Anthony Coundouris

OpenID and single sign-on

Thanks to APIs, social media and OpenID, the consumer truly has single 'sign-on' across multiple services. Rather than expecting users to store and remember multiple passwords, registration can be set up to leverage their relationship with social media si... Read >

Online publisher workflow

Publishers need to be aware of how online platforms affect workflow, and how mobile can be used to serve their digital editions. Licensing software Licensing the software can make a lot of sense. You get something well tested, technically supporte... Read >

Marketer's seo checklist

Research shows 80% of users begin their Internet journey with a search inquiry. As users are unsure of which site to visit, search engine optimisation forms a key part of any online strategy. Surprisingly, only a fraction of online budget and effort is in... Read >

Choosing a domain name

Firestarter has developed an empirical approach to shortlisting and selecting a suitable URL. Developing a URL for a corporate site is fairly simple, as they follow the name of the company or brand. However, if you need to short list URLs for a micr... Read >

Catchy subject lines

An email subject line should not try to explain the entire email. Instead, it should tell enough to 'tease' the reader to click and open. Psychologically readers put email into one of two buckets. They make an impulsive decision to either: Read the em... Read >

Search ranking is branding

You only have to look at the Yellow Pages, a listing resource in use before the internet, to see how important it is to be on page one. In almost any category, businesses prefix their companies name with ABC and AAA to try to get a listing on page one. ... Read >

Permission marketing online

The great tragedy of email, is that a great amount of it is never read. Marketers spend copious amounts of time developing content, segmenting markets - only to read reports which tell them their email was never opened. The problem with email marketi... Read >

Monitoring online influence

The internet has shifted the balance of power in favour of the consumer. Rather than choosing to listen to the opinions of our friends, family or retail shop assistants, we are instead taking our inquiries to the collective voice of the internet. Blogs, f... Read >

Tips on creative campaign ideas

No two minds are alike. Two people, given the same creative brief, will produce vastly different campaigns. This is because ideas don't materialise from thin air. They come from what has been read, experienced and observed everyday. In addition, some p... Read >

Choosing an partner agency

With resources and budgets tightening, agencies are stripping back their business models and returning to their core competencies. To fill in the gaps, agencies will have to outsource to smaller, more focused firms. Partnering can open new revenue op... Read >

Wireframe a Website Before Commencing Build

Wireframing a site requires an upfront investment in time and planning. The investment however pays dividends. For instance, Firestarter was able to build in three weeks, a full flash/video website to support SAP's Vodafone McLaren Mercedes sponsorship of... Read >

Impactful direct mail - 3 key ingredients to get right

Whether it is a promotion, email marketing, or a print mail campaign, there are three key ingredients marketers required to bake a direct marketing campaign. The offer, the data and the creative are the three inputs marketers can play with to make a ca... Read >

Reasons to implement a corporate forum

For a prospect to move from an enquiry to an order, a conversation is required. In most sales organisations, this conversation occurs on the telephone, or over email. Although these two mediums are convenient, they have an inherent problem with scalab... Read >

Gathering a critical mass of members to a forum

To engineer a successful forum, there are three key questions an administrator needs to ask before building the forum. Goal #1. How will you gather a critical mass of members Goal #2. What will compel members to provide content Goal #3. How will the ... Read >

Ingredients for successful email marketing

Here are some techniques to use for your next email marketing campaign: a catchy subject line, rendering headlines in text, placing multiple call-to-actions on the page, keeping content short, mobile friendly code, and gauging the right time to send the e... Read >