Perhaps you’ve started the process of writing articles of interest and posting them to article marketing directories but you haven’t gotten results.

The problem may be that your not constructing the articles in the right way. This is not a complex process but there are key components that should go into every article. Length isn’t as important as the need for you to be providing quality information, in a concise manner that provides sufficient incentive to get someone to visit your website as a result of what they’ve read on your website.

If an article you’ve published to an article marketing directory is not drawing visitors to your website you won’t see the conversion (sales) results you want. Too many people just write articles without any plan at all and that’s potentially wasted effort.  I’m about to provide you with the step by step strategy to produce your article marketing strategy in a way that is proven to drive sales.

If you’re ready to learn click here to begin!

Getting it Done

It’s no secret that article marketing works but perhaps you’re still working full time or just simply unable to squeeze in the time needed during the day or evening to create these articles. Here’s an idea: contact a ghostwriter and get this strategy DONE.  The sooner your market sees your promotions in articles across the web, the faster your sales can increase.

Talk to you tomorrow when we discuss contests and giveaways!

If you’ve been on the internet for any length of time, you know that a blog is an ongoing online journal on a certain topic, which usually invites interaction with readers in the form of comments on the blog posts. Many blogs allow or even encourage guest posts from other writers in their industry.

By becoming a guest blogger on a popular blog, you can get additional subscribers in two main ways:

1. It increases your trust factor. In order for people to give you their name and email, they need to trust you. As a guest blogger on the blog of someone they already know, like and trust, you have the opportunity to have a little bit of that trust rub off on you. This vote of confidence goes a long way in gaining the trust of potential new subscribers to your email list.
2. It extends your reach. By guest blogging you significantly increase your center of influence, beyond those you normally reach.

If you want to have success with guest blogging you need to understand the target market of the blog you’re visiting. Your posts should connect with the audience and offer them value. Do this by studying the blog  – what have readers responded to in the past? What topics are typically covered? How long are the posts? Do they include multiple images or none at all? You want to look like you belong, while still offering something uniquely yours.

When trying to find blogs where you could be a suitable “guest blogger” start with who you know and who knows you. Then start looking for leaders in your field and approach them. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to secure guest-blogging spots. All bloggers need content, and it takes a lot of time and energy to create so you are providing them a service. It’s one day they don’t have to think of what to write!

Once you’ve secured a blog to post on and you understand what the readers want, it’s time to sit down and write. Here are some tips:

• Begin with the end in mind. Choose a goal for each blog post. In this course, we’re working on building your subscriber base, so your goal will be to send the readers to sign up to your email list. Think about your ‘irresistible offer’ and work your way backwards from there.

• Write useful information, but don’t give it all away. Remember that your goal is to bring them back to your own website to sign up for your list. Craft your post so that the reader is impressed with the information, but left wanting to learn more. Then create your offer to send them exactly where they’re dying to go.

• Respect and thank the blogger. Do everything you can to make your visit is a pleasant one for the host and the readers. That means offering to add the post yourself, thanking them publicly for accepting your post, promoting your post via Twitter & Facebook, and anything else you can think of to be a very welcome guest. That way you’ll be welcomed back again, anytime!

Guest-blogging is one of the best ways to reach a targeted market. Try it out and you’ll see that building an email list doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing – you simply need to take action! Your immediate task is to make a list of five sites you could approach to guest-blog. Then go do it!

Next in our series: making use of article marketing to get email subscribers.

To your success!

Sharon

Starting a list is great but it is truly just the beginning. Growing a list is how you grow your income.  Today is the first post in a series of 10 that will show you how to grow your list.

Turning Website Visitors Into Subscribers

Are you guilty of any of the following email marketing errors?

• emailing your list once per year or less
• hiding your signup box on your site because you don’t know what to send
• having two people on your email list – your mom and dad

Don’t feel you’re all alone in making these kinds of mistakes with your list. The series of blog posts I’ll be publishing over the next few days will help you address these hurdles and have you marketing like a pro in no time.

Starting right now we’ll be walking through ten popular and effective ways to grow your email list. All you’ve got to do is read AND take action. Let’s get started…

Turning Website Visitors Into Subscribers Idea #1: Creating a Fabulous Opt-In “Incentive”

The key to turning visitors into subscribers is to get into their minds. Take Visitor ‘A’, for example. We’ll call her Hannah. Hannah has a big event coming up – her 10-year college reunion, and she’s on the hunt for the perfect pair of black strappy sandals. She’s not sure – are gladiators all the rage, or platforms, or stilettos? She wants to look trendy but not like a fashion victim. Some research is in order! So she turns on her computer, logs on to the Internet, and types “black strappy sandals” into the search engines.

Your website comes up in her search results with a site description, “All the latest styles, at the best prices!” She clicks over and sees a special report you’re offering, titled, ‘The Ultimate Guide to Saving a Fortune and Finding The Perfect Black Strappy Sandal for That Special Occasion!’ Wow – Ashley wants that guide! She knows that she’ll be equipped to choose a sandal that looks awesome with that little black dress she has in mind. Sign her up – she’ll gladly exchange her email address for the report.

Can you do this same sales job on your website, in your niche? Absolutely.

All you have to do is find out what your visitors need and then deliver it to them. But here’s the catch – make sure you get them to opt-in to your list BEFORE you give them the goods. Otherwise they’ll grab the goods straight from your site, say a silent ‘thanks’ and head on their way. And, then months later, think “Where was that cool site? I sure wish I could find it again.”

How do you know what they want?  There are a few ways.

Ask them! Create a survey or poll on your blog asking what they’ll looking for.

Look through your most popular blog posts. That should give you some indication of what they want from you.

Check out the competition.  Browse other popular sites in your niche. See what they’re offering and you’ll generate ideas for creating something similar – in your own style of course.

So how can you ask for the opt-in on your website?

Splash Page: A popular website opt-in format is to have it be the ‘gate’ to your site. In other words, a splash page or squeeze page that doesn’t allow others access to the rest of your site until they pass over their name and email. This method works if what you have behind Door #1 is worth the visitor handing over their personal info. It converts well because it’s the only option – they sign up or they leave.

Website Pages: Many people include a sign-up form on every page of their website. If people are finding you through a search engine, more likely than not they’ll come in through a blog post or sub-page deep within your site, rather than the “front door” home page. By including a sign-up form on every page of your site, you can capture people where they are.

Popups: Despite their bad reputation, popups are still alive and effective. Just use your popups for good and not evil! One such non-offensive popup is the exit popup. Give visitors one more chance to opt-in to your list or receive a download before they leave. Test to see which offers gets the best response.

Within Your Content: One of the most effective on-site list-building methods is to include very relevant calls to action within the content itself. Let’s go back to Hannah for a moment. Let’s say Hannah did a more specific search on ‘what strappy sandals go best with a knee-length dress’ and she came across your article titled exactly what she searched for. And at the end of that article, you include a link to download your special strappy black sandal buying guide, which she’ll receive after signing up for your  list.

There you have it. Four ways to ask your visitors to become subscribers. Your assignment: Choose one and implement it! Don’t just read – DO. Tomorrow we learn about effective blogging!

If you’d like more assistance with your email marketing strategy or copy pros to create your content Write to Type for friendly service and support.

To your success!

Websites should contain certain key components to be an effective marketing tool for any business. After reading this post you’ll realize that these components are exactly what you see on many websites that succeed at promoting and selling products/services. If that’s your goal as well, read on…

When building your own website  you’ll want to include the following:

1. Contact Information

This is the most basic of design elements you need to have on your website but so many people miss it. You may think that because people are surfing around from website to website that they don’t bother to contact people and just order whatever they want and go on their merry way.

The fact is that people want to do business with other people and if they can’t determine that you’re a real person from your website, and find a way to contact you through that site, then they’ll just go to another site where they can contact the owner.

This is important even if you don’t have a product or service that people will typically want to call you about. As I mentioned, your potential customers want to know that you are real and that they CAN pick up the phone and call or send you an email if need be, even if they don’t want to at that moment.

Another issue with website contact information is that people often hide it on an obscure page where no one can find it.

Try this test:

Visit your site and start counting. Pretend you are a first time visitor who doesn’t know where your contact information is and quickly scan around the site for it. Or better yet, have a friend or family member who doesn’t already know where it is do this for you. How long does it take to find it? If it takes you more then 10 seconds that’s way too long!

2. Easy to Read Content

One of my biggest pet peeves is going to a website I WANT to read but finding the content is just so visually difficult to read that I have to leave and be done with it.

Make sure your website content is easy to read.

Best ways to do this:
*Easy to read font, like Verdana, Arial or Georgia for the web
*Font size
*Bullet points!
*Headlines
*Black text on a white background is always easiest on the eyes
*Add in some images

3. Mailing List

Many people are afraid to start their mailing list for fear that they have nothing important enough to send that list. One of the biggest fears is that they will have to come up with great, original content on a weekly basis.

Even if you’re not ready to start a full HTML weekly newsletter lists there is no time like the present to start collecting email addresses from your site visitors.

As I’m sure you’ve heard, the majority of the visitors to your site will come and go, never to return. If you don’t have a method to capture those visitors and offer them more information or products, then you’re missing out on sales – period.

4. Good Navigation

Can your website visitors find what they want, when they want it? Good website navigation is very important, so don’t overlook this.

You may need to do testing to find out what navigation works best for your visitors, but it will be worth it.

Starting out with a simple navigation menu is a good idea. You don’t have to link everything off your main page. Only have the main categories on your index page and then link to the other pages from within that category.

5. Copyright

While having a copyright notice at the bottom of each page on your site might not prevent dishonest people from swiping your content, putting it up is something you should do to deter as many people as possible.

Some people believe if you don’t have that copyright then your content is free for the taking. Others just don’t realize that you can’t just copy and paste whole pages from other people’s sites without them becoming pretty upset that you took their content (and rightly so!).

You can also grab yourself a copyright image that says ‘this page protected by Copyscape from Copyscape.com to try to deter a little more.

It would be a shame to spend many hours and dollars on a website that isn’t very use-able. Make sure whoever designs your website puts just as much effort into use-ability as they do into the creative design. A pretty site won’t get you anywhere if no one uses it!

If you want to save yourself a lot of time and money then join me as I teach you in this online video, webinar and email coaching program everything you need to know about creating quality user-friendly websites and blogs with WordPress.

Angela Wills is a website designer and marketer who teaches entrepreneurs and website designers how to create dynamic websites with WordPress. Her courses include live sessions and video recordings that you can access all from the comfort of your own home. To learn more visit Website Design Mojo.

At the time I looked online and all I could find was WAHM.com.  WAHM stands for “Work at Home Moms.”  While the site was entertaining in some respects I didn’t find a lot of information to help my professional situation. There was a lot of info about how to start a cozy at home “mad money” business while the baby was sleeping.

That wasn’t what I was looking for. I had toddlers and I was managing  a challenging full-time job that I enjoyed and needed to maintain our lifestyle. I also wanted to start a business that I could grow on the side and develop at my own pace.  I really wanted a resource to help me grow my freelance business while keeping my sanity!

I ended up finally finding an article in a magazine that explained the benefits of telecommuting. Now remember this was 1995 and at that time the notion of telecommuting or working from home for a traditional employer located a distance away was still new.

I ended up preparing a proposal that would show how working from home would still enable me to meet organizational objectives and also increase my productivity since I would be cutting out a 3 hour commute each day.

My employer accepted the proposal and I was over the moon! I could take my kids out of daycare and stay home with them and work. Needless to say the euphoria wore off quickly as trying to work on a full-time job – complete with client phone calls – while watching a 2 yr. old and a 4 yr. old was next to impossible. I went back to a traditional work environment within the year.

Fast forward and today  there are many more resources available today to help support working moms and offer ideas for flexible work arrangements. We do, however, have a different challenge today.  The current economy has companies and employees nervous about the future. Jobs are more precarious than ever. We’re in a lingering period of financial uncertainty.

So…what many forward thinking people are doing are creating financial security for themselves on their own terms by starting a business on the side.  The Internet makes it relatively easy and affordable to start a business that can be run from a computer during hours that suit the full-time employee. If this sounds like something you’d like to do, here are some tips.

Treat Your Job Like Gold

Even though you’re planning for the day when your company may not need you or when your business can replace your job earnings, you still need to treat your job like the life saver it is.  With commitment and organization you can have two streams of income coming in and you wouldn’t want to jeopardize that arrangement by not fulfilling your employment obligations to the best of your ability. I would actually suggest you work to excel at your job.

If all goes well, your employer may even be a client one day! An excellent work record will help to make that a possibility.

Outsource as Needed

Since you are working and there is only so much you can do during the wee hours of the night and the weekend, you should ensure that you outsource whenever possible. For example, if you’re a business writer you may not know anything about creating graphics and this isn’t the time to learn. Outsource your logo design needs to a designer and don’t try to do it yourself.

Just because you can create a website doesn’t mean you can create a professional looking site. The cost of creating a website today is far less than it use to be. Get quotes and consider outsourcing this important part of your business (unless creating websites is your specialty).

The same applies to your bookkeeping, web content development and marketing. Take a look at the hours you have and your skill set and then outsource accordingly.  You’ll likely see increased profit with this kind of approach since you’ll end up getting more done…well!

Schedule Your Time Wisely

If your full-time job is 9-5 then you’ll have to spend your evenings and weekends prudently.  It will take a lot more out of you but if starting a business that can take care of you and your family in the future is your goal, you’ll have to reduce your down time. Treat it like you might treat a hobby you love.

Don’t begrudge the time your business takes you away from recreation. You can still fit fun into your schedule if you’re organized. Treat time put into your business like investment into a retirement plan. It will pay off when you need it most!

Network Strategically

Sometimes the whole notion of “networking” can be ignored because it is such an overused term. But when you are starting or managing a business part-time networking can really be critical to your goals. The purpose of networking is to connect with people who can show you the ropes and/or to put you in an environment where you can meet prospective customers.

The customer part is pretty self-explanatory you want to be where your customers are and that kind of networking pays for itself. But the other kind of networking – the kind where you meet with people who can show you the ropes, can also impact your bottom line in meaningful ways.

You might spend days trying to figure how to execute a certain type of marketing strategy or how to set up an email marketing list or how to choose the best software for your business. Or…you could contact a colleague in your favorite, trusted networking group or visit the library there and get the answer within minutes.  Another benefit of the Internet is that many networking groups operate almost 24-hours a day via online forums and libraries.

NAMS or the Niche Affiliate Marketing System is a networking group that offers weekly live training webinars with recognized experts and a public forum where you can discuss questions, ideas and get informed opinions on business issues.

One of the most important membership benefits to me is access to the NAMS library where there are 1200 training videos, podcast interviews, eBooks and other training guides on everything from installing WordPress to keeping your business organized and yourself motivated.

That’s not all…twice a year there is a conference held in Atlanta where over 300 NAMS delegates gather to listen to world renowned business speakers and tactical experts. Of course these gatherings are highly anticipated by members themselves as it’s an opportunity to meet colleagues and friends you’ve admired or learned from as a NAMS member.

For a real kick start to your business consider joining NAMS – membership rates go up April 4!

To your success,

Sharon

You will have earned their trust and confidence through the valuable advice and information you offer free of charge in your articles.

Now it’s one thing to understand the purpose of article marketing and how to execute an article marketing strategy but quite another thing to actually see measurable results.

Today’s post will give you pretty good overview for launching a successful article marketing campaign that will provide “measurable” results.

Here’s an overview of the article marketing process:

1.    Write an article about a topic that will attract your market
2.    Add a resource box at the end of the article.
3.    Submit your article to article directories (such as EzineArticles.com)
4.    Get traffic and develop a prospect list for your business!

Step 1: Get that Article Written

One of the biggest mistakes people make with article marketing is to start the process without a strategy.

If you want your audience to visit your website and take action to become part of your valuable marketing list, you’ve got to have in mind a strategic path for your audience…before you start writing.

A good strategic path is something like: “I want job hunters to read my article about preparing for interviews and then click on the link in my resource box so they can find more relevant job hunting advice as a subscriber to my website list.”

This spells out a clear path leading your target market to the point where they can actually purchase the product or service you’ve created specifically to meet their needs. After all, this is a marketing exercise so everything you do should be leading towards increased sales.

Once you can visualize a clear path for your audience then you should begin to write your article.

Step 2: Add a Resource Box

If you haven’t written an article for an article directory before, a “Resource Box” may be an unfamiliar term. Essentially this is an extension of your article where you can invite your readers to take the next step. Here’s a fictional example using our job hunting topic:

“First impressions are very important, but how you follow up with a potential employer is crucial. Learn the top 3 strategies for successful job search and employment – click here to access your free report right now: http://your-job-search-link.com”

Here’s a critical tip: The more customized your resource box is to the article it accompanies, the better your results will be. Resist the urge to focus on  your name and credentials; instead, focus on moving readers along the path – from article to email list, one step at a time.

Step 3: Submit to Article Directories

First off, article directories are websites that contain hundreds if not thousands of articles searchable by topic, author and other criteria.  Article directories are visited by thousands of website (and offline) publishers in search of content for their properties/websites.  These article directors allow  publishers to copy the articles listed with the stipulation that they must acknowledge the authors (you!).

As you can imagine this is an effective way to spread the word about your business and develop valuable external links to your website (great for Search Engine Optimization). Best of all, this a great way to increase traffic and build your list.

There was a time when article marketing pros suggested you submit your articles to hundreds of directories. That’s no longer necessary. Instead you want to focus on a few, well-chosen directories. How you choose the best directories is based on the directory’s reputation, how long the directory has been in operation and most importantly recommendations from successful, reputable marketers.

Here are the 4 article marketing directories I suggest based on that criteria:

• EzineArticles.com
• IdeaMarketers.com
• GoArticles.com
• LadyPens.com

Article marketing is a long-term investment in your email/prospect list. Done right, it will bring you repeat visitors and subscribers for years to come. Given all these business benefits, I’d suggest you build this process into your business marketing plan. If you know this is something you can’t do or don’t have the time to do, get some help by contacting a web content writer.

For now and to make sure you don’t shelve this high impact work, make a list of 5 article topics you could write or have ghost-written to help promote your skills or business products/services. Then sketch out the path that would lead your reader from that article to your blog/website and, ultimately, your list.

To your success!

Sharon

Think of the products and services you buy. While price is a major consideration you also want the best on the market for the budget you have. How can you offer the best in your market? By being the best. With that in mind I want you to think of your business as a reflection of your expertise.

There are many things I love to do, but I don’t think that there are necessarily viable markets for everything on my “love to do” list.  Not to mention I may not be the best at those things that I love doing. For example I love gardening…but I don’t think I’d want to do it all the time for clients. More importantly I know I’m NOT the best at it and that for me is critical.

To relay the level of confidence, commitment, innovation and creativity your business needs to be a leader in your market, you’ve got to be good at what you do.

So as you set out to build a business for yourself and your future, think about what you can do better than anyone else.   Look back on your career and education and write down on a piece a paper your skills and abilities. For example, if you were an administrative manager in a manufacturing company perhaps you have these skills:

• Multi-tasker
• Attention to detail
• Good people person
• Problem solver
• Efficient budget manager

Now take a look at your own list of skills and think about the kinds of businesses that would benefit from someone with such a skill set.

I’ll illustrate the process you should be going through by working with the skills I listed above. As you look over the attributes I’ve listed above you’ll see that this is a person who manages details well, is good with people and is good at managing a budget. These are just some of the more important skills someone running a professional Meeting Planning Consultancy would need.

Meeting Planners are essentially independent consultants hired by companies to organize seminars, conferences, trade shows, sales promotions, and basically any kind of meeting that might require program development, travel and hotel accommodation.

In our hypothetical example we have a mid-manager with an administrative background – not what you’d typically think of if you know anything about meeting planners (think gregarious party planner!). Yet…the skills developed in that career are a great fit for someone interested in starting a meeting planning business. Our mid-manager’s attention to detail and people skills would mean that she’d be able to tackle some of the essential tasks of coordinating a meeting (reviewing hotel banquet orders, juggling professional speaker requests, negotiating contracts with vendors, etc.).

Having a “great fit” really means having the insight and ability to turn a new business into a profitable one.  Choosing a business based on love instead of skills is the kind of decision you may want to avoid if you plan to be in business for the long haul.

One great way to profit from what you know is to create a resource for your market. Before you think you can’t afford to self-publish anything I want you to think in terms of e-books.  Audiences love e-books (and other online information products) because the products can be accessed immediately from the comfort of their own homes via the computer and the cost is usually very affordable while still being profitable for the publisher – you!

If you’d like to learn how you can get an information product produced and marketed in 42 days please take a look at Kelly McCausey’s 42-Day Launch Incubator (you’ll be glad you did!).

To your success,

Sharon

For example let’s say you’re a consultant and you provide career training in the kinds of skills corporate managers need (e.g. team building, effective staff  communications, conflict resolution, problem solving, etc.). You might “deliver” that information through a series of seminars and workshops. But are there other ways of delivering some of the information you wish to share?

What if you offered a workshop on conflict resolution but also offered a self-study option for those that want enhanced or additional training or for those who can not attend your workshop in person.

Perhaps there are principles and exercises that you could include in an e-book and possibly even an accompanying audio recording that would allow a smart and experienced manager to conduct effective self-study in the comfort of their own office or home.

This is the attractiveness of “info products.” They are designed for the individual customer to use at his or her own convenience. The other convenience or actual benefit of info products is that you now can sell your expertise to a larger audience.  No longer are you limited to clients who physically live in your own market or who can invest in traveling to your location.

Info products can be easily delivered directly to customers via the Internet. The cost of delivery is practically negligible and accessible to the customer almost immediately after payment is made online.  So imagine the impact on your bottom line when your info product is marketed to the millions and millions of prospective customers on the Internet…

If you’re intrigued and want to really step up your income potential, why not create your own info product with help from one of the best info product creators I know of – Kelly McCausey.

Kelly McCausey has been helping others create and launch first-time information products for years.  She believes every business owner has a learning resource inside of them.

“Everyone I talk to wants to have an info product to sell, they just need the plan to follow to make it happen,” says Kelly.

I know Kelly personally and I can tell you that what she is offering is a simple 42-day plan that guides you from idea brainstorming to resource creation and marketing the finished product.

If anyone can help bring out the best of your expertise and get it ready to sell, it’s Kelly.

Get signed up for the live class here: 42-Day Launch Incubator

Unless you’re spending significant dollars on advertising and sponsorships, the most effective way to attract your target audience to your business (in this day and age) is your website. Strategic preparation of your content and website design will not only draw traffic but help to convert lookers into buyers and that’s your objective as a business owner marketing online.website

Written Content

I consider the written content or copy on your website as the fuel that turns your website into an engine…for profit!  After creating an in-demand product or service, the next step to marketing your business is to prepare website content that answers the questions your target audience is asking.

By answering your target market’s questions you are positioning your website/business to be an authorities in your market. So how is your website “recognized” as an authority in a way that impacts your sales?

Let me answer that question with an example. Let’s say you have a website that provides resources and educational material to help mid-career professionals find jobs or change careers.  Now let’s say one of the key phrases people in this target market use to find websites in this category is  “mid-career job change.”

In this example, you’d want to ensure that you use phrases like “mid-career job change” in your well-written and useful copy about that very topic.  If you then publish blog posts and articles using this phrase (and similar ones) on a regular basis, you may eventually turn up on page one of search engine returns for that phrase.

Turning up on page one of a search return is good news for you. It means that searchers are more likely to click on your link then say a competitor’s link that turns up on page two.  Being on page one is one way that your target market will label your business as an authority site.

With this in mind I suggest that the goal of your content development strategy is to:

1. create the kind of content that is valuable to your target market.
2. create fresh content regularly so that search engines will give your website pages top rankings

Search engines like Google and Bing use a formula for ranking websites and part of that formula considers the frequency with which websites are updated. The more frequent a site is updated the more likely it is to receive a higher ranking in search returns. The more frequently a website is updated, the more likely it is to contain current information. Search engines recognize this as a valued criteria for online searchers and incorporate this criteria in their ranking system.

This whole process preparing content that search engines like Google will rank in a favorable manner is called Search Engine Optimization or SEO. You can learn more about creating SEO content from a new product on the market called Web Content Profits Web Copy & Design Guide.

The Role of Design

The strategic use of copy is just one component of online marketing or the process of attracting traffic to a website. Once visitors get to your website they need to feel reason to linger and learn more.

How you engage visitors who are only ever a 1-second click away from leaving your website is with a website design that engages and literally takes them by the hand though content and design the communicates how and why you have what they need.

I’ve been online since 2007 and one of the issues I’ve had with resources to help me improve my website is that there seemed to be little attention paid to how to put everything all together. In other words how do you put strategic copy together with smart design to convert lookers into buyers?

Think about what you like about your favorite website. I bet there are a number of features that help to move you along from a casual visitor to a loyal customer. For example, a website that successfully sells likely has:

1. Content laid out clearly on the page in a readable font.
2. Graphics and images that help to illustrate/enhance the product or service being sold (for example no unnecessary animation or slow loading graphics)
3. Clear navigation that makes it easy to learn more about the company or to simply purchase the product or service

The challenge is you can’t always assume that a website designer will adhere to these fairly logical guidelines. You can’t even assume that you will necessary create a website with such clarity in content and design – especially if you’re not a writer or trained designer. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t understand how to achieve these objectives.

The resource I mentioned above – Web Content Profits – Web Copy & Design Package – is something I created with website designer and instructor Angela Wills to address these very concerns…and opportunities.

Your website is really an opportunity for you to connect your business with the target market you’ve dreamed about serving successfully.  Prior to the Internet you would have been limited to competing in your market using advertising which always benefited companies with the most advertising dollars, not necessarily the best product or service.

Those days are long gone and you’re on much more even footing with a wide selection of competitors due to the accessibility and affordability of marketing online.  Your website is your key marketing vehicle and if you give it the quality content “fuel” it needs and provide a visual presentation that uses smart and complementary design concepts, you’ll position your business to compete with the best in your market.

If you’d like to know more take a look at what the Web Content Profits Web Copy & Design Package can offer you.

To your success!

Between unemployment and the risk of unemployment more and more people are looking at the feasibility of starting their own home business. It’s a by product of our tough economic times and changing ideas about work and happiness. It’s also explaining why the home office is becoming such hot spot in the house. Stores and designers are offering all kinds of ideas for consumers interested in great home office decoration ideas.

As an entrepreneur (full-time, part-time, soon-to-be) here are some images to help inspire you as you make your home office a place that is not just comfortable and attractive but great for work!

I’m in need of a new desk for my office and started to look at some options this morning.  I like a lot of desk space and I tend to like L- or U-shaped desks. I’m creating a short list and thought this item from Amazon looked pretty good given my requirements – it’s a start:

What decoration plans have you got for your home office?  Perhaps you’ve just updated your own home office – please share a link to your post about the work  you’ve done at home to inspire your entrepreneurial goals.