If you hang out in this joint often, you may have noticed a change to the bar…….no, that kinda bar, the one at the top of the page. Yeah, the one up there………get your mind out of the gutter (although I like the way you think).
For many months, I have used HelloBar. Now, I must admit, HelloBar is pretty cool and was a good intro to site top bars. They even offer a pro version that allows you to do all kinds of cool stuff like…like…..like………. well, I really don’t know what the pro version does except charge you 4.95 per month if you have a lot of click-throughs.
I really don’t get the appeal because I am not sure that any “site top bar” is worth a “pro version” because the conversion is just not happening.
I said it out loud… the conversions from website bars are not happening.
Let’s be honest, bars on the top of a web page are cool, but they are really not all that. I get a bunch of click-throughs per month but not anywhere near the level where I would want to pay for an “unbranded” bar or to be able to update the bar using social media or email. There are simply not enough click-throughs to justify any added expense. That is why I was excited that I fell into my new bar.
I stumbled (literally, through StumbleUpon) into Quick Notice Bar, a WordPress plugin that really caught my interest because this was a full featured bar that did not want to charge me any money or have me upgrade when I get more than a few click-throughs.
I decided to give it a spin (look up), and once I had the QuickNotice Bar up and running, there were a few things that I noticed that would be good (read GREAT) for event marketers and all for free.
Features of Quick Notice Bar:
- Included tweets button
- Facebook like button
- Facebook fan page & tweeter profile url
- Custom embed code support – you can use this option to place ad links or other types of links
- Custom Webfont support
- Custom background css option
- Fully customizable appearance and font
- Show/Hide option
The most important thing about QuickNotice Bar is that it is SIMPLE. I am talking easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy type of simple. Installing the QuickNotice Bar took about me 3 minutes start to finish, no issues, no problems. DONE.
And now it sits atop my site for the 10 people per month that want to click on it (although, I will say, I have noticed more clicks on certain features since installing this bar).
Now, in all fairness, QuickNotice Bar does offer a Pro version that has different license levels (single site all the way up to unlimited sites). The difference here is that the free version is “good enough” and the pro version goes WAY above and beyond. Here are some of the features in the QuickNotice Pro version.
- Auto tweet
- Publish your quick notice in one or more twitter account. Add custom search keyword
- Facebook Post Publish your quick notice in your facebook wall automatically.
- Click Tracking
- Integrated tracking system will help you to see impression and clicks for different period
- Scheduled notice (OK, this one is cool)
- Setup and schedule a notice for any future time and setup a expiration time for notice
I am going to make a big statement.
I do not think that event marketers will see the amount of conversions using site top bars that are worth paying any money for. Period.
I think that they are cool, I think that they look good and I am glad I have one because some people DO click on the links. What I am saying is that there are not enough clicks to justify an event or conference PAYING for a site top bar.
Others may disagree and I am sure that there are sites that would benefit from a “pro” version but for my money, I am sticking with free on this one. Again, if you need to schedule messages, set expiration times (early bird registration for example) or need to track clicks, the Pro Version may be for you…. just sayin.
I guess the moral here is, sometimes the bar you are hanging out at is getting old and tired and you really need to find a new place to chill…. Give Quick Notice Bar a try, I do not think you will be going back to your old hangout! You can check it out here.
