May-June 2009 - Issue #69

• Intro
  
• Article - How to build (and critique) an effective home page
  
• The Office Corner
  
• The Human Resources Corner by Anne Caldwell
  
• Grammar Question of the Month - Capitalization: Titles/Offices Part 2
  
• Tech Tips by Terence Kierans - Formatting Multiple Tables in Word
  
• Writing Corner
  
• Word of the Month - Sessile
  
• Recommendations
  
• Judy's Corner
  
• Judy's Photo Gallery
  

* I wrote this issue's article for my local think tank groups, which are comprised of small business and nonprofit owners who are banding together to learn and grow in every aspect of their businesses sometimes by mentoring other businesses and sometimes through brainstorming and sharing information.

* Remember, no matter how bleak things look for your business, if you are passionate about it, never, never, never give up. Sometimes you need more than thinking outside the box. Sometimes there is no box. Talk to me if you're in need of brainstorming. I'll ask one of my think tanks to chime in. They are doing some excellent work.

How can we critique or build an effective home page? It may be easier than it seems. Let's focus on small business sites that offer services or products, not information.

1. Present the key marketing message. Not too much. Not too little. What's the site about, and what's in it for the visitor? Regardless of how many (or few) graphics you have, your text must be clear. Crisp. Compelling.

2. Headline might do well if it mentions a problem, e.g., Small Business Owners: are your profits a distant memory? You get the idea. You need something to grab attention, and the site should start out in such a way that the visitor is immediately brought into the dynamics.

3. Who/what do you work with? Who are your clients? Identify your clients as clearly as possible. You can't be all things to all people, so be clear. If you want to work only with nonprofits, say so. Or people in a particular industry/area (Realtors, construction, fashion, universities). Try to focus on who most needs your help and who you're most ready to serve. Examples:

* Database Maven uses Microsoft Access and QuickBooks to help busy business people keep bookwork and payroll up to date. (Site coming soon)

* Do you know of a disabled person who needs a service dog? 4 Paws for Abilities has few restrictions for acceptance and works with most families within the boundaries of our organization's ability to train and place the type of dog needed. We say "yes" when many more traditional assistance dog placement agencies say "no." (http://www.4pawsforability.org)

* Our sparkling office support, Web design, website and blog maintenance/ management, Desktop Publishing, and social media marketing services can help you connect with your target market. (http://www.itsandoffice.com)

4. Follow with what your target market faces: problem, challenges, dilemmas:

* If you're like most nonprofits, you're dealing with shrinking donations, smaller grants, and higher expenses.

* Looking for wholesale Christmas trees with superb quality and color? (www.christmashillstreefarm.com)

* If you are a car restoration fanatic or a manufacturing firm that fabricates parts for large corporations, such as cart frames, machined housings, castings, or sheet metal, you've found the best in the business. (http://www.powdercoatingmn.com)

* Are you a busy small business owner or writer in search of editing, writing, or proofing services? Need better layout or formatting? What about your email communication? Problems with ESL? (http://www.editingandwritingservices.com)

* Experiencing mood swings, decreased sex drive, hot flashes, skin changes, poor muscle tone, fatigue, sudden weight gain, thinning hair, anxiety, or trouble focusing on issues or information? (Site coming soon)

5. Indicate a solution/solutions. It must be something the visitor wants. Needs. Is stressed out about. This can be anyone from a bookkeeper, a proofer/editor, a researcher, a marketing specialist, a human resources expert, an organizer, to a physician.

6. If percentages work, continue with added benefits, like a better bottom line, increased profits, more time to focus on what they love/want to do, etc. Benefits, benefits, benefits.

7. And since you're talking about benefits, NOT features, if you have a series of them, you might bullet them next. Keep their attention, and then move on. Quickly.

8. If you can prove that you've been successful helping people solve their problems: great. If not, no problem. You will, as time goes by, and then you can add a statement to that effect.

9. Call to action. This can be in many forms: offering something for them to download, asking people to donate, sending them to another page that has additional info on the site's focus, etc., or providing a link to the Contact page. Certainly, if one specific page would be best to go to next, put a link there...

To recap: if you're going to a site to do a quick critique, ask yourself the following questions, and if you can't get a quick answer, something isn't right:

* What is the purpose of the site/business?
* What/Who is the target market?
* What does the site have to offer people in need of such services?
* Does it quickly and effectively offer a solution, connecting with the visitor
    rather than talking to or trying to educate him or her?
* Does it talk about the credibility of the owner (not vital, but doesn't hurt)?
* Does it focus on the benefits for the visitor? It may talk about how it does
    something (feature), but this should be brief on the home page.

There's usually a problem or issue when people go to a site. If you're creating your own site, can you (as the owner) show that you quickly empathize with the visitor, let him or her know that you're aware of the problem, and that you have solutions? Can this be done in a way that connects you with the visitor?

This is clearly an overview. I'm leaving aside navigation, graphics layout, and many other issues aside. Deliberately. (Hey, entire books have been written on, for example, calls to action. I have one, and it rocks.) Just don't be diverted by side issues and features on your home page.

If you write clearly regarding the purpose of the business, the target, problems and solutions, and offer a call to action on the home page, chances are you'll offer the same high quality on the rest of the site (or page). Reach out to your visitors, just as other effective websites reach out to you. And get your business.

SUMMARY: The above article was inspired by Robert Middleton ( http://www.actionplan.com/) and Gerry McGovern (http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/), two superb leaders in website development.

1. TABLES IN MICROSOFT WORD: if you work quite frequently in Microsoft Word, you'll find Terence Kierans' Tech Tip below quite valuable.

2. 10 WAYS TO GO GREEN AT WORK
http://www.sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/03/10_ways_to_go_g.html

3. TIPS FOR LEAVING A GOOOD OUT-OF-OFFICE MESSAGE
http://www.ismckenzie.com/tips-for-leaving-a-good-out-of-office-message/

4. OFFICE PROCEDURES: Starting up an office? Use this for a guideline.
http://cli.gs/Dyqp15

One way that companies have to enhance the level of communication within the organization is through management training. Supervisory staff can have a profound effect on relationships with staff in any company.

Usually, although managers have extensive experience in their specific business area, they may not have knowledge or experience dealing with communication. This is where Human Resources is able to impact the effectiveness of intra-company communication.

The technique here is to be proactive, reducing issues within the organization and consciously working to improve morale, which increases retention. What is the best approach to doing this?

Most companies don't have any tactics for advancing communication and management skills, or if they do, there are critical elements missing.

There are some communication analysts who say that any time an employee leaves an organization when an initial long-term relationship was anticipated, that indicates a flaw in the system. The fit may have been wrong from the beginning, or the performance expectations are not appropriate or set out clearly, or when there were issues with performance that were not addressed effectively. In future issues we'll look at each phase of this in more detail and determine where - and how - we can strengthen our organizational approach.

Find H/R expert Anne Caldwell at Outsourcing Solutions.
www.azoutsource.com

While there are general rules for capitalizing civil, military, religious, and professional titles (see last issue), there are important exceptions.

In formal contexts (not running text), such as lists or front matter of a book or an annual report, titles are usually capitalized even when following a personal name. Other exceptions may be for promotional or other contexts because of courtesy or politics. (CMS 8.22)

Bonus: tips by Harold V Cordry (aka Cartoon Professor)

TV news teaser: ... and today someone's telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee what he thinks needs to be done about piracy on the high seas.

Things can't need. Make it should, ought to, or must be done.

By the way, with regard to usage, should is weakest, ought stronger, and must strongest.

Word includes a very powerful table editor that eases the process of presenting tables in your documents. You can even use Word's Table AutoFormat command from the Table menu to quickly format a table.

The Table AutoFormat feature is fine but doesn't necessarily provide optimal formatting for all users. It is quite common to want different table formatting from that available with AutoFormat. If you have many tables to format, and the formatting of your tables is complex, you may wish for the capability of adding your own table formats. However, Word does not permit the addition of your own AutoFormats for tables.

To ease your table-formatting burdens use the following Word features:

* Styles. You can define styles to match the way you want information to appear in your tables. Once you have inserted the information into the table apply a style to the data, thereby automatically setting the alignment, font, indent, and spacing information. Word does allow you to create table styles that define the general appearance of your tables.

* Macros. While formatting a table to appear the way you want, simply record a macro that you can replay later. So long as you are acting upon entire tables, columns, or rows, you can then use this macro to speed up subsequent formatting tasks. You can even assign the macro to a toolbar button, menu selection, or shortcut key to make the job of formatting your tables even easier.

* AutoText. Set up your tables before inserting information by creating a blank table, format it, and then save it with an AutoText entry. Insert the entry at a later time, and your blank table is immediately available for the addition of information.

Mix and match these features to achieve your goal. By careful preparation and planning you can easily automate table formatting and cut these tasks down to size.

Terence Kierans
Cyberspace Virtual Services
tkierans@virtualservices.com.au
http://www.virtualservices.com.au/
We keep your project on the boil, while you sleep

1. HEMINGWAY'S STAR STYLE
http://grammar.about.com/b/2009/05/06/hemingways-star-style.htm

2. WRITING TECHNIQUES
http://www.how-to-study.com/study-skills/en/language-arts/18/writing-techniques/

3. AP STYLEBOOK FAQ
http://www.apstylebook.com/ask_editor.php

4. WRITING TIPS FOR MARKETING PUBLICATIONS
http://www.lanecc.edu/mpr/writersguide/mktg_tips.htm

Main Entry:ses-sile
Pronunciation:*se-*s*(-*)l, -s*l
Function:adjective
Etymology:Latin sessilis of or fit for sitting, low, dwarf (of plants), from sessus, past participle of sed*re
Date:circa 1753

1 : attached directly by the base : not raised upon a stalk or peduncle *a sessile leaf* *sessile bubbles*
2 : permanently attached or established : not free to move about *sessile sponges and coral polyps*

*By permission. From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary at www.m-w.com by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

1. FRANCO PACELLI'S NORTHERN LIGHTS PHOTOS
http://www.pbase.com/alomarphoto/lights

2. 10 FASCINATING FICTIONAL LANGUAGES
http://listverse.com/2009/03/22/10-fascinating-fictional-languages/

3. FOREST BIODIVERSITY
http://www.cbd.int/forest/

4. CRIME VICTIMS' INSTITUTE
http://www.crimevictimsinstitute.org/

5. DAVID PU'U PHOTOGRAPHY
http://www.davidpuu.com/blog/

Hope your summer is going well. I've enjoyed visits from family and friends, and photo excursions, in addition to working on some wonderful websites and documents. I love working with words.

What have you been doing to make the summer slip by? Take time to click "Reply" and drop me a note.

Close-up of Chihuly 2009 Exhibit at Desert Botanical Garden by Judy Vorfeld. Reminds me of a Lifesaver Five-Flavor Roll.

Chihuly 2009 Exhibit at night at Desert Botanical Garden by Judy Vorfeld.

Chihuly 2009 Exhibit at night at Desert Botanical Garden by Judy Vorfeld.

Chihuly 2009 Exhibit at night at Desert Botanical Garden by Judy Vorfeld.

Chihuly 2009 Exhibit at night at Desert Botanical Garden by Judy Vorfeld. Titled Blue Sonata with Reeds.

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