Sent at 11:47 AM

My kid asked why he can’t just quit school and I told him it’s against the law, and they’ll put me in jail. And my sweet sweet child looked me in the eye and said “I’ll visit you”. 

Not a real quote of mine. But it could have been. Everybody is fed up with the rain and the darkness. Luckily (for the children) the holidays are almost there, the Christmas lights in the streets are starting to give some merry merry mood. And I’m starting to think about … gifts. Are you also?!

Welcome to this Branding Donkeys Newsletter that is sent every week until I decide to stop. We have again some new subscribers here. Thank you for that! Please forward this to ONE friend today and tell them either to subscribe here or to be more curious about life. 👋

The days when I hurried through the city to shop for gifts are far behind me. Today, everything is online. I mean absolutely everything. Even my weekly groceries are delivered. When you think about it, in the 'old' days, I had to first make a shopping list, then go to the store, take everything I needed, put it in a cart, unload the cart, pay for it, reload the cart, unload the cart into my car, unload the car, and finally, put it all in my kitchen. Who still does that?!

(This week, as I was sharing this story, my dinner companion responded, 'Me. I like it. I love going to the store every day and picking out my dinner.' So apparently, it's still a thing. Personally, though, I just don't get it 🤷‍♀️)

So let’s talk about e-commerce this week!

Go Funnel Hacking

There’s no better way to study a brand, or a business, than to behave like a customer. Go always funnel hacking on your own website. Don't forget this order of operations: Update website, PLACE A TEST ORDER, then TEST ALL LINKS IN EMAIL /SMS, then deploy. The only way to know for sure is to bank an order YOURSELF!

But also: test other websites to get inspired. The goal of funnel hacking is to learn so much that by the time you checkout, you can justify any purchase in the name of improving e-commerce skills. haha. That's what I do, anyways.

Do you also never stop adding to cart until you hit the free shipping minimum amount? WHY AM I LIKE THIS!!!!! 🧙‍♀️

I give you a 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review

Did you know that:
- 70% of people trust reviews and recommendations from strangers.
- 88% of consumers trust online testimonials and reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family.

Two weeks ago, I wrote already that people buy from people they know, like, and trust. The best way to accelerate trust is with TIME spent together. That may be direct, 1:1 time in person, in video, or on the phone. Or that may be time spent with you and your content.

OR or or …people need to know OTHERS already trust you.

Use testimonials. Write testimonials as mini-stories. Let people see a bit of themselves in the experience. Go for testimonials that touch the heart because we all connect with emotions and real stories.

Highlight in your content. Use testimonials on your website, social media, print materials, book cover, and advertisements. Turn your best (or worst 👇) testimonials into images or videos to run as ads on Facebook and Instagram!

But which questions to ask to receive a useful review? Here is a handy list:

• What was your absolute biggest challenge prior to purchasing/joining/attending?

• How did that challenge make you feel?

• What changed after purchasing/joining/attending?

• What specific results can you share?

Inbox Insanity

This newsletter is generally sent on Mondays at 11:15 AM. This one was almost not going to be sent because I forgot to save what I had written this morning. Now, it's Sunday night, and even though I don't feel like rewriting the thing, I'm doing it anyway. That's dedication, people. But what I wanted to tell you is: don't send your newsletter on the hour. Every brand sends on the hour, and you'll get buried. Don't be afraid of odd times. 8:36 AM is better than 8:00 AM. And what I just learned by doing research for this newsletter while writing on Sunday night: Don't hesitate to send in the back half of the hour. You'll stand out. So, tomorrow, this newsletter is sent out at exactly 11:47. 

By the way, you are not only a professional active person, you are also a customer. So create a mail account just for your newsletters. You will thank me later!

I wanted to add some book or/and podcast inspiration, but now it is late and I am tired. 😃 Next time!

If you’d like a topic to discuss in the next Branding Donkey newsletter, please send me an email or reply on this one (with your specially made newsletter account.) Have a wonderful week!

x ingrid