~ pops out from hiding place... whispers: "has the conversation about cross-collections searches gone yet?" ~
:-)
------
Hey Nick
What's your major challenge - getting people to it or getting them to do something once they're there? Would be interesting to know what your stats say - looks like you've got GA installed so should be trivial working out funnels and so on. How well do you Google - are you getting organic traffic? Do your bounce rates show people are hanging around?
Here's an observation from someone who doesn't use your site - I have no idea what it is for. I'm not being rude, btw - I just couldn't find either a "hero" (sorry) spot on the homepage or an "about us" page which describes very simply what you do and why people should be interested in getting involved.
On the huge "Join Collections Link today" banner on rhs, I'd also have some benefits written out - why would I want to join up? What is this going to give me? I suspect I'm not the audience - but I have no way of knowing. Actually once I click through the benefits are a bit underwhelming too - if I join up I get to....connect with other users...? You've got a shed-load of content on the site - isn't that your major asset? ("receive regular updates: X articles written per month" / "discover more about Y and fine like-minded people"), that kind of thing..
In terms of actually getting people to the site - apart from the usual stuff (you don't seem to blog on the site, which would be a natural traffic driver?) - if you could offer some kind of incentive then I'm sure a "everyone gets one other person to join up" thing would work. It'd be a long burn though, and you may be looking for more immediate results. Marketing-wise you've obviously tried lots of stuff, but maybe the messaging isn't clear enough, which goes back to my first point. I don't know, I haven't seen the things you've done.
Trivial thoughts - that Joomla fav icon needs replacing - also in your <title> field I think you're missing the word "site" after "development".
You could probably do with some effort on your keywords, both in the meta but also on-page - bring some descriptive text up near the top of the page.
Sorry, this is all probably grandmother-eggs...best go with the Kit Kat suggestion and ignore me
cheers
Mike
_____________________________
Mike Ellis
I've gone freelance! Find out more about our new digital agency: http://thirty8.co.uk (http://thirty8.co.uk/)
** I've written a book: http://heritageweb.co.uk (http://heritageweb.co.uk/) **
On Thursday, 15 September 2011 at 08:26, Wendy Turner wrote:
> Nick
>
> Could you use the cheapest method of all - word of mouth? Why not challenge every member of Collections Link to bring 5 new members and ask them to promote it to their Director, Chief Exec.
>
> I do like the KitKat option but in this day and age it might prove expensive. Do your staff bake? Ask them to make mini muffins and send those instead.
>
> Good to catch up last week.
>
> Regards
>
> Wendy
>
> Wendy Turner
> Head of Collections Management
>
> National Museums Scotland
> Chambers Street
> Edinburgh EH1 1JF
> Tel+44(0) 131 247 4131
> Fax+44(0) 131 247 4312
> e-mail [log in to unmask] (mailto:[log in to unmask])
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nick Poole
> Sent: 14 September 2011 16:58
> To: [log in to unmask] (mailto:[log in to unmask])
> Subject: Cheeky request from MCG colleagues for Collections Trust
>
> Dear MCG,
>
>
>
> Apologies for sending a message that is slightly tangential to the core
> purpose of the list, but I wondered if I could enlist your advice for
> the Collections Trust.
>
>
>
> Now that the new Collections Link site is up and running (complete with
> networking & collaboration tools and a new section/group on Digital
> Sustainability), we want to tell the world about it. However, like
> everyone else, we are pretty strapped for cash at the moment and we
> don't want to waste money on ineffective marketing material.
>
>
>
> Rather than guess, then, I wanted to ask you what, if any, marketing
> material you find useful, memorable or effective? In the past, we have
> done flyers, notepads, web banners, Google adword campaigns and even a
> 50-foot low-loader with our URL on it parked outside the MA conference.
> Put simply, if we were trying to tell your non-MCG colleagues about
> something which we think they'd find useful (and which is free), how do
> you think we should go about it?
>
>
>
> If this is a step too far from the intended use of the list, apologies,
> and please delete immediately!
>
>
>
> All best,
>
>
>
> Nick
>
>
>
>
>
> Nick Poole
>
> CEO
>
> Collections Trust
>
>
>
> 020 7942 6081
>
>
>
> Correspondence: Collections Trust, WC2 09 Natural History Museum,
> Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD
>
>
>
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