emarketing | May 11, 2012
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4 Reasons Your Dallas Business Needs a Mobile Site Mobile| Social | Local

Mobile Sites Service for Arlington & Dallas area Restaurants, Salons, & More.

Fill out this form and Get started with your mobile Site & Social Media Integration

100 Million Reasons You Need a Mobile Site

As if 100 million smartphone users in the USA alone is not enough of a reason to have a mobile website, Mashable’s article “More Smartphone Owners Use Location-Based Products” should open more businesses eyes, as to why local, mobile, and social go more hand in hand than ever before. “A new study . . .found that about 74% of smartphone users use location-based services to find out information about what’s around them.” So no matter how long your business  has been around, and how great your products or services are, if you are not taking advantage of mobile sites, it could slow down your growth.

Your Customers are looking for your services and finding your competition!

If your site is older than 5 years, chances are that it may be using flash, or other older technologies, that are not supported in some smart phones. If someone finds your website through search, and nothing loads, they will go to your competitor down the street! Functionality is a big deal, and having a mobile site that works on all smartphones is key.

Why mobile Is NOT just a smaller version of your existing site

Most people think that a mobile site just means taking your current one and making it smaller, but that is far from the truth. Mobile is a whole new experience, and mobile usually means touch. So if you navigation buttons are too close together, it is possible that users can not get to any of the other pages on your website. Also fancy rollovers on your regular website, animations, photos and videos are much less likely to be appreciated. Mobile users are seeking information and they want it fast. you need an entire new website that is designed with mobile users in mind, a site that will load quickly and be user-friendly. Using Click-To-Call buttons, and providing your contact information on the first page is always a plus. Also keep in mind that most smartphone users are conscious about their data usage, and if your site is a data hog, they are not likely to return.

Mobile and Social Get Closer every day

According to Mashable’s study one in five smartphone users are checking in to local businesses. So not having a Facebook business page, or an account in Yelp   could be keeping you from free advertising! You want your frequent shoppers to brag about your and leave reviews, social proof will be much more credible than any advertisement. Having a mobile-friendly site that is integrated with facebook, twitter and other social accounts makes your local business  ”share-able” and who doesn’t want that? The more word of mouth referrals, the less money you will need to spend on advertising.

If you are a small business owner in the Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Grapevine or  Mid-Cities area, iSocialDesign can come to your business and  help you transition to mobile –> Get started with your mobile Site & Social Media Integration

Category: Uncategorized |
emarketing | May 4, 2012
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5 Keys to An Effective WordPress Website

WordPress is amazing, because it enables you to have a website done in a single day, but having a site, and having an effective site, can be very different. Effective WordPress sites will have the following 5 keys:

1.) Credibility

The first step to a good WordPress Website is establishing credibility through using testimonials, social proof, or videos. If you have a  shopping cart or e-commerce on your WordPress site it is a good idea to have an SSL Certificate. This will make people feel comfortable making transactions on your website.

2.) Usability 

Is your site easy to use? If you are using flash, chances are that a lot of people will never be able to use your site. Make sure that your Menu is easy to see, and use. Having a clean WordPress theme, and doing your updates should take care of that.

3.) Sell-ability 

If your customer can’t find the “Order” button, and if your call to action is not SPECIFIC and CLEAR, you will lose sales! Focus on the product or service you are offering, and ask for the sale, WordPress has many plug-ins and themes, use them to highlight your offer or service.

4.) Visibility  

Make your site visible to people and Search Engines, make sure you use an SEO plug-in like the All In One SEO Pack, Platinum SEO pack, or any other SEO Plugin.  Also make sure your permalinks are set to %postname% or category, whatever is best for your service.

5.) Share-ability 

Make sure website content is EASY to share, and share-worthy. Do your research and come up with good content that people will want to share with others. Ask people what they want to read about, and provide useful content.  Using a Plugin like share-this, is a good practice. Also share different kinds of content, use blog posts, videos, audio, PDF’s, and come up with creative ways to engage your readers, so that they share your content and keep coming back for more.

Category: WordPress, Writing Copy | Tags: ,
emarketing | April 27, 2012
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Freelance Boot Camp 7 Lessons to Be a Great WordPress Freelancer !

These 7 Freelance tips work for everything, but I am focusing on WordPress, so this example will be focused on being a WordPress Freelancer, but applies to you if you do SEO, Web Design, Social Media, or any other Internet Marketing service. These are actually notes from a Tuts+ Tutorial, so check out Tuts+ for more info like this.

 

1.) You need the Right MINDSET! 

-To Be a good freelancer you need to let go of your fear

- You also need to learn to embrace uncertainty!

-Focus on the Physical and get yourself out of your mind.

 

This was a really good first lesson, because it really is true. When you do Websites for clients, you may or may not have a client sometimes. You need to learn how to deal with that, and I found that having some good savings, usually keeps you feeling good. There is a LOT of uncertainty in being a freelancer, but the freedom is priceless!

2.) Be CONSISTENT

-NO matter what your methods are for getting clients, be CONSISTENT

-Don’t over-commit, and stick with what works

-Follow Up! Even if they say no today, next week they may say yes!

Another really good tip, since there are a ton of ways to get clients, you really need to pick 2 or 3 things and stick to them. Also follow up! That is actually how I got a couple of clients, I sent them a quote, and followed up. They chose me because they never heard back from the other ” WordPress experts.”

3.) Be Professional!

- Be approachable and dress for success

-Have a 30 Second elevator speech

Even though this is a simple tip. it is very true, you never know who you will meet or run into. Always be ready to give your 30 second elevator speech, and have a business card handy. Treat this as a REAL business, and other people will do the same.

4.) Have a Strong Offer

Your Offer Needs To Be

A.) Profitable – An offer that delivers value, and is profitable

B.) Narrow – Narrow your offer by location, industry, or other demographic

C.) Specific – Make your offer specific, and be a SPECIALIST not a GENERALIST

 

-Don’t try to be everything to everyone

-Narrow your offer

-The more specific you are the more you can charge!

This was my favorite tip! Instead of being an “Internet Marketer” I am now a ” Local Dallas WordPress Websites and Social Media Design Specialist”. Internet marketing is way too general, and the more specific you can get, the better. Even if you are say a freelance writer, if you state that you specialize in writing about technology, you will get more offers, than to just say you are a “freelance writer.” So being specific is important!

 

5.) Have A Good Portfolio

-Have a good portfolio that speaks for itself

- Use case studies from previous clients

-Showcase your best work!

This one is huge, it took me about 2 days to pull a really good portfolio together but I feel that, this single thing has made a huge difference. I created a PDF Portfolio and anyone can look at it and download it instantly. This saves a lot of time, and I don’t have to put together e-mails of my previous work.  You can check out what I created by visiting: WordPress Websites & Social Media Design Portfolio

6.) Getting Clients

-Network and get clients from people you already know

- Use Social Media to reach out and make new connections

- Don’t reinvent the wheel, partner up with someone who compliments your offer

This tip is very useful, just talking to people you already know, it is highly likely that you will find a deal. That is how I got my first 2 deals, from just talking to people I already knew. Also I participate a lot in local Meet-Up events, and meet new people that way.

7.) KNOW Who Your Ideal Customer

- KNOW what is important to them

-What are their biggest frustrations and pains

- What do they want to achieve

-How do they measure success

- What does their typical day look like?

This tip wasn’t alarming to me, knowing your market is huge. And without doing this one thing, you could really be lost for a while. There can be a lot of time wasted by not knowing who you are talking to.

 

Those were my favorite freelance tips. I feel that organization and time management are also HUGE. Being organized can save you a lot of time and stress. Also when it comes to time management, take time to RELAX! That is one of the hardest things for me to do. Hope this post was useful.

Category: Freelance Tips | Tags: , ,
emarketing | April 19, 2012
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New Google+ Cover Photos Size / Design & SEO Optimization Tips!

Google+ Cover Full Photo Size / Dimensions in Pixels: 940X180

Google+ Thumbnail Photo Size / Dimensions in Pixels: 112 X112

Google+ profile Picture Photo Size / Dimensions in Pixes : 260X260

Tips To Design Your Google+ Cover Photo

You can use Adobe Photoshop or Fireworks

If you don’t have either check out GIMP!

If you use Adobe Fireworks, go to File–> File Info

Fill out all that information and include a link to your website

Save file as a JPG and you are ready to go!

Not sure if they will add limitations to having contact info on there, so just hold off for now.

New Google+ Covers Photo’s have been announced! Google is really looking to stay ahead of the game now that Facebook bought Instagram, this may be their way to say ” hey we are focusing on photos too!”

To me they look and feel a lot like the new Facebook Timeline Designs, but who am I to Judge? I really like the new photo, and the fact that they do give you the option to choose 5 smaller pictures that will show up as thumbnails is cool.

When Facebook rolled out their new timeline, they had a lot of restrictions on what could and could not be shown on your cover photo. It doesn’t look like Google has stated any “rules” that say you can not have your website or contact info on there. This can be a really good chance to take advantage of that space for branding, and creating more social awareness.

If you do need someone to create your Google+ Cover Photo, or design any other Social Media Marketing Profiles visit iSocialDesign.com

 

 

 

 

Category: Internet Marketing Tips, Social Media |
emarketing | April 10, 2012
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Envato Marketplace gives you $25 for Joining Tuts+ Use on Themeforest, CodeCanyon, Graphicriver & More


Photo of Milford Sound in New Zealand!

Chances are that if you’re into WordPress, you have heard of the Envato Marketplace. Are you a big Themeforest or CodeCanyon Fan? Are you trying to make it big online or offline? I would recommend checking out tutsplus.com, Envato has a deal where if you join tutsplus for $19, you will get $25 towards their entire marketplace. This is awesome because they have a lot of freelance info as well as WordPress Tutorials and more. If you are looking to learn Web Design, Programming, and other technical knowledge to make it big online, this is a great resouce. There is a TON of knowledge when it comes to internet marketing, over 800 premium tutorials, and top selling e-books. It’s a deal that is too good to pass, and I would like to share it with all WordPress Junkies out there!

I ran into this just in time, since I’ve been on CodeCanyon, looking for a good WordPress Appointment scheduling plug-in. It just happens to be that the plug-in I’m looking at costs $25! Tuts+ has some awesome tutorials, although I would recommend Lynda.com to learn most of this stuff, $19 is cheaper and you do get a lot for your money. The offer is only good for 7 days, so you still have until April 17th to sign up! Check it out . . .

Internet Marketing, Web Design & Web Programing Tutorials from Envato

Category: Internet Marketing Tips, WordPress | Tags: , , ,
emarketing | April 2, 2012
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AIGADFW Dallas Design Week Workshops April 9-14 2012


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If you are into Web Design / Graphic Design / Photography / Interactive Design /Advertising  in the Dallas  Fort Worth area, you have to check this event out! It’s the AIGADFW Design Week event going on next week April 9-14. A full week of learning, this awesome event runs from Monday – Saturday.  The event is being held at the Art Institute of Dallas at 8080 Park Ln Ste 100, Dallas, TX. The best part is  that an entire weeks worth of learning is only $125! That is a no-brainer price, since other one day conferences can run around $600 for this kind of information. Since design is an ever changing field, staying on top of your game can give you a big edge over your competitors who don’t! Even if you can’t make it all week, if you can only attend 2 days, it is still incredibly affordable!

Register for the Dallas Design Week Event at EventBrite

The workshops  will cover things like :

-Mobile Web Design

- Interactive Design

-Mobile App Development and design

- CMS’s like WordPress, Joomla, Magento, and more

- Creative Thinking and Creative Management

- Tips to succeed as a freelancer

-Tips on balancing work and life

-A chance to mingle and interact with other local creatives

For More Details visit: http://aigadfwdw.org/

I am really looking forward to attending this event! The part that I am interested the most is in learning how to succeed as a freelancer. This is something I have been doing a lot of research on, and it would be great to get some tips. It is really inspiring that they are having a panel of female business owners in the creative industry.

AIGA is the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and Becoming a member gets you sweet benefits. There are membership options for creative agencies, freelancers, groups, and students.  I would  recommend signing up for AIGADFW, as it comes with many benefits, including 20% off of Lynda.com Training! That is huge, if you are in design and tech, Lynda.com is a MUST for never ending learning. There are other benefits  like:

  • Apple: discounts on products and accessories
  • Members-Only Webinars by Adobe about Technology
  • Adobe: 15% discount on all products in the Adobe store
  • AIGA Design Jobs – View complete job listings!
  • AIGA Member Gallery – Showcase your work and connect with others.
  • Shutterstock Images: 15% discount on image subscription
  • Lynda.com: 20% discount on training
  • FedEx: up to 26% discount on FedEx shipments, up to 20% discount on FedEx Office
  • F+W Media: discount subscriptions on HOW and Print
  • Rockport Publishers: 40% discount on books
  • FontShop: 10% discount on fonts and their FontBook
  • PaperSpecs: 15% discount on membership
  • LightSource: 20% discount on archival inkjet printing, drum scans and digital capture
  • AIGA Online Store: discounts on AIGA books

Learm more about the AIGA Membership

Pricing for AIGADFW :

Professional  $315

Associate  $230

Student $95

Full Time Faculty $110

Group of 3 Employees $245/e

Category: Dallas Design, WordPress | Tags: , , , , ,
emarketing | March 10, 2012
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How Your ” Bad Neighbors” on your Shared hosting account, may get you blacklisted. The real price of cheap hosting.

Finding a hosting company is an important decision for your websites. But choosing a host based solely on price could hold you back from higher search engine rankings. You can find cheap hosting anywhere, but you really do get what you pay for when it comes down to it. Usually shared hosting is ok if you are just starting out online, and its an easy way to get a site going. However, if you are building client sites, or you are really serious about your website, I would advise you to go with a dedicated server.

When you are on a shared hosting account, you could be hosted on the same account as websites that have been blacklisted by Google. This could be because the sites are known for spam, scams, phishing, and other activities that go against Google’s TOS. If you already have a shared hosting account, you can see what other sites are hosted on the same server by visiting www.wholinks2me.com This could give you some good insight on who your “neighbors” are, and enlighten you as to why no matter how hard you try, you just can’t rank your site well on Google.

I would advise you keep your site on your shared server until your hosting runs out, but I would change it as soon as the existing one expires. This usually doesn’t mean you have to go and find a new hosting company, a lot of companies offer both shared and dedicated hosting. If you have 1-3 sites, then its relatively easy to change hosting, however, if you have 20+ sites, it would be a real hassle moving each site. I would recommend staying with your current provider, and just asking them for the next level hosting plan.

Aside from the “bad neighbors” you can get on shared hosting, there are more advantages to dedicated hosting. With dedicated hosting you will have a unique IP and you are able to get a SSL certificate, this will be very important because if you intend to take payments online, your customers will feel more at ease if they see that you site is secure. As you can see I have no affiliate link to any hosting company, so the purpose of this post is to educate you and raise awareness as to the real costs of cheap hosting.

Category: Webhosting |
emarketing | February 12, 2012
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How to Install WordPress fоr You Affiliate Sites Using Fantastico or Softaculous

 

One оf thе major obstacles tо succeeding іn affiliate marketing іѕ learning hоw tо create а solid website. Fоr thоѕе whо аrе lеѕѕ technically inclined, thіѕ саn ѕееm аn аlmоѕt insurmountable problem, аnd bесаuѕе оf thіѕ thеу еnd uр putting оff thеіr goals оf creating affiliate websites indefinitely. In thіѕ article, I’m gоіng tо share whу uѕіng WordPress fоr affiliate sites іѕ а great wау tо gеt started.

Did уоu knоw thаt it’s роѕѕіblе tо create а solid affiliate website wіthоut аnу knowledge оf HTML, CSS, оr аnу оf thе programming languages? Whіlе it’s аlwауѕ helpful tо hаvе ѕоmе extra knowledge аbоut building websites, it’s rеаllу nоt nесеѕѕаrу fоr уоu tо learn а lot оf technical jargon іn order tо bе successful online.WordPress іѕ а free software program thаt уоu саn uѕе tо build оut уоur entire website. Yоu саn thіnk оf іt аѕ а content management system, whісh means іt handles аll оf thе behind-the-scenes work fоr you, thеn аll уоu hаvе tо dо іѕ concentrate оn adding interesting аnd helpful content fоr уоur niche audience.

WordPress wаѕ originally designed аѕ blogging software, but іt hаѕ bесоmе muсh mоrе thаn that. Thеrе аrе mаnу themes аvаіlаblе fоr уоu tо choose frоm (both free аnd paid), аnd thеѕе themes include options fоr static lооkіng websites аnd еvеn e-commerce stores. Thіѕ іѕ а rеаllу versatile piece оf software, аnd уоu don’t еvеn hаvе tо pay аnуthіng fоr thе basic installation! Most reputable web hosting companies hаvе аn option thаt mаkеѕ іt easy tо install WordPress іn јuѕt а fеw minutes.

Thеrе іѕ а bit оf а learning curve whеn уоu gеt started, but аftеr thаt уоu саn focus оn simply publishing уоur articles, videos, аnd оthеr content tо уоur blog оr website.These benefits аrе rеаllу important bесаuѕе creating high-quality content іѕ whаt it’s аll аbоut thеѕе days іn thе affiliate marketing game. Fоr mаnу people, however, thеу gеt stuck оn thе technical side іn dealing wіth learning HTML аnd оthеr technical details. Thіѕ саn kеер уоu frоm gеttіng оn wіth thе mоѕt important work аѕ а website publisher, whісh іѕ providing excellent articles аnd оthеr content fоr уоur readers.WordPress mаkеѕ іt easy tо publish high quality articles wіth ѕоmе basic on-page search engine optimization (like putting уоur keyword phrases іn thе rіght places). Thіѕ wіll іn turn hеlр уоu tо achieve higher search engine rankings аnd gеt mоrе website traffic.

Getting WordPress is easy on CPanel hosting accounts all you will need to do is sign up for web hosting on a CPanel web host and they will make it very simple to install WordPress with 1 click! Using either Fantastico or Softaculous make it very easy to install WordPress on your hosting. The picture above shows you what these 2 look like, keep in mind you will either have one or the other, and the picture is just for guidance. The best thing about using this kind of software is that it creates your database for you, and creates a config file that has security already built in. While this may not be the most secure way to install WordPress, it is absolutely the easiest one. All you will need to do is create a username and password and a site title for your WordPress site. At the end you will be given a url where you can login, and start using WordPress! Your log-in url will be something like yourdomain.com/wp-admin, and it will prompt you to type in your user name and password, and that will take you inside of WordPress!

For affiliate websites, it is usually best to choose a free theme, and give it a custom header and background. One of the easiest themes to customize that allow you to create a custom header, background, and unlimited colors is the zeeBusiness theme, all you have to do is go to themes > install themes> and then seach for it by name. Then you can either make your own header, or hire someone on fiverr to make one for you. And voila, you have a WordPress website, ready to load your affiliate products and begin to make some money!

Category: WordPress |
emarketing | February 1, 2012
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Copy Writing Crash Course Learn The Formula for 10 minute Sales Letters!

1.) The first thing to do Before you write a single word of copy is to IDENTIFY your audience. Create 2-4 “Personas” that could be your customer. Without doing this, you might as well throw away all your work. Name your customer BOB, SUE and whatever else you want to do to make sure you have a good idea of what that customer would be like:

Create a customer profile  BOB:

What are their Pains or biggest fears?
What do they want?
What are they trying to SOLVE?
What is their day like?
What lifestyle are they leading?
Appeal to their EMOTIONS!!
Get inside their head.
Think WHY do they want to buy this? Motivations and Influences.

 

Keep in mind:

When writing pretend that you are talking to BOB and he is right front of you.
Make your pitch about HIM and HIS problem.
Bob cares about HIM  not about YOU!
2.) Create a Killer headline that makes them turn their head FAST!
The job of your head line is to make sure that they read the rest of your page, so here are good tips for finding headlines that work:
Look through magazine headlines
Look at trending topics on twitter that are related to yours
Subscribe to google alerts and see if you notice current  trends
Go to Digg and search for “top diggs” under the category you’re looking to write about.
Use the news to tie in to what you have to say.
The next 4 steps will be
Attention
Interest
Desire
Action
This is a rough outline of what to ask and fill out:
3.)ATTENTION
Easy to identify with their pains or PROBLEMS4.)INTERESTSpike CURIOSITY or interest them in SOLUTIONS for problem.
List benefits

Benefits are listed in bullets and quick and easy to read
  • benefit
  • benefit
  • benefit
  • benefit
5.)DESIRE
They want to get rid of their PROBLEM, show them how EASY the SOLUTION is and make them WANT IT.

6.)ACTION
Tell them STEP BY STEP what to do to get the  SOLUTION
-Click Buy Now
-Fill Out Form
-Complete Payment-
-Download Product


7.) Create SCARCITY!!!
BY THE WAY  . . .this course is closing this month
This is a good guide to create the perfect sales letter for your product or service. Make sure its easy to read. Also try to make it long, as people who are not as interested will more than likely not read the whole thing and eliminate themselves.
Good Luck with your sales letters!

Category: Writing Copy |
emarketing | January 20, 2012
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Dallas Social Media Management & Profile Design Service


 


Social Media Marketing is an integral part of marketing your product or service online. Whether you are a small mom-and-pop shop or a big corporation, if you are not building your brand through social media, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity to gain more business and referrals. In the Dallas / Fort Worth area alone, there are many social media management companies, that can help your business gain the visibility and credibility it needs. It may be difficult to choose which company to go with, but if you are looking for a good company in the area we recommend isocialdesign.com

 

iSocialDesign is a Dallas Social Media Marketing Service includes setting up social media profiles on Facebook and Twitter, as well as designing Facebook fan pages & Twitter Background that match the look of your website. They also will design a matching mobile site, and everything will have the same look and feel, so it will help with your branding.

Social Media is important because it gives social proof that other people are recommending, talking about, and reviewing your service or product. Social Media helps you get found, and tells Google where to place you on search results. The people you interact with and have connections actually have an impact on what products and services show up on Google search for you.

Social Media is an opportunity to go where your consumers are and allows you to create a community of raving fans for your brand. It is good to interact with customers and have conversations, ask questions and contribute good content that is related to your offer. Building a strong relationship with them will keep you top of mind and they will be more likely to recommend you to friends and family.

That is the main reason why social media is so important, it spreads without you having to work hard. Create a funny video, or some kind of unique content, and users are very likely to share it, tweet it, put it on Facebook, blog it, etc. The more that your content is shared, the better results you will have on your bottom line. That is why it is very important to brand your website, Facebook and Twitter,  and mobile site.

As  time passes you build your social reputation which leads you to  more credibility and referrals. The more brand awareness  you have, the stronger your brand will be and people will be much more likely to choose your product or service, even if it costs more, because they heard about it from a friend.

If you are in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and would like help with your social media profile set-up, design, and management, check out the isocialdesign.com. You can get face-to-face help in the comfort of your office, and they have very affordable rates.

Category: Social Media |
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