Send Invoices and Accept Credit Cards With WePay’s New Mobile App

Send Invoices and Accept Credit Cards With WePay’s New Mobile App
4 Growth Tactics for Your Small Business
12 Rules of Mobile Etiquette for Small Businesses
5 Lessons You Can Learn from eBay’s AdWords Disaster

Posted: 19 Mar 2013 02:00 PM PDT

Online invoicing and payment app service WePay just released a new app for iOS devices that allows small businesses to send invoices and charge credit cards from mobile devices.

While businesses have plenty of other options for accepting credit card payments via phones or tablets, the new payment app gives small businesses one more choice to manage mobile payments. And those who already use WePay online will now have a way to manage their accounts on the go.

payment app

Because of its focus on professional invoicing, WePay is aimed more at small businesses and professionals than are other mobile payment solutions like Square and Paypal, which offer features for both businesses and individual users.

In addition, the WePay payment app doesn't need any extra hardware like a card reader. Instead, it does require users to enter credit card numbers manually.

Credit card processing and invoicing both come with a fee of 2.9% and $0.30 per transaction. The payment app accepts all major credit cards, and there are no contracts or monthly fees associated with the service or the app.

The first photo above shows a default app page, where users can see their account balance and choose to send money to their bank accounts, charge a credit card, or send an invoice. They can also choose to view pending invoices and recently received payments.

The second photo shows an itemized invoice, where users can break down each good or service they provided and the individual prices for each. They can also set a due date and even a late fee.

The third photo shows a list of unpaid invoices a user has sent to different parties, allowing them to see how much money they have coming in and the due dates of each invoice.

The WePay service also offers support for e-commerce, donations, event registration, and ticketing. The company, a team of 48 based in Palo Alto, California, was originally founded in 2008.

The post Send Invoices and Accept Credit Cards With WePay’s New Mobile App appeared first on Small Business Trends.

4 Growth Tactics for Your Small Business

Posted: 19 Mar 2013 11:00 AM PDT

Many of us would love to be the next Facebook, Reddit or Google. It is a dream of anyone with a startup, whatever the genre, to become the contender for established sites already dominating the Web. The problem is that these sites are already working with a dedicated user base. When it comes to establishing growth tactics, it can be easy to become overwhelmed.

So where do you start?

Perhaps the best way to figure out your own growth strategy is to see the successes of others and how they achieved it. Below are some success stories and growth tactics that can be derived from big names that all had to start right where you are.

4 Growth Tactics and Success Stories

Facebook

Facebook is regularly changing up their growth strategy too match the current trends and acquire new users. So pinpointing which was their most successful is very hard to do at this point.

Suffice to say, they have had a great deal of success in each phase of their user growth. This was further fueled by their general visibility and expansion as they began to take over the realm of social media more aggressively.

But their first major growth tactic was in the beginning of their full launch. They had begun as a campus based program and slowly started to allow others to join. There was a touch of exclusivity that was the result, despite the growing hype. The first million users were among a larger group of people who desperately wanted to join but had to wait until it opened up to their network.

Growth tactic: Provide a touch of exclusivity.

growth tactics Reddit is one site that I think truly benefited from the demise of another. While Digg was busy dousing the flames after their disastrous redesign and the massive problems that surfaced due to their elitist user structure, Reddit was gaining traction.

Mostly by doing everything that Digg users were saying they wanted in a content sharing site.

While they took these elements, which undoubtedly gave a boost to their user growth in a big way, they also had their own unique style.

They gave complete power of subreddits to users, made sign up almost laughably easy, and don’t cause grief over throwaway accounts.

Growth tactic: Give complete power to the people.

Instagram

growth tactics I have heard a certain amount of argument over what strategy managed to launch Instagram into a mainstream photo app.

While I am sure the public nature of the initial galleries was a big part of it, I think it was more the way they styled their platform after Twitter.

This gave a way to quickly share photos and speed seems to be the whole point behind using Instagram.

Using something more thorough like Facebook would have been a misstep.

Ultimately, their choice paid off.

Growth tactic: Ease of sharing.

Another site that has sparked controversy over which tactic hacked their way into rapid expansion, their exclusivity, auto-follow and unending scroll features were the silver bullets.

I personally believe it was the unique format of a social networking site based entirely around images, their style of pinboards’ instead of albums, and the fact that they saw their demographic leaning more towards women and encouraged it rather than attempting to push another user base. A move that would have potentially alienated the users it already had.

Pinterest is quickly becoming one of the most popular social media sites ever created. So they are definitely doing something right.

Growth tactic: Target your core audience (not trying to be too good to everyone).

Conclusion

Any site or business that has made it big will have their own story. A surprising number of them are nothing but money from a larger company being thrown their way, such as in a buyout. But many others are tales of ingenuity, perseverance and that one idea that let them hack their way into the mainstream.

What are some of your favorite user growth success stories and tactics?

Facebook Photo via Shutterstock

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12 Rules of Mobile Etiquette for Small Businesses

Posted: 19 Mar 2013 08:00 AM PDT

As small business owners, the mobile phone is one of our most important tools. So important, that we may forget that "anywhere and everywhere" is not our office.

And as your business grows, it's not just your own behavior with a cell phone you have to think about. You also have to make sure your employees exhibit professionalism, stay safe and present a positive public image of your business while using mobile devices.

We tapped into the expertise of Judi Hembrough of Plantronics for tips along with other advice of my own. So, hit the pause button for a few minutes to review our 10 rules of mobile etiquette for small businesses:

1. Move 10 feet away if you must take a call. If you must take a call when you are if you are face-to-face with someone, first excuse yourself politely with a brief explanation as to why the call is especially urgent and can't wait. Then, move to a location where you can respect the personal space of others. Some recommend that you move at least 10 feet away from others.

Ideally, though, you should avoid interrupting a face-to-face conversation to take a cell phone call. Interrupting the party you are with sends a message that he or she is less important than the caller.

2. Avoid checking that smartphone in meetings. This applies to visually checking for text messages, emails and missed calls, or listening to voicemails. At best it signals that you are distracted and not giving your full attention to the meeting. At worst it says you find the people in the meeting to be boring or unimportant. If you are expecting a call from the White House at any moment — then yes, I can accept you glancing at your phone. Short of rare circumstances like that, don't even take your mobile phone out during meetings.

3. Return calls within 24 hours. Returning calls promptly demonstrates professionalism and respect. If you will be in all-day meetings or on vacation where you can't return calls in a timely manner, update your phone message temporarily. Just remember to revert back upon your return. You'll sound totally out of it with a message that says you'll be unavailable … until a week ago.

Increasingly I hear voice mail messages that request that instead of leaving a voicemail, callers send a text or an email. This is a controversial practice. It may turn off some callers, especially prospective or existing clients. To decide if it's appropriate:

Consider the employee's role. Most business owners I know want those in sales to be as available as possible, not hard to reach. On the other hand, for a software developer who works 90% of the time in his workspace coding, such a message may be no big deal.
Consider what's standard in your industry. In tech businesses and online businesses, using email is far more prevalent than using the phone.

4. Know where NOT to talk. Just in case you want to provide a refresher for your team about where it's NOT acceptable to talk, let's go down the list:

Libraries, museums and places of worship: Shhhh… is the rule here. No talking, period.

Restaurants: avoid it. Even though there is noise in restaurants, a phone conversation stands out and disturbs others. In some restaurants you may be asked to leave – not to mention getting dirty looks from other patrons. Coffee shops, on the other hand, are noisier and more casual, and calls tend to be more acceptable in the hubbub.

Meetings, conferences and events: Make it become second nature to turn off cell phones upon entering. Set a good example. If you do this in internal meetings in your company, your staff will get used to doing it in all meetings and events.

Finally, please remember not to talk in places that involve running water and flushing. "Nuff said.

5. Speak softly and carry a big stick. This one is for people who talk loudly on their cell phones. Oops, I mean, that you should avoid talking loudly on your cell phone. How many times have you been subjected to someone nearly shouting to overcome a bad connection? Don't be that person.

And now … a word about using the speakerphone mode of your phone. Alright, I get that you may be tired of holding your phone up to your ear. But the answer is not to use your phone's (or tablet's!) speakerphone mode in an open office or public place. Get a headset. Then you can carry on a long call without your arm or ear going numb, and with less disturbance to others.

6. Ditch that wild ringtone. While I am somewhat joking about this one, you might want to pick discreet ring tones versus that acid-rock ringtone you uploaded to your phone. If a phone rings while you are in an important meeting, and you forgot to shut it off, you don't want to regret your ringtone on top of annoying everyone.

7. Avoid speaking about private matters in public places. We business owners may know this, but do our employees and independent contractors? Judging from how many times have I've overheard conversations in coffee shops discussing performance appraisals or confidential business deals, I'd say many teams need a refresher.

Mobile phones fool us — we forget and start behaving as if it's just us and the person we're talking with. As Judi Hembrough of Plantronics says, "Get out of your own 'privacy bubble' and pay attention to your surrounding environment." Imagine what the party on the other end might think should they realize you've been discussing their sensitive matters, in a restaurant.

8. Plan ahead for good reception. In preparation for a taking or making a call outside the office, make sure you can get good cell phone coverage in that area. Nothing disrupts your ability to create rapport on an important business call more than when you keep hearing, "Could you repeat that? You broke up there." If reception is an issue on your end, offer to find a place with better reception and call back as soon as possible.

mobile etiquette

9. Keep your mind on your driving! You realize that texting and even speaking on a call while operating a motor vehicle is a risky thing – but do all of your staff members know it's an important issue to your company? Every year people die in vehicle accidents involving mobile devices. You endanger colleagues who are in the car with you, too — the ultimate breach of etiquette.

That's why talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving is banned in 10 states, and texting while driving is banned in 39 states here in the U.S.

More and more companies are adopting a strict "no talking or texting while driving" policy while on company business. If you decide to make it your policy, Distracted.gov has a sample employee policy that you can download. (Download .doc policy here.)

10. Secure your mobile device with a locking password. While this may seem to fall outside of basic courtesy, think about all of the information available via your phone, much of it private and referencing others. In a Honey Stick project last year involving 50 intentionally "lost" cell phones, nearly every phone's private information was accessed by the person who found it — whether with innocent intent or not. Lose your phone, and it's like revealing all your company information and personal information to boot.

Feel free to share some of your stories below in the comments regarding how to maintain polite behavior when using a cell phone in public or in the office.

Photo credits via Shutterstock: Rude, Loud, Texting.

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5 Lessons You Can Learn from eBay’s AdWords Disaster

Posted: 19 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PDT

eBay has recently thrown in the towel for AdWords advertising, arguing that online ads are ineffective. In reality, eBay's AdWords failure comes as a result of ignoring even the most basic PPC best practices. Below are lessons you can take away from a case study of eBay's AdWords disaster.

5 Lessons: eBay Adwords Case Study

1) Use Negative Keywords

AdWords enables advertisers to set negative keywords, which tell Google what keywords you want to avoid your ad showing up for.

For example, if you are a small shop selling organic coffee beans, you probably aren't interested in showing up for queries like "Irish coffee recipes" or any coffee-related queries that don't relate to what you sell.

eBay's technique has evidentially been to think of as many keywords as possible, with no regards to relevancy or buyer intent, and to set few, if any, negative keywords. While a hardy list of keywords is no problem, eBay manages over 170 million keywords, which seems to indicate an emphasis on quantity over quality.

This looks like a prime example of something that eBay should have set as a negative keyword:

case study

Irrelevant keywords can be a real danger, because those queries can result in clicks that don't convert. They'll cost your business money with no ROI (return on investment). While setting them is an extra step, don't overlook the value of negative keywords.

If you aren't setting negative keywords – you're likely leaking money somewhere.

2) Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion with Caution

Another lesson that can be gleaned from eBay's poor AdWords performance is to use discretion when it comes to DKI, or Dynamic Keyword Insertion. DKI enables advertisers to have a searcher's exact query automatically inserted into your ad text. DKI can be beneficial when used intelligently, but it can be a real disaster when used indiscriminately, as eBay did.

case study [Exactly what I was looking for - NOT]

Take note AdWords advertisers: DKI is definitely not a fix-all. Use this powerful tool with discretion if you want to make it work for your business.

3) Write Original and Compelling Ad Text

For years, eBay has held steadfast to their unoriginal ad text, composed exclusively of "Shop on eBay and Save," "Buy it Cheap on eBay," and a few other similarly dull lines. This is a major no-no when it comes to writing ad text.

So it comes as no huge surprise that this technique hasn't been yielding much in the form of results.

For clickable ad text that drives conversions, keywords should be split into granular ad groups. Then specific ad text should be written tailored especially to each individual ad group.

4) Measure and Track Conversions

One of the core rules of proper search engine marketing is to track your conversions ruthlessly. Measuring your campaign's effectiveness lets you see where you're making mistakes as well as what you are doing right and what you should continue putting into practice.

It's very difficult to make intelligent decisions on how to best grow and improve your online advertising strategy without measuring conversions.

It's sad that it's taken eBay approximately 10 years to discover that their ads haven't been working. Especially considering that it's estimated that eBay was the second biggest ad spender in the retail & shopping industry.

[Click image for full size infographic]

This means eBay has been flushing billions of dollars down the drain for years without measuring their online ad performance. What else haven't they been paying attention to?

The lesson here is clear: Set up conversion tracking and keep a close eye on your CPA (cost per action).

If it's costing you more to acquire a new client via PPC (pay per click) than that client is worth to your business, then you need to optimize your campaigns or change strategy.

The last thing you want to do is throw more money at a crippled campaign. Especially if your budget is in the billions.

5) If You're Getting Plenty of Organic Traffic, Try Remarketing

For companies like eBay that already are getting a lot of traffic from organic search, remarketing is a great option since you won't be buying clicks on keywords you already get organic traffic from. Remarketing lets you tag users that visit your site.

For example, users that don't complete a conversion. When they leave your site, remarketing then lets you show ads relating to whatever the user was previously looking at on your site, with the intent of getting the shopper back to your site.

Imagine a user visits your running shoes page, but then they remember they are overdue to pay a personal expense of some sort. As a result, they leave your site to go pay a bill or perform some other related personal task online instead. As this same user travels around the Web, you can have ads appear on other sites, reminding them of your running shoes and perhaps offering a 10% discount special.

The user then remembers that they wanted to purchase new shoes. They click the ad and complete their purchase.

Organic search traffic generally has a conversion rate of 2-6%, which means that 94-98% of searchers aren't following through on their actions. Tagging those users and remarketing to them can dramatically improve your conversion rates for organic search.

Paid Search Can Work If You Avoid eBay's Mistakes

eBay has showcased exactly what not to do with an AdWords account in this case study.

While eBay claims that paid search doesn't yield results, it's difficult to take their word seriously considering how many worst practices they've employed in their AdWords account.

Implement these lessons and tips in your AdWords campaign and see for yourself how powerful online advertising can be for you and your small business.

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