Just What is Content?
August 23, 2007
Just What is Content?
by: Mark Nenadic
What is content? Web development involves two major components: mechanics and content. The mechanics should be seamless and transparent. The end user should never be aware of the mechanics, only dazzled by the effects or pleased by the simplicity of the page. A professional web design company will provide professional quality web development.
If the mechanics of a web development are seamless and transparent, what does that make the content? The content is what gets the visitors involved in the website. The content is what brings them back, again and again. The content is a place where the visitor feels a measure of control, relief and ultimately, customer satisfaction.
What comprises the content that a web development specialist will look for? The key component to understanding what makes good content begins by understanding what the website is about. If the site is about selecting a good web designer, then the content should reflect information on web design, samples and package offers. If the site is about entertainment, the content will reflect up to date entertainment articles, perhaps a gossip column, and a message board where users can exchange information, opinions and viewpoints.
Communication Strategy During A Time Of Strategic Planning
August 22, 2007
“Rubbish!” shouted the large, aggressive man in the red-striped shirt (we had to pay attention to him because he owned the company).
“The staff don’t need to be told anything. When we’ve sorted out all the details and have the adverts ready to run, then we’ll tell them. They don’t need to know beforehand, it’ll only stop them working” he went on to loudly proclaim.
It’s hard to ignore the wishes of your client, especially when he’s paying you so well and has browbeaten every other consultant, as well as his management team, into submission.
Yet my experience, again and again, is this:
If you don’t tell them what’s going on, they’ll make it up anyway.
Employees not present at strategic planning offsite meetings aren’t dumb; they’re just not present. They know you’re away (they think probably planning the future of the company, their jobs and their salary cuts), so they will gossip and rumour-monger to their heart’s discontent while you are not ‘minding the store’.
So planning your internal communication is an essential prerequisite to effective and committed implementation of any business strategy. It also goes a long way towards problem minimisation.
10 High Powered Ways To Magnify Your Sales
August 21, 2007
1. Give your prospects a f~ree trial of your software product, service, or let them read the first chapter or two of your informational product.
Your f~ree trial or sample chapters will show your visitors that you are confident in the quality of your product and lead to more sales for you by demonstrating how valuable your product is.
2. Add a bonus for purchasing your product.
Provide a unique bonus such as an ebook you’ve written, a consultation with you, access to your membership site, or a resource that is only available through you.
Add to your bonus’s perceived value by placing an honest dollar amount to it, listing benefits for it, or by publishing testimonials for it.
You could also set up a joint venture with another business where you offer as a bonus an exclusive f~ree trial of their product in exchange for a percentage of the profits (i.e., by joining their affiliate program).
3. Provide a money back guarantee.
Your guarantee will help you to get more people that are unsure about purchasing your product to buy from you.
I Am A Habit
August 20, 2007
JOHN DI LEMME on “I Am A Habit”
H-A-B-I-T…When 95% of people hear this word, a negative thought pops up in their minds. Typically, most people think of a habit being negative. The secret to your future lies in your daily habits so ask yourself right now, “Are my habits today going to help me achieve my WHY in life?” This is a life-empowering question if you truly ask it and listen for the answer.
I received the following excerpt from a very dear friend of mine and felt that it is definitely the best explanation of a habit that I have ever heard:
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command. Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me,
and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done, and after a few
lessons I will do it automatically.
Mission Statement Impossible
August 19, 2007
Dant dant da da dant dant da da. Dant dant da da dant dant da da. (That’s the theme from “Mission Impossible”…)FADE IN.
Your mission, should you chose to accept it is to create a fail-proof proclamation, a road map, that not only serves ALL your business needs but also provides you an endless source of fuel so you can thrive in your business. Beware of the well- intentioned imposter called “the mission statement.” Should you choose to accept this mission… this article will self-destruct in… you get the point.
If you’ve been is business in any sort of formal sense or have come out of a MBA or business school, no doubt you have been told to “write a mission statement” to assure that your business achieves the success that you want for it. So as any good success-orientated business owners would do, you did as you were told and wrote one; only to find yourself with a hard earned paragraph (or a page) that’s not giving you the power you thought it would. Well no wonder, you sent the wrong agent to do the right job.
Who Else Wants To Know Oprahs Secrets To Wealth & Success?
August 18, 2007
Before I had a lot of money, I was really quite happy,” said Oprah Winfrey. “And I will tell you this–you may not believe it–I never would have gotten the money if I wasn’t happy to begin with. I never would have gotten it.”
I’ve noticed that we’re a culture that doesn’t stop long enough to enjoy its finances. We’re so far off into the future, envisioning the cash that we’re going to get, we’re never here long enough to enjoy it. Here, however, is home.
All of us work many hours for profit, yet when it comes in, and we open up our purse to spend it on what we like, how much time do we spend enjoying our acquisition?
The other day I got a beautiful armchair. The first time I saw it, I fell in love. I just had to take it home. It was big, a shocking pink color, and broad. When I sank in it, it supported me just perfectly. Visions of many hours in the bookstore, a good book on my lap, a comfortable armchair surrounding me drifted into my mind. Now, every time I sit and read a book on that chair, a deep sigh of contentment rises out of me.
Eight Skills of Highly Successful Consultants
August 18, 2007
With deference to Dr. Covey and his very popular Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (all habits that will make us better consultants!), here are eight skills that all of us as consultants can work on to improve. This article will start with three overarching skills, then describe five more specific skills to consider in your ongoing development.
One way to look at your total skill set as a consultant (internal or external), is to consider your relative strengths in the three major portions of our work: designing "it", delivering "it", and selling "it". These three skills represent the complete package for a consultant, regardless of what your expertise (your "it") is. The Complete Package:
Designing "It"This is our technical expertise. This is the "stuff" we learn in classes and through experience and practice. It is the front end of our work in most cases. While we cannot underestimate the importance of these skills (and the need to continue to upgrade them), we also can’t be content if these skills are top-notch. They are not enough.
How to Give Job-Winning Answers at Interviews
August 17, 2007
Human Resources personnel, professional recruiters and various other career experts all agree: one of the best ways to prepare yourself for a job interview is to anticipate questions, develop your answers, and practice, practice, practice.
There are plenty of websites that offer lists of popular job interview questions, and knowing the types of questions to expect can be very useful. But knowing how to answer those questions can mean the difference between getting the job and getting the “reject letter.”
HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
First, know these important facts:
1. There is no way to predict every question you will be asked during a job interview. In other words, expect unexpected questions–they’ll come up no matter how much preparation you do.
2. Treat any sample answers you find, such as in discussion forums, books or on Internet job sites, as GUIDES only. Do not use any sample answers word for word! Interviewers can spot “canned” answers a mile away, and if they suspect you are regurgitating answers that are not your own, you can kiss that job goodbye. You must apply your own experiences, personality and style to answer the questions in your own way. This is crucial, and it will give you a big advantage over candidates who simply recite sample answers.
13 Tips To Make Your Website More Successful
August 16, 2007
13 Tips To Make Your Website More Successful
by: Raymond Johnston Jr
I was looking around at some websites to see what things I liked and disliked about them. There is no doubt that there are things that attract people and there are things that totally turn people off.
I have made a list of 13 tips that can help make your website more successful. Most of them are simple but quite effective at making your site more user friendly.
1. Make your site simple - With all of the bells and whistles available, too many people are trying to see how impressive they can make their websites. They may be attractive but unless your goal is to win a contest for best site, impressing people with glitter will not make sales.
2. Make sure your site loads quickly - You do not have long to grab your customer’s attention. Make sure that you at least get a fair shot at grabbing his attention. If your site takes too long to load, you will lose a lot of potential customers without even giving your site a chance.
Dig Deep for Small Business Ideas Before You Start the Wrong Business
August 15, 2007
If you’re serious about wanting to start a business, the first thing you want to do is take the time to understand what really makes you tick. Where do you get your drive? What gets you in a “zone?”
However, there’s a lot more to figuring out the BEST business idea that will make you more money and give you more freedom to enjoy more success in your life.
And success to you may be different than success to someone else. It may not be all about money at all. It may not be about finding something you are completely passionate about. It may not be about having a “cool” business — the latest fad or a unique niche.
Success is how you define it.
Finding the right idea to bring you that success takes a willingness to be patient, good timing, and a lot of research.
And there’s nothing wrong with taking your time, being careful trying to figure out which small business ideas are best.
If you rush this process, you’re bound to come up with a business that doesn’t excite you at all.
You’ll be bored.
