Email 101: How to Utilize Email to Propel Your Small Business Website Forward

You may simply think of email as a means of communicating with family and friends or sending funny jokes and pictures. If you are a small business owner and this is your mindset, then you are missing out on a big marketing potential. Email is an excellent tool for marketing your small business website and keeping your customers abreast of your latest activities.

Email – Relationship Building Tool

Use email as a means of forging a relationship with customers by communicating with them and keeping the line open for feedback.

Promotions/Specials – Let your customers know when your small business website is having a new sale or promotion by sending out an email announcement. Customers will likely feel valued that you are notifying them and keeping them in the loop of new deals that may interest them.Newsletters – Informing customers of your specials is not the only form of email marking for your small business website. You can also regularly touch base with your customers by sending out newsletters, whether they are weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. These newsletters can contain information about changes to your small business website, industry news, a reiteration of sales and/or anything you want to share with your customers.Surveys – You can also utilize emails to send out surveys seeking direct feedback from customers to discover what they like/dislike and want to see on your small business website.

Email – Key Structural Elements

As for the emails themselves, there are certain elements that should be included in each of them.

Subject Line – The subject line of the email should be catchy and clearly stated because you want the customers to be intrigued enough to open the email.Introduction – Once it has been opened, the first line of text should be an attention grabber so they will be drawn in and continue reading.CTA – Each email should have a call to action (CTA), which will get the customers to “do something” – fill out a form, make a phone call, click a link to your small business website, etc.Social – Lastly, each email should include links to your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Google+) so your customers can become followers, thus expanding your methods of reaching out to your customers.

A major thing to keep in mind when embarking on email marketing is that you do not want it to come off as being spam. Nobody likes spam, and if you are sending out unsolicited messages, your small business has a tendency of being viewed in a negative light. Additionally, if you are sending emails for your business, you should familiarize yourself with the local laws and regulations when it comes to contacting customers via email. Any email campaign should target those who have directly requested information from you and/or expressed interest in future news while making a previous purchase.

In addition to the email blast tool available to Webs users within the Members App, there are a number of affordable email marketing services out there that can effortlessly guide you through the process of creating an email marketing campaign for your small business website. Poke around and see which one best suits your needs. Good luck!

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Example Site Wednesday: Adventure Maine + Website Enhancement Tips

This Wednesday we are going to be featuring an adventurous website that shows how you can utilize inbound links to drive your website traffic. Our featured website is Adventure Maine, where you can go to find out the many attractions Maine has to offer.

This website is chock full of information about the many things to do in Maine, and today we would like to offer a few suggestions to take this website to the next level:

Simplicity can help drive interaction. While a lot of relevant content is important for a website to rank well in search engines, it is important to strike a balance between content and usability. As you look at the homepage, you can see a lot going on and it can be hard for site visitors to know where to go. Discover few tips on how to simplify your homepage.Alignment can help improve readability.  Did you know that a simple step of ensuring that items are aligned and easy to view on your website can improve your website readability? Thus our next tip for this website would be to ensure all content is centered and spaced correctly. Clear content can help to make your website call-to-action stand out more.  Learn how to build a call to action that can boost conversion rates.Intuitive navigation can boost retention rates. If website visitors can’t quickly and easily locate specific information they are more likely to leave your website and head for the nearest competitor. Deter this from happening by simplifying your navigation bar. 3 Tips for a more intuitive website navigation.

Take today as a reflection day to look over your website one more time to see if you can apply the above mentioned tips to improve your website interaction, readability and retention rates. Think your website has what it takes to be showcased next week? Comment below!

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Example Site Wednesday: The Bead Place + Tips to boost your e-commerce website

Posted by Ryan on March 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

It’s WEDNESDAY and that means…. (HMMMMM…) YES you guessed it!  Example Site Wednesday! Today we present to you http://www.beadplace.net/ , where you can always find the perfect accessory for every occasion.

 “More than seven out of 10 internet users are online buyers” –EMarketer.com

What makes The Bead Place such a wonderful website is the simplicity and usability of their online store. The homepage header includes the logo (placed in the left hand side) as well as a large and clear title. The main image shows a picture of the inside of their store, showing some of the most popular products they have to offer. The background contrasts smoothly with the main content of the site and creates a creative and serene mood for users. If you take a look at the navigational links you can see that “shop” is the first link under the homepage, inviting users to go there first. They use the video section of their website to upload videos of tutorials for customers to learn new innovative techniques. The calendar section shows all of the upcoming classes, which are available for users to comment and view. There is also a Guestbook section that allows customers to leave testimonials and reviews of the store and the products.

Tips on how to give your e-commerce website a little boost:

Simplify Product Description: Using simple to read product descriptions can help improve your conversion rates as opposed to providing only manufacturers description of the product. Additionally, including tips in your product description, like telling users if they would need any tools to better use your product, can help to set expectations of potential customers and decrease customer service inquiries.Improve Image Quality: Using high quality vibrant photos can help to make your products look enticing and attractive to potential customers.  Discover other ways graphics can help enhance your website.Create a Clear Site Flow: Providing potential customers with clear paths to helpful how-to videos/blog posts can help to elivitate common question and help to build your site credibility. The Bead Place, for example deals with customers who may not know how to sew or create jewelry. So they included many media resources that show potential customers how they could use their products. Learn 6 Essential Characteristics of a Business Website.Customer Service: Make sure that you give accurate and clear details about your business. The easier a customer can contact you, the easier it is for a customer to purchase from you. Create a relationship with your customers as well; try to form a system where you can follow-up with them 3-4 days after product arrives. Find out if the product matched the description that you gave them and if there were any stages of confusion as they moved around your website. This shows that you prioritize your customers and can help you learn more about the way you customers operate.

The world of ecommerce is growing at a fast rate, according to eMarketer “From 2010 to 2015, nearly 30 million consumers will join the ranks of online buyers”. With so many people buying products online, the importance of a simplified buying process that accurately showcases products is becoming more important. The Bead Place is an excellent example of how to use your website to relate with your customer and increase sales.

Do you have a great looking website? Post below for a chance to be chosen as our next week’s example website!

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About Us page: checklist for a successful website

Posted by Irina on March 23, 2012 | 1 Comment »

The “About Us” section of your website should provide in-depth information about yourself, the website creator, and the purpose of your small business (if applicable). According to SmashingMagazine.com, “the about me page is one of the most overlooked pages in development, but highest ranked page on many websites”.

Since this page gets so much online visibility, it is important to utilize it to its full potential. Let’s start by first identifying why a site visitor might come to your about us page:

Curiosity about the website creator and/or the businessLooking for key contact information

Thus, a good About Us page should clearly satisfy both of these needs in a useful and effortless manner. To help you get started in writing/ reviewing your “About Us” page, here is a small checklist of items that should be covered by this page:

Your name and qualifications – Who are you? What qualifies you to run this website?Business Information – What does your website/small business offer?Unique selling proposition – How is your small business different from competition? Learn more about what is a unique selling proposition.Business history – How long have you been in the business? How did you get started? What drives your passion for the business?Contact information – Do you have a phone number customers can call? Store location? Do you have a map with easy directions to follow?Social media links – Link to your Facebook, Twitter, and other social pages

Think of the “About Us” page as your virtual business card. Your about information should be easy to find and should not be hidden. Providing key information elements will help website visitors to feel more confident about you and your business.  It might make the difference between a sale and “just browsing”.

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How to Make a Website: Building a Small Business Website – A to Z

Posted by Irina on March 9, 2012 | 2 Comments »

You have a small business and want to expand your reach and exposure. You want to enter the land of the Internet, but you don’t know how to make a website. When deciding to make a website for your small business, there are a number of aspects to consider in order to ensure that it is as successful as possible.

Here is a list of factors that will help guiding you in learning how to build a website.

A – “About Us” page. This is the area of your website where you provide in-depth information about your small business, like history, employees and contact information.

B – Blogging. A blog is an excellent means of providing fresh information for your customers, giving them a reason to make regular, return visits to your small business website.

C – Content. When making a website, content that is pertinent to its mission and engaging for the audience is of vital importance.

D – Design. The design of a small business website should be visually appealing, and at the same time, not so “busy” that it is off-putting, making it difficult to located wanted information.

E – Email. Provide an email address for customers to easily contact you should they have questions or require more information.

F – Font. Employ a font style on your small business website that is easy to ready by all site visitors.

G – Google. It’s all about getting a good ranking in Google and other Search Engines.

H – Home page. This is the first part of your small business website that potential customers will see, so it is vital to make it informative and appealing.

I – Images. Images and graphics are great tools for making a website more visually appealing, as well as breaking up chunks of text so the content is easier to read and grasp.

J – Justify. Create a justified/aligned website that is easy to digest and navigate.

K – Keywords. Content rich with search keywords will help improve search engine rankings of your small business website.

L – Linking. Cross links throughout your small business website, as well as link sharing with other sites, is another SEO tool that should be utilized.

M – Main website title and address (URL). Make your main title (the name of your small business website) something simple and easy to remember. The URL for the site should match the title as closely as possible for recall purposes.

N – Navigation. Simple and functional navigation will help customers find the information they are seeking without an extensive effort. If they cannot quickly find what they want, they will go elsewhere.

O – Optimization (SEO). Utilize search engine optimization tactics and tools to increase the exposure your small business website will get in web searches.

P – Paragraph structure. Do not crowd your website content in large paragraphs. Keep it simple, employing line breaks to provide information in small bites that is easy to digest.

Q – Questions (FAQ). Provide your customers with a Frequently Asked Questions page. This is a one-stop shop for finding desired information about your small business website. Customers are likely to learn what they want, thus eliminating the need to contact you directly and clog the lines of communication.

R – Retail (Store). If your small business website involves the sales of merchandise, it will need a retail/store area where customers can add and manage items.

S – Social Media. Use social media entities like Facebook and Twitter to promote your small business website, announce special deals, and open a line of dialog with your customers.

T – Topic. The content of your small business website should stay on topic with your mission and not go off on tangents. Also, if you are writing a blog, make sure the topics are in line with the main function of your website.

U – Updates. Frequently update the content of your small business website to keep it fresh and give customers a reason to make repeat visits.

V – Vision. Create a vision and purpose when making a website for a small business… and stick to it!

W – Web competition analysis. Take a look-see at the competition to see what they are doing. There may be elements you want to use on your small business website, and you may discover a niche that has not been tapped into, which you can get in on first.

X – X Factor. No, not the TV singing competition. X factor as in giving your small business website that extra something that the competition is not offering.

Y – YouTube. Create videos and use YouTube as another media channel for promoting your small business website. These videos can also be shared on your website, making it more attractive to search engines.

Z – Zero to fear. Making a website for a small business may sound daunting, but there really is nothing to fear. It is better to have a rudimentary site than it is to have none at all. Improvements can be made at any time as you get a better feel for things.

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Example Site Wednesday: Scarab Pictures + Website Personality 101

Posted by Ryan on March 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

When you are walking into a building for the first time, you automatically begin to think about your feelings about the establishment. Websites work in the same way, when visitors come to your site they are formulating an impression of you or your organization. In order to land a strong impression your website has to display a sense of pizzazz and style that can keep visitors interested in the main content of your website. This week’s Example Site Wednesday belongs to Scarab Pictures, a delightful website made by an artistically intuitive freelance photographer named Claire. Claire has created a website that not only showcases her talents, but does it in a way that is very innovational and original.

“I’ll make an image out of anything, everything can be beautiful if you look at it a little differently.”
- Claire

Claire has created a website that not only showcases her talents, but does it in a way that is very innovational and original.

The homepage message is clear and direct to the overall purpose of the website. The navigational links are personal and positioned neatly. The ‘About Me’ and ‘Contact Me’ links have been changed to ‘Who I Am’ and ‘Write To Me’ to not only stand out, but place a personal touch to the website. Doing so helps to invite users to explore. The ‘Links’ page extends external links to her colleagues within her profession; this is a great way to establish a back linking relationship that can help your site receive more hits. The color scheme for her website sets a calm and serene atmosphere that openly welcomes you into further navigating through her website.  If you take a look at her blog, you can see that Claire keeps her blog relevant and with each post Claire uproots a deeper beauty of life.

Personality is very important in not only making your website stand out, but in establishing a personal relationship with visitors.

Tips to help add/showcase personality to your website:

Passage- Try to improve the passage, in which a visitor navigates throughout your website, you do not want a homepage that pulls users into too many directions. Offer a clear message of your purpose and lead them to the next destination of your site.Supporting Cast- Backgrounds for your site are not meant to be the highlight of your website. Try to make sure your background does not distract visitors and take them away from the main content of your site. A good background sets the mood for your site and makes sure your visitors eyes are easily directed to the main content of your website.Revise Other Web Content- Looking at other competing websites is a good method of gauging your website’s creativity level. Give your competitors an honest creativity review; figure out ways you can customize your website to be different from your competitors.Storytelling- Try to compose your web content on your pages like a story, like all stories there is a beginning, middle and end. Make sure that the beginning draws your visitors in, the middle effectively covers your main objective and your end has a clear ‘Call to Action’ message.Atmosphere- Build a good atmosphere so first time website visitors can experience an amazing first impression when they enter your site. There are certain elements that can help you build a good atmosphere such as, text font, colors, organization and unique content. Think of a great atmosphere that runs parallel to you or your organization, a good atmosphere can increase the time a user stays on your site.

The blueprint to becoming creative is to be yourself, whether you own a business, group or own a website for personal reasons. There is no better determining factor of creativity than uniqueness, so do not be afraid to do what it takes to stand out.

Until Wednesday rolls around again,

HAPPY SITE BUILDING!

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Example Site Wednesday: Bows for Hope + How to Improve Website Usability

Posted by Ryan on February 29, 2012 | 2 Comments »

This week’s Example Site Wednesday comes from a beautiful website dedicated to selling adorable duct tape bows to raise money for a cancer charity foundation, Bows for Hope. This website provides an excellent example of how a simplistic homepage can help you capitalize on your unique web traffic.

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.”

-Albert Einstein

Bows For Hope is an organization started by Lauren Chelenza, a 13 year old, who was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in 2009. She sells bows made of duct tape that come in many creative designs for $1.50, and all proceeds are donated to the Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation. Lauren first started out selling her bows in school, and to date she has raised thousands of dollars for her cause.

Within seconds of visiting Bows For Hope, you are greeted with an warm angelic design that directs you to the main content of the site. The content is straight forward and allows visitors to comprehend the objective of the site instantly. Right below the main paragraph is a ‘Call to Action’ message that is a personal statement directly from the founder of the site. The navigational links are placed on the left side of the site, and the links are precise and easy to read.

Whether you have an e-commerce or personal site, it is very important to improve the visitor experience of your site. Here are some reasons why a SIMPLER site will improve website usability:

Accessibility: Think about the visitors who come to your site who may be using a special tool or program to view your site. There will be users who may have trouble seeing, or maybe blind and they utilize a tool to read aloud your site. A simple design will make it easier for your site to be accessible by anyone.Speed: Having fewer things to load makes your site much faster, and we all know how important page loading is in the overall user experience.Improved Navigation: Make sure that your menu is easily accessible and well organized; users should be able to effectively find exactly which page they are looking for without opening unnecessary links. Try to place navigational links either as the top header or on the left side of your site, those are the first places where users look. Make sure the links are in order by most popular to least popular, and that they are easy to understand.Clear Message: Users come to your websites for a purpose, and if they cannot meet their objective in a reasonable amount of time they will leave. Your homepage needs to have a direct message that tells your users they will meet their objectives on your site. It may be beneficial to ask a question about your website or company and answer it with a clear short paragraph. If a user has to analyze a confusing homepage to find out the clear message, more than likely they will be gone within the first 10 seconds of coming to your site.Mobile Access: A simpler design means that Smartphones will be able to access your full site features.

Lauren has been given a second chance at life and takes great pride in knowing that she has generated thousands of dollars for the Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation, an organization that is near and dear to her heart. We invite you to view her website and check out her beautiful bows and learn more about her story.

Until Next Wednesday,

HAPPY SITE BUILDING !

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6 Key Elements to a Good Website

Posted by Irina on February 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

The following information was presented during our last webinar as a guide to help website owners  take their site to the next level. Webinar was intended to be a quick 30 minute guide to provide simple to follow tips from the Webs pros regarding the top 6 key elements that make up a good website.

Key Elements covered:

Good Visual Design– Design is an all encompassing word for all the visuals elements of your website – logo, font(s), white space, theme/template, layout and colors.
Using a theme that relates to the topic of your website can help to keep you/your content on track. When it comes to design it is important to remember to use white space and think about color usage and meaning.Content– The key to a good website is providing relevant content that your readers want.  Content should answer the question “what’s in it for me?”Navigation– Navigation is the “GPS” of your website. Navigation or Nav Bars are the buttons that get your visitors where they need to go to get information or do certain things. Usually this bar is along the top, as we in this one, or along the left side of the site.Should be simple to use and uncluttered. It is always a good idea to group like pages under the same topic to streamline navigation.Call to Action – The Call to Action is a set of words that urge your website visitors to take an immediate action on your website.  There is no magic formula to a good Call to Action. The key is to continuously test what works best for your website and your audience. Test the placement, size and color of these…make sure you use actionable words.Credibility – A good website instills trust from visitors. Good website design takes this into consideration by incorporating items that help identify that you are a legitimate resource. One way you can do so is by utilizing
verified links, clearly stating your identity and contact info,  good grammar and employing social proof.Mobile site – More and more people are looking at your site from a mobile phone or web enabled device. It seems like anything with a screen and a microchip in it is capable of getting on the internet these days. Make sure your site is viewable on a mobile internet enabled device. Quick note: Webs websites are automatically converted into a mobile friendly site when you build it.

Webinar also covered 5 mistakes that could spell disaster for a website:

Stale Content – Don’t let your site go dormant. Visitors and potential visitors will skip over your site when content is old and out of date – not to mention the effects this has on your search results.Too much content –  This is worse than not enough content. The more people have to read through narratives and long drawn out chunks of information,the quicker they are going to leave your site. Leave the long-windedness to your blog entries.No Photos –  Using no imagery makes your site boring and dull. Today’s web readers expect some amount of content mixed with pictures or logos and icons.Looking illegitimate – Customers when visiting new sites will come in with their guard up – especially if they have been the victim of internet fraud before.The lens of the tainted viewer is always going to err on the side of “shady site”, and even more so if the site looks like one. Organizing your content, using consistent colors, employing a theme that stays the same from page to page, along with landing pages that match email campaigns (if you’re doing email marketing) are key to making a site look legit.Being Bland – You started your business because of some sort of drive, and a story there. You spent all this time putting together a business plan and starting your company – let your site convey your personality. If you have a business where you great everyone by name, smile and are generally happy, pick a theme and convey that. Avoid color schemes and writing that is “boring”. You have to keep your visitors attention and a bland site will get some one to leave very quickly.

Do you have an idea for the next topic we should cover in the Webs webinar? Post below for chance to be selected.

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Business Idea, check; Website, check; Logo….What logo?

Posted by Kirk on February 16, 2012 | 6 Comments »

You’ve taken the plunge and decided to work for yourself. Congratulations.

In the midst of doing your business plan and filling out articles of incorporation, you launched a website that you’re pretty proud of. But, did you take the time to create a unique graphic identity?

A graphic identity is a fancy way of saying Logo. Your logo is a symbol of your company. The greatest brands of the world have logos that just about anyone can recognize without even seeing the company’s name.

When you sit down to start thinking about a logo, you should ask yourself these questions:

What do I want my logo to be? The logo you choose for your business should have a tie into your “brand” or the products/services you provide. Think about the great logos that are out there right now, how do they symbolize the company that they “work for”?What shape do I want for my logo? Should you use an abstract shape? What about the geometry of your logo – round or square? Your logo should be memorable and should correlate with what it is you do. For example, if you’re a dog walker, your logo might be something as simple as your name but with a collar and leash replacing a “round letter”.  Keep in mind that your logo does not always have to be a physical shape.What color should my logo be? Selecting the right color can make or break your logo. When first designing your logo, start out using gray scale. Once you have settled on the shape you feel passionate about, experiment with colors.  Not sure which color to select? Do some research: what are your competitors doing, how do your customers feel about certain colors?

Your logo shouldn’t be something that doesn’t connect with your or your customers. Your logo should be simple, recognizable and communicate a message to the public. Additional tips on how to create your own logo.

Not sure about where to start? Check the LogoGizmo App that can help you create and design your own logo.

It’s very important that you invest time into the creation process of deciding upon and designing your logo to make sure that it reaches the audience you want to reach and has the right impact on your business.

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