We thought we would pass on this information for everyone else by putting together today's post explaining why a small business should consider email marketing, and the benefits it can provide.

Why Use Email Marketing?

When you read anything about online marketing you may notice the focus is often on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and using social media marketing for promoting a business online. 

Contrary to what some business owners may think, email marketing is not a thing of the past and if you are not yet using it, or not using it properly you could be missing a key way to generate more leads.

Email Marketing Provides Direct Contact with Prospective Customers

One of the downfalls with social media is the immediacy of it. Whilst this can be beneficial in some respects, it can also be a hindrance.

According to research by management consultancy firm, McKinsey & Company, an estimated 91% of US consumers checked their mail inbox at least once every day. This means that unlike social media - where information is essentially infinite and continually updating (meaning engagement can be lower) - when an email is sent to a person’s inbox, the person is less likely to ignore it.

Either the person will spam it, read it or send it to the trash folder depending on what he or she feels about it. Immaterial of whatever action the person may take, he or she has to open the email that was sent to the inbox and skim through it before deciding what to do with it. Engagement with email marketing can be far higher than that of social media because of this, something you should remember when investing time into tweeting vs. sending out an email campaign.

You Can Gain More Understanding About the Interests of Your Followers

Perhaps you’re wondering why a certain social media user decided to follow you on Facebook or Twitter. Of course, you can always look at your most popular posts on Facebook and Twitter or use Google Analytics to find out your most popular content but, this doesn’t give an insight into the interests of each follower.

With email marketing you can find out about which links your subscriber clicks, the method the person used to opt into your email list and which emails the person opens depending on the email provider you use. By spending time and energy to segment your email list, you will be able to send content to your subscribers depending on their particular interest, e.g. recent subscribers or first time buyers, or even by gender, age or interests.

Another benefit is that your social media posts may be seen by those who don't follow you and it can be difficult to work out how effective the campaign has been. With email marketing the user has actively signed up to join your mailing list therefore you may have a stronger customer base through this channel.

Email Marketing Stats

With email marketing, you have a better chance of engagement:

• Emails initiate purchases that are three times more than that of social media in addition to a 17 percent higher average order value compared to that of social media.
• Email marketing is 40 times more effective than the combination of both Twitter and Facebook for acquiring customers.
• Average investment return for each US$1 spent on electronic mail marketing is US$44.25.
• Online marketers ranked electronic mail marketing as the sole, most effective method for retention, awareness, conversion and acquisition.
• It is estimated that more than half of emails are now checked using mobile devices.

Remember to Optimise for Mobile!

There are still many marketers or business owners who don’t optimise their emails or their website landing page to adjust to smaller screen sizes – this is something that we at Kommand can help your business with. If you are looking for support in growing your small business or would like to move your website to a responsive design why not get in touch and find out how we can help?

You can reach us: support@kommand.me

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130

Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069

London - Tel: 0203 026 0730 

At Kommand we like to keep up to date with any developments in APIs we integrate into our system. We recently got news of a new Mail Chimp feature we think our clients could benefit from - Product Recommendations - and wanted to pass the information on to help you take advantage of the feature to better connect with your customers.

What is Mail Chimp’s Product Recommendations Feature?

Product Recommendations have been added by Mail Chimp to assists in analysing the purchase history of customers to detect patterns in their buying behaviour to predict which items they’ll buy next.

The days of personalised email marketing being reserved for big brands with equally big marketing budgets is coming to an end. This new feature allows businesses of any size to create personalised recommendations quickly and easily.

What Does It Do?

By using the personalisation tools in Mail Chimp you can find out more about your audience and in turn, increase the relevancy of the messages you send them. If you sell online, this new feature makes it incredibly easy to deliver the right content at the right time.

The enterprise-level technology detects patterns in your Ecommerce data and uses this to predict your customers’ buying behaviour to target the right customer with the right product. Mail Chimp builds a profile of each individual’s purchase history which can see by viewing their subscriber profile.

Why Use Email Marketing?

If you aren’t yet using email marketing as part of your online marketing strategy, then you are missing out on a vibrant and powerful way to connect with your customers.

Email marketing has managed to remain a key element in marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes. Think about it yourself: how many people do you know with an email address? Lots. And all of these people can be targeted through email marketing.

And for those that think email marketing is dying? Smartphones put a clear stop to that. In fact, reading email has been the number one activity on smartphones for a long time, and with better technologies and designs continuously being developed marketers are always able to find new innovative ways to push conversions through email marketing to catch users on the go with targeted, personalised messages.

Why Start an Online Store?

Ecommerce (online shopping) has grown rapidly in recent years. Popular product categories in the UK include fashion and sporting goods, followed by travel and household items. Other popular categories include movies/music and books/magazines.

There are a number of reasons why you should open an online store. You don’t have to pay rent and you can reach millions of customers from the comfort of your home. However to have any shot at success you need to have a user-friendly, secure, solid website. Kommand’s website builder offers just that, and more, with integrated SEO features making it straightforward to get your website ranking highly on search engines such as Google. If you already have a Kommand website and want to make the switch to an online shop, or are brand new to our brand why not get in touch for a friendly chat about how we can help you make the most of your business online?

Emails us: support@kommand.me or call:

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130

Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069

London - Tel: 0203 026 0730 

Whether you are just setting up your website, or have had your website running for some time, adjusting the text on your website is a quick, simple and, most importantly, free method that you can use to improve your website’s conversion rate. You might be surprised at what a difference a few simple changes can make. Here's our tips.

TIP #1: UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE WANTS

The first step in improving your website copy is to get to grips with your target audience. Your website can look great, work smoothly and tick all other usability boxes but if you fail to speak in the language of your customers, you’re likely to harm your chances of selling.

By building ‘customer copy' into your website's text you will be able to align yourself with your customers, build trust and most importantly, stop the dreaded bounce. There are a couple of ways you can employ this tactic; a quick starting option is to can examine customer reviews, emails, support tickets and conversations. By mirroring the positive experiences mentioned in your reviews you can tap into what your customers are thinking and by using support tickets and customer emails you can uncover any recurring problems or questions which might not be clear on your site and use this to improve your content.

If your business is new, why not look at your competitors’ reviews or conversations on their social media channels? Look for quick selling points you can integrate into your website; “fast delivery”, “great service”, “quick and easy to use”, etc.

By building a list of the main problems and positive feedback you will be able to re-write your own copy to reflect these. Consider the language you use and how this persuades customers your product or service solves their needs.

Some quick copywriting tips:

• Write in their language – consider your target market, do they understand and appreciate technical terms or would they engage more with simple language?
• Be specific – if your product is 4x faster or always offers free next delivery include those facts clearly on your website. Your selling points need to sing out to engage and ultimately convert customers.

TIP #2: USE EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS

Emotional triggers can be used to to improve engagement. Some of the emotions you can tap into include:

• Surprise
• Joy
• Awe
• Fear
• Anger
• Empathy
• Amusement
• Laughter

Think about the customer state of mind when looking for your product. Understanding this emotional state can help you to tweak content with compelling words: "did you know?", "Are you afraid of...?" If your product is aimed at mothers, fear can be effective, if your target audience is a young generation a funny, tongue-in-check style might be more effective.

TIP #3: DON’T FORGET THE CALL TO ACTION

Many businesses forget to include a call to action throughout their website. Don't be afraid to be direct and don't make the mistake of cluttering your content with too many different calls to action on the same page; join our newsletter, download our eBook, call us, etc. Stick with one call to action per page as confusing your customers can hurt conversions.

TIP #4: OVERCOME DOUBT

Similar to tip one, you should aim to overcome any doubt your customer has without them needing to ask. Whilst some customers may take the time to email their query, many won’t, meaning you have lost them as potential customers. Whether you need to add an FAQ page, or a video demonstration, fulfilling these doubts will help you improve customer engagement.

TIP #5: USE HEADLINES PROPERLY

People are 5 times more likely to read your headline than your body copy. The headline should describe your most highly desired and unique feature or benefit and should be short, customer focused and to the point. Questions can work well as they will naturally lead the visitor on to the copy to find the answer.

Video has become an incredibly powerful form of content which is being used increasingly more by marketers to sell brands online. Recent studies found that websites with videos can keep site visitors engaged for 80% longer than those without. Furthermore, many customers rely on product videos to assist in purchasing decisions so it is no surprise more businesses are using video within their websites and social media marketing as a way to engage potential customers.

Which Businesses Should Use Video Marketing?

For many industries there is now an expectation that brands will provide video content. Particularly for those who sell goods or services online via an Ecommerce store, video content can aid the purchase decision process. However, every industry from SAAS to fashion brands are able to use videos within their sites to add credibility to their product offering.

Why Has Video Become So Popular?

With the rapid acceleration of YouTube, Vimeo and other video sharing websites, uploading and sharing videos to the web has never been easier.

And with this ease also comes an increased interest. Some recent studies suggest young people now spend more time online than watching TV. Particularly interesting is the rise in popularity of YouTube as an online destination. The video-sharing site is used every day by almost half of five-16 year olds in the UK. However, it is not just the younger generations - or the Brits - who enjoy watching videos online. YouTube is estimated to be increasing around 60% each year, and reaches more 18-49 year olds than any cable network in the US.

How Can You Use Video in Your Content Marketing?

Now you’re clued up on why video shouldn’t be overlooked we can move onto discussing ways in which your business can use it within a content marketing strategy.
If you run a small business it is understandable that the prospect of making videos can seem daunting. Big businesses surely have much bigger budgets and more available man-power to outsource or allocate to video creation… Your business can’t afford to allocate resources as effectively, surely?

WRONG!

Yes, big businesses will have bigger budgets but creating video content really isn’t as complicated as you might think. Follow these tips and you can too can take advantage of one of the most effective and growing ways to sell your brand online.

TIP #1: DO YOUR RESEARCH

As is the same with any marketing idea, the initial step you should always take is research. There is no point in investing time and money into creating video content if your customers won’t then engage with it. For small businesses this is even more important as your expenditure will have a bigger impact on your business.
To ensure you are making the right choice you should research the following areas:

What kind of content do your customers respond to?

Where are the weaknesses in your conversion journey and how can video assist in filling in the gaps?

What kinds of videos will work for your product or fit in with your brand? For example, ASOS included videos of models walking a short runway to show their products ‘in real life.’

TIP #2: BE CLEVER

You should be realistic about your expectations and capabilities. Start with creating one video, not ten and get various people to proof watch it to make sure everything is perfect. You should always end your video with a call to action, whether that’s a plug for your website or a contact number to gently encourage your customer to take action.

TIP #3: CHOOSE YOUR DIRECTION

Once you have decided the aims of the video e.g. to show off your product benefits you will need to decide the style you want to follow. Video marketing comes in a variety of different styles from whiteboard illustrations, product demos, ‘slice of life’ and everything in between.

If your aim is to build brand affinity, interviews with your employees and shots inside your workplace can help to humanize your business. If you are looking to share specific information a product demo or how-to might be more beneficial.

TIP #4: ALLOCATE TIME

Our next tip is to make sure you get the video finished. When running a small business, it is easy to put things off but the more time between shooting, editing and publishing the more potential leads you could be missing. By properly planning and allocating time to your video you can organise everything (and everyone!) needed, making the video creation process run a lot smoother.

TIP #5: SHARE SHARE SHARE!

Many businesses forget the importance of sharing their content marketing after creating it. Making the video is just the first step, getting it in front of your customers is the second. You may decide to add a video to a particular landing page on your website and run online ads that link to that page. If you are uploading your video to YouTube or Vimeo make sure to brand your channel page properly and use keywords throughout your video description, video title and channel content to increase visibility of your brand.

TIP #6: MAKE SURE IT WORKS

If you are uploading your video to YouTube and adding it to your website you will want to make sure it is properly embedded and works well, regardless of the device a user accesses your site from.

All of the themes in Kommand are fully mobile responsive, with fast loading speeds. This means our customers can add videos to their website webpages without making their website slow to load, or difficult to use on mobile. For more information about Kommand please get in touch today. Our team will be happy to help!

Email: support@kommand.me

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130
Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069
London - Tel: 0203 026 0730

Your website homepage is one of the most important pages on your site. Not only does it act as the front cover to your business but it also often gains the most rankings from search engines. Getting it right is vitally important to make sure that customers do not bounce from your site and instead become customers or leads.

Various studies show users will spend 8 seconds or less when they land on your website before they make the decision to stay, or leave. Making sure they stay is the aim of the game. The difficulty that comes with a homepage is what to include. Your homepage needs to act like the chameleon of your website. Unlike your sub or product pages which are typically about a specific topic, your homepage needs to be all encompassing, appealing to all kinds of users.

But how can you ensure that happens without complicating your message and confusing your audience? 

What Should You Include on Your Homepage?

We've put together a short infographic of five (perhaps obvious - but often overlooked!) areas to check on your website.

Click to enlarge:

How to Create High Quality ‘About Us’ Page?

When developing the content of an online business's ‘About Us’ web page, there are a few useful tips and pointers from content marketing experts which everyone should bear in mind.

Every online business is unique in its own way: the first job of the person or team crafting this crucial landing page on a company's website, therefore, is to ensure that the uniqueness of the business shines through and makes your landing page truly representative of your brand, mission and corporate values. More often than not we tend to trust a formula we are accustomed to, so we recommend not going crazy with over the top claims and exclamation marks. In terms of brand trust, another good idea is to integrate your own promotional blurb with a few selected customer feedback comments or reviews; that way potential new customers will be able to see the extent of satisfaction you can deliver and judge your business positively.

When developing the ‘About Us’ page for your business website, bear in mind that this page is often the most visited. This is because people, and we mean potential customers, seek out information about a product or service provider before parting with their hard-earned cash. Therefore the content and structure must come across as convincing, inviting, and trustworthy. Dodgy html and beige page backgrounds do not convey the idea of a dynamic business, despite of what the blurb (content text) actually claims about the business itself. So practice what you preach and deliver an eye-catching page that says "this business matters".

Is Your Content Marketing Strategy in Place?

The content marketing strategy you choose is up to you, but there are ways to make sure that your ‘About Us’ page stands out and ranks high in search results. SEO basics should become the ABC of every online business owner, whether an old hand or a budding e-entrepreneur; however, as the rules of the game keep changing, it is recommended that business website owners and managers keep up with SEO trends. The key to the efficient SEO strategy is to create a high quality and engaging content with keywords, links, meta-descriptions and title tags.

Last but not least, ensure that your About Us page includes full and up-to-date contact details: nothing is more disappointing than to find an out of date landline number and an old postal address, or a generic 'info' email address.

Tailor your About Us web page content - make it personal, proactive. Make it reach out to your existing and potential customers. Finally, these days e-commerce is all about networking: make sure your About Us page features your business's social handles and Skype details if applicable.

If you would like to find out more about content marketing strategy for your online business contact Kommand.me team.

Why should your online business be different? Just because you can't see your customers 'enter' your shop doesn't mean you monitor their experiences and improve them for the future.

If your business has a great user experience, is clear on its value proposition, is designed well and ranks highly there is little reason why it cannot generate sales or leads for your business, especially if you market it correctly. Conversely, an old, slow, non user friendly website will lead to loss of conversion opportunities lost out to your better performing competitors.

If you already have a website up and running, or are looking to build a website from scratch here are five areas to bear in mind to improve your competitiveness and chance of conversion.

1. Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?

Nowadays this should really be a given. But unfortunately many businesses still overlook the importance of a mobile friendly website. Think about your own online browsing, how often do you view websites from your smartphone or tablet? Your customers are typically the same. 

You should speak to your web designer about making your website mobile friendly, or if your website is particularly old, you may benefit from a complete face-lift, mobile responsive theme and all!

2. Do You Update Content Regularly?

Fresh content is key to driving your website. Google have cited countless times that fresh content is important to their rankings. This is for multiple reasons:

- It gives them more to crawl and therefore a better chance you can rank for related terms.

- It shows your website is active.

- It can help indicate that your website has authority in its field.

Fresh content will also increase your chances of people sharing links to your website from social media, or even their own websites. 

If you don't already you should consider adding a blog to your website. This will give you a great platform to add content routinely to your website. You should also review website content regularly. If you run a restaurant do you have outdated menus? (e.g. Christmas 2015). Take each page in turn and check for anything outdated, do you state you have 13 years' experience when you now have 15? Do you mention last year and refer to 2014? All of these changes help improve your freshness and also improve user experience.

3. Do You Have Defined Landing Pages?

A landing page is a webpage that is specifically designed to follow on form an external link. If you run PPC or other paid ad campaigns for your business you will want to consider the route the customer follows. If they ad is for a particular product or service but it links simply to the homepage you may lose that customer, as they have not been directed to what they are looking for. By creating specific landing pages you will keep the customer journey fluid from ad right through to purchase or lead. You can read more about designing landing pages in this post.

4. Is Your Value Proposition Clear?

When a potential lead or customer lands on your website can they see quickly and clearly why they should pick you? It can sometimes be difficult to see this yourself as you will undoubtedly know your business inside out, so you may want to ask friends, family or strangers to check your website and see if they can explain what your business does and why it is different. If they fail, this could be an indication that your website isn't clearly promoting it's USP.

Alongside this you should check that your website promotes quick calls to action and snippets that catch attention. For example if you run an online shop that offers free shipping or have a coupon code, make this clear from the get-go. Customers shouldn't have to hunt for important information.

5. Is It Easy to Get in Touch?

Following on from the point before, make it easy to get in touch. Include an FAQ page if possible as well as a way to contact if their query cannot be answered by your site's content. You should ensure that your contact form works properly and is quick and easy to fill out. Add your phone number and social media links clearly, and if necessary consider adding a live chat widget.

Speaking of Getting in Touch...

If you need help with your business's website, whether you are just starting up or looking for a redesign, the Kommand team can help. Email us today with your query: support@kommand.me 

Alternatively you can call us:

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130
Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069
London - Tel: 0203 026 0730

"An image speaks a thousand words."

So the saying goes, and quite rightly so. Images online have proven time and time again to be effective at engaging potential customers with a recent statistic stating "coloured visuals increase people's willingness to read a piece of content by 80%." In all areas from social media and email marketing to blog posts and website design, the images you choose can reduce your bounce rate and prompt people to browse your website.

Which Images Should You Use On Your Website?

If possible it is always best to use your own high quality photographs. Many people can detect stock photography and it is to difficult to build a trust and warmth towards your brand (especially if you are a start-up!) if you are using other people's photos.

Putting this aside it is understandable that when you are setting up a website for the first time you may use stock images as a quick and effective option that will keep you on the right side of copyright laws. Over time you may invest in hiring a photographer to take photos of your office or services. You may also use stock images to bring a level of professionalism to your business.

There are websites which charge premium prices for their images however there are also hundreds of other websites which have free (or cheap) images you can use. It is just a matter of knowing where to look.

You can learn about copyright on images in this post we wrote back in July which explains the different types of photo licenses and how you can use them.

If you are looking for free images to use on your website whether for banner images or to spruce up your blog posts, here are ten websites you can try.

1. FindA.Photo

FindA.Photo has a range of different images split into categories. You can also search by colour which is useful if your branding has a particular palette it uses. Using similar colours across your website will help to portray a cohesive feel regardless of the page the user is on. 

2. Allthefreestock

All the free stock acts like a directory of different websites which have free pictures. It also includes free videos, mock-ups, sound effects and colour inspiration; perfect for those starting their website from scratch and are unsure of their branding.

3. Stock Up

Stock Up has a great range of all genres and types of images including still life, people, places, textures, etc.

4. PicJumbo

PicJumbo has images in a variety of different categories such as fashion and architecture. Their search feature allows you to search for quote specific images such as "iphone 6" or "man pouring champange"

5.  Unsplash

Unsplash has a particular style of photography with a dreamy, filtered look which could be perfect for banner images on a website.

6. Pexels

Pexels update their website with 20 new images every day which is perfect if you have already exhausted the offers from other websites.

7. ISO Republic

ISO Republic have a wide choice of photographs, including many flat-lay photos of food and tech.

8. Gratisography

Gratisography have a unique style to their photography. All images are very eye-grabbing which could be ideal to use for social media posts.

9. Moveast

Moveast have a lot of food and culture photos. They also have photo sets of particular events, for example marathons or festivals.

10. Start Up Stock Photos

Start Up Stock Photos focus on small business and office. The website isn't updated as often but could be great for a small business or agency looking for photos of macs or meeting rooms.

Need A Website Designed for Your Business?

If you are starting a business and looking to set up a website Kommand website builder can help. We offer a range of packages to suit all budgets, from pre-made templates to website and logo design specific to your business. For more information please contact us: support@kommand.me. 

When social media burst onto the scene many people, perhaps naively, thought it signaled the death of email marketing. However, as popular as social media became - and remains - email is still the preferred way people like to receive marketing offers.

Email marketing has managed to remain a key element in marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes, as suggested in a study by the Direct Marketing Association who found "75% and upwards [of people] in different age groups prefer being marketed by email."

Mobile Devices Changed Email

In 2016, mobile devices have become a key way interact with content and digital marketing, and the way we access emails. In fact, reading email has been the number one activity on smartphones for a long time, and with better technologies and designs continuously being developed marketers are always able to find new innovative ways to push conversions through email marketing.

Does Your Business Use Email Marketing?

Whether you are just starting your business, or an experienced player in your field, if you don't use email marketing yet, you are seriously missing a trick. Not just from a digital marketing point of view, but from an analytical side too. The data generated from email marketing can provide your business with actionable insights that can help you build a profile of your audience or customers.

Now that we have you convinced, here are five tips to follow to get the most out of email marketing in 2016:

1. Make It Look the Part

The days of plain text emails are long-gone. Nowadays there are a number of different templates you can use to build great looking emails. If your business has a colour palette (which it should) then this should be used in your email. By keeping your branding the same across all online and offline channels you will build a stronger brand identity.

If possible you should also use photos, videos, graphics and other media to enrich your emails.  

2. Make It Mobile Friendly

As we spoke about before, mobile devices have changed the way we access emails. This is an important thing to bear in mind when designing emails. Whilst you are most likely going to design on a desktop people will be opening on tablets and smartphones. Take time to preview your emails to make sure they displays properly, regardless of the device.

3. Get Personal

Nowadays, customers expect personal interactions from the brands they engage with. Thankfully, email automation gives you ability to make personal, automated emails you can send to your customers based on their behaviour. 

4. Re-Use Ideas That Work

Like any form of marketing you will need to monitor the results. If you notice that more emails are opened when you send in the evening, use this to develop your strategy in future. If you notice that videos, pictures or a particular subject line has a positive influence then you should replicate this in future campaigns. Conversely, if you have a particular email that results in a lot of unsubscribers you should attempt to understand why. Have you been bombarding your email list? Was your email too specific?

5. Build Your Contact List

Email marketing can be a great asset to your business, but only if you have a sizable contact list to market to. Where possible you should make efforts to add contacts to your list. The greater the number, the greater the reach. 

Email newsletters are one of the oldest, most tried and tested ways of promoting a website - but it's a technique that still works extremely well. By building a solid list of subscribers, and regularly emailing them with news or special offers, it's possible to generate steady and targeted traffic that doesn't rely on the vagaries of search engines, and costs very little in comparison to paid advertising.

Given that this is such a powerful traffic generation technique, it makes sense to pay every bit as much attention to it as you do to your other marketing efforts, so here are seven tips on how to make your email marketing efforts a greater success.

1. Treat Your Subscribers Well

Before we look at ways of attracting new signups to your email list, it makes sense to do everything you can to retain existing subscribers. Make sure that the emails you send are genuinely valuable, whether it be by using useful and interesting content, or by handing out promotional codes that represent a great offer to the user. Don't be tempted to overuse your email list - creating a constant stream of largely pointless emails will soon become an annoyance to your subscribers, and many will unsubscribe as a result.

2. Create an Online Archive

If you're creating newsletters of value, then it makes sense to leverage this work in any way you can. Putting older newsletters online will not only provide extra content for your site, hopefully generating additional traffic, but if potential list subscribers can see that previous newsletters have been interesting and useful, they're more likely to give you their email address for future editions. Furthermore if you run a brochure website, like that made on Kommand, adding newsletters is a great way to keep your website current.

3. Make It Easy to Subscribe

Subscribing to your site's newsletter should be as painless as possible. You may wish to put a clear way of signing up on every page of your site (especially on your archive of previous editions), and give visitors a reason to sign up without nagging them - for example, offer a one-time discount code or free e-book to every new subscriber. Although attention needs to be paid to the legalities of email lists - double opt-in and so on - do everything you can to smooth the process of signing up.

4. Make Subscribers Feel Special

Each newsletter you send should make the recipient feel valued. A simple, anonymous advertising pitch will not be anywhere near as effective as an email that makes a subscriber feel like part of an elite club. As well as offering discounts and special promotions to your subscribers, consider creating a special area of your site only open to members of your email list, where they can access valuable and exclusive content - and be sure to mention this benefit at every opportunity when asking people to sign up.

5. Get Personal

If possible, split your email list into segments depending on previous interactions, so that you can target each user more precisely - for example by rewarding previous purchases with discounts for related products. This may or may not be easy to do depending on your site and back-end systems, but if you can personalise your emails even a little they will be much more successful, and subscribers will be more likely to stay on the list.

6. Promote Your List Wherever Possible

Consider including a brief advertising message and link to your list's sign up form on every email you send out to a customer or in response to an enquiry. Don't be pushy, but make sure the benefits of signing up are clear and that it's easy to do so with as few clicks as possible - remember, your email list can become a very valuable asset if maintained and utilised properly, so try and give it as much promotional attention as you do any other part of your business.

Create a Website that Looks as Good as Your Emails

It might be the case that someone is subscribed to your mailing list but doesn't often visit your site, or has forgotten about your business. It is crucial that for these circumstances, and in general, that your website reflects the quality of your emails. After all, the goal for your mailing list is to direct people onto your website so if the website is difficult to use or not living up to expectations your efforts will be in vain.

A website builder is a manageable and affordable way to have a great looking website. With Kommand you can have a mobile responsive website up and running in a matter of hours for as little as £9 per month. To find out more about our features visit our Tour page or contact us if you have any questions about getting started.

With online marketing the norm for most small businesses looking to expand their horizons, it's crucial that your company and website find a way to stand out from the crowd online in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Frequently Asked Question pages, or ‘FAQs’, are a common way of underlining key points and summaries, and should serve as a great cornerstone for any website design project, whether you're starting from scratch, or giving existing company websites an informational overhaul.

An essential resource for you and your customers if you have just created a website, an effectively written question and answer page is not just a great marketing strategy, but a terrific way of focusing your customer support efforts. 

To provide visitors with the best possible experience when they arrive at your site, make sure you've done your homework, with relevant and researched pages that will answer all their questions.

Need some inspiration to get started on creating your own quality FAQ pages? The website building team at Kommand have put together a few essential tips to help set you on your way.

1. User-Friendly Design Wins Every Time

Nothing puts a customer off more quickly than a poorly designed website. As online users become increasingly impatient, you have just seconds to capture and maintain a visitor's interest, so good web design and user-friendly navigation is key to ensure all important click-through rates. You should take this into consideration when designing an FAQ page. If your business has a lot of potential queries it may be beneficial to break the topics into categories in separate drop downs from your menu.

If you are however adding many pages and extended information to your website, ensure your content is correctly categorized so users can find solutions to their queries promptly. Ensure ongoing maintenance of your site, keeping an eye out for broken links and missing pages. Customers are likely to leave your site altogether if they hit upon a broken page, so ensure basic hitches like this are not an issue.

2. Keep It Simple

Get customers to the information they're after more quickly than ever, with clear and concise language, and pared-back page design for easy reading. Don't alienate your readers with overly long questions, or answers, and always write with the terms and phrases they are most likely to be using. 

3. Accessible for Everyone

It's important to strike the right note with visitors, so feel free to carry your tone of voice through to your FAQs and information pages, but always ensure your text is accessible enough to cater to as wide an audience as possible. Don’t use jargon, and steer away from terminology that is too specialised. Colloquialisms and slang terms are a definite no-no unless absolutely relevant to your brand or service. 

4. Stimulate With Visuals

Engaging visuals can help make a page. Depending on your exact industry, they might even be an absolute must for the bare minimum of information your customer base expects. Great for capturing attention on a busy page, imagery and videos can help navigate visitors through complicated explanations and advanced concepts with ease. For even more refined customer support, businesses can upload thorough responses and extended answers as videos, delivering key information in completely accessible formats for everyone. In some instances a video can explain an answer more effectively than a large chunk of text.

5. Focus on Commonly Asked Questions

Every opinion matters, but not every question needs a home on your answer pages. If you've done your homework, you'll have a good idea of expectations of customers arriving to your site, and know the most commonly asked questions potential customers are likely to ask. These are the queries that can swamp customer support inboxes, so shave hours of your administration hours by providing insightful responses to the questions most customers will ask first. If you are just starting out then it can be beneficial to ask customers the kinds of questions they have.

6. Contact Details and Correspondence

Sometimes, however thorough and informative your FAQs, some visitors to your site will still have further questions. The last thing you want from an FAQ page is one which does not answer the question and the visitor has no obvious way to contact you. To maintain engagement and ensure conversions, give contact details prominence on your page(s), and ensure all correspondence is monitored and replied to. If you've already established a Q&A taxonomy, refer visitors to specific email addresses and departments for answers to their questions. If you notice that you are receiving a certain question often then you can add it to your list of FAQs. 

FAQs: Yes or No? 

A well designed FAQ page can benefit your website's SEO and can help improve your customer service. However it is not appropriate for every business. If you are struggling to find questions to put on an FAQ page or don't have important information to relay to your customer then you should reconsider whether your business really requires one. If you can successfully answer common questions on your homepage then an FAQ page may not be for your business. 

However for many businesses, not just Ecommerce websites, an FAQ page can be a great way to organise important information about your business or service.

Still not convinced? Here's three statements to help change your mind:

1. The conversion rate for content marketing adopters is nearly six times higher than for non-adopters. (Kapost)

2. 78% of small businesses attract new customers through social media. (Relevanza)

3. Customers who receive email newsletters spend 82% more when they buy from the company. (iContact)

These statistics make it no surprise then that by 2019, many businesses will be increasing the time and money they exert on content marketing creation, with some predicting their digital investment to take-over up to 50% of their marketing budget. 

What is Content Marketing?

Before explaining the ways content marketing can bring your business leads and improve conversion we will first define the concept. The Content Marketing Institute define content marketing as; 

"A marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action."

The important part of this definition is the description valuable, relevant and consistent. Content marketing involves the making of media and publishing including blog posts, podcasts, videos, infographics, white papers, how-to guides, etc. to acquire and retain customers.

Content Marketing has become a key inbound marketing technique which businesses have used to engage their target audience. It changed the marketing landscape as small businesses are now able to compete with big brands to gain exposure, increase sales and improve brand awareness. Not only that, but content marketing is now one of the key methods for improving SEO by fulfilling the search queries the SEO is targeting.

In order to take advantage of this marketing tactic your business must first assess its market and develop a content marketing strategy. 

Creating a Content Marketing Strategy

Creating a content marketing strategy is a key part to your over-arching marketing strategy. Whilst uploading content as and when you can is good, setting up a calendar planning out your posts and promotion will be a much more effective strategy long-term. To begin, you should first assess your customer base and target market. From this you should be able to distinguish the content they are most engaged with. Create a list of potential areas of interest, for example for a dental practice website you may wish to create blog posts explaining cosmetic dental procedures, after-care and dental health tips. You may also be interested in profiling the dental team to help show your expertise and gain the trust of visitors to your site. Look at competitors in your industry to see the kind of content they create and seek ways to replicate this for your business.

A content marketing strategy should use your brand story as a basis for the message in your content. Keeping your aims consistent will help improve your brand. You will also need to decide on the channels that you are going to share your content on: website; blog; social media; etc. For each you should have clear objectives and monitor when you receive the best engagement. Tailoring your content and upload schedule to this will improve your content marketing strategy.

How to Improve Potential Customer Leads Through Content Marketing

For many businesses lead generation through content marketing is indirect. When a potential buyer conducts a search for a product or service in your business category, they are actively looking to solve a problem they have or find out more information about a topic they are interested in. By creating content that is targeted towards particular search queries you can attract the attention of these customers. 

Another way to increase your leads is to create an information book or guide that requires an email sign-up to access. Once you have gathered a list of email addresses (who have agreed to receive news and updates) you can begin an email marketing campaign. 

Lastly, you should always remember to share your content on Social Media, and not just when you first upload it. People who then share, like or comment on your posts can become potential leads as they have actively engaged with your business and have shown an interest in your industry.

How to Improve Website Conversion Through Content Marketing

One way to improve conversion through content marketing is simply be maintaining a consistent presence. For many businesses, content marketing a long-term strategy with the aim of enhancing awareness and establishing yourself as a credible and trust-worthy business. The more a potential customers sees your brand and presence the more they will become aware of you. Over time this can increase the chances that when they come to require your product or service they will come to you to purchase. Setting up a regular schedule for your posts will help you to remain on customers' radars. You can also use social media management software such as Buffer or Hootsuite to pre-schedule social media posts and depending on your website you may also be able to pre-schedule blog posts.

It is important that your content provides real value to your customers. When customers feel they have benefited they will be more likely to choose you when it comes to purchasing. There is a balance in content marketing between content which educates or engages with your target market and that which sells. Remember to include a link to your website or business logo on any content that you create so if your posts becomes viral your business will benefit.

Would You Like a Professional Looking Website You Can Edit and Manage Yourself?

Running a website for your business may seem like an expensive and perhaps unnecessary addition if you are not looking to sell online. However you should not underestimate the importance of having an online presence. For those who haven't heard of your business, search queries on search engines can help to generate leads you may not have had initially.

Content marketing can help solidify a current or potential customer's perception of your brand and you don't need to have an elaborate content marketing strategy to reap the benefits content creation can bring.

Kommand website builder offers business owners a simple and cost-effective to run a CMS website for your business. Our packages start from as little as £9 a month and all of our themes are mobile responsive. To find out more and boost your business's online profile you can view our tour here. Or to discuss your business and its needs you can contact the Kommand team.

What Should You Include on Your Homepage?

Your homepage, like all pages on your website, should follow a number of design rules. Your logo should be clearly seen and coherent across all pages and the design, colour scheme and background should be in-keeping with the company image. You should also be aware of the size and amount of images you include. If your homepage has a lot of data to download then the page load speed will decrease and consumers may click away instead of waiting for it to load.

Other design elements that will help you to build an effective homepage include the inclusion of a search bar. If you are an eCommerce business you may also include a shopping cart symbol to show that you sell online. Your navigation bar should be clear, consistent and link to important pages such as Contact, Products or Blog.

All of these elements should be tested when building your site. To capture an audience in 2015, it is also becoming expected that your website will be mobile responsive that is, viewable on mobile devices without pinching. All of these design elements combined will help improve your user’s experience.

What Content Should You Include on Your Homepage?

As well as design details it is also important to think about your Homepage’s functionality and content. Your homepage should always include your most important content. As this is the first point of call for many users it is important that you offer the visitor something worthwhile and provide a solution to the query they had in mind when clicking on your page.

When writing the content for your homepage you should try and keep it brief and to the point. If your visitor leaves wondering why they visited your site then your website has not accomplished its purpose. You should always keep the business’s and user’s objectives in mind when putting together your Homepage. Many users will want to find out what you offer quickly. Adding links can help navigate a visitor quickly to the section they require.

It is also a good idea to update you Homepage with current content as and when it is required. Updated websites will be indexed more frequently, which will improve your SEO and will help to build consumer confidence in your brand and products.

For more information on how to create an effective About Me page click here, or if you would like to find out more about Kommand built websites then please contact us.

Creating a sound navigation and linking structure will also have a positive effect on your site’s user experience as they will easily be able to find the information they require.

How Can You Improve Your Website’s Navigation and Links?

You may find it difficult to understand how to structure your internal link flow and miss out on the improvement that this relatively minor effort will result in. However by following a few steps you can improve your site’s navigation, SEO and user experience at the same time.

Design a User-Friendly Navigation Menu

One of the most common complaints people have when visiting a website is that they cannot find what they are looking for. If your website is inefficient, badly sign-posted or complicated customers will become frustrated and will tend to click away.

To combat this, your website should include a main menu with sub-headings if they are required. Within your menu you should link to your most important pages such as Home, About and Contact to make sure users can find what they are looking for.

Create Accurate Navigation Titles and Link Titles

Visitors to your website will typically have an idea of what a page will include before they click on it. You should ensure your navigation and link titles are descriptive and not cryptic or misleading. If your website has clickable images you should change the ALT text to a description so that you users know where the image links to even if the image does not load.

Keep Your Navigation and Link Titles Consistent

Your navigation should always be consistent in both where and how it appears on your site. Doing so will help promote ease of use. If you change your navigation from page to page you visitor may lose their bearings, leading to customer frustration.

Strength in Branding

Regardless of how a visitor ends up on your website they need to know which site they are on. Using consistent branding across all your site’s pages can significantly help people do this. Consistent branding refers to more than just a logo, it means using the same fonts, colours and web design. When your site’s pages are widely different users will be confused when they navigate to a different page as to whether they are still on your website or not.

How Can Kommand Help You?

Kommand.me offers an easy, cost-effective and fast way to build your mobile-responsive website. Our user-friendly design templates can be customised to suit your business’s branding and style. We also offer a range of packages with add-ons allowing you to pay for what you need. For more information, get in touch today.

Time of the year always influences the writing style of content marketing. This is visible on both online and offline promotional materials. Shops transform their windows and websites with Christmas decorations adding a touch of festive glamour to their products and services.  People get into the festive mood and start thinking about Christmas presents and New Year celebrations. As the festive period approaches consumers start looking for the Christmas presents, promotions and deals. 

Statistics suggest that people tend to search for the Christmas presents online as it is less stressful and it’s easier to compare the prices. In order to be ranking high on search engines such as Google it is vital to prepare your website’s content and promotional materials in accordance to Christmas. However, not everyone transforms their web presence according to the season. Those who do, gain more visitors, traffic, clients and most of all - trust.

How the Festive Season Influences Keywords?

How the festive season influences websites, traffic and keywords? Let us concentrate on the keywords for a start:

The first thing that happened during the holiday season is that people know they have a holiday - no work, means more time for the family and less stress. This shows in their Google and Bing searches as the topics researched are more positive and festive.

Content marketing must also change, just like the target groups change. Here is how the keywords should change:

- Research the keywords one week prior to the holiday season.
- Research the keywords that were on top of the charts the previous year.
- Plan the content before the season starts and start grooming the texts before it's too late.

How Is Website Traffic Influenced by the Festive Season?

The best content marketing for the festive season involves, as always, a pint of psychology. How do people change during that time? They have more free time, they are more positive, they often have a vacation in mind and they have to buy presents.

Preparing both gifts and trips takes at least a week before the season itself. Holiday-related websites have traffic increased during this time. Same is valid for products that can be bought as a gift, accommodation offers and similar. Cooking websites with recipes are also influenced positively by the commotion.

The Best Practices for Festive Season Content Marketing:

- Plan your content at least a month in advance.
- Change your keywords so they fit - owning a store? Put the word "gift" before each new content article.
- Observe how the traffic changes and what's the new back of the season - some of the usual products and topics will go lower while new ones might pop-up "out of nowhere".
- Check out the competition as well.
- Add bonus apps - location-based searches and festivities-related featured articles.

If you have a website and are looking for the digital marketing tips visit Kommand.me blog every week.

The absolute secret to killer content is...

Did that subheading grab your attention? Did it make you want to read on? Hopefully the answer to both of those questions is a resounding "yes".

Creating a powerful subheading and cliff hangers which attract attention are the perfect way to hook an audience and make them want to read more.

Short punchy sentences and small sections of text are also much more likely to be read than large chunks of prose. Research has shown that we read differently online, and are more likely to skim read as well as being deterred by too much writing.

What is the key message of your blog?

This may sound obvious but be clear about the message you are trying to convey to the audience.

Before writing your blog think about what you would enjoy reading, and how you would want this presented. Stiff formal text will leave your readers yawning, whilst a punchy refreshing approach will amuse and entertain.

A picture says a thousand words

Without wishing to insult your ability as a writer, the chances are that no matter what you write, a decent picture will be much more a head-turner.

Using interesting pictures to illustrate the points you are making is far more likely to be a success than simply providing the text...no matter how good it is.

There are lots of sources where you can obtain free images for use on commercial sites so there's really no reason not to spice up your blog!

There can be little doubt these days that a strongly functioning website is essential to business. This holds true for both well established companies and small businesses looking to find a unique place in their field of work and in the minds of their consumers. Small businesses and entrepreneurs need to always keep in mind the importance of their particular website. It is fundamental in projecting the aims and identity of a company to the world at large. For this reason, every step should be taken to create a high performance online presence. 

How to connect with your market through a well-designed website?

A working knowledge of the intricacies and nuances of the World Wide Web have become ever more vital in connecting with a marketplace. In these days of online shopping and consumerism, often the first thing a potential customer will do is check for their needed services or goods on-line. This fact, allied to the need for a strong marketing foundation, can make a smooth online base a great starting point for any new business. It is also necessary to keep a site constantly updated with news, features and offers as often as possible. A site that goes unchanged for weeks on end will be for many web users a sure sign of a faltering business. Business owners that keep these logical facts in mind can experience all the benefits of a connected audience and market. 

Taking a professional approach to Website Design

A well designed website can greatly assist in providing a company with a strong image and public perception. A striking homepage built on well-grounded text and image is the first place to start. Studies have shown that potential customers usually formulate an opinion of a site after just a few seconds of visiting. The homepage is therefore essential! The utilisation and incorporation of features and items such as video, messaging services and social media updates through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter can also transform a potential customer base. An understanding of search engine techniques can also be of great benefit in making a site truly work. SEO techniques such as the use of keywords flagged up by Google and other major search engines can assist in pushing a site higher up the search engine rankings. In today's increasingly online world, a company without a strong on-line presence and a good understanding of what makes the internet tick cannot realistically expect to succeed.

Why choose Kommand?

Kommand is a perfect website building tool that enables you to edit your content, offers and promotions 24 hours a day. It gives you the perfect tools to optimize your website on all search engines and offers a mobile friendly version of the website. You can build your own website from as little as £15 a month or have it built for you by choosing one of our Turnkey packages. 

Kommand enables all size businesses to create their own online presence at affordable prices and develop exciting brand marketing strategies online. If you are looking for a website simply pick a mobile responsive website template and start creating your website right away.

A lively blog is the key to attract more visitors

People are easily drawn to companies and brands with blogs, as they offer the possibility to connect, understand and discover a lot about the products and services they love. A regularly updated blog with relevant, educational and authentic posts can establish you as the authority in your industry and entice new visitors, contributing to more leads. The recent report reveals that companies with an active blog generate 67% more leads. It also adds that blogging 15 times per month can contribute up to five times more traffic to your site than those that don't. 

Never ignore new technologies and social media sites 

Take advantage of the different social media channels and new technologies to connect to your target audience. The new statistics show that, in America, companies with a strong online presence in social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter effectively reach eight out of ten Internet users. It also says that nearly 47% of B2B marketers regularly use LinkedIn and the world's top salespeople spend an average of 6 hours per week on this professional networking site. Also, making your sites mobile-friendly can help you reach a wider segment of your market. So consciously use these social media channels and technologies to implement your content marketing strategies and get more visitors to your site. 

Don't overlook the good old email marketing 

In spite of the popularity of social networks and their significance as powerful marketing tools, email remains to be the most preferred way for sharing content. So while you embrace the new channels, don't forget to ignore the value of email marketing campaigns. Since emails are usually considered very personal, they are one of the best ways to reach your target audience. Using your blog to build followers and targeting them with your email campaigns is a sure-fire way to draw more customers.Keep up to date with the most recent digital marketing, search engine optimization and website design news. Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook or LinkedIn.

Few months ago, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Internet - the World Wide Web, probably the most important invention of the 20th century. In 1989, a single machine designed by a software engineer Sir Tim, working at CERN facility in Switzerland turned into a global network of computers, laptops, tablets, PCs, smart phones and many more upcoming devices. The invention of the Internet changed the behaviours of an entire generation; from consumers to companies and marketers to advertisers.

Today, the most substantial resource of any company is its website. Initially, the web pages of companies looked like more or less as an encyclopedia entry. Companies told people who they are, what they do and where they are. But in the recent years, companies realised that a website is the most effective way to communicate with the customers. Web pages are implemented with powerful B2C and B2B tools; including online sales and purchasing, secure business sites, vendor services, ordering and many more.

All these developments steered companies to re-evaluate their websites. Actually this re-evaluation today is continuous: you should follow the most recent trends in web design and monitor its competitors to be constantly up to date. But before that, you should know the basic rules of modern web design and some simple tips to conduct a better business. These rules are twofold: appearance and content.

Enhance your image. Appearance is important!

Different research suggests that you have only five seconds to impress your audience when they enter your website. You need to connect with the customer right away, and the best way to do this is using a professional and engaging design. The images you use have to be imposing and the general design should be pleasing to the eye. 

The Internet is speeding every passing day and you should take advantage of this. You should use videos to tell what your business is doing and how it does what it's doing, since video watching is the new trend on the Internet. Lastly on this section, know the habits of your customers. Today people spend a lot of time on the Internet while travelling around; so you should make your website friendly with smart phones and tablet PCs.

Kommand gives you a perfect platform for creating stunning websites. It delivers the best web practice tools that provides you with the mobile ready and SEO friendly websites. You can easily create and edit your own beautiful website. 

Content is still the King. Be informative.

Don't ever forget that the Internet is alive! You must keep your webpage up-to-date. The new face of your company is your web site. Otherwise, with outdated content, people will think that your business is inactive. And be visible. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial to capture organic web traffic, which will lead to new customers and better sales. Use monitoring devices and see where do you get the most traffic and use this information in your business strategy.

In addition, you need to use proper messaging. The messages have to be clear, short and concise. Make sure that you are using CTAs, namely Call-to-Action, the buttons directing people to certain business activities. Last but not least, incorporate social media. Today, the best way to build customer loyalty and to be in touch with customers is to use social media. You will notice that sometimes, they sell your business even better than you!

Looking for a new website?

If you are considering building a new website or re-designing the existing one Kommand can offer you the best web practice platform that will help you to successfully grow your business in a long term. We continually update our platform with the newest technologies and techniques to make your website Google relevant and up to date. All of the Kommand website building packages are mobile ready and SEO friendly. If you have no time, but would like to have a website for a small fee we can build it for you. You will have access to your website and will be able to change text, offers or pictures. If you would like to find out more simply visit Kommand site.

Although Suarez has bitten off more than he can chew this time, it doesn't mean you can't have a bigger bite of the apple during the World Cup Brazil 2014. This year’s tournament has already seen some exciting moments and has abducted the strict attention of millions of viewers from across the globe. However, even if you are not a passionate football fan, don't underestimate the impact this event can have on your business.

World Cup Special Offers

For customers to feel like they've won a penalty every time they score a goal is going to generate plenty of interest. Buy one get one free offers are always delightful from the consumers point of view. But by using the 'World Cup' as the reason for this incentive, people never strive too far away from the characteristics of cattle and walk right in. A global event always seems to add a great deal of legitimacy for these special offers, making customers more susceptible.

Temporary website renovation

This immediately catches the imagination of your customers and lets them know you've got a heart filled with passion and potentially a sense of humour. By decorating the site in your flag's colours, you are making your customers feel that they belong to something. You could even be more subtle with your digital decorating and apply the changes to only buttons or links.

Get involved into the World Cup!

If you and your business are connected to social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, don't pass this opportunity to awaken your customers. Watch the games and cheer your audience, encourage others via your status updates and invite them to comment and share their opinions.

Conditional deals

Social media sites will prove to be a massive help in this case, so if you don't already have an account, set one up! Offering great deals based on half time or full time scores is a great way to keep people following your updates. 

Don't have a website?

No problem! Just pick a template and build one with Kommand. Mobile ready websites from only £9 a month. Start promoting your business today!

Would you like to improve your SEO rankings?

The era of the blog has evolved now though and this medium is becoming not only more useful, but almost essential for efficient marketing. All imaginable businesses from family run corner shops to Fortune 500 corporations have recognised the efficiency of the blog post and what it can do for their companies. Releasing fresh content onto the web on a regular basis can dramatically improve that company's search engine rankings. Writing in lists is a thing of the past and is now considered a lazy tool of the weak mind. Blogging offers so many more advantages.

What are the benefits of blogging?

Unlike lists or landing pages, blogs offer more versatility in terms of content. They are generally more informal and can often be used to speak in first person, which gives customers the reassurance that they are buying their products from a business who actually cares about its customers. Even touches of humour can be woven into blog posts, making them fun to read and this in turn will keep customers interested. One of the most important aspects of business blog posting however, is to maintain a relatively high density of keywords. If you own a restaurant business for example, including keywords such as food, dining, buffet and meal times are generally quite appropriate. You can find the most searchable keywords in your industry on Google Keyword Planner and apply them onto your blogs. Changing your blog content regularly will keep search engines on their toes and will increase your online presence in an every expanding digital community. 

Even if writing isn't particularly your strong point, there are hundreds of professionals who understand the importance of keyword density and SEO, as well as having the creative flair needed to take you blogs to a new level.

Kommand offers you a great blog service which can be added to your website. You can create your own website in a few hours and add the best web practices to boost your SEO and attract your target audiences. What are you waiting for? Click here and get creative! Blog away and be an architect of your own business future. 

Brand

Unless the customer can connect with the brand in some way or the other, he/she wouldn't be able to gravitate towards it and hence the desire to purchase would not arise! What's in a name? This popular saying is definitely not applicable for brand names because in today's highly competitive world, the brand name is everything. This is the reason why companies engage tirelessly in brand building exercises because the brand name is often stronger than logical assertion when it comes to motivating a customer to buy! If a brand name has a good reputation of churning out high quality and useful products then customers would flock to the same considering the good reputation the brand enjoys!

Ease of Purchase

Today, we live in the era that believes 'Customer is King'. Due to the cut-throat competition present in the market, all the companies are vying for the attention and loyalty of the consumers. In an attempt to outdo one another, these companies are presenting things on a platter to their prospective and actual customers in order to make the whole process of buying very easy. With options like online shopping or shopping from website, customers get to enjoy fabulous features like speedy delivery of products, secure payment gateway, enjoyable and quick buying process and so on. These are the main motivating factors that caused them to switch from conventional purchases in physical stores to shopping online in top notch websites.

Thus, if you wish to ensure that your business is doing well and that the sales figure are rising, you need to pay attention to the factors that motivate the consumers to make the purchase. If you are able to get the formula right then success would soon follow!

What is a content marketing?

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating valuable content to your target market groups.
The content marketing enables you to create a dialogue between your brand and your customer. It requires a clear strategy, creativity and consistency. In order to create an effective content marketing strategy and boost your SEO you need to research your target market, their buying behaviour and the gaps or opportunities within your market.
Content Marketing tells you not only about the product, but also its uses and the benefits to the customer. What will they gain if they bought your service or product?

Why content marketing?

Yes, it looks pretty. Yes the neighbour has one. Yes it does appear to have some useful functions. But why should I buy it? Pretty, useful, and neighbour envy are all well, but if the marketer can make me see why I should buy the product, because they demonstrate what it can be used for, and how it will benefit me, I am far more likely to say - HEY! PERFECT!

Can your product make my life better?

We are used to people trying to sell us stuff. This has gone on throughout the ages, and as time goes by we have become way more sophisticated when it comes to advertising products. It's no longer enough to say "you need this". We need to know why we need it, how this product can make our life better, how it can fit in with our lifestyle comfortably.

What motivates a customer to buy?

A well written website content considers the product from the customer’s point of view, not the retailers. Yes the retailer will benefit if we buy their product, but is that the reason we buy something? No. We buy a product because the retailer has shown us how it will benefit us, how our lives will improve if we have this product in our home. A difference between the effective content marketing and the retailer who only wants us to buy the product to boost their sales, is that the first retailer believes in its product, and we should too. So we buy. Willingly, happily, and are satisfied doing so.

Time to re-brand your website?

So you have a website… But does it perform well? Does it provide excellent customer experience and most importantly convert visitors into buyers? If your website looks old and a bit tired maybe it is time to consider rebranding?

Re-design or re-develop?

It's always about grabbing and keeping the interest of your target market. A re-design or even a small website refresh can vastly improve your customer’s browsing experience and reveal the real benefits of your brand. A website re-development offers a perfect opportunity to introduce up-to-date content and functionality that leads to higher ranking on search engines such as Google and higher ROI. However, if you are a small business owner it can be quite tricky to stay ahead of the competition, especially if your competitor’s marketing spend is a lot higher than yours. So how to compete against the bigger players on the market?

What are the key benefits of Kommand?

Kommand is an easy and affordable website building tool which can make your business site live in minutes. It allows you creating professional, functional, feature rich and mobile friendly websites without any programming knowledge. All you need is a well written content, a few good images and a computer.

From only £15 a month you will have a full control of your own website which means you will be able to add and edit content without paying extra to a web design agency. You will be able to change various images and messages on your website 24 hours a day whenever is convenient to you. In addition, you will be able to post blogs and integrate your website with social media platforms. Did we mention that there is no contract? So what happens if you want to stop using Kommand? It’s simple! All you need to do is take your content, web domain and cancel direct debit. Try out Kommand today! Find the best package for your business and create your website in minutes!

Would you like to improve your website’s rankings on search engines?

Did you know that Kommand is continuously renewed and updated with the most recent security and search engine optimization features? Kommand can help you to improve your website’s position on Google and all of the major search engines online.

No time to redevelop a website?

No problem! For a small fee our team can build a website for you! Click here and see what do we offer.

See some of the templates today and build your own professional looking website.

A well maintained and engaging website is inarguably the best way to connect with your specific  target audience. It's easier than ever before to create a professional looking site, quickly and  without any expensive web development tools. However, knowing where to start can be difficult.  So here's a few ideas to help you create a memorable and interesting site.

Create a Clear Message

It is enormously important that you quickly and clearly define the message of your site. By having an eye catching homepage that not only articulates your purpose but helps create a brand identity you are better able to grab your audience and hold their interest. The viewer should be left in no doubt as to what you do and why you do it.

An interesting interface

Quality web development relies on the ability to create an easy to navigate and interesting interface that offers an enjoyable user experience. Create a logical flow through your site by imagining how the website would be navigated and enjoyed by potential users. Be sure to organise the information on your site into specific sub headings and create content that is both digestible and informative. Remember, a clipped, punchy and energetic design style is far more effective in holding the attention of a visitor than a dull and uninspired visual approach.

Engaging content

The most important aspect of your site will be how you communicate your message to your audience. Without interesting content visitors won’t return and it will be difficult to attract a steady flow of users to the site. To do this think about your use of tone and language. Try to create content that is not only informative and relevant but most importantly appeals specifically to your target demographic. Perhaps the most vital element of website creation is understanding who will use your site and then tailoring the content to best attract that kind of person.

Kommand is a perfect website building platform that doesn't require any technical knowledge. All you need to do is define the purpose of your website, develop engaging content, add some pictures and start building your own beautiful website.