NY Times Article on Publication Websites

NY Times article ‘Publications on Fitness and Health Head to Web’ describes the trend of publications to increase their website efforts.  Hearst Corporation is seeking to improve the branding of their publications. The NY Times article covers the financial side of the business very well. It would be helpful to the reader if the article spoke towards publication website design as well.  Good website design allow users to dig deeper into relevant information quickly and build a strong relationships.  Strong relationships mean repeat visitors to the website.

Cool Website Design in Columbus Ohio, Part III

Here’s an example of another well-designed website located in Columbus, Ohio.  This website is for the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority (OAQDA).  Flash animation was used to show a portfolio of photos about OADQA.  The navigation is easy-to-follow and helpful for the target audience.

Design a Successful Website

Designing a website is a lot like climbing a mountain. It takes discipline and focus to accomplish your goal. Here are some ideas to help with your journey to the top.

- Develop a passion for your online business
- Make a commitment to succeed
- Explore other websites
- Know your target audience
- Research competitors
- Develop a strong brand image
- Create a comprehensive content outline
- Create and produce the best work possible (or hire someone to help)
- Adapt to changing conditions
- Accomplish your goal by publishing the website
- Measure results
- Update frequently

After you’ve built a great website, let folks know about your business. Your online marketing efforts should include; Choosing a variety of promotional vehicles, delivering a consistent message and budgeting aggressively.

Another Cool Website Design in Columbus Ohio

Another great example on how to improve your website design using Flash animation.  Ohio Technical Services is an asbestos inspection and removal company located in Columbus, Ohio.  The Home page effectively leads you to more information about the company.

Cool Website Design in Columbus Ohio

Who says that teaching can’t be fun? Lively website produced by the Ohio Insurance Institute (OII) focuses on explaining weather safety issues to children in Ohio. OII even created a club for the school-aged children to join. Looks like a great tool for teachers. Flash animation website design at its best. 

Top Ten Marketing Ideas for Your Business

Solving real marketing issues requires a fresh look at your business. Below is a ‘Top Ten’ list of new marketing ideas to get your business going in the right direction. Get excited and be open to thinking outside the box.

10. Develop a professional website for your product or service. If you have a product or service line, create a well-designed company website. Your website should solve customer problems and provide relevant information.

9. Survey existing customers. How do your customers feel about your products and services? Stay in touch through informal lunches or a professionally coordinated survey campaign. A survey is an excellent method for taking the pulse of your audience. The survey should include detailed questions about your products and services and how they directly benefit the customer.

8. The customer is always right… always. The time to prove this statement is when the customer experiences a problem with your product or service. Make a point to take responsibility and solve any problems that a customer might have immediately. Satisfied customers turn into repeat, long-term customers.

7. Develop a new brand identity. How long has it been since you’ve updated your website or marketing materials? Maybe it’s time to take a fresh look and redesign your image.  Customers and prospects respond to new ideas and information.

6. Take a customer out to lunch. Now is the time to ask a reliable customer out to lunch. Touch base with them to see how your company is solving problems and meeting their needs.

5. Be positive in your outlook. It’s important to feel good about yourself and enjoy what you do for a living. If you have a positive attitude about your job, you will succeed by transferring that enthusiasm to other employees, customers and prospects.

4. Make a list of your strengths. Are you the low price leader? Is your business the most experienced? Do you have the highest quality product or service? Try to list between 50 and 100 different and measurable strengths. This is a great exercise to develop new ideas for your marketing campaigns

3. Establish an annual marketing budget. A good rule-of-thumb estimate for your marketing budget is 3% to 5% of annual sales. Retail businesses need to budget 7% to 10% of annual sales for their marketing budgets. Your budget should include a breakdown of all marketing costs including printing and advertising placement.

2. Develop a solid marketing plan. Plan the work then work the plan. Think of a marketing plan as a “road map” to success. Your marketing plan should include measurable goals and the means to accomplish those goals. Include the marketing budget as a part of the marketing plan in order to measure the results of your company’s spending. This enables you to determine what works and what doesn’t.

1. Hire a professional company for all of your marketing needs. Good business decisions begin with choosing the right partner. Your business should enlist the help of a professional marketing firm that is experienced and has a track record in the areas of marketing, advertising and website development. Your business can be successful with creative and cost effective campaigns.

FedEx Shows Us Why Some Meetings Are Useless

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

FedEx has a one of the funniest commercials running on television.  It portrays a scene where meetings are useless, and some people are clueless.  But by using FedEx, you can still get the job done. The main message throughout this commercial and their campaign is that FedEx offers a range of services that help small businesses meet their needs.  Well done.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Website

There’s no secret to driving traffic to your website.  It takes planning, hard work and execution. Picture of your website as being located in the middle of a corn field.  How would anyone be able to find it?  You basically have to plow a path leading to your website. The more paths that you plow, the more opportunities there are for your target audience to find your website.  And by connecting the paths, you create additonal chances to connect with users.  One path could be optimizing your site for search engines. Another path could be to increase links back to your site. Think of those paths as strategic methods and you’re well on your way to improving visibilty with your target audience.

Adding Flash Improves Website Design

Bring your website to life by adding a Flash animation.  If customers and prospects are not excited about your website’s design (and maybe not excited about your business), introducing Flash animation can help.  Flash, a software product from Adobe, has a steep learning curve so you may want to consider hiring a professional company that is experienced in developing Flash websites.   It’s all about driving traffic to your website and Flash can help spread word-of-mouth marketing.

Blogs Are the Future of Marketing

If you have a business, then you need a blog.  According to Technorati, the blogoshere has grown from 100,000 blogs in March 2003 to nearly 73 million in March 2007.  The numbers suggest that this is no longer ‘bleeding edge’ technology.  Blogs have become mainstream as a valuable source of information for Internet users with interests that range from travel to computer hardware.  Not all blogs are created equal however and there are a lot of, to put it mildly, sub-par blogs that offer little or no value.   For that reason, companies that understand how important it is to connect with customers and prospects will utilize a professionally produced blog.  Here are some important points: 

- Hire a professional maketing firm to build your blog
- Utilize multiple authors to write articles
- Write articles about solving customer problems
- Use photos and graphic images to make your point
- Encourage feedback to articles
- Update blog as often as possible
- Find ways to connect to the blogosphere and extend your blog’s reach

Your business blog should offer solutions to customer problems, not just a sales pitch to buy your products or services.  Update your blog at least once every week and cover a wide range of topics specially tailored for your target audience.  And don’t forget to take advantage of the many methods for connecting with other blogs and blog aggregators such as; Digg and del.icio.us.

If this all seems ‘Greek’ to you, don’t worry.  There are plenty of resources available on the Internet to help your busness create an effective blog.  The great news is that the technology to create a blog is open-source (meaning free).  And there are many other solutions available as well.  Forget email, start a blog to move your business into the future!

« Previous Page — Next Page »