If you haven't figured it out yet, there's almost always a cost to FREE, not necessarily a monetary cost but a cost none the less. Free Advice usually isn't the best advice - right? Free TV (your local broadcast) comes with commercials - right? Free WiFi usually comes with an ad screen from the …
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There’s a storm coming
First, let me preface this and that I officially don't like bringing up negative things. I'd much rather focus on the positive - but when everything is rolling along fine you just don't pay attention. I get it. I do the same thing. But there's something coming, and coming very soon, that is going …
Getting back to blogging
First of all - I apologize. The months of June and July were crazy busy. Not that that is an excuse but to be perfectly honest, there's only so much work I can get done in a day and my first priority has to be to my paying clientele. Hey, I even stopped riding my bike except for the weekly group …
How to get rid of all politics on Facebook
Facebook is many things to many people. For some it's a way to connect with friends and family and see what's going on in their day to day lives. For others it's a marketing platform - "Hey look at me, I have something you might want to buy!" (and I think that's ok) For other's it's a …
Would a new theme help my SEO?
A client of mine asked if changing the theme on their website would give them better SEO. Everyone wants to rank better in Google, right? I know. I buried the lead with the header image but maybe the more important part is the WHY. I discuss that in the podcast and down …
How to “properly” build a WordPress Website
Spoiler Alert: There's no way we cover this in two short minutes. The good news is that in these two minutes I'll give you things to think about that you would have never considered. The other good news is that I'm almost done with a huge "How To" that will be perfect for the DIY …
Secure or Not Secure?
When you are building a new site these days all the cool kids are building their sites "Secure". What does SECURE mean? Should you build your site SECURE too? That's a great question for today! Record a Better Intro than Lesley! Back when, all sites were not secure. Everyone had …
What’s the difference between a Domain Name and Hosting?
I just had a great conversation with someone who wanted to start their own site. They got the info that it was WordPress.org that they wanted to use (which is right) so they went over there and downloaded the software. That's when the confusion started, "What do you do next with the …
How to give credit for a Featured Image
Giving the photographer credit when you use an unsplash picture for your post is easy. But, how would you give the photographer credit when you use an image just for the Featured Image? That great question was literally just asked by Lesley Sarson moments ago! Wait! The 2 Minute Tuesday …
2MT: How many themes are ok to have in your WordPress Install?
Themes. They are what makes your site look great! This week I'm in the middle of migrating a site from one server to another and the question came up as to how many themes was ok to have in your install. Welcome to the very first edition of 2 Minute Tuesday! I get it, you …
What type of content can you put up on your site?
This is a series that I hope will get you thinking a little deeper about your website, marketing plan and goals for the coming year. You might be familiar with "The Five Ws", this would of course be the second of them. You can read the whole series here. Ok, so part of the reason you want a …
Who Are Your Next Customers?
This is the first in a series that I hope will get you thinking a little deeper about your website, marketing plan and goals for the coming year. You might be familiar with "The Five Ws", this would of course be the first of them. You can read the whole series here. When a new client asks me …
How to setup SMART Goals for your website
December is a time for holidays, parties, friends and of course... putting on a few extra pounds. December is also the month to get your 2018 Marketing Plan set and ready to go. I always like to start the new year with SMART goals. You've heard of them before. When I say SMART …
SEO: Sorry, you’re doing it wrong
What's the most important thing to be doing now to get the best SEO out of your website? Good question. Here's the answer! SEO is one of the most misguided / misunderstood things I have to deal with when it comes to my clients. Part of this comes from the "what was true last week, may not be …
How and when to include Testimonials in your site
Testimonials or Reviews are what we call "social proof". They are a powerful element and every site should have them inside the site itself. Besides the obvious cheese factor, no matter how you say "I'm the best, you should use me", we trust what others say about you so much more. Having someone …
How many words?
Hey, it's the #1 question I get asked when I start someone with a blog. But, are they asking that with an eye on doing just the minimum? That's a fair question. Time is valuable and adding the act of blogging to your marketing plan is going to take a chunk of time. Are they asking because they …
How to Start Podcasting
Want to stand out from your competition? Podcasting is the answer. You want to get your message out. You want to be heard. We know that video would be one way to go but it's so time consuming. (or perhaps you have a face for radio like me) ;) TL:DR: Here's a podcast of this …
Blogging Better: What to do after you hit “Publish”
Congratulations! You just wrote your first blog post! I know it took you just over 3 hours to write a measly 350 words but believe me, it'll get easier - I promise! Now that it's published, here's a few thoughts on what to do next, (and I've also included a special offer at the end just …
Are you listening?
This is a short opinion piece but I'd like to hear your thoughts. Twitter is rolling out (slowly) an update that will double the size of a tweet from 140 to 280 characters. I asked on Twitter and Facebook if that will make a difference in how they use the …
How to Create Better Mailing Lists
A hundred avid fans or ten thousand people who are indifferent? "Throw it against the wall and see what sticks" "It's a numbers game" There's a thousand quotes I could throw at you but it's a simple "Quality vs Quantity" and that's the heart of the post today. (oh and there's no right answer …