Product Reviews
This morning at
Ideas Orlando, the WordPress Orlando Meetup held a talk and called it “WordPress in Business”. In this talk there were a few talking points that were mentioned that I notated below. I was unable to post all of these on the
MeetUp page as the text exceeded the comment limits so I created this post for the notes. Please feel free to share where needed.
Hosting Provider Suggestions
- Host Gator
- Digital Ocean (cloud based)
- SiteCore
- SiteGround (inexpensive shared hosting for starter users)
- Pagely (high volume of traffic)
- GoDaddy (WordPress specific hosting)
Food for Thought:
A good idea to note is that hosting providers do not make changes or updates to your website. When you get to a point of making money with your business/website consider hiring an agency that will monitor and maintain your hosting services for your websites.
Plugin Suggestions
- Pretty Links
Shrink, beautify, track, manage and share any URL on or off of your WordPress website. Create links that look how you want using your own domain name!
https://wordpress.org/plugins/pretty-link/
- Gravity Forms
Advanced Forms for WordPress Websites Just Don’t Get Any Easier than Gravity Forms
http://www.gravityforms.com/
- Member Mouse
MemberMouse is an easy to use WordPress membership plugin that allows you to sell products, subscriptions and memberships, setup a password protected member’s area, offer 1-click upsells and downsells, manage customers, automate customer service, track critical retention metrics and more. No matter where you’re starting from, MemberMouse has the power you need to maximize revenue and get your business running like a well-oiled machine.
http://membermouse.com/
- WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free, powerful WordPress eCommerce plugin. With the extendability of a huge catalog of commercial themes and extensions we have all the tools you might need to get your shop running.
http://www.woothemes.com/woocommerce/
- Shopify
Online shopping cart software
http://www.shopify.com/
- Sharesale
ShareASale has been in business for 15 years, exclusively as an Affiliate Marketing Network. Our technology receives accolades for speed, efficiency, and accuracy – and our reputation as a fair and honest business is well known within the industry. We encourage you to browse around our website and learn more, but if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
http://www.shareasale.com/
- Commission Junction
Affiliate Marketing
http://www.cj.com/
- Click Bank
Entrepreneurs everywhere use our powerful online and mobile e-commerce platform to build a vibrant business across popular lifestyle categories. We believe in cultivating a new generation of digital entrepreneurs and helping them transform their passion and expertise into top-selling digital products and affiliate marketing programs to achieve financial happiness. Our solutions, combined with top-rated client support, help you grow and maintain every part of your business. Making money online has never been easier.
http://www.clickbank.com/
Tips and Ideas
- Amazon has tips and reports about website speed and why it is important to your website conversion rate and more.
- Look into CDN options like CloudFlare or JetPack. (Content Delivery Network) This will make your website load much faster by utilizing distributed content processing.
- For video hosting you can use Amazon S3 hosting, YouTube, or Amazon. http://aws.amazon.com/s3/
- To check your web page load times check http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/ or try
- Google Page Speed Test https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
- Set up email filters (Gmail)
- Hire a virtual assistant for your repetitive tasks and saving more time each day to dedicate more to yourself or to the core parts of your business
- Advertising on Facebook is really the most effective once you start paying for ads. Even at a small daily rate.
Suggested Reads:
Great source for asking questions or finding answers about WordPress:
All Posts, Social Media
I recently came across this Slideshare post from Linked In and thought it would be great to share it with all of you (our readers).
If you’re like us, trying to keep up with all the latest trends and social media enhancements can be a bit tough. Running a business and keeping clients happy while increasing your bottom line is the common goal, though you can’t ignore your social status and presence. Check out the slide below and I challenge you to see what tips you can take to update your own business Linked In pages in the next few days or week.
All Posts, Branding, Events, Marketing, Social Media
There are over one billion people on Facebook.
Just about everyone on the planet knows that Facebook has become the go-to media strategy for business promotion. Using Facebook provides businesses one of the best opportunities on the Internet for targeted advertising. This is key because Facebook users provide pertinent information such as their age, gender, location and interests, which allows you direct access to target your audience. These Facebook ads can be used for lead generation, traditional brand advertising, and more all to promote your business – FOR FREE! Here are just a few ways to leverage Facebook advertisements for your business.
1st – Know How It Works – When you run your ad or sponsored posts/stories you are charged for the number of impressions (CPM) or clicks it receives. The amount that you pay can be restricted by your daily or lifetime budget and there are no additional fees associated with running ads or sponsored stories on Facebook. Facebook suggests you name your campaign, select your budget and set the time schedule for running your ad. When multiple ads are running in a campaign, Facebook automatically allocates more of your daily budget to higher performing ads. You can use the Ads Manager feature to monitor your campaigns performance, to measure its success and ultimately determine if you are spending your Facebook advertising $’s in the best way possible.
2nd – Consider Psychographics vs. Demographics in the Setup – Psychographics study and measure attitudes, values, lifestyles, and opinions versus demographics, which provide quantitative data based on geography, age, gender and the like. Psychographics give a true, life-like portrait of the targeted audience and consumer base for your individualized marketing purposes. Facebook gathering this key information allows advertisers to target & pinpoint their audience in a very precise and henceforth successful way.
3rd – Always Use Effective, Eye-Catching Tools & Creative Options – We know that we “eat” with our eyes first. What catches our attention through imagery certainly opens the door leading us to the relevant information. So smart use of imagery in your Facebook ad will make a significant impact on the success of the advertising and marketing campaign. And there are various forms of these eye-catching options to consider.
- Infographics are a great way to grab the reader’s attention especially when you add imbedded links to your page to promote key information about a product or service being provided.
- Video Ads – For those who prefer to watch than read, video ads are a great way to convey pertinent healthcare information or solicitations to the masses. For example, there are sports companies like Nike that use ads like Nike’s Football: The Vapor Trail to create amazing & captivating video ads to entice their target audience and promote their products.
- Job Opportunities – In need of more sales associates or another CPA for your growing accounting firm? With over 1 billions people on Facebook, it is no brainer to use ad space to market career opportunities within your business.
- Free Services & Apps – Nothing attracts new customers like the words FREE and even more so when they can actually obtain something. What better way to entice a consumer than offering a limited service for free? What about creating engagement via a free app offer as you lead consumers to your own website. Use Facebook the way Facebook uses you – to get new subscribers i.e. new consumers.
- Emotional Response Ads – Emotions are one of the most powerful influences we have. Emotional Response Marketing & Advertising works wonders in the various forums such as healthcare because there are emotional attachments to health concerns, issues and supportive causes such as Shriner’s Hospital Love to the Rescue.
- Hosted Event Ads – Events promoted on Facebook have a greater chance of success than any traditional marketing method. Business exhibitions and conferences, trainings, and career events can have a much higher participatory turnout when advertised through Facebook.
So are Facebook advertisements worthwhile for your business and particular industry? Only you know who your general audience is comprised of. But if there are more than 50% that you believe are online and use Social Media – than the answer is YES. Especially if you look at the IMMENSE EXPOSURE opportunity versus the amount of money spent on the campaign. Using Facebook creates unlimited opportunities to attain new customers, host successful events and bring global awareness to your company’s product or service. 
All Posts, Content & Copywriting, Marketing
The keys to persuasive, effective marketing materials are great design and informative, persuasive content. Content is both words and supporting imagery that conveys what benefits a consumer will derive from the product/service you are offering. Think of brochures as either the initial “handshake” of your business with a client or the last impression. Your business cards and brochures are essential parts of your brand and can certainly impact the marketability of your business and attracting potential clientele. This week I’d like to highlight the key components to a stand out & effective brochure.
Content can include charts, images, diagrams, listings and other graphic elements that highlight key benefits of your business services/products. Also use of calls to action can be critical to persuasion and getting the consumer to act on your solicitation. Also know that the caliber of writing of your brochure will certainly determine the effectiveness of your message and brand. If you aren’t the greatest writer, farm it out to a business or colleague that can.
White space is an essential part of every single marketing piece, namely brochures. The lines between text and imagery are white space; which allows your readers’ eyes relax and gives them a momentary break from the content. You never want intake overload but also don’t want your content to look too sparse. White space can also be used to separate important points. For example, the brochure below is an example of too much white space & too little content.
Colors evoke feelings and emotions, and can certainly help to build a customers’ first or last impression of your business. The colors you select for your brochure design should definitely compliment or match the colors in your logo or company name. Use of vibrant colors should be done in selective areas and in moderation.
Font selection be stylistic but be easily readable and the size should be chosen based on the volume of information you are trying to convey. It should not be too large (over 14 pt.) or too small (less than 10 pt.) The font should reflect your brand style and set the tone of your organization – elegant for a bridal shop, powerful for an auto body shop. Lastly, the body copy font should differ from your headlines, but you should not exceed the use of 3 different fonts within your brochure design.
Paper selected should be reflective of the quality of your business…Yeah, I said it. Using flimsy paper or a cheap card stock may give a flimsy impression of your business. Choosing glossy or matte finish is purely subjective.
Imagery plays a critical role just like your written content. Take your time when selecting the right imagery and the placement of them. Also, do not forget to check your resolution on the images you select. The higher the resolution the better your picture will come across in print. The lower the resolution, the more blurry and unprofessional your brochure will look when printed. FYI -300 dpi or higher is best for clear, color printing.
The Design of your brochure should be simple but effective. Feel free to break away from the normal trifold and display your brand & company character. 
Among the sea of typical trifolds, how do you make your brochure stand out?
All Posts, Marketing
When I first started Design Theory, it was in 2008. I remember my first client like it was yesterday. Yea, it was a client from hell. I’m being honest. Instead of backing down, I made self assessments and made sure to learn from mistakes and vulnerabilities right out of the gate. The ironic thing about that first client is that I never ended up doing something in that industry to date.
Target Tip #1 – Gathering more information on a clients industry. This is probably a basic marketing 1o1 tactic, but since I didn’t go to school for marketing, I learned it in the real world. Each client that you have is probably in business for a completely different industry than your other clients. One of our “theories” is to take time to understand our client and their business as if we work with them. We ask about your business, what makes your products special, understand your pricing models and workflow. Essentially we try to look at it the way you look at it, and then use that to offer great ideas to create or improve your website.
Target Tip #2 – Identifying the industries you understand best. If going through your portfolio you realize you have a few sites or designs that all are from a specific industry like models, industrial, real estate, etc; look for some similarities. Are the layouts similar? Are the fonts close in likeness? Is the content familiar? Chances are you have a good idea of this business. Maybe good enough that you could start your own business in it. That’s a good thing because it shows you really grasp the economics of the industry. So take that knowledge and create a package that speaks to prospective clients of that industry. Visualize yourself pitching them a sale, and use your experience and portfolio as your reputation.
Target Tip #3 – Use Linked In. At once considered the #2 social network, Linked In is still a powerhouse of networking opportunities for freelancers and job seekers. Chances are you may have a connect that is or directly connected to some franchise owners. Get a referral connection or reach out to them if you’re already connected and ask for a meeting. They’ll be a little less reluctant to talk to you if you’re somewhat familiar to them or have a warm introduction from a mutual friend or connection. Same rules apply here as in the second tip; express how familiar you are with their industry and tell them how you’d like to take their business to the next level of service. Do some homework and see if their website is on par with their parent company or other franchise owners. Nab this one, and you can go after the other franchise owners too. If you approach it the right way and deliver all that you promised, there’s no reason why you can’t have a large percentage of that franchise as your client.
Target Tip #4 – Rinse and Repeat. I don’t know that you’ll ever exhaust an industry dry, but in case you get bored or want to try something else, go back through all of your work and find another popular industry you’ve been working with and modify all of your marketing materials to speak to this new industry. The good thing is that you don’t have to recreate the wheel. Your first efforts can be redefined or “remixed” and be just as effective.
Target Tip #5 – Think big. At the risk of sounding cliché “You never know until you try.” It’s true. All you need is confidence in your work and a good number of clients who honestly appreciate your level of service. If you don’t have a marketing agent, hire one. Don’t have the right printed marketing materials, design them and get them printed professionally. Do your homework on the businesses you want to target and expose their weak points. Chances are they know them, so it won’t come as a surprise, but the fact that you noticed it will resonate on an appealing level for them in considering you for business. Shake some tall trees in your community and bid for their business.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it is to implement these tips in the month of June. I’d love to hear back from you on your progress in the comments below.
