Drive 8x More Web Site Visits with

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1 Drive 8x More Web Site Visits with How to make the Internet browser, your most powerful marketing communication tool the secrets of interactive browser themes!""#$"%"&'()#*'+"#! The Huffington Post s 8x More Site Visits! CBS College Sports s 64% Promotion CTR! 20% of Your Daily Audience Visiting Your Facebook Page!! engage.com info@brandthunder.com

2 An Intro to Brand Thunder & BT:Engage Lots of Great Brands Use Browser Themes; Yours Can Too The power to customize the web browser offers companies a compelling solution for creating a more persistent presence with their consumers online. Brand Thunder has branded the browser and extended its functionality for some of the most recognizable brands such as CBS Sports, Bob Marley, Comcast, The Huffington Post, NASCAR, Major League Gaming and many more. " " " " Your Own Great Browser Theme in 3 Minutes or Less After years of hand building themes, we are proud to offer BT:Engage, an easy-to-use browser theme wizard that allows everyone small brands, families, organizations to connect with their audience in a customized browser. Whether you are a designer, developer, blogger, business owner, community manager or just want a theme for yourself, there is something here for you. To make sure you get the most out of it, we re sharing the information we ve learned.!,-".#$"%"&'()# Get your user into your browser theme to see results like:! More Site Traffic (8-12x increase)! More Facebook Page Views (20% users visit daily)! More User Engagement (over 90% CTR for campaigns)!"

3 Quick Start: If you read nothing else 4 Steps to Success 1. Make your brand visible in your design. Visual identity is huge for a community. Give a beautiful reason to enhance their browser, and you ll stay connected to them no matter what web site they are on. 2. Use images that stand out. Don t go too small or won t be seen. Too large and it may feel like you re shouting at your audience. Use your own web site design as a style to match, but then test the look in your theme. #"

4 3. Add buttons wisely! Try to stick with 2-5 buttons that lead users to the most important and valuable links for you and them. 4. Promote, Promote, Promote! The theme can only help you when it s on a user s computer. Regular promotion is the only way to help users get it. a. Post it on the front page of your website with a screen shot of the theme and some of the great advantages of having it. b. Send an to your audience and tell them about your browser theme and link to the download page. c. Put some banner ads on your web site for the browser theme. d. SOCIAL MEDIA Post your browser theme on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and blogs. Encourage your fans to retweet, and share your download page. The best form of marketing is word of mouth! 5. Visit and regularly. $"

5 Contents Introduction..... Quick Start. Contents. Getting Started Create Your Theme Create your account.... Your Dashboard.. Backgrounds/Images.... Widgets.. My Images Promoting Your Theme Where to Promote.. Social Media s & Newsletters..... Media- Ads & Press Releases..... Checklist for Promoting Your Theme %"

6 Getting Started This ebook will give you the knowledge we have gained to help you get the most out of your browser theme. As the most-frequently used software on the computer, the browser is a great platform to communicate with your users ANYTIME they are online, not just when they are on your web site. While it s simple to get started, there s lots of you can do. Visit the Brand Thunder Blog ( for regular tips and tricks on design and other hints related to creating themes. Create Your Theme There is no registration to start creating your theme, and lots of images for you to use. Try it out. You can always change it later. If you want to add your own images or share your theme, you ll register then. Don t worry; it s also free and easy. As you create it, keep three things in mind: 1. Images: How do I want it to look? 2. Content: What do I want it to say? 3. Remember: You can be bold with your design, but not busy. Use your most memorable images and content your users are most interested in whether from your site or other information sources. Suggestions for images: Use your logo (which you can link to your homepage) and official colors. Choose images your audience rallies around like initials, logos or mascots. For content widgets: Add buttons to the most trafficked or clicked categories on your site. An RSS/Atom news feed is a huge driver of clicks. More details for images and content are found below. Create your Account As soon as you try to upload your own logo or background image, or Finish a theme, we ll ask you to register. It s completely free, just enter your name, , and a password and you are set! &"

7 Your Dashboard The dashboard is your summary page. It shows the themes you have in progress, those that are published and how many of each are in use. Under any of the themes on your dashboard, click the Actions dropdown to Share, Modify or Delete your browser theme. Choose Share and you will be taken to a preview of your theme s download page, with options to share your theme. Choose Modify to change an existing theme. Hint: Make sure you click Finish in"the theme creator to push your changes live. Choosing Delete will eliminate the theme. " =>2/& Preview Analytics " The Preview and Analytics tabs on the Dashboard show a screen shot of your theme, or how many downloads and active users your browser theme has. Backgrounds/Images! What makes a good background image? Good: Strong text and images, gradual color shift and solid colors at the end allowing that to be selected as a background color for a consistent theme.! '"

8 ! Bad: Too many extreme color shifts with lots of dots of additional color creates a lot of visual interference with reading the text in tabs, address bar, search bar, and more. Try Adding Images to Your Theme Drag the images you want into the browser theme previewer and then adjust the size. Make the background image extend beyond the bottom of the Preview image. Lots of users have an extra toolbar and this will extend the image there.! Firefox and Internet Explorer allow for different heights so you will likely have to create a different or edited version for each browser. The Preview you see when creating your theme is 1,280 pixels wide your theme may be bigger or smaller than this on a user s computer. o o About 40% of web browsers are set to 1,280 pixels wide. The width of a browser window is determined by size and resolution potential of your monitor. o A small netbook may only be 1,024 pixels wide, while an Apple 27! Thunderbolt display has a resolution of 2,560 pixels wide. Your theme must work in all these cases. Because the browser width can change and we don t stretch images, images will stay in place relative to one side or other of the browser. o o As the browser is made wider, your logo and background images get farther apart. Hint: Always choose a background color. A user with a really wide monitor will still have color as a background where your image ends. The background images anchor to the right and are always in the background, meaning any browser elements like address bar, navigation buttons, search boxes always float over the image. o The image should be big enough to be meaningful even with some of the image blocked. &=>2/& ("

9 o There are visual differences between Firefox and IE, plus different looks in Firefox. Firefox allows users to set their tabs at either the top or the bottom of the other browser navigation. Be flexible with your design expectations and you ll discover a great theme that works well across all types of browser settings. Consider the vertical space of the browsers. Firefox can support 200 pixels in height with versions 3.6 and below showing 85 pixels and Firefox 4.0 showing 110 pixels. However, this can change depending on what toolbars the user has showing Bookmarks toolbar or others all add to the vertical height and expose more of your background images. Internet Explorer, by contrast, shows only 50 pixels, so you ve got to make the most of that space. Widgets Buttons: Buttons are an incredibly easy tool to use that will boost user engagement and bring your audience to your site. " Choose 2-5 landing pages in your web site that your users like the most like News or Photos, and that will benefit you like your Store. Going beyond this clutters the design and doesn t help performance. Think about where you can send users to that you will profit from. Do you sell tickets, merchandise, or anything else that you can make money from? &=>2/& o HINT: We ve seen two buttons devoted to commerce work very well. You can always edit and change your buttons. o If you are having a special promotion or have a page you want to generate traffic towards, you can always add a special button to catch the users attention. o You just need to Modify your theme using the link under Actions on your Dashboard. Click Finish when you re done. Your users will see the button the next time they launch their browser! )"

10 $ Make Money with Your Theme $ Use your theme buttons to drive revenue! Link to your affiliate accounts and stores o ebay, Amazon, Commission Junction, LinkShare, PepperJam Network Point to products you review or recommend Add a button to a revenue sharing partner s links Two commerce buttons are better than one, but make sure you have buttons that go to free content as well " RSS Feeds-The #1 Driver of Clicks: Adding a news feed (called an atom or RSS feed) from your site or blog is a powerful way to connect with your users. The news feed allows you to broadcast a published stream of your latest articles, posts and news. Hint: You get to talk directly to your users and drive a lot of visits back to your site, which deepens your relationship with your community." &=>2/& My Images The My Images tab is a gallery of all of the images, backgrounds and logos, that you have uploaded to BT:Engage. Backgrounds- Simple and Bold: Background images that you upload behave exactly like the images in the background description. Some helpful blog posts dealing with backgrounds are: Browser Dimension and Design: 3 Tips for Better Backgrounds: *"

11 Logos-Think Small: An image saved to Logo will always anchor to the left of the browser. In Firefox, it will push all of the browser navigation to the right. It s unobstructed, so you ll see the full image. However, stick with small, square logos, not wide ones. Pushing navigation too far to the right creates problems for your browser users who are used to the Back button being in a certain place. Consider your logo - is it long & thin? If it is, shrinking it down to fit on the left side may make it unreadable. Is there a stacked version you can use or perhaps consider using it as your background image? This is an optional image. Don t force it if it doesn t work. Promoting Your Theme Spreading the word about your theme isn't difficult; it just takes a little effort, consistently, over time! You will get some downloads from simply putting a link up for your users, but you will see MUCH more success if you actively promote your theme. Promotion is the key to achieving downloads and lots of visits to your site. Consider how your users get information and news from you and use those channels to get the word out. Where to Promote If you have a website or a blog, this is the easiest place to build awareness of your theme. Start with a promotion on your home page - describe your theme s =>2/& features. Plan to highlight your theme a few times a month. Hint: Remember, different users are visiting your site at different times so you don t want to miss an opportunity to get the news out. Always include the benefits to the user as this will always get their interest. Make sure to add links to your browser theme on your site navigation as well - make it easy for your visitors to find the theme. If you have a news section on your site, write a small article about the theme, why you created it and how you hope to benefit your users with the theme. Social Media Use social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, when promoting your theme. It s often the fastest, easiest way to spread the word. Nothing s better than free viral marketing!!+" "

12 As you gain followers/friends, you have a new audience to talk with about your theme, so mention it frequently. Also, people use these networks at different times (though mornings and evenings are often most popular) so remember to change up how and when you post about your theme. Facebook and Twitter are also great ways to gather feedback on your theme. Ask users what they like or would like to see added. People love to share their opinion and adjustments that you make based on users feedback will help to strengthen their bond with you and your brand! s & Newsletters Announce your theme in newsletters or s you send to your family, friends, customers and readers. Let them know how easy it is to connect with your site and stay up to date with your latest news and efforts every time they start their browser. Don t be afraid to ask your readers to forward and share your with their network of friends and colleagues. One other simple way to promote your theme is to add a link to your signature to your download page. Saying things like Get all the latest or Stay connected are quick ways for your users to get a sense of the benefits your theme will bring them. Media - Ads & Press Releases Do a press release when you have published your theme, this will add to the buzz at the start. Focus on the benefits of the theme for your users - save time, stay connected, up to date information, special offers and more. In addition, consider running house ads on your site promoting the theme. If you run ads on other site or swap promotions with other bloggers, brands or networks, use that space/relationship to promote your theme on a rotating basis.!!"

13 Checklist for Promoting Your Theme Web site! Promote on the homepage of your website or blog a few times each month! Include a link on your site s navigation! Promote with an article on your blog once a month! Mention in other articles on your blog when it is relevant! Promote through an article published in your news feed Social Media! Post to any message boards on your site or other sites in which you contribute! Discuss it on your Facebook page! Tweet about it through your Twitter account Media - s, Ads, and Press Releases! Send an out to your users promoting the theme once a quarter! Add a link to your theme in your signature! Include in your newsletter or newsletters in which you contribute! Send out a press release promoting how you are providing this beneficial tool to allow your users to stay connected! Create a contest around your browser theme - Everyone who retweets your theme will be entered to win a prize! Have affiliate sites promote for you!#"