The Passioneer's Blog

Did you miss me?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:15:00 GMT

Hopefully, but probably not.

Why would I think that?

I'm a realist.

There are thousands of demands on our attention every day.

Are you seriously going to miss a week of my blog?

Probably not, but that's not the point.

If I didn't blog regularly, you'd RARELY or NEVER notice me.

Blogging regularly gives me an opportunity to have your attention for a moment. Perhaps a little longer if you choose to read the full post.

Apply this idea to your own business. Would people miss you if they didn't hear from you?

Why? Why not? And what are you going to do about it?

My advice: if you're in business for the long haul, then start and keep at a blog or a Twitter feed or an e-mail newsletter or at least SOMETHING that keeps you in touch with your audience.

Gain people's attention by providing value over the long term. When they're interested in your services, they'll know who to call first.

Just my $0.02 for this gorgeous March Monday.

Attention Facebook Users: The Countdown Has Begun

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:22:00 GMT

Hey folks - remember the timeline switch for personal profiles in Facebook? Yeah. I know. Most of you probably didn't really notice. That's fine.

What you need to take notice of now is the switchover on March 30th to Timeline for Business Profiles in Facebook. There are some important changes happening and they will likely affect you. Here are some considerations.

Bigger Graphics!!!

As with the personal profile timeline, your business Page can now have a huge graphic at the top. There are a few things Facebook says can NOT be displayed:

Pricing or purchase information
Contact information
References to "Liking" your Page
Calls to action like "Tell your friends!"

So, what does that leave you with? The ability to post an image that showcases the benefits of your business, that conveys your personality, or just has a nice, friendly welcome message.

Just remember - the switch happens on the 30th so if you're not prepared, there will be NOTHING at the top of the page when the change happens.

No Default Landing Tabs?!

Nope. They're gone. All custom application tabs (apps) are now lined up under the header image. There are four spaces for apps but one is taken automatically by "Photos" so in reality you only have three.

This lack of default landing tabs means EVERYONE - fan or non-fan - hits your page and sees your timeline first and foremost. You can still create custom pages and direct people to them. It's just a little more difficult.

Apparently Facebook just wants us to become more creative in how we do things. Thanks. Grrr....

Build Audience (Share Is Back!!)

Okay - this is a good thing. Remember how you used to be allowed to share your business page with your friends? That got taken away a couple of years ago. The new Timeline has an "Invite Friends" in the new administration panel.

You can also invite people by email, share the page on your own personal profile or create an ad.

A Couple of Gripes

While I like some things about the update, there are a few other oddities that hopefully are getting worked out in the background.

When you highlight a post, it looks great when you're logged in as the administrator. The post is the full width of the page. Lovely. Only problem - it doesn't look like that when you're a visitor to the page. A highlighted post displays as a regular post - at the moment. Hopefully this is something they're working on.
If you set up your page as a "local business", your contact information is automatically set to show your address (with a link to a map), your business hours and your phone number. I'd prefer it to show my website and no business hours. To do that, I had to shut off the "business hours" function and check "no phone number" in my business profile settings.

I'm sure there will be more to discover about the new Timeline update. However, business owners who have business pages really need to be aware of the changes and perhaps revisit or re-think their Facebook marketing strategies.

Google and Your Privacy

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:16:00 GMT

Today's the last day to delete your Google Browsing History.

This only applies to people who have Gmail, YouTube or other Google services (like AdWords or Analytics)...which means it should probably apply to pretty much everybody : )

Okay - seriously though. If you don't have an account with Google, you can ignore this post.

For the rest of you, why does this matter?

I've had an account with Google since 2006. I have never given a thought to the Browsing History, which is activated whenever you do a search and visit webpages while you're logged into your Google account. I had a look at mine - which spanned all the way back to 2006.

Google keeps track of all that stuff and their new privacy policy (which takes effect tomorrow) will allow them to compile all that information into your profile.

So what?

Well, consider that where you've been online can give ideas about your interests, location, age, religion, health concerns yada yada and you get the idea. Specifically, why should Google know this information about you? Moreover, why should they be able to track everything you do online while signed in to your Google account?

If you are concerned, here's what you can do to limit Google's ability to collect information about you online.

Go to Google's homepage and sign into your account.
There's a dropdown menu next to your name in the upper right corner. Click on it and select "account settings"
Click on the "services" section.
Under services there is an option to "view, enable, disable web history". Click the link that reads "Go to web history"
Once there, click on "remove all web history".

This step will remove your entire web history in Google's records and will pause the web history function. This means that Google will still be collecting that information but it will now all be anonymous.

If you're concerned about your online privacy and have a Google account, this is probably an important step for you to take.

In the Quest for New . . .

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:39:00 GMT

. . . are you neglecting the "old"?

I'm not talking about the elderly here. I'm referring to your online marketing methods.

Is social media now the focus of your marketing efforts?

Great - but how's traffic to your website? Have you updated it recently?

Are you still thinking about your SEO?

Have you blogged lately?

How's your email list growing?

Social media is the latest way to get the word out about your business, but it's not the only way. Are you so busy trying to understand the newest platform (Pinster, at the moment, judging from the inquiries we're getting about it) that you're ignoring what you've been building elsewhere?

If every social media platform went offline tomorrow, how would your brand be positioned online? Would it have a robust online presence with good search engine positioning and quality content that attracts and converts qualified visitors to leads?

My suggestion: build your online assets first and foremost on platforms you control. That means your website, blog and email list. Once those are in tip-top shape, take those strengths and build on them with social media. You'll create a stronger online presence all-round.

You Have Choices

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:34:00 GMT

What did you choose to do online today?

What was the purpose of your actions?

How will you measure their success?

The work day is almost done. You have 1.5 hours left.

It only takes a few minutes to inform, inspire, or lead by example.

I'm hoping you spent a few minutes today to be special.

It's Monday. How you live it is your choice.

Choose well : )

The Importance of Regularity

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:51:00 GMT

No, I'm not talking about bodily functions. Well, maybe not directly : )

Regularity online helps improve the health of your online presence. Makes it more effective. Makes it stand out. You become special by being regular when those around you are not.

Seth Godin's blog had its 4000th post back in November 2011. Seth posts every day. Now THAT'S regular. His blog has been rated the #1 blog in the world written by a single individual.

How's that for building credibility?

The better part of it - his ideas often go viral. That's probably because he has great ideas. Do you have great ideas to share? Then get them out there! That's what blogs are for!

Regular doesn't have to mean daily. It can be once a week or once a month. Whatever your schedule, define it and stick to it. I'm working on a schedule of posting on weekdays.

The nice thing about blog software is you can queue up posts and have them released on a regular basis. You could theoretically have a year or two's worth of posts ready to roll.

Whatever you do, be regular.

Have a happy Friday!

P.S. If you didn't know, I teach Kendo (Japanese Fencing). I'm doing a fundraiser tomorrow and I would appreciate your support. Here's the link with information. http://kendoniagara.com/1000-cut-challenge.asp

And Speaking of E-commerce...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:43:00 GMT

...here's something to think about: a shopping cart does not process credit cards.

In much the same way a real-life shopping cart doesn't accept payment, neither does an online one.

There are actually two separate services: the shopping cart software and the payment processor.

Just to confuse things, some payment processors have their own built-in shopping cart functionality. PayPal does this. That's great, but it's not always the best solution for people's needs.

If you're interested in selling things online, you'll need to think about both of these items.

Happy Wednesday!

What's You're Opinion . . .

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 02:43:00 GMT

. . . about people who misuse common words like "your" and "you're", or "their", "there" and "they're"?

What message does it convey?

Here are a few thoughts from around the web.

Poor spellers look stupid, foolish, incompetent or careless.
Bad spelling damages credibility.
Typographical errors make you look lazy or undisciplined.
You won't be taken as seriously if you can't spell properly.
A BBC news article outlined how some e-commerce sites had sales reduced by 50% because of typos.
Google's Matt Cutts recently said "...if you look at the PageRank of a page . . . the ability to spell correlates relatively well with that. So, the reputable sites tend to spell better and the sites that are lower PageRank, or very low PageRank, tend not to spell as well."
Misspelled words and bad grammar are common indicators a message is spam.

Don't think for a moment that built-in spell checkers will save you. The following made it past the spelling and grammar check in Word 2007.

"Good buy my deer hairy. I to will look to the see in hopes of your too ships appearing awn the horizon. But for the grace of dog, wood I go they’re."

Just some thoughts on spelling for this beautiful Tuesday.

Oh, and in case you were wondering about the title of this post . . . yes, the misspelled word is there on purpose : )

It's never too late . . .

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:07:00 GMT

. . . to start moving in the right direction.

What could you do today to start moving in the right direction?

More importantly, are you certain you're doing the right things right now?

It's Monday. The start of a new week. A chance to start again.

A chance to change. To grow. To improve.

How will you choose to spend this day?

Your online presence . . .

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:39:00 GMT

. . . is not always under your control.

Do you know what people say about your business online?

You should.

Do a search in Google under your company name. You could be surprised.

You shouldn't be, but it's possible.

Maybe someone doesn't like you and posted a negative review about your business.

It behooves you to know about it.

There's a new industry called "Online Reputation Management". Bigger companies have budgets devoted to this. If you're a small company, you just need to devote some time to the job.

I'm working on a video explaining how to manage your online reputation.

In the meantime, keep thinking!

Do you measure?

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:35:00 GMT

And how?

Do you rely on statistics from your ISP to know how your website is performing?

In my opinion, most of the stats I've seen from ISPs are useless.

It doesn't take much to install Google Analytics. It's free.* It measures most of the things you need to know about your site's performance.

Do you have it installed? If not, you can have it installed today. In most cases it should take around 15 minutes by an experienced website developer. Budget 30 minutes if you call someone unfamiliar with your website to do the job.

*Free: depends on your perspective. There is no financial cost to use Google Analytics. However, you do give Google information about your website's performance. Whether that matters to you or not is up to you.

Which is it?

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:15:00 GMT

Is your website an asset or a liability?

Why?

What are you doing to make it a better asset or less of a liability?

Welcome to the World of ORM

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:33:00 GMT

To be honest, it's not just about you. It could be about your industry as a whole. The reality is, if people don't like you or your industry, they'll talk about it online, and that negative talk can be bad for business.

Case in point: there's some software I use that's pretty good at many things. It has flaws, but the support staff has been working hard to fix it. It hasn't always been that way. At this time last year, there were many people who felt the software sucked, and they talked about it a lot online.

During the year, there were a lot of improvements made to the software. So many improvements were made that the reasons people gave for the software sucking were gone. And yet those old posts remain near the top of the heap in the search engines giving people who don't know the software the impression that it still sucks.

Fortunately, there are a lot of people who have jumped to the software's defense on that page. This is good - and bad.

It's good because if someone takes the time to read the responses to the original article, they'll see an impassioned defense of the software by its power users.

It's bad because a) few people read EVERYTHING on a page and b) those logical, impassioned defenses are down the page a ways and c) because so many people have chimed in on the topic, the page is very active and therefore HIGHLY RANKED IN GOOGLE for many search terms related to that software.

This is a lovely case study of Online Reputation Management (ORM). Yes - there's now another acronym for you to be concerned about online. Think because you're just a small fish you're safe? Think again. Anyone can be targeted online by people who don't like them. Sole proprietorships to multi-national corporations can be affected. Here are a few examples of what bigger companies experience.

www.walmartsucks.org and www.walmart-blows.com
www.homedepotsucks.com
www.whyaircanadasucks.com
www.leafs-suck.com and www.habssuck.com
...and thousands more - you get the picture.

So, what can you do to make sure your online reputation isn't in tatters? Check up on it every now and then. That's what.

Search for your company name online. Search for your name online. See what comes up and see if anything worries you. If you find someone who's griping about you, consider whether they have a legitimate beef or just an axe to grind and take action.

Finding something bad about you online gives you an opportunity to turn around a bad situation. Or, if that's not possible, then at least you can tell your side of the story if it's appropriate.

You can also get busy putting more good news about yourself online. Over time, that can help push bad reviews further down the search results so people will be more likely to see good news about you than bad. Some ORM companies call this "innoculation". Unfavourable content may be online, but it will be overwhelmed by the good so the effect on you or your business should be minimal.

What's New for YOU in 2012?

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:52:00 GMT

Welcome to 2012. I'm glad you've made it this far. What's going to be new for you in 2012?

Here are my predictions about the changes most small business owners will make in 2012 to their online marketing efforts.

If you don't see anything listed above, well, I hope you get my point.

It is my prediction that MOST small business owners will continue to market themselves online more or less the same as they've been doing.

I think there are many reasons for this, and they're remarkably similar to the reasons most other new years resolutions fail.

It's too much work.
I don't have time.
It won't make a big difference.
I don't know how I can do things better.
I don't have time to learn how to do things better.
I don't want to learn something new.

And so forth.

Most want results without the investment required to achieve them. That's nothing new.

What I'm hoping is new this year is for more people to choose to prove my predictions wrong.

I wish you peace, health, happiness and prosperity in 2012.

With my Best Regards,

Mark Kawabe

What's the Center of YOUR Online World?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:36:00 GMT

I've gotten requests from people to join every conceivable social media platform. One person I know is probably involved in at least a dozen of them. When you're a person, that's fine, but if you're in business, is this the best approach?

The one thing many businesses have neglected in their rush to join social media sites is the one thing they have full control over: their own websites.

Think about this for a moment. Your business has its own brand, its own message, its own story. When you focus almost exclusively on Facebook, LinkedIn or any other platform, are you driving people back to your website?

Take the time to look at your website with fresh eyes. How many people are visiting? How many leads is it generating? How is it converting?

Being involved in social media's a good thing, but it should be a part of your overall online strategy. Prospective clients are going to look beyond social media to learn about your business, and that means their next stop is your website.

Make sure your website's still doing its job. If your primary social media outlet shut down tomorrow, would you have created enough meaningful relationships through it that you would still be thriving? Perhaps this could be a resolution for the new year: make your website the center of your online world.

Jerry Seinfeld's Take on Social Media

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:51:00 GMT

"It's very important for human beings to feel they are popular and well-liked amongst a large group of people that we don't care for."

Watch the clip - it's genius : )

http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2011/12/15/woah-jerry-seinfeld-perfectly-explained-the-success-of-facebook-in-1992/

It Is What It Is

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:31:00 GMT

We've all heard this before.

I use it a lot when I need to accept things I can't personally change.

When it comes to me, I try NOT to use it.

After all, just because something is the way it is doesn't mean that it can/will/should stay that way forever. Especially when it comes to behaviours or attitudes that could use adjusting.

I think a lot of people have an "it is what it is" attitude about their websites and online presence. If they looked carefully, they'd find things that could be improved. No improvement takes place though, because "it is what it is" - it's "good enough" for now.

I remember hearing someone say that "good enough" is a synonym for "I have no reason to do better".

Do you have a reason to do better? Then "It is what it is" probably isn't good enough for you.

What Does Saturday Mean to You?

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:08:00 GMT

Everybody loves the weekend, or at least the concept of it. I don't have stats to prove it, but I have a gut feeling that the majority of people work at least one day on a weekend.

If you're an entrepreneur, weekends and weekdays often blur together.

I know I get some of my best work done on weekends, but I also enjoy taking the time off. My family also likes having me around. What's an entrepreneur to do?

My suggestion to entrepreneurs who are online: think about scheduling your email marketing campaigns to run on weekends..

Email marketing research shows higher clickthrough rates on Saturdays and Sundays. The theory behind this statistic is that people are more relaxed on weekends and tend to actually read instead of skim their emails and have more disposable time to learn more about the subject of the message - so they click the links and visit the website.

So, what are you doing this weekend? Enjoy!

Backups of backups of backups can still fail if they're local...

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:36:00 GMT

If you're one of those people (like me) who has a couple of external hard drives for "backup", that's good. It's a good first step. But what happens if your office is destroyed?

Off-site backup's your best bet.

This is pretty easy stuff folks. Install software on your computer that automatically backs up the parts of the computer you specify. Back up installation software, email messages, documents etc., without having to think about it.

There really is no excuse to do this, because the services are becoming increasingly less expensive.

More importantly, there are now many local companies that offer off-site backup. When you consider where your data is stored, you may find it reassuring to know that it's in Niagara instead of a data center in West Virginia, for example.

When's the best time to make your backup?

Before you need it!

Now get to it : )

If you're going to write...what's it going to be about?

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:13:00 GMT

Writing - whether it's every day or once a week - is daunting for people.

"I have nothing to write about" is the common reason.

News Flash: You have more to write about than you think (Slogan shamelessly adapted from Scotiabank...)

The last time I checked, you were an expert in your field.

Your clients probably aren't experts in YOUR field, so pretty much anything you say will be new to them. I'm generalizing, but you get the point. Things that are MUNDANE to you are FRESH to them.

I remember talking with a restauranteur about developments at their business when they mentioned they opened their patio two weekends earlier. "Did you mention it on Facebook or to your customer email list" I asked. "Nope - we never thought of it" was the reply. They missed a golden opportunity to pack their patio by letting their customers know it was open. Why? Because opening the patio wasn't "special" to the restaurant staff or owner.

Take note of "special" things inside your business. Pay attention to industry news that might be relevant to your audience. Make it a habit to write about these things. Once you're used to the habit, you'll find it becomes easier. Probably inside one month.

If you're looking for something that sets you apart from your competition, it'll be the fact that you write and share knowledge all the time. You'll be creating value, building relationships and enhancing trust instead of just spewing advertising.

What if you had to write every day?

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:46:00 GMT

Would you remember what I talked about yesterday?

How would you use your writing to build relationships, enhance trust or create value?

Could you do it?

Of course you could.

So, since you can, when will you start your daily writing?

Today sounds good . . .

Read this - and act on it! - before your next Facebook post!

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:34:00 GMT

If you're in business, here's a question for you to ponder before your next Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter post:

In what way will your post build relationships, enhance trust and create value in your readers' lives?

The litmus test: If it won't, don't post. Think of something that will. Then post.

Repeat every time you post : )

Have a happy Tuesday!

Check What You've Got...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:01:00 GMT

...to make sure you still have it.

I had a client contact me recently to let me know the contact form on his website wasn't working.

The problem turned out to be his web host had updated their servers with new software and the script that powered his form wasn't compatible with the upgrade.

It was quick to resolve once we figured out the problem. Still, it served to remind me that things change with hosts from time to time and that it's worth checking out key website features to make sure they're working properly.

This would be especially true for sales forms!

No PayPal Account Needed...

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:11:00 GMT

A lot of people are confused by PayPal.

Many think they need a PayPal account to pay anyone by credit card through PayPal.

This is not the case.

We recently set up a simple online event registration page for "KNOW it ALL" Niagara and we created a short video to show how PayPal's system works if you don't have a PayPal account.

I thought it would be interesting to share, so here it is.

Enjoy!

We know why. The HOW is the tricky bit.

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:48:00 GMT

I often have conversations with business owners that go something like this:

Q: What are your online goals?

A: To get more exposure and more business.

Q: How does what you do online get you more business?

A: <Silence> . . . Um . . . <Pause> . . . <Silence> . . .

Everyone wants their website / blog / SEO / SEM / social media campaign to "work". Knowing how your activities contribute to your goals should drive what you do.

So, how does what you do online get you more business?

Internet Marketing Reality Check

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:16:00 GMT

A general observation about business owner's feelings about websites and internet marketing.

What "everyone" wants:

A "great" website.
Lots of visitors to said website.
Top search engine positioning.
Lots of business resulting from that website.

The reality: few are willing to do the work or make the financial investment necessary to accomplish those goals.

The takeaway: if you're one of the few, you have a great opportunity.

Canada Day

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:44:00 GMT

I find myself at a citizenship ceremony this morning to welcome one of my Kendo students to the family of Canadians. He's worked hard for this day and I'm very proud of him. I know he is an asset to our community and country. He is from Columbia and has brought his family to Canada for a more secure life. So far, so good.

As Canadians, many forget how lucky we are here. The stories of our immigrant ancestors fade or are unappreciated. The generations before us laid down the foundations of our country and on Canada Day, we should take a moment to reflect on their sacrifices and hard work.

It's not easy to bring a family to a new country. don't believe me? Try it sometime.

Congratulations to all those who are or will soon becoming Canadians.

Happy Canada Day to the rest of us fortunate enough to already be Canadians.

Remember how fortunate we are.

Do you own your domain?

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 00:22:00 GMT

For the second time in less than a week, I have advised a business owner that they aren't the registrant for their domain. On a hunch, I checked out another domain and found the company using it also isn't the registrant.

What's a registrant, anyway?

Here's some terminology.

Registrant: the legal owner of the domain.

Registrar: the company a domain is registered through.

Administrative Contact: the person who has the ability to make changes to the domain.

There are thousands of registrars out there. In my opinion, it doesn't matter who you use.

What is important though is that whoever registers your domain (you or your website developer) registers the domain IN YOUR COMPANY NAME. Or, if you're the owner of the company, it can be done in your name. This is the way things should be.

The administrative contact can be you or your website developer. I manage domains for my clients so in many cases it is my email address that is the contact address for the Administrative Contact. However, my client is always the registrant (owner) of their domain.

What happens when you don't own your domain? Usually nothing. Many website developers (in haste, and with no ill-intent) register domains for their clients because the developer has an account set up with a registrar and the client doesn't.

Sometimes things don't work out between the client and the developer and the client wants to move on. MOST developers will simply transfer ownership of the domain to the client at that point. Some developers do not, and that's when problems can arise.

If you or your company is not listed as the registrant of your domain, you are not the owner and have no legal "right" to it. You may have used the domain for a decade, but that doesn't confer any right to ownership. As such, if your developer goes out of business and closes their hosting accounts or shuts down their servers, you can't call the registrar and ask them to activate your domain elsewhere because you have no right to do so.

I've seen worse situations where the relationship between a developer and client went bad and the developer refused to release the domain to the client. Suddenly, the client had no website and no email. This is highly unprofessional behaviour, but it happens.

In short, you need to make sure you or your company are the owner of your domain. If you decide to switch website developers or if your developer goes out of business and shuts down their servers, you could be stuck with no ability to get your domain back if you're not the registrant.

If you're not sure if you're the owner of your domain, please email me and I'll help you find out.

Numbers Aren't The Most Important Metric in Social Media

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:55:00 GMT

How many friends do you have on Facebook?

How many people like your business profile?

How many people are in your group?

Some people obsess about the quantity of people who like them on Facebook. However, in the social media world, there are more important things than quantity.

There's something called quality. While it's harder to define, it's infinitely more valuable.

I had a group set up for one of my businesses before business profiles were available. With some slow and steady building, we built it to over 200 members in a few months. Not bad for the niche we were in. When business profiles came out, I looked at the advantages they offered and decided to disband the group and ask people to "like" the Facebook page.

The transition took one month and at the end of that month, I had around 50 likes. Everyone in the group had been asked several times to like the business profile during that month. After 30 days, the group was dissolved.

Impact on my business: none.

The people who cared enough about my business to like the page were engaged with the business. The others were probably just curious - drive-by members - or they didn't read anything I sent the group. Either way, they weren't engaged with what I was doing and in the end, it didn't make a difference to me or them when the group was closed.

Without engagement, numbers are meaningless. 10 engaged members or fans are better than 100 who don't really care about you or your business.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with having thousands of engaged fans. Build value, the fans will come.

And of course, if you like this post, feel free to like us on Facebook : )

So What if it's Not Your Job?

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:20:00 GMT

Have you ever had a boss or client ask you to do something and in the course of doing it, you realize there's a fundamental flaw or you see a way it could be done better? What do you do?

There are two options to you.

1) Say or do something.

2) Do what you were asked to do.

In my opinion, option #1 is the best course of action. That's just my opinion though. Option 1 will probably lead to a better end result, but it's risky.

Risky because...

you could appear to be second-guessing the client;
you could be showing them up;
your boss's ego doesn't accept the possibility that he/she's imperfect;
you're accepting responsibility for actually thinking instead of just doing and now you could be blamed if things go awry down the line.

And then there's the inevitable: rejection. "No, we don't think your idea will improve the product." "Thanks for your input, but we've decided hot pink really is the right colour." Sometimes people will choose to do something you think isn't in their best interest. How irrational. How human. Now what?

You could always choose to be frustrated and angry. Tell your client or boss they're idiots. Burn bridges. Result: you wind up being frustrated and angry with people who don't care. At the very least you look unprofessional if you start mouthing off and you probably lose a client or a job. Carrying anger means you harm yourself and you change nothing.

A better choice: choose to respect their (wrong) decision and move on. You've spoken up and they've ignored your advice, so whatever will be, will be. If the project's a failure, your opinion might be more respected on future projects.

Stick up for option #1. You'll make the world a better place. People will notice your talent and that will lead to better things for you in time.

Community Pages in Facebook - Indestructable but Avoidable

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 06:19:00 GMT

So if you've tried to update your personal Facebook profile with your employer, chances are the business you work for doesn't have a Facebook profile (also known as a business page). This is often true if you have your own business and are just getting started on Facebook.

Lucky for you - Facebook will automatically create a page for your business!

Now's about the time I wish there was a "sarcasm" font - because Facebook's auto-generated pages are generally useless for business owners.

You get none of the many benefits of having a business page. (See my previous post.)

More importantly, people may be fooled into thinking that this auto-generated cr@p is your actually Facebook business page when really, you have bigger aspirations.

What can you do?

A couple of suggestions.

If you're reading this article and you don't have a personal profile on Facebook yet, don't add your employer until you've created a proper business profile for your company.
If you're already saddled with an auto-generated page for your business, quickly create a proper business profile and then change your employer information to link to the right page.
If you're stuck with an auto-generated page that people actually like, then set up a proper page and then message the people who like the wrong page and give them the address of the page they SHOULD like. They'll probably switch.

There. That ought to be enough work for a Monday : )

Why I'm Not Friends With Your Business

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 06:09:00 GMT

I've probably said this before, but since I keep seeing people making this mistake, I'll say it again.

Your business should not have a personal profile on Facebook. It should have a business profile - more commonly referred to as a "page".

How can you tell?

If you get a request to be a "friend" of a business, then that business has a personal profile.

If you get a request to "like" a business, then the business has a page.

Why should you care?

Here are the benefits of business page vs. a personal profile:

Pages can be accessed by anyone online. You have to be logged into Facebook to see a personal profile.
Pages are indexed by search engines. Personal profiles may not be depending on privacy settings.
Pages allow administrators to invite people to "like" them in bulk.
Pages have discussion boards.
Pages can be promoted through Facebook ads.
Pages can have multiple administrators.
Pages can use Facebook Applications.
Pages can have customized with HTML landing pages that better showcase the brand.
Pages have metrics to help you measure how effective your marketing campaign is.

And just in case that wasn't enough...

Using a personal profile for a business violates Facebook's Terms of Service (TOS). Why would you want the potential risk of having all your hard work building relationships thrown out?
You can't integrate your Facebook personal profile with your website. Want a like button? Get a page.

It's so easy to create a page and there are so many advantages to doing so that it's hard to understand why business owners don't think to do it.

I guess it comes down to the old DK or DE again - Deficiency of Knowledge or Deficiency of Execution.

So, now that you know, there's no excuse for YOUR business. Wishing you success online!

Tea Time and Common Knowledge

Tue, 24 May 2011 04:08:00 GMT

If there's one thing I enjoy, it's finding out that "common knowledge" is often wrong.

I made green tea for some dinner guests the other day. I'm 3rd generation Japanese Canadian. One of my guests is 1st generation. Her observations on the deficiencies in my tea making skills were eye-opening.

The next part of the evening the consisted of re-making the tea using her method. The result? Better tasting tea. No bitterness. I learned something about my tea cups, my tea pot and even my pouring method. In short, I am now a better green tea maker.

Of course, the "common knowledge" about how to make green tea in Canada rates about a 0 out of 10 compared to the average Japanese person's knowledge. I suppose this makes sense, but it certainly boggles the mind that despite this knowledge deficiency, green tea is very popular in Canada.

A parallel in my work life is the application of social media for the average business owner. There is a significant deficiency of knowledge about social media marketing. Despite this, it's been widely adopted under the pretense that the "common knowledge" says you absolutely HAVE TO have a social media presence.

So, millions of business owners and entrepreneurs post and tweet and blog while drinking their sub-par green tea. Fascinating stuff, this common knowledge. I'll be introducing a new seminar to help raise people's social media marketing skill levels.

How Wrong Can You AFFORD to Be?

Thu, 19 May 2011 14:45:00 GMT

As usual, another inspiration based on Seth Godin.

Seth talks about "the privilege of being wrong". Most of us can be wrong. We're not in life and death struggles that are going to kill us TODAY.

In business, you're in a life and death struggle that will kill you EVENTUALLY if you don't "do the right things".

Of course, whatever you're doing today is "the right thing", isn't it? What makes it right? Is it because it's comfortable? Free / inexpensive? Easy?

This probably isn't a revelation to anyone, but if it's easy, free or comfortable, then it's probably not the "right thing" to be doing, unless you have the systems in place in your business so that things that USED TO be uncomfortable, expensive or difficult are now the opposite.

Take writing. It's hard work - initially. Over time, you will improve. Sure, there will be peaks and valleys, but over time your writing ability will increase and it will become easier.

The "common knowledge" is that content is king online (another post on that later...) so "the right thing" to be doing is to create content - and that usually means writing. MOST people have a hard time with this, so MOST people don't do it - because their business won't fail TODAY if they put off writing until tomorrow.

My point (and Seth's) is that you have the luxury of failing. One day though, if your business is close to going down the tubes, it will be too late or inappropriate to experiment with your online marketing. You might as well start now, while you have the luxury of getting it wrong. Experiment. Get it right - and you'll never have to worry about your business failing in the first place.

Brute Force Social Media Marketing

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 04:51:00 GMT

One of the "golden rules" of social media marketing is that you need to give value in order to receive it back. It's considered a "best practice". It's what the "gurus" preach. So why isn't it the norm?

I think there are two factors. The first is that like any other form of interruption advertising like radio, television or print, drawing attention to yourself via social media appears to have some effect.

The second of course, has to do with the values of the people doing the interrupting as well as those of the people receiving the message. The person sending their message takes advantage of a tacit level of approval by people who are their "friends" or "connections" to hear from them. The logic is hard to deny. After all, if I am your "friend", then why wouldn't I want to hear about your new product or service?

I don't expect all businesses on Facebook or Linkedin will change their ways, but here are my suggestions on winning over more of your friends or connections.

Lead with the benefits. Here's a typical post: "All you can eat pasta tonight at the XYZ Diner!". Rephrase to focus on the benefits. "Enjoy a great family meal without cooking. Join us for all you can eat pasta tonight at the XYZ Diner! Now rated at 4.5/5 on restaurantica.ca!" Now add a link to your website or to the review site. It's still an interruption, but it's more subtle and conveys benefit, value and quality while you inform.
Target messages carefully. You have a fan page or group, right? Well then, perhaps you can avoid blasting your message to everyone you know. Just send it to those who cared enough to like or join. Those people EXPECT business-related communications from you; your regular friends or connections don't.
Test your approach. Many people get started in social media because it's now the "in" thing to do. Interruption marketing is what people are used to, so it's just perpetuated through social media. Measure your results from your existing campaign, then switch your approach and see if the "giving before receiving" method gives you any better results. If you never try, you'll never know : )

As people become more familiar with social media tools, filtering is going to become more widespread and your message won't get through as easily. It's better to start building value now so people will want to hear what you have to say in future - and they'll let you through while the rest of the social media "noise" gets blocked.

A Million of Their Closest Strangers

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:03:00 GMT

A post on Facebook about an unhappy experience with a local business reminded me of a quote I read in Joseph Jaffe's Customer Service Manifesto:

The old marketing adage is that a satisfed customer will tell 5-7 of their friends about their experience, whereas the dissatisfed customer will tell 15-20. Today, an unhappy customer will tell “a million of their closest strangers."

When you leave someone unhappy, you risk doing irreparable harm to your business reputation. Social media gives the customer a powerful tool to voice their opinions about your company, good or bad.

Best to focus on delivering a better customer experience, wouldn't you agree?

Here's the manifesto, in case you haven't read it.

http://changethis.com/manifesto/68.06.ServiceManifesto/pdf/68.06.ServiceManifesto.pdf

If It's True for Graphic Design, It's True for Online Marketing Too!

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:56:00 GMT

In her article "6 Questions to Ask Before You Spend a Dime on Graphic Design", author Pamela Wilson highlights the main questions one should ask a graphic designer before starting a campaign.

She could have just as easily substituted "Building a Website" for "Graphic Design". The questions are the same.

Here are the questions:

Do you know who you're trying to reach?
Do you know where to find your market?
Do you have a decent tagline?
Do you have a compelling offer?
Have you positioned the offer in terms of benefits along with features?
Do you have a system in place that will lead toward sales?

Here's the link to the original article.

I consider this a must-read for anyone doing business online.

Happy Thursday!

What Level Playing Field?

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:25:00 GMT

Remember those heady days when people used to announce that "the internet has leveled the playing field"? Well, it's still kind of true. The abundant existence of online tools to help entrepreneurs and smaller companies get their message out to their target audience means that there are no longer significant technology or cost barriers preventing small companies from getting bigger.

That being said, the playing field is still not a level one for several reasons.

The DIY Mindset- small companies start small and most of them stay small if they make it past the first five years of life. I believe the mindset of the owners prevent them from growing their companies in a meaningful way. Many take on too many tasks that prevent them from developing their core strengths. Bookkeeping, graphic design, printing and website development are a few categories that come to mind. It reminds me of the saying "Just because you can doesn't mean you should".
Budget - closely tied to point #1, small companies are loathe to spend money unless it's guaranteed to produce results. The flipside of this is that they then do things themselves, not realizing the damage they do to their brand and in the long-run, to their companies.
Knowledge - There are a lot of tools available at little to no cost that companies can use to market themselves online. Many companies either don't know they exist or don't know how to use them effectively. A little bit of knowledge can go a long, long way. An example of this is with online metrics. There are many ways one can measure how effective one is being online but most companies don't even know how many people are visiting their website.
Willingness to Change - Many companies do the same thing, year in and year out, getting largely the same results as they've always gotten. As long as you're happy with that, then life's wonderful. If you want to grow, you have to be open to doing things differently.

There's a lot of new-age speak about how your intention determines your outcome. I think this is a good place to start. You should intend great things for your business. What I suggest is to clearly define your intended outcome and then think about the ways you're going to achieve it. Identify internal and external roadblocks and work on eliminating or neutralizing them. Take the time to learn how to EFFECTIVELY use the tools that are available to you and start working on your plan. That will be much better than intending great things and fumbling around without a plan on how you'll achieve them.

Social Media Marketing 101 - Seminar New Date Announced

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:58:00 GMT

If you missed our first seminar of the year because of the bad snow, fear not - round 2 is coming soon!

Announcing the 2nd Social Media Marketing 101 Seminar, scheduled for Friday, March 18, 2011 from 1~4 at Keith's Restaurant in Fonthill (Corner of Pelham St. and Hwy. 20).

If you can make it, please R.S.V.P. as there are limited seats available.

We're also in the planning stages for Social Media Marketing 201 so stay tuned for more details about that!

When Will the Spammers Stop?

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:00:00 GMT

I know I shouldn't, but I hope for a day when reputable businesses don't spam prospective customers. Now that Bill C-28 is a law, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the shaft. It seems though that most businesses are still in the dark.

Today I'll pick on the Buffalo Sabres who on Feb. 8 sent me an "insider" email promoting their game against the Thrashers on Feb. 23. The email address they used was only ever used once for one purpose - to register a domain for a client. It's never been used otherwise, so how did it wind up on a mailing list for the Buffalo Sabres?

Simple: the Sabres organization probably bought a list with email addresses and other contact information "scraped" from online domain registry databases. Oh sure, they were probably told that everyone on the list had "opted in", but the reality is there are precious few lists like that and the list owners, if they're smart, wouldn't dream of corrupting their brand by sharing their carefully-built list.

So, what can you do about spam now that there's a law about it? Until enforcement comes into effect in the next 6~8 months, you can expect things will stay much the same. However, you CAN help educate other business owners about the new laws so they will reconsider their actions. And of course, don't buy anything that is promoted through spam. If there's no money to be made doing it, eventually people will stop using it. Then again, with 200 BILLION spam messages being sent per day (as of August 2010), someone's making money, somewhere.

Please don't let it be you.

Facebook Bug #2 - Who Do You Work For?

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 22:32:00 GMT

If you're trying to link to update your Facebook profile and link to your employer, you may find you can't find your company's Facebook page in the list. This seems to be a problem for smaller companies. Here's a link to a hack that fixes the problem.

http://www.wchingya.com/2010/10/official-facebook-page-employer-link.html

It's a bit complicated - and I hope you like FireFox : )

Suggest to Friends Disabled on Facebook

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:48:00 GMT

Page admins all across Facebook are crying the blues about the "suggest to friends" function being removed from Facebook.

At present, only admins can see this feature, but people who like pages or who just visit them can't suggest the page to others at this time.

Apparently the feature's been wonky for a while, so the decision was made to pull the plug on it until it can be fixed.

So don't fear page admins! It'll be back soon!

Holy Cr.ca.p - Changes to .ca Domains

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:13:00 GMT

If you never gave a second thought to which domain registrar you'd like to use, think VERY carefully. It could save you a heap of money.

Today I was contacted by two clients whose .ca domains had gone into the redemption period, both because the administrative email addresses for the domains were no longer functional (note - check up on this because it's really important).

Both domains were recovered from the redemption period. One for $275 plus the cost of a yearly domain renewal and one for $0 plus the cost of a yearly domain renewal.

Yep. Different registrar, different cost for redemption fees.

CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) does not charge anything extra to get a domain out of the redemption phase. REGISTRARS can choose to do so.

Also, in an interesting twist, if a .ca domain expires, IT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY GO OFFLINE. How's that for confusing? Your domain could be expired but depending on your registrar's policies, your domain could stay active until it goes into redemption. That could cost you $275.

I also discovered you can transfer your domain to a new registrar if your domain is in the redemption period, so in theory, if your registrar was going to charge you $275 to get your domain out of the redemption phase, you could switch to one that has no additional fees for that service. Unfortunately I didn't discover that until I spoke to a representative at CIRA.

So, note to selves: check up on the renewal dates of your domains - especially .ca domains.

If You Can't Market Yourself, Who Will Market You?

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:21:00 GMT

I suppose the answer depends on you.

Being online means you have access to all sorts of technology to better represent yourself. The internet allows you to "level the playing field", doesn't it? Well, sort of.

All the technology in the world won't make up for your lack of ability to communicate to the world your uniqueness.

Don't think you're a good writer? That eliminates a lot of opportunities for you. Content is still king online.

Afraid to be in front of a camera? I guess video's out for you as well.

Hate your voice? Podcasting's gone too.

So what's left?

Facebook and other social media tools require you to communicate in writing, video or pictures your special-ness. If you can't do it, I guess you're stuck.

Hmm.

Oh wait - there's another option.

Hopefully, there's at least one person who can market you, and do it in a credible way.

Who's this person?

The customer you have delighted with your incredible product, service or kindness.

Perhaps there's more than one of them. The best thing about them is they can make up for any deficiencies you may have in your ability to communicate - as long as you can communicate your need to them. They can help you get your message out powerfully, credibly, personally and honestly. Why? Because you've helped them and you've done it wonderfully.

Got one of those people in your corner? I sure hope so, because they're your best salesperson.

So you've offered 50% off. Great! But for who?

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:30:00 GMT

Groupon, WagJag and other group buying websites are great for the consumer. Are they such a good deal for businesses? Here's a case study on a burger chain by WagJag.

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=60595

The fellow from WagJag pointed out that 96% of purchasers purchased MULTIPLE vouchers. In other words, 50% off was a great deal, so they purchased more than one 50% off voucher. Great for the consumer.

If you're the merchant and you sold 14,000 vouchers at 50% off, you've done pretty well in getting your brand out there. But at what cost?

Here's a blog entry about a cafe owner who lost $8000 on her Groupon promotion.

http://posiescafe.com/wp/?p=316

Let me say that again - she LOST $8000 ON HER GROUPON PROMOTION.

I'm not saying that you need to avoid these services. What I'm saying is you really need to consider the overall outcome to your business. In other words, if you run a group buying promotion and you lose money in the short term, is it likely to be beneficial for you in the long term?

Oh - and here's another post about Grouponing for restaurants.

http://unplugged.restaurantintelligenceagency.com/2010/03/5772-new-customers-how-can-i-not-love-groupon.php

All I'm saying is that from a consumer's perspective, group buying is great. From a retailer's / service provider's viewpoint, it might be different. Group buying is changing how people perceive value, and I think in the long term everyone will expect a discount for everything. That's not good for anyone.

Social Couponing - Good & Bad

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:32:00 GMT

Thinking of using Groupon or WagJag? These services can do well for you, but they can also hurt your business if you don't plan properly.

Here's a good article from IT Business News for your reading pleasure.

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/Home/News.asp?id=60433&bSearch=True

DROC at it Again

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 16:51:00 GMT

I am not a fan of the Domain Registry of Canada. I don't like their marketing techniques which while probably not illegal, are misleading in my opinion. Here is the most recent message I received from them.

==================

From: Transfer and Renewal Support <transfers@droc.ca>

Subject: TTO, <domain>.com; Order # 1808921

Reply to: support@droc.ca

Hello <Company Name>,

The transfer and renewal of your domain name, <domain>.com is not yet complete at this time.

Reason:
-------
1) The Domain name is currently in a "REGISTRAR-LOCK" status with your current registrar GODADDY.COM, INC.
2) We require that you provide us with an EPP Key/Authorization Code from your current registrar 

In order to complete the transfer and renewal, the "REGISTRAR-LOCK" status needs to be removed and an EPP Key/Authorization code needs to be obtained. Please see below for instructions on achieving this.

Solution:
---------
- Log into your account with your current registrar, and change the status of your domain, <domain>.com, from "locked" to "active".

- Then look for the EPP Key or Authorization Code.

Alternate Solution:
---------
- Call your current registrar, GODADDY.COM, INC. (see phone number below) and ask them to remove the lock status of your domain name, give you your EPP Key, and allow the transfer to Domain Registry of Canada.

- Once done please notify us that you have done so, by clicking on the link below, or calling our toll-free number below.
https://namejuice.com/agree.asp?e=1&o=1809821&p=3480316

We will then re-attempt the transfer and renewal of your domain name.


As a convenience, we have supplied your current registrars phone number below.

Domain: <domain>.com
Current Registrar: GODADDY.COM, INC.
Registrar Phone Number: Please visit their site to contact them

Transfer Department
Domain Registry of Canada
Toll free 1-866-434-0212 or for International Callers, dial +1(905)479-2533

12/1/2010 4:03:03 AM

==================

This pitch is social engineering designed to get you to transfer your domain to DROC away from your current registrar. It is not labeled as a solicitation to transfer which is what it really is. I'll go through it in detail below.

From: Why would I be getting a message from "Transfer and Renewal Support" if I didn't make an inquiry? Hmm. Perhaps I did. It makes me read further by fooling me into thinking I've done something I haven't.

Subject: It looks like an order's been placed, doesn't it? Referring to an order number sure makes it seem that way. The catch? It's DROC's OWN order number - for the order they're hoping you place.

Opening Line: "The transfer and renewal of your domain name, <domain>.com is not yet complete at this time." The domain in question was renewed in November 2010, so that's patently false. Again, they're trying to fool you into transferring and renewing your domain with DROC.

The body of the message is telling you to do things you need to do to transfer your domain name, but of course, YOU NEVER ASKED TO TRANSFER TO THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE.

The line "We will then re-attempt the transfer and renewal of your domain name." says they've tried to transfer and renew unsuccessfully which IMPLIES your domain COULD not be renewed. Of course there is no danger of this, but they want to mislead you into thinking it could be lost. They're creating fear where none is warranted to get you to switch.

NOWHERE IS THIS LABELED AS A SOLICITATION TO TRANSFER. For this reason, the parent company of DROC has been stripped of its license to issue .ca domains by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). Unfortunately, ICANN has not done the same for .com and others.

Here is a link to the story in IT Business.

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/news.asp?id=59307

I do not recommend doing business with a company that uses these kinds of techniques to generate business.

Businesses are NOT my Facebook Friends

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:08:00 GMT

I received yet another request from a business on Facebook to be a friend. Here are six reasons why I don't recommend businesses use personal profiles on Facebook to market themselves.

It's against the Facebook terms of service and if someone complains or Facebook decides to enforce their rules, all your work will be for naught.
There is a limit to how many friends you can have (5000) for both personal profiles and groups. There is no limit to how many can "like" your business. What happens when you hit your limit? (Think WHEN, not IF.)
You can't message all your friends at once. You can contact everyone who likes your page in one fell swoop. This makes communication much easier.
Facebook pages for businesses can be customized through the FBML application. Profile pages and GROUP pages can't be. For a business trying to put its best face forward, this is important.
Pages also give you demographic information as well as usage information. Profiles and groups don't. If you're going to put effort into your Facebook marketing, shouldn't you have some ability to measure how you're doing? If so, then a Page is definitely for you. If you're a Google Analytics user, you can add tracking code to your main marketing page. You can't track the wall of your page - only the FBML page you've created - but it's better than what Facebook provides.

Marketers know that measuring results is vital. How do you know if you're succeeding otherwise? Pages give you the ability to directly market and measure. If you have a personal profile AND a business page, you'll be able to reach people in two different ways on Facebook and it's the combination that in my opinion provides the best value for marketers.

Happy Marketing Monday!

Delay Posting to Facebook

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 03:42:00 GMT

This item was posted at 11:42 p.m. I wonder how long it will take to show up on Facebook? Just testing an issue with a Facebook application...

This is not the blog post we are looking for. Move along. Move along.

How Dependent Are YOU on Internet Access?

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 03:56:00 GMT

Hydro One cut off the power today for an hour and a half during the workday while they replaced a transformer across the street. With my iPhone, my trusty Rogers Rocket Stick, a mostly-charged laptop and two UPSes, I managed to make it through with power to spare. Really - I could have taken a nap - but I stayed online and was suitably relieved when the power came back on.

How connected do you need to be? Can you go a day without checking Facebook? What about not checking email? I know someone who regularly skips a day or two. It drives me nuts, but they manage to make it work for them.

Most people seem to be online at least once a day. If they're spending time with you on your site, Facebook page etc., make sure it's worth their while. Give and you will receive is the way the web still works.

May your power stay on and your wireless router never fail : )

Social Media Tea Party Sessions

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 05:19:00 GMT

I like talking about social media. I also like tea. If you're interested in learning about how to implement social media strategies over a tea, please let me know. I'm thinking we'll meet every 2nd Tuesday of the month for an hour or so to discuss ideas and refine implementations. Cost: $20 / person or $15 / person if there are 5 or more people in attendance. Bring your laptop if you have one.

Location: my favourite tea shop in Niagara Falls - LM Teas.

Time: 10:30 a.m. ~ 12:00 noon

Start Date: November 9, 2010

Tea is on me : )

R.S.V.P. required.

When Do You Start Getting Elected?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:44:00 GMT

The recent municipal elections were very interesting to me as they are a pure, focused marketing effort. I am also happy to note that of the three candidates I helped with their online presences, one of them did get elected. Congratulations Catherine King!

Of course, now that people have been elected, the election itself is starting to fade from the public's mind. That's well and good, but what about the candidates in the NEXT election? When should they be starting to think about getting elected the next time around?

The answer is, of course - NOW.

In much the same way that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, getting elected in four years means starting now. Building the relationships and network that will enable you to make a successful run at elected office takes time and is not something you do in the course of a few months.

For those of you who are in business, you are potentially getting elected tomorrow, or the next day. Your election is "new business" and every day you need to be building relationships and growing your network of influence. When the time comes for your election - which could be any day now - you'll be in a better position than your less-prepared competition.

Oh wait - there's a good chance your competition's getting prepared as well. You'd better get out there and start shaking hands and kissing babies NOW.

Facebook, FBML and Your Business Page

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:52:00 GMT

Did you know you can create custom landing pages for your business on Facebook?

If you have a "fan" page for your business, you can use FBML or straight HTML to add a customized tab on your fan page, essentially allowing you to build a website within your fan page. You can also set this tab to be the first thing new people to your page will see, so if they don't "like" you yet, they'll go there instead of to your wall.

Important note: This doesn't work for groups or individual pages - only for fan pages.

What does this mean to you?

If you have a business, you don't want to set up a group. You want to set up a fan page.

Changing Routines

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:46:00 GMT

On Sunday night we had a happy, apparently healthy cat. On Monday morning, I had to euthanize him. Over the past couple of days, it's been very apparent to my wife and kids how big a role Tiger played in our lives because as we've gone through our daily routines, we notice how much he's missing.

Routines are how humans "get through" the day. We have a routine for getting ready for work or school. Work has its own routine. We tend to do the same thing or same variations of things, day in and day out. It's comfortable to have a routine and we get stressed when they get messed up.

Sometimes changes to routines are forced on us, but I think it's valuable to examine our routines and ask why we do things the way we do them. Perhaps there are easier or more effective ways to do things. Maybe there are things we SHOULD be doing that aren't yet part of our routines.

In my opinion, most entrepreneurs don't have a routine for their marketing themselves online. I've set up blogs and websites aplenty for clients only to watch those tools gather dust. I've consulted businesses large and small on better ways to do things only to hear later they've decided to stick with what they know. There are countless ways we could make our businesses and lives better. The only thing holding us back is our lack of desire to change our routines because self-directed change takes work.

Notice I didn't say inability. If you are forced to change, you will. Craig Bowman at Road to Recovery Nutrition , Sandra Alvarez of Alvarez Fitness and Andi Miller of Embrace Fitness tell me they see this behaviour all the time. People go through a health crisis and decide they need to change their routines. They'll start eating vegetables for the first time in their lives or embark on a fitness program because the alternatives are worse. They change their routines for the betterment of their lives.

I suggest that in our businesses we have an obligation to ourselves and our clients to examine ways we can do things better. Developing and sticking to an internet marketing plan is a challenge, but if you can make it part of your routine you'll be improving the online health of your business

Waiting until change is forced upon us is how most of us operate. Those who proactively change and continually work on finding the best way to do things are more likely to be successful in their endeavours and masters of their worlds.

Thank you, Tiger for your inspiration for this article. RIP little buddy.

For Technorati

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:13:00 GMT

Hi Technorati!

Z3QNA3U62A2C

I hope this makes you feel better : )

Not Your Average Dojo

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 18:49:00 GMT

Because the martial arts industry is not regulated in Canada, it's "buyer beware". Come to think of it, it's much like that in the web development and internet marketing industry. So, how do you know you're at the right place?

Well, you can talk to Shihan Doug Meagher at Northwest Goju Ryu Karate in Welland. He's now got a new website where he tells people interested in karate how to choose a quality school.

Visit them online at http://www.northwestgoju.org.

The thing I like about this site is its simplicity and its use of video. Granted, Shihan Meagher's delivery could be a little smoother (and he'll be the first to agree with that), but it gets the point across.

The other thing, of course is the content on the site. Content is still king online and if you have something to say about your business or industry then your website is the first place it should go. Shihan Meagher's list is a popular one online and it generates visits.

Northwest Goju - not your average dojo - not your average instructor.

Three Politicians Online

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:20:00 GMT

Unlike previous years, I'm much more aware there's an election happening this year. That's primarily because of three people:

Carla Carlson - running for town council in Lincoln
Catherine King - running for town council in Pelham
Tom Ferguson - running for regional council for St. Catharines

The Web For Business.com has donated web development and hosting services to these three individuals, each of whom is committed to making a difference in their communities.

Good luck you three!

And to the rest of you, remember to vote on Monday, October 25!

New Logo

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:48:00 GMT

Yep. There it is. Our new logo.

So, what does it really mean?

Since 1998 we were using the spiderweb-based logo. In 2009 we switched to a wordmark instead of a logo and now, we're back to a logo. Whether it works for you visually is up to you, so I will withhold judgement on it. Needless to say, I like it enough to move forward with it, and ultimately, that's really the point - moving forward.

I've been helping companies market online since September 8, 1997. The internet landscape has changed a lot. Instead of getting into Yahoo's directory in two days, it now costs $299 US a year and takes up to a week to get reviewed. Google didn't exist. The only companies using video online were porn sites (so I heard). Blogs, Facebook, MySpace and their ilk? Far off concepts back in 1997.

Despite all these changes, the fundamentals of marketing online have remained the same. There are more options now than there were 13 years ago, but the base requirement is still having something worth saying, saying it well and letting people who will care about what you're saying know you're saying it.

So the new logo displays the company name in a different way, but what we do remains the same: we help companies use online technologies to grow their business. One day I'll get that down to three or four words and make Dennis O'Neill a very happy man ; )

To my clients: as I enter my 14th year in business, I want you to know that I appreciate your support more than words can communicate.

To my friends: thank you for putting up with my stories of entrepreneurship.

To my business acquaintances: thank you for sharing the journey.

To all of you, thank you for being a part of my life. The present is a gift and the future is exciting. Let's see how we can grow together.

Moving forward.

Networking Group of the Year - "KNOW it ALL" Niagara

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:21:00 GMT

We're always happy to report on our clients' success.

"KNOW it ALL" Niagara was voted the Best Networking Group of 2010 by the Canadian Networker magazine. This is pretty impressive when you consider how many networking groups are available. Between chambers of commerce, BNI groups and a plethora of others, for "KNOW it ALL" Niagara to pull off this feat was quite a feat.

Congratulations Carrie and best wishes for your continuing success!

"KNOW it ALL" Niagara can be found online at http://www.knowitallniagara.com.

Domain Administration Reminder

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:21:00 GMT

I had a client call yesterday saying their website was down. Upon investigation, it was discovered their domain had expired. With a quick phone call to their registrar, they were able to renew their domain. As of writing this, their site had been down for a few hours. Sadly, domains don't spring back to life once the bill is paid - there's always a bit of downtime involved.

Why did this happen? The main reason was that nobody received notification the domain was coming up for renewal. Most registrars send email reminders about renewal dates. In this case, the administrative email address for the domain was incorrect so no reminders were received.

If you're managing your own domain name, ensure your administrative address is correct. If it's not, fix it right away. You can check what address is on file by logging in to your account with your registrar.

At The Web For Business.com, we manage the majority of our clients' domains so we get the domain renewal notifications and can renew accordingly. It's a small but vital service. Just something to keep in mind when you're choosing a company to deal with for your website development and hosting.

Getty Copyright Infringement Letters

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:09:00 GMT

A client of mine informed me today he had received a letter from Getty Images claiming he had violated their copyright on two images used on his website. Along with the claim was a request for over $1000 in "damages".

This is a potential challenge for anyone with a website, because as my client noted, he had no idea where the images on his website came from. He had his site built years ago by a designer who is no longer in business who subcontracted the work to another developer in another country. Being able to find out whether the images were licensed or not is virtually impossible.

So, what to do?

Unfortunately, in cases like this, if you are the owner of a website you are liable for the images on your site. You can ask your designer where they got the images and if they can't tell you, then you'd likely be able to pass along anything you pay to your designer as they're the one who got you into the mess in the first place.

Otherwise, you could be stuck with the bill.

Some of the arguments I have read about alleged copyright infringement discuss how people downloaded images from websites offering "free" pictures. Rarely is anything truly free when it comes to images, so tread cautiously if you're going to do this. I have read some stories about "free" image websites where the images were stolen from another website and then offered as free. If you use one of those images and get a copyright infringement letter, you'd better be able to prove you got the image from a free website, along with the exact URL(s) and the date of download.

At The Web For Business.com, we use only use licensed images from stock photography sites for our clients' websites unless they provide us with images to use. We also ask our clients to sign a waiver that acknowledges any images they provide to us are free of copyright and are properly licensed. If they don't sign the waiver, we don't use the images which protects us both.

Copyright infringement is widespread online. Avoid it by purchasing licensed images for your site. There's a cost, but it's worth it to avoid the stress and possible financial penalties when the copyright lawyers come calling.

Celebrating Diane Doneff

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:24:00 GMT

Addictions Ontario in partnership with The Niagara Addiction Treatment System held their Recovery Awareness Breakfast on September 8 at the St. Catharines Golf & Country Club, as part of their provincial Recovery Campaign.

Kathie Scott, Executive Director of Community Addiction Services of Niagara welcomed an enthusiastic crowd to enjoy food and fellowship and to celebrate addiction recovery. Diane Doneff, founding Director of Women’s Addiction Recovery Mediation, shared her own personal recovery journey.

Diane’s personal journey started 30 years ago when she found a program and people who believed in her until she could trust herself to live a sober life, one day at a time. Diane was given the tools and processes by which to heal her past wounds. For the past 20 years, Diane has felt privileged to share these tools and processes while supporting other women and their families in their journeys of recovery through WARM.

Norma Medulun, President of Addictions Ontario presented Diane with the 2010 Community Achievement Award in recognition of Diane’s commitment and outstanding service to the field of addiction recovery.

For more information call Claire Duthie at 905-871-9195 – extension 822 or claire.d@warmniagara.org

Congratulations Diane!!! We're proud of the accomplishments of our clients!!!

Getting Engaged

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:56:00 GMT

So I just added my Twitter feed to my Facebook profile and fan page and my website. Big whoopee, right? I mean, what's the point of all this "social media" crap?

That's a great question because it's not like we don't have better things to do with our time as business people. There are a couple of benefits to all this integration.

You look like you know what you're doing. That is, if you keep up with it. Having a blog that's been abandoned for a year isn't helping your cause much. Same with a dormant Twitter feed. Or a Facebook fan page. Congratulations - you've hopped on the bandwagon. Now you have to feed the monster.
Integration saves you time. Feeds are broadcasts of content added to services like Twitter and blogs. That broadcast can be received by other services like Facebook or websites and displayed there. So, you can update one service which will update one or two or more others. Not a bad deal.
Social media can help engage and retain prospects. I'm going to pick on Facebook for a moment because it's the one social media platform most people seem to think is the latest-greatest thing for business. The same reality holds true on Facebook as it does on the rest of the internet: if people aren't interested in you, they won't pay attention to you. It doesn't matter how many times you interrupt them - they're still not interested. Unless you work on building a fan page or group around a shared interest (i.e. your industry, product or service), you're still marketing with a shotgun instead of a rifle.

If you're choosy, your Facebook "friends" are really friends. For many though, a "friend" is just someone they are mildly acquainted with and not a true friend. I got a "friend" request from someone who had 2,199 people listed as friends on Facebook. I know full well those people aren't friends, and the reality is they're probably not very engaged with that person or his brand.

The same is true for "fans". If you're ASKING people to be fans, then they're not really going to do you much good, or at least, they won't do you much more good than they would have done for you otherwise. If 20 friends become fans it looks like you're popular but those friends aren't going to refer you more business than they would have without Facebook. When you can attract fans through your own merits and non-solicited word-of-mouth marketing, you know you're dealing with people who really appreciate you and are more likely to become customers.

Okay - enough of the rant. IF you've done a good job of engaging people on Facebook who are truly interested in your business, then there's value in using Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Otherwise, you should face the facts that your efforts are primarily just to wave the flag and let people know you exist. Awareness is good, and over time, the awareness you generate can lead to engagement with prospects. Just remember it will take time and effort get get to that stage where you reach enough people generally to make people with a specific need take more interest in what you're offering.

What's Your Title?

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:50:00 GMT

The title tag is one of the most important bits of information on your webpage. Chances are you've never thought about it. Here's an explanation of what it is and why it's important.

Look at the top of this page. Right up at the top of the screen - above the browser's toolbar. If you're on the main page of the blog, you'll see the title: "The Internet Marketing Passioneer's Blog". There it is. Nothing special, right?

Wrong. Search engines love titles. If you look at the code of a webpage, the title will be right near the top, between the <title> and </title> tags. Search engines use the text in the title tag to determine the subject of a webpage. It's one of the most important things you can change on your website, aside from the obvious of having quality content.

I met with a client today whose website's homepage had a title of "index". No keywords. Just "index". When you consider the homepage is the main page of the website and is usually the page you want to show up in the search engines, it's important to have keywords in the title.

Make sure your website developer puts relevant keywords in your page title. Every page of your site should have a unique title. EVERY page.

If you need any assistance with adding titles to your website, I'm happy to help. Just contact me at your earliest convenience.

The Invisible Website

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 06:01:00 GMT

It is unusual to find a site that is invisible in the search engines. I mean, you have to do so little to get a website into Google, yet I found one. Actually, I didn't find it - a client presented it to me and asked what could be done. He said it couldn't be found in the search engines. I didn't believe him, but after a quick check, I found that the website wasn't even indexed in Google despite having been online for more than a year.

Let me explain for a moment why this is so jaw-dropping. Most web developers will submit the work they do to the major search engines as part of their service. They'll either do a direct submission or let the engines crawl the site through links. I link to many of my clients' websites through my portfolio page and that's one simple way to set up an inbound link to a site. So imagine how much effort was involved to have the website NOT be picked up by any of the major search engines. You couldn't even find the website under a specific search for the company's name. That's how bad it was.

Fortunately, with a few changes to the site (there weren't even titles!) and the addition of a few inbound links the site was quickly spidered. It is now found on page one in Google when you search for the company name - which is where it should be. As for other SEO, well, that's for the client to decide.

Search engines owe you nothing. You owe it to your business to ensure your site appears in the major engines. At a minimum, if someone just types in your company name they should find you on the first page of results unless you have an exceptionally common corporate name. (If that's the case, you should really think about talking to a branding expert.)

Be a Drip

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:01:00 GMT

Leaky faucets are bad, right? After all, drip, drip, drip, right down the drain.

That's how most people feel about their marketing budgets. Drip, drip, drip - money right down the drain. So what do they do? They stop marketing, and that's bad.

Don't worry about making a big splash - be a drip. Every day, you should be marketing. There needs to be a constant effort - even a small one - but you need to expend some energy to market your business.

Drip, drip, drip.

Those small efforts represent a bucketload of marketing over time. Those small efforts build mindshare in your prospects and existing customers so when they're ready to buy, your name is overflowing in their mind. Yours will be the first company they call and the one they trust because of your consistent marketing messages.

Remember: thousands of drops of water over time will wear away the stone but if they arrive all at once they'll just make a splash and the stone will remain unchanged.

UBU = You Be You

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:31:00 GMT

I am always happy when new websites get launched because I enjoy helping clients on their internet marketing journeys. The website is just the start. The real work is getting people to visit.

So, I'm pleased to announce the launch of the new website for UBU Video Productions at http://www.ubuvideo.ca.

This is the site of my friend and colleague Mervin Wrighton. He has opened a business to pursue his passion of movie and video production and from what I see, he's off to a running start.

Merv has done two videos for me to date. The first was for Craig Bowman of Road to Recovery Natural Health and the second was for Catherine King, candidate for town council in Pelham. I'm happy with the process we went through to make them and my clients are happy with the videos that resulted.

Congratulations on your new site Merv!

Launch of Road to Recovery Natural Health

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:30:00 GMT

Today is the "official" launch of a new website for Craig Bowman. Craig's a Registered Holistic Nutritionist who is on a mission to guide people to better health through changes in diet and nutrition. He's a hall-of-fame weightlifter, husband, father and now, he's online.

Introducing: www.RoadToRecoveryNutrition.com

Ta da!!

Welcome online Craig!

Now, of course, the fun stuff begins. As I tell all my clients, getting online is the first step. Figuring out what to do online is where it gets interesting. We will be marketing Craig's guaranteed customized nutritional support programs throughout the GTA. In particular, Craig has developed a special cancer support program that has produced some spectacular results in some clients.

If you need some help getting your diet sorted out, give Craig a call.

On another note, the video on Craig's website marks the first collaboration between me and Merv Wrighton of UBU Video Productions. Merv's a long-time acquaintance and has gone into business to pursue his passion for making movies. I'm sure you'll be seeing more of Merv's work on our websites in future.

Vote Catherine King!

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:23:00 GMT

Just wanted to note that a new website for Catherine King is now online.

www.VoteKingWard2.ca

Catherine is running for town council in Pelham (Ward 2) and we're happy to be assisting her attain elected office. Catherine's one of those people who knows how to make a difference and we wish her the best in her campaign.

Just remember - municipal elections are coming up on October 25th so get out there and make your voices heard!

New Online Video Production Services from The Web For Business.com

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:53:00 GMT

Since our first foray into online video things haven't really changed all that much. I mean, YouTube is still a great way to market - it's just gotten bigger. Image quality has been improved, but that was to be expected.

One thing that hasn't changed much is the cost of getting a video produced. I personally think videos offer great value on websites, but the cost of development can be a barrier. On a client's behalf, I did some calling around to several video production companies. The cost to produce a 20 second spot to use online (with some green screen background manipulation) was anywhere between $500 to $1100 - and one company wanted more details before providing an estimate which to me suggests they would have been on the high side of the range.

What does this mean for our customs? It means we've gone out and come up with a lower-cost option for you to peruse. These days even cell phones have HD capability, so you know the cost of equipment has come down. The cost of software for video editing has come down as well. We've made an investment in both equipment and software and can now produce short slideshow-type videos starting at $150.

A long-time acquaintance recently opened his own business doing video shooting, editing and production. For companies that are looking for videos with higher production values than I can offer I highly recommend him. His name is Merv Wrighton and his company name is UBU Video Productions. UBU is pronounced "You Be You". You can reach him at 905-651-2728 or at merv@ubuvideo.ca. His website will be online soon so you can view his portfolio. He has produced videos for two of my clients and both are quite happy with his work, as am I.

Now Available - Wordpress Blogs

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:25:00 GMT

We are now offering Wordpress blogs as part of our standard hosting package. In other words, they're available at no extra charge - unless you want some customization of them in which case the usual hourly rate applies.

What does the standard package look like? Check out http://www.kendoniagara.com/blog.

With a couple of enhancements? Visit http://www.watersuperstoreinc.com/blog to see.

Of course, just because we offer a blog doesn't mean you NEED to start blogging - but in case you wanted to - and have a business case for doing so, we can now make this happen within your website.

Blogging can benefit your site in several ways.

A Better Experience for Visitors - they're visiting because they're interested in the services your company provides. The more you can tell them about yourself, the better.
More Content For Search Engines - search engines need content to determine how to index your site. Blogging about a variety of topics increases the chances your site will be found. It's just one more strategy to employ. Remember - nothing on its own is the key to better placement.
You Look Better - having a blog that's moderately up to date is a comfort to visitors. If your last blog post is May 2009, well, visitors will think you haven't been up to much since then. Are you really still in business? Posting regularly (once a week or once a month is fine - just be regular) will showcase your knowledge, personality and expertise.

Just a few thoughts for you to ponder.

Have a great day!

Your Enemy is You

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:24:00 GMT

This is related to my earlier blog post about how search engines don't owe you anything.

A client and I were discussing a local company that has managed to crowd out the first page of Google results for a variety of keywords and phrases. My client asked what could be done to compete with this company in Google. Two ideas came out of that question.

One: The "Problem" Might Not Be a Problem

When I did some checking into the popularity of the keyword phrases in question, it turns out there were very few searches registered in Google. In other words, the competition was dominant for phrases that few people used in their searches. Fighting to get a top ranking for an infrequently-used keyword phrase is probably not worth my client's effort.

Two: Doing Nothing Is Not an Option

I strongly encouraged my client to do something with his website. Small businesses don't have a ton of time to keep sites updated. Those who do can gain an advantage over time in two ways. First, the search engines will have more content to crawl so their sites will be more likely to show up for a variety of searches. Second, the HUMANS who come to their websites will be more likely to do business with them if the company has a helpful website - which requires content. Doing a little bit of SOMETHING consistently is better than consistently doing nothing.

Our worst enemies are ourselves. Doing the right things for ourselves takes effort. Just ask anyone who's tried to start and stick with a diet or exercise program. You can make a big difference with small efforts over time. Starting today, what will you do to make a difference in your business?

Website Security

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:02:00 GMT

A client of mine has their site hosted with a local ISP. Due to some changes at the ISP the FTP login for the website had been changed.

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and if you have the FTP information for a website you have the ability to manage the website's files.

In other words, this is important information.

I called the ISP to get the new FTP login. I didn't identify myself or my company and just told the person on the phone that due to the changes I needed the new FTP login to access my client's website. I was asked for the domain of the website and was given the new FTP information. I was even allowed to specify the password.

Our policy at The Web For Business.com is to provide information like this to the client directly. If a client chooses to give that information to a third party, that's their decision. Nobody but a client can get this information from us unless the client has given us permission in writing to communicate with a third party.

If I was a hacker imagine what I could have done to the website.

Ook. Happy Friday!

Search Engines Owe You Nothing

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:22:00 GMT

There seems to be a persistent belief that when one has a website, it will somehow rank in the top results automatically for a variety of keywords of your choosing.

Sorry if this is the first time you've heard someone tell you this, but it's a lie.

Search engines are in the business of providing the most "relevant" results. Defining "relevant" is therefore key to understanding how results are ranked. Here's a primer:

Your beautifully-designed, well thought out and sparkling website is not automatically "relevant" in the eyes of a search engine.
You can "optimize" your website until it hurts, but that may still not benefit your "relevance" to a search engine.
If you are under the illusion that your site "should" rank well in the search engines, keep in mind that search engines owe you nothing. It is your responsibility to understand how THEY work. The onus is not on any one search engine to understand how fantastic your website is.

How search engines work is a well-understood mystery. There are practices that most search engine marketers "know" work, but exactly how they work is a mystery - and the mystery changes from time to time as search engines update their formulas.

For example, it is "known" that Google "loves" inbound links to websites. This is why there are now things called link farms. These are also thinly disguised as web "directories". Link farms add links by the thousands to other people's websites - mostly for free but often people will pay to submit their website's link to hundreds or thousands of these sites. Have you ever been told or read that to be successful in Google they need to get as many inbound links to your website as possible? This is a half truth.

The other half of the formula is something called link "relevance". Let's say you're a breeder of Border Collies. If you ask your fellow Border Collie breeders to put a link to your website from theirs and you reciprocate, those links have some "relevance" as they're coming from one Border Collie breeder's website to another. If you also get a link from a link farm where there is no theme to the page your link is found on, that link will have lower "relevance" in comparison to the one from the other breeder's website. So, you could have thousands of largely "irrelevant" links to your website and still not rank highly in Google.

This is just one area of misunderstanding when it comes to search engines. There are dozens more criteria that make up the ranking formulas of the search engines. How each of them fits into the search engine marketing (SEM) puzzle are generally known by people in the SEM industry.

I will be covering search engine optimization and more during my next seminar series. Contact me if you want to know when our next seminars will be held this fall.

Why Sewers and Online Marketing Aren't the Same

Mon, 31 May 2010 15:29:00 GMT

Here's a note I wrote to myself this morning.

"With a sewer, you get out what you put in.

With online marketing, results will vary for your efforts.

The trouble is most companies don't measure their results and stick to techniques they're familiar with. Branching out a little to try something "new" could be the thing that makes the difference. Marketing is testing, so whether you're sticking to the familiar or branching out, you have to try, measure, try, measure and repeat until you're clear that what you're doing is working or not working.

If you're not testing and occasionally failing, you're not trying hard enough. There are lots of excuses for this, but the reality is you can't do more of the same and expect different results.

Get off your duff and start changing your world today."

Thought you might find it valuable as well. Happy Monday!

New Business, No Website. Really?

Fri, 21 May 2010 06:34:00 GMT

I went to a restaurant that had been open for three months for the first time today. The food was good, the place was clean and the owners were very nice people. The restaurant had a nice logo and it looked to me that their chairs were custom-made to incorporate the logo and the initials of the restaurant in the design. All in all, they had put in a lot of effort to make the place nice.

However, the one thing they didn't have was a website. I asked why and they said it was because they're still working on finalizing their menu. They also didn't have flyers with a take-out menu as that's still in flux.

I can understand not wanting to print 5000 flyers with a menu that is likely to change, but not having a website to help market the business didn't make sense to me.

At the very least a single webpage with their own domain would have given people their address and phone number and possibly directions (with a Google map) of where to find them. Cost: under $200 / year.

Phone directories are the new doorstops to many and the younger generation searches for everything online. Not being online when the costs are so low is inexcusable.

Please pass this message along to any business owner you know who doesn't have a website. I'd love to know what's keeping them offline.

Kids for Change: Tanzania

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:25:00 GMT

Kids for Change: Tanzania, one of the most important events of the year for young & mature professionals, will be taking place on Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at White Oaks Resort & Spa in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

In its debut year, Kids for Change, sponsored by Leverage U, is an evening where guests will mix, mingle and be entertained in an effort to raise funds for taking Conflict Resolution and Communication Skills to orphaned children in the needy countries of East Africa.

At Kids for Change 2010 guests will indulge their senses with a taste of Africa in a night of live music, hors d’oeuvres, yummy cocktails, fantastic auctions items, raffles, gift bags and much more! This is an opportunity to leverage your organization as a globally responsible leader aligned with an important cause.

It is our goal to raise $20,000 which will fund this year’s project and secure funds to expand the program.You are invited to participate in Kids for Change by supporting the event with an in-kind donation of goods and/or services to our extraordinary auction items, raffle and/or gift bags.

Filled with unique and exclusive items, our spectacular silent auction, LIVE dessert auction, raffle and gift bags are essential highlights of the evening. As a contributor, you will receive the following:

Your donation will be displayed at the auction/raffle table your marketing piece placed in each of the gift bags
Your company logo will be displayed onscreen at the event
Your company will receive acknowledgement on the Leverage U websites (www.angersolution.com) and blog site (www.angersolution.blogspot.com) with direct links to your website
Your company will receive acknowledgment on the Kids for Change: Tanzania Website, Facebook event page and in the Leverage U newsletter.
Acknowledgement of your support and involvement on the Blog Talk Radio program “The Anger Solutions Radio Show” with a worldwide listening audience.

Don’t miss out on being part of such a fantastic event!!! Your generous support will help us give hope and bring conflict resolutions and communications skills training to thousands of children in schools and orphanages in the region of East Africa, beginning with Tanzani.

For further information about “The Africa Project” or Kids for Change, please contact Marlina Kinnersley, Development Coordinators directly at or (647) 882-9497.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased from www.kidsforchange.web.officelive.com.Thank you in advance for your consideration and support and we look forward to your positive response. Together we can help!

Sincerely,

Julie Christiansen, Program Sponsor, 905-329-6169 Marlina Kinnersley, Event Coordinator, 647-882-9497

Kids for Change: Tanzania 2010

Copyright

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:21:00 GMT

Here are a few words that ruined my day around a year ago:

" 'ABC Company' can find no reference to this image having been licensed for reproduction on your website. The usage above directly violates 'ABC Company's' and the artist's exclusive rights to reproduce, adapt, display, distribute, and/or create derivative works. Be advised that any entity that violates these exclusive rights of the copyright owner is an infringer of the copyright and is thus liable, regardless of prior knowledge of the unauthorized usage. Also note, the Copyright Act provides for individual liability for all those associated with the infringement as well as corporate liability."

There was more (courtesy of 'ABC Company's' lawyers) but on the "Claim Invoice", the amount of the claim made by 'ABC Company' on behalf of its client was $4020 + GST for unauthorized use of the image.

Let me help that sink in a bit more.

$4020 + GST for the unauthorized use of ONE image on a website.

Ouch.

In this case, the image in question was provided to me by a former client for use on their web advertising. However, after consulting with a lawyer specializing in copyright law, I learned that I was still responsible for the copyright infringement because I hadn't confirmed with my client that the image in question was free of copyright and further, not only did I not check, but I didn't have anything in writing from the client.

Fortunately for me, 'ABC Company' shifted their attention to the former client and that appears to have been the end of the story for me. I suspect hundreds if not thousands of people worldwide receive letters from 'ABC Company' and other rights management companies with claims of copyright infringement. For me, it was an important lesson to learn, so I thought I would share it with you.

Whenever you get new artwork, ensure with your graphic designer that the work is indeed free of copyright. Ask where the image came from and whether they have permission to use it. Image licences can be purchased for as low as a few dollars from many stock photography sites so there's really no reason you should ever get stung with a copyright infringement.

Just a word of warning from one who's been there. It's worth $10 or $20 now to avoid the stress that could befall you in future.

How much does a website cost?

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:10:00 GMT

What is the cost of a website?

In my opinion, websites shouldn't cost anything. Your website should be a tool to grow your business. If it's doing that, then it's an investment.

If it's not, well, then you should be calling us.

Do You Know Your Sushi?

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:21:00 GMT

My dad's a 2nd generation Japanese Canadian. As you might suspect about a guy with this heritage who grew up on the west coast, he knows when his fish is fresh and he knows his sushi. He reminds me that the word "sushi" means "vinegared rice". "Su" is vinegar, "shi" is rice. Pretty simple stuff.

Most restaurants that serve sushi don't have any discernable taste of rice vinegar in their rice. My dad comments that they're not really serving sushi - it looks like it, but you can taste the difference. Most people haven't a clue this is even an issue.

That's the way it seems to be for almost everything these days. We can look at something and think we know what it is - like sushi - but really, we don't have a clue whether we're getting the real deal or something that looks like it. Seeing all the happy people chowing down on sushi in the local all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants, it makes you wonder why it's important. After all, people are happy not knowing the truth, aren't they?

It's gotta be tough to be a trained sushi chef in this world of cheap sushi. These chefs spend years learning their craft. They make the honest-to-goodness product. That's great, but the average consumer doesn't know enough about their craft or the product. The all-you-can-eat sushi places are hopping while the restaurants that sell the more expensive authentic product have empty seats.

Does this sound vaguely like your market? It should. As entrepreneurs we face this dilemma every day. Somewhere, somebody is offering something similar to your product or service for less money. Your challenge is to communicate your value powerfully to the people who will actually care about what you have to offer.

No matter how well you know your sushi, if your market doesn't know what goes into real sushi you need to get to work educating them about the product. What makes your tuna roll better than the one at the all-you-can-eat place? Why does it make a difference that you use snapper instead of the cheaper tilapia? When prospective customers know why you offer more value than your competition you'll get more business. Without education your prospects can't make an informed decision.

The internet gives all businesses access to the same tools but the tools are meaningless unless you can communicate your value clearly and effectively. If you're not doing this now, you can get started right away by looking at your existing marketing and comparing it with your competition's. See how they are communicating their message and look for ways you can improve yours. Keep looking with a critical eye at your approach and over time you'll come up with ways to make your message stand out from the crowd.

Start now.

Get Your Head Out of Your Ass

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:57:00 GMT

You are so the same as everyone else that nobody cares.

"But wait - I'M DIFFERENT!!!"

So, how exactly are you different enough that people SHOULD care?

I'm waiting...

...still waiting...

...and waiting.The truth is most of us are lousy at communicating our differences which is a shame, because it's the only thing that's really important. We let potential customers assume we fit the "standards" of our industry and since we've co-operated by colouring inside the lines like everyone else, there's nothing special about us to make people go WOW!!! Yep. Guilty as charged. Me too. Been there, done that. Perhaps I'm still doing it.

But today I'm taking a friend's advice and taking my head OUT of my ass, giving it a shake and looking at myself and my business with a more critical eye. Change is happening all around me anyway, whether I want it to or not. If things are going to be different and better, change had better begin with me.

Or in your case, you. I hope you're enjoying the view and the fresh air. Now get to work on making things better.

For those of you who hate Mondays and want to procastinate until Tuesday or Wednesday when you're in a better mood, the good news is you're right. It CAN wait. The better time to start is now.

Happy Monday!