How to get a reader to store your blog and contact details for future reference
For real estate bloggers, capturing a reader who happens by your blog via a search engine, link or other referral means is critical to building the readership. Readers generally do four things to store your blog for reference purposes:
- Bookmark the site via the browser bookmarking function - browser bookmarks tend to be disorganized and difficult to use (I hardly use them)
- Subscribe to the RSS feed - usually done after reader has visited site enough times to believe it's RSS-worthy... but you want them to store your site details to get that second visit!
- Subscribe by email - similar multiple visitation process to subscribing to the RSS feed, but more intrusive due to today's email glut ( I never subscribe by email)
- Bookmark via a social bookmark like Del.icio.us - probably the easiest instant method, but the reader must be tech-savvy to understand social bookmarketing
Hat tip to Screenwerk for explaining Agendize, a service that is automates the way a reader can save your contact details at a touch of a small widget that looks like this:
When
is clicked it pulls up the following screen, which allows the reader to store your contact info easily:
by IMing the contact details
by social bookmarking
or just a phone contact form... is this cool or what? and it's $49 per year.
But here's the rub on AgendiZe. I wanted to call up someone at AgendiZe management and ask for a free 7-day trial to put an
widget on Transparent just to show it off. I clicked on their located on their website, and I ask them to call me immediately, and then the contact # at their Texas office and left a message with an answering service. As of this writing, I haven't heard anything from them in over an hour. I'm assuming they have no sales staff. It's surprising when a customer service company does not practice what they preach...Technorati Tags: agendize, social bookmarking, real estate marketing, lead generation
After this posting, Pat, my bet is you will hear from them. Start-ups seem to forget how important it is to respond to inquiries -- fast.
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Hi Lenore, it's 4:33pdt... almost 3 hours and nobody, even the PR agency with the local (to me) San Francisco phone # returns my call!
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When I see a blog I like, I look for the orange RSS icon. Prior to the advent of this standard symbol, there were any number of different ways to "hide" RSS syndication links on a web site.
Now, however, there's a common icon that everyone can look for. Browsers will even pick up the existence of feeds and put an icon up in the address bar.
I'd rather see efforts to educate the public on the use of this standard than to risk confusing users with another way to subscribe to sites.
But that's just me.
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Educating the public about RSS is almost the job of Microsoft and Apple, who want consumers to read blogs... the
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Dear Pat,
You are totally right: Customer Service is key.
You have of course to take into consideration that AgendiZeMe is priced at $49 ... on a pure self-service mode.
We will improve and offer some more reactive sales support asap.
Thanks again for your support.
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