My Blog

What does it mean to make your WordPress blog/website design stand out.  A blog design that pops is simply one that grabs people's attention and  hopefully a little of the  "Wow Factor!"    Does it mean that you must make your blog really extreme in order to get noticed? No, it does not, especially if you are doing it just for the sake of getting it noticed. The pursuit of just that one goal alone won't get your blog design very far.

So how do you make your blog/website standout?

Below are 3 simple ways to make your blog design standout

 Your header

Your header is the first thing that visitors usually sees when they visit your site. What do you think will happen if your header is just plain boring. Yawn .They'll click the back button instantly. However, you can use  image editing programs, such as gimp or photoshop to create your own unique, attractive header , if  you have the creative ability or  you could hire a graphic geek to create a custom header for you.

Colour

Find  a colour scheme thats fresh, clean, and clear that isn't hard on the eyes. Make sure your background and foreground colors offer sufficient contrast for easy reading.

When it comes to colour, there is a lot to think about as you develop or design your WordPress Theme. It's like painting a house. Which colour will cover the entire exterior? What colour do you want the door? Or the window trim? Accents and complementary colours or contrasting colours? The colours that go into a website are not limited to the colour of the background and text. You have to consider all the colours used together. For example the links on your site can have three colour choices  Source

Leverage images to add value to your blog

Graphics and images, when used strategically, are your best partner in pulling readers attention. No, it doesn't mean that you should hang up 15 flashy gif files on every single blogpost. It means that images (photos, flow charts, comics, and graphs) should be used whenever it's related to your blog content.

And finally,  Let's face it - if your site looks like one of the ugly default WordPress templates that lots of other  people have already used, why would anyone remember yours? You need to stand out. And a custom, branded, professionally designed blog can help you create a strong web presence. Be one of a kind, not just another boring face in the crowd. The return on your investment will multiply itself many times over as people remember your site and come back.  After all, that's the goal...right? Good WordPress Design...

If you're interested in standing out and wowing the crowd, contact us soon. We'd love to hear from you.   Visit BlogWorkz

If you are a coach or consultant you may have found yourself stuck in a vicious circle: you earn more money only if you work more hours. So when you go on a holiday, decide to study or spend some extra time with your family - your income drops.

The main benefits of a shopping cart over basic PayPal:

So very quickly you will be able to set up and manage your online store. All you need now is to finish off that e-book you were working on for a while.

How can a Virtual Assistant help you with earning passive income?

If you would like to find out more - contact us today on 0208 144 4594 or email via the website. We offer you a free, no obligation consultation on how to convert your expert knowledge into passive income.

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Last week I had to pitch my cause to win the national DediPower Digital Awards at the Telegraph Media Group. This prize was sensational; £25,000 investment, business mentoring, further internet investment and business hosting. Wow. The calibre of those finalists was so high, so to reach the top 4 was a huge achievement for me already.

You can imagine my joy when I received the telephone call announcing that I had come second place! Considering fashion, and ethical fashion at that, is not exactly "digital" I was ecstatic. The Founder of DediPower, Craig Martin, said I had a certain spark and that he was sure he could help me achieve my objectives.

After a wonderful award ceremony followed by a Michelin-star lunch, the reality that I have won is starting to finally sink in. I have my first mentoring session on Monday where I will also find out what investment I receive. All in all, spring 2010 is starting to look fabulous!! If you would like to read more, have a peek in the Business section of The Sunday Telegraph tomorrow :)

I would like to thank all those at BWC who have contacted me and read my various blogs. Working on your own is never easy, but it sure is satisfying and watching the fruits of your labour grow is just marvellous.

Enjoy your weekend, ladies!

Claire x

I have been loving the sunshine so far this week, it really feels like Springtime is finally here and every one seems more energised. It's amazing what a difference lighter mornings and evenings make as well.

I am on a training mission now to complete a 16 mile run on 11th April, currently I am really not sure how I am going to do it as hurting my back and holiday have meant I am very behind! It's great though to have a goal bigger than what you can imagine it pushes you further than you would normally go.

On 16th March I am running my monthly More to Life Group in Clapham. Each month we get together and share our goals with each other, we say how we are getting on with them and support each other in achieving them. Last month we also shared what has inspired us and this month we will be discussing what makes us leap out of bed in the morning, what really gets us going! So I thought I would put this question to you?


What do you love to do?


What will make you spring out of bed in the morning feeling excited to get going?


What gives you natural energy and makes you smile?



Now ask yourself......how often do you do these things? If it is not daily or weekly what can you do to start introducing them into your life right now.....life it too short not to be doing things you love!


Here are a few of my things I love to do.....

• Coach people
• Read inspirational books, such as Paulo Coelho
• Sit in the sunshine
• Do Bikram yoga
• Running around the Thames past Houses of Parliment and Tower Bridge
• Go to the pub for a good catch up with friends
• Play with my cat
• Take clients shopping and see them get excited about their new clothes!
• Go to the beach
• Cook
• Dance
• Do something inpulsively
• Put daffodils around the house

......and the list goes on and on!

I challenge you to think of one you love to do and do it today!

Have fun!

xxx

If you would like to find out more about my More to Life group please see details on our Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=152934543281&ref=ts

1.Register with Google Analytics. Setup Analytics to track conversions (events like an online form being completed, newsletter subscription) rather than just clicks. Clicks don't mean new business.

2.Create a blog. Ideally it should be a part of your website however if you have never used blogging - try posterous.com. You can set it up to post your content on all social media platforms at the same time.

3.You need to regularly create new relevant content - new blog posts. Each blog posts should be optimised with keywords relevant to your business. Links to blog posts can be posted on Twitter.

4.Whichever blogging service you are using - all social media sites can be set up in a way that you only have to post your content once.

5.Ways to link Twitter with Facebook:
Business page can be linked to Twitter
Business page can have an RSS feed application installed (SocialRSS) as a separate tab
Business page can use a feed directly from you blog
Ways to link Twitter with LinkedIn:
LinkedIn can now be connected to your Twitter account
WordPress or TypePad blog can be integrated using a special LinkedIn application which you can add to your profile

6.Create a single contact list using your Outlook, Apple Mail, Yahoo, MSN, Hotmail contacts and add it to a Gmail contacts account (if you haven't got a Gmail account you need to create one). Gmail service is the easiest one to integrate and is usually can be automatically synchronised with all social media sites.

7.Synchronise your contact list with all social media sites, check who's already got a profile there and connect with those. Be careful about inviting the rest of your list to join the network as not everyone will be happy to receive such an  invitation.

8.Add as much information as possible (but only the information you are happy to share with anyone on the Internet, don't assume that because you've set something as Friends Only it can never become available on the wider Internet). The more information you have however, the easier it will be for new contacts to decide whether you are relevant to them and, therefore, whether they should connect with you.

9.Set out time each day to update your social media profiles - if you are using Twitter then tweet regularly and engage with your followers.

10.Find new followers by reviewing lists of friends/followers of your existing connections - you can often find people you already know and ask them to connect with you.

11.Remember that social media is not about selling. Posting the same link to your e-commerce site (as the best shop for X out there) will not engage or interest anyone.

12.Use tools to help you manage your profiles, friends and content - check this Mashable list for 18 top applications.

13.Install Ubertwitter and Facebook Mobile on your phone to use the services wherever you are. Before you know it - it will become your second nature to check tweets and post new content throughout the day.

14.Keep it relevant to your followers and your business. You need to have some social chit-chat during the day, however just chit-chat will not bring you any business in the long term.

 

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56% find themselves regularly working extra hours for no extra cash. Only 25% are paid for extra work. Only 12% reported that overtime was the exception and 7% said that they were encouraged by managers to leave on time.
Pressures from the recession and the fear to lose the job when the unemployment rate is so high caused many people to work extra hours in the fear of being "replaced". However, if you don't have time for extra work - explain why you can't do it or at least can't do it within the proposed timescale. Be confident, sincere and calm about it. If you start sounding apologetic your colleagues could assume that with persistence or by ignoring your objections they get you to agree.
At the busiest periods in your business why not use a virtual assistant to help with the additional workload! You don't need to "hire and fire" a VA all the time, compared with a temporary employee, spending time on training and hand over. A virtual assistant can be a great asset for any business which you can bring on board as and when required, for as many hours per day or per week as you see fit. A VA can help with general administrative duties and well as to cover the skills gap in the business - like updating the website, creating promotional materials, online marketing or book-keeping. If one of your executive assistants is on holiday or off sick, you don't need to worry about sufficiency of cover provided by other PAs. Using a VA can provide all the support your executives need on a day to day basis.
Contact us now on 020 8144 4594 to find out more and for a free consultation.

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To organise a webinar,  you need to send out an invitation with a link, which attendees simply click on to be directed to the webinar hosting site. On the screen you will see the list of all attendees, control buttons (like mute and unmute), chat window and the main window where you can share your desktop and any applications you are running (e.g. PowerPoint with slides).
You can require people to register in advance in order to get the participation link. The collected information can be added to your mailing list for future followup with prospects. Offering regular webinars as part of your website monetising strategy can attract more traffic and generate new sales leads.
You can also charge a fee to attend a webinar. Payment can be collected via Paypal or using a shopping cart (see our previous article about this). Audio and video can be recorded during the event, which will enable you to sell it later to any other customers who missed the the event itself. As there is no limit for how long you can be selling the recording - the only limit will be the relevance of the material discussed.
In the business context, recordings can be useful as a record of the meeting - to help your PA or VA collate a list of action points, questions raised, changes to be made to the materials reviewed.
How to host a webinar:
Plan in advance -give attendees enough time to arrange their schedules. In some cases it may be good to have a lunchtime or evening meeting. Make sure the time is suitable for participants from distant time zones, if you intend on having many attendees from the US, Asia or Australia.
Choose your webinar hosting company - there are many companies at the moment offering webinars or teleconference facilities (WebEx or GoToMeeting are the most reliable). Consider the cost, the ease of use for you and for the attendees, the availability of the recording, dial in numbers for multiple locations.
Publicise the webinar - send your customers and colleagues an invitation to attend along with a description of what will be covered, agenda and any notes they need to look through before the event. Follow up with regular reminders. Use social media to promote the link (or the landing page with the subscription form).
Have a test run - learn to use the system in advance to avoid wasting your participants' time on waiting while you are looking for a certain option.
Be relevant - offer quality information to the participants that is relevant to their needs and requirements.
Create an agenda - along with your description send everyone an agenda with information on who will be presenting, what will be covered and how long it will last.
Prepare visuals - that's probably one of the only cases when you can successfully use a PowerPoint presentation. Webinars rely on audio and visuals to engage the audience. But avoid having too much text - participants will end up reading your slides rather than listening to you, instead choose pictures, video, charts, short clips.
Keep everyone engaged - encourage participants to use the webinar's chat, so they can interact with other attendees. Have regular Q&A sessions, gather feedback, create quick polls.
Record the webinar - it will make it available to those who couldn't attend. You could link to the recording in a post-event email marketing campaign. And you could use the recording as an information product to sell on your website.
Follow up - send a follow-up email to everyone, thank them for the participation, distribute any notes or the recording (if available), ask for feedback and invite them to the next event.

 

 

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We've long known that it's not what you say, it's how you say it and now scientists have proved it. The social signals people send out are more important in determining who will succeed, than the content of their message.

The more successful people are more energetic in building relationships. They do more - more listening and they talk more; they spend more face-to-face time with others. They pick up cues from others, draw people out and get them to be more participative. It's not just what they exude, it's also what they elicit. Charisma shows in their positive attitude, which is now proven to be infectious.

Previous studies have shown that we attribute positive, good-looking people with intelligence and success, and we can put that down to the hard-wiring of our brains - after all our species has communicated in groups long before we developed language. So it stands to reason that the signals from non-verbal behaviours are deeply rooted and significant to our interpretation of a message. This scientific research shows just how significant those gestures and signals are.

For example researchers were able to predict which candidates would win a business pitch, based only on their observation of the social signals they used at a party, without even reading or seeing the pitch they correctly forecast the winners.

This research shows how important face-to-face communication is and has interesting implications for the current trend to increasing digital contact. In another experiment the research showed that face-to-face communication affects productivity, generating as much as 2.5 times more than additional access to information.

This information is from a recent article in Harvard Business Review (HBR) featuring the research of Sandy Pentland of M.I.T Human Dynamics Lab.

Amanda Bouch works with people to improve the impact they make in their communications, contact amanda@amandabouchconsulting.co.uk to discuss this further.

I am absolutely thrilled as I have been awarded one of 4 finalists from the hugely esteemed DediPower Digital Awards.

Myself and 3 others had to do their pitch yesterday at the Telegraph Media Group building in Victoria. It was incredibly nerve-wracking but exhilerating at the same time. The winner receives a financial incentive along with mentoring and 2 years web hosting with DediPower. DediPower, who works alongside NHS, Virgin and ITV but to name a few, is such a marvellous brand Iam so hoping to win this prestigious award!

I will keep you posted on the results, but in the meantime have a look at HERE their website to read about the top 4 finalists...

Claire x

Just putting the finishing touches to 2 of my ebooks - how to set a marketing budget and planning a successful event.  Watch this space.....

 The 3rd book will be about how to write an effective Newsletter.

 

Would you buy an ebook?
How much would you pay?

Get in touch.