WordPress Consultant and Virtual Tech Assistant
I’ve been getting so many of my wonderful clients asking how the baby is doing, I thought I would shoot a little video for you to check him out 
So as I say in the video — if you have not heard back from me or are waiting an unusual amount of time for something to get done… I’m a bit distracted by this little dude. But can you blame me?
I hate to rush people (I know I hate to be rushed!) but with the response so fantastic since announcing my sale, it looks like I am going to have to wrap up the sale a bit early!
Originally I was offering this awesome sale (click here to check it out) and the deal was if you paid by Nov 30th you got the deal, but could schedule your project anytime within the following 6 months. Since announcing the sale, I’ve been bombarded with inquires (thank you!!) and have almost filled up my calendar!
Since I put the time limit on scheduling the projects I can’t offer more spots then are available during that time frame… and now that # is down to…. wait for it… ONE!
SO — if you want to cash in on this deal, don’t hesitate! In order to guarantee you get in on this deal, you must be the next to request a quote, accept a proposal, and pay for your discounted package before the end of November!
Now, I have a few folks in the “thinking about it” stage… and believe me, I think that is awesome and I would not want you to make a snap decision you (and I!) may regret… however since I operate on a first come, first serve basis if one of them decides to move forward or I get a great candidate to fill that last spot the sale will officially end early!
Awesome!! Simply go here to fill out the website request and send it over!! Or if you have more questions about this, please contact me here and I will give you all the details you want. 
Remember there is only one spot left until prices go back up to the regular rates!
That spot will be given to the next person who receives and accepts a proposal and pays for the discounted package rate!
I am not telling you this as some cheeky marketing scheme, or to scare you into buying right now — but as of the new year (2011, to be precise) I will be raising my package rates. Not by a ton, mind you, but my hourly rate will be increasing to $55/hour and my packages will be increasing by about 10-15%. Current clients will still receive 2010′s rates for the first 3 quarters of 2011 as a part of my “grandfathered in” policy. So if you KNOW you want to work with me, and you KNOW you want your site up by the Spring, then now is the time to save yourself some $$$ and get on my calendar!
Hugs!!
~Victoria
The “Get Your Feet Wet” Package: $500 $400
WordPress install, theme install, theme & plugin setup, general customization. The basics to get started blogging!
The Good ‘Ol Standard Blogsite Package: $1000 $800
WordPress install, theme install, theme & plugin setup, some helpful planning calls, a little extra customization, and some other extras!
The Rockstar Blogsite Package: $1500 $1200
All the stuff from the other packages plus a ton of hand-holding throughout the process, extra customization, and a lot of other extras!!
Want to find out what is included standard in these packages? Go here to see the breakdown…
Do you have a project in mind that you need a quickie site for?
Ready to start a blog but don’t want to deal with setting it up?
Ready to move your static over to the wonderful WordPress platform?
Even if you’re not ready to start the project now, you can “get on the list” for a site — and maybe light a little fire under yourself in the meantime.
Here’s the deal – in order to qualify for this killer deal, you must submit a design request, accept the proposal and pay for the package BEFORE November 30th, 2010. All packages purchased with this sales can be “redeemed” (i.e. scheduled) within 6 months — so you have some time to get your “ducks in a row”. Openings for site design projects start November 1st, 2010 — and space is limited!!
The “Get Your Feet Wet” Package: $500 $400
WordPress install, theme install, theme & plugin setup, general customization. The basics to get started blogging!
The Good ‘Ol Standard Blogsite Package: $1000 $800
WordPress install, theme install, theme & plugin setup, some helpful planning calls, a little extra customization, and some other extras!
The Rockstar Blogsite Package: $1500 $1200
All the stuff from the other packages plus a ton of hand-holding throughout the process, extra customization, and a lot of other extras!!
Want to find out what is included standard in these packages? Go here to see the breakdown…
Since space is limited in my design schedule, projects are scheduled based on a first come, first serve basis AND project size. Smaller packages can tend to be completed sooner then the big daddy packages, since the time investment is smaller. In order to get in on this deal, you first have to send me a design request!
I’ll look at your design request and see 1) if I have the skills needed to do your project justice, 2) if I can meet your requested deadline without having a panic attack, and 3) if the project request fits in to the budget you need. If I can give all those a big ‘ol checkmark, then I will send you a proposal via Freshbooks.
Once you have reviewed the proposal (which will include available dates to schedule the project, if you are ready to start asap) and are ready to go, you simply click “accept” and I will send you the payment invoice and homework to get the project going!
*Please note payment must be made before November 30th 2010 to get the discount!! After November 30th, packages will go back to their normal rates.
Awesome!! Simply go here to fill out the website request and send it over!! Or if you have more questions about this, please contact me here and I will give you all the details you want.
Not Quite Ready Yet?
That’s cool. But please let me know if you have questions that, if answered, may get you ready! I’m really excited since this is my first web design sale… and I’d love to get my calendar filled with eager biz folks like you who want to get moving on new sites for the new year!!
Remember — space is limited (I am only one little lady, after all) so get on the list as soon as possible if you want something done before the end of the year. I have room for only 5 1 new package before the end of 2010 before the sale closes … so don’t hesitate!
Ready now? Simply go here to fill out the website request and send it over!!
Want to find out what is included standard in these packages? Go here to see the breakdown…
I know deep down I’ve known this for years, but recently it’s been in my face more and more so I figured it was high time I embraced this truth: I am a web geek… and we are a special breed.
That said, I do feel it a duty of mine to help my clients and biz friends understand in “normal people talk” what all the nerds talk about — even if it’s just understanding and not “I’m able to do it all myself now” kinda knowledge — b/c I see more and more that many of the people I work with really don’t want to have anything to do with all that tech geek stuff BUT I feel it is empowering to know what your chosen web geek is talking about, be it me or someone else. So… I’m introducing my own little web geek encyclopedia.
I’m going to attempt to cover topics that I know my clients have said “Whaaaa??” to me about in the past (and I totally welcome your suggestions, too!!). So… without further ado…
Concept: Robot.txt files / .htaccess files and other server things like that.
Explanation: While I don’t expect non-tech nerds to even want to know what goes into server files like these, I think knowing what they are and what they are for is important.
These types of server files tell the non-human entities (i.e. browsers, robots, etc…) special things about your website. There is a lot of special code involved in these files — for .htaccess files for example, they give instructions like who gets access to what, where a certain url should go, and much more. The robot.txt files communicate information like telling the search engines what to look at and what to ignore (like a “hidden” folder or something).
Comparison: Think of driving on a highway in your town. When all is normal, the standard roadsigns will tell you where you should be going, what your options are for exits and general info you may need to get where you are going. But when the highway is under construction, you normally see additional signs, giving directions like “this exit closed, detour exit __” or “exit __ for local traffic only”. Those signs may be temporary (even if they are there for, like, years) but they give you the driver additional information about your drive that helps you navigate the special circumstances. That’s kinda what these server files do — they tell the “driver” (i.e. robots for example) special information about how your site is working so they can navigate it the way you want them to.
Common uses for these files: The most common use for the robot.txt file is to tell the robots from the search engines where your sitemap is, if they are allowed or not allowed to look at a page, or block a specific search engine or IP from your site (or just a section of it). It is good to have a robot.txt file on your server (one per domain or sub-domain) but make sure you or your web tech knows what’s in there. Just in case.
The most common use for an .htaccess file is to give proper access to special password protected areas of your site, redirect pages or sections to other places, block bad people or robots from accessing your site via IP address, or give a custom error message for bad URLs on your domain. It is good to have a proper .htaccess file on your server, but very important to only give editing access to trusted people and make sure everything in it is meant to be in it.
If those types of files are still a mystery to you, feel free to send me a comment and ask questions!!
> > What’s next? Metadata and SEO
URL shorteners are the new cool kid thing to do when sending out promotional links. (See: tinyurl.com, budurl.com, et al) They are a super awesome way to get easy links to pages that may have super-long permalinks or hard-to-remember URLs. Bad side of this is that the bad guys, the hackers, the virus-spreader-jerks have figured out they can use this to send out evil links disguised as trustworthy shortened links that we have all gotten so used to. End result? Your emails are getting blocked, getting blacklisted and make it hard for you to get your click-throughs!! So what’s a good little entrepreneur to do???
Take the power back!! (Thanks to one of my favorite bands, Rage Against The Machine, for that wise turn of phrase!)
You CAN take the power back from those horrid blacklists and hackers by keeping your shortened URLs on your own server. You have options, one of them is hard (getting your own .me URL and doing redirects) and one of them is ultimately easy (after initial set up). So let’s talk about the easy way, eh?
http://yourls.org/ –> This is a free script that allows you to house your custom shortened URLs on your own server. Bonus? You can track your click-throughs via your analytic software. And there is a WordPress plugin that can be used with it! Even easier! Yay!
So how can you get this service up and running? Well, if you are technologically adept, you can follow the easy directions on the yourls.org site and install the software yourself. It’s really not that bad — and if you installed your own WordPress application, you can do this too. But if all things technological scares you, hire a nerd to do it.
Either way, you are going to save yourself time and headache down the road as the bad guys take further control of our legitimate marketing tools — and they will — so the little investment today will make it well worth your time in the future. And the future, my friends, is just around the corner…
My approach to a website design (or REdesign, as the case may be) is threefold.
Plan. Create. Evaluate. Those are three key pieces to a website that sometimes gets overlooked, or set aside. I think one of the reasons this happens is because people assume (or in the past have been conditioned to believe) that website design is about the pretty graphics or colors or fanciness. So they hire a designer who makes something sparkle. Something flash. A fantastic looking header that could be stuck on a wall in a gallery. But when it comes down to actually using that website as a business tool, all the flash and fancy in the world won’t keep profits coming in. Enter Plan. Create. Evaluate.
My personal threefold approach to website design takes into consideration first and foremost one of my favorite sayings in the world: “Do everything on purpose”. Take time to plan out your site elements, from the small to the big, and do it ON PURPOSE. After you have a plan, create the beautiful site of your dreams (or the basic, black text on white background. Whatever. Doesn’t matter as long as it fits in with your plan.) Then let that site sit for a while (albeit, with updates and posts and normal activity from you). See what happens. Give it 3-6 months. Once you have let your site stew, then it’s time to evaluate. Is it working? Are you getting the traffic you need? Are you getting sales? What reaction do visitors give you? If it’s working, then keep it up!! If not, it may be time to start a new (or altered) plan.
Thing is, your website (and total web presence for that matter) is kind of a living thing. It needs attention. It needs care. It needs to be checked up on every once in a while. Letting a site sit dormant with no activity and no evaluation will not help your business grow.
Many times entrepreneurs either already have or are getting ready to launch a web presence that just “gets the job done”. I have seen many people invest hundreds and thousands of dollars in coaching programs, products, seminars and networking events all with the goal of creating a profitable business – but when it comes time to implement all they have learned, their web presence gets the least amount of attention and in many cases the least budget. Entrepreneurs tend to develop this idea that their product/service/skill can “sell itself!” and why invest a lot of money in creating a flashy site?!?! But the truth of the matter is this: It does not matter how awesome your product is. If buyers can’t find it. If happy customers can’t share it. If you can’t use a success from the past to promote something new. Then what’s the point of having a business in the first place?
I often compare an online entrepreneur’s website to your average, everyday store. Look at where YOU shop in your normal week, month or year. Why do you shop there?? For me, it’s Target. I love Target. And I love Target because:
I then compare it to other stores in my area – maybe a specialty shop or a boutique. Why don’t I shop there? Well, because I have never heard of the name. Maybe the storefront is not very appealing, maybe I feel lost when I enter the store or the prices are WAY out of my league (or maybe I just THINK they are).
Now, I don’t say this because I think all entrepreneurs websites should be big box sites. No!! I don’t want your site to be an amazon.com.
But what I DO want to see is a brand that I recognize (maybe from seeing stuff posted on Facebook, or talked about on a blog or on Twitter) and a site I can actually find, a site that lets me find what I want on it easily, calls to action that tell me what new, cool things I should be looking at, and products/programs/services that have VALUE (i.e. get what I pay for).
When I see a site that screams “gets the job done” I immediately think that entrepreneur either doesn’t have the money to afford a well designed website (read: business not doing well), doesn’t care about their website (read: they don’t care about what they are selling, or me as a client), or has no idea what they are doing online (read: they have no idea what they are doing online). While that may not be the case at all, it’s important to understand that your website is a virtual representation of you and your business, and it’s worth the time, effort and money to make it right.
There are a lot of warning signs that can tell you if your current site needs a change (or if your current “plan of attack” for an upcoming site needs work). I’m gonna focus on right now on sites that are currently up, but this can be related to sites that have not been created yet – so keep these in mind, new business folks.
If any (or – yikes – all) of these fit you, it’s high time you get some help for your website.
It can be an overwhelming task to evaluate your site, especially if you don’t know what you are looking for! Below are a few key areas to look at when doing a self evaluation.
Finding you. Good SEO takes time, but bad SEO can rip the bottom out from under you in no time. Does your site utilize all the basic SEO tools like meta data, keywords and simple URLs? (If you thought “What does that stuff mean?” then your answer is most likely NO) And does your web presence have a fluid brand? (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, sales pages, etc…)
Figuring you out. Navigation is the backbone to business websites. Does your navigation, wherever it may be, make sense to your target market? Are you making it hard to find your products or programs?
Spreading the word. Word of mouth is key. Are you giving people an easy way to spread the word on you?
Keeping it fresh. How fresh is the content on your site? Has it been months (or even years) since you added content to your site? Does your blog get updated daily, but the site you sell your services on never get touched?
While there are many more areas to check on, looking at these four basic things and making adjustments to them will make a difference.
Did you recognize any of the warning signs for your website? Did you see some of those problem areas on your site? Then take action!! Spend 30 minutes a day doing something to move your site out of the danger zone (sorry for the Top Gun reference there).
Are you feeling overwhelmed? Dizzy? Freaked? Many entrepreneurs do. And I think that is why many don’t take action when they need to. And here is where all my rambling is going… get help!!
I can pitch to you right now that you should hire me to help you (and yes, I am a great option 
) but in total truth I am less concerned with WHO you get to help you then I am with the fact that you recognize that there ARE people out there who can help you, who do this for a living, for a reason, and that you can utilize to make the most out of your business.
You would not hire a plumber to remodel your house, would you? (Gosh I hope not!) And while you may physically and intellectually be able to remodel your own house, the best option you can choose is to hire a skilled contractor who can draw up plans, perform all the work, and get the job done right. The same goes for your website. Whether you need to build your first website or your current site needs a boost, find a skilled web designer who will work with you to plan out and create a site FOR YOU and your needs.
On purpose.
Since the FTC announced the new disclosure guidelines this month, there has been a buzz throughout the blogging community… some crying foul, some saying “about time!”, and others just plain confused.
While the new ruling [for the most part] affects bloggers who are reviewing or endorsing products, the FTC rules do not target them specifically, so it can be assumed that everyone using a blog, social networking, or a website in general for their business needs to be aware of the rules… even if you don’t plan on following them. Knowledge is power, ya know??
So the brief synopsis is that the FTC is demanding full disclosure. The folks at the FTC worry that with all the new media forms out there, consumers are generally confused by what they are reading online – and while consumers tend to assume (or at least, that’s what the FTC says) that a movie reviewer got to see the movie they are reviewing for free (so the consumer understands that the reviewer benefited in some way from the review and therefore may be biased) they don’t realize that a blogger may be getting some benefit out of reviewing or endorsing a product (and – therefore – be a bit biased too). I think the FTC is not giving enough credit to consumers…. but hey, that’s just me.
So now onto the rule — the FTC says anyone reviewing or endorsing a product online must fully disclose what benefit they are getting from publishing said review/endorsement. So, for example, if Jane Doe Mommy Blogger writes up a review on the latest type of Brand X diaper, she MUST publish the fact that Brand X sent her a months supply of free diapers to test. And by doing this, the reader takes into consideration that Jane Doe may be a bit biased because 1) Free diapers are awesome and 2) Jane Doe may be giving a good review so she can get more free stuff from Brand X or another company.
Now, the argument from bloggers is that 1) the FTC is making bloggers look unethical in their endorsements and they are offended and 2) the rule ONLY applies to stuff online and not other forms of media so it’s not fair. Everyone in entitled to their own opinion. My personal thought is that if you protest full disclosure then maybe maybe you have something to hide. Am I wrong?
Anyway — on to how this affects you.
Most of my clients are online entrepreneurs — not necessarily bloggers who review or endorse products for a living, but most everyone uses testimonials in their marketing. It’s a gray area in the FTC ruling [using client testimonials for your own marketing, that is], but my motto is ‘better safe then sorry’. The FTC is most likely not going to go after the blogger if they do not fully disclose benefits — however as consumers become more aware of these new rules, they will be looking for the full disclosure. And if they don’t see it, they may end up not trusting the review. There’s no way to tell… but again, better safe then sorry.
So my advice to anyone using testimonials in their marketing — Full Disclosure is the way to go.
I would guess that 99% of the testimonials you get from clients are honest to goodness testimonials. Even if you asked for them, you are probably not offering anything in return for said testimonial. But if you are… you should say so. New FTC rule or not.
Where ever you have posted testimonials from your clients, make sure everything on there is the full, honest truth, with any benefits the client received from providing the testimonial right there in black and white. Honesty is the best policy (thanks, kindergarten, for providing me with that life lesson) and when reading a review, testimonial or endorsement knowing that the author benefited in some way from publishing that would not necessarily sway me either way — however what it will do is make me respect that business [where the product or service is from] more. And it’s more likely I will buy from someone I respect.
A good practice if you plan on soliciting testimonials from your clients (whether you are giving them something for the testimonial or not) is to ask permission from them to pass along contact info to people who want to follow up on that testimonial. When you post testimonials online, make a note that you can provide contact info — so even if “full disclosure” is not needed because nothing was received in exchange for that testimonial, your prospects can opt to verify or follow up on those testimonials… giving them peace of mind on spending $$ on your stuff and showing them that you are the real deal honest business person. It’s a win-win.
So what are your thoughts on the new FTC rule? Do you think it pertains to all online entrepreneurs? Do you disagree with full disclosure? Let me know your thoughts – either leave me a comment or shoot me an email.
Until next time!
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
Please feel free to use this blog in whatever, but make sure you credit it back to the author (link it up here!!) and send us a note that you used it, cause we’ll give you some link-love right back.
Back in August, I started a side-project to review email service providers (ESP). I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
As a tech nerd, most of the ESP’s out there seemed pretty similar. But with the onslaught of client complaints about their respective ESP’s I had to take a step back from my geek-ness and see what it was about all these services that was making my clients struggle. You see for me, the creation of a fancy email newsletter was cake – I can design and create a template on the fly, paste that sucker right into the ESP’s editor and be sending the issues out in minutes! But not everyone is like me (and thank goodness for that) — many of my clients ran for the hills when presented with html code, icky WYSIWYG editors and all that crazy terminology that come with ESP’s. (“Broadcasts” “Campaigns” “Split Tests” Oh My!)
Since my main goal is to help clients create a business that is EASY to run, sending them off into the world with a complicated html ezine that takes them hours upon hours to put together to send was anti-me. Your time is much better spent creating products and programs, writing content, running webinars, etc… not fighting with a vicious WYSIWYG editor.
So I sent my lovely husband on a mission. Not being the tech nerd that I am, I thought having him test out the popular email service providers would give me insight on what my clients go through. After just an hour, he was curled up in the fetal position, sobbing. (In a VERY manly way, I might add). I let him off the hook to save our marriage, and wrote up this little piece for my own newsletter subscribers. If that’s what happened to him, I can imagine how frustrating it can be for you, too.
Over the next few months I tested out a few email services providers on my own and gathered a bit of intel from my clients about why they struggled. The programs I reviewed were: aWeber, MailChimp, iContact, Constant Contact, Vertical Response, MyEmma, EmailBrain and OneShoppingCart. (I know there are a TON more, but these seem to be the biggies). See the previous newsletter article to get the quick initial review on these…
Many of these ESP’s were similar in their set up. From dashboard navigation, terminology, list set up, form creation, etc — they vary on ease of use but for the most part are apples-to-apples once you get used to the system. Cost is an issue, but for my clients it did not seem #1. The double opt-in issue was a sorta big one for clients, but they were all gathered in different corners of that, since some hate double opt in and some love it, so I left that as a low priority. All these reputable ESP’s comply with CAN-SPAM laws and have pretty darn good deliver-ability. Sign up forms are an issue, but the only one that seemed sub-par was MyEmma, who does not allow self hosted forms for standard account and still uses iFrames, which is caveman-esque.
It seemed to me the two biggest struggles for clients were:
1)Creating/Managing Lists. Being able to import email lists without going through the rigamaru of making people opt in again or adding your personal email list without making them opt in was a biggie.
2)Being able to send out a consistently professional looking email quickly, easily and with no drama. That is, not having to fight with a WYSIWYG editor from hell.
I am planning on doing my quick review of each of these systems over time (must actually finish my own website redesign first though… ya know, priorities and all) – but I did not want to postpone the announcement *DRUM ROLL* of my most favoritest email service provider now – newbie’s on the block ♥ MailChimp ♥
He’s adorable. You’ll want to hug him.
Here’s the short list as to why I ♥ MailChimp.
The email editor is simple. It’s easy. These days the super complex fancy html newsletters are being replaced with simple html layouts: header – content – footer. And do your subscribers really need all that glam to read your newsletter?? With MailChimp, if you can get yourself a pretty header designed you can create a template by uploading that header, changing the colors of the template to match and you’re done!! Each time you send an email or newsletter, you can choose the content layout (one or two column) and plop your content right in there!!
Seriously, it’s that easy.
To me, a fancy-schmancy email newsletter is pretty much not worth all the effort, especially if it means struggling for hours trying to get it to work! When I open the newsletters I subscribe to, I look for a nice header displaying the brand, a footer with some contact links, and the content. Content! That’s what it’s all about.
In the upcoming weeks I will be working on a tour of sorts of MailChimp (and the others) to walk you through the process of setting up a MailChimp account (it’s easy, but a lot easier with a roadmap!) so if you want to get notified of that launch (and all the other cool stuff that will come with it) then sign up for either my email list in the sidebar (I only send out email once in a blue moon, no weekly sends for this girl!) or subscribe to the RSS feed cause I will announce it on the blog as well.
I would LOVE to hear from you about your struggles with your email service providers, things you love or hate about them, or praises for the ones you like. Why do you use what you use? Are you happy there? Shoot me an email to victoria[at]lynnraedesigns[dot]com or comment below.
Seriously, check out MailChimp. MailChimp makes email fun and easy. Get your free account today.
Until next time!
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
Please feel free to use this blog in whatever, but make sure you credit it back to the author (link it up here!!) and send us a note that you used it, cause we’ll give you some link-love right back.
Lately, things have not been running so smoothly for your favorite designer (I AM your favorite, right?). Between the Technology Bermuda Triangle that my office seems to be in and the onslaught of family illness, sewer backups, and general “oh, crap!” moments, staying ahead at work seemed to be impossible. Yours truly suffers from the never ending cycle of new ideas pouring in and not enough time to implement them, which ends up stopping forward movement all together. One of my (and many clients) problems is that because of the time we spend on the internet looking at other sites, we tend to get star-struck at features, flash and “pretty” stuff that we want to have, too – but many times that ends up distracting us from the project-at-hand. It’s called Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS), and I have vowed to make it go away.
To introduce you to this phenomenon, a quick peak at what Shiny Object Syndrome is – and I can’t describe it better then Karyn Greenstreet: “It’s not quite ADD/ADHD. It’s more that a new idea captures your imagination and attention in such a way that you get distracted from the bigger picture and go off in tangents instead of remaining focused on the goal.” [http://www.passionforbusiness.com/articles/shiny-object-syndrome.htm] (Check out her full article, ’cause it’s good) I take it one step farther, as I don’t believe it’s limited to newly discovered tools & features – I think it also relates to that desire to be “perfect” in your business ventures, losing site of what the core of your business venture is.
How many of you have attempted to launch a new business or project but got stuck on the design, look and function of the marketing tools you were using to launch it? One example that happened a few months back – a client hired me to design a sales page for their new business. 2 months into the project (2 months!! It was one page!!), the page was still not done because they were still looking for the perfect stock photo to use on the page!
While it’s my business to create the design and style of my clients businesses, I would be doing a disservice to you if I claimed that it was the most important part of your businesses success. Yes, look and feel has importance and does assist in making sales, but it is not and will never be #1.
“But, Victoria, I want my website/logo/business cards/etc to look perfect before I launch!”
I know, I know – in a perfect world things would work out that way – but in reality, it’s just not always possible. Here’s the thing I have learned about SOS – many, many times it’s a means to avoid the impending launch, and there is actually some other thing behind the scenes that is going on with you, whether it’s fear of failure, incomplete copy/content, lack of funds, not enough time to follow through… it could be any number of things. But one thing is for sure – never let design, fancy features or some new-fangled web tool get in the way of getting your product or service out there for people to buy!!
So how do you know if you are suffering from SOS and how do you stop it??
The first part is easy – do you have a business, product or new service you want to launch, but have not yet? Ask yourself why – if it has anything to do with design, style, or look of your marketing materials, then you probably are suffering from SOS.
The second part to that is not so easy, because it requires you to let go and let good enough be good enough*. Nothing is written in stone, and every aspect of your marketing materials can grow and change. That’s half the fun of running a web business – you can add new things everyday, and in doing that you can get yourself in front of a whole new (or just bigger) market in the process! Adjust your plan to allow for change and growth (so, like, don’t order 10,000 brochures or business cards up front) and just get your stuff out there!!
*Side note, I am not referencing good-enough-is-good-enough in the context of EVERYTHING, just those parts that are not a key factor in your project.
Prioritize Your Project.
Take a look at your new business, new product or whatever it is you want to launch, and put a list together of what all the aspects are to getting it ready. Is your sales copy written? Is your shopping cart set up? Is your bio written to showcase you as an expert? Have you gathered testimonials from former/current clients? Does it need a full website, just a sales page, or a mini site? Does it need a product graphic? Do you need to start a fan page on Facebook for it? List every aspect of making the project a reality. Now, look at your list with the goal of making money in mind – what parts do you HAVE to have ready in order to make a sale? What parts are necessary to market the project? What parts will help boost sales? Label each part in priorities (A-B-C or 1-2-3… whatever).
Your “A’s” are your core elements – and those should be the actual service or product you are selling and any supporting copy or selling tools. If you had a room full of your market, with credit card in hand, what would you need to have ready to sell this item to them?
Your “B’s” are your supporting elements – those things that help close the deal with prospective buyers. It could be some freebie stuff you add to you site, a fancy eCover for your product, testimonials from previous clients, your portfolio – those elements that will pull in the “on-the-fence” prospects.
Your “C’s” are the extras you want for your business/product/service. Maybe it’s a feature you saw on a competitor’s website that you want to have. Maybe it’s a fancy flash animation of your product. Maybe it’s getting your website to seamlessly integrate with your social networking accounts. Maybe it’s as simple as a cool font or color scheme for your marketing materials – anything that is above and beyond the basics.
When you are starting a new project, look at you’re A-B-C’s and complete each one, in order. Get all those important elements done first, then depending on the time you have left before your personal deadline, fill in the blanks with your C’s. Those C’s can be added down the road – whether it’s tomorrow or 2 weeks from now. Chances are your opinions may change on what your C’s are once your core elements are ready.
Are you suffering from S.O.S? Leave me a comment or send me an email and tell me all about – maybe I can shed some light on it, or I can just share in your pain
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
Please feel free to use this blog in whatever, but make sure you credit it back to the author (link it up here!!) and send us a note that you used it, cause we’ll give you some link-love right back.
I work with a lot of Coaches – on the “I’m their web designer” end of things. People have asked me what these clients of mine sell, so I’ve tried to best explain what it is a Coach does and what they are selling and many folks not in “the biz” don’t quite understand the dynamics of Coaching. Some (like my husband -ah-hem-) even had the thought that it’s a scam or rip off. (“You’re just paying for someone to tell you what to do?!?”) And, well, yes. You are paying for someone else to tell you what to do.
But for many of us (raise your hands now if you are feeling lost, stressed, upset, depressed) that is exactly what we need. I’m sure there is an insane amount of psychology out there on the dynamics of having a Coach, but I’m not going to get into all that (you can google that on your own). However I am going to share a few of my experiences and thoughts on the matter – because I am a blogger now and from what I know about blogging, I get to do that. [superemotions file="icon_wink.gif" title="Wink"]
Top Signs You Need to Consider Hiring A Coach
When it’s time to start working, you would rather be doing the dishes/laundry/cleaning the toilet. (extra points if you actually clean the toilet rather then working)
When the person you talk to most has that glazed over look in their eyes when you talk about your business, cause you keep saying/complaining about the same things over and over. (my husband can attest to that)
When you sit down to work at the computer and you start your day by surfing the net for anything and everything NOT related to your biz. (stupid amazon.com gets me every time)
When people start emailing you wondering if you’ve fallen off the face of the earth cause you have not been twittering/facebooking/blogging like normal. (and it’s not b/c you’ve been on vacation or something)
When your actual vacation is approaching and you are filled with dread rather then excitement because you feel like your business will fall apart if you leave.
When you get a new lead or prospect and you react with a “oh, crap! not another one!” (believe me, it happens)
When you feel like you are (or actually are) working non-stop but still can’t afford to buy yourself a morning latte (or in my case, red bull)
When you decide to take on a client who does not mesh well with you, knowing it’s only gonna be trouble, just to have a client.
And here’s #1 for me — the day you decide “I’m going to go back and get a ‘real’ job – it’s gotta be better then this”.
I know there are more signs, and for each person and type of business I’m sure the signs vary. I’m guessing if you take a step back and look at the low points of your business you will be able to recognize your own personal signs (so next time, you can nip it in the bud).
If one (or more!) of those signs hits home with you, I recommend looking into hiring a coach, even if it’s just for an hour. I can attest to the fact that even just an hour can make the biggest difference in the world. And here’s my personal opinion why:
What a Coach Can Do For You
Validate You. Speaking from a female perspective (cause, um, I’m a girl) there is little in this world that is better then having someone tell you what you feel/think is right/ok. As women, I think we question ourselves way too much when it comes to non-traditional female stuff (don’t be offended at this, please). For me, when someone questions my decisions/feelings as a mother I can say “screw you!” but when it comes to my business I feel timid and shy about my feelings, plans and ambitions. Having someone else (especially a peer) tell you what you think/feel is right is empowering.
Enlighten You. Many many times, even if you think you have it figured out – you don’t. A good Coach will open doors for you that you had never even thought of before. Maybe you know you need to do X, but the key to making that happen is to realize why you are not doing X already. A Coach can help you pin point what the real problems are (for example, point out some conditioned behavior that you never thought you had). When you can finally see what’s really standing in your way, you can knock it out -or off- a lot easier.
Motivate You. It’s true that you may already know exactly what you should be doing to solve whatever problem that you are having. If that’s the case, then why haven’t you started doing it yet? It could be partly because you need to be sure you are right (see “Validate You”) and it could be partly because no one is there to answer to. When you are only answering to yourself, it can be hard (sometimes impossible) to motivate to get that going.
I realized that when my family is gone, and I am alone in the house, I eat A LOT of cookies and potato chips. But when my family is here, I am eating things like bandanna and granola bars. Why? Because I can get away with the junk food when no one is hear looking over my shoulder (and it’s almost like it never happened). I think the same thing plays out in my business. Since no one is here looking over my shoulder, I can be as sloppy and unorganized as possible and then blame my problems on anything and everything else.
When you work with a coach, more then likely they will be giving you challenges, checking in with you and keeping tabs on your work. Knowing that you are handing $$ to this person and they are watching you can really motivate you to make those changes needed to get you back into the swing of things.
Push You. After motivation there is pushing. I call it pushing because I think there is a step past motivation that is uncomfortable and difficult – and that is going outside your comfort zone and accomplishing things you had written off, don’t want to do or had never even considered.
Empower You. This is my #1 reason for hiring a Coach. When you work with someone who knows what they are doing, who is confident and knowledgeable and strong – their attitude and strength carries over to you. When someone you respect tells you that you are worth it, that you are good at what you do, you have an easier time believing in yourself. And ladies, I know many of you can agree that lacking confidence is one of the biggest setbacks in our entrepreneurial game. When you walk away from a coaching session knowing what you need to do and how you are going to do it AND feeling like you can do it, it stays with you.
So…how do you find this magical solution to your problems? I know there are a lot of Coaches out there. There are Coaches for everything, too. It can get confusing as to who is right for the job, who knows what they are talking about and who would fit well with you. Especially when it comes to paying for it, because if you are like me you don’t have a money tree in your backyard and every dime counts. My first suggestion is to not look at their fees. Don’t hire one coach over the other because they are cheaper. While a low-fee coach may be the best person for you, that should not be your deciding factor. Make the decision up front that you are going to part with whatever amount of money it takes to hire the coach that fits with you. And make it happen — start with one hour and see how you feel after that. When it comes to hiring a Coach, you have to consider the big picture — a few hundred dollars now (while it may hurt and you may be eating pb&j’s for a while) can equal increased profits out the wazoo down the road (and then you can celebrate with an expensive steak dinner).
Searching for your Coach.
Since I work with (and know) a lot of coaches, I know it’s hard to find the right one right away. My best tip for finding that match is to do your homework. Look for some Coaches (get references and search the web) and read their stuff – subscribe to their newsletters, read their blogs, download their freebies, follow them on twitter. Find a Coach that writes in a voice similar to yours. Find a Coach who’s topics make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You’ll know. Once you have found that one (or a few) that you feel connected to, ask for a free consultation. If you leave that call feeling like you’ve found a new friend – then they are the one for you.
Need Somewhere to Start?
Here are a few coaches who make the hair on the back of my neck stand up when they write. I invite you to follow them on twitter, subscribe to their newsletters and see what they have to say. While my opinions are just that – my opinions- I can attest that reading their freebies and newsletters alone have changed my business and my attitude. (You may notice some of these are my own clients – no, I have not struck a deal with them or anything, but since I spent a lot of time reading their materials while I worked, I got to know them and fell in love with what they are about)
Elizabeth Genco Purvis: The Marketing Goddess. This lady is top notch when it comes to empowerment. If you feel your business -and income- is sliding off into oblivion, she has the right tools to pull you back up and get your business moving again. [also twitter.com/elizabethgenco]
Michele Woodward. If you are feeling lost in what you are doing right now, whether you are still at a crappy corporate job, running a less-then-successful home business or in between work, she will show you why you are where you are at and how to change it. She also makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside about yourself. [also twitter.com/michelewoodward]
Elizabeth Potts Weinstein. Despite the fact that she is my sister (and typically I do not listen to my sister) I have gained immense knowledge about “the biz” from her. She’s been there, done that. She can show you what things you should stop doing, where you need to bulk up the efforts and how to piece together a financially successful business from scratch. [also twitter.com/elizabethpw]
Laurie Foley. I akin Laurie to Apollo Creed in Rocky III. She’s that Coach that’s right there training you for the big fight, and is on the sideline when you’re in the ring, pushing you to get back in there for the knock out. She brings out the championship fighter in you. [also twitter.com/intuitioneer]
Have you had an awesome experience with a life or business Coach? Please share your experiences by adding a comment below or email me with your thoughts – I would love to add some more names to my list of recommended Coaches!! Or just let me know your theories or thoughts on hiring a Coach – I’d love the insights!! [superemotions file="icon_biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin"]
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80′s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
Please feel free to use this blog in whatever, but make sure you credit it back to the author (link it up here!!) and send us a note that you used it, cause we’ll give you some link-love right back.
Many business owners get that first big website (or sales page, or opt-in page), spending *months* working on writing the copy, getting their logo done, finalizing the website design, and all of the other busy work involved in the launching of a new site.
Then it’s launched, and it’s like, well, now what?
Cause I’m here to tell you, no magical fairies are going to send traffic, leads, or customers to your website just because it exists. Advertising is expensive, and all of those too-good-to-be-true schemes and tricks to drive traffic to your site are just that, too good to be true (trust me, I tried most of them to no avail!). Especially in the beginning, you will need to take action to drive good, targeted traffic to your site, to build your list and make sales.
Here are three strategies you should use to build your list & customer base, now that you’ve launched your website.
1. Publish High Quality Content
You *must* be creating high quality content if you want anyone to come to your website (or for that matter, buy from you). I don’t mean content with a load of keywords, or any particular type of content (could be articles, audios, or videos) … just content that a human being in your target market will get value from and will *love* you for providing.
Not only should this content be on your website, but you will also be using it in teleclasses/webinars, on your social networking sites, as give-aways for joining your list, and in your email promotions. So if you’ve built a site that only contains information about you & your business, now it’s time to add valuable tools, tips, and strategies that your audience will find interesting, useful, and/or enlightening.
2. Develop Relationships With Your Target Market & Others Who Serve Your Target Market
Very few people will stumble upon your site and buy something right away, especially if you are selling high-ticket items or services. You must develop a relationship with them over time if they will trust you enough to start working with you.
My favorite way to develop that relationship is via social networking on Twitter and Facebook. Not only to I provide great content to my networks on these sites, but I engage them in a conversation about themselves and their businesses… and even help them by sending traffic to their sites! If social networking is not your thing yet, the same strategy applies for in person networking, phone calls, and live meetings with potential clients… develop that relationship before you expect them to go to your website (or make the sale).
Same concept applies to other people & businesses who also serve your target market. Once you develop a relationship with them, you may be able to engage in joint ventures where you promote each other, become affiliates for each other, and even create projects together. But this is not going to happen until you develop a relationship with them & they know you are a high quality partner.
3. Ask
There’s nothing wrong with promoting yourself, your website, and your business … as long as you do it in a way that shows “what’s in it for them”. The easiest way to do this is to offer free high quality content. If what you are “selling” is free and valuable to your target market, it will be easy & straightforward to “sell” them to go onto your site. But this only works if you already have valuable content *and* have already developed that relationship.
©2009 Elizabeth Potts Weinstein
www.TheWealthSpa.com
Recently I designed a website for a client’s new online business. They had provided me with a description of the business and a few pages of content – and with that we created a very clean, nice looking WordPress website. We even created a squeeze page with a newsletter sign up so they could get a jump on building their list. Two weeks after the site was complete, I received an email from them complaining that no one had subscribed to their newsletter yet and they were upset. Why was their new site not working? They even went so far as to look into hiring one of those so-called “SEO Guru’s” who promise they will get you millions of customers overnight! (Yeah, sure.) I assured the client that their site was fully set up with all the SEO tools websites can have – and send them a list of things they could do to help draw traffic to the site.
I’m still unsure if they took my advice and starting investing time into promoting their site – but the experience proved to me that many people still have the “If you build it, they will come” attitude about websites. As a designer, that’s a lot of pressure. And pretty much impossible.
So I did a bit of research on the concept of websites just “existing” and making you money. I downloaded every report I could find from so-called guru’s and discovered, through the haze of buzz words and empty promises, that each of these gurus are pushing these magic “X-Factor” techniques that are guaranteed (!!) to make you $10,000 overnight (!!) while you sit on the beach sipping your margarita. Everyone said the same thing, and most of their tools do work. But the thing these gurus left out was the amount of time and energy YOU need to put in your site to build it. Yes, it’s possible to create a website that will make passive income for you. It’s possible to wake up in the morning with those awesome “You’ve got money” emails in your inbox. What is not possible is for you to create a website and then do nothing, and expect the money to just start rolling in. Websites are not the Ronco™ Rotisserie – you can’t just set it and forget it.
The X-Factor Tools
There are tools that have been proven to work in building a profitable website. Below is a list of the big ones, the ones all the gurus profess and I have seen work. Check out your own web business and see if any of these pieces are missing.
By far these are not the only ways to build a profitable business, but these are some “big dogs” when it comes to promoting your business online. But the list – and the work – does not stop there. You have to try and envision your business as a living thing. It needs care and maintenance to survive. It needs YOU to grow.
The You-Factor
So you’ve got a great website, a nice little freebie for your subscribers, and introductory video about your business and a twitter account. What’s next?
The real X-Factor in marketing your business is YOU. Think outside the box when you start a new business and use as many tools as possible to promote yourself online. The competition is fierce out there, and the time you invest in promoting yourself really determines your success. Once you have your basic tools in place, start by investing just an hour a day in getting the word out there. You’ll be surprised at how taking just that little amount of time out of your day can increase your site traffic – and your bank account.
PS – Don’t forget to check in on how you are doing! I highly recommend subscribing to tracking software (google.com/analytics) and actively track your sites performance. Take an interest in how people are finding you, and what keywords that are bringing them to you. Take that info and exploit it! If most of your traffic comes in through Facebook, then step up your game on Facebook! It’s obviously working.
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
Please feel free to use this blog in whatever, but make sure you credit it back to the author (link it up here!!) and send us a note that you used it, cause we’ll give you some link-love right back.
Long ago in the blog world, blogs were limited in their style to a simple format – a header, footer and pages upon pages of blog posts. But with the release of new versions of WordPress there also came a new feature to customize your blog with different “skins” called Themes. These themes were custom designed to work behind the scenes of your WordPress blog to control the display of your site with style, color and flair.
Over the years, Themes have become more robust and now offer so many new and unique features that sites built using WordPress now have the ability to look and feel like a “real” website and site owners are staring to embrace the usability of WordPress to control their entire online business.
With the new trend emerging to use WordPress to create a business website, there is still a lot of confusion as to what a Theme is, how it works and what using WordPress can offer you. Here’s a brief rundown of what Themes are and how a WordPress site can work for you.
Your WordPress Site vs. Your Theme
In the past, a business owner might have a blog and a static website that were separate from each other. The downside of that is two-fold. For one, your content is separated for visitors to search out on multiple sites. For two, you lose out on the SEO benefits of the ever-changing, content-rich blog posts for your main website. Combining the two makes it easy for your visitors to find what they need in one place AND boosts your SEO by having a lot of content for the search engines to crawl.
Many people have come to me worried that all the work and time they have put into their blog will be lost if they switch to a new theme that will display their site as more of a website then a blog. That is not the case, since the site content and the theme are two separate entities (for the most part). Think of it this way – Your WordPress site is like your dinner. Your content (posts, pages, images, etc…) is the meat and potatoes of your site. Your theme is like the plate you serve it on. You can move your meat and potatoes to a different plate and you won’t loose any of the food – just change the way your dinner is displayed. In WordPress, you can change the theme as much as you want, and your content will still remain the same – albeit displayed differently.
Some Themes require custom coding to set up the end result – like uploading images for your header, background and footer, or adding pages to your navigation. This is where a web designer would step in. Rather then building a static (standard) website from scratch, a designer can take a pre-built Theme and customize it to look and feel like a static website that showcases your businesses brand. Depending on your needs, some Themes will look perfect straight out of the box while other will need tweaking to look and feel the right way. When a designer customizes a Theme, many times you as a visitor can not even tell the site is a WordPress site. But, then, what’s the point?
The Point of Using WordPress.
Here’s one of the biggest reasons for the trend: usability. I can’t tell you the number of times I have had a new client come to me, exasperated because they spent XXX dollars on a beautiful, custom static site only to find out that they either could not update their site at all, could not find the original designer to help them update the site, or were charged insane fees by the designer to make updates. With the fast paced world of internet marketing, you have to be able to update your site with new, fresh content to keep your visitors coming back. Introduce WordPress – a content management system that allows anyone with a little bit of computer knowledge (i.e. using Microsoft Word) to control their website, update pages and post new, fresh articles and resources to their own site without needed a web designer. Yay! With a little bit of practice and some training, anyone can operate a robust website with ease. (That’s not to say that some changes and edits may need the help of a web designer – but for the most part – you have control!!)
Choosing a Theme.
There are thousands of Theme options out there – in my experience, the style of a Theme is not as important as the way the Theme is built – clear, uncluttered coding makes a world of difference and a well built Theme offers more then just style. SEO is important (ok, REALLY important) and a well built Theme will keep in line with industry standards for SEO, making it easy for you to increase your traffic. Another benefit of a well-built Theme is the ease of customization – even someone with very little coding knowledge can make sense out of the custom coding and tweak things to make their website perfect for them. Take caution when choosing a theme that just looks good – you may find that in the backend, its pure chaos.
When searching for a Theme, some of the key things to look at are header/footer size & style, navigation menu style and home page style. Some Themes do not offer much in the way of customizing the header and navigation menu – some offer unlimited options. Home page style is also a big determining factor since your home page is the first thing your visitor will see. When looking at Themes check out their demo home page. Many will limit your home page to either feature blog posts or a static page (like Thesis), while others will have “modules” that display multiple sections of information, combining blog posts, static content and other media (like the StudioPress Themes).
Many other factors play a roll in Theme choice – like the type of content you will have (heavy on static content or blog posts, media heavy or graphics heavy). It’s best to decide prior to your Theme search what the most important information is on your site and what types of things you want to feature. Tell your web designer what your priorities are and they can help you find a Theme to build onto that will work best for you. Themes to me are a lot like a puzzle – the Theme developer has provided the puzzle pieces and your web designer can put those together to create the perfect end-result for your needs.
Using WordPress Like a Website.
Using a robust Theme, you can position your WordPress website to work like a static site while keeping the blog feature active. Many Themes have developed navigation menus that allow you to feature your static pages and allow your visitors to locate pertinent blog posts by using category listings. If you take a look at the LynnRaeDesigns.com site, you can see how the main, top navigation menu displays all the main pages of the site – like our services and FAQ’s. The submenu (the menu bar underneath the main menu) lists our categories for blog posts. You may not even realize this site operates using WordPress – since the static content is at the forefront of the site.
Your Sidebar.
Siderbars of the past were used to help a visitor navigate through the blog, with lists upon lists of categories, recent posts and links to other blogs (i.e. blogroll). When positioning your site as a static site using WordPress, you can take the sidebar area and use it to display important content that you don’t want your visitors to miss – like your newsletter sign up, a feature product or our most recent video. The options are endless for your sidebars (save width restrictions) and it offers a great way to get content in front of your visitor fast. You also have the option to remove the sidebar feature from your site and make every page a simple, full page of content. One of the best ways to use this feature is for sales pages and thank you pages – you can create new programs quickly by creating pages within your site that do not appear in the navigation menu, but can be accessed by typing in the full page address.
Wrapping it Up.
I’ve tried to touch on the major points in using WordPress as your website – by far not passing along everything (there’s just too much info to include in one article!!) The key thing to remember is – the line between static websites and blogs is so blurred now, the options are really endless. You can have the best of both worlds –the usability of a blog and the professional look of a static site – and it won’t take months or thousands of dollars to create – -and the end result gets you better SEO, a cleaner, user-friendly website and control over your own site.
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
Please feel free to use this blog in whatever, but make sure you credit it back to the author (link it up here!!) and send us a note that you used it, cause we’ll give you some link-love right back.
So, you have a website. It’s got a fabulous design, you’ve written high quality content, and you’ve launched it on the World Wide Web… and now you just have to sit back and wait and people will come, right?
I’m not even going to say “wrong” there, because you already know that. Driving traffic to your site takes a lot of work. You could spend hours looking for advice on SEO, and digging through the good vs. the bad is enough to drive you totally crazy. So let’s start from the beginning, and take a look at the foundation for good SEO – then compare those items listed to your current site. Missing anything? If not, great!! If so… you can spend just a little bit of time updating those tools and over time, you will start to see a boost in page rank.
1. Metadata
The actual definition of Metadata is “data about other data”. In your websites code, it’s a list of information about your site – from the type of site code used, to the title of your website or page, to the author of the content – metadata is used to tell those wonderful robots what they will be finding on your page.
Why you need it: Basically, your metadata helps tell the robots visiting your site where they are and what they are looking at. It’s as simple as that. It’s kind of like the “welcome mat” for your website, as far as robots are concerned.
What to include: The recommended ones are description, keywords, author.
Description: The meta description is what frequently shows up under your page title in search results and convinces people to click-through to your site – try limit your description to 20-25 words or less and tell potential visitors what your site is about in a catchy way.
Keywords: Include between 8-12 keywords that are relevant to your site. It helps to use these keywords in your content, as well.
Author: Stick your name in there, it will help if someone forgets your domain address and just searches for you!
Where to find it: Metadata is listed within the <head> tags of your source code. The easy way to check and see if your site included metadata? In your browser, open up your site and then click “VIEW” > “Page Source” (or just “Source” for IE users) in your browsers menu bar. What you’ll see is a page with a whole bunch of weird code. But at the top of the page, you should see things like <meta name=”____”>. If you don’t, you may not have your metatags set!! If you have FTP access to your site, open up your pages and add this code within the <head> element:
<meta name=”description” content=”description of page goes here”>
<meta name=”keywords” content=”keywords go here”>
<meta name=”author” content=”your name”>
2. Page Titles
Why you need it: The page title describes the content found on the page. It displays across the top of major browsers and is the text that displays in bookmarks. The title tells search engines what your site is about.
What to include: Write a catchy statement about your business, use your big keywords and your name or your business name. Keep it under 70 characters!!
Where to find it: Open your site in a browser and look at the top of the screen. What does it say up there? You can change you title in your sites code by looking in the <head> section… it’s simply listed as <title>. For blogs, you normally have to change the sites title within the admin site (where you post blog articles from). Keep in mind you can use a different title custom written for each page, too!!
3. Site Maps.
Why you need it: A site map is just that, a map of your site. It tells the visitor what pages you have and how they work together and helps people and robots navigate your site. If you have a simple site (5 pages or less) you can include an html page with a simple map (a bunch of links) of your pages. If you have a complex site (more then 10 pages) it’s recommended to use an XML sitemap so the robots know what pages are there and how they work together.
What to include: This one is easy – all your pages. For HTML site maps, just create a linked list of all your main pages and subpages. Its highly recommended that if you use anchor links ( a link that takes you to another part of the same webpage) you make the link text actual keywords rather then “click here”.
Where to find it: This is tricky if you don’t have access to your server files. Chances are, if you don’t know if you have one, you probably don’t. If you have a small site, contact your webmaster and ask them to create an html sitemap to include in the footer (or navigation menu) of your page. If you have a large site, there are tools you can use to generate your site map. For static sites, you can check out http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ or use Google’s Webmaster Tools. For blogs, you can download a plugin to create your sitemap. I recommend Google Sitemap Generator.
4. Other Quick SEO Tools:
Domain Stability: Register your domain for longer then one year. Search engines like to see domains that have extended registration. This tells them that the domain has “staying power” and is probably not just a spam site.
Use Text: Fancy, flashy, sites sure are pretty. But they get a big fail in SEO because robots can’t read graphics. Make sure you have plenty of actual text on your site, your graphics have “alt” tags describing what they are, and you use relevant headlines in your content (like the H1, H2 & H3 tags).
Take Advantage of Linking: There are many, many ways for using links to boost SEO – I can’t go over all of them here, but here’s a few that can help.
-Don’t fall prey to link dumping and link spamming – these tricks never work on robots and no matter what anyone says, will hurt you rather then help you.
-Use keywords in your anchor links (not “click here”).
- Make your page links easy and clear (like www.yoursite.com/recipes.html – tells us that page will probably include recipes).
-Trade links with relevant websites and put them in relevant sections of content within your site – “links” pages with a big list of links won’t help you.
Want to see how your webpage scores on its SEO? Submit your site to http://website.grader.com/ and get a free report on your site. Once you have that report, you’ll know exactly what steps you can take to boost your site’s SEO quickly.
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
Please feel free to use this blog in whatever, but make sure you credit it back to the author (link it up here!!) and send us a note that you used it, cause we’ll give you some link-love right back.
Think Outside The Box! I mean that literally as most sales pages are set up as a long box of content, centered on the browser screen. There are things you can do outside of that box to boost your visibility. First off, make the background around your box of content pleasing to the eye – you can choose a background color that makes your content “pop” or add a graphic (such as you logo) watermarked on the background. Repetition of your brand is always good. Don’t make the mistake of having your background color be too bold – an obnoxious bright red may make people uneasy and leave the site.
Adding your site navigation menu along the bottom of the page can help increase your traffic as well – if someone is leery about signing up for your offer they may want to investigate who you are a bit more, and adding your site navigation gives them a way to see who you are and what you do.
Add bookmarking links above the content. I recently had a client ask me to add bookmarking links to her page – an idea I had not thought of before! After a bit of research, I found that adding links to diggit, reddit, twitter, facebook (the list goes on) is a very easy way to give people the option to spread the word about your product or offer. Most bookmarking sites have the link code available on their site so all you have to do is copy and paste it into your code!
Say “no!” to clipart! Be mindful of the graphics you add to your sales page. The days of Power Point stick figures are over. With all of the stock photography and stock graphics sites out there, you can add very professional looking images to your sales page with little to no cost to you. People can tell the difference between clipart from Word and professionally designed graphics. In addition to content-driven graphics, if you are selling (or offering for free) an eBook or Audio program, having a 3D graphic custom made to fit that product helps the visitor visualize what they are going to get by signing up.
Personalize! Adding your image, signature or video to the sales page helps the visitor feel connected to you and helps to build the relationship. Show your visitors the results you got from your system or product by adding pictures of you enjoying the benefits (like an image of your vacation house or you having a great time doing something resulting from using this product)
Match their investment to yours. This is especially true for sales pages where you are selling a product (rather then building a list and offering a freebie) – if you have a basic, content rich sales page with little customization, no graphics and no personalization you can give the impression to your visitors that this product is not worth your own time and money!! If it looks like you only spent 15 minutes creating your sales page, there is a good chance people will not be willing to invest hundreds of $$ to your product.
Be mindful of your content. You may have spent hours developing great copy to sell your product, but if you do not format the content correctly, chances are no one will have the patience to read through all of it. Use an easy to read font (like Veranda or Tahoma), don’t let your paragraphs go too long (break up paragraphs into 2-3 sentence statements), use headers and subheaders, & bullet points.
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
Please feel free to use this blog in whatever, but make sure you credit it back to the author (link it up here!!) and send us a note that you used it, cause we’ll give you some link-love right back.
Well, no, not really. I’ve been rejected before. But this time, it was different. I liked it. This time, it was exactly what I needed to hear.
You see, as a business owner and a site designer, I had a problem. For the longest time I would always, always say “yes”. I was the “yes” girl.
When I launched my new business this past January, I vowed to make changes. I vowed to set up guidelines for working with me – and to stick with them.
Creating a website or graphic for someone else’s company takes work from both sides – I need your feedback and ideas before I can get you what you actually want. I have created worksheets and questionnaires for my clients to fill out so I can get all the answers I need. That was one of the problems I had in the past – clients saying “I don’t care, do what you think is best” which is not conducive to building YOUR brand. If I design everything based on my style and taste, ultimately you will end up not being satisfied with your product. (Not to be confused with me building on an idea – that’s different)
So when I was contacted by a prospective client this week, and the email was a huge red-flag for me. It simply read “Hello. Please send me your skill set. Thank You.”. Right off the bat, I knew they didn’t take even a second to visit my website, since listed right there in plain english are my “skill sets”.
My reply was cordial and friendly – explaining my procedure for phone consolations and requesting for more info on the project over email prior to the call. His response was a flat out “No” – he needed his stuff now and could not wait.
Now, I understand the need for getting something done ASAP. I am sympathetic to that and I will bend my rules in certain situations. But assuming I will stop work on all my clients projects and prioritize yours when we have no prior relationship and when you refuse to send details over email is just, well, insulting to me. The reality is, I run a business, I am busy, I have clients – and treating me as if my schedule is unimportant is just rude.
So I was happy with that rejection. I celebrated (with a cookie, actually). It reinforced the fact that I was making the right decision by establishing my boundaries and standing by them. My clients know that they are important to me and that they will be taken care of. And for those who are not my clients yet, I hope you understand that my rules and restrictions are in place for two reasons – 1) Because I respect myself and 2) Because I respect my clients.
Here’s the real truth — I am not an employee. I used to feel like getting a client project was actually them doing me a favor. Now I recognize that it’s the opposite. Web designers are a dime a dozen… and everyone treats their business differently. I’m not reinvently the wheel here, I know there are other people who can do what I do… but what you get when you work with me is… ta da! Me! And while before I just lumped myself in the category of “just another web designer”, I now know I am different b/c I am personally involved in my clients project. I want them to succeed more then I want them to pay me (the money is just a perk).
So from here on out, my prospects and I interview each other – we decide if we should work together. I do not give the time of day to those people who treat me as if I am their employee, as if they are doing me a favor. Trust me, I don’t need those kind of favors.
This is a guest post on The Wealth Spa Magazine (www.thewealthspa.com) by me!! (Yay!). Just thought I would share, since I am proud.
I launched my web design business 4 years ago when the list of people who needed my services grew to a point where I could not ignore the need anymore. So I spent just 3 days building my own site – taking design cues from my peers and creating a very “industry standard” website. It was a nice enough site; it brought in business and allowed me to quit my “real job” to invest all my time into design. I had a steady client base but no real niche. I was dealing with clients who did not really mesh well with me personally and I found myself more stressed then satisfied.
Since that time I have had 5 incarnations of my business site. When I got frustrated, to the end of my rope with stress, I would redesign my site hoping it would draw in a different clientele. Each time I took cues from other design sites or utilized the newest fad in design and each time I got a new batch of clients… but walked away with the same stress and dissatisfaction.
So what was I doing wrong?
In the summer of 2008, with my introduction (and slight addiction) to the social networking site Twitter, I figured it out. What was I missing in marketing my business? Me!!
The one thing all those design incarnations was missing was my personality. So once again I went and redesigned my site – and instead of designing something that “fit” with my peers, I created a style that screamed “Victoria!!”
In the weeks after I made the switch to marketing myself rather then my business, I witnessed a complete turnaround, and boom (Yay!), in my business. Instead of trying to figure out what my clients wanted me to be, I was simply myself. In my web presence, my social networking and my communications with clients and prospects I stayed true to my personality and the response was phenomenal! The best part about this newfound business identity: I’ve developed friendships with my clients and a true pride in the work that I provide for them.
This idea of marketing yourself is nothing new. Throughout the ages, women have utilized their appearance as a signature of their style – from clothing, hair, or accessories, woman have found a way to distinguish themselves by their look. When we get dressed in the morning or for a night out, we take care in choosing the right look so that we can show who we are to everyone, ultimately marketing ourselves socially.
As we venture into this new Web 2.0 world, our online style becomes a virtual “look” for our business, distinguishing what the business it all about. As important as first impressions are in the “real world”, the online world works the same. The look and feel of your blog, website or social networking profile will tell your visitors who you are and help them decide if you are the right person to do business with.
Think about the look that you personally display everyday – do your graphics, logo and style for your sites match that look? Do your clients know who they are doing business with?
In my design business, my sites act as my virtual wardrobe. I do not have one particular style all the time in the “real world” just like I do not have one particular style for my designs – but they all have parts that represent me. When I build my sites, I take the piece of my style that fits in with the theme of that site (i.e. my site catering to musicians has a different feel then my site catering to online marketers, but both have their own “Victoria” flair.)
Whether you are selling a product or a service, you are ultimately selling you. Is your website a virtual representation of you?
Capturing you… and your audience.
What does your website say about you? Take some time and review your own site, through the eyes of a prospect. Ignore for a moment the content (while content is the main ingredient of a website, it is the look and feel of a site that will keep your visitor engaged) and look at your color scheme, your fonts, your picture, the flow of the page. What does it tell someone who does not know who you are? If you were the prospect, would you be compelled to hand your money over to this person? Why?
Challenge: poll a group of people who do not know you on a personal level to look at your website and try to describe you.
Now check out your competition. Your competitor’s site can tell you a lot about what you should – and shouldn’t- be doing on yours. Analyze their site the same way – what does their design say about their personality? What would make your target market hire them before you?
Next, take a look at your current client list. Those clients that you love to work with, who give repeat business and referrals, what types of people are they? If you have found your niche already, great! If not, it’s time. One of the biggest teachings in marketing yourself as an entrepreneur is to find your target market. It’s a struggle at first to put limitations on who you market to for fear that you will then limit your income. On the contrary, most often you end up increasing your income… and your sanity. Look a little deeper into who hires you and you will probably find that the majority of those people who love to work with you and who you love to work with have personalities just like you.
What now?
So you reviewed your site… and something about it doesn’t scream ‘you!’ Where do you go from here?
Your business identity should reflect your personality. When you look over your website, when you see your logo, when you review your eNewsletter, how does it make you feel? If it feels impersonal to you, chances are it won’t pull in your prospects either. Showing off how awesome you are in your brand will not only help you develop strong relationships with your clients and bring in the new business that you really want, but it gives you confidence and pride in your business and yourself.
About the Author
;Sign up for my FREE Special Report: Twenty Quick Things You Can Do to Boost Your Online Presence at http://www.lynnraedesigns.com or tweet with me at http://Twitter.com/victoriapk
Photo of me courtesy of Corey Woodruff.
Photo of “wardrobe remix” courtesy of Mai Le via Flickr.
So it’s been a few years now that I’ve been in the business of helping webpreneurs with their online businesses… and one of the most prominent business tools I’ve seen are these blog-thingys. So it’s 2009 now and since I entered this year with a jaded attitude (I lost my mojo late 2008 – but we’ll talk about that in a different blog post) I thought – “What can I do to 1) get my mojo back and 2) reposition myself in this industry” it came to me! Why not do for myself what I see my clients doing?!?! And now here I am with my newfangled blog – and I don’t know what in the heck I am doing here!
I can set it up. I can pretty-fi it. (Yes, pretty-fi. I make up words. It’s ok) I can promote it and SEO the heck out of it — but writing? Where do you begin????
So I investigated blogs. Which was cool, because I discovered that you can pretty much talk about anything you want and if someone wants to listen, they can… if they don’t, they don’t. It’s a nice change of pace for me, since I see the look on my husbands face when I talk sometimes. That look of “I soooo don’t care”. So now I have a new outlet and I’m guessing my marriage will benefit from this. But what I could not find in all those blogs was how to START. What do you say in your first, your second, even your fifth blog post? If I walked up to someone new on the street and just started rambling about graphic design they would probably think I was crazy and slowly back away, then take off running, right?
After agonizing for a few days over how to start, I decided to just make my first few posts just ramblings about my leap into the blog world. Albeit I may be running the risk of people slowly backing away from the computer, then taking off and running out of the room… but here in the blog world, I can’t see you running so it doesn’t make me feel so crazy.
So for those of you who didn’t slowly back away and then start running out of the room – Welcome! Welcome to me rambling about web design, graphic design, photography and a whole bunch of other stuff that makes me tick. I hope in the posts to come that I can provide you with stuff you need; tips, tricks, tools, etc.. I will make a point to include useful stuff amoung my crazy, sometimes snarky ramblings.
Until next time…