The Perfect Ecommerce Pizza Pie

Death By Pepperoni
With I40 backed up due to sudden cold and rain in Raleigh it seemed smart to bail, eat at my favorite Pizzeria (Belle Mia Coal Fired Pizza in Cary) and write about the perfect ecommerce pie. Ecommerce, selling stuff online, is art and science (why I love it). Art because merchandising products in infinite space requires skill, intuition and an artist’s sense of timing. Science because everything anyone does online is trackable.

Tracking is more properly called Web Analytics. Web analytics comes with unique challenges but lack of data will never be one of them. The opposite problem is more likely – so much data you can’t see forest for trees. Most ecommerce sites organize their world into “channels”. A channel is defined as a way converting traffic arrives."Converting" refers to when traffic does what the site wants them to do (buy something, sign up for something or download something for a few examples).

Google has two channels – paid and “organic” or “natural” search. Converting traffic also often comes from social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Visitors may stumble upon content from an ecommerce site within content ad networks or read a review on a friend’s blog. In my last gig as a Director of Ecommerce we set revenue goals for each channel:

• PPC (paid Google, Bing and Yahoo) [25%]
• Organic Search [30%]
• Email Marketing [30%]
• traditional media (print, TV, radio) [10%]
• Social Media (where we put our blogs) [5%]

With channels defined we created goals for how we wanted channels to look in comparison to each other. Here is the perfect ecommerce pie for our business model:

We never reached perfection. How we defined perfection was and will always be a very particular thing, particular to the business model and vertical (category) your business inhibits. Your perfect ecommerce pie may look different, but you should have an aspirational goal since everyone needs something to strive for.

Defining your perfect ecommerce pizza pie helps you and your team see your businesses future while defining the now clearly. Defining your businesses perfect ecommerce pie (or content pie if your site is B2B) provides a medium for the message. The perfect pie is what you want. Where are you now, how far away from perfection? You want debate, controversy and a tug of war between departments or channel champions.

Your PPC guy should want your pie to be 50% PPC. If you are using my friend and a great SEO Bill Ross to do your organic work he will want more resources allocated to content creation and link development. If your email marketer is as talented as my friends at WTE.net they will argue they have the best margin of all channels (typically) and they should get a disproportionate share of the marketing money and resources for email marketing. Keep the sharp implements away from this meeting. Expect and want a smack down between "channel Chanpions".

Don't enter this scrum without a judge capable of listening, evaluating and then allocating money and time (another form of money). Channel champions should provide metrics on what is happening now, trends and projected futures. Debate, prioritize and do everything short of killing one another to allocate resources for how you think things will turn out. Create specific goals and identify important choke points then go create your perfect pizza ecommerce pie. Creating your ecommerce pie won’t TOUCH Bella Mia’s coal fired pizza, but it may be as close to perfection as you can get ☺.

How Clive Davis Saved My Life

It seems like someone is always saving my life (lol). Music impresario Clive Davis master producer of such hits as Santana's Supernatural and Kelly Clarkson's Grammy winning Breakaway saved my financial life. Now maybe you can split hairs about financial life versus mortal life, but at that time it felt like both were intertwined. Today, after cancer and riding a bicycle across America separation exists that didn't back in the day.

We were working with talented Durham artist Jeff Goll. Jeff was creating large dried gourds with simple sayings etched in one letter at a time by hand. Wish I could remember Jeff's word wizardry, but I do remember we were running Found Objects at a loss and the "make it up in volume" wasn't working so well.

The day Mr. Davis called we weren't clear where rent, payroll or dinner was coming from. "Hello," Mr. Davis said into the phone in his trademarked, halting yet confident New York yet not accent. For some reason I'd answer the phone. I rarely answered the phone lost inside code (back in those days), copy writing or Photoshoping on FoundObjects.com. This day I answered the phone.

"This is Clive Davis from New York," he said simply. Celebrities weren't uncommon at Found Objects. My ex Clobbered Yoko Ono one day as we were discussing working with her on my ex's cellphone, we worked with artist Jenny Holzer, we met Robert Rauschenberg and Annie Leibovitz. Mr. Davis was friendly, chatty and supportive. He wanted to know about us, about Jeff and how we came to sell such a distinct object.

I could hear hurried, hushed conversations going on behind and around Clive Davis, but he was unperturbed. We talked as if time and space were suspended. I'd seen this talent before. In fact it is a dividing line separating every rich, successful and powerful person I've ever known or met. Clive Davis, a man whose calls are returned promptly by any music star on the planet, made our conversation about ME and my struggling little company. I've seen similar laser beam curiosity from J. Langdon at M&M/Mars, Elizabeth Edwards and Seth Godin.

It was so about me, Jeff Goll and Found Objects Mr. Davis almost forgot he called to place an order for 2 gourds. Telling Mr. Davis I would gladly extended wholesale prices to him he laughed, cupped the phone and I heard laughter behind him. "No son," the creator of Arista records told me, "I will pay retail." We shipped the gourds carefully and quickly with an invoice. Two days later a check came with a simple white card, "Thanks," followed by a large, blue, looping, distinctive signature, "Clive Davis". I wish I still had the card and check.

I didn't think much about it since the two gourds we shipped Mr. Davis would pay for dinner but wouldn't keep the wolf from the door. "Did you see this," my ex screamed running from the other room. Handing me a check for five times the retail price of Jeff's gourds I almost fell down (Jeff if you are reading this I confess we paid you your usual royalty so I owe you a few lunches :). Found Objects would make payroll and we could eat out on Mr. Davis' expansive generosity. Now I know my life wasn't in as much mortal danger then as seemed, but hindsight is always 20/20 and on that day it felt like the man that produced some of the greatest music of our time, the nice man on the phone, saved my company, marriage (for a little while anyway) and life.  Thanks Mr. Davis. You rock.

Talented Durham Artist Jeff Goll next to one of his creations. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of one of Jeff's "Word Gourds".

Raleigh Internet Marketing Meetup on 10.25

Why Amazon dominates Ecommerce.
Hope you can join us next Tuesday October 25 at 6:30 for the first Internet Marketing Relativity Meetup at Atlantic BT in Raleigh.

Join Raleigh Internet Marketing Meetup

Atlantic BT Directions

Pizza from Bella Mia

More on Atlantic BT Marketing Blog

Music Maker Relief Foundation's Blues

Did you know a world class 501c3 nonprofit blues foundation is located in Hillsborough, North Carolina? I didn't either. Meeting Tim and Denise Duffy and their great team Aaron and Corinne today was fun and inspiring. Speaking with these special North Carolina music makers last week I almost couldn't believe my ears. Tim shared how Music Maker grew from its start in 1994. "We have music, pictures of blues artists and all kinds of things," Tim shared. I practically jumped through the phone.

I love the blues, but have only listened to a fraction of the people Tim and Denise know of or have worked with. Here is a great riff from the Music Maker site about the beginning of a special mission:

How did Music Maker get started?
The seeds of the Music Maker Relief Foundation (MMRF) grew out of Tim and Denise Duffy’s close relationship with Guitar Gabriel and several elderly African-American entertainers around Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After completing a M.A. in Folklore from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1989, Tim Duffy began documenting area blues artists.  Together with these artists, Tim and Denise stood in commodity cheese lines, paid bills and performed at festivals and venues across the US and Europe, including the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. 

In seeking performance and recording opportunities for the artists, Tim and Denise came to realize that gigs barely paid them enough to cover expenses and record companies were only interested in young acts that could sell millions of CDs.  The music industry just was not working for these artists. The prospects were even bleaker for artists too old or infirm to travel and perform.  Something needed to be done quickly to preserve the music and the musicians.

Visiting Music Maker today was an amazing, special day. Music Maker is located in a Carolina bungalow in Hillsborough. Tim was sitting on a log talking on the phone as we drove up on a perfect fall day. The first thing we noticed were life sized cutouts of blues artist looking out the foundation's large front window. Tim and other great photographers photographs are in the first gallery. There is a magical chair by Winston-Salem folk artist Sam the Polka-Dot Man and pictures, pictures and more incredible pictures. Standing in the outer gallery you can hear the music, deep inhalations and smoky blues of these American treasures. Tim, Denise and the entire Music Maker Relief Foundation team are treasures too. I purchased 2 tickets to Tap the Blues on 11.11 and hope you will do the same. Other ways you can help keep the blues alive include:


Donate to Music Maker Relief Foundation Today (before 1.10.11 tax deadline)

Become A Member (I went for the Givin' It Back subscription because I wanted the amazing CDs)

Follow Music Maker Blues on Twitter

Friend Music Maker Foundation on Facebook

Blog about Music Maker Foundation,

Bella Mia - What Can The Best Pizzeria Teach About Internet Marketing

Late on a rainy Tuesday night, my second day as Director of Marketing for Raleigh web developers Atlantic BT, my thoughts, like many Internet marketers, turned to pizza. Remembering the happy accident of now working on the north side of Bella Mia Coal Fired Pizza in Cary I pulled in for a treat. Rick Guerra and his sons Louis and Anthony create the best pizza on planet earth and their restaurant is now on my way home to Durham.

After a smiling wave from Rick and a, “Welcome back,” from my amazing waiter Patrick as I walked in I got seated and knew exactly what I wanted. On my first visit to Bella Mia, the best pizzeria on earth, Patrick asked me a few questions and then made two great suggestions telling me the story of how Bella Mia’s tiny pepperonis curl and blacken at the edges as they cook in Bella Mia’s “authentic coal fired” oven. Patrick also almost whispered one of my favorite things – Mexican Coke’s with real cane sugar. “You had me at hello,” I remember thinking.

Tonight’s visit confirmed Bella Mia’s culinary greatness and got me thinking about lessons makers of the best pizza on earth could teach Internet marketers. Bella Mia’s passion, love and authenticity is immediate, warm and comforting. This special restaurant is also transparent. You watch Louis and Anthony make pizza, sliding your pizza into the long fire. You smell your coal fired pizza long before the pizza hits your table.

Smell is only one of the senses Bella Mia engages. Italian crooners sing love songs covering excited conversations as I wrapped my hand around a cold Mexican Coke. Your taste buds will never be more alive than when pizza arrives so fast FedEx could learn lessons. Eating, or allowing my pizza to melt in my mouth, turned my thoughts to what pizza, great restaurants and web design have in common:

Web Site Design	Bella Mia
User Interface (look and feel)	Lighting
Navigation	Menu
Music	Colors
Content	Food
Atmosphere	Social Media
About	Owner
Organic SEO	Reviews
PPC	Word of Mouth
Email Marketing	Remembering Me
Shopping Cart	Bill
Images	Environment

Bella Mia is a carefully planned environment, an environment sending powerful relax, enjoy life and discover a new sense of time signals. Time slows as external cares melt. Bella Mia wraps a comfortable blanket around you. Love, passion and emotion weave their way into your crowded, chaotic senses. You feel your shoulders relaxing as tensions drop.

Great user interface (UX) designers create the same languid seduction as Bella Mia. I admired Atlantic BT's UX designers before joining the firm (read my LI recommendation for Mark Foulkrod). Sites such as The Rice Diet Program, Habitat for Humanity and Communities In Schools weave user experience, site navigation and emotional branding into seamless atmospheres, into online warmth.

Discussing projects as a client with Atlantic BT several years ago I never appreciated the kitchen ballet between programmers who understand search engine optimization (SEO) in a unique structural way I can't wait to fully understand (going to take a bit), UX designers who flow chart before they draw and conductors and project managers who fly from one side of the Atlantic BT building to the other on razors saving seconds and channeling a creative play that makes creating web site warmth possible.

Branding is fine, important and omnipresent, but I'm an ecommerce guy. Like most ecommerce people I think in Calls To Action and user hierarchies striving for an illusive, uncrowded, pure, converting simplicity. Warm languid seduction and calls to action are rare and difficult combinations. One idea tends to mutually exclude the other. Normally languid seduction eliminates effective calls to action and vice versa.

Can you visit Zenph.com and NOT click on BEFORE and AFTER? I dare you to try and you will fail. I've been creating B2B and B2C ecommerce web sites since FoundObjects.com in 1999 and the Zenph Call To Action (CTA) is pure UX design, programming and marketing genius.

Look at my fellow Vassar grad Caterina Fake's magical Hunch.com design, or Quora's seamless content, form and profile or Scoop.it's curatorial splendor for similar feats of web design artistry. I don't know why simple is so hard to create, but it is. Less so now thanks to an emerging new group of powerful right brainers. 

If, as Daniel Pink suggests, we are leaving hard edged financial and computational dominated world of our recent past to enter a new artistic age we may be sitting in the front row of a new kind of museum, a living museum whose calling card is the web's constant NOW and magical purity only previously attainable by Greek Gods and mythic heroes. 


Surely it takes mythic heroes to create the finest pizza on earth and web sites to match.

I will be cooking up blog posts on a regular basis. Please follow @AtlanticBT and LIKE us on Facebook. Take issue with my discovery of the best pizza on earth? Share your favorite pizza story (or any other comment, idea or suggestion) to Martin.Smith(at)AtlanticBT.com. 

Thanks,

Martin


---
Martin Smith
Director of Marketing
Atlantic BT
@ScentTrail

AtlanticBT Raleigh Web Developers

Walking in the door I felt something. I was visiting Mark Foulkrod, COO of Atlantic BT, a few weeks ago with John Kean. People flew from Atlantic BT's East Wing to the West Wing on scooters. I caught pieces of interesting web marketing conversations as Mark led us to his office overlooking Crabtree Valley Mall. Settling into Mark's office we talked Internet marketing with speed and fury. It is not that we don't have lives, at least not completely (LOL). We love what we do, would do it for free and love building toward the impossible goal of ever figuring Internet marketing out.

Internet marketers are a special breed. Great jazz musicians have a lot in common with Internet marketers. Seeing Miles Davis years ago I watched as the master waited, listened and then built a new wing on the house his young band had just created. Miles' young band shook their heads as he worked finger magic on top of their substantial base. Yes, that was the feeling at AtlanticBT. Great jazz riffs happening, building and looking for brother and sister riffs. Energy is infectious and Atlantic BT's Raleigh web development energy met me at the door, got my attention and continued to build.

Mark followed Martin's Ride To Cure Cancer and helped us ride a bicycle across America last summer. Sitting in his office we discussed climbing Marathon Mountain, reaching the Continental Divide, falling (more than once), and learning hard life lessons. Constant learning is another jazz / Internet marketing connection. If Miles could learn new things so can we all, always. Mark shared great book recommendations including Fierce Conversations as John and I made notes on our iPhone (still can't get used to that, but MOBILE she is a coming).

We talked about the Cure Cancer Store and several very cool projects AtlanticBT is working on. It was a great Friday afternoon conversation before John had to head home and resume work for BofA and take care of his 3 great sons. Thanking Mark I mentioned how broke one becomes leaving a good job as a Director of Ecommerce to ride a bicycle across America. I asked Mark to share my resume thinking I would love to work for Mark, Jon, Matt and with the Atlantic BT team but realizing they just expanded.

Mark let me know Atlantic BT was looking for a Marketing Director and asked if I would be interested. The answer to that question is always YES. We had more great meetings each building on thoughts from the previous. Today I met AtlanticBT's creative, intelligent and hard working marketing team and accepted Jon, Mark and Matt's offer to join a new band. Reading Robert Rose's Managing Content Marketing and Vogler's The Writer's Journey I can't help but think of the Hero's journey.

Having realized a lifelong dream my questing hero days are behind me. I will never forget my reaction when a very nice Duke nurse ask me innocently if I would ever ride across America again. "NO," was so immediate and forceful it shocked us both. This was less than a week after returning from LA, but one's immediate reactions are often the truth. America is out, but Martin's Ride To Cure Cancer in France sounds intriguing and exhausting (lol).

Best to know what stage of life one is in. I've always had GREAT coaches and mentors starting when my father coached my first football team in Dallas. My time on the field may be over, but coaching, helping, listening and continuing to think creatively about the strange thing I've come to love - Internet marketing - feels like home, feels like fun.

I know there are great coaches reading this. Please share any advice, tips and ideas remembering I won't have a whistle or clipboard :). I will have a talented team of young Internet marketing jazz musicians who can PLAY....just like Miles.

Thanks to family, friends and mentors for helping me become the new Marketing Coach at the best web development company in Raleigh. Look for Atlantic BT coming to a GoTo Meeting near you :).

Martin

P.S. Cure Cancer Store is still launching 1.2012, so please LIKE on Facebook. 

---
Martin Smith
Director of Marketing
AtlanticBT, Raleigh, NC

Web Copywriting Revolution NOW Please

My Spidey Senses are tingling. My "Something is about to change in Internet marketing alarm," went off loudly at Content Marketing World in Cleveland a few weeks ago. Meaningful customer segmentation has been more promise than fact. The combination of customer segmentation with content management and content network marketing more dream than reality.

A dream I've seen bits and pieces of from companies such as BayNote and PowerReviews. As much as great Internet marketers know how critical it is to present just the right information at the right time actually doing so is illusive. Illusive because there are two parts to the problem: right brain creativity and left brain programming logic (and software tools).

I saw more sophisticated thinking on meaningful customer segmentation from Joe Pulizzi, Robert Rose and Sally Hogshead at Content Marketing World than ever. Managing Content Marketing from Rose and Pulizzi cracks the Jungian archetype into a pliable strategy, so the right brain marketing stuff is finally moving fast. Now we need web developers like IdeaLaunch, Endeca, Drupal, Joomla and WordPress to understand our content management needs including:

• Easy creation of content snippets
• Moving Snippets to many contexts without duplicate content penalties
• Read the cookie and wrap the customer (similar to ad serving)

Content Snippets - The Siftable Thing
Seeing Siftables for the first time my mouth dropped open. Cool technology yes, but Siftables showed what content needs to do - be easily able to be "poured" into whatever vessel content managers want it in. Amazon does this so well. They slice, dice and recombine content in ways Google LOVES instead of creating penalties. Wish Amazon would share THAT API :).

Moving Snippets
Content managers should be able to move and recombine content snippets in any way, in any dimension and on any page needed. We need a content management dashboard that functions like an iPad where managers can spin snippets into new combinations as easy as moving around on an iPad. Content with three dimensional tags could also be algorithmically combined since we can't create or curate content nearly fast enough.

Read The Cookie
Most conversions come on ecommerce sites after several visits. Any ecommerce site MUST show visitors new but relevant content. Read my cookie and figure out how to have a relevant conversation. A "relevant conversation" may be variations on themes already seen, but variations PLEASE. If a visitor doesn't convert from X approach throw Y and Z at them. Presenting relevant variations on content shows respect, creativity and intelligence. Showing visitors the same old same old shows the opposite. Read the cookie and use an ad server-like approach to change visitor snippets to something new based on past paths and previous exposure.



VIDEO: David Merrill demonstrating his amazing MIT Labs creation SIFTABLES


What To Do Now
Wishing doesn't make it so, but "siftable" content snippets are on our content marketing horizon. While we wait on the left brainers to create new tools buy Managing Content Marketing and learn to think, write and act like a hero. First step is write better web copy. Next is to curate your content into coherent "acts" (see Cycle to Story map on pg. 56) and finally snippetize your content by wrapping tags around ideas, paragraphs, sentences and words. Here is an example.

Cure Cancer Store - Snippet Content Example
Categories: Electronics, Home and Hearth and Kitchen and Fine Dining
Products: Apple iPod, P&G Swifter, Dualt Toaster
Tag: Cancer Samurai

By tagging across categories and seemingly asynchronously I create a super-relationship. Within each of these products I could tag individual words, sentences or entire paragraphs. Tags become the glue that binds content together when and how a content manager wants. Creating as many dimensions as possible is a "why not" since tagging costs little in the beginning. Our new content management tool must allow for easy tag editing a la Delicious or Hunch and external curation via cool tools such as Scoop.it and Feedzilla.

Do you see the problem? This kind of three dimensional content management requires Star Trek chess thinking and a dashboard responsive enough to present one dimension and then the other without breathing hard. Content managers need to see and test snippet combinations in a visual production-like but search engine spider free environment before pushing live to sites.

Content managers need to view content first one way then the other with ease and the ability to make notes for later followup. Content managers also need smart algorithms capable of doing some snippet combination and page creation work. This is the infinite Rubik's cube of content.  Content management engines should create new information patterns based on business rules and input from feeds, editors and trends. In Platforms vs. Websites I speculated how Amazon would react if the Brooklyn Bridge fell. Amazon would have a landing page up in seconds and so should we all. 

Are your Spidey Senses tingling yet? Mine are ringing in my ears.

VOTE in Cancer Samurai Logo Design Poll

31 Votes in so far and a real horse race between 2 designs. Voting Ends Friday October 7th at noon. 

Vote Now For Cancer Samurai Logo Design

Thanks to 99Designs we've narrowed the Cancer Samurai logo to 8 designs. Please vote for your favorite and share the link below with friends whose design eye you trust. Thanks, Martin

Logo Back Story
This logo will serve two masters. It will be printed on products such as t-shirts, mugs and caps AND it will be a trust mark identifying products like Apple iPods and Swifters that help cancer patients, their families and friends.

Thanks and please remember we are all Cancer Samurai :). M

Cure Cancer Store
Cancer Samurai will be the private label brand within our Cure Cancer Store. The Cure Cancer Store launches 1.2012, but please LIKE it now on Facebook.

LIKE Cure Cancer Store on Facebook 

Thanks,

Martin

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Martin Smith
Founder, Cure Cancer Store
@ScentTrail
@Mobriff

Everlast We Fight For A Cure

 

How cool is the new Everlast "We Fight For A Cure" campaign complete with hard body athletes and pink boxing gloves. Every cancer patient, their friends and family know cancer is the fight of their lives. Every cancer survivor and patient feels better prepared now with a cool brand like Everlast joining the fight. Kudos to Everlast for creating such a great, shocking, sexy, compelling and generous campaign. THANKS. 

Follow Everlast_ on Twitter

Everlast We Fight For A Cure Campaign landing page

Everlast.com Homepage

Everlast's We Fight For A Cure campaign is firing on all social network marketing cylinders with some of the best web graphics around. Check out their We Fight video...