Recommendations for specified construction product marketing - for the sales and marketing manager wanting to increase specifications (and sales) of their products through their website.
This section of 4specs is intended to help the marketing and sales manager of a construction product manufacturer increase their knowledge of how to get their products specified by architects, engineers and specifiers. Most of our newsletters are listed here, categorized by the information they contain.
Our Selling to Architects & Specifiers Series
Our 2014-2015 Newsletters
Our 2013-2014 Series on Web Design
Our 2012-2013 Series on Questions to Ask Your Web Designer
Our 2009-2011 Series on Website Design for Building Product Manufacturers
This series of newsletters is based on "What I would do if I were your employee" providing step by step actions to bring your website under control and make it easy to maintain in the future.
Starting to Think About Your 2010 Website? - August 2009
Five Tools to Diagnose Your Website - September 2009
People and Tools to Use - October 2009
First Steps to Take in Your Website Redesign - November 2009
Favicon Images - December 2009
Using the Google Sitemap Program to Improve Your Website - March 2010
What Are Your Actual Key Words? - May 2010
Speed, Speed, Speed and more Speed - June 2010
Server Setup - September 2010
Move Your Business Email to Google Aps - February 2011
Can a Website Be Too Simple - April 2011
Start Tracking and Optimizing Your Business Today! - August 2011
Related Newsletters
Influencing Specifications: The 5 Costliest Manufacturer Mistakes - December 2011
Local Product Shows – More Than a Sales Opportunity (January 2011)
The Construction Market Landscape (November 2011)
A summary of our talk at the CSI Convention in 2004. It sums up what we think a marketing manager needs to know to effectively use the Internet in marketing to architects, engineers and specifiers.
Are you planning a major revision or update to your site? I look at a 1,000 websites a month and see lots of websites that could be easily improved.
What Should You be Planning for 2008 Web Site Revisions?
Our 2008/2009 Website Updating Newsletter Series
If you do not know how your visitors got to your website, how can you increase the number? Otherwise stated, unless you know your website stats, you are shooting in the dark and probably wasting your advertising dollars.
How to Understand Your Web Site Activity
Set up Google Analytics in 20 minutes or less
Tracking Website Stats - another newsletter article
Your Website Is Up. What's Next? Our perspective about using the Internet for marketing to architects and engineers. These articles formed the basis for my talk at the CSI Convention at Chicago in April 2004.
Site Maps - an easy way to get more search engine visitors
How Does a Specifier Use Your Website?
What is the Purpose of Your Website?
What Does an Architect or Engineer Want to Find on Your Website?
Get Specified - Information for manufacturers wanting to get their products specified by architects and engineers.
Getting Your Products Specified on LEED Projects
Glossy Brochure or 3-Ring Binder - which does your user want?
WebFormat™ - our suggested website design.
Marketing in the Future - The Next 5-10 Years (2005)
Winning Through Faster Website Updating
Complete List of 4specs Newsletters and Articles
Paid advertising can be expensive. Through effective design (or redesign) of your website, you can substantially increase the number of free visitors. For one advertiser, several simple changes (costing perhaps $500) increased the number of free referrals from Google from 100 per month to 100 per day!
Jakob Nielsen - UseIt Column - 3 or so newsletters a month and a great archive of past newsletters.
SearchEngineNews - Subscription based newsletter covering the latest in Search Engine News.
Web Page Analyzer - Web Page Speed Analysis