As gas prices climb, so does online spending. Online retailers may have high gas prices to thank for the increase in the number of US shoppers making purchases online. We’re all affected by skyrocketing gas prices, which, according to a recent eMarketer article, are resulting in fewer trips to the brick and mortar store and more web surfing for American consumers. 11% of consumers from a recent Nielsen survey said that they are now shopping online (up from 9% in June 2007), and more than half of the respondents from a related study said that high gas prices were an incentive for that choice. Click here to read the full article.

A recent study published by eMarketer shows that Internet users worldwide are becoming more likely to unsubscribe from email lists that they opted into (and even report them as SPAM) based on the content of the email. Among North American respondents of an April 2008 survey, one third said that an email’s content was a deciding factor for making an email legitimate.

Other key factors included requesting to receive an email (72%), as well as the email address and name of the sender (48%). While maintaining a focus on SPAM compliance is important to email marketers, the study suggests that actual email content should also be visited to maintain high email response rates. Click here to read the full article.

Writing online content, for a new website, email blast or other online medium can be challenging. When approached with a new online writing assignment, I focus on the following ideas:

Audience
Appeal to the audience at hand. Identify the target audience of the piece (whether it is a family planning a summer vacation or a businessperson looking for a new bank) and use words and tones with which that audience is familiar.   

Goal
Keep the goal of the piece in mind. For instance, if the goal is to have visitors purchase online, use short, punchy calls to action to entice a sale. On the other hand, if the goal is for visitors to stop by a physical location, use rich, descriptive copy that leaves them wanting more.

Length
Deliver the message succinctly. It’s easy to paint a picture with words if you have unlimited space, but when writing online, space is usually quite precious. Use bullets to make dense copy easier to digest. Bold and italicize important points. Edit (and re-edit) drafts to remove unnecessary words.

Graphical Elements
Visualize the finished product. The graphics and overall design of the piece will first catch the eye of the viewer. Focus on writing copy that highlights and supports these graphics. Incorporate headlines that convey your message, while creating a relationship between the copy and the graphics.  

We're excited to announce the launch of SmartBank’s redesigned website, bringing a trendy, modern and enticing look to East Tennessee’s most innovative bank. Some highlights of the new design include:

• Flash integration of moving clouds and grass into the homepage rotating features
  
• Google map of bank locations with integrated SmartBank logos
• Seamless transition from foreground to background, creating a modern, unified look