This Month: Editorial integrity, Web redesign
January 2008
Q. We are well-regarded as an independent, unbiased source of information about curly hair. We also have to sell hair-care products and advertisements to pay the rent. How do we maintain editorial independence in covering the companies whose products we sell and who perhaps buy advertising from us?
— Gretchen Heber, co-founder, NaturallyCurly.com Inc., Austin, Texas
A. Gretchen, the short answer is yes, I think you can maintain your integrity while also covering your advertisers’ products. There are two components you need to accomplish this — transparency and trust. Let me start with the latter. It looks like you have done a wonderful job cultivating a community of individuals who share the curly-hair experience. As a fellow “curly-hair gal” myself, I certainly relate to everything you say in your Web site bio. (You mention not being able to replicate the Farrah Fawcett feathered look growing up. I was desperate for Dorothy Hamill’s signature cut, but my curls simply didn’t cooperate.)
Your About Us page is a wonderful example of building rapport and trust with your audience. It may very well be among the best I have ever seen written. I feel like I really know you and your co-founder, Michelle. So from what I’ve seen on your site, I feel confident predicting you already have your audience’s trust.
The second key component is transparency. I find women, especially, are concerned about companies that might be dishonest or disingenuous. Make sure it doesn’t look like you’re trying to trick them or hide anything from them.
Be transparent about who your advertisers are. If you write an article and include information about a product, have a disclaimer that lets readers know this product manufacturer is a paid advertiser on your site. It does not make people mad when you promote your advertisers. It makes them mad when you’re not honest about it.
You have built up a lot of trust and integrity. You can maintain that integrity and still make money. Just don’t blur the line between content and advertising.
If you want to write about a personal experience with a paid advertiser’s product, that’s fine — as long as you are honest about the experience and honest about the fact that it is an advertiser. If you write about a personal experience with an advertiser’s product and skew the experience to make it more positive than it was, now you’re in trouble.
Take your concern public. Have an “Our Ethics” section on your Web site. Talk about this very dilemma, how you struggle with it, and how you decide to handle it while being transparent and honest.
If you do talk about an advertiser’s product, allow your community to join in the conversation — allow them to review it as well, positive or negative. Negative reviews actually can boost sales! If people see negative alongside positive, they tend to believe the reviews are authentic. Having active and vocal customers will only make your Web site more valuable to your advertisers. The advertisers that can’t withstand that level of scrutiny and feedback are probably advertisers you wouldn’t want to promote to your readers anyway.
I can’t imagine your community would begrudge you the opportunity to pay the bills. The effectiveness and receptivity of your audience depend on its trust in you and your ability to be completely transparent and honest with it. Combine the two, and I think you’ll create a win for your customers and a win for your company.
— eM+C eExpert Holly Buchanan
Q. We are thinking about redesigning the product detail/product information page
on our Web site, and wondering what key considerations and elements we should include. Any advice?
— Zachary Applegate, search and marketing manager, PlumberSurplus.com, Riverside, Calif.
A. Consider this when designing product pages: What do shoppers need or want to know in order to make a purchase? Focus on providing the information that will help users know this is the product that meets their needs.
1. Start with the basics. Present a summary of the most important or distinguishing product information at the top of the page, and then supply additional detail, such as in-depth descriptions or technical specifications. Let users decide if they’re interested first, and then tell them more.
2. Provide specifics. Include dimensions, descriptions of materials, pictures of colors and details of functions to help users understand the product and why it is desirable. Don’t assume users know how big a product is, how to use it or what shade of gray it comes in — tell them and show them.
3. Write clearly. Use language shoppers can understand, whether they’re return shoppers or new to the products you sell. Explain any confusing or technical terms.
4. Be straightforward. Skip the overhyped marketing language and focus on the product. Don’t make users wade through fluff to find the information they need. Use short sentences, paragraphs or bulleted lists to make product descriptions easy to read.
5. Help users compare. Provide consistent information about similar products on your site. Make it easy for users to understand the differences among them. Particularly for unfamiliar products, users look to product descriptions to tell them what features or functions are important when deciding what to buy. Help them understand their options.
6. Use high-quality images. Show multiple views, close-ups of product details, and the item in use or in context. A picture of a sofa in a room helps users understand size. A photo of controls on a washing machine shows consumers how they’ll use the machine. High-quality images can convey more information than a lengthy description.
— eM+C eExpert Amy Schade
Q. We are also thinking about updating our Web site’s checkout process. What are the key features and elements that need to be included or reviewed here?
— Zachary Applegate, search and marketing manager, PlumberSurplus.com, Riverside, Calif.
A. When it comes to checkout practices, I’d recommend you first look to these four key elements that affect shopping-cart conversion rates:
1. Make sure you incorporate point-of-action assurances — such as return, security and privacy policy — in places where you ask customers to take a step that requires trust on their part.
2. Eliminate unnecessary steps wherever possible in your checkout procedure.
3. Provide shipping information up front; adding shipping information to the product page actually minimizes shopping-cart abandonment.
4. Make sure your shopping cart includes a progress indicator, so your customers can see where they are in the checkout process.
— eM+C eExpert Bryan Eisenberg
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