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Seasons Greetings from Oryx
Welcome to the last Oryx newsletter for 2008 - a bit close to Christmas but you should find some food for thought - for the new year!!
It seems that everyone we talk to at the moment is rushed off their feet in the very last minute run up to Christmas. Hopefully, you can take some time out from your busy schedule to read our newsletter which has ideas to help market your business and your website.
In this issue we take a look at blogs, discuss the importance of your domain name and have a brief reminder about your web statistics. Finally we look at a couple of recent sites and check out some ideas for great Christmas presents!
In this edition:
• Blogs,
a guide
•
Importance of domain names
• A reminder about statistics
• Promotional
ideas
•
Sites of interest
• Online Christmas present help!
•
Oryx office hours
Blogs,
a guide 
For those of you new to the blogosphere, we thought it might be useful
to take a closer look at blogs, what they are and what they can do for
your business.
It’s quite difficult to define exactly what a blog is because
there are so many of them, and they vary hugely. Basically though, they’re
an online diary or commentary, where a “blogger” (person
who writes the blog) posts items and other people have the opportunity
to provide feedback. So it’s very interactive.
And that’s one of the keys to the popularity of blogs......their
interactivity!
View the full article on the guide to blogging >>
If you need help with setting up a blog do get in touch with us>
The
importance of your domain name!
Every website needs a domain name. This is the name your website is known
by, but more importantly, it’s the name submitted to the major search
engines. And, that’s why choosing the right domain name for your
business is so important.
Make sure you pick a name which reflects the business you’re promoting, so for example if you’re a garden centre, then try to ensure that your domain name includes the words garden centre. Keep the name simple and don’t be tempted to use quirky names or misspellings. You may remember them, but your customers most likely won’t and potential customers won’t have a clue!
Website
statistics - a reminder
Don't
forget to actively monitor what’s happening on your website
next year, by checking your website statistics.
These are usually provided by your hosting company website but you can also have Google Analytics installed if you wish.
You can find out all sorts of interesting stuff which will help you market and improve your website. For example, what pages people are visiting, which is the most popular and how long they stay on each page.
Check out our article about website stats, if you haven't already, here>>
Here are two suggestions for jazzing up your website and helping to promote your products and services.
| Competitions, prizes and promotions Competitions can be a great way to get people
returning to your site over and over again. |
Forums or blogs Make your site more interactive - inviting people to comment or provide feedback is a good way of building up relationships with your customers. |
We're offering clients a 10% discount on our hourly rate if you would like a competition installed on your website before the end of January for the new year.
Give us a call if you’d like to talk about these or add
one to your site.
Internship
NZ |
Endeavour
Capital |
Some
Christmas ideas!
Usually we include some brain work but we've decided it's far too late
in the year for any more brain work! What we thought might be useful though
are some interesting websites to help with the last rush of Christmas
present buying!
-
General
- There are a few gift sites but if your partner/spouse or child is camera mad, try this site, Snapfish for camera related (and others) stocking stuffers or gifts. Read more here >>
- Living and Giving stock a huge range of possible gifts for all the family. More here >>
- The Daily Green offers hundreds of living ideas including green gifts for Christmas! More here >>
- Digital Elves have several suggestions, some of which you can make yourself! Read more >>
- Gifts to Remember have New Zealand experiences to choose from, with vouchers to suit all pockets, they say. More here >>
- And, if you're into growing your own fruit and vegetables, have a look at this video clip featuring NZ Gardener magazine editor Lynda Hallinan. There are lost of ideas. More here >>
- The Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust also have a range of Christmas gift ideas - all penguin related of course! More here >>
-
Client Ideas!
- Lots of our clients have products or services which could provide great Christmas presents, ranging from interior design vouchers, to plants and garden vouchers, children's clothes and toys, theatre tickets, shoes, original art and prints, Christmas cards, cafe and dining vouchers, a luxury weekend away near Christchurch or the Bay of Islands, jewellery, a beauty treatment, water filters and other health products- the range is so wide you could just about complete all your Christmas shopping. Have a look through this list of some of our websites and see if aything fits the bill! More here >>
-
Gifts for Men
We've listed this separately as we've found it pretty handy! There's a great site called (wait for it) G4M! It's online shopping for men at Christmas made easier with world-wide delivery and free gift wrapping. They've got a range of gifts from cheap to not-so-cheap, among others including a scanner enabling old slides and negatives to be uploaded to your computer and the same for old records. They've also got shops around the country. For more information click here >>
Hours
over Christmas and New Year
Over the Christmas period Oryx will be closed from Thursday 18 December,
and will officially re-open for business on 22 January, after Wellington
Anniversary weekend. A mobile number is shown below if required during
this period and emails will be cleared twice a week from 5 January on
a Monday and a Wednesday.
We would like take this opportunity to wish all our clients a Happy Christmas and New Year. Remember to take care over the holiday break, slow down and relax.
We look forward to working with you all next year.