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Three Tools That Will Help You Create Online Content

Three Tools That Will Help You Create Online Content

by | Uncategorized

This summer I started using a toy recently purchased that sits in our shed. It is a battery operated weed wacker with a newly installed heavy duty line. I was warned it was heavy to use. And we have a lawn service that takes care of the big stuff. And I have had two options for the little stuff that includes perennial gardens and ground cover going out of control. I could take hours and clean it up by hand. Or I could ignore it. Usually, I chose the second option!

But it’s the details that make the difference.

The same holds true in creating websites and online marketing material. The difference is in the details. It is the reason one website captivates and another one doesn’t.

 

THREE TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING CONTENT

Designing and Photo Editing

Pic Monkey and Canva

Pic Monkey has been around a long time and was my first go to photo editing software. It’s now overlooked since the release of Canva (which I also like), but for resizing and other quick tasks, I go to Pic Monkey. It gives you options for the quality of images (very important for online) for your download. Canva’s downloaded files for a jpg or png are very large. Another go to place is Fotojet which is new and coming on strong. Each one is different. Have a quick need for some design or photo editing? Canva is the most popular but sometimes Pic Monkey works better!

https://www.picmonkey.com/
https://www.canva.com/
https://www.fotojet.com/

 

Color Combinations

Design Seeds

Color is SO important to a website or for creating content online.  Unless you have a good knowledge and talent for color combinations, take your branding colors from an expert resource.

https://www.design-seeds.com

Copywriting

Grammarly

I take those grammar tests on Facebook. Often the results are 100% correct. If I focus (and yes, sometimes I guess) I seem to know what the right answer is to their questions. But during a busy day creating content, I find myself making mistakes (too often). Even found myself making mistakes with simple uses of words like your and you’re which I clearly know! If an editor is not available to you, the free copy of Grammarly may help. I do know those simple mistakes stand out to others reading our content.

In writing, there is often room for improvement. Amongst other lessons, Grammarly has taught me that I use the passive tense too much! You may find patterns you fall into that even search engines like Google recognize.

It downloads quickly and appears on word documents, social media posts, your WordPress websites or wherever you create content.

https://www.grammarly.com

Three Lessons I Learned in My Business That Has Helped Me Grow

by | Business Development

Respond to lessons in business…

My Quick Three Lessons

Don’t Guess

I have wasted much time guessing what people want or like in websites. Add to that guessing on the “why” of their like of an inspirational website they provide representing what they like. Looking at websites as much as I do, when I look at one, I look through a different eye than my clients. I may pick up on features that I see (that take much time to customize) where they look at the same thing but have a different reason. The reason is what is important!

Quick Phone Calls

Email styles differ. Some people are very demonstrative with multiple exclamation marks and emotion expressed. Others are very dry and right to the point. There is no other feedback but words on a screen. We all think we are clear communicators. But heads up, we aren’t. I have had a great day for phone calls today! Feeling relaxed. Being fresh. And connecting. Getting to what is most important and sharing valuable information. Confirming by email. Decisions by phone.

Protect My Time

I sell my time. I create websites for clients. Ownership of websites differs by the business you use. In my business model, I have made the decision that the client owns their website. They pay me for my time. Often they pay me to manage, host and update the site. But if they want to move to a different business, I am ok with that. I believe I provide a very high-quality product. In previous roles, I have hired businesses that provide the service of creating websites. As changes needed and the resulting negative experience, as I started this business, I didn’t want that same experience on the end. Also, it doesn’t make sense with a 100% satisfaction guaranteed. I want happy clients. If the relationship doesn’t work, it is time for both sides to move on.   So those are my three quick and easy lessons. Know there are more but these are the ones that came to mind today. I’d love to hear your lessons from having a small business. Share so we can all learn!
Right Strategy for Your Facebook Page

Right Strategy for Your Facebook Page

by | Uncategorized

Incredible how Facebook has changed through the years! Remember cat posts on business pages to get engagement?  Experimenting with anything to get “likes”. And how easy it was to grow pages! The bar has risen for sure… As I started my business, it was originally called “Social Eyes on Business”. I planned to focus on social media and relationship building posting on Facebook for other businesses. And that is what you do when you start a business. You have an idea, test it and then respond based on what you learned. I came to the conclusion it was not a satisfying experience for me and my clients were better off doing it themselves (with training if needed).  
Workshop as Social Eyes on Business in 2014 with a message in a bottle
Take a look at what resources you currently have in your business to help you with Facebook.
Posting on Facebook is better done in-house. Now you can schedule post out throughout the month and that may work in some instances. But we as your audience want to know what is happening NOW! I started out helping a hair salon with posting on social media. But I found it frustrating because I was this middle (and in my opinion), unnecessary person. Why wouldn’t the business want to get what is currently happening in their salon at the time it is happening (or at least close to it). And why not post in their voice instead of someone else trying to sound like them.
Is Facebook right (or necessary for you)?
The businesses that weren’t active on Facebook were either not that interested or didn’t want to invest in the cost of someone outside their business figuring it out. Just because you see value in what you can do, that doesn’t mean other people put that same value to it. Small business owners are very busy working on their business. Facebook is not always a priority because it gets much attention through general media.
The quality of your social media posts is best if they are about what is happening NOW…TODAY!

Facebook is an amazing tool!

Don’t get me wrong! Facebook is powerful. Most powerful for organizations, politicians, businesses that are of interest to huge audiences. It all depends on who you want to communicate to and your purpose in being active. Are people interested in learning about the information you have to share? USE FACEBOOK! And in those cases, there are usually resource to handle the posting who are present daily within the business or organization. Or use Facebook for general branding and connecting. But be careful about getting drawn in too much when your time is better spent on other options. (I know that from experience!)

Livingston Sunrise Rotary Club Facebook Page

If you have a membership organization, this may work for you! We have many members that are actively posting on our Facebook Page as the club. This has worked well because we have diverse interests in our Rotary Club. Members can post what they are involved in (often that day). The purpose for the Facebook Page is also to educate, engage, recruit, publicize and so much more. It makes for a stronger and more engaging page to have many involved. And it divides up the work!
Let me know your thoughts and experiences! 
As I have experienced life, I am more aware of how much falls into “opinion”. I was around in the day when we had feared that the planet was going to freeze. (not an opinion on global warming). Medical opinions change with new information; legal opinions change with new decisions, and our beliefs change with new understandings.
This is the start of “MY VIEW MONDAYS” this week talking about Facebook. Next Monday will be about my view of “Email Marketing Campaigns” which can be a very effective way to stay connected. Stay tuned! 

Finding Ourselves in Facebook Posts & Quotes

by | Uncategorized

Things We Learn Online
I find Facebook fascinating! And this is why…
We find ourselves responding to posts on Facebook quickly without much thought. We respond to posts that touch us in personal ways. If we look at our “why”, we get insight into ourselves, our motivations, our struggles, our views and more. We learn. And we learn about our “friends”.
The decision to share often happens in seconds. We share quotes that mean something to us. Maybe something we have recently learned or something we are struggling with overcoming. We share inspiration, places we travel, frustrations, political opinions, religious beliefs and on an on. Sometimes we want to teach or enlighten. Other times we preach to our like-minded friends who reward us with their likes. Other times we try to change someone else. I have shared much both personally and professionally since getting involved in Facebook. Looking at the why is an observation not a judgment. There are sharers, and there are readers. I have been a sharer. And I know many who like to browse and leave it at that. For the social media sharers amongst us, we reveal much by what we choose to share. These days I learn through Facebook through specific groups I follow. Groups dedicated to helping relative newbies like myself to create customized websites for clients. These groups are the reason for my success. They teach, encourage, mentor, answer questions and support me in ways no one I know locally could do. I am very appreciative of their “giving” approach to encouraging others in the same business. And they encourage me to persevere. I found the wisdom of Ira Glass of This American Life from Chicago, Illinois through Melissa Love at https://www.facebook.com/groups/thedesignspace/.  I have purchased several “child themes” from The Design Space in England for client’s websites, and her style has had a strong influence on my website. She is an extraordinarily talented website designer and businesswoman whose desire is to empower others. She is an online mentor to me and I am one of thousands who she has influenced. Since starting in business, I have created countless websites for myself.   In between client’s websites, I have been drawn back to my own site to add new features or even to simplify it. This desire to improve as a “creative” is something I understand today is common. And I found my reason why in the quote below:
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
~Ira Glass, host of This American Life located in Chicago, Illinois

What do you find yourself responding to on Facebook?  What do you share? Sometimes we share things we want to learn.  This is the why for this post. When I look at websites that I create…I think what could be better? How can this website be improved?  There is great comfort in knowing I am not alone in this. There is comfort in knowing that people I admire from afar still have lists of improvements they would like to make on their websites.  But the right next step is to move on and leave what is created as good enough. What we share on Facebook shows what is important to us.
  • Places we go
  • Events that interest us
  • Help we request
  • People who we care about in our lives
 
Comparing ourselves on Facebook
It’s a natural response to compare. Being in these focused Facebook groups, allows me to see the work of great designers around the world. My favorites come from England and Australia. And I now recognize that as a creative, it is in my DNA to want to learn new skills and improve my ability to help my clients connect online. I work hard on the websites I create. I want them to engage the visitor. And I will continue to think…someday; I will have the skills to create something like that!  Things that I haven’t seen done here locally. The world that Facebook groups have opened up to me.  But there is also the recognition that I’ve come a long way, baby!!!
When we become vulnerable, we become REAL. There is then something for people to relate, connect and respond to that is uniquely ours.

To view Melissa Love’s latest template, CLICK HERE.
Written by Nancy Johnson, owner of Nancy J Web Design. To talk to Nancy, call  (586) 817-9196. 

Being you on your website is not as easy as you think!

by | Website Strategy

Imagine! You have a one on one meeting with someone…friend, potential customer, a new acquaintance, a fellow service group member.  And you ask them to go to your website and check to see if the same vibe you give off in person is the same that comes through your website.

What I love about creating websites is the goal of drawing visitors in with the feeling that “I like it here.” There is something special here. I want to learn more. I feel engaged.  Not the ho-hum generic site that gives you what you expect. There is more “heart” here!

Before thinking about your “ideal customer”, take plenty of time to think about yourself! Don’t be concerned it is too much “about me”. People relate to the uniqueness that you bring to the relationship. And people who haven’t met you in person will relate to the person you unfold on your website.

But being you takes courage!

This can make you feel vulnerable. Being creative puts you out there where critics lurk!  But people connect to people. Like seeks out like. Being who you are, has to start with you! If you own the business, your core values make the business.
Pay attention to your core values, your unique personality and your approach to your business. 

Do you want a website that truly reflects you? I start from a blank page and build a customized website based on who you are as a person or as a business. Always looking to get to the essence of what makes you unique. Taking you from “this is what I should be to this is who I am”. The best and easiest way to brand your business is to be yourself!

Interested in a new website? Contact me to talk about what is possible for you!

(586) 817-9196

Written by Nancy Johnson, owner of Nancy J Web Design, and blogger at Social Eyes on Business. To talk to Nancy, call  (586) 817-9196. 

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