Top 10 Website Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make... Don't Be One of Them!

As Entrepreneurs you are often a master at your business and your niche. You probably are not however, a website designer or SEO ninja. So when you set to the task of  designing a website for your company, many things get overlooked, or missed and it's not because you are stupid, it's just because this is not "your thing." Take a look at this list that I have developed, if you see something on here that you have done/not done... change it. After all, your website is you, your company and often the first impression a potential customer gets of who you are. Most of the time, these things are an easy fix, and can greatly increase the productivity of your site.


MISTAKE #1. NOT HAVE A PHONE NUMBER ON YOUR SITE

We all have the tendency to forget that not all people like to use email, chat and social networking to communicate. There are still many people who are potential customers that prefer to do business over the phone and get a sense of who you really are. That being said, those people will be hesitant to do business with you if your phone number is not readily available to them on your site.

If you work from home, I do understand that putting your home phone or cell phone number out there is just not a good practice, but using a service like Google Voice, you can get a free local phone number that you can publish, and it just transfers to any phone number that you wish.  You can get it here: https://www.google.com/voice 


MISTAKE #2. OUTDATED WEBSITE

Many websites started way back when the internet really began taking off in the private home. Ummm.... let's say the late '90's. And let's be frank, websites are not like fashion, these old sites will not come back into style. Having an old website, gives potential customers the idea that you products or services are less than up to par. So give your site a makeover, and ensure that all of your content is relevant and up to date as well. It's a good idea to take a look at updating every couple years, keeping design fresh and new looking.


MISTAKE #3 "MEITIS"

Stop yourself from going on and on about you... your readers won't care. They want to know how you can help THEM. What's in it for THEM, so make sure that you are showing them how your product or service can solve their problems and meet their needs. Making your site more customer focused will create a dramatically higher response.

MISTAKE #4 HARD TO READ FONTS

There are so many cool and beautiful fonts out there that sometimes it's easy to get caught up in how pretty a font is vs. how easily it is on the eyes to read. Fonts in the sans seriff and seriff family's are a good bet, these are the fonts used by printers for books because they are easy on the eyes.

MISTAKE #5 NOT HAVING A PRIVACY POLICY

A privacy policy is a good practice on any website, no matter what your website is created for. The privacy policy states the  terms and conditions of any information that you get from your visitors, and covers your behind if anyone complains that you misused their information and didn't let them know how you will be using their information. It's relatively simple to create a privacy policy. Simply go to www.generateprivacypolicy.com enter your company information and BAM... your done. Having this makes your site just that much more relevant.

MISTAKE #6 NOT USING APPROPRIATE TITLE TAGS

Ok, so what is a META TAG? In simple terms, the Meta Tags give information on what you are offering and what your website is all about. It is a part of how search engines find you, and subsequently, how your visitors find you and know that your site contains what they are searching for. So, instead of using terms like "welcome to our page" it is a good practice to use a phrase that describes who you are and what you do. Use a few keywords in the phrase as well. Keep it at 65 characters or less.

MISTAKE #7 NOT CAPTURING LEADS FROM YOUR SITE

It is important for you to capture leads from your website and create a database. This database is a great marketing tool to send out special and newsletters to keep your customers informed and keep your company fresh in their minds. A great way to build a list is to use a Free offer, such as a training video, eBook or special coupon for "opting in" to your list. Use a form to collect the information needed and I strongly recommend using a third party to manage your list. Set it up to double opt in, this ensures that the customer is giving you permission to use their information to market to them. Companies such as www.mailchimp.com or www.aweber.com do this fairly well for you.

MISTAKE #8 USING A FREE HOSTING ACCOUNT

You want to be in total control of your domain? DO NOT USE FREE HOSTING ACCOUNTS. If you do, you run the risk of being shut down unexpectedly, and you are at the mercy of their terms of service. As an entrepreneur, your website is the main link to your customers and clients. Make sure that you are in total control by using a hosting service such as www.hostgator.com or www.godaddy.com these are both easy to use and DIY friendly.

MISTAKE #9 NO VIDEO

No question, the internet has made people lazy. Why READ content, when they could just WATCH it? Having a video on your site gives your users the option to do what they want and still get your information. Using www.youtube.com is a great easy way to get this done. If you don't already have an account, create one!

Before creating your video, plan it out... much like a book outline, be clear to yourself what you want to portray in your video and what you want your customers to get out of watching it. This will go a long way in the success of your video. Once you have created your video you can embed it right to your site.

MISTAKE #10 USING FREE EMAIL SERVICES

Services such as hotmail, gmail and yahoo are all fine and dandy for your personal use. However, when it comes to business, nothing looks tackier than using an email address like yourcompany@gmail.com. Give your customers a professional impression by using your company name as the domain name. johndoe@yourcompanyname.com  BRAND YOUR NAME!

All of these issues are relatively simple fixes and have dramatic results.

Hey... it's FRIDAY! Enjoy!! ~A

Find me at www.amymortenson.com www.facebook.com/amymortensondesigns or at Twitter @amy_mortenson

Website Content.... Yes... It's Important!

Website Content... Yes... It's Important!

Variety is key to getting noticed on the web. Good and interesting content is crucial for your success in marketing with your website. The right content procures the right audience!

So how do you do this? I'm not going to lie and say it's simple or quick. Creating good content means knowing your niche, and being able to engage your potential and current customers with great information. 

A few ways to do this:

1. News Articles- Many marketers add news content right on their website. Linking to appropriate industry news will create more traffic to your site to customers that are looking for information that you post.

2. Blogging- Companies that blog more than 15 times per month see 5 times more traffic than those who don't. So get blogging! 

3. Newsletters- Keep your company fresh in the minds of your subscribers and send out a newsletter a time or two a month. Include any new products or services, specials and promotions or just interesting articles that will engage your customers. Remember though, irrelevant and repetitive information are top reasons people unsubscribe to newsletters.So keep your content new and exciting. 

4.  Infographics- Readers find these very enjoyable. And they are 30x more likely to read the content vs. typical text type information. 

5. Case Studies- Provide the proof that you are the top in your industry! 

6. Tweets- Twitter is a great way to spread the message. Companies with 21-100 followers generate 107% more traffic than those with less. 

7. Facebook Posts- Companies that have 1,000+ likes on their company Facebook page see a traffic increase of 185%! One of the easiest and most effective ways to market to a large percent of the population. 

So if you are looking to drive more traffic to your site, it is an imperative move to create great content throughout a few different mediums! 

Happy Tuesday all! ~A

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Is it Time for a Website Redesign?

Similar to a housing remodel, it is time to consider a website redesign when your visitors don’t want to stay long, the look is no longer fresh, and you just aren’t getting anything out of it anymore. Often, your website is the first look into your company for a prospective customer, but you have much less time to capture their attention online than you would if they were walking into your physical location. With millions of results to attract shoppers and clients, if they do not see exactly what they are looking for within a few seconds, then you risk their departure to the next site.

So is it time for you to redesign? Ask yourself these 8 questions:

1. Has it been longer than 2 years since your site has been updated?
2. Is your site available to tablets and mobile devices?
3.Is your content up to date?
4. Do you share content with social networks?
5. Is your site effective in your opinion?
6. Are you ranking where you want to be on search engines?
7. Does your site compete with your competitors?
8. Is your site easy to navigate?

If you answered no to any or all of these questions, it's time to look at a site redesign.  Staying up to date with current trends, content, usability, and engaging your customers within your site can make a world of difference in the leads that are generated from your site! Which is the ultimate goal... right? 

Happy Monday all! ~A

Building your Small Business Website to Attract Leads...

Building your Small Business Website for Optimal Conversions

Even if your business is small, or only a local business, having a website is still a necessity for nowadays consumers.  That being said, a badly designed website will hinder your business and create a loss of confidence in your company. Your website should be effective and efficient for both your customers and your business.

Here are a few things that you should take look at when building or redesigning your website.

Decide What You Want Your Website to Accomplish.

Having a clear goal in mind is key to effectively create a good website design. Do you want customers to call or email you? Do you want them to purchase your product or service right on your website? Or do you want them to come visit you in your physical location?

Don’t make your customers guess at what you want them to do on your website. People don’t want to have to think about things, guide them to your contact page, to your physical location or to the cart to purchase your products/services.

Be Clear Who Your Target Customer Is.

When you target to everyone, you are basically “targeting no one.”  Nail down one target… the ideal customer that purchases your products or services. Once you have your ideal target customer, speak to them, in their language and terms.  Leave out company “slang” and jargon, and just keep it simple.

Speak to your local area, not the whole world. If applicable discuss topics that are close to home for your customers, by doing this you create a great rapport with them and generate confidence in your company. This also creates higher rankings on Google for your local area.

The Design.

I have touched on this subject in a previous post, but I can’t stress enough that if you are not a designer yourself, don’t attempt to design your site on your own. The countless hours you will spend doing this, for little results really can be avoided by hiring a designer that does this on a daily basis.  You will be much further ahead time and money wise by doing this.  Clean and easy to use websites, no missing links or re-directions  up to date information are all important parts of the process. Create an easy to follow menu and direction to what you want your customers to do. You should be concentrating on the business itself, not worrying about the design of your site.

Areas of Your Site.

There are a few areas that should always be included on your site. 

·         Home

·         About You

·         Services/Products Offered

·         Testimonials

·         Contact Info

These are the bare minimum for a small business website and should be easy to find on your menu right when a customer accesses your page.

Capture Emails.

Once you have done the process of getting customers to your site, to keep consistent traffic and leads. Having a customer’s email gives you the ability to market to them through email marketing. Send out specials, ads, newsletters etc.  The best part is that email marketing is very low cost and effective.

Lastly, Use Social Media to Drive Traffic.

Social media is fast becoming the number one way that people communicate with each other and businesses alike. It is virtually a must to be linked to at least one social networking site such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest etc.

Using these sites, you can drive traffic to your website, customers can leave their input and feel engaged with your company and of course, they can recommend you to their friends and family. Place social media icons on your site so customers can easily link to you no matter what their preferred social site is.

These are just a few of the basic tips for a good website design. If you want to discuss your own project in more detail, please contact me!

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Business Brochures...Function and Design

Business Brochures… Function and Design

Customer's still want to see things in print. There is just something about being able to hold a piece of paper in your hands and read it; and what a better way to make an impact about your business than with a beautifully designed brochure? Place them in high traffic areas to grab a customer's eye and showcase exactly at what you have to offer.

Because of the large amount of space they offer, brochures are perfect for communicating a short story about your business.

Every Panel Should Serve a Purpose: 

1. The front cover, sets a tone for your brochure, establishes your brand and should clearly represent your product or service topic. 

2. The back cover is the perfect place for a "call to action" reinforce your primary purpose for the brochure, and of course any applicable legal disclosures. 

3. First fold in panel is the ideal spot to showcase a hot offer or any information that should receive special attention.

4. Inside spread can feature a few products or services with detailed information on each, or it can be treated as a one page spread with a large image. 

Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid

1. Don't assume your readers with act. Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do, and entice them to do it!

2. Don’t pack it with details. As the old saying goes, “Sometimes less is more” if there is too much text; your readers won’t take the time to read it. Chop your message down, and give a few essentials. Use bullets when possible, and communicate with images.

3. You can’t be everything to everyone. Focus on One targeted audience. Using too many targets can become conflicting and confusing. If you want to promote to different audiences, make a few different brochure versions.

4. Don’t lead with your company details. Spark an interest by “teasing the customer” focus on their needs and problems, then give them a solution to fix it.

5. Don’t use large words, acronyms or other trade based language. Use common and easy to understand words that anyone can relate to and not get confused.

Brochure Checklist

• Headline that generates curiosity, states a major benefit or problem that the customer may have and get them to grab the brochure and open it.
•   Show key benefits, 2-3 examples of how products/services can help your customer with their issue.
•   Features, these are what distinguishes you from your competitors.
•   Short, to the point blocks of text 
•  Company Name
•   Logo –tagline if you have one
•   Graphic images
•   Photographs of your product or service and people using them if possible.
•   Call to action (what you want the reader to do: call, visit, fill out form etc.)
•   At least two ways for customers to contact you. (email, website, phone)

Happy Wednesday all! ~ A

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Small Business Web Design... It doesn't have to be expensive!

We are in a digital era; it’s hard to ignore the impact the web has on marketing and business processes. As the dependency on technology increases, customers prefer to go online to find out information about local businesses rather than picking up the phone, or driving around looking for the right place. Any business that does not have a well-designed, functional website risks losing tons of potential clientele.

So What is GOOD Web Design?

It doesn’t necessarily mean extensive graphics, loads of images, or content.  A good designed web site needs to be easy to look at, have a clear vision of what you and your products/services are, and easy for a potential customer to maneuver and find your location or contact info.

Digital Design vs. Print...

While print still has its place in today’s market, if you are just starting out or do not have a large advertising budget, having a good website, and online presence is much more cost effective.  Along with being more economical, it is far more likely that someone will Google your company or look you up on Facebook rather than look at a print ad that has come in the mail.

Graphics, Content and Navigation...

Having nice and clean graphics, interesting to the eye, and not obviously altered attracts customers and encourages trust in your company. Web designs and graphics that look “thrown together ”  are going to give the impression that you really “don’t care” about your customers perception of your products or services.

The content that you have on your site, should be interesting to read, to the point, and give the customer the information they need to have trust in your products or services.  Spelling and grammar errors are an instant turn off and need to be corrected and evaluated BEFORE your site is live.

Links and all site buttons and menus should work, it is crucial that you have all links, menus and buttons go to where they are stating and there are no “error” pages that come up.

Logos...

As I have stated in my previous blog… a logo should be a design that generates immediate recognition of brand, inspires trust, admiration and loyalty in the brand. I can’t stress the importance of this and the impact that brand recognition will have on your business. It creates a very powerful image of your company and will stick in consumers’ minds. Logo design is generally an inexpensive service, and it one of the first things you should have designed for your company to start branding your identity. Your logo should be on your website in numerous places and link to your home page.

Overall...

When a consumer visits a website, this is their impression of the company; where they judge whether or not you are a viable and trustworthy place for your products and/or services. This goes for large corporations, or the little start up that is in the corner of your bedroom. A good website will get calls and emails asking you for further information. 

Thousands of small businesses have become success stories only due to effective marketing of their websites. They have gained customers all over the world through the effective use of digital design and marketing. Word-of-mouth marketing can help your business gain a few local customers; print media can increase that a little more, but it is a website that gives full 24/7 exposure to your business at almost for much less than print marketing. Combine a great website, to social networking and a bit of web advertising, and you will be a digital company superstar before you know it!

Happy Thursday! ~A

The Importance of Color in Design...

The Importance of Color in your Designs… 

One of the most important, but often overlooked elements of design for both print media and the web. Psychologists have done numerous studies on marketing and what customers and clients remember about a company, website, catalog etc that they have viewed. Over 60% of the panel stated the colors.  This alone tells you the impact good color in design can make.

•   When choosing colors, choose a palette that you love! This is the “mood” that you are going to set for yourself and your company. Certain colors set certain moods, if a color palette makes you happy, excited, motivated then chances are it will show to your customers and give them that same overall perception of your company.  So use colors that will inspire, trust and recognition with your brand and identity.
• Choose colors that meld well together, having a nice contrast so that you have a balance among your print and web presence. An easy way to do this if find pictures, objects etc. that look good. Your eye can tell a lot, use them!
• Choose colors that really enhance your product or service. If you are selling auto parts… using pinks, purples and all those colors considered in the “girly” spectrum probably don’t fit. Not to say that there are not women customers, but they would never expect to see those colors with your product line.

So where do you start when looking at color? For clients, I ask them to just search the web for images, photos and other websites that inspire them or have appeal. I also use design-seeds.com. I LOVE this site, they have 100’s of collections of pallets that are designed for use wherever you want color and they truly have everything that you can imagine. Of course, if you already have a logo, or set color in mind, you can use this as well and any good designer will assist in finding colors that will create a wonderful pallet for your needs.

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Happy Friday!! ~A

Anatomy of a Great Logo

A lot of people get confused when we speak of logos. What exactly is a logo? And what makes a great logo? Just a couple things to think about before having your logo designed.

1. What is a Logo exactly? 

• A logo is a design, either Type or Graphic. 
• It is or should be a design that generates immediate recognition of brand, inspires trust, admiration and loyalty in the brand.
• A great logo should set you apart from your competition. 
• A logo is created to identify your company
• A little piece of design that really sticks in the memory of customers and potential customers and associates what your company stands for. 
• A logo should always be simple enough in design that it can easily be applied to any type of print media (business cards, stationary, decals, stickers, labels, shirts and other apparel etc.)

A few things that a logo should NOT consist of or do!

• A logo will not tell your whole story. - A logo is not your brand, its job is to simply to represent your brand.  Let's take McDonald's for example... there is no burger in the logo, no fries... but everyone knows that the "Arch" means that's what it represents. Attaching these details to your logo is done in the form of "branding" with other aids. So there is no need to have a specific "thing" in your logo design. It is the encompassing of a variety of branding techniques that let customers know what your logo is and stands for.
• A logo is not a photograph. - While a photo can be a part of your branding, it should never be a part of your logo. A photo simply cannot be used because of the printing issues for one, and two... it takes too long for customers to associate with your company's story.

2. Doing the necessary research

A great logo designer should do this for you, this will ensure that your logo does not replicate another already in use. Or one so similar that you will not be distinguished by your logo. This can be especially important if you choose to hire a designer from another country, there are a different laws in every country, so while they may not be infringing on copyrights by their country's law, it may be in your country. So do your research as well! Even if you are not breaking any copyright laws, if your logo is too similar to another company's logo you will get lost in the overloaded memory and may become a dog catcher when you are actually a software developer.

3. Target Audiences

A great logo will appeal to your target audience. That being said, you need to distinguish your target audience, that doesn't just mean gender and age! Creating your idea target market consists of three areas of life.

Consumer Demographics

• Age
• Gender
• Occupation
• Household Income
• Marital Status
• Presence of Children In Household
• Home Value
• Geographical Regions
• Race/Ethnicity

Business Demographics

• Job Title
• Industry Type
• Annual Sales
• Number of Employees
• Geographic Region(s)
• Presence of Children In Household
• Home Value
• Geographical Regions
• Race/Ethnicity

Psychographics
 Psychographics is the study of personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles^. Because this area of research focuses on interests, activities, and opinions, psychographic factors are also called IAO variables. And they can be extremely important to your logo design as well as branding.

• Need for status
• Role of money (is it for practical things, emotional things, material gain, self esteem?)
• Ethics/”moral compass”
• Risk-Taker Vs. Conservative
• Spendthrift vs. Hoarder
• Embrace Change vs. Demand Consistency
• Grasp Technology
• How old they ‘feel’ 

In closing... your logo should be a design that you love, it should encompass your meaning, and be a timeless design that will last through the latest trends and inspire your target marketing to do business with you or at the very least know who you are and what you do! 


Happy Friday! ~A