Victoria Potts Keale » The Biz Blog

Why I am now considering myself a “web hobbyist”

Victoria Keale — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:39:33 +0000

It’s Saturday evening, and here I am sitting in my office, “working”.

It’s scenarios like this that have led to my latest “aha!” — I don’t really consider myself a web designer – I consider myself a web hobbyist. I have read so many sales pitches for ‘how to turn your hobby into a business’ that I think I started believing that there was something almost not to be taken seriously in those who make money using their hobby. Like it wasn’t a “real” business. And in some cases, for some people, that may be true. But not for everyone… and not for me.

To illustrate my thought process, I’ve invented Joe Shmoe. Joe in an insurance man – he works his own hours and stays up on the latest insurance stuff. He has clients. He has an office. It’s a job. When Joe finishes up his day, he comes home to the family, dinner, a little TV – normal stuff. Joe is also a car enthusiast. He knows all sorts of what’s what about cars. He has a cool garage with lots of tools and gadgets, and fixes up cars on his time off.

Joe knows a lot about insurance. He knows the ins and outs, the whys, all that stuff. He enjoys his job, and likes to take care of his clients. But Joe knows a LOT about cars. During his free time he reads car magazines, he surfs car blogs, he knows what’s coming out when, what kind of car is worth what, etc, etc…

Why is it that only Joe’s insurance knowledge is deemed of “value”. The only thing worth paying him for? Doesn’t it seem like those who have hobbies are really experts in their chosen hobby? (It’s probably unlikely that his clients would consider Joe an insurance expert – but ask his neighbors, and I bet they’d say he was a car expert.)

Why do we put our noses up when we hear the word “hobby” when it’s connected with a business? Personally, I’d be more apt to pay Joe for something car related then to buy insurance from him. It’s all about passion — the more passionate about something we are, the more we have invested in it, the more we care, the more we know. And for me, I would rather deal with someone who is passionate then “professional”.

So, I am not a web designer. After my lovely (3rd) baby joins the world (20 days from the publish date of this post) websites are no longer my job. I’m not coming in the office 9-5, Monday thru Friday. Because in all reality, websites were never my job. I’ve always just done this because I loved it. Because I am a nerd. Because I read tech blogs, could sit for hours reading code, and I care more about the end result of design then I do about the paycheck.Because I can only redesign my own website so many times a year before people would start thinking me mad.

I don’t want to call the people I do work for “clients” anymore — although I have yet to think of a replacement definition.
I don’t want to be on Twitter anymore. It takes my time away from my family, my hobby and myself.
I don’t want to market myself. (which is partially b/c I hate that part)
I want to spend my free time either helping people with web stuff or learning about new web stuff.
I want to teach people what I know so that they don’t need me. Not because I don’t want to work for them anymore, but because I want them empowered.
I want to continue charging a fair amount for my expertise and one-on-one help – but balance that out with free advice, research and tutorials.

And most of all I want to hold on to the pleasure that nerding out on some code, finally solving that script problem, creating that fantastic logo… brings me. I want to continue to look forward to sitting here in my office, like I’m here because this IS leisure time for me. And so there it is – Victoria Keale is no longer a web designer. I am from now on a web hobbyist. Maybe web hobbyist extraordinaire? Yeah.

What does that mean for this business? Not too much except some service and package changes, and a much different schedule for me. That stuff will be “announced” over the next few weeks, before my little bundle comes. In the meantime I am going to chew on this concept a bit and see where it takes me, wrap up the projects I have left with my “job” and get settled into my REAL job – being Mom. Cause no matter what, that’s the only true full time job I have. The rest of the things I do are really just hobbies!

~Until next time.

New Series #1 — The Web Geek Encyclopedia

Victoria Keale — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:06:09 +0000

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…

Victoria’s Web Geek Encyclopedia

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

Are URL Shorteners getting you blacklisted?

Victoria Keale — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:59:53 +0000

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…

Plan. Create. Evaluate.

Victoria Keale — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:07:49 +0000

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.

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.

Looking back.

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 can always find one. The brand is unmistakable. It’s a bull’s eye for goodness sake! But I know bull’s eye = Target b/c I see it so much in everything. And driving in a strange area of the city / country I can spot that logo from a mile away!
I know where everything is in the store. Almost all their stores are laid out the same. I can go into a Target in Hoboken and find paper towels in a heartbeat because they are in the same place as my neighborhood store. Familiarity makes it appealing to me.
New items, sale items and special lines are showcased in obvious places, so I see all kinds of cool things I never would have thought to buy each time I go in there. (Ok, not so good for the checkbook – but you get my gist)
I get what I pay for. The quality of their products is totally in line with the cost.

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.

Warning Signs.

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.

Sales have taken a nose dive since the site first lauched.
You have a high bounce rate.
The time people spend on your site is small.
You have no idea how to find out your bounce rate or time spent on site.
You’re not getting many (or any) incoming links to your site.
You blog traffic is not converting into website traffic.
No one can find your site without a direct URL.
You rarely get sign ups for your newsletter or downloads of your freebies.

If any (or – yikes – all) of these fit you, it’s high time you get some help for your website.

Problem Areas.

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.

I swear I am wrapping this up!

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.

Your testimonials and the new FTC rules

Victoria Keale — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:06:54 +0000

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.

Do you struggle with your enewsletter?

Victoria Keale — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:09:38 +0000

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 ♥

Have you met the chimp?

He’s adorable. You’ll want to hug him.

Here’s the short list as to why I ♥ MailChimp.

They don’t try to sound all cold. The voice they use on their site is regular-person voice. They make jokes, they are cutesy. They explain things the way they would talk to you. I like that. I respect that.
Their dashboard makes sense. They don’t add all kinds of extra tabs and menu items that confuse people. They have simple tabs relating to what you actually need.
It’s easy to add or build your lists. You can import old lists without problems or a need for a re-opt-in. You can integrate a TON of programs, like paypal, to automatically add your contacts to your lists.
Forms are pretty simple to create. Spend just a few minutes getting used to their form builder, add the drag-drop, clickable-ness of it all will be a welcome change.
Support is nice. Support is human. Support actually wants to *gasp* support you.
They integrate with a ton of programs. They partner with a ton of programs (so you get discounts). You may discover some new software that will solve a problem you had by looking at their partner list. For me, that was FreshBooks. I ♥♥ FreshBooks and would never have tried them if it were not for MailChimp.
It’s free for small lists, and cheap for large lists. You can earn credits by promoting them.
There’s more… but I won’t keep droning on and on for you, except to tell you my #1 reason:

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!

Shiny Object Syndrome

Victoria Keale — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:09:12 +0000

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

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.

Do You Really Need a Coach?

Victoria Keale — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:22:46 +0000

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.

Email Service Providers – What to Look For

Victoria Keale — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:01:07 +0000

This month (and next) we are concentrating on the world of email marketing. I have spent some time investigating email service providers (ESP) and reviewing them. As you shop around for an ESP (or a new one) there are a number of important things you need to consider. I’m going to touch on a few here – and give a version 1.0 recommendation (followed by my version 2.0 recommendations later on this month) based on some of these unique features.

PRICING

It seems many people base their ESP decision on pricing – and this can be the biggest mistake internet marketers make!! You should really pay attention to the restrictions the ESPs put on their pricing – depending on your list size and the amount of times you send out emails per month, the cheap $9.99 /month ESP you signed up for last year could end up costing you $99 /month when your list gets big. Steer clear of ESPs that charge per email – while you may have a small list and only send out one email a month, you need the functionality as you grow to send updates and notifications throughout the month. Look at the pricing scale with the idea that your business WILL be growing – most of the ESP’s have the same base rates for pay-by-subscriber plans, but some have little loopholes that may catch you by surprise.

BEST PRICE STRUCTURE: iContact
WORST PRICE STRUCTURE: MyEmma & Email Brain (it’s a tie)

LIST MANAGEMENT

A big thing to look for in an ESP is their ability to grow with you. Some ESP’s only allow you to set up one list of subscribers, some allow multiple lists but require you to use the same autoresponder welcome note (which can get confusing for someone signing up for a special program). Make sure your ESP has the capability to create multiple lists, multiple campaigns and custom sign up forms. Another part of list management – autoresponders. It’s worth a few extra bucks to use an ESP with this capability – even if you don’t use it now, you will probably want to in the future.

BEST LIST MANAGEMENT FEATURES: MailChimp & aWeber (another tie!)
WORST LIST MANAGEMENT FEATURES: Constant Contact

THOSE PESKY EMAIL CREATORS

This is probably the biggest complaint I get with ESPs – the method in which you have to create and send your actual email is infuriating! Some have custom templates (some are really good, some are really horrible), some have visual editors, some offer “build your own” – and some just don’t work at all. If you are looking for a fancy-pants html newsletter, choosing an ESP with a user-friendly editor and nice, clean templates to use is your best bet at success – and if you plan on having a custom template built for your business, make sure your ESP accepts copy & paste HTML code.

BEST VISUAL EDITOR / TEMPLATES: Vertical Response
WORST VISUAL EDITOR / TEMPLATES: iContact / Constant Contact (another tie!!)

WEB FORMS!

I’ve worked in the past with a few ESPs that had insane restrictions on their web forms and little to no customization on the success pages and welcome emails. While some ESPs tout their software “does it all for you”, be wary of the amount of stuff they do for you – because allowing an ESP to control your forms and follow up pages/emails takes the control away from you. As your business grows, you may want to incorporate tracking on your sign ups, require more then just a name or email in the form, or send people who sign up for a program to a page to download a freebie – and when you have no control over your form set up, you lose that something special that sets your business apart from your competitors. When shopping for an ESP, make sure they allow you to send subscribers to a URL of your choosing after sign up. Finding a program that allows you to customize your web form is key as well – I know of one ESP that houses their sign up forms in frames – which many people can’t even (or choose not to) accept in their browser – so you lose the opportunity to even get their info!!

BEST FORM FEATURES: Mail Chimp & aWeber (tie!!)
WORST FORM FEATURES: MyEmma

I’m going to leave you with those little sneaks at reviews on ESPs – as I dig deeper into the world of email marketing and test out all these programs, I will post my results so you can see the nitty gritty of the ESP world.

Again – if your having problems with your email marketing campaign or need advice on which one to use, please send me an email to admin@lynnraedesigns.com and I will investigate your issue in my research.

Thanks – and happy marketing!!

You Have a Website … Now What?

Victoria Keale — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:27:46 +0000

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.