A webinar that suggests some best practices for book publishers seeking to improve their online conversions.

1. Improving Online Conversions
Getting Started
March 4, 2009
Moderator: Special Guests:
Eric Weber
John Collier Ari Kantrowitz
FreshNotes
FreshNotes E-Retailing Specialist
Interactive Designer
Co-Founder & CEO
129 Church Street, Suite 700 | New Haven, CT 06510
PH: 203.773.0177 | FX: 203.903.0325 1
www.freshnotes.com | Toll Free 888.576.3490

2. > IMPROVING ONLINE CONVERSIONS
A Framework for Online Book Marketing
THE TOOLS
THE GOALS
• Website. Retail, news, blog or other content
• Generate interest in a title.
site optimized for computers or mobile
Produce a sale of a title in the
devices.
near (but not necessarily
immediate) future through an • Search engines. SEO, PPC advertising &
offline or online retail channel. Book Search.
• Generate a sale. Convert a • Display advertising. Banner ads distributed
potential customer into an through media purchases or partnerships.
immediate online sale.
• Email. Your list or paid sponsorships.
• Develop a relationship. Form a
• Performance marketing. Affiliate & CPA
relationship with a book buyer
networks.
to facilitate current and future
• Social media. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,
book sales.
LibraryThing & YouTube.
• Sharable widgets. Book or author widgets
to be placed on blogs or incorporated with
social media.
2

3. > IMPROVING ONLINE CONVERSIONS
Background Reading
GETTING STARTED ADVANCED
3

4. > IMPROVING ONLINE CONVERSIONS
10 High-level Web Usability Principles
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/31/10-principles-of-effective-
web-design/
1. Don’t make users think
2. Don’t squander users’ patience
3. Manage to focus users’ attention
4. Strive for feature exposure
5. Make use of effective writing
6. Strive for simplicity
7. Don’t be afraid of the white space
8. Communicate effectively with a “visible language”
9. Conventions are our friends
10.Test early, test often
4

5. > IMPROVING ONLINE CONVERSIONS
Capturing the Low-Hanging Optimization Fruit
Homepage Landing Page Category Page
Detail Page
Search Checkout
5

6. > IMPROVING ONLINE CONVERSIONS
Six Areas for Improving Online Conversions
1. Reduce homepage bounce rates
2. Make category pages more effective links to conversions
3. Improve conversions on detail pages
4. Ensure you have an effective search utility
5. Increase order size
6. Reduce shopping cart abandonment
6

7. > REDUCE HOMEPAGE BOUNCE RATES
1: Reduce homepage bounce rates
HOW?
• Offer product recommendations & include book covers;
change recommendations frequently
• Provide search field directly on homepage
7

8. > REDUCE HOMEPAGE BOUNCE RATES
8

9. > REDUCE HOMEPAGE BOUNCE RATES
9

10. > REDUCE HOMEPAGE BOUNCE RATES
1: Reduce homepage bounce rates
HOW?
• Offer product recommendations & include book covers;
change recommendations frequently
• Provide search field directly on homepage
10

11. > REDUCE HOMEPAGE BOUNCE RATES
11

12. > REDUCE HOMEPAGE BOUNCE RATES
12

13. > IMPROVE CATEGORY PAGE
2: Improve category page effectiveness
HOW?
• Provide options to sort and filter titles in category list
• Consider providing links to buy directly in category list
13

14. > IMPROVE CATEGORY PAGE
Amazon.com
14

15. > IMPROVE CATEGORY PAGE
15

16. > IMPROVE CATEGORY PAGE
2: Improve category page effectiveness
HOW?
• Provide options to sort and filter titles in category list
• Consider providing links to buy directly in category list
16

17. > IMPROVE CATEGORY PAGE
Amazon.com
17

18. > IMPROVE CATEGORY PAGE
18

19. > IMPROVE CATEGORY PAGE
Barnes & Noble
19

20. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
3: Improve detail page effectiveness
HOW?
• Clear primary call to action button above the fold. Repeat
at bottom if page extends one screen
• Offer backup call to action
• Recommend related products
20

21. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
21

22. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
22

23. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
3: Improve detail page effectiveness
HOW?
• Clear primary call to action button above the fold. Repeat
at bottom if page extends one screen
• Offer backup call to action
• Recommend related products
23

24. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
24

25. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
25

26. > IMPROVING DETAIL PAGE
Potential Secondary Calls to Action
1. Receive more information about this book by email
2. Download a brochure of PDF with more information
3. Share this book with a friend
4. Add to list for later retrieval or email reminders
5. Signup for more information about this author or future author sessions
26

27. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
3: Improve detail page effectiveness
HOW?
• Clear primary call to action button above the fold. Repeat
at bottom if page extends one screen
• Offer backup call to action
• Recommend related products
27

28. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
28

29. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
29

30. > IMPROVE DETAIL PAGE
30

31. > EFFECTIVE SEARCH UTILITY
4: Ensure that you have an effective search utility
HOW?
• Provide more than title search
• Offer purchase links on search results page
31

32. > EFFECTIVE SEARCH UTILITY
32

33. > EFFECTIVE SEARCH UTILITY
33

34. > EFFECTIVE SEARCH UTILITY
4: Ensure you have an effective search utility
HOW?
• Provide more than title search
• Offer purchase links on search results page
34

35. > EFFECTIVE SEARCH UTILITY
35

36. > EFFECTIVE SEARCH UTILITY
36

37. > INCREASE ORDER SIZE
5: Increase Order Size
HOW?
• Suggest relevant products when an item is added to the
shopping cart
37

38. > INCREASE ORDER SIZE
Barnes & Noble
38

39. > INCREASE ORDER SIZE
39

40. > INCREASE ORDER SIZE
40

41. > REDUCE SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT
6: Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment
HOW?
• Provide a special checkout reminder on every page after a
product is added to the shopping cart
• Eliminate all menus and page navigation after a user has
clicked to checkout
41

42. > REDUCE SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT
Barnes & Noble
42

43. > REDUCE SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT
6: Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment
HOW?
• Provide a special checkout reminder on every page after a
product is added to the shopping cart
• Eliminate all menus and page navigation after a user has
clicked to checkout
43

44. > REDUCE SHOPPING CART ABANDONMENT
There is nothing to click except for
things that are part of the checkout
process. Even the Amazon.com
logo is not clickable!
44

45. > CONTACT
Our Contact Information
John Collier Keith Folz
Co‐Founder & CEO Director of Sales & Marketing
john@freshnotes.net keith@freshnotes.net
203‐773‐0177 203‐773‐3357
129 Church Street, Suite 700 | New Haven, CT 06510
PH: 203.773.0177 | FX: 203.903.0325 45
www.freshnotes.com | Toll Free 888.576.3490