Webmasters out there: What do you know about conversion rates?
I just finished a post vowing to get off the religion thing, so when you see a phrase like "conversion rate optimization" here, don't panic. I'm NOT talking about religious conversion. I'm talking about a concept I'm just learning -- website conversion rates.
In simple terms, your website conversion rate and "conversion rate optimization" means getting visitors to your blog or website to do whatever you're asking them to do while they are there. If you're successful, you get them to take the action (fill out an opinion survey; buy a product, etc.) for which you hope they came to your site. If your conversion rate is low, that simply means people coming to your site are failing to take whatever action you're seeking of them (they're "browsers not buyers" so to speak).
I guess there are people out there who've studied all this more than I and have definite suggestions about changing or tweaking stuff on your website or blog to increase your conversion rate. Sounds good to me. I may need to look into something like that.
What about those of you reading this who have blogs and/or websites? Have any conversion rate improvement tips you'd care to share with the rest of us? Go ahead. Leave a comment. Please.
You read ‘the papers’ too? You can buy classic newspapers on eBay
I just discovered one of those great "webmaster tools" all bloggers or well, uh, webmasters, really need. If you look near the top of the right-hand column on the pages here at "Just a Guy Who Reads the Papers," you'll see that new tool in action.
Through the magic(?) of Internet technology, you'll notice several (probably 6) links to eBay auction items involving antique or vintage or classic newspapers. Those links will be updated as they expire. And, yes, if you click on one of those classic newspaper offers, you'll be taken directly to a LIVE real-time eBay auction on that item.
Pretty cool, huh? I think so. And I'm offering that feature to you at the regular subscription price to all who come here -- FREE. Yes, for absolutely FREE you will find those auction links here.
Of course, the auction items highlighted here are NOT FREE -- you have to go to eBay and bid on them. If you're not an "eBayer" on any regular basis, I've even provided a link you can click on just above the pages and posts on this site where you can click, go to eBay, and sign up as a buyer/seller there. It's free (as the link says) and if you've never given eBay a good look, I encourage you to do so. It's far and away the world's largest auction site and chances are good you can find ANYTHING that's legal/legitimate for sale on eBay.
Enjoy!
My best lame advice for investing in the stock market — or not
I'm not much of a financial guy. I HATED the mandatory "economics" class I was required to take those many years ago in high school. (Oddly, I loved history and almost completed a master's degree in history.) As an investor, I've only lost money, even before this horrendously bizarre stock market of the last few months.
So when I hear about anything financial, even something as simple as 0% balance transfers, I tend to go slack-jawed. Throw in even a little touch of such terminology as "futures options," and you've already lost me when it comes to pretty much any finances and investing. I've learned how to pay some of my bills online, as has my wife, and that's about all I do online financially.
But my son, happily, has become quite the investor. Unhappily, he's lost -- as have millions of Americans -- a lot of money in the recent stock market debacles. (See? I understand the world "debacle" but like millions of others, it's "stock market" I really don't get.)
One thing my son has explained to me regarding stocks and evaluating stocks is the concept of the "book value" of a company. That's pretty simple, really, if I got what he told me. It means this: If a company were to shut down today and sell off everything, pay all its debts, whatever is left over is the "book value" of the company which would be split up among the owners, in this case the stock holders. When a company has a "negative book value" that's very, very bad for investors. That means if it sold off completely, it would still owe money -- and stock holders would get NOTHING.
So my advice for you today, and it really isn't worth much but, what the heck -- stay away from buying stock in negative book value companies.
Now go out and do something with your day. Step away from the computer and LEAVE that stock alone for a few days, will ya?
Seems to me that Bush, Obama would both prefer moving now
I've forgotten now which public official -- maybe a Senator? Congressman? -- I saw in a news clip on CNN yesterday, but he was actually suggesting we might want to pass some sort of emergency measures, change the Constitution, whatever, to get President-elect Barack Obama into office as soon as possible instead of waiting for his January inauguration.
I don't think the guy was kidding.
And I also don't think either President George W. Bush or Obama would resist the idea.
I'm not suggesting Obama is overstepping his present role. I'm not suggesting Bush is shirking any of his present role. But whenever I've seen the two men on television, Bush always looks relieved that the end is almost here -- and Obama always looks eager to get started.
Given the incredible situations we face economically and politically right now, perhaps there ought to be some special emergency declarations that would accomplish the changeover as soon as possible -- say, maybe YESTERDAY?
Good news for coffee lovers: Brazilian crop looking pretty good
I'm sitting here looking out at a drizzle on a chilly day in the Ozarks. We're being told we might see our first mixed rain/snow of the season overnight tonight. Okay, maybe you live in more northern climes and laugh at those of us who haven't had snow by mid-November. (Or maybe you're in southern California or Florida and long for snow?)
Just look at all that chilly drizzle and those clouds makes me long for a good, fresh cup of coffee. I'm not talking about the fancy Starbucks stuff, I'm talking Folger's or Maxwell House here. The kind of coffee my dad and granddad drank and raised me on, you sissy! (I kid.)
The good news I just saw is that the Brazilian coffee harvest and processing is off to a good start, according to a story I just saw on the Internet. Good for all of us! Get busy, wonderful Brazilian folks and all the rest of you who bring in that crop.
I'll be sitting near my coffeemaker just waiting for more good news. And more good coffee! (What's your favorite coffee? Leave a comment and let us know.)
Instead of products — how do you shop for SERVICES?
Continuing with the consumerism theme -- do you value or price services in the same way you consider products? Or do you look differently at buying a service?
If you were shopping for cheap auto insurance, for example, what's the most important thing you would look for? Would you simply buy the minimum legal insurance for wherever you live at the cheapest place you could find it? Or would you think about the possible consequences of buying the least and cheapest insurance available?
I've thought about this one a lot, because I spent three years doing office work for a major property insurance company. They sold homeowners and auto insurance, and my job was to transcribe and proofread tons of letters from insurance adjusters to policy holders. Mostly claims DENIAL letters.
What have I learned from that? I've learned that I would look very closely at the agent or agency from which I was buying my auto insurance and probably less at the price I was paying for it. Cheap auto insurance is a great idea -- but it's even better to know there will be a trustworthy agent behind the insurance if you need to use it!
How about you? Whether it's auto insurance, some other insurance, or educational expenses -- how do you evaluate your purchases when you're buying a service instead of a product? Any comments?
Price or quality? Which is more important to you as a consumer?
Just how do you and I, as consumers, put "value" on items we purchase? From automobiles to faucets, why are we willing to pay considerably more money for one item than another similar item?
I live in a very old house, and there always are plumbing replacement and repair items high on my shopping list. I was looking around the Internet earlier and found a site marketing Grohe faucets which, to be honest, I'd never heard of. Most of my replacement or repair plumbing stuff comes from low-end home improvement stores or, uh, well -- Walmart. Would I spend significantly more money for a high-end faucet if something more "off the rack" would do the job? Absolutely I would if I could afford to spend the money.
Why? Why spend significantly more money for a Grohe faucet than something from my neighborhood hardware store? Because of the features and benefits I see in the Grohe -- assuming I need a new faucet and find a way to pay for it.
So why are U.S. automakers or other U.S. manufacturers losing business to foreign manufacturers? Is it just price?
It's probably MOSTLY price -- but, very importantly, it is the perception consumers have of quality and benefits. Given two faucets or pickup trucks, if money were no object, would you buy the cheapest? Probably not, right? Probably you'd buy the more costly faucet or pickup truck because you would perceive it as more valuable.
What do you think about all this? Leave a comment and share with us all.
Who’s going to bail out U.S. automakers now?
If it's true that tough times call for tough people, then I hope those who work in the U.S. automobile industry are high on the toughness scale. Amazingly, the government bailouts to the financial/credit industry doesn't appear to be going into the auto industry -- the nation's "Big Three" automakers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) have so far been denied aid by Congress. I'm not sure why, but I do have a theory.
My theory would be this: True or not, U.S. automakers have gained a reputation of making overpriced, poor quality cars and trucks. It's no secret that Toyota and Honda have been stealing huge numbers of car buyers away from the Big Three. Many people believe (maybe for good reasons, maybe not) that a Toyota or Honda or Hyundai or Volkswagen are more dependable and a greater value than a Chevy, Ford, or Chrysler.
I do not personally have an opinion in the matter. I've never owned a new car. Most of the used cars I buy are VERY used, i.e., near or over 100,000 miles, and I've had both U.S. made and Japanese used cars. I've never had a lot of concern about which cars were better -- they've all been a struggle to own and maintain by the time they got down to my price range!
I've heard various opinions by my son, my son-in-law, and others who I trust. They are split pretty evenly between U.S. made and foreign made vehicles.
But until the Big Three automakers change the perception of consumers and offer car quality and prices they are looking for, bailouts won't solve the problem, only delay it.
Do you trust the stock market? How about with your vacation?
No, I don't mean you should put your vacation plans and vacation money into the stock market. Although, with stock prices so low, if you have some extra bucks this would be a good time to carefully buy up some stock bargains. (My son tells me that; he's the only stock trader in our immediate family. I'm broke.)
No, I don't mean your average Las Vegas hotels are offering stock shares to their guests.
What I've heard about is this: According to a report this morning on the "Today Show," there's a resort somewhere in upstate New York which is offering a room rate based on the closing Dow Jones Industrial number on Fridays. In other words, if the Dow closes at, say, 9000 on a Friday, the rooms at this resort will go for $90 a night the next week.
Go to the "Today Show" website for more details, or you can probably Google it and find out specifics. But it looks like an interesting idea if you're planning a winter family vacation. If I had any money for a winter family vacation, I know I'd check into it!
May we all be blessed these days with good jobs, economic stability
Something I saw on television yesterday started me thinking about various odd jobs, even "dirty," i.e., sloppy or nasty or messy jobs, which I've had over the years.
I haven't always been a multi-billionaire blogging guru, you know. (Okay, how about NEVER?) At various times I have loaded and unloaded appliances from rail cars, bussed and washed dishes in an upscale coffee shop/restaurant, pumped gas at a service station (those words are almost meaningless nowadays, aren't they?) on an Indian reservation, and I was a bona fide "Chicken Delight" driver during my college days. Oddly enough, I've worked at numerous security guard (preferred term now -- "security officer") jobs, separated by about 30-35 years in time.
I've never worked for a New York Moving Company, though I've made two major "self-service" moves across the country. The appliance unloading job, the self-service move we made from Seattle to South Dakota before our kids were born, then our move from South Dakota to Missouri when the kids were small -- yeah, that was as close as I care to come to any moving company employment.
Given the state of our economy and the virtual economic collapse we're fighting to avoid right now, I'm fortunate that we can get by on what I make online supplementing our primary income -- that of my wife's in the offline world.
May we all be blessed these days with 1) a job -- or jobs -- we enjoy and take satisfaction in, and, 2) financial stability/prosperity even in these tough times!
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Bid on Classic Newspapers on eBay!
Rare1899 Native American Indian newspaper SANTEE AGENCY
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Rare1898 Native American Indian newspaper SANTEE AGENCY
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MORRISTOWN NJ Revolutionary War 1780 Enemy Newspaper
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Newspaper 1816 Connecticut Journal New Haven as found
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