Website Design and Promotion

Fiddleheads and Your Competitors

Seth discusses the issue of competition and how most people wish their competition would just go away because they assume they will do better if there are fewer people selling services and products the same or similar to those they offer. He gives an example of vendors selling fiddle heads at the market. He points out how you actually need the competition because the more there is to purchase at the mall or the market, the more people will show up there to buy.

The same is true for socially responsible/green businesses. The more businesses that exist, the greater the demand for products that are sustainable, green, etc., and the more people will want to buy from these businesses. It's also partly a matter of education. Your competitors are helping to educate your market. The more people learn about the benefits of dealing with ethical and socially responsible businesses and their products, the more they will want them. 

Instead of fearing your competitors and wishing they would go away, what would happen if you welcomed each one and viewed them as helpers in growing your business?

Carnival of the Green #28

This week we are hosting the 28th Carnival of the Green. A big thanks to City Hippy and Triple Pundit for organizing this great carnival! Thanks also to Earth Echo International for hosting Carnival of the Green #27 last week and to Animal Broadcast Network for hosting Carnival #29 next week.

And now... on with the Carnival:

Enrique at commonground references a post, Organic Food Goes Mainstream, from the Christian Science Monitor on concerns around the growing popularity of organic food:

Still, while some organic-food fans welcome its broadening mainstream appeal and ready availability, others worry that the entry of corporate behemoths into the organic-food market will weaken standards or squeeze out small farmers.

Sue Richards at My Menopause Blog links the concept of thinking local to the food we put into out bodies:

Think local act global is a green catch phrase that I thought I understood. With this latest body part awakening, changing my perception of local to be my own flesh and blood, will naturally improve my global act.

The Worsted Witch has a post asking what we can do to educate artists and crafters about the dangers of using vinyl products: "Help! Can crafty tree-huggers free the crafting community from the evil hold of vinyl?"

Don Bosch at The Evangelical Ecologist highlights a survey released this week by Field and Stream. The poll indicates a large majority of hunters, fishermen, and other outdoorsmen who characterize themselves as evangelical conservatives think global warming is happening and that people are causing it. Links to poll questions and raw data too.

Harlan Weikle from Greener Magazine posts on a 1500 year old building, the Hagia Sophia, an environmental prototype for the 21st century. It cost $1.2 Billion, required 40 years to construct and has stood it's ground against earthquakes, continental drift, invasions and aerial bombing.

Stephen Filler Blogs Against the Empire and describes the public relations efforts of Entergy, the owner of the Indian Point nuclear plant, 35 miles north of NYC, to keep the plant open in the face of broad community opposition.

Lars Hundley from Practical Environmentalist points to a great new article in Business Week called Ethanol: Myths and Realities. It's a balanced look at the pros and cons of Ethanol, and how much of a difference it might really make.

Joel Fuhrman, MD from DiseaseProof.com advocates a vegetable-based diet for optimal health, here is his list of ten super foods to eat plenty of.

Joshua Rosenau presents New Monkey Genus posted at Thoughts from Kansas.

Cookbook author, Cathleen Hockman-Wert, describes an innovative project in Oregon that partners local farmers with local churches. The extra sweet benefit: low-income folks also get a free share of the fresh, local food. Cathleen is co-author of Simply in Season, a cookbook that celebrates local, sustainably produced foods.

Phillip Barron presents an inconvenient truth posted at nicomachus.

Daniel Collins blogs about widespread erosion in China that has forced the country to start an afforestation program, which has now impacted Japan's chopsticks imports.

Siel of green LA girl offers three parts in her de-car-ing series:

Part 1: Consider moving to a more walkable, bikeable 'hood
Part 2: Get a bike!
Part 3: Be sure to bike safely

This one is a little scientific, and about fuel cells specifically. Dr. David Ng from the University of British Columbia's Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory (AMBL) offers "Microbial Fuel Cells From Rhodopherax Ferrireducens."

"Why are we afraid of nature?" Al uses his weekly CityHippy Question to explore why we freak out when certain animals come near us. Why are we so bothered by bugs? Why do ducks drive his wife delirious? Join in a great conversation and hear about Al's lucky escape from a gang of fanged sheep [ahem].

Savvy Vegetarian points to an article about 12 Missoula-area organic farms that will offer an alternative to the USDA organic certification - a "Homegrown" label focused on growing and selling food locally - within 150 miles of their markets.

Animal Broadcast network writes on Permaculture and the Native American Tradition.

Alexandra Cousteau from Earth Echo International writes the Lost Boys discussing the effects of over-fishing on a remote coastal community in Panama.

Josh Rosenau writes On Being Right at Thoughts from Kansas.

Writing Powerful Testimonials

Testimonials are an important element in effective web copy, but only if they compelling.  Duct Tape Marketing has a post on How To Write a Great Testimonial.

His main tips:

• Get a testimonial from every one of your clients

• Consider audio and video testimonials

• Write them for them - or make it easy for them to write it

• Write as though you are speaking to a prospect (Most people write testimonials as though they are speaking to the owner of the company)

• Give a specific, measurable benefit of using the product or service

• Don't hype - write in plain English

To this list I would add that the testimonial begin with the "problems" the client was having before they bought your product or service and then proceed to write the core benefit.

Also, make sure you have strong testimonials whether you have them sprinkled throughout your copy, or on a separate testimonial page at your website.  My preference is to use the testimonials within the copy to back up or reinforce your marketing message.

Post, Read, and Rate Green News

Check out Hugg ("Bringing you the green") - a great new blog where you can read the latest green stories submitted by users. You also get the chance to rate the stories about social and environmental responsibility by giving the ones you like a "hugg." Lots of good posts already, about sustainable energy, alternative fuels, environmentally friendly architecture, organic food, and more.

Expressing Yourself in Your Copy

David Garfinkel writes a good summary of the importance of expressing yourself in your copy.
He starts off the post talking about a fortune cookie he received that said, "Magic will be created when an unconventional person comes to stay."

It is true, that being seen as different will get you more attention than if your copy looks like everyone elses.

Whether you are a socially responsible business owner or healing professional, your copy needs to indicate what is unique or special about your product or service. If you don't know what characteristics are unique or special, ask some of your customers or clients what they like about you or sit down and brainstorm with a business colleague or your employees.

I find that a lot of my clients don't fully understand what is unique about them until we engage in a discussion about it. Sometimes it takes a while to identify what is different about what you offer and sometimes you need to change or modify what you offer so that it is different.

What's Going on With Flash?

In case you hadn't noticed yet, many sites that contain Flash (and certain other media types) content are acting a bit strangely these days. In Internet Explorer, when you put your cursor over the content a surrounding rectangle appears and, to get the controls to work, you need to click it once first. Worse things have happened, but this is quite annoying and doesn't look great.

Without getting technical, this downgrade to IE has been looming for a few years. It's known as the Eolas ruling. Click here if you're interested in reading the details.

So, what can you do to fix this problem? You'll either need your web developer to do some JavaScript coding or, if you're an eager do-it-yourselfer, here's what Microsoft suggests.