Judy Vorfeld – Page 5

Failing as a Web Designer? Specialize!

October 17, 2009 By Administrator

By Judy Vorfeld

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Did you struggle to create your own business Web site, deciding along the way to become a Web designer? Or did you plan on becoming a Webmaster from Day One? Are things working out as you’d hoped? If not, read on.

Mari Bontrager, a graphic designer, works with her husband, Will, a programmer. Most of their projects call for a team, and they prove a good mix. "I can’t imagine how one person could take on the complete design of a site: programming and the visual aspects, unless they were extremely multi-talented,"” she says. “If I were working alone, I would only be doing the graphics end of it, with perhaps some layout."

"A truly professional web presentation," says Jeff Clark of Internet Brothers, "requires the skills of artists, designers, programmers, writers, copy editors, marketers and administrators. Since I am only professional at programming, it would be unfair for me to describe the activities of each, but suffice it to say that each is definitely its own specialty."

Eva Rosenberg of Tax Mama attended a conference of Web experts, and discovered that one of the most important ideas to came out of the conference was, "Focus – stop scattering your energies everywhere." How, you ask, does that apply to Webmasters?

"Perhaps," says Mari Bontrager, "the key to success is in not only recognizing one’s specific talents, but also one’s personal strengths. It has long been my thought that I am successful in what I do because I am teamed up with a topnotch programmer." The Bontragers’ willingness to advertise their unique specialties has made William’s cup run over. In a recent newsletter, he asked readers to recommend programmers they’ve hired.

While some developers choose to work independently, others form a team atmosphere that allows all members to grow together in the industry, gaining experience from the other team members.

If you have have a variety of skills, have done a great deal of studying and intend to continue: excellent! If, however, you have an area or two where you are very much a specialist, and are weaker and less comfortable in all other aspects of Web development, you’re left with some choices. You can:

Start a business (or change the present one) to include other independent contractors as part of a team to help in the areas in which you are weak. You must be highly organized and have excellent communication skills for such a venture to work!
Begin by marketing yourself as a specialist in your field: programming, editing, graphic
design, scripting, search engine optimization, etc. Your primary aim, then, would be to become a part of other Web development teams.
Try to run your business by yourself, aware that you do not have the necessary skills required of an effective Web designer, and pay for it by seeing yourself with little or no business.

If, in fact, you are extremely good at designing graphics, or scripting, or writing, or programming, or streaming media, or search engine positioning…but not comfortable with most of the others, why not make your specialty the theme of your business, and go after your share of the market? This doesn’t mean you can’t create and maintain sites for others. That’s your choice. It does mean announcing that you have a specialty and capitalizing on it.

Emphasize what you do best. Get out and network. Start a newsletter and give great tips…and mention your newsletter in your sig line. It doesn’t have to be a dissertation. Just clean, clear, and crisp. Give away great tips: the good you do in this area will come back to reward you. It worked for Will Bontrager.

It’s time for you to do some serious promoting! You’ll work as hard to market yourself as a specialist as you did with your Web design business. The difference is that now you will truly love what you do. You’ll be surprised and pleased at the results. Focus, don’t scatter! Brand yourself. And if you have several specialties, categorize them with loving care.

Questions? Comments? Contact Judy Vorfeld

Build my Business by Offering Free Stuff? Why?

October 16, 2009 By Administrator

By Judy Vorfeld
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Do you want a Web site that generates more business? That’s what most of us want. Once I decided to create and manage my own Web site, I began studying how to build a site that would reach out and touch potential clients.

As I immersed myself in cyber-information, one phrase kept popping up: “give free stuff.” At first, this turned me off. Giving something free sounded like a gimmick. Then I realized that the information I used to learn HTML, Web architecture, and marketing techniques was almost all free: tutorials, graphics, site analyzers, graphics crunchers, message boards, etc.

Having time but no money, I began searching for a give-away…something for my visitors. Finally, I invented Webgrammar, a woman willing to encourage people with problems in grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and usage. Further, she would provide links to sites and articles helpful to Web designers, students, educators, and writers.

My Internet business began taking off once I created Webgrammar’s Place. But I had more to learn. I kept hearing from respected Internet leaders that being part of a vibrant Internet community is as important as offering something free. Networking. (Network locally, too.) This is a valuable marketing tool that far too many people unknowingly dismiss.

And there’s even more: if you offer a quality product or service, prove it. Reveal that yours is a business site, especially the first page first screen. Clearly explain your business. Describe how you can help potential clients with their problems…their challenges. Let them know you understand their perspectives. I know, I know…it’s not easy!

Tie in your free offerings as part of your product or service. Please don’t plaster free offering boxes and phrases all over that important piece of real estate while inserting a weak little sentence that says, "…by the way, just in case you’re interested, I’m a marketing coach."

Take free stuff, networking, and clear definition and blend them with patience, hard work, and a sense of humor. You may be pleasantly surprised.

For more information, contact Judy Vorfeld.

How online businesspeople show they’re trustworthy

September 27, 2009 By Administrator

monarch-002 By Judy Vorfeld

In much of America, when you walk into a store for the first time, you generally do so because it’s attractive, clean, has professional signs, and good parking . . . but you still need to be persuaded to make a purchase.

Does someone greet you with a smile and ask if you need help, or do salespeople avoid eye contact as you enter? Does management display merchandise well, or leave boxes stacked up in the aisles? Can you read the prices easily, or do you need to pop out your Sherlock Holmes Magnifying Glass?

When you pick up a mail order catalog for the first time, you also want to know you’re using a reliable company. Does it offer clean, clear graphics and text? Do the prices and shipping charges seem reasonable? Do they offer a toll-free phone number? What about a return policy?

Many local businesses, chain stores, and catalog enterprises have years of experience and a great deal of time and money invested in their reputations and products . . . merchants running businesses on the Web find a number of slightly different challenges.

With numerous technological tools combined with free, often expert advice, Web business owners can move steadily toward the time when they can begin making a profit. They are discovering what local business people already know: it takes time to create a business plan, obtain capital, then find the right support team to help put together and maintain a solid business. They understand the need to advertise, network, market their businesses and themselves.

PERSONALITY AND CHARACTER. Some Internet business owners have yet to learn the value of effective presentation. Of themselves Those who want to be taken seriously may be wise to provide some type of a picture of who they are and what they believe.

CREDENTIALS. Would you search the Internet for a professional (e.g., CPA, coach, psychologist, attorney) and, upon finding an attractive Web site, plunk down your hard-earned money without checking that person’s credentials?

Why not offer a business profile or resume, and/or an About Us area? This helps interested visitors know you better. Mention community involvement, such as service club membership and volunteer work (school, church, nonprofits, etc.). Note professional affiliations . . . hobbies, if they would help people know you better.

TESTIMONIALS. Along the same lines: integrate testimonials (or comments about your site, product, customer service, etc.) onto your site. This isn’t bragging . . . it’s good business procedure. Be creative. When someone e-mails you a valuable comment, ask if you may use it on your Testimonials page. When designing the page, provide a link to their sites, and include their logo, if they offer one.

Many of the most successful businesses, regardless of size, are known for their commitment to the community: local, national, and/or international.

GIVE. When people create Web sites offering tutorials, tips, articles, discussion boards, ezines, etc., what are they really doing? Giving. You can, as well. Many of us don’t have products to give away in contests, or the funds to buy promotional items for giveaways. But you have courage, intelligence, and ingenuity, or you wouldn’t be trying to start a business in cyberspace. Take those qualities and come up with something.

Find something that grabs your interest, perhaps a hobby, a celebrity, an author, a subject of some kind, and set about creating a page that will be your gift to visitors. Example: let’s say you love poetry, but you don’t write poetry. Why can’t you set up a page of links to the most expressive poetry sites on the Internet? Scour the Internet for just the right ones. Or maybe your hobby is collecting buttons. Can you create a page of links, and scan some buttons to use as graphic bullets on the page? The list is limited only by your imagination (or your ability to brainstorm with others!!).

This unique gift, then, becomes another part of your business portrait. In my case, I have little to give away but information. I provide tips and carefully chosen links for people wanting information on writing, grammar usage, learning, site design, and site marketing. Actually, I do give away business-related books and now have a free ezine template (along with a tutorial on how to create an good ASCII ezine).

A distinguished visitor to my site said, "Your site demonstrates what I consider an important principle, one that applies to both commercial and non-commercial websites: in the long run, people will prefer sites that strive to be of some direct use, sites that actually try to ‘give’ something, to all those sites that mainly keep irritating visitors with a bombardment of blaring ads."

One last note on giving. Not everyone can give more than they are already giving in their lives. This includes time. If you have no extra time, that’s okay. Don’t waste time fretting. There is no magic formula for operating a successful Web business . . . just lots of ideas that seem to work . . . but not all at the same time, or on the same site.

OFFER A PRIVACY POLICY. It’s common to visit a site and within a day receive unwanted e-mail from the site owner. SPAM. Don’t be a spammer. Always communicate with people who have “opted in” by filling out a form on your site.

If you say nothing more than, "We never use our visitors’ e-mail addresses to spam, and we never divulge our visitors’ e-mail addresses to anyone," you’ll have made a powerful statement. Especially if you keep your word!

BECOME ACCOUNTABLE TO A GROUP. Consider affiliating with a group of ethical Internet professionals who will hold you accountable for your business ethics. There are some excellent organizations that require ethical business behavior of their members. Some will only accept an application after they have carefully studied the applicant’s site.

Membership in such a group speaks volumes about you. You reveal that you are willing to have a third party involved if a dispute arises in the process of running your business. Hopefully this statement will register with those you want for clients or customers.

CONCLUSION: The above suggestions, if implemented, won’t necessarily make or break your Internet business. They’re not all vital . . . but they may be valuable.

For more information on how to build a solid online presence for your small business, contact Judy Vorfeld

Put Your Online Text to Work!

September 23, 2009 By Administrator

By Judy Vorfeld

zebrascream-collage Do you struggle through a maze of Internet words, acronyms, and phrases, wondering if you’ll ever learn enough to successfully operate your online business? Is your brain buzzing with thoughts of associate programs, e-commerce, conflicting statistics, just-in-time transactions, B2B, B2C, B2Whatever, and branding?

A marketing expert once said, “The problem that most web site owners and Internet marketers have is that they are focusing on promoting the site rather than building the business.” Sounds good. Can you do it?

Perhaps you have visited, or created, a site whose text began, “Welcome to our site. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and browse through our site. We want you to enjoy your visit, and hope you will take time to give us feedback. Your opinions are very important to us.”

Compelling text? Um, not exactly. The problem: thousands of business owners mistakenly believe that because they introduce themselves in a warm, casual manner, visitors will eagerly devour everything on their site. Warmth in text is okay, but it usually takes more than warmth to convince people to read on.

If the average visitor takes less than 20 seconds to decide whether or not s/he will investigate your site, it is vital to give enough information or clues on your first screen to “hook” that person.

EFFECTIVE INTRODUCTIONS

Now what? If “welcome to our site, have a good visit, and let us hear from you” isn’t effective, what is? How about:

http://www.whatsnextonline.com/: “Need A Radical Business Boost? Let us help you sell the pants off your competitors, with fluff-free, creative and cost-effective marketing solutions.”

If your business is dwelling in the doldrums, and your ability doesn’t lie in marketing, public relations, and presentations, wouldn’t you think twice about hiring BL Ochman to get you up and running? Especially when she says, “The rules of business have changed in the information age. Yet most companies are still using tired old techniques to try to draw attention to their business. We’ll show you what works now!”

If you needed help marketing your snazzy online business, would these words be enough to compel you to read on? In this case, they’re so good, they should! Especially with the clean, clear graphics and layout.

And we have the resourceful Dyslexia.com site at http://www.dyslexia.com: “Join us as we explore the positive talents that give rise to dyslexia, and share our knowledge about the best ways for dyslexic people to learn. Here’s what we have to offer: Information, materials, training, and certification in the use of methods for overcoming academic problems…”

Did you know dyslexia often causes significant problems for entire families? Yet what do we find in the site’s first words? Not only an upbeat, positive presentation, but the suggestion that there is HOPE for dyslexic people. The bright, colorful logo is a delightful plus.

WHAT HAPPENS WITH GREAT TEXT AND HORRIBLE GRAPHICS?

Let’s take things in a different direction for just a moment. Let’s borrow some of the text from whatsnextonline.com and use it on a page with different graphics, just to see how these similar words come across: Whatsgarishonline: The words you see on this site are identical to those used in the previous example…if you can even find the words. Only the graphics differ.

QUESTION: Would the words on this page convince you to hire the company to create your graphic design? Can you even find the words? Moral of this digression: there must be a balance between crisp copy and graphic presentation.

Want to try an interesting experiment in creating a page from scratch? Try crafting the text as if you didn’t have any graphics or colors available. By starting this way, and building from there, your site may better reflect you and your business than if you start with graphics and finish with text.

BIASED TOWARD TEXT?

You may think I’m totally text-oriented. Nope. Look at www.spindustrysystems.com/. The home page is clean, concise, and communicative. Well-crafted text inside this nicely designed site helps convey the personality and character of the business.

Did Spindustry Systems offer sufficient information about its business and the principals? Were graphics and text focused and professional? Did you find the first screen of the first page compelling or at least unusually descriptive regarding the site’s contents? Would you, based only on this one visit, seriously consider giving Spindustry Systems your business? Analyze why you would or would not, given the need.

Most small business owners have no choice but to design and re-design their sites. Rather than using graphics as a crutch, use them to complement your text. Try to keep everything simple. Simple doesn’t have to be ugly or boring.

Build your Web presence, in part, by the careful, creative use of words. You and I need visitors who view us not only as effective business people, but as good communicators. Words matter.

For more information, contact Judy Vorfeld