This is really your blog - we're going to keep it up-to-date with the hottest info for making your website even more of a high performance tool than it is already.
Just like your car, periodic updates, maintenance and some tune ups here and there can make a huge difference. Read what will help your website, here!
One of my favourite marketing gurus is John Reese. he's been around forever and he doesnt' just spout platitudes or "airt-fairy" ideas. He delivers!
Here are a few gems paraphrased from John's excellent newlsetter.
THE MONEY IS IN THE MARKETING
You run a business not a web design company. Don't get caught up in trying to make Web pages and learn HTML, or studying how to create javascript, or learning to master Linux so you can administer your own server, or how to use Photoshop to create little logos, etc.
You can certainly do that stuff if you want, but it will look and behave home made, you'll waste more time that you can imagine, and it's really not the highest, best use of your time.
It's no surprise that some of the most successful entrepreneurs I know are also some of the LEAST TECHNICAL people I know. The main thing they do right is to simply pay others to do all the "nuts & bolts" stuff that makes online business work...
on Thursday, 19 August 2010. Posted in Making Money
Wouldn't it be a dream if you came home at the end of the day and had so much time on your hands you would have to find a few more hobbies or plan a few more vacations? Or you didn't feel compelled to respond you your emails all night long...
As entrepreneurs the one thing we never seem to have enough of is time. Micro enterprise - the solo entrepreneur or private practice professional , we are often behind the 8 ball constantly because we just don't have the resources to "get help." But what if there was a way to multiply the number of hours in your day? What could you achieve? How many times have you said "If I could just clone myself...?"
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Wouldn't it be a dream if you came home at the end of the day and had so much time on your hands you would have to find a few more hobbies or plan a few more vacations? Or you didn't feel compelled to respond you your emails all night long...
As entrepreneurs the one thing we never seem to have enough of is time. Micro enterprise - the solo entrepreneur or private practice professional , we are often behind the 8 ball constantly because we just don't have the resources to "get help."But what if there was a way to multiply the number of hours in your day?What could you achieve?How many times have you said "If I could just clone myself...?"
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If youhaven't Read Rich Dad Poor Dad, make a point of reading it next week.But in the mean time, what is this trick to expand dime and defy the laws of physics?
Read Rich Dad for the full meal deal, but I will share with you one thing you can do TONIGHT to help you leverage your time so you can really make money while you sleep, and it won't cost you a dime.
Affiliate Programs
What!?Affiliate programs are loose but formal arrangements where you get paid a commission to sell someone else's' product or service.But the cool thing is you do this on your website, and you don't SELL, you educate, inform, and demonstrate.
Say you use some of Tony Robbins books in your business, you tell your clients to read them because they have really helped you. Many times your client will go ahead and get the book based on your endorsement.It's genuine, they trust you and they are wanting to learn more.
Same thing happens on your website with your affiliate links.You rave about a service or product you ACTUALLY use or have used, add a link to the product owner's site, and when one of your customers clicks on that link formore information and then later buys the product, YOU get a commission cheque in the mail (or in your PayPal account).
Literally you can make money while you sleep!The easiest affiliate program is Amazon.com (or amazon.ca).As business people we always recommend books, we're all voracious readers.Sign up with Amazon for free, become an affiliate and but some links to your favourite books on your site.
Write a review, tell us why you recommend the book, what it will do to help our businesses, and when someone clicks the link to find out more, and they buy a book (any book on Amazon) ch-ching! you get a commission.
So now you can go home a little earlier, lunch a little longer, knowing that time is n your side.You website is selling for you while you focus on bigger and better.
Some businesses do nothing else - in one recent case study I read, the busness owners is making $18,000 each month selling other people's products. If you want to explode your affiliate revenue into the stratosphere, contact us - we can help.
on Wednesday, 04 August 2010. Posted in Marketing 101
Designing Stuff that looks Professional
The very basics of good graphic design for your website - it's all CRAP. I don't mean to offend you but...
There are 4 concepts in visual design that ensure your graphics will look not only presentable but maybe even professional! Why is this important? Isn't design the same as art? Can't I be creative?
Design is NOT art, design is about communicating very specific and clear ideas and concepts in a visual way...READ MORE
If you want an easy way to understand how to get on the first pages of the search engines, all you have to do is understand how people win American Idol. Just like American Idol, getting on the first page of Google and the other search engines is a competition!
How do I maximize my website's performance? This is a question we hear a lot of. It's one of the reasons that our training programs are so popular.
Like any other technical skill it often takes years of education to acquire the skills needed to become an expert at any one thing. However, that doesn't mean you can't gain enough knowledge to make immediate and impactful changes in your website's magnetism, conversion, and appearance.
To whet your appetite for our September slate of web courses, we'll be publishing a series of to-the-point "briefs" to help you get started. The first one will be on Graphic Design for Entrepreneurs. If you've ever made changes to your site, added a bit of colour perhaps or added new fonts, you might not have been happy with the results but didn't know why your new look just didn't look totally professional. Well, we'll let you in on our designers' secrets.
Check back next week to read all about it. Or subscribe to the RSS feed (click the little orange thingie at the bottom of the page) and you'll be automatically informed when the article is up!
They say that in Winnipeg 1/2 the population takes their vacation in July; and the other half in August.
For many of us in business we see the slowdown, but more predictably it means that come September we are all frantically filling orders again and once more we have no time to add fresh content to our sites or to make all those blog posts we talked about.
So here's a tip - do it all now! READ MORE
You've probably grown tired of hearing about "our new site"...It's been in the works for over a year and while it's still in beta stage (there may be a few kinks to work out), we're happy to present it to you. the goal of the new site is to be a business tool for our clients and prospective customers, complete with your own private client area where you'll be able to access special resources only for you, as an xLAB customer! So, take a stroll around and see what your future has in store! We'll be adding our social bookmarking links soon, as well as weekly web site marketing news and tips that you can implement on your own sites. Look for your Private Access details in your inbox soon.
xLAB Interactive is an award-winning Winnipeg Web Designer and Internet Marketing company. Our mission is to care for, protect and guide you on your quest to get your business on the Internet.
Selected as Manitoba's Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007, our founder understands the unique needs of entrepreneurs, - and the xLAB team understands marketing - after all it's not just your website it's your business!
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How do I maximize my website's performance? This is a question we hear a lot of. It's one of the reasons that our training programs are so popular.