Category: RESOURCES

One of the things that i had to learn quickly when I started this business was that you only ask for what you think you are worth. I started off practically giving away websites logos etc because I felt that noone would pay the prices that I wanted to charge. So I would lowball myself because i wasn’t sure of myself. It wasn’t until I noticed I was working harder but earning less that I had to then rethink how. I was doing business.

Understand that you are worth more therefore you should ask for more but always deliver the best product no matter the size of the budget. I say people remember how you make them feel more than what you do. So treat them like they are a million dollar client and you will have a client for life.

I know it sounds like a typo in the title but its not there really is something called WEBSITE CONVERSATION. Its a pretty simple concept once its explained in a simple way. Understanding WEBSITE CONVERSATION will help you get more traffic to your site as well as more information about the people who are visiting your site. As we all know the more you know about your audience the better you can serve their needs and serving their needs will help create brand loyalty. So simply put a WEBSITE CONVERSATION occurs when your visitor completes a desired action such as signing up for a newsletter, taking a poll, fill out a review, make a purchase etc. Most people stay on a website less than 15 secs. That’s how long you have to capture someones attention. Below is a list of things that you can do on your site to make the WEBSITE CONVERSATION better.

• ADDING FORMS … QUESTIONERS OR POLLS

A poll,questionnaire is a great way to gauge your visitors temperature . What their likes dislikes are. Adding a sign up form tell him them stay engaged with your product or service will also do the trick. BUT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER  is you have a much better chance of conversion if you make your forms short and straight to the point …. in this case less is more. Sometimes when you offer too many choices you can confuse your visitor.

• USE VIDEO TO PERSONALIZE YOUR BRAND

According to studies video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year.

• ADD A TESTIMONIALS SECTION TO YOUR SITE

A Good old fashion referral meets the digital world. Testimonials will help establish credibility.

• ADD GUARANTEE OF SATISFACTION

This reduces risks and increases sales. People like having a peace of mind but make sure deliver on what you promise. Your word is worth more than gold.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks that small and medium businesses face is understanding the tools that we have available to us . We have tendency to want to compete with the big boys and not know that there things that exist that will help us compete with the big boys. Thais where somersetting like the 10 MINUTE RULE comes into play. Social Media sites like Twitter Facebook and Instagram only reacts to the information that we add to it. Essentially its kind of a social experiment. These sites create no content we feed the content to the sites and then they measure our reaction to that content we post. Basically the “ALGORITHM” is us the study of us .

With that being said the 10 MINUTE RULE takes the component of interaction and simplify it. Before you post any content on your social media  Spend  10 MINUTES commenting on others content. This breaks down to a simple thing of PEOPLE LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THEMSELVES AND THE THINGS THEY ARE INTERESTED IN one of the basic things that I learned in a networking class  years ago . Essentially these “SOCIAL”  sites want you to be social… they need the connectivity and the interaction to thrive. Commenting on others content will assure  that your content will be seen because of how active you have been with others.

For the most part i’m an introvert but this new social media world makes that a little bit less painful.

Whenever I start a project I always try to get as much information from a client  about their likes dislikes needs and expectations of the project. One of the things that I do is always give them homework. I ask them before we start to have a look around at what their competitors are doing and also what business that aren’t their competitors are doing. This way they can see what works and doesn’t work. The colors they have in mind may clash with the idea that originally had in mind. One of the things that I have seen after doing this for so many years is that people are intimidated by the homework.  They focus on the work rather than the outcome. The understanding that the task will make the process much faster and gives your designer a clearer vision of what your needs are in the end giving you the project that you desired.

Here are a couple of things that will make the homework easier…. things that you should do before you hire a creative.

• A brief story about the history of your company
• A summary of the products or services your company offers
• Your company’s target market
• Your company’s future goals
• Examples of logos, designs and advertisement styles that you like

One of the things that is very key to the success of your working relationship with your professional as well as to your brands success is BE SPECIFIC

• What is my design budget?
• When do I need the designs completed?
• What types of media do I need the designs for (web, print, other media)?
• Do I need custom images or will stock photography be acceptable?

The key is to get so deep involved with your brand and your project that you almost become one with it . Always keep an open mind but be clear of what the goal is of your brand and you will succeed.

I grew up in a big family in Brooklyn NY back in the 70’s maybe that’s what I was running from. Anyway as I got older art and music became an important piece in my life. I loved both equally. While I was doing one thing I dreamed about the other. Both saved me from the noise in my life.

Fast forward to the 90’s the internet was all the rage …. the combination of of site and sounds where possible? T.V. seemed too cluttered so I wasn’t interested in getting into t.v but this new thing the INTERNET now that was exciting. I remember getting my first computer in 1993 never took a class on web design or graphic design but I knew I wanted to do it. I knew that I wanted to be part of this. Dreamed of building my first website did it. It wasn’t ground breaking or even good for that matter the only thing that mattered was I did it.

The interesting thing was I did it again but for other people. Not even for myself I was happy working on other peoples dreams and made excuses for mines. Until one day I was talking with a friend and I remember telling him that I needed to build a website to show off my portfolio of work. He asked “well why haven’t you … You have built many for everyone else but never for yourself why not?” My response …. “I cant afford the cost of the hosting” . The look on his face was timeless. His response … “ How are you charging people to build websites and have 9-5 but not enough to invest in self? Seems to me your hustling backwards? You may wanna rethink this web design thing.” That conversation stuck with me for the rest of my life. I knew that I had to just BEGIN INVESTING IN ME . That’s all BEGIN ANYWHERE. You may want to start at a certain place but you must start period … no excuses. BEGIN ANYWHERE. BEGIN INVESTING IN YOU… JUST BEGIN.