All About Merchants Tech and Business Blog

The Affiliate Magic Word

2008-12-08T17:44:00.001-07:00

The Affiliate Magic Word

Posted by Kyle "MoneyVac" Howard on Monday, November 24, 2008 at 11:33 pm

There is a single word that increases sales letter conversions like crazy. It is so important, that without this word (or perhaps a synonym of it) all marketing you try will result in failure! It is a word that you probably barely notice, that you see all the time and never realize the power of.

Do you know what the word is?

The word is “because.”

“Because” is so powerful because people need a reason to do anything in life. If you want someone to purchase your product, you had better tell them why. Don’t worry, the reason doesn’t have to be a great one, but you must give a reason!

There is a well-known experiment be behavioral scientist Ellen Langer that demonstrated the power of “because.” In the experiment, a researcher approached a person in line to ask if he could cut to the front. They ran three trials to test the results.

First trial: The researcher asked “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copier because I am in a rush?” Almost everyone ( 94% ) allowed the researcher to cut.
Second trial: This time NO reason was given: “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copier?” This time only 60% of people allowed the researcher to cut in line.
Third trial: Now this is the most interesting part of the experiment. For the third trial, the research gave a completely NONSENSE reason for the request to cut. “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copier because I need to make some copies?” So how many people do you think allowed the cut this time? 93% ! Almost the same amount as with a logical reason.

So the moral of this little story is, give reasons for everything (even if it’s not a very good one). If you tell someone that the should by your product tell them exactly how it will affect them. “Click now to go to the order page, because its time for you to stop spinning your wheels and start making money!”

Also, a common feature of a sales letter is to tell the reader the “value” of the product, then sell it for much less. (often this involves several prices with X’s through them followed by a much lower price.) But if you tell someone a product is worth $395 but you are selling it for $39.99, then that doesn’t really make sense! Why would you sell a product for 90% less than it’s value? Well, you just have to give a reason. Tell the reader that your brother bet you that you couldn’t sell 200 copies in a week, or that you are trying to get reviews, or that it is a Christmas sale, etc. Give them some kind of reason why you are selling the product for less than the supposed value.

By the way, subscribe to the MoneyVac RSS feed now because it is always being updated with the latest information about the world of SEO and affiliate marketing!

PCI help on the way

2008-12-08T13:59:00.001-07:00

December 08, 2008 • Issue 08:12:01

PCI help on the way

he Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council (SSC) launched a quality assurance program for Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) and Approved Scanning Vendors (ASVs). The program is intended to promote reliable interpretation of the PCI DSS and ensure quality among all vendors.

The PCI SSC, managing body for the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS), PIN Entry Device (PED) Security Requirements and the Payment Application (PA) DSS, developed the plan in response to industry input.

"Feedback from the council's participating organizations and others made it clear that the assessment process for the PCI standards would benefit greatly from more rigorous guidelines," said Bob Russo, General Manager for the PCI SSC. "As a result, we created a clear-cut program that will help ensure all those involved in this process are consistent, credible, competent and ethical."

The new program will provide QSAs and ASVs a set of requirements to help ensure consistent, quality validation and assessment services to merchants and financial institutions.

Necessary guidance

Glen Boyet, Director of Marketing and Communications for the PCI SSC, said the PCI SSC took "an important step to ensure a level playing field for merchants and service providers who use outside assistance in their PCI DSS compliance efforts."

Through the program's eight guiding principles, the PCI SSC and assessor community commit to:

Uphold the best interests of assessor clients
Ensure that assessor companies and employees adhere to validation requirements
Maintain consistent assessor procedures and reporting
Interpret the PCI DSS appropriately, as applicable to client systems and environments
Remain current with industry trends and PCI SSC updates
Back up all opinions with facts and documentation
Maintain positive relationships among assessors and the PCI SSC

Responsible oversight

An expanded range of communication channels will allow the PCI SSC to interact with assessors, merchants and service providers on an ongoing basis through certification reviews, credit checks, training, educational webinars, newsletters, e-mail, question and answer documents, informational supplements and feedback forms. To retain the ability to conduct PCI assessments, QSAs and ASVs registered with the PCI SSC must participate in the program.

PCI SSC staff will validate assessor application and renewals, ensure that training is relevant and accessible to organizations and maintain the integrity of the testing process. The PCI SSC team will be responsible for monitoring and overseeing the program, including taking disciplinary action when necessary. The program will be rolled out in four stages in 2009.

A webinar designed for merchants and service providers who are implementing the PCI DSS and want to better understand the changes brought about with version 1.2 (released October 2008) was presented Nov. 25, 2008.

The session will address key elements of PCI DSS version 1.2 and what it means for any organization's compliance efforts. For more information on the PCI SSC and becoming a participating organization, please visit http://www.pcisecuritystandards.org, or e-mail participation@pcisecuritystandards.org.

Maybe the world isn't ending tomorrow after all...

2008-12-08T13:44:00.001-07:00

December 08, 2008 • Issue 08:12:01 The Green Sheet

Reading Black Friday tea leaves

-commerce analyst firm comScore Inc. said online sales for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, were $534 million, up 1 percent over last year; combined online sales for Thanksgiving and Black Friday were up 2 percent compared to 2007.

And according to a recent survey by online bank ING Direct, holiday shoppers are not planning to reduce their spending significantly in 2008, despite news of financial turbulence.

Though U.S. consumers surveyed expressed concerns about the current economic situation, most indicated they plan to spend from $300 to $1,000 - the same or more as in 2007.

"The retail climate has been depressed in recent months," said Gian Fulgoni, Chairman of comScore.

"However, early reports suggest that Black Friday sales in retail stores were slightly better than anticipated. It's probable that on Black Friday consumers responded positively to the very aggressive promotions and discounts being offered in retail stores."

But comScore indicated that even though Thanksgiving weekend sales were good news for struggling merchants, U.S. consumers overall do not appear to be spending more freely.

Too good to refuse

"It's my opinion that these pundits don't know what they're talking about," said Paul Martaus, President of consulting firm Martaus and Associates. "Last week all these talking heads said that Black Friday would be over by 10 in the morning because all of the bargains would have been gobbled up and everyone would be home. All of a sudden they spent more. One has to presume that there is a tad bit of pent up demand.

"For the last several months consumers have been listening to the doom and gloom, and they haven't been spending. Now they're confronted with 70 percent off in every store on the planet, and they haven't been spending their money because they're waiting for the earth to end. And in my opinion, they can't pass up those kind of bargains."

Martaus believes the current situation is similar to the Great Depression of the 1930s, during which half of the U.S. population was unaffected.

To shop or not to shop?

"I am not going to downplay for one second the fact that there are some significant negative things going on among major portions of the population, but for most Americans, they're still waiting for the other shoe to drop," Martaus said. "What's driving me crazy is I don't know what's behind it. We are truly in uncharted territories. In one news release the world is coming to an end, and then 15 minutes later everything is hunky dory."

Mautaus suggested that rather than "waiting for Armageddon," consumers might as well go out and shop.

My Favorite Iphone Apps

2008-11-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of friends that ask what our favorite iPhone applications are for both business and creativity.
Well, there are lots of entrepreneurs that are musicians or artists that work in business and LOVE the iPhone because it offers the best of both worlds.
For me, the iPhone is the most incredible invention of this decade. There are too many reasons to list why it think that but many other people have done that for us.
For my first post on this blog, I want to give my list of favorites so far...

#1. ToDo by www.appigo.com
Brilliant design, great updates and it just makes me, an artist/musician/businessman, more productive.
#2. Recorder
Love it. Just works. Wish it would email larger files.
#3. Beatmaker
Very COOL drum machine and sequencer
#4. Pandora
Streaming internet radio...and FREE!...must have
#5. Guitar Toolkit
Awesome pocket guitar and very good tuner! I paid $85 for a tuner that isn't as accurate as this!
#6. You Version Bible
Read it every day and it is FREE and it is awesome

That's it for now but more to come!

Uriah Werner
President
All About Merchants and Ministries
www.allaboutmerchants.com
www.allaboutministries.com