Increase Your Reach: Infuse Your Marketing with Technology

GuerrillaMail: A Disposable Temporary Address

2007-11-19T18:20:00.002-05:00

A lot of people online try really hard to maintain privacy as well as combat spam. I've given up on the privacy issue - I got online way before I realized the Internet would ever turn into the thing it has, and my information is scattered to every corner of it. But if you've not already let the horse out of the barn, you might find the following service very useful. GuerrillaMail is a temporary, disposable email address. You can set one up in an instant, and it is good for 15 minutes. Use the address for any online application where an address is required initially but not on an ongoing basis. The most common example would be signing up for a forum, where they need to verify you're a human and not a spam bot, and you need to receive an email to confirm your subscription.

Return to Guerilla Mail to receive your email and confirm your subscription - and then let it expire. No muss, no fuss.

No Spam Problem

2007-11-16T23:37:00.002-05:00

I don't have a spam problem.

No, seriously, I don't! Oh, sure, I get it just like you do. I've got a couple email addresses which have been kicking around the web since the mid nineties, and believe me, every spam bot in the universe has my address. But ever since my IT guy turned me on to Cloudmark, I haven't had to even think about spam.

Cloudmark installs into Outlook or Outlook Express. It functions with a community system - if people in the community say a particular address is that of a spammer, it gets flagged and then if anyone else in the community get an email from that address, its blocked. It all happens right in your email system - my spams are all dumped into my deleted folder, where I can poke my head in now and then and see if there were any false catches. You don't have to log in somewhere else to see that sort of thing. And if you're pretty sure its all spam, just flush it out of your trashcan.

When you first install Cloudmark, you'll need to spend a little bit of time training it. Its simple - spot a spam in your inbox, click Block and it goes away - and that community database gets updated. Find a good message in your deleted folder, click Unblock and it is returned to your inbox. After a few days, you'll find its more and more accurate and you'll be able to forget about spam entirely.

The Cloudmark system also relies on trust. How accurate you are in blocking spam (and knowing what is spam vs. what isn't) adds to your trust, as does how quickly after a spam arrives, you flag it as spam.

Cloudmark is very reasonably priced, only $39.95 for a year, for a single license that can be used on up to two computers. They have volume discounts, as well.

Perhaps my favorite part of Cloudmark, second only to its phenomenal accuracy, is the statistics. This is what I get when I check my stats:

My total messages checked 114,785
My total spam stopped 88,214
My total phish stopped 156
Spam I've blocked 383
Phishing I've blocked 0

Now, just imagine if I'd actually had to see or wade through all that? Cloudmark quietly makes sure I don't have any spam problem at all.

Selling Digital Downloads

2006-12-11T19:05:00.002-05:00

Some of you may remember the frightful saga of Quick Pay Pro that I endured last year to sell my do-it-yourself designer info products. Well, finally, that is behind me. I gave Payloadz a revisit recently, and found that two things had significantly improved since I previously tested it: the functionality and ease of use, and people's perception of PayPal in general. I had hesitated to use Paypal, exclusively, for the digital downloads, because of all the hoops a non-Paypal member would need to leap to make a purchase. That seems to be thing of the past. I also really wanted to use my own merchant account and found that nearly ever good shopping cart system charged premium rates for the ability to also sell digital downloads. Since I only have four, at the moment, it seemed like overkill.

Payloadz was amazingly simple to set up, with basic HTML skills. You do need to create your own images for cover art, and size them appropriately, which was a bit tricky (they don't tell you the optimal sizes so I had to play around to get it right, nit picker that I am!).

When you add your products, they automatically put it into a store right there on their site, so you have the added benefit of their marketing of your product. Once a product is in the store, they provide you with the code to pop into your web site, to sell your products. When someone adds a product to the cart, it tallys it up in the Paypal interface and provides the mechanism for check out. Easy as pie, and increasingly familiar to anyone who has ever used Paypal to make a purchase online.

Payloadz is not just for digital books, either - you can sell software, music, podcasts, movies, digital art, manuals, articles, files and anything that can be downloaded. I keep thinking... hmmm... what else can I sell now?

The best part - if you're just starting out, it is absolutely free to set up an account - you just pay for either a flat fee or percentage fee of sales after the first $100 in transactions.

I'm looking forward to keeping more of my profits from the sales of my ebooks, that is for sure!

It's so quiet around here!

2006-08-14T07:00:00.002-05:00

Yes, you've noticed that Increase Your Reach has gone silent and I'm here to tell you, you aren't imagining it. There are transitions in motion and changes afoot at Business Design Studio which have caused me to go introspective on everyone and not do a lot of writing this summer. After three years of writing free material for the small business design audience, this has been a welcome break.

The newsletter sign up persists so I can still share the free Marketing Design and Technology Guide, but I won't be sending out newsletters for the time being. Of course, you can still peruse the free articles and blog archives spanning three years of active writing. And if you're looking for advice, my inexpensive "do it yourself" graphic design guides are all online for instant answers. These are:

* Shades of Success: Designer Secrets to Marketing with Color
* The Color Meaning Guide
* Do It Yourself Branding: How to Create Your Own Business Identity Without Hiring a Designer

Til next time!

The Life of Oscar, Home Office Cat

2006-07-15T17:59:00.000-05:00

On a lighter note, I recently created this photo essay about Oscar, the resident home office cat behind the scenes of Business Design Studio. He's an integral part of my business operations as you will soon see... and if you don't believe that, well, I have extra hairballs free to a good home if you would like to experience it yourself.

Feel free to pass the link on to other pet lovers and home business people if you like!

Featured in "The Streetwise Small Business Book Of Lists"

2006-07-11T14:03:00.000-05:00

Earlier this year, I was invited by Gene Marks, author of Outfoxing the Small Business Owner, to submit my writing to his upcoming book, The Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists (Adams Media; 2006). I submitted two lists: Questions to Ask a Graphic Designer Before Hiring Them and Considerations When Choosing a Web Hosting Company. Advanced sales have begun for the book, which will be available in September.

The Streetwise Small Business Book Of Lists (Adams Media; 2006) is a collection of over 500 critical lists of information every business owner or manager needs to know to make decisions quickly and manage more effectively. Painstakingly compiled from hundreds of business experts, publications, government resources and websites, the Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists is a one stop answer book for every business owner's questions. Learn what are the lowest-cost franchises to start up, the ten things to consider before buying a new phone system, the most popular ways to decrease your company's health insurance costs, the top methods for speeding up your cash flow, the most effective steps for reducing travel expenses and much more!

Social Networking to ChipIn to a Good Cause

2006-06-29T08:57:00.000-05:00

I have another great example of "social networking" and the way of the future web to share with you. How many times have you or some group you're part of tried to pool resources for a joint gift, planned fund raiser or just collect a contribution from each member? We've all done it - and it usually involves chasing people around, reminding them, accounting for the funds and so on.

Of course, someone found a way to harness the web to take care of these issues and make it incredibly easy to manage via technology with a serviced called ChipIn. It makes use of your Plaxo or Outlook address book, and lets you send out invitations and instructions to each person in the group, telling them what is being collected, for whom and how to go about contributing. You can set up automatic notifications and event pages, and contributions can be made via PayPal or major credit or credit enabled debit cards. A recently added feature is the ability to generate and embed a gizmo in your web site, blog, Myspace page, etc, that people can click on and instantly contribute. It doesn't get much easier than that!

ChipIn takes the "nagging" aspect of collecting money away from the poor organizer (hey Mom, I know you're reading this) and automates the process. The fund collection is secure and safe, so no one need worry about the transaction.

Gone are the days of super cool wiz bang web applications without a business model (thank goodness). All of this convenience will come with what is called a "nominal tiered fee" after the initial introduction period which is still going on.

If you're collecting money for an office gift, a birthday party or shower, or fundraising any good cause, ChipIn is smartly thought out and well worth a look. It is currently designed to work with groups as small as 3 and as large as 200 (more than 200, you can contact them to discuss). I liked the fact that a single organizer can set up multiple events, customize the page for the event and set options like whether contributions can be higher than suggested amount. Participants in a collection don't have to register in order to make a contribution -- but if they do, they can see the history of past contributions.

It's definitely another one to add to the "oh, I wish I thought of that" pile!

Book Recommendation: Instant Cashflow

2006-06-18T11:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a dreary Saturday afternoon and though I try not to be business oriented on the weekend, I was "in the mood" so I set off to Barnes & Noble for an afternoon of reading.

I was looking for fresh ideas for increasing the number of leads I generated, improving the conversion to sales, and building repeat business with higher transactions - and Instant Cashflow proved to be the answer. I was able to literally read this book in one day. The first section puts in place an easy to understand system by relating the story of one of the author's coaching customers on a field trip to visit other coached customers who "got it." The second section consists of 5 parts:

Tips for Generating More Leads
Ways to Boost Your Conversion Rate
Strategies for Boosting Your Number of Transactions
Tips for Maximizing Average Dollar Sale
Ways to Boost Margins

The bulk of the book is nearly 300 excellent marketing strategies with brief tasks to accomplish them. It was clear, understandable and I'd defy any business owner not to find at least 10 workable strategies they can implement or improve on immediately. I was pleased to find out how many I'd already made part of my marketing strategy - and yet, discovered a dozen more.

This bite sized book packed a powerful punch to my brain and I have created a marketing action list to get me on track to implementing those that made the most sense to my business. Highly recommended and I can't wait to read the others in the Instant Success series now.

Get paid for consulting by phone

2006-06-02T17:24:00.000-05:00

A couple months ago, I heard about a new web application service called Ether. The way it works, you set up an account, set your rates for consulting by the minute, hour or call, and are assigned a special phone number. You can also place a button on your web site or blog, and when someone clicks it, they enter their credit card info for the amount of time they want to speak to you, and you're connected. You can forward your Ether number to your cell or other number, and say, on the web site, when you're taking calls or not. Your phone only rings when people prepay your rate, and Ether takes a 15% cut for the call. I expect this will go down when there is some competition for it.

I gave some thought to whether this business model would work for me, and although I do spend a fair amount of time on the phone answering people's questions, its usually as part of prospecting for larger work. Or, in other cases, existing clients. I know that many people would be "put out" if I said they had to call a special number to ask me a question, right? But, I think there is definitely a place for a service like this amongst my readers. For example, if you have a very active blog or resource web site, and field a lot of calls each day from people who want to "pick your brain," Ether might be a great solution for monetizing this effort. If you are a consultant or niche specialist, it might make sense to get and publicize an Ether number.

There are some other aspects of Ether to consider, such as a way to also collect payment and deliver info products and podcasts through the system.

I haven't personally tested Ether but my research indicates there are still some bugs to be worked out. Also, there is the problem of the call being interrupted by an automated voice when the money runs out - which comes across as unprofessional, to say the least. The price doesn't seem unreasonable but there are certainly ways you can cobble together your own solution, without paying 15%.

My understanding is that Ether is still in "beta testing" mode but they are accepting accounts for testing, if you can get chosen for that. Otherwise, keep an eye on this solution - and the inevitable competition as a way to further market and sell your knowledge.

An affordable and robust mailing list application

2006-06-02T15:51:00.000-05:00

Are you looking for a cheap or even free mailing list provider that you can use to create a subscription based list for your web site? I might have just the solution for you, called YourMailingListProvider.

The free version shows banner and pop up ads, though not in the newsletter you send out with it. The free version lets you have as many as 1,000 subscribers and one mailing per day (plenty for most micro businesses) - you just don't get all the extra customizations. But, the paid "premium" version is so cheap, you might as well step up. For as little as $2.50 a month, you can eliminate the ads and get all the features.

The free version provides a subcription form using double-opt for your site, which you can customize. The premium version has the option of single opt-in, which might be more appropriate for your subscribers. Unsubscribing from your list is automated so you don't have to be involved - every email someone gets tells them how to get off. YMLP provides an archive of past mailings, although the information is quite simplistic - it tells you when you mailed and to how many people, but not to whom. It lets you create a simple archive of past mailings on your site, if that is something you want.

The newsletters and mailings it sends out can be text or HTML, but unlike some of the big players like Constant Contact, you have to format this yourself in an HTML editor, and paste in. So, YMLP works really well for text emails, sending out short news blasts, and of course, if you have the skills and software to create an HTML template, it can do that too. Most of my clients who are using it are musicians sending out little reminders and notices about upcoming gigs and it works great for that as plain text.

There are a number of customizable features - you can set up what "sig" file is used for each mailing, and customize the page they go to when they subscribe, to look like the rest of your site. Bounce handling is automatic - it detects and removes people from your list whose emails are non-functional, and you can customize that to be strict or lenient.

The ability to download your list of subscribers, and develop your own fields to collect information is there and quite user friendly. You can also set up groups to segment your subscribers, if that helps in your marketing efforts.

If privacy is a concern of yours, you will want to give YMLP a look. Many of the big list management services provide a way to track who opens the newsletters and marketing emails you send and what they click on. To some degree, people know they are being tracked like this but occasionally there is a backlash. So if you want to offer your subscribers a non-tracked mailing list, YourMailingListProvider could be the solution for you.

What I love about YMLP is that it provides all of the functionality a web based email list subscription service should - without the bells and whistles that make it complex or even controversial. They discourage SPAM, of course, but make it easy to import your existing list if you have the paid version - either one name at a time, in a bulk list or by uploading a file. The help and examples are clear and understandable, so with a reasonable learning curve, you should have no problems getting set up and customized.

Whether you haven't yet set up a mailing list or you're dissatisfied with the one you have, be sure to check out YMLP.

When It's Time Leave the (Home) Office

2006-05-09T08:03:00.000-05:00

Fifty two percent of all businesses in the US are home based. This is a life style choice for most people, which leads to all kinds of humorous implications. That's what made me create HomeBizWear.com a while back. If you're with me on the home office scene, then I think this hilarious article from Inc Magazine will tickle your funny bone: When It's Time Leave the (Home) Office

Do YOU really own your web site?

2006-05-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

This subject came up on forum I'm part of recently and it occurred to me that I'd never discussed it with my audience. If you have a web site, chances are you hired someone to help you get it launched. If you did, you have three primary components under the umbrella of "a web site." There is your domain name, also known as a "URL" or your web address. There is your web hosting - the space you rent on a server out there somewhere, to put your web site on. And then there is your web site itself, which is a combination of HTML files and images which are uploaded to that web hosting you rent.

The most cautious rule of thumb is that you should have three separate providers - a domain name registrar, a web hosting company, and a web site designer. The reason many web experts believe this is that if you have a problem with one, you still have control over the other two. For example, if your web hosting company causes you problems, you have your web content, and you have access to your domain, and you can easily shut off one hosting account, find another, and move your site. If your web designer goes bad, you can at least change access to your site, move it or provide the information to a new designer. Conversely, if you have all three components in one place, you run the risk of finding yourself without a web site, perhaps temporarily, or worst case, having to start from scratch.

Although I'm personally a believer in keeping it all separate, the majority of business people don't think like that and a great many folks have gone for an "all in one" situation where the hosting, domain and web site are with one provider. Whatever your scenario is, there is one absolutely critical piece of information you should take from this article. You MUST have administrative control over all three components of your web presence: domain, hosting and content. You don't have to DO anything with it - except print out the access information and stash it away. You can rely on someone to manage it all for you, like I do for most of my clients. But if you don't have this information, you don't really own your web site!

Even if you have a wonderful relationship with your service provider, stop and ask yourself the following:

Do you know the name of the domain registration company?
Do you have the username and password to access your domain account?
Are you certain that YOU are listed as the legal owner of the domain?
Do you know where your web site is hosted?
Do you have the "FTP" (this stands for file transfer protocol) username and password to get to your web site on the host server?

A frightening number of new clients come to me without this information, and very often, they've already run into trouble and need help. In some cases, they have had to start all over with a new web site. In one situation, a client almost lost her domain name because the "all in one" company she had paid for a web site had made themselves the legal owners of the domain!

Don't wait until you have a problem - make sure YOU own your web site, right now.

(c) Eileen Parzek, 2006

Eileen Parzek is an award winning graphic designer and writer providing digital and print graphic design and web design services. Always found at the intersection of information, creativity and technology, her business, Business Design Studio (www.businessdesignstudio.com) helps small businesses make a big impression, increase their reach and grow.
You are welcome to link to this article. It may only be republished with full bio and credit link to http://www.businessdesignstudio.com

My answer to high gas prices

2006-05-04T11:23:00.000-05:00

I've always felt rather immune to high gas prices because I rarely commute. In fact, I've never commuted in my life except for a brief period when I had a job in southern CA and periodically had to go to work. And even that was only 2-3 weeks a time. The rest of the time, I either worked 3 blocks from my job and walked, or commuted through my dining room and kitchen to get in my office.

Some of my recent activities, including an appearance on local television, have lead to a sudden influx of local clients. That usually means more face to face meetings - at least for the first conversation. I don't mind it - I understand why people like that. After the first "getting to know you" I usually can retreat to the home office and get the work done.

But having had 3 such meetings this week and a few more scheduled for next, I found myself fueling up the CRV more often. Fortunately, I get excellent mileage with my Honda but it still causes great angst to see it taking over $30, sometimes nearer to $40, to fill up. Waaa! All of this then reminded me of the favorite section in Home Biz Wear - the Working at Home is Earth Friendly products. It really is true! I think I'm going to go buy myself a t-shirt. Hm... maybe I should design some bumper stickers.

Color Meaning Guide added to product line up

2006-05-01T10:52:00.000-05:00

When I first published Shades of Success: Color Meaning for Non Design Professionals, I included a bonus product called the Color Meaning Guide. Based on it's value and popularity, this small document, packed with over 100 concepts, is now offered as a stand alone product. So, even if you didn't need the full course in color that I offered with Shades of Success, you can still benefit from this handy reference to color meaning and symbolism.

The Color Meaning Guide isn't a long document but it packs a mighty punch. If you know what message or emotion you want to convey in your marketing materials, branding or personal communications, you can look up the concept in the guide and know what professional designers know - which color evokes which concept or emotion. It will also help you differentiate between what your audience is moved by and what your personal preferences are and make the right color choices.

I'm offering the Color Meaning Guide alone for only $9.95.

Animated talking heads for your marketing

2006-04-21T12:57:00.000-05:00

This blog post could also be called "How to blow an hour on a Friday afternoon" because that is what I just did. Site Pal is a web site which lets you create a customized, animated talking character for your web site or Powerpoint presentations. It uses Flash technology so virtually anyone online can see it without needing to go to any trouble. Some of the characters are a bit disturbing and demented but with some care, you can create a pretty realistic looking character. I actually managed to create one that bore an uncanny resemblance to a (skinnier) me.

You can try out their full fledged demo at SitePal.com - which is how I lost part of my afternoon. Basically, you start by picking a character, and then you can change its hairstyle, add glasses, change clothes, change eye, hair, skin and lip color, add accessories and so on. You can turn things on and off - I prefer not to have the creatures eyes following my cursor, for example.

Then you pick a background for the character. Luckily, as a subscriber, you can create your own - some of the ones they make available are as unnerving as some of the characters.

Adding audio can be done in a number of ways, from type-to-speech (which still sounds a bit robotic) to recording your own, to professional voice over. You can even phone in your audio, if you don't have a microphone!

Publishing, which I haven't tried, can be done with a few easy steps, with the character posted into your web site, ebay auction or Powerpoint presentation. There are multiple levels of service, all cost effective, ranging from $10-$50/month, which dictates how much of this functionality you have, how many characters you can have and how customizable it is.

I could have put the banner ad with the default talking character on this blog page to demonstrate but didn't want to hit anyone over the head with it. All I can say is that if you have a moment, go check this out and make your own character with the demo - it's a lot of fun! This is VERY cool technology - I'm still thinking about how I could use it for myself, but meanwhile, I can think of a few ways and reasons my audience might. For example, I can see trainers using this in their presentations, as well as info gurus using it to deliver content. It's a no-brainer for services professionals making a character that looks like themselves to deliver a personal welcome message on their home page. I like the idea of realtors adding a weekly "market report" on their web site, using a character like this. It could also be used to provide a brief overview of a web site, directing people to areas of particular interest or attenting. I'm sure I'll think of more!

My only concern with this sort of thing is that like with anything, it can be poorly done. Some of the characters I saw in use were terrifying, making me wonder why anyone would inflict such a thing on customers. But usually, their web site was equally poor. Others had professional sites and well integrated characters. So, I think it really is, like all things, just a tool which can be strategically used well - or abused - depending on whose hands it is in. If anyone wants to chat about a particular use they might envison for their business, and want a techie designer to guide them, give me a call - I'm itching to try this!

Now, go forth and play... and let me know what you think!

Build a Mailing List While Speaking

2006-04-19T08:14:00.000-05:00

Do you do presentations or speaking engagements in front of your target audience? If so, you have a wonderful opportunity to grow your opt-in relationship building mailing list in big leaps.

First, create a multi-lined sheet with room for name, company, phone # and email address, and photocopy as many sheets as you need for this audience (if you have an audience of 50, for example, you might need two sheets of 25 lines). Clip it to a colorful clipboard (in your company color?) and attach a pen.

During the presentation, tell the audience that you would like to give them a gift (a free report, an hour of free service, something of meaning) and it's theirs if they sign up for your mailing list. Assure them that you won't abuse their trust or privacy, but would like to be able to follow up with them about the topic you're speaking about. And let them know they can always request being removed from your list after they get the free gift.

Then send the clipboard out, starting with the first person in the first row. People WILL sign it - human nature dictates that no one wants to be seen passing it on, turning down a freebie, or appearing rude. They might ask to be removed later - but you've been given a chance to start building a relationship with them.

Now - here's the catch. You HAVE to do do what you promised within 24-48 hours of the event. Hire someone if you have to - but make sure those names get entered into your database or customer relationship management software and an email goes out to each one of those people thanking them for attending your presentation and attaching the free gift, or instructions for getting it, whatever it is.

Do NOT use this moment to sell - simply do what you said you would do. Going forward, you can continue to send them useful information, new products, invitations to other events, etc.

This strategy has worked very, very well for me every time I've ever spoken anywhere. I tried the "sign up sheet left on the table" and "form to fill out left on their seat" routine the first two times - and got 1-2 sign ups if I was lucky. Contrasting that with a 90% sign up rate the way I'm suggesting, it's the best strategy to follow if you're a speaker or presenter.

(c) Eileen Parzek, 2006

Eileen Parzek is an award winning graphic designer and writer providing digital and print graphic design and web design services. Always found at the intersection of information, creativity and technology, her business, Business Design Studio (www.businessdesignstudio.com) helps small businesses make a big impression, increase their reach and grow.
May be republished with full bio and credit link to http://www.businessdesignstudio.com

I just hatched...

2006-04-15T23:57:00.000-05:00

... my new logo.

Comparatively speaking, renaming the business was easy.

The interesting thing about being a logo designer and trying to do your own is that there isn't a client ever saying it's finished. So I've been doodling and noodling around with this for about a month, never coming to a conclusion, always coming up with another idea.

"Jane! Stop this crazy thing!"*

I finally wised up and sent out my two best candidates to a small representative sample of colleagues, clients and referral sources (3-4 each). I knew that I wouldn't get total consensus amongst a diverse group but I wanted to get second opinions and fresh eyes on it. So, I asked them to look without knowing what I wanted to "say" and register a first reaction, and only then scroll down to get details of the already established reputation and brand I was trying to represent, and tell me if I was doing that.

Essentially, those elements were:

* I was targeting small businesses that wanted to make a big impression with professional design. My clients want to stand out, be seen as bigger than they are, and be successful doing what they love. I help them build the image that empowers them to do that (the winning logo was intended to represent a person with arms upraised in an expression of empowerment, celebration and enthusiasm and I put the symbol on a pedestal or in a spotlight to further highlight their success)
* My bio has always said "Eileen can always be found at the intersection of creativity, information and technology" (the losing logo tried to reflect that but it's okay because the collage on my web site still reflects those concepts)
* I've often been referred to as a "business midwife" that helps to incubate and hatch businesses (hence an egg shape for the background)
* Obviously the turtle has been part of my brand for 10 years but I was trying to get away from the cartoonish one I had (the most popular logo in my test reminded people of a turtle despite it not even being apparent to me, and they felt that was something I should pursue. So the turtle gets yet another stay. I'm secretly pleased.)
* My colors, teal green representing growth and success, and purple, reflecting the creativity, passion and spiritual principles that thread through my business, weren't going anywhere.

My test people were absolutely fantastic and helped me see things I hadn't seen and gave me terrific feedback on how the logos came across to them, often in ways that were not good but that I hadn't seen. My other logo attempt, for example, "looked like the fish that people stick on their cars" wrote one client. I hadn't seen it that way and was glad someone pointed it out so I could change it.

The first round had no clear winner - nearly a 50/50 split in fact, but after some adjustments to both, a direction became clear. The winner just got added to my web site.

Now I can go worship at the altar of chocolate bunny gods without thinking about this any longer.
Phew.

* If this doesn't ring any bells, its a reference to one of my favorite childhood cartoons, The Jetsons, and a regular scene where George is walking Rastro on the conveyor belt and can't get off...

posted by Eileen @ 12:57 AM 0 comments
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Renaming the Business, Keeping the Brand

You might have noticed, I'm in the process of changing the name of my business. This change was a long, long time coming and well over due.

When I started SOHO It Goes! in early 2003, it was amidst tremendous economic and industry changes (in a post 9/11, dot com imploded world). I (unwillingly) thought that web and graphic design might be "behind me" and I had a notion of being something more like a virtal assistant with great design skills. Looking back, I sometimes wonder WHAT I was thinking during those strange times!

Anyway, at the time, SOHO (or "small office/home office") businesses were my main target audience and I wanted to show those business how to go places... hence the name, SOHO It Goes. It was also, obviously, a play on the phrase "and so it goes" which probably unconsciously reflected the state of mind I was in, come to think of it! Talk about lessons in how NOT to brand a business.

As the business grew and evolved, I found myself doing exactly what I had done with Turtle's Web Art & Design from 1995 til 2000 - custom web and graphic design. And more and more, the business and marketing plan behind the business name, changed. I grew to better understand my target audience, and idea clients. I also learned a TON about the pyschographic of SOHO businesses, and who really connected with my solutions. And I began to realize that I wasn't really marketing to SOHO businesses... that in actuality, only a small fragment of SOHO businesses were my target audience.

The name, SOHO It Goes, was cute and catchy and a lot of people liked it. One lesson I learned was that although "SOHO" was a well enough recognized acronym in the virtual world, more people than not didn't know what it meant. Some folks thought it meant a neighborhood in NYC - so I was trendy that way - but that wasn't accurate either. What really concerned me, most of all, is that it said absolutely nothing about what my business was. I rationalized that neither did "Amazon" or "Google" but in my gut I knew that as a micro business in a phenomenally competitive industry, I'd better be both recognizable AND understood in all of my marketing efforts.

The Turtle was another story. Turtle was my alter-ego and mascot since my early web design days, going back to 1995, and I hated to give him up. He, too, evolved, but I really worried that if I ditched my Turtle, no one would know who I was! Over time, I realized that despite assurances from clients who jokingly called me the "fastest turtle on the web," the turtle, whether by it's cartoonishness or slow connotation, was hurting more than helping. This was never more true when I was going head to head with three other local firms to try to land a big corporate account and I suddenly felt like going inside my own shell when I realized what my branding must look like to them.

Deep down, I knew my brand, so carefully and even successfully built, had to change to meet my big future plans for the survival of this business.

For nearly a year, I applied what I taught other business owners about branding, behind the scenes, and explored various new names. In the end, after having to eliminate literally hundreds of great names which were already taken, I settled on something simple and absolutely unmistakable in nature: Business Design Studio. To my astonishment, the domain name was available! Even better, it's high in the alphabet for indexing and listing purposes, and has good search engine reach (for example, the phrase "web design studio" had 1,952 searches, "graphic design studio" had 1,440 searches and "business web design" had 3,337 searches last month. "Business design" itself had 444 searches).

Once I snagged the domain, I sat on it. For months and months. Why? Well, quite frankly, FEAR! I had put so much energy and time into branding SOHO It Goes that I was utterly terrified I'd be losing those three years of effort and I'd be back to square one. I asked other branding experts for an opinion and got so many different answers that I chased my tail for months more. But gradually, as I shyly mentioned the name to clients and colleagues and got fantastic feedback on it, I realized that I could do this. Branding is a combination of so many elements - the name, certainly and the logo, perhaps. But more important was the reputation I'd built over those three years, and the expectations my customers have of me. I knew that wouldn't change. And going forward, that energy I spend on branding will better find it's target because I finally have a name that makes some sense. See, I'm living proof that even designers and people who write about, study and implement branding strategies can still always learn a thing or two! Humble pie doesn't taste that bad.

I'm still working out the kinks on a new logo... that is going to take longer than the grueling effort of actually changing a business name as deeply rooted and linked to as mine. But the changes are well underway. The old domains and email address will remain although I'd appreciate any effort to point and refer people to the new domain, BusinessDesignStudio.com. Thanks for listening, all the support and patience and for being my wonderful invisible audience.

Renaming the Business, Keeping the Brand

2006-03-26T20:07:00.000-05:00

You might have noticed, I'm in the process of changing the name of my business. This change was a long, long time coming and well over due.

When I started SOHO It Goes! in early 2003, it was amidst tremendous economic and industry changes (in a post 9/11, dot com imploded world). I (unwillingly) thought that web and graphic design might be "behind me" and I had a notion of being something more like a virtal assistant with great design skills. Looking back, I sometimes wonder WHAT I was thinking during those strange times!

Anyway, at the time, SOHO (or "small office/home office") businesses were my main target audience and I wanted to show those business how to go places... hence the name, SOHO It Goes. It was also, obviously, a play on the phrase "and so it goes" which probably unconsciously reflected the state of mind I was in, come to think of it! Talk about lessons in how NOT to brand a business.

As the business grew and evolved, I found myself doing exactly what I had done with Turtle's Web Art & Design from 1995 til 2000 - custom web and graphic design. And more and more, the business and marketing plan behind the business name, changed. I grew to better understand my target audience, and idea clients. I also learned a TON about the pyschographic of SOHO businesses, and who really connected with my solutions. And I began to realize that I wasn't really marketing to SOHO businesses... that in actuality, only a small fragment of SOHO businesses were my target audience.

The name, SOHO It Goes, was cute and catchy and a lot of people liked it. One lesson I learned was that although "SOHO" was a well enough recognized acronym in the virtual world, more people than not didn't know what it meant. Some folks thought it meant a neighborhood in NYC - so I was trendy that way - but that wasn't accurate either. What really concerned me, most of all, is that it said absolutely nothing about what my business was. I rationalized that neither did "Amazon" or "Google" but in my gut I knew that as a micro business in a phenomenally competitive industry, I'd better be both recognizable AND understood in all of my marketing efforts.

The Turtle was another story. Turtle was my alter-ego and mascot since my early web design days, going back to 1995, and I hated to give him up. He, too, evolved, but I really worried that if I ditched my Turtle, no one would know who I was! Over time, I realized that despite assurances from clients who jokingly called me the "fastest turtle on the web," the turtle, whether by it's cartoonishness or slow connotation, was hurting more than helping. This was never more true when I was going head to head with three other local firms to try to land a big corporate account and I suddenly felt like going inside my own shell when I realized what my branding must look like to them.

Deep down, I knew my brand, so carefully and even successfully built, had to change to meet my big future plans for the survival of this business.

For nearly a year, I applied what I taught other business owners about branding, behind the scenes, and explored various new names. In the end, after having to eliminate literally hundreds of great names which were already taken, I settled on something simple and absolutely unmistakable in nature: Business Design Studio. To my astonishment, the domain name was available! Even better, it's high in the alphabet for indexing and listing purposes, and has good search engine reach (for example, the phrase "web design studio" had 1,952 searches, "graphic design studio" had 1,440 searches and "business web design" had 3,337 searches last month. "Business design" itself had 444 searches).

Once I snagged the domain, I sat on it. For months and months. Why? Well, quite frankly, FEAR! I had put so much energy and time into branding SOHO It Goes that I was utterly terrified I'd be losing those three years of effort and I'd be back to square one. I asked other branding experts for an opinion and got so many different answers that I chased my tail for months more. But gradually, as I shyly mentioned the name to clients and colleagues and got fantastic feedback on it, I realized that I could do this. Branding is a combination of so many elements - the name, certainly and the logo, perhaps. But more important was the reputation I'd built over those three years, and the expectations my customers have of me. I knew that wouldn't change. And going forward, that energy I spend on branding will better find it's target because I finally have a name that makes some sense. See, I'm living proof that even designers and people who write about, study and implement branding strategies can still always learn a thing or two! Humble pie doesn't taste that bad.

I'm still working out the kinks on a new logo... that is going to take longer than the grueling effort of actually changing a business name as deeply rooted and linked to as mine. But the changes are well underway. The old domains and email address will remain although I'd appreciate any effort to point and refer people to the new domain, BusinessDesignStudio.com. Thanks for listening, all the support and patience and for being my wonderful invisible audience.

Web Site Assessments

2006-03-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

Do you already have a web site but wonder if there are things you might do to improve it? Maybe you did it yourself - and it's not half bad - but you're just not sure what direction to take it to next. You might simply need a set of professional eyes to review your site and make sure you haven't made any glaring mistakes that will cost you clients.

As you know, I have a vast amount of web design, interface design, usability and information architecture experience - spanning a decade and over 300 web sites. A lot of people ask me to just take a look at their site and make recommendations on how they could improve it and so I've added a service offering to make that happen.

Now, for a special introductory rate of only $125, I'll personally look at your home page and the most important pages of your site (a minimum of five pages of your overall site design), and tell you such things as:

What the first impression of your site is, looking at it from the perspective of YOUR ideal customer
If your web site colors and fonts are working for you or against you
If your menu navigation makes sense or can be improved
Whether your information architecture makes sense or loses and confuses
Whether the images on your site are enhancing your content or scaring your visitors
What content you could add to your site to improve your marketing strategy
If your images are optimized correctly and your code "validates"
Whether the site is broken in any way
If I think the web site can meet your marketing goals as is

The 3-5 page assessment you receive will report on the positive and negative findings, and provide specific suggestions for improvement, depending on the findings.

WHY IT'S SPEEDY: You will learn my findings within 2 full business days of my receiving your payment - or the assessment is FREE.

GUARANTEE: I obviously can't guarantee that you'll LIKE what we tell you! But I promise to refund $75 of what you paid, if I look over your site and can't suggest at least two meaningful improvements that can be made. Plus, if you hire us within 60 days of the assessment, the full cost will be deducted from the cost of your web site project.

Are you ready to have a professional review your web site? Click to Order

Outfoxing Small Business Owners

2006-03-05T13:20:00.000-05:00

Earlier this year, I was invited to contribute a couple pieces to a book that will be published in 2006. The author, Gene Marks, sent me a copy of one of his past books, Outfoxing the Small Business Owner: Crafty Techniques for Creating a Profitable Relationship, as a thank you. When arrived, I almost added it to the pile of books I need to read, when I saw the cover - the artwork made me laugh, so I opened it up and started reading.

Besides being quite possibly the best small business book I've read in a long time, Outfoxing is just plain FUN to read. Mr. Marks, a "foxy" business owner himself, shares the ways you can identify what kind of small business owner you're dealing with, what their most pressing business needs are, and create a strategy for marketing and communicating with your small business clients. He gives an insider view on the psychology of small business owners which helps with such common issues as getting paid time. He identifies the most common objections small business customers have and how to get around them. I especially loved that he puts an emphasis on creating loyalty and long term partnerships with our customers.

I can't count the number of "aha" moments this book gave me - and I'm supposed to be one of those crafty, seasoned business owners myself. I am going to be using this book as a gift and giveaway for a long time - it's fantastic!

Audio on Your Web Site

2006-03-02T15:29:00.000-05:00

With all of the multimedia developments in the world of web technology, the affordability of large amounts of web hosting, and an explosion in high speed connectivity, it has suddenly become a lot easier for small businesses to have audio of some kind on their web sites. There are a number of ways audio can be used - from podcasting to streaming radio stations to downloadable info products. Let's take a look at some of the reasons why you might want to include audio in your web presence and where to begin exploring it.

The obvious reason to have audio on your site would be if you're a musician and want to share samples of your tunes with your audience. Another clear reason would be if you are a voice over artist or speaker - certainly you would want to give people a chance to hear what you sound like.

In the virtual world, where independent professionals often find prospects and close deals online without ever looking someone in the eye, audio can be used to develop a sense of personality and establish trust with your audience. It's important that you don't thrust the sound of your voice on someone without them choosing to hear it - no one likes to be accosted by sound (music or voice) without warning. That said, if you have a welcoming message, a story to tell or short presentation to make to your visitors, it might make sense to present it as audio. Some professionals have arranged to have their customers testimonials recorded - making this tried and true marketing strategy even more powerful.

If you record telecasts, teach anything, make online presentations or even have written info products, you might want to consider packaging this material as a downloadable audio product for sale on your web site. Business professionals are often unable to find time to read the information they need, so why not offer it in a format they can listen to while multitasking amongst other projects. Once you've created audio products, there are services like LearnOutLoud.com where you can offer your audio products for sale.

If you have a topic you can speak about regularly, and build a listening audience, you might want to think about podcasting. Podcasting is simply a recorded, downloadable presentation that takes advantage of RSS syndication to alert people to when there is a new file to listen to. People use their RSS applications to "subscribe" to your podcast - when you publish a new audio file, they know, and can listen to it from their MP3 playing device (many times it's an iPod, hence the name). A lot of people combine blogging with podcasting and have built an audience that way. But as with any of these trendy marketing strategies, you really have to have a good presentation style, a topic that isn't being done to death, and the patience to slowly build an audience and add that to your overall repetitive marketing routine.

So, you've identified a reason to use audio on your web site - where do you begin? You can start by reading this article I wrote about how I put a recording of an interview I had, on my web site. If you're interested in podcasting, you can read this beginners guide. Beyond that, there are dozens of ways you can accomplish the same goal but the best solution depends on whether you already have digitized audio, what operating system you're on, whether you intend to offer downloadable or streaming audio and so on! Once you have identified your goal, you can start researching online to see how people are already doing it and what tools you need to create your own web site audio, or contact your favorite web professional for suggestions and solutions.

(c) Eileen Parzek, 2006

Eileen Parzek is an award winning graphic designer and writer providing digital and print graphic design and web design services. Always found at the intersection of information, creativity and technology, her business, Business Design Studio (www.businessdesignstudio.com) helps small businesses make a big impression, increase their reach and grow.

May be republished with full bio and credit link to http://www.businessdesignstudio.com

My favorite Firefox extensions

2006-02-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

I switched to using the Firefox browser a few years ago, although I still use Internet Explorer to test web designs. I ONLY use IE for that purpose now - and that is largely because of the extensions, little tools and applications that can be installed into Firefox. The latest version of Firefox, though, does not allow for a number of my favorite extensions yet, so I have stayed with version 1.07 (which is now hard to find, but I located it here) - you'll want to be aware of that if you get Firefox and want to have some of these same nifty tools at your disposal - check the versions on each! If you want to change the way you do everything on the web, set aside an hour or so to browse all the possibilities. Trust me, you'll make up that hour in productivity when it's over!

For one thing, there is the Blogger extension called Blogger Bar, which allows me quickly create a Blogger post from any web page I visit. Then there is the Screen Grab extension that gives me the ability to snag a screen shot of anything I have in the browser. Dictionary Search is an extension that lets me right click my mouse over any word I see and find out what it means - and for a big word addict and avid reader like me, that's a lot of fun. The Clippings extension allows me to save up a bunch of text snippets that I use a lot when I surf the web, like forum signatures, and easily copy and paste them in from one repository. FoxClocks is another good one for a virtual business working in multiple time zones - it puts the cities you frequently contact in a little pop up at the bottom of the browser.

As a designer, I find that the Colorzilla extension is a must have. It lets me pick up the color of ANY pixel on the web browser screen - and see what the HTML code for the color (called a hexadecimal) is. I also have an extension called Measure It which lets me grab the pixel dimensions of anything on my screen with a little tool like a ruler.

I actually have a dozen or so extensions but these are the ones I use nearly every day. If you haven't tried Firefox yet, you should - I'm sure that over time these extensions will be ported over to the new version or maybe you can stick with the 1.07 version like I do, until that happens. You'll have a good time tricking out Firefox to your own personal needs, and then wonder how you ever lived without this kind of browsing experience!

Privacy and Marketing

2006-02-19T17:30:00.000-05:00

There has been an interesting discussion going on within one of the communities I'm part of, about privacy and email marketing. It started when someone asked how they could give their newsletter subscribers the option to only receive text emails from them, and someone else pointed out that some of the HTML email services provide tracking "bugs" to spy on readers. This opened a debate about what rights marketers have to know what their customers are doing.

The service is question, Constant Contact, is the one I've been using for the last couple years, along with (I assume) thousands of other small businesses. I chose it because it makes it so incredibly easy to compose and send emails to a subscriber base, and allow people to sign up for the newsletter. I use it to send out the summary of blog postings to the people who have subscribed to Increase Your Reach.

I always assumed that anyone who subscribed either a) read the privacy policies if they were concerned and b) knew that opening my newsletter and clicking a link was an activity I could actually "see" happen. It never occurred to me that this might NOT be known, and would even considered "unethical" or offensive by some people.

In the case of my subscribers, I make it known up front that I will never sell or give my subscribers information to anyone for any reason. If I do (occasionally) look at the reports, it is to see what my overall click thru rate is, and I can tell at a glance whether a topic bombed or if a type of posting was really popular.

There are probably more nefarious marketers out there who will use this knowledge to go further - perhaps they see that someone clicked on a particular product and then follow up to make a sales call. That is the danger of subscribing to a list that uses HTML email and tracks click thrus, certainly.Personally, it doesn't matter to me that Subscriber Anne looked at a logo design article and Subscriber Bob found a software review of interest. I would only contact someone in response to them visiting a blog posting IF they left me a comment that required a response.

And, that is why if you are concerned with this privacy, you should only subscribe to only text emails (if this is an option). Or, not subscribe to email newsletters at all!

Meanwhile, I am thinking about editing my welcome letter for new subscribers to alert them to this feature of Constant Contact and nearly all over email newsletter services. Now that I realize just how many internet denizens had NO clue this was possible, I think it's the right thing to do.

Voicemail for Virtual Companies with GotVMail

2006-02-12T10:39:00.000-05:00

During the course of conducting the Virtual Professionals Survey, I learned that a great many people who work virtually don't know what virtual voice mail is. I would like to give an overview of this service, in particular to talk about the GotVMail service I recently learned about.

Essentially, GotVMail works by giving your virtual solo practice or micro business the ability to appear larger and even more professional. It provides you with a toll free phone number which provides voice mail box capabilities, multiple departments and a dial by name directories if you have a virtual team of people.

Each mailbox you configure in the system can have customizable call forwarding, so if someone asks for "operator" it sends the call to your virtual assistant, and calls to "sales" go to your cell phone wherever you are. If all the different extensions or departments are going to the same number, the system can indicate what the caller is calling about. For an additional fee, you can have your voice mail sent as an audio attachment to your email address.

If you have virtual teammates, they can each have their own voice mail box to access, or forward their calls to the number of their choice. Every customizable action remains seamless to the caller, so it appears you have one cohesive location. You can also use the system for sales and marketing and set up extensions for different messages; for example, dial 1 to hear upcoming events, dial 2 to hear hours and location.

GotVMail has three levels of services with different features and pricing, as well as add on features for additional fees, making it quite flexible. However, the monthly fees do not include usage rates which are applied for the incoming long distance calls. I know there are a number of other similar services out there. Now that you understand how a virtual voice mail service actually works, you can consider it for your business if it is appropriate, and be informed enough to compare options!

Magic, money and self employment

2006-01-30T15:02:00.000-05:00

I started Monday morning like I have most of the last 10 years of Monday mornings... Ramping up, revisiting my to-do list, and balancing my bank accounts. I noticed that I owed Clipart.com for my annual license, and had a job that required some clipart illustration, and so I squirmed for a moment about where that $160 would come from. But, as I've learned to do in the past year, I decided to just trust it would arrive ... And let it go.

I have to say... this was a VERY hard thing for me to ever learn how to do... The old me would have wiggled and worried and chattered and clutched inside about it for days.

But, without much thought, I just let it go - let the Universe know I needed $160 - and got down to work.

Then, at 2:30, I heard the THWACK of mail hitting the floor downstairs and got up to go get it. I bet you can guess what I found there. An affiliate check from last quarter, from something I must be selling on my site (honestly, I am not even sure WHAT), for $159.58

I laughed out loud. Scared the cat.

And then I realized... This kind of delight really is a gift of the self employed, isn't it? I mean, I was talking with someone recently who was tossing money around in his accounts, paying bills, and he said "well, on Wednesday, there will be more in there." Just like that.

I simply CAN'T Imagine.

Just like most of my friends and family can't imagine why I don't run fleeing and screaming back into employment.

The ones who do get it, and have seen how it works, think I actually have magic powers. My last boyfriend used to say "How do you DO that?" when I'd conjure up money unexpectedly.

I usually tell people that you need to have good communication skills, organization and discipline to work at home, all day alone, with clients scattered around the globe.

But I think maybe I should include a little magic in there.

Just a few musings from Albany, NY... I'm off to the bank.
Hee hee!