Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi all!

I am so excited to be able to finally have my site ready for final revisions. I want to have it reviewed for clarity of products and the brand offering. I will be sending it to friends and family initially before a formal launch to the public next week. One thing that is not complete is the shopping cart feature which the designer is still working on. The other thing I know needs to be addressed it the products page and its navigation. I want to make that a smooth transition but I need suggestions on how to do that without being overwhelming to my visitor. Thanks in advance for your time.

www.panasall.com/chitchatchew

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Chit Chat and Chew is reconnecting families and changing lives. Visit us online at www.chitchatandchew.com

Your site is quite nice. Here are some things that would help amplify your brand image, or tighten it up, or whatever you`re looking for.

1. Better typography.
2. Larger logo.
3. Better copywriting.

Thanks for the response. I don`t know what you mean by typography (I`ll be Googling that one). When you say larger logo is that in the banner? I will have to talk tothe designer about that. How big are we talking? As for the copywriting I read that article and am trying to figure out the best way to apply it. this is my first retail site (my other sites have been informational portals or sites for consulting services) so this is a challenge for me. Thanks so much for your time.

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Chit Chat and Chew is reconnecting families and changing lives. Visit us online at www.chitchatandchew.com

Hey there :-) The site looks nice, but it has some stuff that makes me gripe and grumble. 

First, the Flash thing at the top is revolving way too slow. I clicked on the site, something happened, then when I was ready to look at it, the next frame was showing and made zero sense. Either blow it off, or have each frame keep an overall context.

On the upper tabs, "Our Products" is right justified, and runs into the blue "Our Services" tab, overwriting the text (Firefox 1.x, DSL, Windows 98SE).

I clicked the "Featured Item" picture and nothing happened. It should be a link to......um....your featured item? :-D

When you have that many Trademarked (TM) symbols, it`s annoying. Put a disclaimer in the footer of the main page that, "Chit Chat and Chew, Chit Chat and Play, Chit Chat Brands, and Chit Chat and Craft are all registered trademarks.....etc."

I don`t get the concept. The copywriting (words in paragraphs) is too short to explain it. I sort of get the idea that index cards have questions to ask someone, at some point, somewhere in a family. So? How come there are pictures of cookies everywhere?

Finally, in the typography department, you could use more space between the lines in your paragraphs. They`re too "compressed," making it hard to read.

Well, okay one more "finally." :-) From an SEO perspective, there`s little of use on the home page content in terms of key phrases.

Nikole has a fabulous question she asks new clients: "List 5 adjectives that describe your business." Really excellent question.

So: What five adjectives would you use? How many of them are in evidence on your home page?

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? LOL!! Hey...the site does look professional, it`s laid out nicely, and I like the colors.

Thanks Craig, I thought it was actually going to be worse...lol

I have incorporated some of what you said. A special thanks on the heads up on how it looks in other browsers. The most troubling of course is the "by the way what the he%% do you do anyway" thing. I am trying to balance being too wordy with telling everything on the front page. I will have to give that some thought. To clarify, we have a line of food and craft products which are coupled with the Chit Chat Cue Cards to do as an activity together while the food is cooking or you are doing the crafts. It combines food and crafts with a sort of group game. Did you look at the Chit Chat and Chew page? Is that clearer? If so maybe I should shuffle things around based on that. Am I getting close?

I know the featured item link is not live. It is part of the shopping cart piece that is not finished yet. I am also changing the products page to illustrate samples of the Cue Cards on the front page. then when users click on a product they have been introduced to the card concept already and can see a sample of them. I am also adding a picture of them as well.

Thanks again for the input it is so very helpful!

 

 

 

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Chit Chat and Chew is reconnecting families and changing lives. Visit us online at www.chitchatandchew.com

Oh and I know I am TOTALLY lost on SEO on this, I really need help there. I am getting a book and talking to my designer in the am. Or should I say later in the am?

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Chit Chat and Chew is reconnecting families and changing lives. Visit us online at www.chitchatandchew.com

Ok folks I have made some changes and would like to know if this is clearer in communicating what are selling. I tried to address the copywrite issue and took what Craig and Cookie said into consideration. Thanks again!

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Chit Chat and Chew is reconnecting families and changing lives. Visit us online at www.chitchatandchew.com

On this page (http://www.panasall.com/chitchatchew/chitchatchew.html) yo u now have a different over-run on the words of the tabs. I`d ask your developer about the idea of "site validation," which examines how the site will operate under different browser conditions.

I think now`s the time to interject a new topic that CookieMonster has been advocating for, and with which I agree: The difference between strategic and tactical moves.

I can see that you`re trying to address symptoms that are showing up on your site, making edit changes to an existing site. But realistically, what you need to be looking at is your overall strategy, in terms of how do you fundamentally want to promote your product. This also goes to the issue of your Unique Selling Proposition.

What I`m getting from the site is that "somehow" some 4x6 index cards are involved with a sort of conversational "game," whereby I can come to know the people around me. Since there are a few references to "family," I wonder how come I don`t know who`s in my family?

I think one option would be to work out a way to use pictures to demonstrate how these products work. Perhaps another option would be a discussion on your "About" page as to how you came up with the idea for the business.

Copywriting is definitely weak, and that`s an ongoing issue as you change and add content. You may want to consider hiring or contracting a copywriter. :-)

As for SEO, you can peruse the many topics in the SEO forum, here on SuN. That`s as good as any book, I think, for a starting point.

Finally: I`d still like to see those 5 adjectives. :-D

Typography: Unique styling of the text on your site. Not necessarily unusual fonts but just something a bit better than bland text styling. I know more about branding than the average joe but I am not an expert on this subject...not by any means. Have you looked at the web sites for national brands that you use in your home? This is a great way to get ideas... inspiration... Rather than give you a bunch of tactical advice, I`ll recommend:

1. Get a book on brand strategy. A short one such as "22 Immutable Laws of Branding" and a weightier tome as well - maybe "Designing Brand Identity" or "Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind". This is probably the best way to get the ins/outs, as these books are written by experts.

2. Communication/Marketing strategy. This is much trickier for me to provide advice as it is a complex topic. But spend a few minutes or a few days thinking about your strategy in these areas. Then write a list of objectives.

3. One problem that I notice - with ever increasingly frequency - is the "tactical soup" approach to entrepreneurship. I`m not sure about your level of experience or knowledge, but using a tactical approach is good for shorter term stuff, or quick obstacles/objectives. Longer term success, with respect to marketing, communication, and competition, requires some strategy so as to prevent you from wasting time and energy on "limitless attempts to succeed via tactical operation".

Please let me know if you need additional information.

A strategy is to decide what measure New Orleans should put into place in the event of a major hurricane.

A tactic is to hire a few little Dutch boys with strong fingers (they work cheap), to plug up any holes in the levees.