Capulet Communications

We're not a web design company, but we regularly end up contributing our two cents worth to how a client's site looks. We know our way around SEO, design theory, analytics and so forth, and we're generally nosy parkers, so we often make recommendations. This is doubly true when we're helping clients with their CPC campaigns.

It's surprising how many websites we encounter that don't follow best practices with regards to converting site visitors into 'users' (where 'users' might mean buyers, petition signers, subscribers and so forth). It's not rocket science, but it seems like many organizers (or their design agencies) emphasize other, less important design aspects in lieu of optimizing their conversion rates.

When discussing this with clients, I often refer to our Big Dumb Button theory. That is, ensure that you've got a big, obvious button that features your call to action. The Mozilla Foundation offers a good example of the Big Dumb Button theory in action. No fuss, no muss and no ambiguity--just a big green button.

It's also important to have the same call to action linked in the text, because studies have shown that some users will skip the graphical content altogether, and focus on the words.

I was reminded of this topic by an excellent article on Boagworld:

Having an effective call to action is an essential part of any website. A call to action is not just limited to ecommerce sites. Every website should have an objective it wants users to complete whether it is filling in a contact form, signup for a newsletter or volunteering their time.

It has an ugly cover, but I'd definitely recommend Call to Action by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg. It has tons of practical, tactical advice for anybody in charge of an organization's web presence.

I don't feel the same way about Twitter as I do about my blog. If I don't get a chance to, uh, tweet for a couple of days, I don't feel an itch to get back at it. I'm in Twitter because, as my colleague once put it, "it's an excellent lens for focusing attention". These days, I can't not be in Twitter. In a year, I'll be saying that about some other tool, no doubt.

That said, Twitter sure is handy for solving tiny, localized problems. For example, today I asked my tweeps (and don't get me started on the language around Twitter) three questions, and each one was well-answered:

1. What's your preferred local ISP? I got two quick votes for Retrix.
2. Where, aside from Future Shop, could I order an external hard drive online from a Canadian Vendor? I probably got ten responses, and most of them were for NCIX. They're reputable, but pretty geeky.
3. What's up with the live, online feed for the Canucks game? I had some browser troubleshooting to do there--others verified on Twitter that it was "working for them".

We need to continue to be skeptical about the value and distraction effect of these always-on and always-connected tools. Still, they can prove handy if you've got a problem (and particularly a geeky problem) to solve.

This comes as no surprise to anyone who's lived through the last fifty years, but humans in the modern world love lists. If it's not American Bandstand, it's Letterman's top ten schtick. 

Bloggers of all stripes understand the power of the list, and exploit them all the time. I was reminded of this courtesy of popurls. Check out what the list of top items for del.icio.us--seven of the ten are lists:

Lately we've been handling a lot of launches for start-ups. We enjoy this immensely--we like being able to both strategize and then execute on that strategy. Plus, we often contribute to the start-ups' web presence by writing their website copy. Occasionally we even contribute to the development process of their app (for it seems these days that most of our clients have web apps).

Some clients, I think, expect to get 50,000 visitors the first week they launch. This happens on the odd occasion (bonjour, RobotReplay), but it's more the exception than the rule. So, sometimes we have to urge our clients to be patient. Seth Godin has our back on this one:

The media wants overnight successes (so they have someone to tear down). Ignore them. Ignore the early adopter critics that never have enough to play with. Ignore your investors that want proven tactics and predictable instant results. Listen instead to your real customers, to your vision and make something for the long haul. Because that's how long it's going to take, guys.

Here's one resource the start-up community could use: an anonymous database of actual visitor and user numbers for the first year of operation. That would help us set client expectations beyond the small data set to which we have access. Maybe we ought to talk to Boot Up Labs about that.

In the early years of Capulet, as with most businesses, we said ‘yes’ to nearly everything (we did refuse a mail order bride project). For the past couple of years, we’ve had the luxury of being selective about who we take on.

It's especially nice to take on a client who’s social goals align with our own. DreamBank happens to be one of those clients.

DreamBank is a Vancouver start-up with a mission that addresses this issue. Here’s the elevator pitch:

DreamBank.org is about helping dreams come true and doing it in a way that helps the planet and important social causes. Instead of giving gifts that, although appreciated may not really be wanted, with DreamBank you contribute to someone’s dream. As well as helping fulfill a dream, your contribution helps spare the planet some of the nasty side effects of manufacturing and packaging unused gifts. Plus your gift automatically generates funds that are given to important social causes.

It’s essentially collaborative giving with a charity angle. Or, if you prefer, a gift registry for everything. Here are a few sample dreams:

• We’re trying to get Rebecca to BlogWorld.
• An eight-year-old girl wants a grey chinchilla (that’s our favourite one so far).
• Darren wants to raise money for the David Suzuki Foundation.
• Julie wants to send a kid to camp.
  

It’s a charming idea, and we’re pleased to be helping them with their online marketing. We’ve been blogging up a storm on their site, and running a fun outreach campaign to local bloggers. Plus we had a fun launch party at a French bistro.