CWS Everything Internet Blog

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours

2009-11-23T09:45:00.001-06:00

The CWS offices will be officially closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, November 26. We wish each of our customers a safe and happy holiday.

We all have much to be thankful for.

In case of emergency, call our main line at 888-426-7793 and leave a message, which will be forwarded to our staff.

CWS Welcomes Laurie Archbold and Chris Kostelec

2009-11-23T09:30:00.001-06:00

CWS is pleased to welcome Laurie Archbold to our team as a marketing and content strategist. Laurie brings us 18 years of marketing and public relations experience from a broad range of industries. We're excited to offer her expertise as a resource to our clients in developing content strategy and writing for the Web. Laurie holds degrees from Minnesota State University and is active in our community.

We also welcome Chris Kostelec to the team as a front-end Web developer. A graduate of Calvin College, Chris's focus is on graphic design and user interface development.

Contact information:

Laurie
laurie[at]cws[dot]net
507-289-2229 ext. 210

Chris
chris[at]cws[dot]net
507-289-2229 ext. 211

Launch: Coldwell Banker Burnet

2009-11-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

CWS is pleased to announce the launch of a new career development website for Coldwell Banker Burnet. This respected agency has been in business since 1973 and shares a commitment to providing truly remarkable service for customers.

The new website offers information to anyone interested in developing a career in the real estate field, including FAQs, benefits and a self-assessment.

Launch: Roberts Specialty Company

2009-11-04T13:30:00.001-06:00

CWS is pleased to announce the launch of a new website for Roberts Specialty Company of Austin, MN. This family-owned company has been in business since 1973 providing custom imprinting and embroidery on a range of products and apparel.

Keeping Score

2009-11-03T13:30:00.001-06:00

At CWS, we care a lot about taking care of our clients. We don't always get it right, but we're committed to continually improving ourselves and our processes. The next time you visit our office, you may notice that we've installed a large display panel on the wall in the course of our minor remodeling to support an internal tool we call the scoreboard.

This display helps us keep track of the most important indications of our success as a team. Here's what we watch:

Efficiency. For each quarter, we measure how many projects we completed, how our actual time compared to our estimates, and how well we met our goals for productivity (spending time on client work versus internal items).

Customer Satisfaction. Whenever we complete a project or a service request, we ask you to complete a survey to give us feedback on the work. We review those surveys as a team every week, and we also keep track of the overall scores for each quarter. When we send you one, please take a moment to complete it because we take the feedback very seriously.

Time Tracking. It's critical that we keep good records of our time so that we can deliver accurate, timely invoices and find opportunities to gain efficiency. Our scoreboard displays a running timeline for each team member that reminds us to track our time faithfully.

Our Values. Most companies have mission statements and a set of values written down -- somewhere. But we've put ours in big letters on the wall so we don't forget what's important. It's easy to spend too much time in the details of our work and lose sight of the big picture. Our top value? We have a profound respect for our clients and each other.

We also use the scoreboard to display our network status and notes for the day -- who's out of the office and what clients will be visiting.

When you see an opportunity for us to improve our score, we hope you'll let us know.

Contribute Training for November

2009-10-28T16:00:00.001-05:00

Our monthly Contribute training classes are scheduled for next Tuesday, November 3. If you're in need of a refresher course or would like to learn how to use Contribute's advanced features, these classes are an excellent opportunity to learn more.

Each month, you may attend one or both sessions based on your needs and current skill level. Here are the topics to be covered this month:

Basic Session at 1:00 pm (2 seats left for 11/3/09)

Getting Started
Editing Pages
Inserting Links
Working with Images
Using Tables
Adding New Pages

Advanced Session at 2:00pm (2 seats left for 11/3/09)

Using the Draft Console
Using Anchors
Adding Paypal Buttons
Adding Google Search Fields
Adding HTML Snippets
Using Shared Assets
Adding Movie Files
Working With Blogs

As always, we'll continue to offer our Contribute Training on the first Tuesday of each month at 1:00 pm. To register, simply call Jon at 507-289-2229 or email jon@cws.net. Here is the list of upcoming training sessions:

December 1st, 2009
January 5th, 2010

All classes will be held at the CWS Office and will start promptly. Hope to see you there!

Training Videos Available Online

2009-10-28T15:30:00.002-05:00

CWS strives to educate and inform our customers about topics relating to Web marketing, and we've held a couple of recent seminars covering topics that will help your business succeed on the Web.

We have now created a special "Education and Learning" area on our website to hold videos from our seminars, including the one that was held last week. If you weren't able to attend in person or would like to review the material, we encourage you to watch and learn from these presentations at no charge.

Fall Seminar this Wednesday

2009-10-12T15:00:00.004-05:00

Remember that our free fall seminar on Web marketing will be held this Wednesday from 8:30am to 11:30am at the Rochester Ramada. We still have a few seats available, so register online to attend if you haven't already.

You'll be learning about three secrets to Web marketing success including measurement, content strategy and using social media. If you aren't able to attend in person, you can also watch a live stream of the presentation at live.cws.net.

Before you arrive:

1. Please complete this brief survey about your expectations for the event.

2. If possible, please bring a cell phone or laptop to participate in interactive voting during the presentation.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Launch: Seasons Hospice

2009-10-12T09:38:00.003-05:00

CWS is pleased to announce the launch of a new website for Seasons Hospice, a community based nonprofit in Rochester. Hospice organizations like Seasons provide specialized care to improve the quality of life of individuals with terminal illness. Care may be delivered at home, in a nursing or assisted-living facility, or at the Hospice House in southwest Rochester. Hospice also plays a valuable role in providing education and support to those who have experienced a loss.

We invite you to learn more about the service that Seasons Hospice provides in our community and consider supporting their work.

Free Fall Seminar: Seating Still Available

2009-10-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

Online registration for our free Web marketing seminar opened Wednesday. We had a huge response, but some seats are still available if you missed the initial registration. We do have limited capacity, so sign up today if you'd like to attend!

The seminar is titled "3 Secrets to Web Marketing Success" and will be held October 14 from 8:30am to 11:30am at the Rochester Ramada. You'll learn about:

Social Media: Learn how the pros use social media to market their businesses.

Testing and Measuring: How do you define success online? Learn how to measure what matters!

Content Strategy: Take control of your Web content and make it work for you!

Click the image below to get a printable PDF flyer about the seminar, or sign up online.

We hope to see you there!

CWS Welcomes Dave Persik (and we're remodeling)

2009-09-29T09:00:00.004-05:00

CWS is pleased to announce the addition of Dave Persik to our production team. Dave joins us as a Web programmer and can be reached at dave[at]cws[dot]net.

As our team grows, we're also making some changes to the CWS office. Those of you who have visited our building will remember the large work table in our design area. We'll be moving this table to install some additional desks for the production team. If you visit us in the meantime, please excuse the minor construction zone.

Seminar Registration opens Wednesday

2009-09-29T08:45:00.000-05:00

Registration for our free fall seminar titled "3 Secrets to Web Marketing Success" opens at 10:00am on Wednesday, September 30th. The event will be held October 14th, 2009 from 8:30am to 11:30am and will be full of Web marketing tips and tricks that we use every day. To register for this event, go to http://www.cws.net/seminar.

During this fast-paced seminar, you'll learn valuable information about these three key areas to making your Web marketing efforts a success:

Social Media: Learn how the pros use social media to market their businesses.

Testing & Measuring: How do you define success online? Learn how to measure what matters!

Content Strategy: Take control of your Web content and make it work for you.

Just like our Spring Seminar, there will be no fee to attend but seating is limited to the first 150 registrants. We hope to see you there!

Contribute Training October 6th

2009-09-28T13:36:00.004-05:00

Our monthly Contribute training classes are scheduled for Tuesday, October 6th. If you're in need of a refresher course or would like to learn how to use Contribute's advanced features, these classes are an excellent opportunity to learn more.

Each month, you may attend one (or both) sessions based on your needs and current skill level. Here are the topics which will be covered this month:

Basic Session @ 1:00 pm (6 seats left for 10/6/09)

Getting Started
Editing Pages
Inserting Links
Working with Images
Using Tables
Adding New Pages

Advanced Session @ 2:00pm (6 seats left for 10/6/09)

Using the Draft Console
Using Anchors
Adding Paypal Buttons
Adding Google Search Fields
Adding HTML Snippets
Using Shared Assets
Adding Movie Files
Working With Blogs

As always, we'll continue to offer our Contribute Training on the first Tuesday of each month at 1:00 pm. To register, simply call Sara at 507-216-6649 or email sara@cws.net. Here is the list of upcoming training sessions:

October 6th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
November 3rd, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
December 1st, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)

All classes will be held at the CWS Office and will start promptly. Hope to see you there!

Launch: Rochester International Airport

2009-09-23T15:45:00.001-05:00

CWS is pleased to announce the launch of a new site for the Rochester International Airport. The new site places a high priority on delivering live flight status information, pulled directly from the airport's systems to the Web.

The new website also offers a broad range of information for travelers to and from southeast Minnesota.

Seminar Registration - One Week Away

2009-09-22T17:00:00.000-05:00

Next Wednesday, we'll open up registration for our free fall seminar titled "3 Secrets to Web Marketing Success." The event will be held October 14th, 2009 from 8:30am to 11:30am and will be full of web marketing tips and tricks that we use every day.

After the huge turnout for our Spring Seminar, "Marketing Your Business in the Facebook Era," we expect that seats will go quickly. Therefore, we're making online registration available at 10:00am on Wednesday, September 30th. To register for this event, go to http://www.cws.net/seminar.

During this fast-paced seminar, you'll learn valuable information about these three key areas to making your Web marketing efforts a success:

Social Media: Learn how the pros use social media to market their businesses.

Testing & Measuring: How do you define success online? Learn how to measure what matters!

Content Strategy: Take control of your Web content and make it work for you.

Just like our Spring Seminar, there will be no fee to attend but seating is limited to the first 150 registrants. We hope to see you there!

The State of the Web

2009-09-16T19:45:00.001-05:00

The Web development industry has seen a lot of change in a relatively short period of time. Consider that just 10 years ago, Google had only eight employees and had recently vacated a garage.

At that time, businesses that made information available online were progressive. Web development was largely in the hands of IT departments and websites were seen as a highly technical endeavor. Heavy on text and thin on graphics, these early websites appear spartan by contemporary standards.

Marketing professionals and designers became involved as technology matured and Web development tools became more accessible. As we entered the 21st century, Web sites were often highly graphical. Designers experimented with unusual techniques for layouts and navigation. Along the way we learned a lot about what works and what doesn't when people interact with computers. Standards and best practices began to emerge as the industry grew.

The Web development industry is still young in comparison with many others, but we have the advantage of being able to test new concepts and adapt to change quickly. Having spent several years exploring the visual aspects of design, we're beginning to see a renewed focus on content.

The content of your website - whether text, images, video or otherwise - is what provides value to your users. Providing value is what keeps us all in business, but often content is treated as an afterthought in the design process.

Today's progressive businesses are those who approach content strategically. This means seriously considering what you want to say and how best to say it on the Web.

It means asking why each page of a site exists; determining who it's intended for; and what goals (or whose goals) it supports. It means understanding how writing for the Web differs from writing for print. And it also means taking responsibility for the long-term maintenance of content. In short, it means having a plan.

As the Web has become a critical part of our lives, Web content has become a critical part of nearly every business marketing effort, but it's not always treated that way. To learn more about how to develop your own strategy for content, be sure to attend our upcoming Web marketing seminar on October 14.

Save the Date for Fall Seminar

2009-09-16T11:00:00.010-05:00

Today we're pleased to announce our fall seminar titled "3 Secrets to Web Marketing Success." The event will be held October 14th, 2009 from 8:30am to 11:30am. After the huge turnout for our Spring Seminar, "Marketing Your Business in the Facebook Era", we expect that seats will go quickly. As one of our loyal email subscribers, we want you to have the first opportunity to attend, so save the date now!

During this fast-paced seminar, you'll learn valuable information about these three key areas to making your Web marketing efforts a success:

Social Media: Learn how the pros use social media to market their businesses.
Testing & Measuring: How do you define success online? Learn how to measure what matters!
Content Strategy: Take control of your Web content and make it work for you.

Registration for the seminar will open on Wednesday, September 30th and be limited to the first 150 participants. Just like our Spring Seminar, there will be no fee to attend but seating is limited.

Look for future announcements and be sure to sign up early on September 30th! In the meantime, save the date!

Labor Day Holiday Hours

2009-09-02T14:26:00.003-05:00

The CWS team will be observing the upcoming Labor Day holiday. Our office will be officially closed the following times during the holiday period:

Monday, September 7th, 2009 (all day)

Our support team will respond to an emergency if needed. If there is one, please call (888) 426-7793. If you have a non-emergency issue, let us know by sending us an email.

May your travel be safe, and your good times plentiful.

The CWS Team

Launch: Rochester Arts Council

2009-08-27T09:14:00.007-05:00

CWS is pleased to announce the launch of a new website for the Rochester, MN Arts Council. The Arts Council was developed as a unified organization to promote the arts community in Rochester and to promote Rochester as a destination for the arts.

The website includes directory listings for local artists and organizations, with public tools to invite additional submissions to the directory. The calendar featured on the site is synchronized with data from the Rochester CVB and also offers submission forms for auditions, fundraisers and other arts events. The website includes a host of information about what's going on in Rochester's vibrant arts community, so be sure to check it out. You can also follow the Arts Council on Twitter.

A Plea for Help - Final Post

2009-08-26T08:55:00.004-05:00

Nearly a month ago, I reached out to you for your help. You responded by donating over $20,000 in items for the silent and live auction. Today, I would like to thank everyone who helped with the benefit, donated an auction item, or supported this cause in any way. You are my hero.

Because of you, my sister has the flexibility to take a few more days off and spend precious time with her 4 girls before they go back to school. It will be a long road ahead for all of them, but you've made it a little easier. Thank you.

If you weren't able to get involved (and would still like to), you can still make an online donation to the cause. Thank you and God Bless.

Contribute Training Reminder for Sept.

2009-08-24T15:59:00.008-05:00

Our monthly Contribute training classes are scheduled for next Tuesday, September 1st. If you're in need of a refresher course or would like to learn how to use Contribute's advanced features, these classes are an excellent opportunity to learn more.

Each month, you may attend one (or both) sessions based on your needs and current skill level. Here are the topics which will be covered this month:

Basic Session @ 1:00 pm (6 seats left for 9/1/09)

Getting Started
Editing Pages
Inserting Links
Working with Images
Using Tables
Adding New Pages

Advanced Session @ 2:00pm (6 seats left for 9/1/09)

Using the Draft Console
Using Anchors
Adding Paypal Buttons
Adding Google Search Fields
Adding HTML Snippets
Using Shared Assets
Adding Movie Files
Working With Blogs

October 6th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
November 3rd, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
December 1st, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)

All classes will be held at the CWS Office and will start promptly. Hope to see you there!

A Plea for Help - Part III

2009-08-18T20:33:00.006-05:00

It is with great sadness in my heart that I begin this message. Last night, my brother-in-law passed away at the young age of 49. He left behind my sister and my four nieces, as I wrote about 3 weeks ago.

By now, you may have heard about the benefit we're having this Friday on the radio, television, or the newspaper. The outpouring of support by my friends, customers, and associates has been simply amazing. All I can say is THANK YOU.

It's going to be a difficult week, but one that we will manage. It's amazing to me how the human spirit can rally together to turn a negative event into a positive one. That's all we can do -- support each other in times of need.

My daughter, who is five years old, decided to sell lemonade tonight with a friend to raise funds for the benefit. I'm not sure she really understood what she was doing or why she was doing it, but she managed to raise over $130. People can be so kind and giving even in a tough economy.

I hope to see many of you at the benefit on Friday night. Unfortunately, we will lay Bruce to rest at 10am that morning, but maybe he wanted it that way. He wouldn't want us to mourn for too long, so I guess we're throwing a party in his honor. It's a shame that he can't be there to personally thank all of you, but I know that he'll be looking down and smiling at all that we've done for his children.

God bless you, Bruce; you'll be missed.

Sage Advice in a Social World

2009-08-18T17:00:00.002-05:00

There's a lot of conversation going on in our office, our industry, and popular culture in general about social media. Everyone has an opinion, and no one is entirely sure how these tools will shape our personal and business interactions in the future. To hear some tell the story, we're building a utopia on the shoulders of our collective wisdom. Others fear a growing culture of self-absorbed narcissists.

Perhaps both have a point. Relationships on the Web can exaggerate the best and the worst of humanity. Valuable knowledge can be shared in an instant. But even partial anonymity can lead us to say and do things that would be unthinkable in a face-to-face setting. The rules of the social Web are different, and we're still figuring out what they are.

I recently finished reading an old book that seemed all too relevant for this brave new world. Dale Carnegie published the first edition of How to Win Friends and Influence People in 1937. He had been studying human behavior and offering instruction in public speaking since 1912. He interviewed Thomas Edison, Franklin Roosevelt and countless other leaders. He conducted an exhaustive study of Abraham Lincoln's life to identify the qualities that enabled him to lead a nation through its darkest days.

The short book Carnegie produced identified a few key principles that he felt were crucial to working effectively with other people. Only 5,000 copies were printed in the first edition; since then, well over 15 million have been sold.

A few of Carnegie's principles include:

Encourage others to talk about themselves.
Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
Make other people feel important, and do it sincerely.
Never say "You're wrong."
When you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
Let the other person do a good deal of the talking.
Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.

As rarely as these principles are applied in verbal dialogue, they are perhaps even harder to find in conversations on the Web. But couldn't we all benefit by taking his advice? What is social networking, after all, but an attempt to establish connections between people? There's a human being at both ends of every such connection (notwithstanding a few spam bots), and principles of human behavior change very slowly if at all.

How to Win Friends and Influence People is highly recommended reading. You'll be amazed how well this Depression-era volume relates to the 21st century.

A Plea for Help - Part II

2009-08-11T20:30:00.003-05:00

Last week, I sent out a plea for help in organizing a fundraiser for my sister and nieces. In a matter of one week, you have managed to respond with 3 bands, games for the kids, $15,000 worth of auction items, a website, food donations, and one of the best venues in SE Minnesota. All I can say is that it has been an overwhelming response. Thank you!

Thanks to Ryan at CWS, we now have a "Fundraising Website" that gives you additional information on how you can help. These include attending the benefit on August 21st (4pm to 10pm) at Somerby Golf Club, donating an auction item, or making a monetary donation. You can learn more at http://www.FightForBruce.com.

As promised, I would like to give credit to those who have donated to my plea for help. A special thank you goes out to the following who are helping to make this event a success:

Item	Donated by:
One year's worth of pizza	Zpizza
Piece of Art work	Bill Murray
Stampin' Up Basket	Lynnae Henry, Chatfield
Wine and GC basket	Lynnae Henry, Chatfield
4 person Golf w/cart and dinner at Chophouse	Somerby Golf Club
Basket	Saturn of Rochester
Basket	Smith Schafer & Associates
3 month membership	Rochester Athletic Club
elliptical machine	Melissa Brinkman
Framed Pictures (3)	Dean Riggott Photography
4 tickets to Tonic Sol-fa	Mayo Civic Center
basket	About Face
4 Twins tickets	Think Bank
4 tickets to NutCracker	Rochester Dance Company
Gift Basket	Express Employment Professionals
2 twins tickets (lower level, any game)	KROC
2 tickets to Slipknot	KROC
4 tickets to Renaissance	KROC
Nickelodeon Universe Passes (6)	KROC
Patio Firepit from Kohls (23 qty)	David Zoe
2 pairs of tickets to 1940s Big Band Swing Revue "In the Mood"	Mayo Civic Center
Basket	ReMax/Teresa Chapman
Bath vanity	David Zoe
Basket	GrandeVille at Cascade Lake
Suite at Honkers game for next season along with 10 hats and 10 t-shirts	Rochester Honkers
2 Minnesota Wild tickets/parking	Gauthier Industries
4 Minnesota Viking Tickets to Sept 4th game	Eric Rothstein
Drill/driver set	Custom Alarm
Golf Trip for 4 to Phoenix, AZ	De Keyrel's/Julie Domaille
$20.00 Gift certificate and 2 T-shirts	Glynner's Pub
Basket	Bubbles by Brooks
$50.00 gift certificate to Martini's	Kahler Hotel
Dinner for 2 Lord of Essex	Kahler Hotel
Dinner for 2 Vino wine bar	Rochester Marriott
Over night stay City Center Minneapolis Marriott w/breakfast	Rochester Marriott
Basket	Anita Flesher
Basket	Sandy Hilleshiem
2 baskets with hair and a $100.00 gift certificate	Susan Mickow
Longaburger Basket	Kira Orth
Gift Basket	Mayo Credit Union
$10 gift certificate	Beetle's Bar & Grill

In addition, a special thank you goes out to ABPMR who held a hot dog fundraiser on Monday and raised $552. Great job folks!

Sales Made Simple Seminar

2009-08-10T19:32:00.008-05:00

Last week, I sent out a plea for help to raise some much needed funds for my sister and nieces. One of my good friends (and local business guru) has answered by offering to donate 100% of his next seminar called "Sales Made Simple". He normally charges $49 for this seminar and now you can attend just for making a donation to the "Fight For Bruce Benefit".

Everyone who is involved with the sales process should attend this seminar, I guarantee that you will learn at least one new tip to close more sales! In this tough economy, it's time to work smarter and this is your chance to learn something new (and help a good cause). Here are the details:

Are you helping your customers buy, or just selling? There's a huge difference. Do you want your customers to sell themselves? Do you want to overcome any objection? If you knew what your prospect was thinking could you close more sales? Join Coach Cory and CWS on August 28 for a Sales Made Simple workshop. Here's what you'll take away:
The 5 decisions each buyer makes before saying "YES"
How to ask better questions to get better answers
7 Ways to increase your conversion rate
How to build rapport and feel at ease during the process
Strategies that work whether in you're in retail, big ticket items, services, or convincing your teenager to clean their room!
Date/Time: 9:00AM-11:30AM Friday, August 28; Rochester Chamber Boardroom

Remember every dollar donated goes to help my sister and her family! Call Coach Cory today at 651-388-2578 or email him at corydoden@actioncoach.com to reserve your spot.