I meant to write this earlier today. It's off topic, sorry. I was watching the speeches of the candidates last night from Iowa after the returns came in and was struck by Mrs. Clinton's apparent indifference to Mr. Clinton standing behind her on the stage. Throughout all my many years, during which men dominated the national political scene, it seems to me in most cases the men acknowleged their wives. Must be a guy thing?

Come to think of it, I watched Mr. Huckabee's speech, too and don't recall a Mrs. Huckabee. Mr. Edwards let Mrs. Edwards lead off. I guess the times are changing… maybe… sort of?

I'm apolitical by the way. I just watch and listen to learn more about marketing and positioning and taglines. I liked Mr. Edwards' line this morning in New Hampshire. He said something like, "The status quo is yesterday. Change is tomorrow. Tomorrow starts today." Kind of clever for a politician. I bet they worked on that on the plane the whole way, don't you?

Remember: On election day, vote early and vote often.

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It is 7 degrees in Boston this morning. It was 3 degrees yesterday morning. That's why when the Burpee catalog shows up this time of year, it's a treat. I sat down with it last evening at the kitchen island, thumbed through the pages of flowers and plants and silly accessories few real gardeners often use (my favorite stuff, by the way), and completed an order for $157.80. It is about 120 days until May, I can't afford to go to Miami, but for an hour or two I was on a more or less free trip to Memorial Day in New England. Thank you, Burpee. But…

Can anyone tell me why Burpee's website doesn't offer any interactive, online community of gardening activists hosted by Burpee seed and plant experts? Wouldn't that seem like a no-brainer?

On page 112 of my Burpee catalog they offer 13 pumpkin choices. Since I have a terminal case of decision deficit syndrome, this page stopped me for about a half hour while I tried to figure out if my five year old, her name is Her Majesty, would enjoy the Big Max or Lumina variety over Baby Boo or Rouge Vif d'Etamps, which Burpee describes as "A big, beautiful French heirloom from the 1880's. Like 'Cinderella's carrige,' it is heavily ribbed and bright red…a classic for soups."

I would like to have talked with others in this region — I'm in 'Hardiness Zone 6' I think according to the Burpmeister — about their experience, if any, with these seeds. I'm also ordering some stuff for building raised beds, but I want to know if the corner and anchor stakes from Burpee make the lumber wobble proof. In fairness, Burpee offers a customer service phone number. But you know what? I want to talk to people like me who have no vested interest in whether or not I buy something. Seems to me if Burpee offered an online community where like minded people could talk about their shared experiences trying to grow ageratum, for example (p. 22 in the catalog) more of us might spend more money and more of what we spend on this hobby would be spent with Burpee.

Last night, I was sure about my order and planned to mail it in today. This morning… um, I'm not so sure. I should save the money, buy my seeds at the grocery store perhaps, and rig up some raised beds from left over lumber by the shed out back.

[Photo Credit and Source]

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When a prospect comes to your website and scans your landing page, they decide in just a few seconds whether to bail or stick around. When making this decision, they consider two things:

• Does this page look hard or complicated?
• Is this page relevant to my search query?

Design, copy, font size, and form length all influence the former. To influence the latter, make sure your page (especially the headline) directly connects to the search term. Also, keep in mind that this isn’t your home page, so remove your main navigation. Simpler pages almost always work better for lead generation. The navigation draws attention away from your offer and conversion action. Worse, each link is an invitation for the visitor (which you paid for) to click away instead of converting.

Lastly, don’t try and collect too much information at once. If you met someone interesting at a bar, you wouldn’t ask for a ton of information like their annual income – you’d simply get his or her contact information so you could build the relationship over time. The same is true for landing pages. Every field you ask reduces your conversion rate, so collect as little information as you really need to route the lead and stay in touch. You can always collect more during your nurturing process.

I will be the first to admit that if I am directed to a site that does not immediately impress me I won’t even give it a second chance. Most visitors react this way, which should provide everyone with the motivation to create a good landing page, or else what is the point of pay-per-click advertising if your landing page ends up driving potential clients away!

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