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And we're back!
Over the past few weeks a number of things collided which left me with very little time to keep y'all updated on progress; school holidays, the eCommerce website build and an eCommerce website makeover. The Miss and Little Mister are back at their respective learning establishments. The eCommerce website makeover went well and working with Bronwyn was fun. And the eCommerce website build is still trucking along, which is what led me to this post... When marketing your business (or yourself) I have found that consistency is key.
Websites are no different. Product images need to be the same size - yes it might take a while to get that sorted, but its worth it when your customer gets an attractive uniform look no matter what they click on whilst online shopping. Ideally, all your products should have the same background too, but baby steps people, that can be one of the things you work towards. It's pretty awful to visit a site and see hickeldy-pickeldy product images zig-zagging all over the page. You wouldn't like it at a supermarket, so don't do it on your website. You might think I'm being way too strict on this but have a think about your favourite online shops. What do they look like? How do they present their products? What do their posts on Facebook look like? Just because we might be a one (or two) man band with pockets that don't stretch that far doesn't mean we can't present ourselves professionally yet with a charming amount of personality. Need some help? Let me know! Until next time... Fx I'm in currently in the planning stage of an eCommerce website build. I am both excited and just a tiny bit overwhelmed (but not in a bad way). This build is for one of my lovely repeat clients and her needs are very specific. I want to make sure that what we create is what she actually needs, not what I think she should have.
I've done some pretty decent research into eCommerce CMS options available, and I've spent a bit of time on her current site to see what I think works and what we can improve. There's a lot of information she's got on offer right now, which is great but I do wonder if we can simplify her message a bit. This week's task is to start the actual build. I believe that the time I've spent upfront will help in the long-run, but any more reading will just add to the overwhelming feeling. Sometimes its best to just get stuck in and get a handle on things. Or at least it is for me. So, once again, watch this space... Until next time Fx It's been a bit of a slog this one, thanks to a hideous CMS experience that proved to be a complete waste of time (note to anyone interested, avoid IM Creator), but we got there in the end.
A few moments ago I was delighted to be able to 'go live' with the Self Defense Northland site. As mentioned in a previous post, the brief was to avoid any fear tactics and make it more about empowering women. When I presented the site to David, he laughed a little at the images I chose but agreed they did what they are supposed to. It was a nice project to work on, and I hope the organisation goes from strength-to-strength (no pun intended). Until next time... Fx Simple [adjective]; easy to understand, deal with, use etc.
I've been working on a website build for a client and upon sending them the first mock-up, I received the feedback that it was really simple but they liked it. The simple look and feel of the website doesn't truly represent the amount of work that's gone into creating it. I created a simple yet high impact site for the client because that's what works best, in my opinion at least. Flashy websites annoy me; who wants to wait 30 seconds or more for a whizz-bang intro to play, or a new image to open up every time I accidentally hover my mouse over a different part of the screen? Not me. There are a few simple rules I try to adhere to when working on websites;
I won't go into too much detail on those here (if you're curious, just ask), but hopefully you get what I'm saying. I do wonder though; would anyone turn away from a service provider if they thought their website were simple as opposed to flashy? Hopefully not. Until next time... Fx Following on from my previous post, I have received the thumbs up from my client for the design & print of their business cards. They wanted to get them printed by the end of the month, and I believe that with the speedy concept stage and their very quick sign-off, that deadline will be met. Here's the sneak peek... Until next time Fx  Seriously Frances, enough with the excuses! It's time to pull finger and do something with your site, so people don't think you've given up.
So here I am, proving to anyone who cares that I am still here, willing and able to get things done. I've got some jobs lined up for one of the newest members of the All Sorted family -Self Defense Northland - and the brief I've been given is that their business is about empowering women, not scaring them. It will be a nice brief to work on. I've also been asked about SEO and Google rankings for a new business. These guys were approached by a company promising the sky if they were willing to pay several thousand dollars! I was annoyed and disappointed on their behalf. I mean, anyone could get on the first page of Google if they had thousands to spend! But that's not the point, small businesses (especially new ones) don't tend to have that kind of money to spend. They need to be savvy with their marketing budget not spend it all in the first couple of months. I hope they will give me the chance to show them how a smaller budget can do wonderful things for their business. Okay, enough of my ranting, I have things to do. Until next time... Fx I'm currently a good example of what not to do. I always encourage people to update their website and social media as often as they can; being active on your site only helps with your organic reach and build your profile.
I have not been paying attention to that. I find that when life gets busy, I neglect my All Sorted presence. I suppose in my mind I must subconsciously think, "I'm busy working, so I'll do my own marketing later," Little and often is a good motto here, and one I need to adopt. In other news, one of the All Sorted family have launched their new business venture and website! I wish Jon and Shae-Renee nothing but the best of luck with Budget Caravans NZ, if I had any spare money I wouldn't hesitate to buy my own home-away-from-home. It would be a pretty great way of seeing more of Aotearoa and no one said adventure had to involve "roughing it". Until next time... Fx I'm ever so pleased to welcome a new client to the All Sorted family; Intuitive Birth is giving me the chance to learn about their business and come up with new ways to reach their target market.
It's only been a day but Sarah-Jane has already given me a whole bunch of information about what they've done to date, and where she sees her business going in future. I haven't been able to spend too much time on it yet, but I can already see some great opportunities to spread the Intuitive word. My main focus is trying to get some real bang for her buck. As a mum I attended atenatal classes, so thankfully this isn't completely foreign to me, but I still need to do my research to ensure I get the language and audience right. I'm looking forward to it. Until next time... Fx It's been a while, and there's a bit to catch you up on but I'll do us all a favour and keep it brief.
The Tale of the Great Road Trip You know that touch of whimsy I was going on about in my previous post? Well, my client went for it! They loved that their caravan business was going to have an obvious point-of-difference in their marketing, and thought their fresh and fun website would appeal to their target market. As soon as they're ready to "go live" I'll share it with you with pride. Seek And You Shall Find Maybe it's the change of season, but an increasing number people are on the look-out for the next step in their career. Maybe they can't face another winter in a job that doesn't make them smile, or maybe they know they're capable of so much more than they're being given the chance to do. No matter their reasons, I find it very rewarding being asked to capture who someone is, as well as what they can do, and put it into a CV. I know it can be hard to promote yourself, so let me take care of that for you. Save It For Later In case you weren't already aware, Facebook have introduced a feature enabling you to 'Save' posts for future use. Kind of like Pinterest, but with a Facebook twist. It's incredibly useful for when your scrolling through your Newsfeed and you see something that fits in with your business/profile page, but for whatever reason the timing doesn't work right then and there. By saving it for later, you can schedule it for when it works for you. Sounds like a win/win. That's about it for now. Until next time... Fx I saw a quote today that I just had to share with you, '"Great marketing is like flirting with a crush."
Some might think that's too simplistic but I think it is a neat little summary of the relationship between you and your potential clients. I, for one, like to be treated like the (reasonably) intelligent individual that I am. I also like my sense of humour to be appealed to. But that's just me. Just something to think about. Until next time... Fx |
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