Shawn - August 20th, 2010
How can you connect with your client base today? You can blog with them. A blog is your brick and mortar storefront; it’s the next best thing to being there.
Blogging gives business owners the unique advantage of real time dialogue with their current and potential clients. Just as you log onto MLB.com and vent your frustrations about a blown call or squandered trade opportunities, bloggers can voice their opinion directly to the people that are involved in something they are passionate about.
For your company, a blog is a literal porthole into the consciousness of the goods and services buying public.
SO…what are the benefits of adding a blog to your website? There are at least 10 of them:
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You are creating a community – your blog can speak directly to interested parties and you can get as topical and granular as you want/need to.
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Once you establish the blog you can actively solicit comments in your blog posts and ask your readers what they think. Their comments will spur those of others and you’ll create a conversation.
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You can keep the conversation going; if someone takes the time to comment, make sure to get back to them via the blog so everyone else knows what you guys are talking about.
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Try not to use your blog as a podium or a soapbox…stick to the key issues about your company and industry; unless you’re selling politics or religion, you may want to steer clear and keep the focus where you need it.
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Neither your website nor your blog or anything written or video recorded should be all about you. You get one page on your website: About Us, that’s it. It’s more important that you post content that your target audience will find useful and informative.
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It is not worth establishing a blog if you are going to neglect it. It needs to be maintained with a steady stream of fresh and compelling content. Post to your blog at LEAST once a month, weekly or daily is actually even better…
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You can use your blog as a showcase for interesting projects that have either universal appeal or highlight a new trend in your industry; a blog is definitely the place to post case studies and featured projects.
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Encourage visitors to come back to check for updates or do a three-part series.
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You can re-purpose the content…take the month’s best blog posts and incorporate them into a monthly email newsletter so you can share the great info with your offline readers.
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The more effective the content you post, the more opportunities you’ll have to get your website ranked better by the almighty search engines. Need I say more? What do you guys think? Any blog success stories?
Shawn - August 16th, 2010
To promote your business, we believe in the power of blogs and the benefits of social media to brand yourself and make contacts, but email marketing really completes that balance and gives you another avenue to target your market.
While some companies subscribe to print ads and postcards (which can be very effective if your budget allows for it and you’ve got a really polished campaign that extends over a period of time) many companies leverage Email Marketing, Bulk Email, and Newsletters to keep their business on the consumer radar. Personally, we partner with iContact.com for their flexibility, their reasonable prices, and their feature-rich selection.
While email is a more affordable solution than traditional print media, we’d like to recommend some guidelines that you’ll find useful or this whole electronic crusade could really backfire on you!
The Number one rule for effectively keeping in touch with your database is to be consistent; twice a month is probably a good interval.
Rule number two: Know the distinction between spamming your potential clients to death and consistently imparting interesting information about your industry while subliminally reminding them that you are an excellent resource for that need.
Rule number three: Don’t make your emails or newsletters all about how great you are, but provide useful tips; you’ll spotlight yourself as a resource, not as a loudmouth capitalizing on a captive audience. (How do you know if you’re doing it wrong? You’ll find that your “unsubscribe” notifications will start to mount.)
Basically, we don’t recommend emailing your entire client and prospect base from Outlook or other normal email software because it is not effective. Reasons for using a service like iContact.com:
Reason number one: They focus on insuring your messages get delivered to your recipient's Inboxes and not their Spam folders.
Reason number two: They are also looking out that you follow all spam regulations so you don’t get reported for not following the permission-based marketing etiquette.
Reason number three: They provide really useful statistics so you know who is opening, reading, and forwarding your emails. You can even get reports on the unique click-throughs on the hyperlinks, so you get a handle on what people are responding to in your emails.
Between blogs and social media and the good use of email marketing strategies, you can reach a ton of people efficiently and affordably…and spend the savings on a vacation.
Shawn - August 3rd, 2010
Do You Need a Website for Your Business?
It’s not just because we run a website design company in Tampa Bay that our answer to that question is “yes!” The need for a website for your business is probably as important as having a stack of business cards on hand to give to potential clients.
The reasons to have a website are pretty straightforward:
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Because people Google everything
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Because it’s the most efficient way to present your credentials and services in one easy- to-update venue
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Because every other business has one
As small businesses grow and turn a profit they can start to afford things like PR professionals and marketing strategies to improve their business.
But with I guess probably no exception, whether you run Joe’s Plumbing or Walmart…the website is your hub: the storehouse for your goods and services detail, your case studies, your testimonials; and it can also provide a platform on which people can pay you.
Websites are available in zillions of sizes and shapes; they can be extraordinarily complex with all kinds of built-in blogs and bells and whistles or they can be a basic template that is customized with your colors and logo and a Home Page, Services Page, and a Contact Us Page.
If it is designed correctly from the beginning, a website can grow with you. Easy to use content management system (CMS) add-ons will also enable you to tweak your content to reflect changes in business scope and to keep your verbiage current.
Basically, there’s nothing static about a website. It’s not a brochure that you create and print and then have to update and reprint and re-disburse. Websites can be optimized and edited and can keep pace with your target audience.
A website is a living/breathing thing, just like your business. It can be adapted and it can be enhanced, but you can never be without one.
Shawn - July 27th, 2010
We recently had the opportunity of attending the second Front-End Design Conference right here in Tampa Bay! There are quite a few reasons why we enjoy attending these conferences. Most importantly, we feel it's our duty to support events in Tampa Bay that are related to our industry. Most people are quite surprised at the amount of talent we have here in Tampa Bay! Secondly, it's always great to network with others, hear some great speakers, and get reinvigorated!
This years event marks the second Front-End Design Conference. We attended last year as well. Dan Denney and his family/team did a wonderful job putting together this conference. I'm always amazed at the speakers he's able to bring in from all around the world for this event. We had a great time, as always, and are eagerly looking forward to next year's event!
Here's some of the slides from the keynotes at the conference for those that are interested:
Shawn - July 27th, 2010
We design and host websites for a living so we know how to manage a project and do all that great webmaster stuff that brings all the elements together.
And whether or not you as a client have creative sensibilities, you know what you like. While we can make just about anything work, your input is the thing that is ultimately going to put the unique stamp on the site.
We therefore think it is always a good idea for a client to take stock of the things that are important to them in a website before we even start the design process.
So here are our Top Ten Things to Think About (or Have!) Before you Sit Down with Us or Any Professional Website Designer:
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You should have your content complete. There’s nothing more frustrating for everyone than to have the site complete and not an About Us to be found. Videos only go so far…you need tangibility of the verbiage kind.
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Make sure you have a digital copy of your logo (the higher the resolution the better).
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Pick two or three websites that you really like (if they are competitors of yours, that’s even better) and what you like about them.
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Pick two or three websites you don't like (also competitors, if possible) and what you don't like about them.
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Jot down colors that appeal and ones you can’t be bothered with.
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Think about the primary goals of your website:
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Are you selling products?
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Lead generating?
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Are you primarily offering customer service and support?
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Do you need to reduce incoming phone calls?
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Who is your audience?
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Determine how frequently the website will be updated; you may or may not want a content management system, but it will enable you to revise your site’s verbiage.
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If it's an e-commerce site:
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What type of payments do you want to accept?
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How do you want the shipping charges calculated?
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How many products are going to be sold on the website?
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Think a year ahead if you can…it is always easier and more affordable to build for growth in the beginning then to go back and add later.
No two projects are alike (good thing…otherwise we’d go crazy!), but these fundamental questions go really far toward getting your website working right out of the box.
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