That’s because I usually have a phone with an MP3 player, why would I buy another? Well I needed a new phone and after all the hype I decided to go headfirst into the world of Apple and choose the iPhone 3GS.

As you have guessed this is a review post however the difference is that I am presenting it from two unique angles, firstly my view of the product as someone who typically would never spend £500 on a phone and secondly from the SEM professionals point of view.

Top 5 Things My Anti-Apple Side Likes About the iPhone

App Prices are great, most good apps are free and even the games and apps that do cost are generally worth it. Well done Apple for vetting entries and well done developers for making them worth downloading.

Battery Life is better than I expect. Maybe it’s because I have 3GS or maybe it’s because I turned no essential service off but it easy lasts a day and I had heard stories of 8 hour lifespan and worse.

Keyboard is nowhere near as hard to get used to as I expected. Sure for the first 60 seconds I was pressing things I didn’t mean too and taking half an hour to send an SMS but I have adapted to the interface very quickly. That’s when you know it has been designed well.

Gaming is fantastic on the iPhone. It’s like a cross between a PSP and a DS, that’s the good sides of each too, great graphic and sound on addictive, small but great games. Crystal Defenders Vanguard, Field Runners and Tap Tap Revenge are my current favourites.

Build Quality is what surprised me most, because it’s amazing. The iPhone is solid. I had tinkered with them before but you always hold you own things differently to others. Yes it’s kind of heavy and big but it still fits in my pocket and it feels like it’s worth that bit extra. When I pick up my old phone it now feels cheap, really cheap.

Top 5 Things about the iPhone as an SEM

E-Mails are pretty much an essential part of being an SEM, now I can access them on the move without having to pay £2 per MB downloaded. Yay.

Twitter Apps are amazing, now I can keep up to date with all the latest SEM news (and my mates of course) without being near any other form of tech. Great for knowing everything that changed while you were out of the office!

WordPress App is pretty cool, I can update blogs, send pictures etc from my little iPhone. Obviously it’s not as easy as from a keyboard but when you are on the move it’s a real useful app to have.

Google App is ace too, check my rankings from a different perspective, find what I’m looking for news wise, pretty much the whole package converted for easy use on the iPhone. I hear the docs stuff is good too but I don’t use them.

Notes are really useful. Voice Memos are pretty much the same thing but equally as useful. In the hustle and bustle of everyday office work these can be so useful to keep you on top of stuff. I know that even my old phone has this functionality but the iPhone makes it so much easier and more fun.

So there you go, I’m converted. OK so I won’t be rushing out and buying a MacBook Air quite yet but I have taken a big step and no matter how much it costs, I really like my iPhone, lets just hope o2 can deliver some semi-decent service.

In the last 2 months we have launched a number of campaigns for our clients, utilising a variety of different techniques to help them become a success. Yet the most surprising element to these campaigns was how the simplest techniques bought the greatest results.

Beyond adding benefits to every feature, the introduction of the following techniques made a huge difference to the leads/conversions we generated.

One: Establishing a deadline

Possibly one of the oldest tricks in the book, introducing a deadline to your offering is notably the most powerful as it creates such a sense of urgency.

In one sentence you are telling consumers that they need to make a decision, otherwise they will be missing out on a great deal.

Of course the deal needs to be worth accepting, but let’s say for examples sake that you choose to add a fee to a service that was previously free. For those who have been pondering this offer for a while, this sudden deadline will leave them in a situation whereby they must either accept whilst it is still free or pay a fee at a later date.

Two: Making it personal

Adding a face to a business can do wonders in boosting the confidence of consumers. For every service, solution or product that you provide, by adding a name to the offer you can give them the reassurance they need to know that they are not being conned.

The technique is purely psychological, but it does create the right reaction.

Think about it a moment… a scientist for example wouldn’t recommend a weight loss product unless he/she thought it would work. By backing it, they are putting their own name at stake.

This is the same when promoting a product online. If Jo Bloggs says ‘the course can increase your cash flow by £500+’, the consumer instantly thinks ‘they wouldn’t say that unless they really believed it.‘

Obviously a scientist has more standing than the average person, but have enough people say ‘this product is incredible‘ and soon consumers will begin to believe it.

Now I won’t go into all the details of what we used, but I think you can see what I mean when I say even the simplest of changes to your copy can make a substantial difference to your results.

It is all a matter of releasing them at the right moment.

Rowena xx