When we started Nutshell in 1997 it cost pennies to advertise our product and services using PPC (pay per click) advertising; today it can cost lots and lots of $$$,.
Back then, when the web was a bright shiny new thing, many merchants, like us, were experimenting with this newfangled Internet environment. Trying to work out what worked and what did not work; a long and lengthy and very time consuming and laborious experience.
Along the way we learnt which 'keywords' worked best for our audience and which were a waste of time. We also learnt which combination of copy, words and phrases, were best to trigger millions of pairs of eyeballs enough to make that decision to click-thru and find out what it was we had to offer. At our cost.
We watched avidly as search engines developed methodologies for sorting the wheat from the chaff; weeding out those sites that were primarily 'spam' driven and offered little or no value to the growing audience of web-surfers. And we, along with many others, suffered from nasty folk who played the 'click-fraud' game of repeatedly hitting us, and driving up our PPC costs in order to make it uneconomic to advertise on certain platforms.
As the environment matured and more and more merchants discovered that they too could advertise their products and services in similar fashion, the costs rose and rose. It became expensive to do what we once did for pennies; it is after all an environment were the biggest dog gets to munch on the largest bone. Obviously web engines and promotional companies were quick to realize that not only was there a healthy dollar to be made, but also that some people were prepared to pay obscene amounts of money to have their listings at the top of every search result.
However, longevity does mean something - other than the continual drip, drip, drip of the marketing dollar.
Because Nutshell has now been in existence as a web entity for going on 14 years, it is likely that you will easily find us by a generalized web search, even though we no longer use that scatter gun approach of throwing dollars at online advertising.
We believe that good products plus great customer satisfaction...couple with the fact that we are still the only web merchant operating in the mobile accessory niche who offers a hand made tailor-made service, will continue to see us make new friends and find new customers, no matter where you are.
Thanks to all who have joined us on this ride into the future.
Long may it continue.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Welcome to 2011
Happy New Year. A new start to yet another series of seconds minutes hours days and months...which will all add up to be 2011. What will it bring?
Doubtless, many things, but in the world of mobile you can be sure of one thing - many, many more mobile devices.
Already CES is behind us; an annual talk fest and show'n'tell that attracts media attention to this niche market like no other. A place where new devices are rolled out and expectant vendors watch carefully to see if the passersby react positively, it at all. Many of these 'new' devices will doubtless sink without trace - for a variety of reasons. Too big. Too small. Even too much "me too". Marketing will trumpet the advantages and advances. But in the end you, the consumer, will be the King maker; after all it will be your dollars that determine who will rise and who will fall.
Is smaller better? Are tablets finally going to 'come of age' and embrace multiple operating systems in a manner that makes sense to us all - handwriting recognition, long the preserve of Microsoft's mobile tablet platform may begin to appear on other devices driven by other operating systems. Or will it? I would not hold my breath on that.
Regardless of the different devices that will raise their collective heads above the parapet in the coming year, you can rest assured that Nutshell will be there in support, with our growing range of product offerings to provide protection for what, after all, are fast becoming increasingly sophisticated devices.
Doubtless, many things, but in the world of mobile you can be sure of one thing - many, many more mobile devices.
Already CES is behind us; an annual talk fest and show'n'tell that attracts media attention to this niche market like no other. A place where new devices are rolled out and expectant vendors watch carefully to see if the passersby react positively, it at all. Many of these 'new' devices will doubtless sink without trace - for a variety of reasons. Too big. Too small. Even too much "me too". Marketing will trumpet the advantages and advances. But in the end you, the consumer, will be the King maker; after all it will be your dollars that determine who will rise and who will fall.
Is smaller better? Are tablets finally going to 'come of age' and embrace multiple operating systems in a manner that makes sense to us all - handwriting recognition, long the preserve of Microsoft's mobile tablet platform may begin to appear on other devices driven by other operating systems. Or will it? I would not hold my breath on that.
Regardless of the different devices that will raise their collective heads above the parapet in the coming year, you can rest assured that Nutshell will be there in support, with our growing range of product offerings to provide protection for what, after all, are fast becoming increasingly sophisticated devices.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Magic of Natural Leather
OK, I know...leather.
So what's so special about it?
For a start it is natural. A once-was-living material.
Not made by man in a vat of oil based derivatives, like plastic and other synthetics.
Leather is a by product of the industry that feeds and clothes us all.
To put a not-too-fine-a-point on it, leather is the skin of an animal that has been treated and tanned to become the long lasting outer layer of your shoes, your wallet, a car seat.. a lounge suit, that easy chair, a dress, pants, jackets...and your Nutshell.
But there are many products that claim to be leather.
That's very true...but remember that there are many animals (and even fish) that have hides that can be tanned.
And every hide has a different property.
And then there are some industries that take the offcuts / scraps from leather that has been used to make something else, mush them all up in a large vat and then spray the results onto a layer of material to create what is called a 'co-skin' - a thin layer of leather on a fabric backing.
Sure...you can even call that leather, but if you do, you are really starting to stretch the truth.
The leathers we use are all from New Zealand. A country that has long been recognized as a clean, green oasis in the middle of the South Pacific. The Eastern Islands of that hot, dry, vast continent called Australia.
Unlike many places where either land is at a premium, or weather conditions get harsh in the winter, Kiwi bovines (cows to you) are not raised in pens and fed on corn or maize mash. Our cows live in the great outdoors all their lives and munch on natural grasses.
Every pieces of leather we use is unique; no two pieces are exactly the same. Every piece varies, depending on which part of the hide was used to make your Nutshell.
Tanning can be a dirty business, involving chemicals and additives that can be quite toxic. We prefer to use veg-tanned leathers,. They cost a bit more but the processes are natural and do not use nasty chemicals.
Tell me more
An example of a pure veg-tan is our recently introduced Russet leathers.
This is leather that has been sustainably tanned, and has not had an artificial color added.
As a natural leather it starts off quite light in color, but as you use it, it darkens up, especially in places where the leather stretches to fit around the device that is inside the case.
Eventually the leather becomes almost 'sun tanned' in appearance; a dark, rich brown that has the look of a well-aged saddle.
And what's even better, a veg-tanned Russet leather will just keep getting nicer and nicer, the more you use it.
When we first created Nutshell in 1997, we promised ourselves that we would deliver the best products we could to our customer with no compromises. We are still keeping that promise, all these many years later.
So what's so special about it?
For a start it is natural. A once-was-living material.
Not made by man in a vat of oil based derivatives, like plastic and other synthetics.
Leather is a by product of the industry that feeds and clothes us all.
To put a not-too-fine-a-point on it, leather is the skin of an animal that has been treated and tanned to become the long lasting outer layer of your shoes, your wallet, a car seat.. a lounge suit, that easy chair, a dress, pants, jackets...and your Nutshell.
But there are many products that claim to be leather.
That's very true...but remember that there are many animals (and even fish) that have hides that can be tanned.
And every hide has a different property.
And then there are some industries that take the offcuts / scraps from leather that has been used to make something else, mush them all up in a large vat and then spray the results onto a layer of material to create what is called a 'co-skin' - a thin layer of leather on a fabric backing.
Sure...you can even call that leather, but if you do, you are really starting to stretch the truth.
The leathers we use are all from New Zealand. A country that has long been recognized as a clean, green oasis in the middle of the South Pacific. The Eastern Islands of that hot, dry, vast continent called Australia.
Unlike many places where either land is at a premium, or weather conditions get harsh in the winter, Kiwi bovines (cows to you) are not raised in pens and fed on corn or maize mash. Our cows live in the great outdoors all their lives and munch on natural grasses.
Every pieces of leather we use is unique; no two pieces are exactly the same. Every piece varies, depending on which part of the hide was used to make your Nutshell.
Tanning can be a dirty business, involving chemicals and additives that can be quite toxic. We prefer to use veg-tanned leathers,. They cost a bit more but the processes are natural and do not use nasty chemicals.
Tell me more
An example of a pure veg-tan is our recently introduced Russet leathers.
This is leather that has been sustainably tanned, and has not had an artificial color added.
And what's even better, a veg-tanned Russet leather will just keep getting nicer and nicer, the more you use it.
When we first created Nutshell in 1997, we promised ourselves that we would deliver the best products we could to our customer with no compromises. We are still keeping that promise, all these many years later.
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