Please vote: What has been your experience using the Web to promote your business?
Author Archive for Patsi Krakoff – Page 41
How has your business been affected by the Web? Have you felt the difference like a Tsunami or a soft summer drizzle? I’m curious.
I know it’s completely changed my life and the way I work. Both the quantity and quality of my business are vastly improved in terms of marketing ease, deliverability and profits.
Yikes, …I feel an urge to create a new poll coming on! But hang on, I need to clarify my ideas first…
I know people who are still doing business without the Web, saying things like,
- “My clients don’t spend time surfing the Internet.”
- “I get all my customers from referrals.”
- “I’ve got a local business, I use Yellow Pages.”
Others may have put up a crappy 1-4 page website and then wondered why it doesn’t bring in leads. And these people are all smart professionals, they’re not idiots, they’re all busy and profitable. They’re just not web-savvy.
There are those who started a blog because they heard that would bring in business. And they want to know why they aren’t on the first page of searches.
So, no, the Web hasn’t changed the way most people do business. Just some of us. I know there are many who feel it’s just too overwhelming to learn, especially now with all the social media chatter. To them, it’s not a Tsunami but a giant sink hole of wasted time and energy. Read More→
Have you tried to create a landing page using WordPress? I have. And I know others have too. You can waste a lot of time and still not get a professional looking page that works to get people to buy or sign up.
Last Thursday, I interviewed Suzanne Bird-Harris, a programmer who developed the WP Sales Page template.
Now Suzanne is pretty tech-savvy and she’s also an expert in WordPress. So when she says this is next to impossible to create a good-looking sales page in WordPress without using a sales page template, I believe her. In fact, I tried to do this once myself, so I know.
I ended up paying someone to create a web page for me, in html. But since WP is so easy to use, I knew there must be a better way.
There is. If you’d like to know how to use a landing page template within your WP blogging platform, I suggest you read this page here, describing how the WP Sales Page template works: WP Sales Page… and yes, it’s an affiliate link because I love this product. It saves me time and energy.
Here are a few notes we discussed during the interview webcast… Read More→
If you want to learn about formatting sales and landing pages using WordPress, please register for the free Webinar I’m hosting Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 4 p.m. ET.
I’m interviewing Suzanne Bird-Harris, developer of the WP Sales Page wizard. We’ll show you how to easily publish pages using your WordPress platform. The class is on the phone and on the Internet, your choice.
Can’t make the call? I’ll send you the audio file, plus any notes, but you’ll need to register:
Want to learn more about this great $37 product that makes landing pages easy to format and publish? Here’s Suzanne’s product page (affiliate link): WordPress Sales Page information.
There are a few drawbacks to using WP, if you are using it for product pages, affiliate product landing pages or email squeeze pages: Read More→
Do you know how many ways a sales page can be used? I woke up thinking about this… because maybe you don’t think a “sales page” is something you need except once in a while for a product launch, when you’re trying to sell something.
Some people call them landing pages, or squeeze pages. I think the term was meant to squeeze your email address out of you, how weird is that? So let’s be clear about what kind of circus animal we’re going to be training to sit up and do tricks on our free teleseminar this Thursday.
Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 4 p.m. ET I’m interviewing Suzanne Bird-Harris on how to use a WordPress platform to create great sales pages. We’ll talk about format styles, different ways to use a page, and key elements that work to build trust. If you can’t attend, you will be sent the audio file and access to our power point presentation, if you register. You can register here:
Here’s my definition of the sales page beast: an attractive, compelling page published on the Internet that is optimized for search engines and designed to persuade a defined group of readers to take one specific action. Read More→
Do you need to create professional looking sales or landing pages? Want to save yourself the hassles? You can learn to do this using your WordPress platform.
There are very few drawbacks to using WordPress as your primary web platform. When you do encounter a problem, it’s easy to find a solution. I’ve found that most of the time, there’s a savvy expert out there who’s already created a whiz-bang plugin, or a product to do exactly what you want. Suzanne Bird-Harris is a perfect example.
Here’s what happened to me a few months ago. I had a teleclass I was doing with Michael Martine teaching The Ultimate Traffic Formula, how to get maximum results from your blogging efforts.
First thing I tried to do was create a registration page using my WordPress site on this blog. In the past, I used Dreamweaver to create web pages, but it gets complicated coding in HTML, and adding graphics is time-consuming. Read More→
One important key to effective blog marketing is to keep your brain clean and fresh. By that I mean, it’s easy to fall into ruts and become bored and boring.
While routine and structure keep us on track, we need to “get out of our own yard” and get out of the office for renewal and regeneration. I’m reading Tony Schwartz new book “The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working.”
He talks about four areas essential to over all success: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. He argues that nothing is gained—and much is lost—by constantly pushing to achieve more and more in less time and with fewer resources. Rejuvenation and rest are necessary for creative breakthroughs and broader perspectives.
With that in mind, and armed with my Kindle, my yoga mat, and a few friends, I’m taking off to Melaque beach for a yoga retreat. This blog and gmail will be doing a Savasana – corpse pose – of complete relaxation. I’ll be back next week.
Namaste…
Even when you’re giving something away, for FREE, you’ve got to write good “sales” copy that spurs people into action. In today’s info-crammed world, that means you’ve got to grab busy peoples’ attention, and get them to click, and get them so excited that they take the time to type in their email address in exchange for your offer.
Unless you’re Naomi Dunsford of IttzBiz and know how to skillfully weave obscenities into headlines or emails, what cha gonna do? There are Internet gurus who’ve made millions teaching us lowly common folk with Ph.D.s how to sell socks to centipedes.
Entire Web fortunes have been made. Bare with me, I’m just getting started with this rant…
You think you’ve written a fairly decent sales letter, you’ve got all your benefits, your “AIDA“… (you’ve remembered to grab Attention, gain their Interest, spark Desires, address objections and ask for Action – with a sense of urgency, of course – but you’re far from done.
The fun is just beginning. Now you’ve got to format your sales letter landing page, with a dynamite headline, cool graphics, arrows, ORDER NOW! buttons, subheadings, testimonials, bonuses…
Ay, ay, Chihuahua! (as we say down here in my home town of Ajijic, Mexico.)
Creating Great Sales Pages Read More→
Do you use WordPress for your business website? Many people do. And I’d like to know if you do, how long you have used it as a website, and what your opinion of it is. Leave a comment if you’d like, since the poll only gives you a yes/no choice.
My content business, ContentforCoachesandConsultants.com, is built on a blog platform, although I don’t use it as a blog. I use it as a traditional website for my business, with product pages, etc.
I see a trend here. Many independent professionals want to be in control of their sites, without having to go through a webmaster, and without learning coding or programming.
WordPress makes it easy for anyone to update their own site. You can create pages, just like a website. It can be customized to look like a traditional website for any business, or you can get something customized specifically for your needs.
There are a multitude of talented web people available for customizing it for your needs. Once set up, you can easily publish fresh content, write sales copy, add product pages, and benefit from the facility with which WordPress works with the search engines. Smooth.
I stopped using Dreamweaver software for my websites over two years ago, and started afresh using a custom-designed WordPress platform. Together with my merchant cart, KickStartCart, it gives me everything I need to run an online business, build my marketing database, provide digital products and attract clients with content that’s optimized for search engines.
And, trust me, I’m not someone with a lot of tech skills. I didn’t grow up in the computer age. Demographically, I’m probably in the cohort of “techno-old-farts.”
Please vote, either yes or no. The results will be shared as we gather more opinions. And if you’ve got a WordPress story to share with us, tell us in the comments how you’re using it for your business, please share your url so we can come check it out!
Content for Coaches and Consultants
Serenity Virtual Assistant Services
Social Buzz Club
Blog Content: Are you personal… or all business?
I got an interesting comment on a post I did beginning of June and I can’t stop thinking about it. The post was about staying on target with your business goals when you create content for your blog. Don’t Jerk Readers Around: 5 Tips for Staying on Track.
First Eileen said she didn’t agree with my premise that you might be jerking readers around if you’re not staying on track with your content:
“I’m not sure I agree with this. My blog niche is arts and crafts. Most of my favorite other artsy blogs do this routinely. One day they blog about what happening at home. The next they may share a tutorial or run a contest or review a book.”
Then Keenan said, “I agree with Eileen. Although you don’t want to be completely all over the map, changing up your subject matter is critical.
“Blogs represent people. They create connections to their readers through their personalities. When a blog stays on topic all the time, it begins to feel white-washed like any on or off-line newspaper or magazine.
“Personality plays a huge role in a blog. Blogging about those things that are part of the authors passions, likes, dislikes, opinions etc. allows followers to connect with the blog. It’s what makes blogging different than reading commercial news. Read More→