This week in e-commerce news, iShopUSA makes it easier for Yahoo Store owners to do international business and ImageSpan, which manages digital content licensing and billing, announced a new online media tracking service.
Also in the headlines, two companies, Jivox, which helps e-tailers create video ads, and VerticalResponse, an e-mail marketing firm, get in the holiday spirit with special pricing offers, but Shopzilla plays the Grinch with a rate increase. Meanwhile, coupon site Tjoos.com says business is booming as shoppers clamor for discounts, and, finally, Click Forensics releases its click fraud stats for the third quarter.
Yahoo Store Owners Going Global
International e-commerce firm iShopUSA, which helps e-tailers sell overseas by managing the transaction and shipping, just announced that it will work with Yahoo Store owners under a new partnership with KingWebmaster.
While Yahoo currently provides tools for receiving international orders, iShopUSA integrates its technology into the e-tailer's site to facilitate the transactions and offers a host of services including export and import documentation.
The company processes foreign forms of payment with anti-fraud identity verification and provides merchants with currency conversion and guaranteed funds in U.S. dollars, export and import compliance and documentation, management of exchanges and returns and multi-lingual customer care.
Customers browse through the e-tailer's Web store and choose the "International Checkout" button to be connected to iShopUSA's interface, which offers the same options as a domestic transaction.
Since traditional shipping methods available to the general public and Yahoo sellers do not protect against fraudulent purchases or potential charge-backs, Web shop owners that employ iShopUSA are safeguarded against international credit card fraud because funds are guaranteed in U.S. dollars on behalf of the merchant, according to the company. iShopUSA handles returns and exchanges and takes on the risk associated with abandoned packages and charge-backs. (For more information on iShopUSA, see related story in our Editor's Picks.)
Finding Your Stuff Online So You Get Paid
ImageSpan Inc., which provides a digital content licensing and billing settlement platform, announced the addition of a new online media tracker to its Web-based LicenseStream Creator PRO service. The company says it's one of the first services to offer both tracking and licensing to creators and owners of photos, videos and illustrations used or sold online.
LicenseStream Creator PRO offers additional licensing, reporting and publishing flexibility and options to the standard LicenseStream service for photographers, videographers, illustrators and other providers of digital content.
The new tracker helps content creators find their digital content online, providing them with a view into where and how it is used. ImageSpan has also added automated options to convert non-paying content consumers into paying customers. This helps content creators obtain more value from their photos, video and other digital assets as they get distributed on the Web.
LicenseStream Creator PRO lets subscribers embed into their content's metadata terms of use, including where the content can be used, for how long, in what geographies and so on. The new tracker continuously monitors billions of photographs, videos and other content on the Internet to locate a LicenseStream subscriber's digital assets with high rates of accuracy, according to the company.
In instances where terms of use for content have been infringed, a subscriber can select from any number of automatically generated e-mail responses. These range from offering the opportunity to legally license the content, to requesting a link back to the content owner's site, inserting the content owner's ad feed, sharing ad revenues or issuing a take-down request. The service monitors to see when action is taken and reports back to the content owner. (For more information on ImageSpan, see the related story in our Editor's Picks).
Video Ad Holiday Special with Elves
Jivox, an online video advertising service, is rolling out a new promotion for the holidays. Between today and Dec. 31, 2008, advertisers that spend $500 with Jivox will receive a $500 credit for additional Jivox online video advertising.
To assist companies in developing these holiday ads, Jivox has also added a new library of holiday-themed videos, images and audio to its easy to use ad creative tool. From cute and sentimental images to humorous and fun videos, this new gallery provides a range of options for small businesses to find the perfect fit for their holiday promotions.
"The holidays are a critical time of year for many small businesses. As consumers tighten their belts in a sagging economy, companies need to be more creative than ever to get people in the door," Diaz Nesamoney, CEO of Jivox, said in a statement. "Taking advantage of services like Jivox to create and distribute locally targeted online video ads can help main street businesses to be competitive this holiday season."
Jingle Bell Rock with Jivox: Tips for Q4 Video Ads
Online video advertising is growing at a faster rate than any other type of interactive marketing, with companies drawn to the medium because it can generate twice the click-through rate of banner ads, according to the company. But how can smaller companies create effective, holiday-themed video ads on a budget? Jivox suggests the following for creating online video ads for the holidays:
- Keep it simple.
Simple, concise ads work best online. Viewers don't want to read large volumes of text on their computer screen. To stand out, your ad needs to be clean and concise.
- Call out the benefits. Research shows that people decide if they want to read more about a topic on a Web site in eight seconds or less. Ads that contain specific, immediate benefits, such as a holiday promotion or discount, resonate strongly.
- Be smart about type size. Jivox recommends no more than two type sizes in one ad, with the largest type size on top. Also, never use more than two fonts and avoid using all caps.
- Use relevant visuals. The visuals in a video ad should be eye catching and communicate a relevant message. Clean, simple graphics are more likely to catch the eye of the viewer.
- Test and re-test. Experiment with different creative, formats and messages to find the combination that works the best. Set aside a portion of your budget to test different approaches so that you can see how response rates fluctuate when you change the visuals, call-to-action, price points or add a promotional offer.
For more information on Jivox, read our related story in the Editor's Picks.
(Continue to Page 2 for News on E-Mail Marketing, Click Fraud and Creative Coupon Marketing)
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