Let Your Website Do The Work!

Why Your Small Business Needs A Blog

On the front cover of one of my favorite magazines "Entrepreneur" was the article headline "Why Your Business Needs A Blog".  I've been designing blogs for several years for my clients and I've noticed the requests have been on the rise.  Why?  Because business blogging is a great tool to attract new clients to your small business.  Blogging is more conversational and interactive than the usual interactions with your potential or current clients.  Blogging content changes frequently so search engines and customers love it!  So have you been thinking about setting up a blog for your small business?  Or if you're blogging already how's it going?

This link isn't the exact article I saw, but I thought it had some great tips!

http://www.entrepreneur.com/technology/techtrendscolumnistpeteralexander/article175236.html

Simple Steps To Get Your Website Off Your To Do List And Online

One of the biggest struggles my one on one clients face is how to get my team all of the website copy, images, and other items we need to complete the project. But how can you pull together a website when you're running your business and working with clients every day. There is hope! But since you're not a superhero, it will take some planning. Here are some of the steps I take when launching either my website or one of my client's websites.

1.  Create a website organizer- Create a checklist of all of the tasks you need to complete for each page of your website. If you're not sure what pages will be included on your website start by developing a simple sitemap outlining your website navigation. Then use this sitemap to develop your checklist. Make sure to include any hidden pages like thank you pages. It's helpful to set a deadline for each task so then you are not overwhelmed by tasks.

2.  Set aside a business development day only- I usually reserve Fridays or a day on the weekends for a business development day. During this time I only work on business development items such as writing, additions to my website, or marketing. If you are focused on completing a website, set aside one day for this task only. Otherwise, it will always get pushed to the back burner. If you feel guilty about putting off work for clients or not working on any billable time, think about how your website will sell your services and products for you automatically.

3.  Create a deadline- Even if you have no actual deadline for your website, go ahead and create one. This way you will be motivated to complete your copy and other items required for the website. Make sure this deadline is a realistic deadline though otherwise you will never stick to it. Create reminders in your calendar according to this set deadline.

4.  Work with a virtual assistant- If you already have a virtual assistant; get her help with your website tasks. Have your assistant remind you of set deadlines, proofread your copy, find clip art, organize photos, and any other tasks you need help with. If you're just getting started and don't have an assistant enlist your spouse, friend, or family member's help. If you would like to hire a virtual assistant there are several companies to start with if you Google "virtual assistant". I found my first assistant from a referral so ask other small business owners for their resources.

5.  Talk through your website- If writing is not your expertise; try talking through your website. Use a free teleseminar service and then record the phone call of you talking about your business. After you have recorded the information have the phone call transcribed and then proofread to transform it into copy for your website.

There are a lot of steps which go into putting your business online. Try not to get overwhelmed and take it one step at a time. Soon you will have a brand new website which will work for you 24/7.

I walk each of my clients through this custom organizing process in order to get their websites online fast. So if you need some help getting started call 713-429-1854 to schedule a "get to know you phone call" to see how I can help you speed the process along.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWLETTER OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Jennifer Haubein publishes "SiteNotes" a FREE bi-weekly ezine for small business owners who want a website that actually works. If you're ready to start making more money online, get your FREE tips now at www.BestBizWebsiteSolutions.com/newsletter.html

Jennifer Haubein publishes “SiteNotes” a FREE bi-weekly ezine for small business owners who want a website that actually works. If you’re ready to get insider tips website developers don’t want you to know, and start making more money online, get your FREE tips now at http://www.BestBizWebsiteSolutions.com/newsletter.html.

Shopping Cart Secrets Revealed!

If you use 1ShoppingCart or its private label partners such as Kickstartcart, Autowebbusiness, Cartville, and many others you won’t want miss my upcoming event. 

Shopping Cart Secrets Revealed! Webinar Wednesday May 7^th at 8:00 EST/7:00 CST/5:00 PST.

This is not a technie webinar, in this training session I will answer any questions you may have about 1ShoppingCart. I will take you through the on line sales process and show you step by step how to get started selling your products or services on line.

Here are some of the topics I’ll cover on this webinar:

• Learn how to easily track your advertising 
• Set up an affiliate program for your business 
• Discover what an autoresponder is and how you can set one up 
• Customize your order form to increase your conversion rate 
• How to schedule your newsletter when you are going to be out of town

Click here to find out more information and register now!

How To Easily Add Some Personality To Your Website

The integration of audio/visual elements into your website will easily capture your website visitor's attention. Animating your website is not as difficult as you might think. What about adding an animated character? Animated characters not only add some personality to your website, but also help you increase your bottom line.

Easily answer your visitor's questions- With my animated character's FAQ feature you can easily answer your customer's questions about your products or services. Your animated character will speak the answer to their questions. This is much better than a non-interactive FAQ page. When potential customers are determining whether to purchase an item or service, they have several questions. Let your animated character be your virtual salesclerk and answer all their questions with a virtual smile.

Increase your newsletter sign-ups- If you have a newsletter sign-up box on your website adding an animated character will most likely double your newsletter sign-ups. The animated character can direct your website visitors to the desired action, signing up for your newsletter. In a recent 2007 case study by Small Business Trends, their newsletter signups more than doubled and they saw 144% increase in conversion rate.

Establish a bond with your first time website visitors- To your first time website visitors you are a stranger. An animated character designed like you and using your voice creates an instant bond with your website visitors. We buy from those we know, like, and trust. So the more you reveal yourself on your website the better. Some small business owners make the mistake of looking like a big company instead of revealing themselves. Big companies spend millions of dollars on spokespeople. But you already have a great spokesperson, you!

Better than a static picture- It's great to have your picture on the website, but in addition to your picture add a little animation. An animated character interacts with your website visitors and adds a level a static picture cannot provide.

Increase time spent on website- Most website visitors spend about 3-5 seconds on a website. That's it 3-5 seconds! But by adding an animated character to your website you can help increase the amount of time your website visitors spend on your site. The more time they spend on your website the better.

Direct visitors through your website- An animated character can help direct your website visitors through your site. Pointing them to pages they should visit or actions they should take. An animated character is like a virtual tour guide, helping people through the different pages of your website.

If you would like to see an example of an animated character in action you can check out my website at www.bestbizwebsitesolutions.com. Also, if you would like to get started with an animated character of your own, click here to sign-up for our free 15 day trial.

Jennifer Haubein publishes “SiteNotes” a FREE bi-weekly ezine for small business owners who want a website that actually works. If you’re ready to get insider tips website developers don’t want you to know, and start making more money on-line, get your FREE tips now at http://www.BestBizWebsiteSolutions.com/newsletter.html.

What To Write About On Your Business Blog

It's good to be personal with your customers and potential customers, but remember a business blog is not a personal blog.  Keep in mind you're trying to get the attention of search engines in the area of your expertise.  If you are writing about your family vacations and other personal subjects, your potential customers are never going to find your blog. 

Here are some great topics to write about on your blog:

1) Recent case studies in your area of expertise

2) Re-purpose your newsletter articles and publish them on your blog

3) Recent client testimonials

4) Trends in your industry

5) How to tips

The list goes on and on, but remember to keep your target market in mind when writing to your blog.  They'll appreciate it. 

Jennifer Haubein publishes “SiteNotes” a FREE bi-weekly ezine for small business owners who want a website that actually works. If you’re ready to get insider tips website developers don’t want you to know, and start making more money on-line, get your FREE tips now at http://www.BestBizWebsiteSolutions.com/newsletter.html.

How An Ezine Turns Your Website Into A Working Website

Last night I participated in the ezine Queen's, Ali Brown, final teleseminar on ezine (email newsletter)publishing.  She made a great point I wanted to emphasize.  An ezine is a great tool to capture your website visitors information.  This simple item on your website turns your current website into a working website.  Not many people are going to email you or contact you through your website unless you offer them something of value.  So offering an email newsletter plus another free offer turns your website into a client attracting machine. 

I am a true example of this! I have recently added two team members to my company due to increase in demand.  I never have to worry where my next client will come from thanks to this simple marketing tool.  I don't mean to brag here.  My business before my ezine was not as client attractive as it is now.  I had no way to follow up with my customers or potential customers.  Now, I have a follow-up method that works for me 24/7. 

Also, since I have started publishing my ezine I have been invited to be a guest on radio shows and several webinars and teleseminars. Would have this happened without my ezine?  Possibly, but not likely. 

So what are you waiting for? Start an email newsletter today and make sure you have your sign-up box on every page of your website.

Feature Article: 5 Easy Ways To Use Video To Attract More Clients

As a former NBC television producer I would like to share with you some easy ways to add video to your website or email newsletter.  But don’t worry you don’t need experience in a television station control room.  Thanks to the YouTube and other video sharing websites adding video to your website is a lot easier than you think.

1)  Create a Photo Montage- Do you have photos of your products, workshops, clients, or yourself?  Then you can easily create a video for your website.  If you are using Windows XP you already have the tool to do this without buying any additional software. Windows Movie Maker has drag and drop features to make creating and editing your movie easier. It allows you to import photos and create a photo montage with background music and fancy video transitions.  You can then use this same tool to upload your video to a video sharing website.  Don’t worry MAC users, newer MACs come with a video editing tool called IMovie. But if you don’t have this software already it is available to purchase.

2)  Video Testimonials- If you work with your clients one on one or provide workshops, why not collect video testimonials from them.  All you need is a simple video camera and tripod and you’re ready to go.  You don’t need a special microphone or videographer, because the camera microphone will do just fine. But if you would feel more comfortable you could hire an aspiring movie director from your local community college. Your clients will love being on camera and feel honored you asked them.  Then use the same video editing software to get just the right clips and upload them to your website or youtube.  New clients will be so impressed!

3)  Webcam video of you- Do you have a webcam? If not they cost around $50 and are very easy to use. You can use your webcam to record a special video message discussing your free newsletter and the upload the video to your website.  I recommend a service called Instant Video Generator that makes this whole process so easy.

4)  Video clip of a recent media interview- Were you recently interviewed on television? If so as long as you receive permission you can display this video clip on your website.  If you can’t use the clip directly on your website you can always link to their website, but be careful to check the link frequently to make sure that it is still active.  Having a video clip from a media outlet gives you instant credibility with potential clients.

5)  Video of your product in action- Website visitors thinking about purchasing a product love to see how it works or people using it.  Create a home movie of your product in action.  For example, if you’re a wedding planner what about a home movie clip of your latest wedding? Or if you sell purses you could create a video of people wearing your purses.

Now before adding any audio/visual elements to your website please keep in mind these tips.  Don’t overwhelm your website visitor.  Limit you’re elements to one or two per page and only use only one element that plays automatically. Also, you don’t need the most expensive camera, microphone, editing software, or webcamera to get started.  Below are my top recommendations for the technology you will need to get started.

Video Camera

Aiptek ICAM 2.4 Digital Camcorder with 1GB Memory Card & Tripod $104.97
Pure Digital - Flip Video Camcorder $149.99

Web Camera

Logitech - QuickCam Communicate STX Web Camera $39.99

Video Editing

Windows Movie Maker, Free
Apple IMovie, Free

Making Videos Web Ready

Best Biz Website Solutions- We can take any video and convert into a flash video file to upload to your website easily
YouTube
InstantVideoGenerator

If you loved these ideas of how to add video to your website, but don’t want to mess with the technology.  Best Biz Website Solutions can help you create and add videos to your website.  For more information on how we can help send us an email at info@BestBizWebsiteSolutions.com.

Jennifer Haubein publishes “SiteNotes” a FREE bi-weekly ezine for small business owners who want a website that actually works. If you’re ready to get insider tips website developers don’t want you to know, and start making more money online, get your FREE tips now at http://www.BestBizWebsiteSolutions.com/newsletter.html.

Easy Tool To Create Videos

Videos are hot on the web! I will share with you one of my favorite tools which helps you easily create and upload videos to You Tube.  It's called Flip Video and I don't have one yet, but I'm about to run out and pick one up.  I actually already have a pretty nice video camera, but Flip Video makes it very easy to upload videos to You Tube and the picture quality is amazing for such a small camera.

Maybe it's because I was a television news producer at the young age of 16, but I have always had a passion for video.  But I needed a camera that was compact and had great picture quality.  This new camera was featured on Oprah and meets the requirements. I can't wait to share my new videos with you soon! I have lots of ideas and tips I want to share with you.

Here's to your on line success,

Jennifer Haubein

Best Biz Blogging Webinar

A blog is a great way to get the attention of the press and quickly become the expert in your field.

Here are some benefits of blogging:

* More traffic to your website
* Build your email newsletter list
* Attract more clients easily
* Instantly build your credibility
* Gain the attention of the press

It's not too late to sign-up for my special event.

"Best Biz Blogging Webinar" February 26, 2008 at 8:00 pm EST/ 7:00 CST/5:00 PST

Click the link below to register:
http://tinyurl.com/384ptm

Jennifer Haubein publishes "SiteNotes" a FREE bi-weekly ezine for small business owners who want a website that actually works.  If you're ready to start making more money on-line, get your FREE tips now at www.BestBizWebsiteSolutions.com/newsletter.html

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

It's amazing how easy stores make it for men to find great Valentine's Day gifts.  At my local grocery store they had a tent you could drive up to for your Valentine's needs.  Also, once you walked in the front entrance they had everything you would need from flowers to candy and they took your money right there! I thought to myself how very smart of these grocery stores they really know how to market.

What about your business and especially your website?

Can your customers find your contact information easily? 

How easy is your on-line store to navigate?

The easier you make it the more they will buy from you and come back to you in the future. We love the "easy" button!

Jennifer Haubein publishes "SiteNotes" a FREE bi-weekly ezine for small business owners who want a website that actually works.  If you're ready to start making more money on-line, get your FREE tips now at www.BestBizWebsiteSolutions.com/newsletter.html