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Articles by: Pamela Hazelton

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Pamela Hazelton

Pamela Hazelton

Pamela Hazelton is a senior contributor to Practical Ecommerce, providing actionable articles and webinars since 2005. She's a pioneering online business consultant, marketer, and speaker.

She is the author of The Official Guide to Miva Merchant books and additional ebooks on the topics of shopability and security.

Pamela resides in Florida with her husband, Joe, her red beagle, and a black cat.

Her site is PamelaHazelton.com. Email Pamela.

Customer Service
10 Essentials for ‘Contact Us’ Forms (and 6 Mistakes to Avoid)

June 8, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

"Contact Us" forms enable visitors to request information, ask questions, and submit concerns. The forms are important for customer acquisition and retention. Yet most contact forms fail usability tests. In "How to Get More Form Submissions, Even on Checkout Pages," I addressed key points, such as requesting only what you need and explaining why.
Customer Retention
Building Trust during the Pandemic Drives Long-term Loyalty

May 20, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

As most U.S. states start to reopen, it's easy to consider ditching temporary coronavirus policies. Instead, online businesses should focus on retaining customers and addressing concerns. Consider the following pointers.
Product Pages
Write for 5th Graders to Drive Conversions

May 5, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

Ecommerce content is more than sales pitches and technical info. Shoppers who cannot understand your communication will not convert. To grab their attention, write at a fifth-grade reading level.
Customer Service
Need Sales in the Pandemic? Boost Customer Service

April 23, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

As the coronavirus keeps millions of people at home, traffic to online stores continues to increase. According to Statista, even non-essential purchases are shifting online. The keys for businesses are two-fold: encourage sales during the shutdown and retain as many new customers afterward.
Customer Retention
Tips to Retain Online Customers after the Pandemic

April 14, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

The coronavirus is raising the visibility of ecommerce among consumers. Merchants, especially those selling so-called "essential" goods, have experienced a boost in sales. What follows are tips to consider now, to help retain those new customers when the pandemic passes.
Customer Service
Ecommerce a Crucial Industry in the Pandemic; 7 Ways to Ease the Burden

March 27, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

Online stores will become increasingly crucial in the coming weeks. What follows are seven measures to keep your ecommerce business afloat and ease the burden of operating with limited resources.
Product Pages
Using FAQs to Close More Sales

March 20, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

There is a page on your ecommerce site that likely needs attention. Perhaps you don't have it, but a frequently-asked-questions page is essential to any online store. Done right, FAQs can close sales.
Product Pages
Simple Ways to Offer Customized Products

March 5, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

Personalized and customized products can help smaller ecommerce businesses stay ahead. Personalization can be simple as packaging a group of items as custom “kit” or providing engraved plates or quality vinyl decals.
Checkout Tactics
10 Useful Elements for a Post-purchase Thank-you Page (and 3 to Avoid)

February 21, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

One of the most underutilized features of online stores is the post-purchase thank-you page. A thank-you page often contains only order details. That’s a mistake. Here are 10 useful elements to include on a thank-you page, and three to avoid.
Checkout Tactics
What’s a Good Conversion Rate for Ecommerce?

February 6, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

A common question from ecommerce businesses is, “What is a good conversion rate?” The answer varies based on the business and the definition of "conversion." In this post, I'll look at the most common ecommerce conversion types, reported averages, and how to improve.
Customer Retention
Yes, Smaller Ecommerce Stores Can Evolve (and Prosper)

January 21, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

Merchants know that ecommerce is highly competitive. It's also dynamic and ever-changing. Alternative forms of selling and servicing (such as social commerce, voice commerce, and chatbots) are examples. What can a smaller online store do to keep up?
Customer Retention
Use Cross-selling to Increase Trust, Loyalty, Sales

January 7, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton

Cross-selling is the act of successfully offering complementary items on the same or subsequent orders. This tried-and-true practice can help retailers of all sizes and product types boost average sales totals and customer loyalty.
Payments
For 2020, Multiple Payment Options Are Essential

December 23, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Offering multiple forms of payment, especially for mobile shoppers, will be key in 2020. The payment methods your store accepts can make or break a sale. There are five main types of payments for ecommerce sites. Merchants should offer all of them.
Conversion
‘Tis the Time to Capture Sales from Procrastinators

December 9, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Procrastinators prefer to buy several gifts in one shopping session. Sites that sell a variety of items will fare better, though stores that cater to a niche market may also realize great success. Follow these tips to ensure your business appeals to those late holiday shoppers.
Product Pages
10 Last-minute Strategies to Capture Holiday Revenue

November 29, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Gearing up for the post-Thanksgiving holiday selling season is never easy. It takes time and planning. Here are some last-minute strategies that may help.
Product Pages
Organization Is Key for Holiday Gift Guides

November 8, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Is your store’s gift guide ready for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday? Gift guides can be as simple as listings of products that have something in common, such as subject, category, or price.
User Experience
Minimalist Design Can Increase Ecommerce Sales

October 21, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Minimalism can present products in a refreshing way and focus on key selling points. The result is more engagement and conversions. When considering a minimalist design, keep the following conversion pointers in mind.
Product Pages
Non-standard Product Images Can Spur Sales

August 22, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Quality product photos are crucial to selling online. Since they cannot physically touch an item, shoppers need to see all the core details. To maximize sales of a product, though, you need multiple types of images — beyond studio shots. Here are three types of non-standard photos that encourage sales.
Product Pages
Simple Tweaks to Product Pages Can Drive Sales

August 8, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Adjusting layouts on a per-product basis is costly and time-consuming. It makes sense instead to focus on the most crucial elements of the page — to communicate benefits to the highest number of product-page visitors. Here are six ways to do that.
Product Pages
5 Benefits of Ecommerce Loss Leaders

July 25, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Whether clearing out last year’s styles or promoting the latest gadgets, loss-leading strategies are used by companies of all sizes. There are good reasons for online stores to sell select products at a loss.
Shipping & Fulfillment
9 Tips to Improve the Overall Shipping Experience

July 10, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

There is no shortage of studies that confirm the importance of free shipping. But a comprehensive shipping strategy extends beyond free. It includes other crucial elements that impact conversions and customer satisfaction.
Customer Retention
Branding Is the Key to More Ecommerce Sales

June 20, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Positive branding is key for any business. It takes a lot of work over time, but the benefits make it worthwhile. The products you sell, interactions with shoppers, transparency — all impact branding.
Checkout Tactics
How to Get More Form Submissions, Even on Checkout Pages

June 11, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Obtaining shoppers' contact information is valuable for ecommerce businesses. But consumers are reluctant to provide their email address, or name, or phone number. There are ways, though, to streamline the process.
Product Pages
The Bare Essentials for High-converting Ecommerce Sites

May 22, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Driving traffic to your online store is one thing. Turning a decent percentage of visitors into buyers is another. That’s why businesses should always make sure the site is shoppable before spending a dime on advertising. A conversion-worthy website focuses on key elements that work together. Call them "essentials."
Conversion
What’s a Good Conversion Rate? It Depends

May 8, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

When it comes to analyzing online businesses, a common question is "What is a good sales conversion rate?" It's difficult to answer because conversion rates vary greatly and depend on many factors, including product offerings, target audiences, prices, and devices.
Customer Service
Using Facebook Messenger Chatbots to Support Live Chat

April 23, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Chatbots can help bridge the gap between live chat and self-help support pages. While highly customized automatic chatbots require a large financial investment, there are many ways to affordably integrate more personal conversations.
Product Pages
7 Reasons Your Mobile Site Isn’t Converting So Well

April 15, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Most online stores are seeing more traffic from smartphones. But desktops and tablets still generate higher conversion rates. Here are seven reasons why.
Product Pages
6 Selling Tips from Auto Manufacturers

March 21, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Ecommerce merchants can learn a great deal from auto manufacturers, who spend millions to understand how people shop and the choices they’re likely to make. This is evident both in showrooms and on the internet. Studying their marketing and websites can tell us a great deal about consumers.
Product Pages
Building Landing Pages That Convert

March 5, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Online stores need a healthy balance of landing pages, especially for anchor products and product categories. Landing pages have a specific goal, such as getting people to sign up for email newsletters or purchase a product.
Product Pages
3 Ways to Overcome Shoppers’ Desire to Touch Products

February 22, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

Ecommerce stores are convenient and offer much to consumers. But online shopping has one big disadvantage: Buyers cannot touch the products. In this post, I will discuss three ways for ecommerce businesses to overcome a potential buyer’s desire to physically handle a product before buying online.

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