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Archive for the ‘Advice on Websites’ Category

5 ways to boost credibility through your website

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

5 ways to boost credibility through your website

I wrote this post for Women Unlimited Worldwide but though I would include it here too! Hope you find it useful!


What’s the point of your website? Often, if you are a business, it’s to convince people to buy your services or products.

What makes people buy? They need to feel they know you, like you and trust you.

Which is why you need to build credibility – yay!

So now I have convinced you you need to read this if you are a business and you have a website, let me reveal  5 things that help you boost credibility on your website. (more…)

Do you really need a blog? (here’s 11 reasons you’ll want one)

Monday, April 15th, 2013

Do I really need a blog?

This is the part of your site which changes regularly, and is meant to.

It’s much more interesting to say on your social networks, “read my new post” (with a great headline) than “I just added a new service on my website’s services page!

Reinforce your key messages

You may have (if you’re smart) introduced key messages elsewhere in your site but by finding clever ways to blog about these things you can reinforce that you really stand by them

(more…)

With all these blogging and social media options for marketing – Do I really need a website?

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013

With all these bloggging and social media options for marketing - Do I really need a website?

I wrote this post for Women Unlimited Worldwide but thought I would include it here too! Hope you find it useful!

We spend a lot of our time creating bespoke websites, so it’s a strange question for me to be attacking. Do I really want to even put this question in your mind?

But here I am bravely writing about this.

Why would I even bring this up?

I know you won’t be able to get value from this post unless I answer this question.  So there are 3 reasons.

(more…)

Stressing about your website?

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

I wrote this post for Woman Unlimited Worldwide but i thought I would include it here too! Hope you find it useful!

Stressing about your website? Read these 3 tips and feel better, ahhh.

Your website. That all important representation of you, on the web. I bet there are things you would like to change about if you could. If you had the budget, or the time, or you could just do it yourself quickly, wave a magic website wand – you would go and tweak and fix a whole load of little niggly things that are bugging you.

Some websites are really bad – so bad I would put them in a box labelled “lost causes” or better yet, take them off the internet so no one else’s eyes need to bleed again.

In these cases, you should really just start again with a fresh new site (and put up a nice clean holding page instead for now). You need to be honest with yourself if this is the case for you. It’s often more expensive to try and fix a badly built or badly designed website than it is to redo it – in the long run. As my mom says – “cheap is expensive”.

(more…)

Some things you should know about WordPress (which I know, and I am not a coder either)

Tuesday, February 5th, 2013

I know some stuff about WordPress

As the CEO/Owner/Director/Founder/Other fancy title of Top Left Design, I know a lot of things, but not everything!  I come from an design background, not a coding background so I woudn’t claim to be especially technical – though I suppose compared to many I am.

But even though I am not strictly technical, I like it when technology just works – and makes life easier. A few years ago, when we started using WordPress for blogging, I saw this was different from other systems – I liked it – it’s easier to use and more flexible. And our two in house coders, Kevin and JP (previously featured on our post on Geek Appreciation Day) are specialists in WordPress sites. It’s our system of choice, and I wanted to let you know why – and some useful facts about it – so we share the joy of WordPress! (more…)

Tricks you can stick up your sleeve to protect you from scary marketing monsters

Wednesday, October 31st, 2012

Tricks to protect you from those scary marketing monsters

Scary marketing monsters? What are they?

We don’t mean to scare you. But you need to know.

Knowledge is power. The fact is that – YOU – can be your worst enemy – and really succumb to your own demons.

Don’t let your marketing be driven by fear!

The real danger that you may rush out there and have someone setup your blog and social media profiles without properly knowing how to set them up or how to behave on them – how to keep them up to date – without thinking about your key messages, your audience and your brand.

And then what happens is that people who check you out see out of date or inconsistent profiles.
What impression is that making about your business?

The real scary dangers:

  1. Putting it up and forgetting about it – social media needs to be fed like a hungry beast!
  2. Haphazard posting – it’s worthwhile planning  your content ahead of time
  3. Not captioning properly or explaining things properly – these little details can make all the difference
  4. Not filling out the full information – this includes bios, profile images and banner images
  5. Outsourcing too much – to people who don’t know enough about your business

If you are really saying “I don’t have time” or “It’s too technical for me” then stick with us – here are some easy “ease you in” options – and you can always come to us for more help/hand holding!

Tricks

Cover the basics. As mentioned in my post “What do superheroes have in common with marketing?” you need to ensure you have your social profiles done.

Start with LinkedIn and get your profile right. Spend 1 hour on it. Upload a picture and change your vanity URL. And then write your summary. Some examples of good summaries are:

nl.linkedin.com/in/irinafrolova
uk.linkedin.com/in/sarahpriestley
uk.linkedin.com/in/tomball2

If you are setting up a Facebook page for your business make sure you upload a banner and a profile picture. The banner needs to be 852 pixels wide and 350 pixels high. Check this page for good examples and this handy guide for sizes. And then post a mixture of images/videos and links (mostly visual content) – once or twice a day.

Blogging is important for business. There are lots of advantages – its a place to put articles and posts that can show projects you have done, show off your expertise with advice posts, announce events, share team news, and comment on  developments in your industry. Be sure to mix it up and vary your posts.  Brainstorm your headlines in advance and have a good balance of the different types of posts – all within your niche. Read this handy article about headline writing.

Twitter has amazing benefits but only dive in if you like the idea of talking to new people every day, expanding your network and sharing and reading interesting content you and your twitter friends find online. It’s something you would do every day – it’s great and it’s fun but it’s not mandatory and it is a way of life.

Keep reading and learning about social media so you get better and better at it!

You probably wonder how is it that we are so clever and informed? Its cos we keep up to date with industry news. There is no hiding away, marketing is something businesses need to learn more about. All you have to do is read. Here are some great blogs – but if you want to come to us, we are here for you too!

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/
http://socialmediatoday.com
http://allfacebook.com/
http://blog.tweetsmarter.com/

If you have any worries, advice, stories or thoughts we would love you to comment below! Feel free – there are many benefits to commenting on blog posts – which is the subject for a whole other blog  post!

 

How to supercharge your testimonials to attract more clients and opportunities

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

How to supercharge your testimonials - and make the most of the client love!

Recently one of our clients, Gina Romero, emailed us asking for some info about the etiquette for testimonials on websites. This inspired me to write this post and share my thoughts based on years of experience creating websites here at Top Left Design! People often ask:

Should we use testimonials on our website?

YES! We love testimonials and they are a big part of what we call “social proof” – where someone has allowed you to put their words on your marketing. You can ask your existing clients who you know are happy with your service to give you testimonials. They can either be named, or they can be anonymous, depending on the confidentiality issues around the work you have done with them.

Yeah but what if people think they are fake?

Sure there are people out there who are cynical. They could think that you just made up the testimonial.

My argument is:

  1. Some people (like me) like to see other people like them who have had similar issues/needs and who have been happy with your service
  2. People like stories and will understand better how you can help tem better if they hear from the words of others.
  3. Anyway, do you want those cynical suspicious untrusting people as clients? (you might but I just wanted to make that point, you can’t please everyone!)

You could just email your clients and say “We are working on our new website, and would like to include some testimonials from happy clients. Would you be able to send me a few words about what you thought of the service we provided you with?”

You could go one step further. And SUPERcharge your testimonials. Here is what I suggest:

“We are working on our new website, and would like to include some testimonials from happy clients. Would you be able to answer some questions about your experience with us? We will then ne able to edit it down to fit and we will check with you the final version”

And then you ask them the supercharged questions (modify as needed depending on the service you provide):

  1. What was it like when you worked with the last company you used before us?
  2. How have we been different?
  3. What have you learned that you didn’t know before since working with us
  4. What surprised you when working with us?
  5. What problems have we solved?
  6. How have we made your life easier?
  7. How do we provide good value?
  8. What other types of businesses would you recommend us to?

Having a series of questions makes it easier for clients to come back to you and they will be able to come back to you quicker as there is a structure for them to follow.

From the answers you get you can then write up a testimonial – here is an example (using TLD as an example):

“Before we used TLD as our website design company, we had a guy who never got back to us unless we chased him 3-4 times. He was really unreliable and then disappeared to Australia. He had issues with his dog and his health so we just let him off really. As a small business we really didn’t think we deserved better. But then TLD came along, and astounded us, not only by their responsiveness and professionalism, but by the dedication and talent amongst the team. They are all so friendly and accommodating, and since our new website went live and we learned how to use our blog effectively, we have found that new business comes to us without us really needing to try. Swiftly and easily. I really can’t say enough good things about TLD and we will certainly be recommending their services to all our clients and friends.”

Where would you put your testimonials?

  • On your LinkedIn profile – when people recommend you on Linkedin this is something that just cannot be faked. It links up with they profile and if they send you a recommendation on LinkedIn which has a typo or something inaccurate, you can always ask for them to make an amendment.
  • On your printed material
  • On your website – either in a dedicated page, within a case study page to go with that case study, or throughout the site. Testimonials are great to include as part of your hompegae
  • On Facebook – when people write nice things on your Facebook Business page wall
  • On Twitter – if you get a nice compliment tweet from someone, it can be favorited on Twitter, and you can have a feed of all these nice tweets to a page on your blog or WordPress site, though a WordPress plugin called Tweetstimonials.

So, what do you think? I welcome your thoughts – ad if you try any of the tips above please come back and let us know (or go onto our Facebook page and tell us there!

36 ways to be more productive than you ever thought possible – using numbers

Sunday, July 8th, 2012

Here is a trick I play a lot when I need to get things done. I choose a number – I like 8 because to me it’s lucky.

Always start with a list

In my Moleskine diary, I make a list of a few tasks and use these goals to batch my activities. Then I power through them like a demon and only take a break when I have done that batch. It feels great and then I can brag to friends and Twitter folk about how I just completed 8 whatever-it-was.

Why cross out when you can highlight?

I then use a highlighter pen to highlight the tasks I have done. Using the higlighter just feels more positive than crossing it out. It’s a little celebration!

Now you can try it!

To help you lovely readers out I made a list of examples of some of the things I do – all using the number 8 (except for the big time consuming which use the number 3).

(more…)

Getting ready for the EU cookie law

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

In our industry – like in many – sometimes we get affected by legislation within our industry.

There is a law coming into enforcement at the end of this month – on the 26th May – which is called “The EU Cookie Directive”. It’s been on the cards for the last year, but the actual deadline is now looming.

It applies to websites in the EU, and it’s all about protecting people’s privacy. The law is about letting people know when there are “cookies” on a website – bits of code that let the website know information about its users. So, users on websites need to know about the cookies on a website and “opt in” to allow them to work. Because “cookies” on websites mean that websites collect data from users, it’s important for privacy laws to alert clients so they can consciously opt in to having cookies.

(more…)

Dinosaurs in Spaceships – a TLD special offer

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

Dinosaur in a spaceship - we are sending 8 to space!

Are you heading for extinction?

Do you want to bring yourself out of the Jurassic Age and into the Space Age? And, do you want one of our superduper sites but you also feel you deserve a special offer?

Following our previous post – Are you heading for extinction? Don’t be left behind like the dinosaurs!

Is this you?

  1. You don’t ever win anything
  2. You aren’t fast enough at reacting to offers
  3. You love your business
  4. You want to have a website you can be truly proud of
  5. You feel that you are ready to jump both feet into the world of blogging and social media, but you want someone by your side, holding your hand
  6. You want your new website launched by mid July 2012
  7. You have checked what’s included in our “Bestseller Sites” description and feel “that’s perfect for me!”
  8. You want to come in and meet with us in the next 2-3 weeks to get started.

That’s where we come in!

Our team at TLD want to work on projects with clients like you!

So we are doing a special offer – a full £800 pounds off our usual “bestseller sites” price (usually £5200) – offer open to the first 8 people who get in touch this month (we like the number 8 – and there are 8 ways we improve your presence online) (more…)