1ShoppingCart Should Be Monitoring Google Alert!

So, you know I’ve been complaining about 1ShoppingCart’s unreasonable 30% increase over the past couple of weeks, and I’m looking for a solid replacement program (besides Infusionsoft, which I’ll graduate to one of these days… just a bit expensive just yet). Well, I’m surprised that 1SC hasn’t been monitoring Google Alerts for people who are …

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1ShoppingCart’s Losing My Business

I’m shocked and then not overly surprised by what I learned recently. 1ShoppingCart is raising their prices, giving us just 7 days notice before they do so. I thought it was just the basic package but no, it’s the Pro package too. They want me to happily fork over an additional $30 a month on …

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Three Tips for Crafting an Effective, Tweetable Message

Few social networks sum up public discourse more effectively than Twitter. Thanks to its short-form nature and enormous audience, a single topic of discussion can often evolve into a completely natural case study for marketers. Be it immense disapproval or the immense success of a single meme, Twitter offers a unique look into conversation. But …

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Do You Give Up? Or Follow Up?

Every marketing strategy that you initiate requires the same thing to be successful. You’ve got to follow up. You wisely got the action started with the charismatic social chat, the person-to-person contact, the dynamic delivery of your presentation. You’ve worked every crowded room and attended networking events three or four times a month. However, each of these …

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30 Business Quotes

“Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you imagine it.”  – George Lucas “Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.” – Mark Zuckerberg “We mustn’t let our passions destroy our dreams.”  – Anonymous “Being able to touch so many people through my businesses and …

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1ShoppingCart Should Be Monitoring Google Alert!1ShoppingCart’s Losing My BusinessThree Tips for Crafting an Effective, Tweetable MessageDo You Give Up? Or Follow Up?30 Business Quotes

May 09

1ShoppingCart Should Be Monitoring Google Alert!

Categories:

Affiliate Marketing, Online Marketing, Website Strategies

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So, you know I’ve been complaining about 1ShoppingCart’s unreasonable 30% increase over the past couple of weeks, and I’m looking for a solid replacement program (besides Infusionsoft, which I’ll graduate to one of these days… just a bit expensive just yet). Well, I’m surprised that 1SC hasn’t been monitoring Google Alerts for people who are talking about their product. And if they are, it’s even more disappointing that they haven’t contacted any of us. You’d think they’d want to do what they could to keep our business. But nothin, notta. Well, after all, we do have to pay for support. LOL

I honestly haven’t had a ton of time to delve into it, but I did sign up for Premium Web Cart’s trial and they’re looking pretty good so far. I’ve only added a couple of products but it was simple and quick to do so. And, I really need to delve into the affiliate management end of things to make sure it’s up to snuff and will provide me with all that I need.

Are any of you using Premium Web Cart? Do you love it?

I’m still not married to anything. So, if you have any suggestions for a shopping cart with a stellar afiliate module or plug in, bring it on. I’d love to test it out. I don’t want to settle, be unhappy and then have to move again. It’s just too much work!

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let me know what you’re using. Pros, cons, recommendations or warnings!

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Apr 25

1ShoppingCart’s Losing My Business

Categories:

Online Marketing, Website Strategies

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I’m shocked and then not overly surprised by what I learned recently. 1ShoppingCart is raising their prices, giving us just 7 days notice before they do so. I thought it was just the basic package but no, it’s the Pro package too. They want me to happily fork over an additional $30 a month on top of the $99 a month I’ve already been paying?

First, they take away our support – making it a paid service, and then they want to raise my package to $129 a month?

I don’t think so.

So, I’ve been researching alternatives. I think I’ve narrowed it down to a couple but would love to have your input if you’ve had any experience with these two shopping carts:

  1. WordPress eStore + WordPress Affiliate Software
  2. Ejunkie

The WordPress eStore + Affiliate Software charges a one-time fee of just $79 for both plugins, with free future updates. It looks pretty simple to implement but would love your take on it if you’ve worked with it before.

Ejunkie is $27 a month for up to 120 products. Also seems pretty easy to work with.

I’m looking to get rid of my merchant account altogether, and simplify things by just using PayPal (much more accepted and even requested these days.)

What do you think?

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Apr 25

Three Tips for Crafting an Effective, Tweetable Message

Categories:

Online Marketing

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Few social networks sum up public discourse more effectively than Twitter. Thanks to its short-form nature and enormous audience, a single topic of discussion can often evolve into a completely natural case study for marketers. Be it immense disapproval or the immense success of a single meme, Twitter offers a unique look into conversation.

But how can you make that conversation happen, regardless of your particular product, sales team, or industry? While it’s very difficult to create conversation out of nothing, particularly for a product or service that’s just patently uninteresting, it’s very easy to optimize a discussion so that it spreads throughout the social media landscape like wildfire.

Apply these three tactics to your next Twitter promotion, compare them against your past experiences, and learn what a bit of creative copywriting tweaks can do to your social media ROI.

1) Learn to love the ‘…’

Add an ellipsis to the end of your tweets and you stand to experience a twenty percent increase in click-through traffic. This timeless tweak has been used by performance marketers for decades, both online and off. Whether you’re tweeting a message or advertising a product on Adwords, this simple tweak can help you instantly increase the amount of readers that visit your linked page.

2) Use numbers, instructions, and summaries.

Numbers catch the eye. Instructions can increase involvement. Summaries attract users looking for information, particularly those that want to understand more about a particular topic. These Twitter tricks were all mastered by copywriters years ago, and they’re still just as effective as ever. Use them and you’ll see an increase in traffic.

3) Get people scared, even if there’s nothing to be afraid of.

In order to increase the amount of time that readers spend thinking about your product, it’s important to project a situation in which it isn’t present. If you want to increase sales of your pest removal product, remind readers about the dangers of bed bugs – all at 11:30PM.

Got an investment to pitch? Scare people by reminding them that others could get ahead of them if they choose not to leap at the opportunity. People respond to fear, even if it’s minute and fairly inconsequential. Use ‘fear words’ in your tweets to draw in readers, and use your additional content to make them familiar with your brand, your company, and your product’s advantages.

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Apr 18

Do You Give Up? Or Follow Up?

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Business Success

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Every marketing strategy that you initiate requires the same thing to be successful. You’ve got to follow up. You wisely got the action started with the charismatic social chat, the person-to-person contact, the dynamic delivery of your presentation. You’ve worked every crowded room and attended networking events three or four times a month. However, each of these great initiatives will fall short of their full potential, if you fail to follow-up.

DO IT NOW: The Four Minute Follow Up

When you’re ready to take follow up to the next level, you will never leave home without your follow-up kit. In it you will always have note cards, envelopes and stamps. This will set you apart from every other networker, because you are prepared for the four minute follow up. At the earliest opportunity – in your car, on the train, or even sitting in the now empty meeting room, take the following four steps:

1) Use your collected business cards to hand address #10 envelopes
2) Write a short personal note reviewing your contact
3) Enclose any relevant information you offered to provide
4) Put on the stamp and put it in the mail

Four minutes and you have set yourself apart in a memorable way.

INSIGHT: Hand Written Leaves Them Smitten

Now that you’ve followed up with your targeted contacts you’re on a roll. When you’re back at your desk, take another four minutes and write a note to speakers, presenters or hosts. Thank them for their time, expertise and talent. Include local press clippings, if they’re available. Let them know to whom will be sending referrals. A quote, current or upcoming, from your company newsletter could make you even more memorable. If possible, provide speakers with potential clients for their area of expertise. At the very least, tell them how the contact has been useful to you.

REMINDERS: A Handful of Do’s and 1 Don’t

  • Do send a note or personal letter
  • Do use a #10 envelope
  • Hand addressed, hand stamped
  • Do include a your picture
  • DON’T include a solicitation

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

In less than fifteen minutes you have made a lasting impression. You have not pressured or pushed your own agenda but you will be remembered when your name, business or area of expertise is triggered.

TAKE 2 BUSINESS CARDS & CALL ME IN THE MORNING

You’ve heard us talk about asking for business cards instead of giving them away. With targeted selection of the prospects whom you can help, you now have been given a head start. That business card in your hand gives you have permission to follow up with a phone call, personal card, email letter. You name it… as long as you do it.

EMAIL – Your Silent Partner

By now, we hope we have convinced you that follow-up should be fine-tuned, fast and friendly. It may seem that email is being ignored as we personalize, customize and energize our networking follow-up.

To a certain extent that is true. The goal is to stand out from the masses. Email belongs to the masses. That’s one of its greatest assets. But before we give up on email entirely, let’s ask ourselves if there is a way to benefit from today’s focus on follow up. The answer is a resounding,”Yes!” It comes down to your bottom line, your signature. That’s right. Get your email signature working for you. In the same way that you follow up after a face to face, do the same thing with your email. After your name put your version of “What can I do for you?” It’s a really friendly call to action and it’s free!

After You Follow Up, Follow Through

Okay. You’ve made a great connection. Now you have to follow through even on the follow up. You have to consistently maintain the connection. Following up is different than prospecting. We all know that “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”. However with the personal follow-up you have the opportunity to build on the impression your prospect made on you over and over again.

There are numerous sports metaphors that emphasize that it’s what comes after the contact that is most important. It’s not only important. It must be done repeatedly. Here’s a revised networking version for you to think about, “in networking as in golf, it’s the follow through that makes the difference.” Get ready to make a difference in your networking. Follow up! Thanks for tapping in to “Do You Give Up or Follow Up?”

Drew Hunt has 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, expert networker, and sales executive. Currently Drew is a Chief Network Development Officer at Inspirecard http://www.inspirecard.net. The Inspire Card is a simple yet very powerful marketing platform designed to help you retain your customers while drawing new customers from a community of businesses. The Inspire Card accomplishes these fundamental business goals at a price that EVERYONE can afford!

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Apr 14

30 Business Quotes

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Business Success

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“Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you imagine it.”  - George Lucas

“Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.” – Mark Zuckerberg

“We mustn’t let our passions destroy our dreams.”  – Anonymous

“Being able to touch so many people through my businesses and make money while doing it, is a huge blessing.” – Magic Johnson

“You’ll never achieve your dreams if they don’t become goals.”  – Anonymous

“I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.” – Oprah Winfrey

“It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.”  – Erma Bombeck

“There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning.”  - Christopher Morley

“Success doesn’t come to you? You go to it.” – Marva Collins

“Unless you change how you are,you will always have what you’ve got.” – Unknown

“Success often comes to those who have the aptitude to see way down the road.” Laing Burns, Jr.

“It is easy to get to the top after you get through the crowd at the bottom .” – Unknown

“Unless you’re willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won’t happen.”  – Phillip Adams

“Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.”  – Woody Allen

“As you climb the ladder of success, check occasionally to make sure it is leaning against the right wall.” Anonymous

“Choice, not circumstances, determines your success.”  – Anonymous

On success: “Find a meaningful need and fill it better than anyone else.”  – Anonymous

“Success: willing to do what the average person is not willing to do.”  – Anonymous

“The key to happiness is having dreams. The key to success is making your dreams come true.”  – Anonymous

“You cannot sit on the road to success for if you do, you will get run over.” -  Anonymous

“Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction.” – Al Bernstein #quote

“Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.” – Erma Bombeck

“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”  – Truman Capote

“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”  – Dale Carnegie

“Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.” – Dale Carnegie

“I don’t know the key to success but the key to failure is to try to please everyone.”  – Bill Cosby

“Self-trust is the first secret of success.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Success as I see it, is a result, not a goal.” – Gustave Flaubert

“Failure is success if we learn from it.” – Malcolm Forbes

How true! “Money has little value if you are not happy. Be sure to have fun.” ~ Unknown


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Apr 11

Use A Swipe File for Those Stumped Moments

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Business Success, Online Marketing

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If you are new to writing, you may be full of ideas. You may be able to post on your blog every day without a problem. You may be constantly finding new ideas for content on your website. Unfortunately, there will be a day when writer’s block hits. A day will come when you just “get stuck” and cannot seem to think of anything.

When this day comes, a swipe file can be a real lifesaver. A “swipe file” is a collection of writings that you can go to for inspiration. Please note it is not a collection of work that you copy or plagiarize. There is a big difference! A swipe file is there just to help out in case you get stuck in the creative process.

A big part of the learning process is to mimic what others have already done. As you are reading magazines, newspapers, email, blogs, and web copy, start making mental notes of what catches your attention. What are the things about the writer’s style? Take notice of the fonts, colors, and graphics that were used. You can clip the tangible pieces and save them in a manila folder. And you can create a virtual folder on your computer desktop for the digital items you liked. This is your swipe file.

It does not matter what business these clippings are for. The only thing that matters is that you are in some way inspired by them. If you have a business targeted to mothers with children and you see an ad for basketball jerseys that you like, save it. You can take the things you liked about the ad, article, blog post, etc., and adapt it to fit your business.

Creating your swipe file may be the hardest part because using it is quite easy. For example, let’s say that you recently created an information product that explains how to make homemade gifts. If you find yourself sitting at the computer and trying to come up with an idea for the sales letter, take a look at your swipe file.

Perhaps you had saved an ad for a men’s watch company. Maybe the headline read something like, “It’s Time To Make A Statement.” And perhaps the ad had a graphic centered just below the heading in a way that you found very attractive.

You can adapt those things for your own product. Since the above example is for an information product about homemade gifts, perhaps you can use a heading such as “Avoid The Mall Rush – It’s Time To Get Started Now”, and you can place a graphic of a present or other holiday symbol in the same way that the graphic in the ad was placed.

As you can see, you are not plagiarizing anything that the original author wrote. You are simply taking something you liked and adding your own spin to it. A swipe file is something every writer should have, as they can save you lots of time and frustration.

Personally, rather than file folders, I use binders. I find it much easier to categorize by topic and find things faster.

Do you keep a swipe file yourself? How do you use it and how do you store all your material for quick reference?

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Apr 10

Outsourcing Best Practices

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Outsourcing

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Be clear — When you first start communicating with a potential outsourcer set very clear objectives because if you don’t know what is going on and how to write out exactly what you want done, your contractor will not know what to do either. Make sure that you allow the contractor to ask questions if they are confused about what you want done. Ensure that both parties understand expectations.

Compatibility Issues – There are times where you bring a team member on and your personalities just don’t mesh. It is important to give every new contractor an introductory phase in order to figure out if you can work together. Usually thirty days is enough to determine if you can work together well or not. Alternatively you can give every new contractor a small project to complete on spec, with a clear due date. If they do it correctly and on time, and you get along well then you know you’ve found your outsourcer.

End Product Focused — People to whom you outsource are business owners too and you cannot micromanage the entire process. This is especially true when you are not paying hourly wages but rather are paying by project. If you micro manage the process, you will end up paying much more if you go outside the parameters of the project. Not to mention the fact that most outsourcers will not want to work with you if you are going to take up more time than they bargained for in negotiation, if you want someone at your disposal, hire an employee.

Communicate Clearly — You need to be clear within yourself what you want completed and be able to communicate it effectively in order to hire a great service provider. If you’re a poor communicator do not expect a service provider to read your mind. If you don’t tell them what to do, they’re not going to do anything. Give them clear tasks to accomplish, with clear projects with parameters and you’ll have a smooth experience.

Money issues – The saying “you get what you pay for” is true most of the time, and it is especially true when it comes to hiring service providers. Whether you’re hiring a web designer, a Virtual Assistant, or a content provider be willing to pay them a fair wage for the time they are spending on your projects. Of course, there are times early on in business where you cannot afford a fair wage, therefore you may have to settle for lessor quality or be okay with editing the English of a non-native English speaker who is otherwise a good writer.

Get references – Ask for references from your service provider. If they have testimonials on their website, contact the people who left the testimonial and ask them about the service provider. If you are taking a chance on someone who is new at working remotely, you can still speak to former employees or people who can vouch for them as honest individuals. There is nothing wrong with using someone who is new, but do expect to have to spend a certain amount of time allowing the provider to work through their own issues with learning how to manage a project and a client.

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Apr 06

3 Symptoms of Being Without a Marketing Plan

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Online Marketing

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A marketing plan is key to every business’s success. To me, it’s just not negotiable. I’ve seen time and time again how people who come to me feeling overwhelmed, unfocused, stuck – start turning it around immediately when we fashion a marketing plan that fits them and their business.

On the other hand, I’ve seen what happens when people don’t have a marketing plan. Below are 3 symptoms of businesses operating without a marketing plan. See if you can recognize yourself in any of these.

1) They don’t make marketing decisions quickly

People who don’t know where they’re going, usually find it hard to decide where to go! When you don’t have a marketing plan in place with desired outcomes and specific strategies, then you’ll find it more difficult to make a decision quickly (or even at all!) about any marketing opportunities that come your way. You won’t be able to decide how and if it fits into your overall marketing strategy because you haven’t got one!

2) They have short-term thinking

Doing a marketing plan forces you to think about our objectives and goals over the next few months and the business year. When you don’t take the time to think out a long-term strategy, you’re always stuck in reactive and short-term thinking. This means you don’t get the most impact from your marketing strategies, you’re operating in “catch-up” mode and you experience more stress than is necessary. As well, with short-term thinking you tend to give up too quickly – most marketing takes time to “build” and without a plan you tend to become discouraged more quickly because you can’t see the bigger picture.

3) They over-react to their environment

When you haven’t spent the time to think clearly about where you’re going and how you’re going to get there, then you’re more susceptible to negative reactions to any changes in your industry, working environment or competitor’s activities.

A marketing plan capitalizes on your strengths and compensates for your weaknesses. When you have a clear idea of what you offer and how your business is unique, you are more firmly rooted in self-confidence and clarity about what you’re doing. We all can be buffeted at times by feelings of doubt, fear or lack confidence. But when you know exactly what you’re focusing on, you can sail through those time faster. With a marketing plan in place, you also won’t be tempted to have knee-jerk reactions and possible take a direction that costs you money and achieves less results.

Of course, the good news in all of this is all of these symptoms can be easily alleviated with a good marketing plan!

Taking the time to sit down and create a marketing plan will not only save you from the problems listed above, but it will help you attract business, money and satisfaction faster and easier.

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Mar 28

Tie Your Brand Into ALL of Your Marketing Efforts

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Uncategorized

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Your business brand is an integral part of your business. Your brand is a message that you send out to clients and prospective customers that tells them what you and your business are all about.

For instance, Subway Restaurants have branded themselves as a healthy, fresh alternative to other fast food options. When you walk into one of their restaurants, you see posters and images of healthy, fresh vegetables and whole grain breads. When you turn on the television or radio, you see and hear commercials that feature people who lost weight while enjoying Subway for lunch. And when you flip through magazines you see advertisements with the same marketing message.

Once you have established your brand, it is important to incorporate that brand into all of your marketing materials. This will help you create brand recognition. Potential customers will understand from the get-go what your service or product is all about and past customers will automatically think of you when they are in need of your product or service. They won’t even bother checking out the competition.

The easiest way to communicate your brand to others is to develop a logo or slogan that easily conveys what your product or service is all about. Try to develop something that is simple, unique, and easy to remember.

You should display your logo and slogan prominently on your website. Your website may be the first impression you make on potential customers, and past customers may become frequent visitors.

Business cards are a great way to market your business. There are a hundred uses for them, plus they are easy to carry and inexpensive. Most printers are more than willing to include an image of your logo on your business card. If, for some reason, that isn’t possible, you can still use your slogan as the tagline on your card.

You may also want to consider purchasing some business letterhead. Letterhead is stationary that has your business logo and slogan printed at the top. If you don’t find yourself mailing too many postal letters to people, you can simply buy some heavier weight paper from an office supply store and use your home printer to create letterhead as needed.

Signature lines for your email program work in the same manner as letterhead and can easily be created. Your email program can automatically insert your signature line when you send email. This creates a professional image. You do not have to create anything fancy. A simple line that states your name, business name, URL, and perhaps your slogan is sufficient.

You can also tie your brand into your products. For example, Rachael Ray has built an empire on the “30 minute meal”. One of her television shows and several of her books have encompassed that tagline in their title. And she always features a few 30-minute meal recipes in her monthly magazine.

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Mar 21

1ShoppingCart + PayPal now = Recurring Payment Processing

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Business Success, Online Marketing

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This is a big deal for me. Especially since I’ve just discovered that my merchant account provider hasn’t been depositing my Mastercard payments received into my bank account since the beginning of 2011. (I know – how the heck do you not know – but I missed it.) My Visa payments have been deposited but not my Mastercard. It’s a significant amount of money and I’m now looking at it as a windfall, when they get it straightened out.

Well, it’s my fault that I didn’t realize this sooner for sure. I’ve had three bookkeepers but each one has burned me in some way and I’ve been gun shy to try it again. You see, the last one disappeared off the face of the earth – no returning phone calls or emails, and she’s moved – and she had all of my books and my tax return from the year previous. I’ve been rebuilding my books for some time. Sux and that’s how come I’ve missed these Mastercard deposits. Major duh.

Anyhow, I’m excited that 1ShoppingCart has just announced that it is now processing recurring payment processing with PayPal. I can now do away with my expensive merchant account and avoid any further major screw ups with them like this.

Here’s three new releases from 1ShoppingCart:

Recurring Billing with PayPal…

Our recurring payments feature has always been a low-cost way for you to accept credit card payments for recurring products – the only thing missing? Integration with one of the internet’s most popular payment methods!

Mobile Optimized Checkout is Here!

Our new ‘Mobile Checkout Experience’ brings you a brand new checkout process with a fresh design, optimized with mobile shoppers in mind.

Fewer fields for mobile customers to fill out

A compact, fresh layout

Improved on screen purchase information

No Setup or extra fees!

Mobile users shopping on your store will find checking out a snap with the new optimized checkout!

The new mobile checkout will launch for all packages and will be turned on automatically when released – shoppers on mobile devices will be detected automatically and served the appropriate checkout experience.

Updated FedEx Integration

An integration with the new FedEx API will guarantee more accurate shipping rates returned for all customers. For any merchants using the default FedEx rates option, no action will be required. Any merchants using the Personal Carrier Rates option may be required to setup their FedEx billing information again to prevent an interruption in service.

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