Great copywriting does more than get your message out there. It combines that message with your best qualities to create copy your readers can relate to. They'll feel the difference between you and your competitors and be compelled to act.

Case Study: Stitches Online Marketing Campaign and Website

I really dislike shopping. The people, trying on clothes in a strange place, figuring out what size I need…it’s just a never-ending headache for me. When I do shop for clothing, however, Stitches is one of only three places I’ll go.

The Stitches website and marketing campaign is ok, but I would personally like to see them match their clothing and the hip, warm atmosphere of their stores. In real life, Stitches staff are friendly, helpful, and know a thing or two about fashion. They are eager to help you find different sizes or create looks, but if you’re with something else, they’ll leave you to it and just help you switch sizes and return the clothes to the racks.

In short, they’re intuitive to the needs of the customer, and I’d love to see this reflected in their online marketing. I hope they’ll find some helpful tips here, and if not, I hope that you’re able to get some good ideas or thoughts for your own website.

Stitches Email Marketing

One of the emails I received from Stitches looked like this:

They use ‘Add Sale to Your Style!” as their subject line. Now, I know who this email is from, and remembered signing up for it, but a subject line like that made me think twice about whether it was another spam mail or not. Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to be clever!

I guess my real  issue with the tagline/subject line is that, when I buy something on sale, I don’t want it to look like I bought it cheap! I want it to be my dirty little secret. I DON’T want my clothing to look like I bought it on sale!

I think they could have come up with something far more effective. Even “Stitches Fall Fashion Sale” or “Fall in love with Stitches’ fall fashions” would have been better.

Once you open the email, you get this:

Looks good, right? Amazing sales! (To be honest, I can’t remember if it gave me a choice between text and html emails when I signed up, but if it didn’t, it should! They should at least add tags to the images so I can figure out what the email is about without downloading the images.)

My biggest complaint with this email is that I want to be able to click on the various sales advertised and immediately start buying! Unfortunately, when I click on the $3 knit tops and leggings ad, I get this:

And then this:

And when I click on the “graphics tees” ad, “graphic hoodies”, and the “amazing jeans” ad, I get the same thing. If I had wanted to click through for the faux leather jackets, I’d have discovered they disappear completely on the site, with no hint as to where they may be.

It’s really too bad they missed the sales opportunities in their email marketing campaign. I would love to see them code each ad separately, so that when I click on one, I can find the sales items instantly. Now, as soon as I land on their home page, I find myself thinking “where are they? Is it only certain styles? Are they in a different section?” Even if they linked them directly to the category pages, it would boost their conversions.

Website Marketing and Usability

I thought they might have coded the ads separately on the website homepage, but alas, these weren’t clickable at all. In fact, if you look in the bottom left corner of the main graphic, you’ll see there is a choice of 4 main home page graphics. This was difficult to spot and impossible to use. Clickable flash would have been a much better choice. This is prime real estate that could be boosting the interest in their products!

Well, I shouldn’t say none of the images weren’t clickable. The ’6 Reasons To Dream of Jeans’ article? When you click on the image for it, you immediately get a new tab with the main graphic and are able to page through a series of images depicting girls in various pairs of jeans. This doesn’t help me because I can see what I want, but still have absolutely no idea where to find each pair so I can order it.

Also, a bit of text about which body shape each style was best for, the benefits of each type of jean, or even how to tell the difference between the six styles would have been informational and given me a reason to look through them.

Category and Product Pages

I really liked their navigation and how, when you click on a category, the navigation stays open so you can easily switch between them. The text could have been bigger and easier to click, but it is one of the best designed features on the site.

The item pages like their graphics tees page was nice and clean and the products really pop out at you. That being said, I’m a little confused as to why there are jeans advertised above the fold in that section, or why they’re there at all really. The naming of the different products would have been a great spot for them to show off their creative side. Naming 10 shirts ‘graphic T’ tells me essentially nothing. Imagine: If I tell you they have a graphic T you should buy, would you know which one I meant? How about if I said the ‘Disgruntled Money Bags T’?

Have a look at their Monopoly themed t-shirt. There’s no text. I have no idea what the shirt is made out of. I don’t know if it’s going to end up being a dry clean-only item, and while we’re on the topic, why would it suggest belts to go with a t-shirt, when I’d be much more likely to buy a pair of matching jeans? Suggest belts on the jean product pages.

One company who does product pages astoundingly well is Think Geek. Their descriptionsare so much fun I’ve actually clicked through the different products just to see what they’d written. Stitches wouldn’t have to get that creative with their product pages, but information about the products written in a chic, hip voice would definitely improve their sales and help the customer connect with them a bit.

Overall, when I wander around on the Stitches website, I feel like I’m window shopping, rather than actually wandering in their store.

Their shopping cart software is mysteriously not working. Not sure why, but it was probably in my best interest. It could have been a very expensive night and my credit card would’ve been feeling the weight. (PayPal option would be great folks! Not sure what payment methods you offer, or if you have a secure checkout because, well, it doesn’t say and I can’t get to the checkout page.)

Their URL structure and titles are also quite unfriendly. When I want to bookmark certain products…say I’m watching to see when they go on sale…The titles tell me nothing about which product I bookmarked, there are no unique descriptions, and the URLs tell me nothing. So please, use referral strings, but for the love of pete, please do something with your titles! Even when they’re shared on social networks, there is nothing decent describing what I’m sharing and no way to manually change it myself.

Next point: When I want to buy a product, let me see the entire product…back, sides, top, bottom, whatever. Stitches does an excellent job giving me a close up, but I don’t want something dorky on the back of the shirt. The way it’s set up now, I can’t tell.

Social Media Marketing Strategy

This part was quite fascinating to me:

Remember that email I got? Well, if you click the Social Media icons at the top, it will take you to each one of its social profiles. On their website? NONE of them are clickable! I was quite disappointed when I had to fish the email out of the trash to find their social profiles. (The bottom of the page had a Facebook like button…so I guess my initial statement was a little inaccurate, but c’mon! If you’re going to have buttons above the fold, make them usable!)

Stitches On Twitter

Stitches does have a branded Twitter profile and its user ID matches the site URL. Two points for them! This is important because it makes them relatively easy to find and you know you’ve got the right one when you get there.

They’re interacting a little with other Twitter users, but they’re using the account mainly with Twitterfeed to tweet out links to teen fashion trends. I admit this made my heart break a little. For a store that’s so friendly and good at connecting with girls and guys 16-30, they’re not showing it here.

Most of their links are to Teen Vogue articles. Why are they not creating this stuff and hosting it on their own website? Where are the links to their great sales? Their fashion advice? Regardless, they’re generating a lot of ad revenue for someone else’s site. (This could be because their site isn’t working, but personally, they’d be better off to get the site fixed and tweet more of their own links than sending everyone elsewhere.) In short, their account needs balance and a human touch.

Stitches On Flickr

The Stitches Flickr stream is quite small, but considering the fact that it’s only been in use since April, I expected it. Unfortunately, like their emails and photo shoots, they don’t tell me what clothing the models are wearing, where to find it on their site, or even where I can find these photos online so I can see them in use. All it says is “BTS 2010″, which again, tells me nothing.

There are tons of opportunities here, and Stitches have missed many of them. I would love to see them embrace the power of this medium! What about customer photo shoots? Creative contests? Ten pairs of jeans you can put with a particular shirt that’s on sale that month? This last one could be great because they could put together ‘fashion packages’, so that when someone clicked on it, it would add all the clothing items from a picture or set of pictures to the shopping cart.

The Stitches YouTube Channel

I was quite happy to see Stitches is on YouTube! My first thought was that there were going to be great interviews with their fashion experts with tons of tips on stretching your wardrobe, the latest trends, makeup tips, or even just videos on *gulp* teen issues.

Well, they don’t have any of that, but they did upload two ad kind of things. Again, I’d love to see information in the description about the clothes shown off in the ad, links to the items, what their ‘Back To School’ collection was based on, what the trends are this season…something! I’d like to think that people would subscribe just to see their ads, but unless they take lessons from Old Spice, I just can’t see that happening…at least not people who will buy their clothing.

Stiches Facebook Fan Page

With almost 20K likes on the Stitches fan page, there is tons of marketing power here! They’re doing a pretty good job of using it too. Some people are uploading pics of themselves in the hottest Stiches fashions. Their video and notes sections have groups of ads (more than their YouTube channel) and they let you win tickets for a local event. They put up images of the sales ads, but again, nothing is clickable and there aren’t any links to where you can find these items.

Sadly, while fans are speaking up and sharing their love of Stitches, the company is doing very little interacting with its loyal customers. Even a quick note back to some of their customers would be a great investment. Also, why is their fan page opening to their wall when the hook for their visitors is on the free tickets page? Why not create a mini-ad page for people to land on?

Stitches did happen to reveal some information about their website on their Facebook page: Their site is down (duh! Lol) and the online store is being rebuilt. This is great news! I’m a little confused as to why they’d disable the online store before the new one is ready, but I’m hoping there’s a good explanation because they have to be losing a fair chunk of change. I’m also quite confused as to why they’d continue with their online marketing campaign. I thought the idea might be to convince people to go to their brick and mortar stores, but I can never find the fashions they advertise online in their stores!

Closing Thoughts On the Stitches Online Store and Marketing Campaign

If I could give any suggestions to Stitches at all, I’d strongly suggest that they study their competitors. What do they do well? What’s working for them? What isn’t working? What aren’t they covering?

They need to figure out exactly who their target audience is and find out what’s most important to them. Generate content they’ll find interesting and valuable, even if it’s just a collection of funny cartoons or jokes about the issues they face.

I’m going out on a limb here, but I think teenagers really want to see themselves in fashionable clothing. They want to feel welcome and accepted and they want to feel popular. This is where Stitches marketing power will come from. This is where Stitches will really be able to break their industry open and begin to claim a fair chunk of the market share. In fact, I’d love to see them come up with an online app that people can upload pictures of themselves and virtually ‘mix and match’ outfits. They could even use the images of schools, malls, or other popular hangout locations in the background.

They need to hunt out complementary businesses and figure out ways to team up and offer deals and opportunities their competition hasn’t. Music, beauty, magazines, electronics…there are an unending number of ideas and possibilities here.

Stitches needs to shake their corporate image and start to stand out.

Their site is also impossible to find in the search engines. They are in dire need of some SEO and some ad campaigns if they hope to revitalize their stores and making some serious profit.

Again, I wish Stitches well and hope they make use of their online marketing, whether they find and use the information in this post or not. (Which reminds me: If Stitches hasn’t got any sort of buzz monitoring or Google Alerts set up, they need to. They need to figure out what’s being said about them and use the information to their advantage.)

I also hope you were able to follow me through this audit/case study and pick up some ideas you can use in your own ecommerce stores.

Think Visibility: Why I Traveled 15,272 Kms For My First Conference — Part 5

A Guide For Canadians Moving To the UK or Brits Moving To Canda

There are some huge, notable differences between our two cultures. They might not seem like much, but boy do you notice them when they’re gone! (SarahCarling, this post was inspired by you. In it, I’ve included all the big things you’ll need to know.)

All Those Dang Buttons! AKA “Y’all Are Nuts”

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First of all, Brits have buttons for everything! If you want to enter a business, you simply walk in like you normally would. If you want to get out, however, well good luck buddy! It’s got to be a marketing ploy to keep us Canadians in the store longer. You press the button for the door and nothing ever happens…nothing opens, there’s no sound, nothing. Odd. To make matters worse, they seem to get some sort of perverse pleasure out of making you look for the stupid button. It’s almost like a treasure hunt fetish.

In Canada, the only time you have to press a button is if you’re in a wheelchair, and even then, we reward you for finding and using the button by automatically opening the door for you. We don’t want to stress you out too badly though, so we usually make them jumbo and in a shiny silver colour, or we make them a bright shiny red. Some of them even light up!

If this sounds like a minor detail to you, let me tell you my story…

During ThinkVis, I had snuck back to the flat to have a shower and wake myself up. I got into the flat just fine. (Their door handles are all funky too, now that I’m thinking about it. You can’t tell whether you should push or pull.) I had a shower, and I was feeling a lot more awake, so I figured I’d better hurry back to the casino.

I called the cab, gather my stuff, and headed to the elevator. I got down to the main floor, and I nearly killed myself by running into the door. First, it was a pull door, not a push like it looks. Secondly, I forgot about the stupid button on the wall, so I went to push and it didn’t move.

I eventually get myself out of the building without anyone too many people noticing and managed to find my way out to the waiting cab. I get in, tell him I need to go to the Alea Casino. When he asked where that was, I knew I was in for an interesting evening.

Never fear, however, he did manage to get me to the casino, albeit the back. Rather than walking all the way around this big building, I figure I’m going to be smart and get in the exact same way we had gotten in earlier that morning.

No big deal, right? Go in the door, take the elevator to the second floor, and go straight over to the double doors where everyone would be gathering and enjoying a few drinks.

Well, I get in the building no problem, get into the elevator, go to the second floor, and just before I got out I thought ‘gee, I wonder if I can remember which direction the double doors were in.’ I was so proud of myself when I managed to find them right off! Score for me! (This will make sense when I get to my next story.) Push on the door and nothing happens. Well! What the hell?!?

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Ok, stay cool. Maybe you were wrong ‘chuk. Maybe you got off on the next floor up last time? Get back into the elevator, go up a floor, get out, and score! I find the double doors leading to the conference. Imagine the bad words that came out of my mouth when I realized that door didn’t open. Let’s just say the words sounded a lot like ‘what the firetruck’.

I’m starting to panic a little, but I figure there were 2 more floors I could try…and I did. Imagine my stupidity when I realized after 5 or 6 trips in the elevator that I wasn’t pressing the freaking button all the way over on the right side of the doors! Like, waaaaayyyy over there. How the hell am I supposed to know that I have to look for a stupid button to open the door?!?! I composed myself and pretended nothing happened.

You’ll be glad to know that I eventually started to remember to look for a button, but part of me always took a deep breath each time I pushed one. You just never know if you’re pushing the button for the door or if a trap door is going to open up underneath you and you’ll be transported to Australia or something. Besides, why the heck would you try to keep me IN? I promise you that’s the first time someone has tried to keep me indoors.

Y’all are nuts.

I Just Want Food!

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You’ll notice there’s a huge difference in the menus in our respective countries. As a Canuck, I go into a restaurant, order what I want, and the food magically appears. The UK was a very different story. I wasn’t sure what most of the concoctions were, although I’m sure they were all mouth-wateringly tasty. In most instances, I couldn’t figure out how to say them even if I was going to try them!

I figured it wouldn’t matter what I chose to eat because it was all new to me, so I either closed my eyes and picked a spot on the menu or ordered whatever someone else was having. Besides, some of them might have been saying cheeseburger, but because they have such a heavy accent, it was virtually impossible for my simple Canadian brain to translate.

Let’s Take a Drive

Once you arrive in Canada, you’ll quickly understand how much land we have and how small our population is. This also means that my idea of a quick three-hour drive to the city is very, very different for a Brit. To them, 3 hrs is like going clear across the country. It IS going across the country in some instances, and it’s just far too busy, complicated, and downright expensive to do on a regular basis.

Now, you wouldn’t think this would be an issue, but it does really mess with your planning and internal scale. You’re never quite sure what Brits see as reasonable and what they don’t. I drive three hours to go to the nearest major city for a break. Over there, it’s just not done.

(Credit — Funny enough, if you follow the credit for this photo, you’ll discover the photographer noticed the same things I did about driving in the UK in an earlier post.)

Their road systems are all screwed up too, and I don’t just mean driving on the wrong side of the road or their odd infatuation with roundabouts. In Canada, most communities and roads are divided into a general straight line, which then makes square parcels of land. Of course, we still have rivers and all sorts of other things to contend with, but they usually work the same way.

In the UK, it’s just wherever they happened to fall. Walking around Leeds, it was instantly apparent that I’m going to need GPS and a map if I’m ever going to find my way around. Roads change names at will; they stop and start it the oddest of places and sometimes they’re for cars, sometimes they’re not for cars. How can you tell?!? It’s like giving me a strawberry cheesecake blizzard, walking away for an hour and telling me I wasn’t supposed to eat it when you get back. It’s cruel!

My personal favourite is the narrow little road that looks like the right one until you get past the point of no return. They put up large pillars that look wide enough for you to go through, but aren’t. If you did think you could make it between those posts, don’t worry. You can tell from the dark BMW paint on either side that you weren’t the only one who tried.

Every time I turned around, I wasn’t sure where I was. Everyone else seemed to know though, so I just went with that. I figured worst case scenario I’d have to phone Tim and Carolyn to come pick me up. You can totally hear that phone call coming right?

Me: I’m lost. Come find me?

Carolyn: Where are you?

Tim (in the background, of course): You mean to tell me she’s lost AGAIN?

Me: I don’t know! There’s stone buildings and a big ol vine over there.

Carolyn: What’s the street name?

Me: I don’t know! You guys don’t have normal street signs. They’re always hidden on a building somewhe…Oh hey! Look! A Starbucks! I’ll just have one of those till you find me.

Say What?

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My other issue, and one I KNOW Sarah is going to have, is accents. As soon as I open my mouth, it’s like saying ‘She’s an idiot. She’s Canadian’. Of course, I prove them right when I do something stupid or am simply not aware of seemingly common things, but that’s not the point.

My personal favourite situation: they speak quickly, using strange words you’ve never heard in normal conversation, while facing the opposite direction. There is a solution, but it doesn’t always work. It also requires the help of a local.

You see, Tim and I had this worked out. As soon as he’d see that blank ‘huh?’ look on my face or I’d get that ‘Are you serious’ look, he’d jump in with some sort of explanation or just repeat it so I could translate it back into Canuckian. It wasn’t foolproof because sometimes our blank look makes us look like we’re deep in thought, but it helped 9/10 times.

The next little thing I noticed occurred to me after visiting the grocery store.

The Trick To Getting In a Grocery Store With a Cart

In the UK, they have huge revolving doors that look a lot like old-people flingers. If you close your eyes and imagine an elderly lady about to be flung by a slingshot laying on its side, you’ll get an idea of what these are like.

So Sarah, I’ll give you one of the most valuable pieces of information you’ll need while buying food:

1. Get your grocery cart first. (You might better know them as a ‘trolley’, which over here means a car that runs on roads, but looks like a train. San Francisco is famous for them…Is it San Francisco? Well, never mind. The US is a different country, fyi )
2. You’ll find that you’ll either need to insert a quarter or looney into the slot at the front and push the giant key thing in the front.
3. When you get to the door, use the cart to push open the door, if the doors don’t automatically slide open. There’s none of this Macgyver diving out the door before it closes on you so you don’t have to make another revolution.

All goofing around and oddities aside, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. My unique, natural ability to demonstrate my freakishness made it feel like home…or rather ‘home’ with enough surprises to ensure your day is going to be interesting.

Dealing with everything really isn’t so bad.

Sarah: If I could give you one piece of advice, I’d tell you to pay attention to all the little things around you and embrace the differences. See it as an adventure exploration and you’ll do fine. Wishing you all the best!

Other Posts In the Series:
A Canadian in the UK: An Introduction (Part 1)
The Official “Think Visibility” Conference Coverage (Part 2)
A Day Spent In Leeds (Part 3)
Visiting Harrogate and York (Part 4)

Think Visibility: Why I Traveled 15,272 Kms For My First Conference — Part 4

Welcome To York

York was truly beautiful. Being a touristy place, I was quite worried that the modernization would have taken away from its rich history and culture, but I was really impressed to see how much preservation and care was taken to maintain the look and feel of the city. It didn’t take much effort to imagine dukes, princes and princesses making their way down the main street in their guilded carriages.

I could see William Wallace and his gnarly crew as they poured through the gate, and I’m pretty sure I could imagine Robin Hood and his Merry Men cautiously making their way through the city, disguised by heavy woollen cloaks that have seen better days. Of course, that could just be the lack of coffee.

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Our first stop in the great city of York was the Minster. Now, if you’ve never been inside a European cathedral, I strongly suggest you take a virtual tour of one online. The cascading arches and intricate stain windows stand in stark contrast to the cold stone floors, many of which mark the resting place for a religious leader, member of royalty or an elite member of society.

They’re cryptic and have a way of giving you a sombre, reflective feeling that usually seems to stick with you long after you’re rescued by the sunshine. They’re simply stunning pieces of architecture that have to be experienced to be appreciated, and that’s truly what it is: an experience.

We were fortunate enough to arrive at about the same time as a German choir, which added a rich warmth to the place as we wandered through the exhibit and identified familiar names. It definitely fed the musician in me anyway. The harmonies were spotless and not a single voice waivered the entire time. I was a bit concerned that I could possibly fall to my doom in the tower, but once I realized this wasn’t the case, I was quite disappointed that we missed the last tour. No matter. There were plenty more sights to keep us amused. It just means we’ll have to make a repeat visit!

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We walked The Walls, which prompted quite a bit of chatter about the huge drop off the side, the odd sprinkling of fence, and the fact that I suggested we bring Carolyn in a wheelchair.

We walked past the remnants of the great castle, which time has withered away to nothing more than an empty shell of the great palace it must have once been. We visited the famous Shambles, and as we went, Tim fed my imagination with a multitude of historical tidbits and tales of what used to be. Of particular interest was something that also has a reputation for being the smallest in the country.

Whip-Ma-Wop-Ma-Gate or Whitnourwhatnourgate in Anglo-Saxon is the smallest street with the longest name. A whopping 3.5 metres! Believe it or not, that’s what I’m standing in front of. (It was windy! Give me a break! I hate pictures…)

It was definitely a full day by the time we got back to the flat. My feet had their own heartbeat thanks to walking on uneven stones, months of sitting on my backside, and an obscene amount of climbing. I was tired, but content. I’m sure I dreamed of knights and ladies that night. Oh! I also had the most delicious lamb sandwich. Should have gotten two!

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As if they hadn’t spoiled me enough, Tim and Carolyn managed to outdo themselves by giving me a trip to Harrogate’s Turkish Baths. Talk. About. Heavenly! Well, I had to get over a few things first.

My primary concern was my terrifying fear of water. I can’t stand it. Just the thought of that water getting close to my neck makes my blood run cold even now. If that wasn’t scary enough, I have to do it in a swimsuit! I know right? I’m sure Karyn Fleeting heard the screams coming from the locals for miles before they ever reached her. Blame my proper Canadian upbringing, but I’m just not very comfortable with public nudity. It just feels…odd and makes me horribly self-conscious, and in a swimsuit, I may as well be naked cuz…never mind. Let’s just say, it’s not a good thing for any of us.

Hot and Cold

Tim, being the smart guy that he is, knew better than to get involved in this, so he dropped Carolyn and I off and headed to the pub. After registering, Carolyn and I were eventually escorted off to change into our suits, get our instructions & tour the spa.

The first step in this mysterious set of female rituals is a rest in the steam room. Perfect, I thought. The heavy steam was just what I needed to get used to the idea of wandering around half naked in public. I eventually started to relax until I looked to my left. I was starting to think the lack of coffee was hitting me worse than I thought.

I looked again. Then looked a third time to make sure I really was seeing what I thought I was seeing before blushing like stupid because I realized I just looked three times at what I looked at. Let’s just put it this way…this girl was just as much of an…uh…enthusiast as I was shy. I wasn’t sure if I should ask her name, so I never did catch it, but let’s just call her Cheeky, shall we?

Anyway, by this point, Carolyn and I were getting pretty restless and were ready to go on to the next step, which is fondly referred to by the staff as the ‘Plunge Pool’. In Canada, it’s eerily similar to what we call a ‘polar bear dip’. Before I get to the excitement of that, however, let me introduce you to a fun game Carolyn and I played called ‘Surprise!’

In this fun little exercise, we have to get under the shower and rinse off. But here’s the fun part: ready? You don’t know if it’s hot or cold! It was a bit like doing a blind taste test, but with a lot more sharp inhaling and cringing.

We left the showers, hung up our towels, and braced ourselves for the inevitable experience. And holy crap was it cold! I wasn’t sure if I was shaking more from fear of the water or the cold. We were supposed to stay there until our bodies reached the temperature of the water, but I was ready to get out. Good thing too. My legs were all rubbery from the heat change and threatening to give out on me at any second.

We then proceeded to the first of three hot rooms. We roasted there, played Surprise, froze in the plunge pool, and got into the second room, with Cheeky right behind. Once we couldn’t take sitting still any longer the heat, we played Surprise, took the plunge and ended up in the last room, which was held at a steady 160C heat.

Carolyn and I both noted that, even though it didn’t seem like we had really done anything, we both felt terribly relaxed. We agreed that, next time we go, we’re going to order massages. If you ever make a trip there, be sure to get it.

We collected the lost boy from the pub and walked over to the famous Betty’s Tea Room.

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Again, being in a fancy place like this is nothing new, as it wasn’t my first time, but it was my first official, lady-like English tea. Well, screw the tea, I had coffee! The best coffee I’ve ever tasted. Hands down! Tim and Carolyn also ordered these towers of odd looking sandwiches (with no crusts! *sniggle*), treats, and goodies.

I have to admit that it really was tons of fun. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like some of it and was worried I WOULD like it if I tried it. It took most of the tea to relax enough, but those towers of treats! Wow! I couldn’t believe it was all for me! I don’t think I’ve eaten that much sugar since my mom left me at home alone with an unattended brown sugar pail.

In the end, I decided I could definitely get used to that kind of thing. It was also decided that I’d need a butler of my own and I’d need to marry a rich old guy who could afford to send me to Harrogate and Betty’s Tea Room on a weekly basis. (By the way, the Turkish Baths left my hair and skin so silky smooth and soft! It was great! You had to be there…Anyway…)

We did all sorts of other things I didn’t mention here like going to my first 3D movie (Toy Story 3!) and I don’t think we could have fit in any more activities if we tried. But, before I knew it, I was back in *shudder* London being kicked sent back to reality home.

I cried, Carolyn cried, and while Tim would never admit it in a million years, I’m pretty sure he would have cried too if no one else was around. (We’ll just let him maintain that macho image. You and I know different )

Again, I just want to thank Tim and Carolyn for everything, from the bottom of my little maple leaf shaped heart. It was truly the trip of a lifetime, and one I’ll remember forever, particularly when I’m old and losing my marbles. I’ll never be able to repay your kindnesses, but I’ll certainly do my best.

This trip was also highly educational for someone who has lived much of her life in the Canadian Prairies. Sarah Carling, this is where you’ll want to pay close attention. I know you’re moving to the city, but there are still some important things you need to know about us Canadians.

You see, this might come as a shock to you, but you’re weird! So, in an attempt to help make your move a little easier, I’ve created you a ‘how to tell the difference between a Brit and a Canadian’ guide you’ll have to check out tomorrow.

Other Posts In the Series:
A Canadian in the UK: An Introduction (Part 1)
ThinkVisibility Conference Coverage (Part 2)
A Day Spent In Leeds (Part 3)
Brits VS Canucks: What I Discovered (Part 5)

Think Visibility: Why I Traveled 15,272 Kms For My First Conference — Part 3

Of course, after Think Visability was the famous DrinkVis, which included more socializing and possibly a few beverages of the wild kind. I have to admit that I think I laughed more during this, and well, this entire trip, than I ever have in my life. It was truly an experience.

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To save you the monotony, I’ll tell you we did skip to the Sky Lounge. I have to admit I really didn’t like it much. It was crowded, expensive, uncomfortable, and apparently, they don’t want you sitting or standing anywhere else but right in front of the bar!

Honestly, the rest of my trip really went by in a blur of activity.

The day after ThinkVis will forever be etched in my mind. I couldn’t think of any better way to spend a day, aside from sharing it with my kidlet next time.

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We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning and headed out into the fresh morning air in search of food. Now, normally, I don’t eat breakfast and often skip lunch. I simply consume kegs of coffee while checking Twitter, Facebook, and my email, nagging my kid to get ready for school, and forcing myself to get dressed and organized for the day, but boy am I glad I made an exception.

We enjoyed a leisurely stroll along canal and the quaint stone streets of Leeds, and it really like walking in a fairy tail. The old buildings climbed along the horizon, marked by the resilient ivy and vines growing between the stones. The strain of time easily seen on their facades. The morning sun gave the greenery just enough of a glow to make everything look new. You couldn’t help but wonder about the lives that walked these same steps centuries earlier.

Instead of the roar of planes, cars and sirens, the morning was settled with an almost odd calm that enveloped the old and new features of the city, bringing it all together into a picture perfect day. Until I was greeted by a traditional and stereotypical English sight: A whole pig on a spit.

We’d reached the markets.

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All I could think of was ‘holy crap! Robin Hood!’ It was just like in the movies, except it was smack dab in the middle of a white butcher’s cart. I could instantly picture guys lined up at a big wood table holding a pig’s leg in one hand and a draught of beer in the other.

This was the best! You see, us Canucks are farmers and ranchers by nature, but we don’t have markets like this. We buy practically everything from the store, with the exception of the little farmer’s markets we have once a week (which is actually just a few tables) and the Hutterites who knock on the door once a week.

These markets were buzzing with life, delicious smells, and the sounds I imagine filled that same market hundreds of years prior. Children’s faces were flushed with excitement, older couples slowly made their way past the various wares and every cart had something to see or taste. Blood pudding, sweet garlic, tasty jams, homemade breads, and fresh meats. It was almost like a day at grandma’s house! I had hit the jackpot!

After Tim bought half the market what he’d need for that night’s supper, I got my first bacon buttie and we headed down yet another stone street towards the modern shopping area in city centre. We enjoyed a coffee…ok, well, I enjoyed a coffee…watched the local wildlife as it headed home for the day, and we headed back to the flat.

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Our next outing that afternoon involved a trip to what is probably my favourite place on Earth (If you’re a Facebook friend, you probably already know this bit, but bear with me.)

The Leeds Armouries!

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We had to walk through the museum to get tickets, which was an odd sort of torture, I thought. I mean, the museum was full of armour, swords, and other curious objects I’ve spent my life reading about, so this was a real personal thrill. (I should add that we were able to take in a small portion of it, and it really was as fascinating as I thought. Tim looked like he was bored out of his mind and was probably reliving childhood nightmares of studying history textbooks, but I give him huge points for putting up with me.) Before I knew it, it was time to head over to the stands for the falconry.

I’ve seen many of the birds during previous trips to the zoo, but this was a real treat. I heard all about each one and learned all about the art of falconry, discovered why certain breeds made better hunters than others, and got closer to the birds than I’d ever had before as you can tell from the screech I let out when it came closer than I’d thought.

The jesses jingled on their ankles as they swooped gracefully through the air after bits of meat the falconer tossed into the air. It was then I realized why it was such a popular hobby for the lords and ladies who once roamed the countryside.

It was a real super-nerd moment, and embarrassingly enough, I was like a little kid waiting patiently for her first taste of ice cream. If the locals didn’t think us Canadians were weird before this, they definitely do now.

To my benefit, I’m pretty sure there weren’t any other Canadians about, so they have no one to compare me to and have no idea how freakish I really am. (My apologies to any Canucks who have to endure the side effects of this in the future.)

We did walk through the mews where the birds were held and the horses stood anticipating the work they knew was coming. I was surprised how small these horses were in comparison to the ones I’m used to working with, but when you consider the weight of the armour they have to carry, it makes sense…anyway, on to the sword play, cabbages and jousting!

Heh, I’ll let the video show you what I saw, but I have to admit, I was in dork heaven!

After we returned, Tim slaved over a hot stove and sweated to make a lovely meal for Carolyn, Kevin Prince, and I, before we relaxed and turned in for the night.

Technically, I did meet Kevin Prince, developer extraordinaire, the night before, but I would like to thank him again for joining us for supper. Kevin is a smart, savvy tech geek with an obsession passion for Mac products. I’d gotten to know him a bit before this, so it was great to put a face to the name. I hope to chat more with him in the future.

While I’m at it, I want to say thank you again to Tim and Carolyn for the wonderful supper, birthday present, and card. Really, it was completely unnecessary and unexpected. I won’t tell you that it made me cry later on either. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Want to guess where we went next?

Other Posts In the Series:
A Canadian in the UK: An Introduction (Part 1)
ThinkVisibility Conference Coverage (Part 2)
Visiting Harrogate and York (Part 4)
Brits VS Canucks: What I Discovered (Part 5)

Think Visibility: Why I Traveled 15,272 Kms For My First Conference — Part 2

Hugs, Hellos, Pool and SEOs

(Time went pretty quickly at this point, and I’m sure I’ll forget to add some names in here, but please don’t kill me. We were only there for a short time and there were so many hellos and hugs, it was really hard to keep track and remember everything until I got back. My bad. See the intro in Part 1 for an explanation.)

There was the famous Dom Hodgson, the mind, brawn and face of Think Visibility! After collecting on the IOU1Hug, we got a few moments to chat before he was once again off and running. I will admit that my first thought was ‘OMG He looks just like he does on the Internet!’

There was his lovely other half Heather Burke (left). That poor girl looked like she was running off her feet, and by the end of the night, she was ready to go home. We need to get more time in chatting together!

I got to say hello and shake hands with the infamous Shaun Anderson, also known as Hobo Web. I’ve followed his thoughts and ramblings on the Internet for around 4 years now, so it was a thrill to finally put a face to the name. I should also warn you that he really doesn’t look like his Twitter avatar. I think it’s the suit…totally threw me off.

And then there was Rishi Lankhani. Poor guy. I felt sorry for him really. Probably thought I was some sort of stalkerish Canuck reject. I couldn’t help it. Rishi is another person I’ve encountered many times online and I’ve become a huge fan of his writing. We also seemed to hit it off quite well after discussing the purchase of drinkinganddomainbuyingdontmix.com. Long story.

There was Amrit Gill, who I had the pleasure of meeting through the SEO Dojo. And again, I was shocked to discover that he didn’t look much like his Twitter pic either. He’s a bright, high energy person full of positive vibes and always good for a great chat on various search topics. Definite ace in my books.

I’d never met or chatted to Alistair MacDonald prior to this, but had heard all sorts of good stuff about this tech geek. I’m happy to say he didn’t disappoint. We’d gotten the opportunity to chat several times during Think Visibility and never seemed to run out of things to say. The same could be said for Caius Durling, who had the dubious honour of being stuck in the car park lift during the conference. Poor guy. He was having the oddest streak of luck.

It’s Time To Get the Think Visibility Conference Started

Boy was I excited and nervous the morning of the conference! I could hardly wait to get started. In fact, I was one of the first people there. Before I knew it, however, people were arriving…

There was Dan Alderson

Michael Montgomery

and the lovely Tahera Dudhwala, all from MEC:

Now, anyone who has had the stress pleasure of working with these guys will know how much they keep you on your toes fun they really are. Meeting them in person was no exception. We had an absolute blast, got a few good shots in, and by the end of the day, it was tough to say goodbye. And Tahera, you keep those guys in line until I get back!

Meeting Peter Young of Holistic Search was another highlight of the day. We’ve ‘known’ each other for quite a while and have had several in depth chats. Sadly, we simply didn’t get a chance to have any really good chats in person. To make up for it, however, I will be making a guest appearance there in the near future, so watch his blog for that! (I know! You’re all excited! I can feel the energy!)

Karyn Fleeting of the famous Tinderbox Media was a real treat for me. In addition to being a smart and articulate lady, she’s as delightful in person as she is online. She gets extra brownie points for living in one of my new favourite places, Harrogate (for reasons you’ll find out about later).

Have you heard of Sorbet Digital and it’s search queen Carla Marshal? She’s another delightful lady battling it out with the men to get businesses seen and heard in the SERPs. My only regret meeting Carla? Like others I was fortunate to catch up with, we didn’t get a good solid chat in. Carla, we need to head out for coffee next time!

The Scott search extraordinaire Clarke Duncan? Search and dev geek Ian Pouncy? How about Chris Clarkson? Or Microsoft’s Mel Carson? Yup, that’s right, I met them all too. They were all wonderful and had great things to say. It was intelligent conversation had by all. I would have loved to talk to them all more in depth, but with so many people and so little time, it just wasn’t possible.

I was also able to catch up with the soon-to-be Canuck and British expat Sarah Carling. Sarah…all I’m going to say is “boy are you in for an experience!” I’ll explain this shortly as well…

To this point, I’ve failed to meet the esteemed Craig Parker of Soula Digital Marketing Agency. Unlike most people I had the opportunity to meet at ThinkVis, I actually met Craig through a side project started by Justin Parks, rather than through the SEO industry. We actually managed a couple short chats throughout the day, but we never did get the opportunity to talk much about any of our favourite topics including marketing and Internet related foolry. Craig, even though I missed you on the first draft, know that you’re no less important. I totally blame the worldwind vacation and subsequent jet lag!

ThinkVisibility Talks

Dom stood in front of an excited crowd that morning, as he welcomed everyone to the conference and introduced the sponsors. Well, as excited as a group of search people at a conference at 9am are going to look, I suppose (They got livelier as the day went on. Trust me.). Personally, I enjoyed getting familiar with new companies and brands I’d never heard of before as well as seeing familiar brands upclose and personal. It’s a Canuck thing.

Mel Carson ‘Gets’ All Social

The opening talk was Mel Carson on his experience with Social Media Marketing. I thought it was an entertaining review of the basics. What I particularly enjoyed was getting the unique opportunity to see tidbits of Microsoft’s experience with the medium. The sheer size of their campaign creates specific issues and advantages that most of us just don’t get to see.

After that, I had to choose which sessions I was going to attend. In true freak form, I seemed to pick the opposite sessions of the majority, but this too worked to my advantage. Actually, now that I think about it, it was a subconscious stroke of brilliance; I got to read about the other talks, so I essentially missed very little.

Morning Think Visibility Talks

Anyway, the talks I did catch included:

• Rob Kerry’s talk on international SEO. It inspired me to write this post on the finer points of international copy.
• Ian Pouncey’s talk on accessibility. I’ll probably get shot for saying this, but accessibility is one thing I haven’t actually sat down and considered. Not like this. I found his approach to opening the web up to physically challenged individuals a refreshing change that has since prompted a new look at the websites I work with daily. Being a copywriter, I’m pretty limited, but I look forward to using the concepts in my future work.
• The site clinic in the afternoon was likely the highlight of the day for me and the one I was most concerned about attending. I was honestly expecting the entire session to include a debate over one or two elements of a sample website. I was thoroughly surprised. I was fascinated to see how different Dave Naylor’s thoughts on each site approached the site in comparison to Michelle Pilcher. Kieron Donoghue offered more insight and Dr. Karl Blanks’ insights on conversion optimization were really priceless. The four opinions together really made already great sites amazing. Rishi Lakhani was one of the lucky attendees to get a site on the chopping block.
• Being a fan of conversion optimization, there was no way I was missing CRO expert Dr. Karl Blanks’ talk on conversion optimization. If I had to complain, I would say that it could have easily been two or three times as long because I’d have loved for him to go deeper into the subject. However, the presentation was a great overview of the 15 main elements and it had several good tips including some tools I’m eager to play with.

After that, I’m afraid I absolutely had to bail. After all the excitement and the flight, I was completely shattered and fighting not to fall asleep during the presentations. The talks I did miss, I quickly caught up with online and was horribly disappointed I missed them. (On a side note, Dom? Could we have Karyn Fleeting and Paul Madden’s talks on different times next year? I’m so glad I didn’t have to choose!)

Anyway, here are the talks I missed:

• Keyword Domains and Mini-Sites — Gary Taylor (Kieron Hughes’ live blogging is here.)
• Using Social Media for SEO — Lisa Myers
• Affiliate Marketing Technologies — Kevin Edwards (P
• Link Building in Real Life: A Practical Guide To Dominating the SERPs — Jaamit Durrani (Peter’s live blogging)

• What Would a Spammer Do? — Paul Madden
• Press Release and Publicity — Karyn Fleeting

• How To Gain Ranking Dominance In Any Market Sector — Dave Naylor (Dave Chaffey’s live blogging here)

I couldn’t find any content for Paul’s talk, but I have a theory about this:

Everyone was far too enthralled with all the information they were getting that they forgot to share. After hearing all the buzz afterward, we all know that’s the case. I forgive you (Carla from Sorbet Digital did have a bit on it, so I wasn’t completely honest.)

In short, it was one of the best times I’ve ever had.

Angie’s Copywriting Gets Connected

The connections I made were positively priceless, and the opportunity to talk about my favourite subjects with people who could actually comprehend what I was saying? Uplifting and amazing.

Dom, I’d like to thank you and the team again for all the work you put into the conference and for having me. It was truly a delight and well worth the travel. I’d also like to thank you for the beautiful iPhone cover from GadgetGlamour. It was absolutely amazing and beautiful.

(It’s a cover made from my site graphics…I’d take a picture, but the stickers are already on my phone, which doubles as my camera.) I’ve already got some great ideas for the funkily fantastic products Rick produces over there. I’m not telling you what my idea is just in case you steal my idea. We both know you would. (Dom, *cough* business cards *cough*.) Anyway, I really and truly enjoyed it and can’t wait to attend the next one.

I also got to meet Rick Jesse personally during the conference, and it really was my pleasure. He screams creativity (ok…fine…the funky style gave you away) and has a level of customer service not often seen in online business.

Know what I’m going to recommend you do? Go to the next Think Visibility!

(Pictures are courtesy of the extremely talented Steven Lilley who has more ThinkVis pics and is on Twitter. The other photographer with amazing ThinkVis pics is Martin Cunningham, who is also on Twitter.)

Other Posts In the Series:

A Canadian in the UK: An Introduction (Part 1)
A Day Spent In Leeds (Part 3)
Visiting Harrogate and York (Part 4)
Brits VS Canucks: What I Discovered (Part 5)

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