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Are You Your Own Best Marketeer?

July 18, 2012 By weborize Leave a Comment

One of the questions I ask regularly is: “Just because you CAN do it yourself, will you?” and perhaps equally relevant is “Should you?”

Social Marketing Requires SoulEvery day I talk with prospective clients who wonder why their marketing efforts are going unnoticed and I see many of the same mistakes being repeated.  Regardless of whether you engage someone to aid in this effort (which I recommend highly), here are a few things to keep in mind:

  1. Contribution – Contribution is to the web like location is to real estate.  We’re all busy and overloaded with information.  We’re looking for that bright/interesting spot in our day.  Tailor your posts, tweets and email content to be that.  If it’s all about you, it’s only a matter of time before we quit paying attention.
  2. Respect our time – We may not have time to read an entire post, so consider posting a relevant quote or tidbit that will stick with us – possibly even engage us to make time, or come back.  Hint:  “Read my blog post” is not this . . . instead, pick something from the blog post that may be of interest and use that instead.
  3. Vary your content – You get bored easily and so does everyone else.  If you’ve seen the same photo/link/video, etc. being posted by the masses, avoid the urge to follow the herd.  Remember that tasteful humor and interesting quotes can be as powerful (sometimes more so) than information.
  4. Be consistent – Create a monthly/quarterly “game plan” (this is where having “Weborization” – or similar – assistance can make all the difference) for the events and services you want to promote throughout the month/quarter and then make sure it shows up everywhere along with everything else.  Add your everyday tweets and posts as you go along making use of either the scheduling feature in Facebook or another social media tool.
  5. Be you – Your clients “bought you” when they selected your product or service.  If you are posting what you think they want instead of what appeals to you, you’re barking up the wrong tree.  If you like it, chances are they will.
  6. Add a graphic – A picture is still worth at least a thousand words – maybe more.
  7. Know when – There is always a point when you know you’ve gone as far as you can without a perspective change.  Two heads are always better than one, and this is particularly true with social media and the web.  Consider adding to your team in the form of a dedicated employee, trusted vendor, or both.  Hint:  Weborization loves doing this for businesses.  Contact us today.

Filed Under: Marketing, Resources Tagged With: DIY Graphics, DIY web, Effectiveness, Full Service Web, Marketing, Social Media

The Mysteries of SEO

March 24, 2012 By weborize Leave a Comment

WebWith the possible exception of overall marketing, search engine optimization is probably the topic most written and speculated about online.  Carefully guarded by the search engines themselves, and changing all the time, there is clearly an evolution taking place that includes social media and attempts to interpret what we’re looking for beyond the keywords we actually use to search.  (Read more about Google’s Semantic Search here).

The best overall advice I can provide is to think organically – and remember what a web looks like:  the more connections you have, the stronger and more staying power you have (why do you think we picked this as part of our logo).

Basic SEO tips:

  1. Consider the search engines as well as name recognition as you choose your domain
  2. Add links to (and from) your blog/website everywhere you can – this should include all your social media pages, your email signatures, blogs you comment or guest post on, and all printed media – anywhere you can
  3. Use alternate text for all images to increase keyword density (as well as keeping your site available for the site impaired)
  4. Create listings and submit your website with all the search engines:  Yext or getlisted.org
  5. Keep information current – blog posts are a great way to do this
  6. Add (valuable) resources

SEO Resources:

Google Adwords Keyword Tool – free tool to research Google keyword usage

Filed Under: Resources, The Basics, The Plan Tagged With: DIY web, do-it-yourself web, domains, Full Service Web, Google, Keyword Tool, Mini-Serve Web, Search Engine Optimization, Self-Serve Web, Semantic Search, SEO, SEO Resources, web plan website

Domains: How Do You Choose?

March 24, 2012 By weborize Leave a Comment

DomainsConfused about selecting a domain? Consider that you want more than one.

Just because you want your name and/or your business name recognizable, neither of these may convey what you actually do to the search engines – a key factor.  So consider using a domain that does just exactly that for your main domain and hosting (for the search engines) and then forward (and use) other domains (your name and/or your business name) for marketing and name recognition.

Tips for domain selection:

  1. Pick more than one (see above)
  2. Never use hyphens or combinations of numbers and letters that are difficult to convey – remember you’ll be saying this over and over again – don’t make it difficult for you or them
  3. Short is almost always better than long
  4. Easy to remember is good too

Do you want to buy a domain?  Weborization is a domain reseller through Weborization.net.

Filed Under: Resources, The Basics, The Plan Tagged With: DIY web, do-it-yourself web, domains, Full Service Web, GoDaddy, Hostgator, Mini-Serve Web, web plan

What About Graphics?

March 24, 2012 By weborize Leave a Comment

DesignAlmost as soon as you begin creating your new site, you may realize that something you failed to take into account is the need for great looking graphics.  Having a visually appealing website is  nearly as important as the functionality.  A professional look is good.

The tips:

  1. If at all possible, have your logo designed by a professional
  2. Use stock images (see resource links below for affordable sites) to avoid problems with copyrights
  3. Resize your images – even though WordPress will “resize” them within it’s functionality, use this sparingly, otherwise you can end up with pages that take a long time to load because of the original size of the graphic

Great Free Graphics Resources:

Photoshop Tricks You Can Do Without Buying Photoshop

GIMP Image Manipulation Progam (free)

Inkscape Open Source vector graphics editor (free)

Fotor Online Photo Editing (free)

Our Stock Image Site Recommendations:

  • 123rf.com
  • depositphotos.com
  • dreamstime.com

Filed Under: Blog, Resources, The Basics Tagged With: DIY Graphics, DIY web, do-it-yourself web, Fotor, GIMP, Graphics, Online Photo Editing, Photoshop Tips, Self-Serve Web, Stock Image Sites, website

Fonts, Typography and More Fonts

March 15, 2012 By weborize Leave a Comment

Free Font ResourcesSo, what are the rules about fonts? 

Once upon a time (before web), serif fonts were used for text and sans serif for headlines because they made for easier reading.  With the advent of the web, this has been reversed and sans serif is used almost exclusively for standard content while serif are employed in more decorative ways, such as use in headers or as emphasis.

Here are the rules I’ve assembled over time from a myriad of places:

  1. Keep it legible – even the most interesting font is completely ineffective if no one can read  it
  2. Three is the magic number – two is good and never use more than three different fonts on a site/page
  3. Increase your line height – this more than anything you do with text on your site will increase legibility and the “ahhh” factor – white space is good

Great Free Font Resources:

Google Web Fonts

Adobe Edge Web Fonts

Smashing Magazine Fonts 2012

The Next Web 2012

Filed Under: Blog, Resources, The Basics Tagged With: DIY Graphics, DIY web, do-it-yourself web, Font Rules, Fonts, Free Font Resources, Sans Serif, Self-Serve Web, Serif

Getting Started

February 22, 2012 By weborize Leave a Comment

Getting started with a new business/website/web presence can be daunting.  Where do you begin?  Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why, in the video below, shares compelling examples of the importance of knowing your “why”.

Some points to consider:

  1. What is your WHY?  (Need help with this?  Weborization recommends Jenny Magic with Better Way to Say It – here is a presentation she did recently for All Content Matters
  2. What sets your business/organization apart from others like it?
  3. What role do you want your website/presence to fulfill, i.e. brochure, sell online, etc.?
  4. Remember that we don’t buy what you do/sell, we buy why and the benefits to us
  5. Less is more – don’t add pages/content that is fluff – show us the juice, and nothing but the juice

Filed Under: Marketing, The Plan Tagged With: DIY web, do-it-yourself web, Jenny Magic, Simon Sinek, Start With Why, web plan

Domain, hosting . . . what does it all mean?

January 10, 2012 By weborize Leave a Comment

HouseThink of your website like you would a piece of property and it becomes very simple:

  • The domain is like the street address
  • The hosting is like the land on which your home sits
  • And the website (or files themselves) are like the property improvements, i.e. the house, garage, etc.

We recommend Weborization,net* for domain registrations.  For hosting, we recommend WP Engine* unless your budget requires something lighter – in which case SiteGround* is recommended.

* Weborization earns an affiliate commission from our recommendations, but that’s not why we recommend these services.  We use them ourselves and strongly believe in them.

Filed Under: Blog, Resources, The Basics Tagged With: DIY web, do-it-yourself web, domains, Genesis, Hostgator, hosting, Studiopress, website, Wordpress

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