pictures?

2006-02-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Google, the search giant and would-be multi-media advertising enabler, has opened up the bidding on its much-talked-about print venture. AdWords advertisers can now bid for 1 page, 1/2 page and 1/4 page ads in nearly 30 different lifestyle and technology magazines.

The test's purpose, the company says on its site, is to assess AdWords advertisers' demand for space in print publications. Google began a limited test of the service with select advertisers in August.

Advertisers who wish to participate must...submit bids by February 20, and may have their ads included in issues appearing over the summer and fall of 2006.

Titles involved include Hachette Filipacchi books like "Car and Driver" and "Ellegirl;" Future Publishing titles like "Pregnancy" and "Women's Health and Fitness;" and Martha Stewart Omnimedia's "Martha Stewart Kids" and "Martha Stewart Living." For each publication, Google provides data on circulation, ratio of males to females, percentage of college educated readers, average age of reader, and average household income.

"We've been conducting a series of early phase tests to determine how we could bring
additional value to print advertising. We are continuing to experiment in this area and are now testing the application of an auction model to print media," the company said in a statement.

Similar to Google's AdWords auction process, the company will automatically "discount" bids, so that the winning bidder pays not his maximum bid, but only enough to outbid the next-highest bidder. The company isn't detailing creative specifications, but will send the information to the winning bidders.

Google's experimentation with print has been watched closely over the past several months, as the company seeks to exploit its technology and large advertiser base over a variety of media.

The company has also made big moves in radio, buying dMarc Broadcasting earlier this year.

from Clickz

Copywriting Lessons From American Idol

2006-01-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, 'fessup time - I'm a closet fan of American Idol, especially the audition footage.

And here we are in Season 5, and we're still seeing contestants who (hilariously!) can't carry a tune or a clue. These are people who are self-professed American Idol fans, and yet...yet...they don't seem to have watched one single milisecond of any of the previous shows.

So many of these hopefuls apparently have no idea what the judges are looking for. What else can explain the plethora of twins (no couplet has ever made it to the final cut), the costumes (one guy showed up dressed as a jester - didn't get to sing one note), the guy in Las Vegas who sounded posessed (really - he needed a priest and about a gallon of holy water), and the multitude of folks who have clearly never taken the opportunity to avail themselves of a tape recorder ($19.84 at WalMart).

It makes me long for the tuneful strains of William "She Bangs" Hung.

Audition Hint, people: American Idol is a pop show and they're looking for pop idols. So appearing as a gimmick isn't going to help you make the cut. It may get you in front of the judges, but they ain't gonna send a guy dressed in a duck suit on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hollywood. It's not about what you think is cool; it's about what the judges want. They are your audience

Know your audience.

This precept applies equally to copywriting. Before you begin to write, ask "What does my audience want? What problem do they need solved? How do I give them what they want?"

There's too much "mememe" copy around. You know the kind I mean - blah, blah, blah, me, me, me, blah, blah, blah, me again. This is copy that talks at the audience, but not with the audience. It's copy that blathers on and on - about the company, or the product, or the consultant, or the service - but never gives the audience the information they want. It's all gimmick, and no talent.

What your audience wants is the answer to their questions and the solution to their problems. They don't care how wonderful you are if you can't get the job done. It's about their needs, their hopes, and their desires.

And if you want to go to Hollywood, you'll give your judges what they want.

Google AdWords "gets it"

2006-01-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

Google has introduced a new offline tool for AdWords subscribers: the AdWords Editor. It’s a free management utility that allows users to download their entire account, make changes, and upload them back to Google. Even better, users can make bulk changes, import them into the tool via a wizard and upload them to any campaign and ad group they choose.

The AdWords Editor uses a tab-based interface where users can view their campaigns, text ads, ad groups, keywords, and negative keywords. Viewing options include maximum Cost-per-Click (MaxCPC), click-through rate (CTR), and the average CPC and position for each keyword. New AdWords users will find this tool particularly helpful: if user makes a change that may violate AdWords policies, the program will "red flag" the change before uploading.

Since the program is still in the beta stage, an Auto Update utility automatically picks up any changes Google makes to the AdWords Editor.

Kudos to Google for this idea! It allows AdWords subscribers to manage their campaigns even more easily than before, since they can now do so anytime, anywhere, without being connected. (Not incidentally, it also relieves some of the demand on Google’s resources – a win/win situation).
It’s another good day in GoogleLand! Check out the AdWords Editor here...

Consumers Rise Up Against IVR

2006-01-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Great Escape from Voice Jail

I'm nominating Paul English for the Nobel Peace Prize, for his service to better the health of all Americans.

Singlehandedly, he has done more to reduce heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, every stress related illness, anger management issues, and just plain incivility. English has published his gift to humanity, The IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Cheat Sheet online and available to all, and has bequeathed sanity to humankind.

If you, like me, have found yourself about to pop a blood vessel as you spend ridiculous amounts of time working your way through automated Voice Purgatory, repeating your information two, three, and four times, only to never reach a person , or if you do, to reach someone who seems completely unaware that you have just spent the last 25 minutes repeating your information two, three, and four times, and asks you to repeat it all again, and who then tells you that, they cannot help you, you are in the wrong department, you must be transferred, and please hold, thank you for holding, even though they have given you no other option, and then you wait another interminable length of time, only to have to repeat your information YET AGAIN to another automated set of questions, and then to find, at the end of it all, that you are now speaking to someone in India, who you have trouble understanding because their accent is so thick, who has trouble understanding you, and who, they tell you, does not have the ability to solve your problem, and who says they will transfer you to the right area, which is THE SAME AREA THAT SENT YOU TO INDIA... if, like me, you have then found yourself thinking, "'Going Postal' should really now be known as 'going IVR'" and thinking up new and imaginative ways to do so, one of which involves fastening the relevant company executives to a chair and making them negotiate their own systems for 36 hours straight, with no end in sight, while listening to an endless voiceloop saying "Thank you for holding. Your call is important to us." ....

That IVR passes for "customer service" is an abomination, and displays nothing more than a company's complete contempt for its customers. By conveniencing themselves, they are destroying their customer base.

Kudos to Mr. English for giving consumers a way to fight back.

Here's that link again. I've both printed the page and saved it to my desktop.

Better Branding through Science.

2005-07-13T13:34:00.000-06:00

Want to hook more clients? Sell more product?

Then consider the chemistry of the brain...

In the budding field of Neuromarketing, scientists rely on Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging or fMRI to track which regions of the brain light up when people recognize a face, hear a song, make a decision, pay attention or sense deception. The results have powerful implications for marketing. For example, in a recent fMRI study by Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, 67 people were asked to do blind taste tests of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Participants were split virtually 50/50 over which soft drink tasted better. But when the same people were tested again and told which brand of soft drink they were drinking, 75% said they preferred Coca-Cola.

The Pepsi Challenge
Why did the test subjects change their opinion? Why would they be split 50/50 in blind taste tests, but prefer Coca-Cola three to one in the non-blind test? Because two different parts of the brain control taste preference and brand preference. During blind taste tests, something called the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex lights up, which helps drive sensory preferences such as taste. But when consumers know which brand theyÂre drinking, the medial prefrontal cortex lights up, which helps drive brand preference.

In other words, because of Coke's brand image, about 75% of the population think they prefer Coke over Pepsi even though blind taste tests show that only about 50% do.

Emotion vs Reason
Traditional forms of research have already shown that the more emotionally charged a commercial is, the more likely the message is to be embedded in a consumer's mind. That's because in order for a long-term memory to be created, it must first have an emotional component to it. For example, ask almost any consumer what image they most strongly recall when they think of Taco Bell, and almost all of them will immediately think of the Taco Bell Chihuahua, even though those ads haven't been run for quite a while.

Strong visuals are obviously important as triggers for an emotional response. Add powerful copy writing, and you have a winner. Good copywriting reaches into the mind of your prospect and enhances and strengthens the initial impression, doubling, even tripling, its impact.

Implications for marketers.

1. Marketing messages that touch an emotional hot spot are often highly effective.

2. Marketing messages that provide information in a straightforward or mundane fashion are often ineffective.

3. Marketers who find an emotional hot button can use that information to drive sales and change consumer behavior.

Consumers want and need copy to read

2005-03-11T00:10:00.000-07:00

Media Post reveals that a new Forrester study indicates that consumers are both becoming more educated about using the Internet as their primary resource for information. And information - descriptive content - is exactly what consumers (across all industries) want you to give them. Not a sales pitch, not an infomercial, but real honest to goodness content about why they should be choosing you over your competition.

With so many clients getting caught up in the search engine placement frenzy, the results of this study are particularly relevant. After all, what good is copy that is so keyword heavy as to be unreadable? It may place the site higher in the search results, but at the expense of ROI. Recently, I've had a rash of clients who were preoccupied with keyword ratios, and who had to be talked down from their obsessions.

Direct Mail Still Delivers!

2005-03-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

24 percent of adults who read direct mail, have visited a store in the past 90 days prompted by receiving a retailer's direct mail piece, according to a new Vertis Retail Direct Marketing study "Customer Focus 2005."

Thérèse Mulvey, vice president, marketing research, at Vertis, said "Adults have become more receptive to using direct mail to obtain information on the prices and selections available, and it has proven to be an effective medium for retailers to connect with new customers."

According to the Customer Focus study, 63 percent of adults say that an interesting looking package makes a difference as to which direct mail they open. For 51 percent, a special offer or discount will make a difference as to whether or not they open the direct mail.

The study includes additional findings, which provide insight into the direct mail readership of consumers in the retail industry.

How To Target Local Search

2005-02-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Good tips from Crain's B2B on optimizing web sites for local search and targeting local search customers.

Get it here

E-Mail? I'll Get Back To You Later!

2005-02-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

72% of America uses e-mail. That's the good news.
64% don't even look at their e-mail for 1-3 days. That's the bad news.

E-mail attitudes vary among users: more than twice as many "newbies" believed that e-mail should be checked daily, and replies sent "as soon as possible". More experienced users however, don't feel the same pressure to respond.

One direct correlation to this attitude is the increase in spam, with 90% of online users willing to deal with the occasional inconveniences of pop-up blockers, spam filters and the like, in order to avoid spam.

Can't say I blame them.

I use a "dump box" for all my questionable email. And that same "dump box" gets 80 or more spam a day. Much of this is filled with "you must read this now!!!" type messages. And the truth is...I don't. So I've occasionally missed out on something interesting, but - meh - I can live with it.

If you're having trouble getting your e-mails opened in a timely manner by your recipients, maybe you need to examine your e-mail practices. If you're sending two and three e-mails weekly with overt calls-to-action, you may be pushing too hard. Eventually, readers see your signature and think, "Oh God, another sales pitch...". Personal story: I get a newsletter from a well-known big name in copywriting. As a general rule, his e-mail blows. Maybe one in three contains info I find helpful; the rest are merely sales pitches. At first, as a new subscriber, I would open his every e-mail immediately. Now, I have been known to let them languish for a month at a time. This guy slid from "valuable, trusted resource" to "I'll get to him later".

I'm not the only one doing this. Make sure your e-mail communications contain truly valuable information, and not merely another hackneyed pitch for your products or services. Address your market's pain. If you don't know what that is, ask them. And use e-mail to do it...

Can Internet Searchers Tell the Difference?

2005-01-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

A new study from Pew Internet and American Life Project reveals that online searchers may not differentiate between organic and paid search results.

The study also showed that searchers tend to find one engine they like and stick with it (useful info for advertising if you know what engine the majority of your market uses). The study sample tended to use one engine to get search results and then compared their findings within those results, rather than switching from engine to engine.

Some 44% of searchers surveyed regularly use just one engine, and another 48% use just two or three. Nearly half of searchers use a search engines no more than a few times a week, and two-thirds say they could walk away from search engines without upsetting their lives very much.

The most disturbing information comes from the fact that most of those surveyed said that they trust their favorite search engines, but few said they are aware of the financial incentives that affect how search engines perform and how they present their search results.

Only 38% of users are aware of the distinction between paid or sponsored results and unpaid results. And only one in six say they can always tell which results are paid or sponsored and which are not.

This finding is ironic, since nearly half of all users say they would stop using search engines if they thought engines were not being clear about how they presented paid results. "

From these results, marketers may want to take another look at which engines are generating most traffic for their campaigns, and the demographics associated with those search engines. For the longest while, the wisdom was that searchers trusted organic results more than paid or sponsored results, but if it turn out that the searchers really can't tell the difference, than all bets are off...

You can download the full report here

Blogging: Marketing with Words

2005-01-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

A big buzz in marketing these days is "inter-activity", and blogs are one of the easiest ways to involve your audience. Marketing is so often a "push" affair, but blogs allow the reader to provide public feedback at the push of a button. It involves your audience in a most immediate way. Blogging fosters the building of a mutually responsive relationship - one that is essential for trust-building. As the level of confidence grows between a blog and its readers, so does the potential for lucrative, new business activity.

Most readers of blogs prefer to hear the author's "real" voice, so blog writers can relax a little about syntax, grammar and spelling. This makes a blog a wonderfully low-pressure way to supplement your brand image. And low-cost too.

Do you have a blog in your marketing arsenal?

Consumers Respond Favorably to E-Mail Marketing

2005-01-07T03:09:00.000-07:00

Consumers actually prefer e-mail marketing compared to TV advertising.

In a recent study by IPT, when asked to pick the most effective marketing communication channel, 32% of consumers say e-mail, not far behind the 39% that choose television.

And what makes them click? Discounts or money-off offers drew the greatest response (27%) but was closely followed by "General interest in the product".

This is good news for those marketers who take the time and the trouble to establish a targeted e-mail list. And once again proves that it's not the medium; it's the message!

Full story here

Amazon Tops Search Engine Rankings Among Major Retailers

2004-12-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

A WebPosition® Search Ranking study released last week by WebTrends, showed that four major retailers selling some of the year's hottest toys, used Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategies to attract online visitors. Findings revealed that Amazon’s visibility in both organic results and sponsored search results were the highest, with an organic Visibility Percentage more than twice that of the other retailers.

Using WebPosition® Gold, giant retailers Wal-Mart, Target, Sears and Amazon were analyzed to determine their visibility in organic and paid search results on Google, MSN, Ask Jeeves, Teoma and Yahoo! for five toys (selected from USA Today’s ‘Hot Dozen’).

As a group the retailers were more than twice as visible in sponsored search results (73.87%) as they were in organic search results (35.87%). Amazon was the most visible among all sites in organic search engine listings for the targeted keywords, with an organic Visibility Percentage of 34.67%, followed by Wal-Mart at 14%, Target at 7.33% and Sears at 3.87%.

(Visibility Percentage is a reflection of a site’s positions within the first three pages of search results for its targeted keywords and search engines. For example, a site that has #1 organic search positions for all of its targeted keywords in all search engines examined would have an organic Visibility Percentage of 100%.)

After including sponsored search listings, all the retailers increased their standings, with Amazon rising to 52%, followed by Wal-Mart at 39.73%, Sears at 16% and Target at 13.6%. ###

What this means for small business: Giant retailers are able to apply large budgets towards highly competitive keywords. Notice, however, that these retailers also paid attention to maintaining a high organic ranking. This levels the playing field for the small online business. Properly optimizing your web site and incorporating appropriate keywords into your content can put you on the same page as any of the mega-retailers. It is crucial to use organic rankings as an integral part of your online marketing program.

Asian tidal wave disaster relief - How to help the victims of the Asian earthquake and tsunami

2004-12-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

As of this writing, the death toll from the Asian tsunami is over 23,000 people, with thousands still missing, and literally millions left homeless and without any sort of shelter, food, or drinkable water. The need is enormous and very desperate.

CLICK HERE for a list of relief agencies supplied by the Associated Press.

The most effective way you can help right now is to send whatever funds you can afford to the organization of your choosing. Even a $5.00 donation will help. Please give whatever you can afford.

Shaya's Story

2004-12-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Gary Bencivenga, a fellow copywriter (and one of the very, very best of the breed!) sent this story around in his Dec newsletter.
In the spirit of the season, I post it here for you...

The story is about Shaya, a learning disabled boy in Brooklyn.

"On weekends, Shaya and his dad like to go for walks. As they do, they like to stop and watch the neighborhood boys play baseball.

On this one Sunday afternoon, as they approached the ballfield, Shaya looked up at his father and asked, "Dad, do you think they would let me play?"

Now, this gave Dad a dilemma. He knows his son is learning disabled, very uncoordinated, and has never played baseball before. But Dad also knows that the neighborhood boys have always treated Shaya with kindness. And he feels that if he, his father, doesn't speak up for Shaya, who will?

So he walked over to one of the boys and asked, "What do you think about letting Shaya in the game?"

The boy didn't know what to say, and looked around to his teammates for guidance. Not getting any, he took matters into his own hands. He said, "Well, we're about to start the 8th inning, and we're losing by six runs. I don't think we're going to win this game, so what's the difference? Get him a glove and he can play behind second base, in short center field," which Shaya did with a big smile on his face.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, Shaya's team rallied and scored three runs. But they were still losing by three.

In the bottom of the 9th, they rallied again. They had three runners on base, two out, and it was Shaya's turn to bat.

Dad wondered, will they even let him bat? But without hesitation, one of the boys shouted, "Shaya, you're up!," and he was handed a bat.

But as he stood at home plate, it was obvious to all that Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat, let alone hit with it.

So the pitcher moved in a couple of feet and lobbed the ball very softly so Shaya could at least make contact.

Shaya swung and missed by a wide margin. Before the second pitch, one of Shaya's teammates called out, "Hold on, let me help him. Let me show him how to bat."

This boy came and stood behind Shaya, and put his arms around him so the two boys were now holding the bat together.

The pitcher moved in a couple more feet and again lobbed the ball as softly as he could.

The two boys swung the bat together and managed to tap a soft grounder right back toward the pitcher. Shaya's teammates yelled, "Run, Shaya! Run to first!" And he took off for first.

But the pitcher pounced on the ball in an instant and could easily have thrown Shaya out at first, ending the game.

Instead, the pitcher took the ball and, with obvious intention, threw it on a high arc way over the first baseman's head, all the way into the outfield.

Shaya was safe at first. The first baseman turned him toward second and said, "Run, Shaya, run to second!"

But by then, the right fielder had chased down the ball and he, too, could have easily thrown Shaya out, at second. But he understood what the pitcher had done. So he threw the ball not just over second base, but way over the third baseman's head, so far that nobody was going to retrieve that ball.

As Shaya chugged into second base, the opposing shortstop ran towards him, turned him towards third base and shouted, "Run, Shaya, run to third!"

Of course, by now the three runners who had been on base had scored. The game was tied, Shaya represented the winning run, and his teammates were screaming with excitement.

As Shaya rounded third base, every boy from his team and several from the team on the field were all running behind him, cheering him home.

And as he put his foot on home plate, both teams gathered around him, lifted him on their shoulders and cheered him as the hero of the game. He had just hit a home run and won the game.

These boys gave Shaya the thrill of his life. Of course, they gave him something even more precious--their acceptance.

Obviously, these boys had either been taught, or perhaps had discovered on their own, the greatest secret of human happiness.

And that is . . . .

We experience our moments of purest joy at precisely those moments when we are causing it in others.

It is a truism of life--whatever we give out comes back to us, multiplied. Which brings me back to the beginning of this message . . . .

In the hurly burly of the holiday crush, if you want to experience some genuine joy, all you need do is take a few moments to spread some around.

So maybe it's time to call an old friend who needs calling, to forgive what needs forgiving, to let a family member hear some healing words, to write that note that needs writing, to smile an accepting smile at the next disabled person you encounter, or perhaps to just relax in the moment with someone older who'd love your undivided attention for a few minutes, as all living things thrive on attention.

Of course, you may ask, what does all this have to do with effective marketing, the usual subject of these BULLETS?

Nothing, really.

And everything.

As Malcolm Forbes was fond of saying, "In all thy getting, get understanding."

It's vital for all of us to understand that our prospects and customers are people, too . . . and people like to connect with others who are unafraid of showing a little humanity, of taking some time now and then to share a laugh, feel some warmth, express some sympathy, do a favor, help a charity, be a friend.

Whatever your product, however impressive your expertise, people will never care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Every now and then, toss a few pebbles of caring into your pond of contacts. Those ripples of friendship will spread and unfailingly return to you in waves of appreciation and loyalty.

Especially at this time of year, we all need to rediscover, like Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol," the giddy delight of perpetrating on unsuspecting humanity some random acts of kindness, some senseless acts of joy."

* * *

If you would like to share Shaya's story of joy with anyone you know, you certainly have Gary's permission to forward this e-mail to as many people as you wish, to spread a little cheer yourself and honor the spirit of the season.

Tracking Santa

2004-12-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

For absolutely no good reason, except that it's fun!

Track Santa across the world. Or view recently declassified photos of Santa, read personal messages to Santa from celebrities as diverse as Magic Johnson, Peter Jennings, and Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night!

Most Hated Advertising Techniques

2004-12-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

Jakob Neilsen's recent study on Internet advertising raises some interesting questions. The results of the study highlighted some web site techniques that raised an extreme emotional response in the users who participated in the study.

Foremost among "The Most Hated Advertising Techniques" were pop-up ads. Users equated the use of pop-ups with "the worst Internet sum". Yet many very successful direct marketers swear by them.

Is this a case of the message, not the messenger? Specifically, if the message is relevant to the user, are they less annoyed by intrusive advertisments? This study appears to indicate that this is, in fact, so.

Study participants reported that they didn't mind, even liked, ads that clearly indicated what the result would be if they were clicked on, and which related to what the user was doing online ate the time. Pop-ups which provided additional information without having to leave the page, were not viewed negatively at all.

So advertisers who mislead users into clicking through may drive up their CTR, but will probably not see a corresponding increase in sales. Ticking off customers never drives up sales.

You can read the complete study here

SEARCH ENGINE AD TERM PRICES SKYROCKET

2004-12-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

The price for premium search words and phrases has risen as much as 80% since last year, according to Rob Wilk, director-search engine marketing at Avenue A/Razorfish Search.

For example, "Holiday business card" was fetching $18.90 per click; while "Business Christmas card" was priced at $10.50; "Corporate Christmas card," $10.50; "Holiday corporate card," $10.50; and "Company Christmas card," $7.51.

Read about it here

Buying Keywords? Target First!

2004-12-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

Online shopping searches have exploded this holiday season, and keyword prices have risen accordingly. In such an environment, the scramble for keyword dominance sometimes overlooks the most important part of online advertising - relevancy.

Throw all the money in the world at a high-priced keyword campaign, and it will be wasted if the content of the site is not relevant to the consumer. Achieving relevance-based targeting and delivering an ad that is likely to be of interest to the recepients, requires digging beyond eye-catching graphics. It requires solid copywriting that addresses the desires and needs of the market, and answers the ir questions before they ask them. Anything else, and you risk irrelevant information overload - and an irritated consumer.

Put yourself in the position of the consumer. What are their concerns? How does your product or service solve those concerns? How does the consumer know they can trust you to deliver the goods?

Anticipate questions like these and you'll be spending wisely and well!

Long Copy vs. Short Copy - The Copywriting Experiment

2004-12-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Long or Short? Short or Long? How much copy is too much? How much is enough?

These copywriting questions never fail to inspire passions in reasoned proponents on opposing sides. Now MarketingExperiments.com has results that may stir the controversy again.

Key takeaway: Although long copy clearly outperformed short copy in all three tests, visitors who were directed from the long copy page to a product page with product specifics and an "Order Here" button, converted best.

Whatever side you're on, it makes interesting reading.

Get the study here

Do You Make These Mistakes With Your Yellow Page Ads?

2004-11-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

Search is the hot marketing flavor du jour, but remember, according to Nielsen/NetRatings only 43% of the US population use online search engines regularly. Not everyone has a computer, and even those who do often prefer finding local businesses via the printed Yellow Pages.

How can you make sure your ad stands out when these active searchers are looking for it? Check out this helpful article on Yellow Pages advertising

Free Report: "Surveying the Digital Future: Ten Years, Ten Trends"

2004-10-20T12:01:00.000-06:00

Check out this recently-released USC (University of Southern California) Annenberg 105-page report on the digital future. This is hefty reading, but worth it. Covers a wide range of Internet-related issues, including who, what, where, and why. Some of this information you'll already know, but some of it may surprise you.

Whether you're a copywriter or a marketer, this information can help you avoid costly mistakes when choosing your approach to an online market.

Download the report for free here

Cheaper Isn't Better

2004-10-06T11:23:00.000-06:00

When it comes to selecting keywords on search engines, marketers who pay more don't necessarily get the most value for their dollars, according to a report released yesterday by DoubleClick.

The report--"Search Engine Marketing Considerations," from DoubleClick search and affiliate marketing unit Performics--found that more than 60 percent of "active" keywords (that is, keywords that have resulted in at least one click in the last month) cost 20 cents or less. In contrast, keywords that cost more than $1 account for only 6 percent of those clicked on at least once a month.

Higher position doesn't necessarily mean greater click volume. The report concluded that high click-volume keywords perform equally well both above and below the top three. In fact, lower-positioned keywords drive 10 percent of total conversions. Moreover, conversion rates tend to fall as cost-per-click prices exceed 50 cents.

Specific findings from DoubleClick data shows:

• Keywords do not need to be expensive to generate click volume. More than 60% of active keywords cost 20 cents or less; only 6% cost over $1.00.

• High position keywords do not necessarily equate to click volume. There are as many high click volume keywords in positions lower than three as there are at three or higher.

• On average, conversion rates decrease when CPC exceeds fifty cents, indicating a potential “law of diminishing returns”

• Lower-positioned keywords still drive 10% of total conversions, suggesting there is value in developing broad keyword lists

The white paper is available in its entirety at www.doubleclick.com and a complete search engine marketing trend report is scheduled for release in November. The upcoming trend report will provide even more extensive data and analysis based on complete Q3 data from more than 100 leading marketers.

It Feels So Good When It Stops! or, Copywriting for Pain Relief.

2004-10-05T15:56:00.000-06:00

Buyers make purchase decisions based on some basic subconscious motivators. Lust, love, and greed are just a few of the stronger ones. But people will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid pain. And that's a good thing for copywriters.

When you can't find the focus for your copy, ask yourself, "What pain will this product or service relieve?"

It your product or service provides emotional, physical, fiscal, or mental relief, you've got a winner. Get your readers to imagine how much better life will be with you, and they won't want to live without you.

I Kid You Not...

2004-10-04T18:07:00.000-06:00

Have card, will shop. Hello Kitty goes to the source.

Hello Kitty Debit Mastercard!

Will the Oprah Givaway have a ripple effect?

2004-09-17T11:06:00.000-06:00

Pontiac spent over $7 million on the by-now-infamous advertising givaway on the Oprah show. Will other auto manufacturers follow suit? Seems like Madison Ave thinks the bar has been raised. Advertising agency buzz is that car manufacturers will have to go bigger to go faster. Read about it in the NYT

Daytime show tickets anyone?

Bad Writing is a Costly Problem

2004-09-16T15:38:00.000-06:00

College Board's National Commission on Writing estimates the total cost of filling what could be called the "writing skills gap" at about $3.09 billion.

Writing skills are so bad nationwide, that more than 40 percent of firms offer or require writing training for salaried employees.

Read the full story

Study Proves That Words Hook Eyeballs.

2004-09-08T14:46:00.000-06:00

Recent study by Poynter suggests that animated text holds "eyes" longer and better than photos or straight graphics. The study aslo found that Headlines and "blurbs" got people to read more and longer.

Hmmm... maybe there's some truth in this "words are important" thing...

View the study results here

Watch it Here

2004-08-28T17:27:00.000-06:00

Here's the link to that Corvette ad that has the safety groups in a wedgie. It's a good one, too. I'm not even a Corvette fan (give me a Jaguar or an Aston-Martin) and it makes me want one.

Enjoy the ride!

Once Again

2004-08-26T13:57:00.000-06:00

60 Minutes story on "Undercover Marketing" raises paranoia to a whole new arena.
Check it out

Imagination Dangerous for Young Children

2004-08-26T13:09:00.000-06:00

I guess "Vroom, vroom" doesn't cut it anymore.

General Motors withdrew a Corvette TV commercial after seven auto safety groups complained that the ad sent a dangerous message. The ad, titled "A Boy's Dream," features a dream sequence in which a young boy is shown driving the shiny, fast car.

The groups criticized both the promotion of excessive speed in the ad and the depiction of young children driving, saying, "Promoting illegal and risky behavior in ads viewed by millions of families -- especially young males -- watching the Olympics is egregious corporate behavior."

Give me a break! When are we going to stop blaming advertising and media for our own screw-ups?? We're fat because of fast food adveritsing, not because we don't take charge of our dining habits; our 20-year-olds smoke because tobacco companies advertise their death-dealing product, not because they choose to ignore the ample warning information available to them; and young boys think it's OK to drive Dad's sports car because the TV ad shows it, not because their parents have failed to impress upon them that a car is not a toy.

Cheesh!

All together now folks, "If Johnny jumps off the cliff, are you going to follow him?"

How Behaviorial Targeting Works

2004-08-26T11:51:00.000-06:00

eMarketer projects that by the end of next year, behavioral targeting will reach $934 million and will account for 8.3% of all online advertising spending. Their free report, What Comes Before Search? looks at how behavioral targeting works, the relationship between search and behavioral targeting, and the challenges associated with making it effective.

Check it out here

Mitsubishi Test Drives a Web-Only Advertising Campaign.

2004-08-06T12:23:00.000-06:00

Since launching web advertising as a lead generation tool for its dealers, Mitsubishi says visitors who come to SeeWhatHappens.com and then follow through with a confirmed visit to a Mitsubishi dealer are four times as likely to purchase a new vehicle as those just conducting basic research.

Mitsubishi is so pleased with the results of its last year's integrated campaign, its sending this year's advertising campaign entirely to the Web.

Consumers Baffled by Techno-Speak

2004-07-31T16:19:00.000-06:00

Striking another blow for plain speech, a recent study articulated what savvy copywriters have been preaching for years: use language appropriate to your market.

Using highly technical terms is appropriate when reaching out to a tech-savvy B-2-B audience. But a survey designed to assess the digital smarts of 2,000 consumers, conducted by the Yankee Group for Advance Publications' Parade, found that consumers remain unsure about what technology products actually do. They're even confused about which products they own -- or at least think they own.

What this means: Too often, tech manufacturers or retailers use the same language for their B-2-B and their mass retail audience. There's no point in talking about megapixels, if your audience doesn't know what that means.

When writing your copy, begin with the basic question: Who am I talking to here? And build your sales language around the answer.

Finding the "lost" demographic.

2004-07-31T15:57:00.000-06:00

Trying to hit that juicy demographic of young men 18 - 34? Go online.

The ability to pinpoint a narrow slice of the Internet population is calling into question the whole idea of broad demographic categories. In part because the Net is one place where you can find a lot of young males, Internet advertising is experiencing a remarkable surge. Marketers are realizing they can slice and dice the demo and go for the 'bull's-eye target'.

Add to that the ability to create an interactive experience memorable enough to break through the filter mechanism and generate buzz, and you've got something far more likely to register with media-saturated guys than advertising.

What this means:
Advertising isn't dead, but the models are changing. With the increasing popularity of tools like Tivo, viewers contorl the viewing experience more than ever. Pull marketing becomes more important. Advertisers will have to raise the creative bar if they want to reach anyone from this sensory-overloaded demographic in five years. The old rules will still apply, but the delivery will have to be fresh and unexpected.

Read the Wired article here

Bobblehead Barry

2004-07-31T00:00:00.000-06:00

From the Barry Manilow Official Merchandise Store, we bring you.....

Copacabana Bobblehead!

Yes, it's for real. Your wallet is not safe.

Thanks to Dave Barry.

Another Manic Monday? Not for E-Mail Marketers

2004-07-30T23:55:00.000-06:00

Delivering your e-mail early in the morning and early in the week get you a higher open rate, reports Return Path.

Early and late in the day on Monday and Tuesday carried the best open rates, and Saturday and Sunday ranked at the bottom of the scale.

Of course, if everybody sends their e-mail at the same time, we'll probably be back to where we started...

Coke or Pepsi? It's all in the head

2004-07-30T23:36:00.000-06:00

If the tests all prove that people prefer the taste of Pepsi over Coke, why do Coke sales continue to leave Pepsi in the dust? 'Tis a puzzle, to be sure.

So some scientists in Texas used a brain scanning technique to carry out a hi-tech version of the Pepsi challenge and found that, when it comes to fizzy black drinks, brand love is just as important as taste.

So, yes, brand does matter. So there.

John Kerry's Coolest Line

2004-07-30T23:19:00.000-06:00

Last night John Kerry answered the question of whether he could follow the charismatic John Edwards, with a brilliant speech. Low on Bush-bashing, and stirringly articulate. But shallow as I am, the line I loved best?

"I've told you about our plans for the economy, for education, for health care, for energy independence. I want you to know more about them. So now I'm going to say something that Franklin Roosevelt could never have said in his acceptance speech: go to johnkerry.com.

Helpful E-mail glossary for the geek-challenged

2004-07-30T12:25:00.000-06:00

Marketing Sherpa has published a helpful glossary of terms commonly used in E-mail marketing. Definitely useful for when you get the "huh?" response...
Check it out here

Just for fun - unless you're featured in this...

2004-07-29T14:40:00.000-06:00

I don't usually forward funny web links, but the following animation is one of the funniest I've seen in a long time. It's an even-handed satire of Bush and Kerry. Even if you don't follow US politics, or regardless of your political orientation, check it out (give it time to load and for the intro to start and stop):

http://www.jibjab.com/thisland.html

Does Bill Gates Know Something You Don't?

2004-07-29T11:02:00.000-06:00

The growth in the number of blogs, and those who read them, continues to attract attention from business leaders, including Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates, as a means of enhancing companies' communication more directly with employees, partners and customers.

Reuters report here

Death of the Pops?

2004-07-23T11:14:00.000-06:00

Are Pop-Ups and Pop-Unders dead? Current research from the Center for Media Research suggests so.

The report for Web Media Industry World & Local News Segment Week Ending July 4, 2004 US, Home and Work, shows Pop-Unders and Pop-Ups garnering a negligible share of 57,481 impressions.

Backlash is a bitch.

Linux Rocks Out!

2004-07-23T09:59:00.000-06:00

This is an "inspired" use of Flash. Catchy, targeted, sly, and clever. A great example of Flash used appropriately to deliver a slam-bam marketing message. And it's downloadable to your hard drive, so you can view it on dial-up without choppy stops and starts.

All too often, websites seem to create Flash for Flash's sake. Drives me crazy. If it doesn't drive the message, or further the sales process - what's the point? I've seen sites that were only viewable in the lastest Flash version, making them unreadable by vast numbers of Web users. That's like telling those users who can't view your site - "Hey, you're just not cool enough for us, ya know? Sorry, loser!"

And then there's the issue of waiting for a Flash file to load, only to get some boring piece of meh that's just designer ego-stroking. Buh-bye, says the user, and "Poof!" goes the sale.

Don't annoy your users with techno-glitz. If that's your target market - Great! Otherwise keep it for your friends and family. It's all really a matter of knowing who you're trying to reach. If it's B-to-C, the chances are that almost 60% of the market looking for you is still on dial-up. Think they want to wait and grow old while your Flash loads?

On the other hand, if your market is medium to large B-to-B, then you're pretty safe in assuming that they're on high-speed access. Flash away (but make it relevant!)

Flash done well, and used appropriately can be a tremendously powerful tool. Whaddya bet this baby goes viral? If you're on dial-up, you'll have to wait a while, but it's like, you know, worth it.

Obesity and National Geographic

2004-07-21T12:03:00.000-06:00

Here's a classic example of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

Just as National Geographic magazine is tackling obesity in a cover story called "The Heavy Cost of Fat," its younger sibling, National Geographic Kids, is being accused of contributing to the obesity problem by running ads for unhealthy food. The catalyst appears to be the May issue of National Geographic' Kids, which featured a prominent ad for fast food chain, Arby's, on the cover.

Perception, perception, people. It is so important to make your marketing plan coherent. The website should cohere with the brochure which should cohere with your press releases, and so on. Right down to the person who answers your phone.

It's unlikely that an entity as substantial as National Geographic will suffer a long-term credibility blow from this, but for a smaller company or an entrepreneur, this kind of oversight could have painful (and costly!) repercussions.

The answer? Plan, Compare, and Cross-check. Always.

It's Work-Related! Really!!

2004-07-20T18:12:00.000-06:00

Talk about finding a niche....

Many employees spend significant amounts of their day dozing at their desk or catching powernaps in odd places. This company seeks to be the premier provider of professional nap centers in the United States.

At $14 a pop for a 20 min nap, I wonder if you can include it on your expense report....

Zzzzzzzz...

Bug Me; Bug Me Not. That is The Question.

2004-07-20T17:40:00.000-06:00

If you find it annoying to be asked to give your personal information before you can read a news article, you're not alone.

Now that many online publications are requiring that consumers register before reading, it shouldn't be surprising that some online consumers are developing applications to avoid that. The most controversial seems to be Australian thorn-in-the-side-of-big-media BugMeNot.com. This website lets consumers anonymously share active user names and passwords for more than 14588 forced-registration sites. Blogs are buzzing with comments, both pro and con, on the issue.

'BugMeNot.com was created as a mechanism to quickly bypass the login of websites that require compulsory registration and/or the collection of personal/demographic information (such as the New York Times),' its FAQ declares.

NYTimes.com and LATimes.com are currently the two most popular sites at BugMeNot.com, whose servers are based in the U.S. There are murmurings of lawsuits.

The real issue here should be "perceived value". Readers resent being asked to pause and fill in forms for ...what? So they can be served more ads they don't want to see? Instead of talking lawsuits, the offended websites should be talking about how they can create a value that is such that their readers want to give them personal information. But that would be listening to the consumer, now wouldn't it?

Click Fraud May Be Driving Up Your PPC Costs.

2004-07-20T11:37:00.000-06:00

The persistence of click fraud has exposed a fundamental weakness in the promising business of Internet search marketing, but most advertisers aren't sure how to address the problem.

In one recent example of the problem, law enforcement officials say a California man created a software program that he claimed could let spammers bilk Google out of millions of dollars in fraudulent clicks. Authorities said he was arrested while trying to blackmail Google for $150,000 to hand over the program.

some marketing executives estimate that up to 20 percent of fees in certain advertising categories continue to be based on nonexistent consumers in today's search industry.

Read more about it here

On Target

2004-07-16T13:16:00.000-06:00

You need market research to find your ideal target market for your advertising and marketing efforts. But surveys and focus groups cost big and your budget is small. What's a bootstrapped business to do?

Try these creative, budget-friendly ways to get to know your target audience.

That "Itsy Witsy, Teeny Weeny" thing again!

2004-07-16T12:34:00.000-06:00

Online travel agency Lastminute.com has launched an advergame called Bikini Bounce in which players can avail themselves of the trampoline like qualities of the female breast to bounce. Catch floating beach wear and win points towards a trip to the Greek island of Kos.

OK...I know it's not politically correct, but it IS fun!

Another great example of interactive advertising...

Text Ads Increase Brand Awareness

2004-07-15T15:36:00.000-06:00

An Interactive Advertising Bureau study conducted by Nielsen//Netratings found that text ads, such as those appearing to the right of content in Google AdWords placements, increased brand awareness by 27 percent. The greatest effect was seen on unaided awareness, especially in cases where the text placement was the only ad or the top placement among several.

On average, when respondents were asked to name a specific leading brand within a tested industry, they were 27 percent more likely to name the brand displayed in the top spot compared to a control group not exposed to the ad. For the articles pages (pages containing contextually targeted text advertising), the text ad caused a 23 percent lift among respondents that saw the ads.

Read more here

What says cheap software better than an attractive woman birthing a farm animal?

2004-07-08T13:55:00.000-06:00

Japanese software pioneer, SourceNext, has launched an astonishing advertising campaign featuring a horse, Japanese film star Norika Fujiwara and a couple of Slurpee slingers to promote StarSuite - Sun Microsystems' Japanese Office knock off based on the open source OpenOffice.

Ironically, the ad is most readily viewed in Windows format. Read about it here

Is Your Business Usable--or Disposable?

2004-07-03T01:27:00.000-06:00

Figure it out before your competitors do...

Usability is an important element of competitiveness for most businesses. The Usability Professionals' Association describes usability as a quality of a product that makes it easy to use and a good fit for its users.

Poor signage, mazelike phone-call routing and counterintuitive Web sites are examples of common usability failings. Many web sites suffer (and lose customers!) because of usability issues, and if your visitors can’t find what they’re looking for, you’ve lost them.

This article refers mostly to the off-line world, but the points are well taken.

Dude, Have You Seen My Shirt?

2004-07-03T00:04:00.000-06:00

Starting today, a San Francisco marketer is sending models out in public in T-shirts with built-in television sets.

The company, Brand Marketers, will debut the T-shirts today at theaters, malls and elsewhere to promote the Fox movie "I, Robot."

An 11-inch flat screen is mounted at chest level in each shirt, and four hidden speakers deliver sound. A shirt weighs about 6 1/2 pounds and costs about $1,000 to make.

Rapid improvements in television and miniaturization suggest that the TV T-shirts are a pale prototype of what is to come.

Read about it here…

Legitimate E-Mail Marketers May Have A Way Around Filters

2004-06-29T23:20:00.000-06:00

It's a little bit spooky, but if this technology catches on, you may be greeted by name by an advertiser, the next time you visit one of your favorite sites...

Read about it here...

2004-06-29T13:12:00.000-06:00

Interesting Media News:

Will new software change the face of blogging? Amplify, a New York based start-up announced the launch today of a new consumer application that will allow Web users to aggregate online content and create personalized Web pages without knowing Java, HTML, or XML. Think rich media blogging, or blogging taken to the next level.

Read about it here: