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Website Builders provide an easy way for small business owners to create a website without learning HTML, CSS, or other website coding languages. With dozens and dozens of options, which one is right for your website?
The best way to find the right website builder for you is to know what you need before you make [...]
Working with a virtual assistant or other professional to help you with some of the routine tasks in your small business can be a great decision and free up your time to focus on your income generating activities. But delegate wisely! Don’t delegate what you can automate. Save time and money by automating these six [...]
Don’t let your email newsletter get tossed into the virtual trash can before it’s opened, or lead your customers to the wrong place when they’re ready to purchase. Be sure you aren’t making these three common mistakes.
1) A non-descriptive or vague “From” line
Don’t put “newsletter” in the “from” line. No one will know which newsletter [...]
Do you know where your business will be in 6 months? 1 year? 2 years? 5 years? Do you know what steps you need to take to reach those goals? Are your daily actions brining you closer to your goals or are you just “spinning your wheels”? Are your business systems and processes supporting your [...]
If you’re running Magento Commerce on shared hosting, loading speed can be a challenge. Slow loading websites cause customers to click away and shop elsewhere.
Before you begin working to optimize your website, test your speed with a tool like webpageanalyzer.com or iwebtool.com/speed_test Run several tests at different times of the day to get a better [...]
Are you drowning in email? Got dozens or hundreds of messages in your inbox waiting for you to sort through and respond to them? Do you feel overwhelmed just thinking about clicking the “check mail” button? Don’t panic! You can overcome that flood of email!
1) Use a Good Spam Filter
Check with your website host to [...]
Learning to understand your website statistics can help you improve your website for visitors, measure if your promotional strategies are working, and find new opportunities to promote your business.
How can you measure your website statistics?
There are two common ways to measure this important information.
One is with software that analyzes the server logfiles. Each time someone [...]
If you track your website analytics, you may wonder what “bounce rate” means and whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. “Bounce rate” means a visitor clicked through to your website, and only visited one page. They didn’t browse around any. They viewed one page and left.
Whether a high bounce rate is reason [...]
Imagine that you sit down at your computer one day, type in your domain name, and instead of the business website you’ve worked to build you see some crazy page that’s definitely not your website. What happened? What do you do next?
You may see a suspended hosting page asking you to contact your website host, [...]
When you need to reduce your home office expenses, you need to know what your current expenses are, then take time to evaluate your needs and options.
Here are five expenses you can evaluate to reduce your home office costs.
Phone: What are you currently paying for your office phone line(s) each month? Are there options that [...]
If you know you need to slash your small business budget, but aren’t sure how to begin, here are three steps to help you cut responsibly.
1. Analyze
Begin by making a list of all your expenses–daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. Write them all down on paper so you can see exactly what it costs you to operate.
Don’t [...]
With just a bit of work and creativity, you can transform your home office into a space that you feel energized by and enjoy spending time in.
Remove and Declutter
Give yourself permission to declutter your space and remove anything that makes you feel anxious or that you’ve been tolerating but don’t love.
Organize Everything
Take time to plan [...]
As I write this article, I’m on a jet from Seattle to DC. This is article seven in a brainstorm session powered by Seattle’s Best Coffee and scribbled in partial shorthand into a notebook (I’ll polish later, when I’m back on the ground). I’m thoroughly enjoying the feel of pen against real paper. I’m one [...]
Running your own small business can be a bumpy road. Many small business owners go through moments were we aren’t sure we can succeed or that we are “enough” (good enough, smart enough, talented enough, etc).
Overcome the confidence crisis! Create your own positivity file. It can be a folder on your computer, a folder on [...]
Service providers and freelancers often feel under pressure to offer their services to anyone who requests them. But sometimes the best answer is no.
Businesses have unique needs, and every clients has a unique personality. Projects deserve the best “fit” for them.
If you’re ever tried to put a square peg in a round hole, make the [...]
Website builders are popular because they’re a quick and easy way to create your own website. Most are “point and click” style, requiring no knowledge of HTML or CSS code and offer dozens or hundreds of nicely designed templates to choose from.
But since everyone using the website builder has access to those same templates, you’ve [...]
You’re ready to create your first business website and get it online. You choose a site builder and put hours into your website. A month later, it’s no where to be found in the search engines. You wait a little longer hoping it just needs a little more time. But another month passes with no [...]
An up-to-date and well maintained website is important for a small business. It’s your 24/7 salesperson and customer service representative, always there promoting your products or services and answering questions for your customers.
It can be a challenge for a small business start up to afford frequent website updates by a professional web designer (hourly rates [...]
Is your business growing and evolving? I’ve consulted with entrepreneurs who are considering changes (big or small) in the direction of their businesses and I’ve been there myself. It can feel a little intimidating to change directions. Here’s what I’ve learned.
1. Business naturally evolve as their owners evolve. As you gain knowledge and grow personally, [...]
Every domain name has a publicly accessible record that includes the owner’s personal information. It’s called a WHOIS record and lists the registrant and contacts for the domain. Your name, address, city, state, zip, country, phone number and email address may be listed on the WHOIS record for your domain. It also shows when you [...]
Imagine that you sit down at your computer one day, type in your domain name, and instead of the business website you’ve worked to build you see some crazy page that’s definitely not your website. What happened? What do you do next?
You may see a suspended hosting page asking you to contact your website host, [...]
What is a banner ad? A banner ad is a graphical (picture) advertisement. The most common size online is 468 x 60. Banner sizes are measured in pixels. This means it’s 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels high.
There are many other sizes of banner ads. These sizes are also common:
120 x 240 - Vertical Banner
125 [...]
Have you ever thought about this question? I’ll admit, when I first started my website design business my concern was only the second half of the question – the “where do I find clients?!” part. Many new businesses focus only on trying to find clients or customers and skip the critical step of identifying their [...]
For new business owners marketing can be a big challenge. If you aren’t sure where to begin, take some time to think about what you enjoy, and you’ll find your “marketing personality.” You can use that to build a marketing plan that you won’t dread acting on.
Do you enjoy writing? Write some reports and distribute [...]
Are you getting dismal results from your banner ads? You may be making one of these mistakes!
If you generate a high number of click-throughs from your banner ads but very low or no sales, you’ll need to investigate the possible reasons. Some possibilities to consider:
- Is your ad misleading or confusing? Don’t advertise a product [...]
Are you considering ordering a banner ad design? Having a professionally designed banner advertisement created for your business can be a great choice. There are many designers out there to choose from, so here are some tips to help you select and work with a banner ad designer.
1) Start with referrals. If you have friends [...]
The holiday season can be a test for any work at home mom. It’s challenging enough to juggle business and home on regular days. The holidays can feel like a three-ring circus has moved in. Thankfully there are ways you can make it easier to keep up with it all.
1) Know and Accept Your Limits
You [...]
Here are some easy and free ways you can promote your newsletter to gain subscribers. Print off a quick copy and then check off each promotion strategy as you complete it.
- Add a subscription form to every page of my website
- Edit email signature to include info about my newsletter
- Edit signature on forums to [...]
It’s a newsletter publishers nightmare–being accused of sending spam and then blocked from reaching their subscribers.
One of the most difficult things to deal with is being accused of spamming. It can cause all sorts of frustrations.
If you use a newsletter script hosted on your own website it can result in your IP being blacklisted and [...]
If you struggle to come up with ideas for your newsletter articles, you aren’t alone! Many small business owners aren’t sure what to write about. You want topics that will be interesting to your readers and help them get to “know” you so they learn that you can be a trusted source of the information [...]
When you get involved with another person or group of people, you need to go in “eyes wide open” as the saying goes. Your JV partner or group is going to reflect on you with their actions so you want to be absolutely sure it will enhance your image and boost customer confidence. It’s also [...]
Busy moms spend a lot of time preparing nutritious and yummy meals for their families. It isn’t the cooking and assembling the meals that takes so long – planning the meals and shopping for the necessary ingredients can take more time than the actual cooking!
Does This Sound Familiar?
Have you ever started to cook dinner at [...]
A common reason for moms to homeschool their children and work from home is that the at-home lifestyle appeals to them. It sounds like an ideal situation – you’re home, the kids are at home, and everyone’s happy.
But juggling a home business with homeschooling usually doesn’t look as peaceful as it might sound. In fact, [...]
What are affiliate programs? Affiliate programs allow you to earn a percentage or set amount on sales of a product or service that you refer a new customer to. Thousands of businesses offer affiliate programs. You get to decide what products or services you’d like to promote.
There are 3 important things to consider when choosing [...]
It can be a challenge to come up with new ideas for your newsletter on a weekly or monthly basis. You need ideas for topics that your readers are interested in!
Here’s how I recently got a year worth of ideas for my weekly newsletter with just a few minutes of time.
I created a quick, three [...]
Do you use article marketing as one of your business strategies? If so, you need an ArticlesByYou.com website.
You can start out simple and forward your domain to your author page at your favorite article marketing directory.
Or you can use your domain along with a Wordpress blog to build a directory of all your articles available [...]
Your online business can become a time-sucking black hole, unless you learn to manage your time wisely.
It can begin with something as innocent as a routine check of your email, or a visit to your favorite networking site. Then before you know it, “just one more thing” has turned into 10 more things, it’s 3am, [...]
Do you have time to market your WAHM business? Many work-at-home-moms market their businesses regularly when they start out and are desperate for that first paying customer. But when they get busy with clients, their marketing often falls to the wayside… until they realize they don’t have any work lined up for the next month. [...]
You need to know what you want and need before you start looking for an e-commerce solution. The more details you plan in advance, the better off you’ll be.
As a website designer I worked with clients all too often who had chosen their e-commerce solution only because it was “free” or because their website designer [...]
You’ve probably heard this advice before: You become the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.
We are influenced in a powerful way by those we choose to spend our time and energy with. This applies not only to your personal life and growth, but also to your business. Creating a supportive [...]
This is a great way to make new customers feel special. Put together a “welcome kit” to send to each new customer that includes customer service resources, helpful information, and promotional details about other products or services you offer.
The “Printable” Customer Welcome Kit
Here are some ideas of what you might include in a printable customer [...]
Are you considering starting your own blog? You may wonder whether you should:
* go with a blogging service that’s hosted on another server where you get a subdomain like yourbusiness.bloggingsite.com
* put your blog on your own domain and hosting space so your blog is at yourbusiness.com or yourbusiness.com/blog
Here are five great reasons to consider using [...]
You can be successful in requesting your articles be reprinted on targeted niche websites if you know how to ask.
Key One: Submit Your Requests to the Right Websites
Don’t send out mass emails requesting your article be added to random websites. Instead, take time to find websites that are a good fit for your articles, where [...]
Absolutely, positively 100%, yes!! You need goals and you need them written down or mapped out, and here’s why…
You’ve probably heard the story about the rocks and the sand. It’s been told and retold and featured in many publications, so here’s just a quick version:
If you picture your life as a jar, and fill it [...]
You can achieve your goals! Here are four tips to help you set your goals, plan to reach them, and succeed.
1) Start small and focused.
Don’t set 100 goals for yourself or you’ll get overwhelmed first. Choose just a couple. Once you’ve accomplished those or made them a habit, then set more.
2) Know your motivations. [...]
Put your blog promotion on auto-pilot with these “set it once then forget it” promotional strategies.
Submit Your Blog to Blog Directories
Once you’ve requested a listing, you’re done!
blogcatalog.com
bloghub.com
blogarama.com
blogexplosion.com
blogflux.com
blog-search.com
blogbunch.com
iblogbusiness.com
quickblogdirectory.com
bloglisting.net
blogrankings.com
weblogalot.com
Ping When You Post
If you’re using Wordpress, it’s probably already set to ping rpc.pingomatic.com Add that to your ping list if it’s not there already. Ping-O-Matic will receive your [...]
Are you ready to take your article marketing to the next level? Submitting to article directories is a great first action step in your article marketing strategy. For the next level of traffic and exposure considering submitting your articles directly to niche websites.
There are millions of websites. Not all of them appeal [...]
More than 50 million domain names have been registered and more are registered every day. Are you ready to join in and get your own domain? This article covers some of the important things to consider.
What is a domain name? Wondering how and why they work?
Here’s a great link:
The Domain Name System: A Non-Technical Explanation [...]
Have you chosen the perfect domain name for your online business? Great! Time to get it registered.
Be careful where you search for your domains. “Domain kiting” is a very common problem and many unethical companies monitor domain searches. So be prepared to immediately register your domain, or the chances are it will be registered by [...]
Finding the right company to host your website can be overwhelming. Where should you begin?
Let’s start with the basics. A website is “hosted” on a server. A server is the computer that holds the files for your website and responds when someone wants to view your website.
So, what do you need in a server?
Do you [...]
1) Rely on Yourself First
You might be surprised what you can solve quickly by taking advantage of the “self-help” resources most technical related companies offer. Check for flash (video) tutorials, a searchable knowledge base, or a customer forum. Very often the most common questions can be answered in just minutes if you look at those [...]
It’s the event every website owner fears… your host’s server goes *poof* in a fantastic crash and burn… and takes your website down with it. Don’t panic yet, there’s hope!
Let’s begin with what you can do to minimize your risk of a crash and maximize your ability to quickly and fully recover, then I’ll give [...]
If your site isn’t easy to navigate, your customers will get confused, and confusion does not lead to happy shoppers or to more sales! Here are two quick tips to help keep you from confusing your customers.
1) Make it intuitively clear where to find things and easy to navigate.
Is your site easy to navigate? It [...]
Is your website running as smoothly as it could be? Here are eight important points to check the function and professionalism of your website.
1) Compatible
Is your website compatible with all the major search engines? Test it on as many browsers as you can, and do a check at http://www.browsershots.org to see what it looks like [...]
Is your website working for or against you in gaining clients and sales? Be sure that any “bells and whistles” are used carefully to enhance the visitors experience.
Watch for these four important factors:
- Quick Page Download Time
With too many fancy features or large photographs, the time it takes for visitors to load your page may [...]
You’ve only got seconds to grab a visitors attention and get them to stick around and browse your website. What can you do to help keep them there? Here are two easy ways to add an element of professional fun to your website.
1) Slide show of Your Products or Portfolio
There are several options for creating [...]
Now that you’ve got your newsletter up and running, are you ready to make it distinctive? Using a custom template can help your newsletter catch the eye of the subscriber as they sort through their email. It can also reinforce your brand and professional status. A custom template will put your logo, photos, colors, and [...]
Are you capturing visitor information so you can stay in touch with them? If not, I’ve got good news! It’s easier than you might think and more important than you may realize.
Often a visitor will find your website as they surf, or search, but they aren’t quite ready to purchase your products or hire you [...]
Once you’re all signed up for hosting, the next step is to get your website online. Where should you begin?
First, you need to know what the purpose of your website is. Is it an informational website where you can provide details of your organization, group, or services? Do you want a blog? Or are you [...]
Are you considering adding video to your website? It can be a great way to connect with your visitors and boost your conversion rates.
This article will assume you already have a video file you want to use (you can use Windows Movie Maker or iMovie to create one). Here are two options you may consider [...]
There are three ways available to access your email with most website hosting accounts. You can choose from POP, IMAP, or Webmail. Which one is best for you? The overview below will explain the basics about how each works and when it might be a great choice for your email access.
POP: POP stands for Post [...]
When you’re just starting your business online, the policies page is easy to overlook or create too quickly.
Well thought out policies will save you stress and frustration later. Take time now to decide how you will deal with troublesome situations, while you’re unemotional and not in the heat of the situation—it’s much easier to create [...]
An effective website should focus on meeting the customer’s needs and helping them be sure that the products you offer are exactly what they want. To help customers determine if your products or services are right for them, you need to answer their questions. Only when their questions are answered will they feel comfortable making [...]
Comment on High Traffic Websites: One great way to not only boost your website rankings but to also increase your visibility and get additional traffic to your website is to post meaningful comments on blogs and websites that are relevant to your website’s products/services.
Specialized Directories: Use the search engines to find trade associations and product [...]
Do you often send email acknowledgments of orders? Follow up emails to check that products were downloaded or received and the customer is happy? Emails requesting feedback or reviews? An auto-responder can save you time!
Auto-responders are programs that send automatic responses when they are triggered. You set up the response one time, and the triggers, [...]
Here are five very quick ways to promote your information products and ebooks.
1) Check with your shopping cart and payment processor for promotional opportunities. PayPal offers a marketplace listing for merchant, as does Mal’s E-Commerce. If you sell through YouPublish, Payloadz, or e-Junkie you can be listed in their product sales catalogs.
2) Choose a good, [...]
12 Focus Finders to Help You in Your Journey
Picture yourself driving down the road in your car. You’ve got so many things to focus on at once. Kids in your car. Other drivers on the road. Your rear view mirror. Your side view mirrors. The speedometer, the gas gauge, the check engine light. The traffic [...]
I take one of four approaches to something I cannot do, do not like, or don’t understand (any of these three reasons make it a “problem area” in my mind).
1) Learn it. I don’t deal well with failure so I just do whatever I have to do to improve. Whether it’s research online, practice/rehearsing, or [...]
As 2009 approaches, it’s time to look back at 2008 and evaluate your business. Consider the following questions. They’ll help you identify where things are working, what needs to change, and get some ideas flowing for making 2009 an even better year for your business.
1) Did you have written goals for 2008?
Did you achieve your [...]
Do you find yourself procrastinating? Putting off tasks that truly need done? Here are some of the main reasons for procrastination and ways to overcome them.
1) You just don’t want to do it.
Sometimes there are tasks we just don’t want to do. There are three ways to overcome this: do it, hire someone else to [...]
There are many ways to sell your information products. When you’re publishing your first ebook it can be overwhelming trying to decide which way to go. Do you want to just accept a payment through PayPal then email the file to the customer? Can you afford the $100/month solution you’ve heard recommended? Is there a [...]
There are many great reasons to write your own ebooks. Two of the best reasons are: (1) It helps establish you as an expert on the products you sell or services you offer, and (2) it can add an additional stream of income to your business.
But where do you begin? Follow these eight steps to [...]
