Explaining Changes to Subscribers

[SandyS]

I am in the process of converting a HTML site that has been on line since 1997 to a Content Management System which includes RSS and a blog. It will also be offering advertising which we have not done before. My question is, how do I explain to potential advertisers and existing subscribers the benefits of a database driven system, RSS and blogs, in layman terms that is understandable.

I have been trying to write an article for the newsletter to get subscribers excited about the change but even I don't understand what the heck I'm saying:^) Have been searching the net for tutorials or information that would help but so far not having much luck. Would appreciate any suggestions.

[mgillis]

Hey There,

I get your pain, as I have to write articles about stuff I don't understand all the time. I have devised a strategy to get around it that basically revolves around the concept "don't try to tell them everything".

First of all, write out a list of all the technical changes you are making and why you are making each one.

Second, cross off basically all the changes and just stick to the "why"s.

Third, look through the "why"s and ask yourself - really what am I offering here? Because in my mind, the average advertiser is going to look at your content and not particularly care what style of programming you are using UNLESS, your programming offers "security", "privacy", "improved search engine placement".

At this point, you go back through your whys and select the ones that talk about what your users and potential advertisers are really interested in and use those to format your articles. I.e. blogs are great because they can drive a lot of traffic to the site depending on keyphrases.

Hope this helps. I do this a lot as I market software to 2 levels of the company - management who don't get the technical stuff and the down-and-dirty programming squad who hate the marketing fluff. Makes the whole process very interesting!

[greeneagle]

Sandy,

I do not believe in customer content management in any way for any reason! I may be "Old School" there in that belief, but the facts remain that the Search Engines are a "software tool based on logic", that require "logic channels" to drive "desired results", and your clients are just not "endowed" to handle the intricies therein. (PERIOD).

I will have nothing to do with a client that wants to manage their own content without my approval - at all, and that in my mind is the way it should be - Those intricacies there are and should continue to be our business, otherwise let them learn the business for themselves, and what entrepreneur has time to do that for themselves? - They need to mind their business and we need to mind ours! That is our market, after all!

Ken

[cyanide]

Hi Sandy,
I think it would help if you provided a little more information about the website itself. What is it? What does it provide?

I agree with greeneagle about clients editing their own websites. I basically forbid it with my clientele.

Originally Posted by SandyS

My question is, how do I explain to potential advertisers and existing subscribers the benefits of a database driven system, RSS and blogs, in layman terms that is understandable.

Well, the short answer, is you don't.
I'm dealing with a client right now that is hooke on mambo as a cms. I tend to like mambo as well, but he wants to be able to explain to potential clients about the significance of databases, etc..

Most people (clients), are not too technically inclined, especially when it comes to websites, nevermind, email, servers, ISPs, etc...
The more technical jargon you throw at them, the less interest they will have.

Stick to the basics of what the website will actually be offering and benefits to the visitors, in layman terms.

[Peter (IMC)]

My question is, how do I explain to potential advertisers and existing subscribers the benefits of a database driven system, RSS and blogs, in layman terms that is understandable.

That depends on the system you will use. If you use a search engine UNfriendly system there are no benefits. And believe me, 95% of the systems out there are search engine UNfriendly.

[ellenthompson]

I am in the process of a similar change. I mention the short list of new features that the "new system" will offer my customers and leave off the technical details.

I sell advertising, too, and as long as your site provides a good ROI, chances are your advertisers don't care what's "behind the curtain."

[rivux]

I think someone needs to give greeneagle a tin foil hat, the world isn't going to collapse if clients get to update their own site.

There is nothing wrong with using a CMS and you can explain to your users the main benefits of the change while leaving out any of the technical details. RSS feeds for example are great, and places like ESPN started using them recently which is a huge plus for them. They also do a great job of explaining what an RSS feed is, how to use it etc etc. If you give them the tools and explanations on how to use them, then your users will feel more comfortable with the switch.

If you give your users the headlines in short simple explanations with the option to read up more about each of them Im sure it will go smoothly. I finished doing a CMS for a fortune 500 company just before christmas and when talking to them afterwards both the company and its users can't believe they ever lived without one. Once you go CMS you will never want to go back lol

[slideri812]

[

GreenEagle wrote:
"I do not believe in customer content management in any way for any reason!

Though not all clients are capable of this undertaking, it is this interactive component, distributed content creation, that make sites like, umm, this one, valuable.

Commnity created content offers tranparency and a wider range of views. Besides, any CMS worth its salt has an approval proceess that can be implamented.

As far as pitching to advertisers

SandyS Wrote:
It will also be offering advertising which we have not done before. My question is, how do I explain to potential advertisers and existing subscribers the benefits of a database driven system,

We too are gearing up to make the switch to a CMS. If you are using mambo or phpWebsite there are components that let you control how often an ad is displayed (frequency) and on what pages (targeting). You don't need to explain all the techno babble. The bottom line is that an advertisers ability to be seen by the target market is not left to chance, it can be controled (targeted advertising) and nutured (tweaked, whatever) to deliver the desired results: sales for the advertiser.

This is a vast departure from the old "get paid for click through" model.

The data driven part is automation. It will make your life easier and will have a direct impact the availability of your content. Search engines like it cause they don't have to wade throught the hard coding to extract the gems of info. Simple as that.

A CMS is not just a system, if implamented correctly it adds tremendus long term value to the site, its visitors, your membership and your advertisers.

Just MTCW[/b][/quote]

[brandonhong]

SandyS wrote:
My question is, how do I explain to potential advertisers and existing subscribers the benefits of a database driven system, RSS and blogs, in layman terms that is understandable.

To answer how RSS and blogs can help your readers;

I've written a 23 pg report on marketing with RSS and blogs which might be of benefit to your readers, which they can download freely and read here

http://www.marketing-rampage-with-bl...m/SReport1.htm

as for the content management system, I've experimented with PhP Nuke before, and there's really lots of modules inside which you can mix and match.

you can always get someone to install it for you;

when writing, you might want to stay away from the technicalities and just focus on how the content mgmt system can help in terms of

- time
- productivity and efficiency
- targeted traffic
- targeted advertising
- higher ROI?
- branding?

and so on.

brandon
www.marketing-rampage-with-blogs-and-rss.com
[/url]

[raquellbell]

First I would like to thank GreenEagle for being the main reason why my business has been so successful. Companies today are looking for solutions that are engaging, dynamic, and cost effective while at the same time giving them the power to provide higher quality on demad information for today's Internet users. Companies today are fed up with having to turn to a Web developer every time they need copy changed or they need to add information of any kind. By combining the right mix of technology and business strategy when developing a solution you customer will become a customer for life. With the fast pace of technology there is always something new to add to an existing customers Web site. We like to call the up selling... It works great. So again thanks GreenEagle for being one of those "Old School" minded people who are not willing to see opportunity when it jumps up and bites you on the @ss. Good luck to you though.

Second, content management is one of the easiest sells I ever make, I hardly ever even need to sell it. Customers are so fed up with having to wait for content to be updated. When they can do it themselves it becomes very attractive especially if you can show the ROI over time. The most important thing about selling features is that they provide control. Clients love control, find out how your customer runs their business, who their clients are, and what internal systems they have to complete processes. Whether it is automated, administrative, or non existant. Because of the advances in technology there are many online solutions that will help your clients, help their clients more efficiently through time saving technologies, availability of information, or collaboration with vendors, and strategic business partners. There are a million reasons why a client needs what you are selling, if you approach their problem as an opportunity to make their business better, they will sell themselves on features. If the features you have are not what they are looking for, listen to them and suggest other features that might fit their busines model. Get them thinking about their business, and what they do on a daily basis. Then you can suggest solutions that will facilitate those processes.

In any regard, I find that my clients once they get going get so far ahead of the original plan that by the end of the strategy & discovery meeting we have either increased our original offering, or turned it into a phased approach that the client will see a return on investment and an increase in productivity with each phase.

My company is called 23 Degrees, and this month alone we have made more than we did all last year just by taking a different sales approach. In addition we re-use good code, and build our solutions by using modules. That way we can reuse the modules in the future increasing our productivity, and reducing the time and costs associated with creating custom solutions. This we pass on to our clients.. They really like that.

Good luck

[webintel]

Message to Sandy:

As long as there have been sales messages; well since The founding of the Printing press, People have been talking about the "Ben Franklin" method of solving that same issue.

Make two colums on a page.

Title one: Features

Title the other: Benefits.

Then go to work, listing every possible feature or benefit in the proper colum until you've run out of ideas. You should have many more benefits than features, or in other words 2 or more benefits for each feature. Benefits sell, Features tell.

Once you've done that it will be much easier to write effectively about what it is you're trying to accomplish with your web site; and why to all the subscribers, visitors etc.

I hope this was the type of help you were asking for, and that it will be of use to you.

Russ Wilson/Webintel

Russ Wilson/Webintel is a Pro Web Realtor.
WEB REAL ESTATE: is a ‘patented’ “Search Engine Driven Web Advertising BillBoard” Get yours ~free~ here: http://get-me.to/webintel

[MarcieZoob]

Excellent post, raquellbell.

Our business, too, has grown by leaps and bounds (mainly in the last quarter of 2004) by upgrading our services and developing ways for our clients to be able to update dynamic areas of their own web site.

If income is a concern consider this - we charge a small "administrative toolbox" fee, which is a monthly fee to cover our costs of tech support and monitoring. They'd rather pay that and be able to take some ownership of their site.

Like raquellbell, we are developing modules that can be used again thus saving us time so we can take on more client!

[Dadzilla]

Originally Posted by greeneagle

Sandy,

I do not believe in customer content management in any way for any reason! I may be "Old School" there in that belief, but the facts remain that the Search Engines are a "software tool based on logic", that require "logic channels" to drive "desired results", and your clients are just not "endowed" to handle the intricies therein. (PERIOD).

Ken

I concure and suggest an addational reason to closly control site content. Content is what drives our sites, in short, our life blood. The correct mix is the diference between the run of the mill site and one that has a flavor. Content isn’t just what we put on the table, it’s what the adds and feeds bring as well.

As a former BBS Sysop from a decade ago we knew even then we had to target our audience with the apporipate content. Your advitizer may think nothing of adds for vigara but if your running a theme site for games or family or such content control is critical.

It’s a fine line, a balance and one as site creators we have the prodomennt intrest of managing.

[webintel]

I have a favorite search engine that wasn't included in the poll.

I prefer Search Estate.

There are many advantages to using it.

1) I get top listing on the engine.

2) My ads are shown free on the search results pages.

3) My ads are rotated and show in first place on all search results pages when someone uses my search box.

4) I can sell my ad space on the search results page, and generate additional income.

5) Search Estate will sell my extra ad space at my request, and generate further income for me.

6) I get a free site where I can list any other opportunities I care to promote.

7) It's free to everone.

To sum it up, I get free pay-per-click advertising, the number of ad 'billboards' I have continually grows, and I can sell the extra 'billboards.

Why would I use a search engine that charges me to be listed, charges me for advertising, and gives me nothing but the results I search for?

Care to join me in using a really great search engine, and change the results of this poll?

Russ Wilson/Webintel