Author Archives: John Kisha

Small Sites for Big Holiday Shopping

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11331316/1/10-small-web-sites-for-big-holiday-shopping.html

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How Google, eBay, And PayPal Are Gearing Up For A Very Mobile Holiday Shopping Season | TechCrunch

 

Online holiday shopping reached record levels in 2010. And e-commerce spendingis up this year. All signs point to consumers spending even more online this holiday season. I sat down with executives from Google, eBay, PayPal and ShopKick to discuss the trends that are expected to emerge in the e-commerce space over the next few months.  They center around mobile, tablets, and deals.

PayPal has more than doubled its mobile payments volume since the 2010 holiday shopping season, and we haven’t even hit the thick of this year’s rush. eBay is projecting $5 billion in mobile payments volume in 2010 and this number could increase in the next few months. And Google projects that 15 percent of total search on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving and one of the biggest shopping days of the year) will come from mobile devices. Tablet devices are now a part of the online shopping experience and retailers are taking note. Clearly, all signs point to the fact that this could be the breakout year for mobile shopping.

How Google, eBay, And PayPal Are Gearing Up For A Very Mobile Holiday Shopping Season | TechCrunch

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Top 5 Foursquare Mistakes Committed By Small Businesses

Top 5 Foursquare Mistakes Committed By Small Businesses

Top 5 Foursquare Mistakes Committed By Small Businesses

May 24, 2011

From our coverage on Mashable, you’ve probably learned a fair share about Foursquare for business. There are more than 9 million people on Foursquare, and there are 250,000 businesses that have claimed venues and use the location-based service as part of their overall marketing program. Foursquare is a free platform for merchants to use to engage and incentivize customers, but only if done right. Here’s what not to do as you embark on your Foursquare marketing endeavors.

1. Creating a complicated special

There’s no fun in trying to unlock a special that is nearly impossible to unlock. Keep it simple. The purpose of Foursquare’s merchant platform is to bridge the gap between customers and merchants, and a high barrier to entry could easily turn users off. There are seven kinds of specials to choose from, depending on whether you’re targeting new customers, encouraging people to come back multiple times or wanting to reward the mayor (your most loyal Foursquare customer).

Foursquare enables businesses to activate a special only on certain days or during certain times, or they can reward people for every nth check in, regardless of what time or day it happens. “Receive a free cupcake on your fifth check in” or “10 percent off your bill on Tuesdays” are good examples of simple rewards.

Specials can provide discounts, a few bucks off or a free item. If you’re worried about margins, you can offer a special that doesn’t affect your bottom line—maybe users will get to shop during special hours at your shop. Alternatively, you can post videos of your most active Foursquare users on your Facebook and Twitter pages. Eric Friedman, Foursquare’s director of business development, says the best kind of specials are those that make people feel special and provide them with something they couldn’t get as a regular consumer.

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Deals, Deals, Deals

Deals, Deals, Deals... and More Deals
Via: OnlineMBA.com

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Amazon Cloud Services Have Major Outage

Even the big guys have unexpected problems.

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Social Advertising May be Wasting Money

Something to be considered…

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Effective Tips For Designing Your Website

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52 Incredibly Useful Sites

You know all about Google’s (GOOG) smorgasbord of Web tools, but have you tried Measy, Topicfire, or Yammer? While a few big names seem to dominate the Internet, the Web continues to flourish with a never-ending stream of incredibly useful new sites and services.

PCWorld’s editors never stop scouring the Internet for the best and most creative new ideas we can find. Here are 52 phenomenally cool Web services that you may not have heard of, but definitely need to try.

via 52 Incredibly Useful Sites: the Full List CIO.com.

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5 Great Small Business Blogs to Learn From

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Facebook’s New “Questions Tool”

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