eBiz Insider- Fall 2009 – Cover story & three articles

The Fall issue of eBiz Insider was just sent out last week. Now that I am in the corporate marketing department at Solid Cactus, which publishes this bi-monthly eCommerce magazine, my role as a writer for eBiz has changed to being a copy-editor and being more involved to now, being the managing editor. This issue has lots of great stuff, and is the second issue I’ve been involved in from the production end. While the magazine always looks better in print, it can be read online as well at ebizinsider.com.

I have four articles in this issue as well:

Cover Story – The Power of a Fresh Set of Eyes: Site Deconstruction Session a Hit at Solid Cactus Boot Camp

Capture More Sales and Create Buzz with Scratch & Save

The Power in Relevancy Ranking

Don’t Publish Yet – 6 Common Oversights: Filling in the Blanks

eBiz Insider Story Turned into Educational Series Feature

An article I originally wrote for the eBiz Insider on creating value online was used in one of Solid Cactus' education series, a resource hub for e-commerce business owners at www.solidcactus.com.

Value: That is the key to selling nearly anything, no matter the price tag. The question is; how do you build value online, on a virtual store where there is no person-to-person selling? How do you create that value when the customer is in control of when they shop, where they click, what they see and in what order? How do you get them to stay at your site once you’ve gotten them to visit? When it comes to e-commerce, there are many simple things business owners can do to create value before, during and after a sale. And when visitors see the value, visitors become customers.

Read the whole thing here: http://www.solidcactus.com/education-series.html

eBiz Jan/Feb Issue- Cover Story and One Other re: Twitter Success

I have two stories in the latest issue of the e-commerce magazine from Solid Cactus, the eBiz Insider.  I have the cover story, “New Year, New Look:  Is it Time for a Redesign?” which covers some tell-tale signs your e-commerce site needs a redesign.  Check out the story, here.

The second story was a last minute story, as it was breaking news.  I saw on one of my client’s Twitter updates that he was going to be on CNN.  I thought that maybe it was for a health-related story for his soon-to-be launched supplement site, ElementzNutrition.com.  However, when I went to CNN and searched for his name, I found out that it was his picture that was the first of the “Miracle on the Hudson” plane emergency landing that was the first to circulate the media.  He got some HUGE attention from the media during those few days thanks to his being on the ferry and taking a picture and uploading it right onto TwitPic.

Janis Krums was gracious enough to be interviewed about the incident– and there was an e-commerce spin on it of course- how powerful social media really can be for business!  Check out Janis’ story here, in the article, “Elementz Nutrition Co-Founder Makes Social Media History, Followers Grow 20x,” as well as learn more about why Twitter and the like are good for e-commerce!

Ah, this was a really great issue overall!  If you don’t get the print version, read the eBiz Insider online here.

eBiz Insider- Winter 2008- Profile of HappyGreenBaby.com

The latest issue of Solid Cactus‘ eBiz Insider just hit, and in this issue I wrote a profile on the e-commerce site, HappyGreenBaby.com, a newer e-commerce business which used Solid Cactus to design their new store.  The headline I was quite proud of– “Happy Green Baby Puts the ‘Eco’ in E-commerce.” The store itself is awesome and I encourage anyone with a little tot to check them out!  To read more about the store in the eBiz, you can click here.  The articles always, always look better in print though.

Ebiz Insider Article- Seasonal Sites a Year-Round Business

Adding another late post to this blog- my October contribution to the eBiz Insider was the cover story about e-commerce sites that sell seasonal items, and how its really a year-round business. I interviewed two costume stores and one Christmas store. The article was called ‘Tis the Season: Seasonal Selling a Year-Round Business.

More E-Commerce Stories from Solid Cactus’ Ebiz Insider

Time flies! Two issues of the Ebiz Insider have been out since I’ve updated my writing blog. The last two issues featured stories that I wrote in regards to some e-commerce issues:

The August 2008 Ebiz Insider
Shipping Perishable Items- article about, well, shipping perishable items in e-commerce…. tips and advice on what to do with items that can spoil or melt en route. Interviewed some great clients from www.blaircandy.com and www.lowcarbchocolates.com.

The July 2008 Ebiz Insider
In July I contributed an article about something that is a passion of mine- Learning!! I wrote an e-commerce article called Staying Schooled: A Guide to E-Commerce Education which points out ways e-commerce business owners can stay on top of the latest trends in the industry.

Ebiz Insider- June 2008 and May 2008

Haven’t posted some recent articles lately, so here are a few. In the June issue of Solid Cactus’ Ebiz Insider I wrote about free shipping in a bad economy, a growing concern with today’s gas price woes. Here is the link: http://www.ebizinsider.com/2008/06/16/free-shipping-in-a-bad-economy/. As usual, lots of other great stuff in this issue, too.

I think I also forgot to post my May story, about moving your ecommerce business– I wrote some tips on how to make the move smooth. Here is the link.

February Ebiz Insider- Boundary Scanning

The February edition of The eBiz Insider is out! For this month’s issue, I wrote about Boundary Scanning- or, checking out the competition for better success in e-commerce. Check out out here.

Ebiz Insider- January 2008

It’s the first issue of the Ebiz Insider of 2008! In this issue I wrote the cover story, “Managing Virtual Employees.” It’s about how to hire, manage and communication off-site employees, with a focus on how it pertains to e-commerce.

The Ebiz Insider is a monthly magazine for those in e-commerce. Check it out today.

November eBiz Insider- Cover Story

The eBiz Insider’s (published by Solid Cactus) November issue will hit shortly. I love the smell of ink, so I always love when they get delivered. Come to think of it, smelling so much ink as a kid probably explains a lot. My parents were muscians and music promoters, so we were ALWAYS at the printer (this way way before desktop publishing…) and I just love that smell.

Back to the post- In the November edition of the eBiz Insider, I have two stories. The first is 6 New Year’s Resolutions with an E-commerce twist. I kind of did a play on words type thing… I am proud of how it turned out- and the graphics that accompanies the story rocks too. The second article, Shop in a Snap, is more technical and explains new feature that will change the way people shop online. You can read these articles online at http://www.ebizinsider.com/. If you have an e-commerce business or know someone who does- you have to read this publication!