Create a new account…

Wondering if email marketing is right for you? Constant Contact offers a free 60 day trial, and Mail Chimp is free for up to 5,000 contacts. You can set up your account and send out your first real emails to your personal contacts.

Set up contact lists and growing them…

Contact information management is easy. You can import contact information a variety of ways and organize them into different lists as needed for your various campaigns. They also offer a variety of ways you can draw more people to sign up for your emails including pre-generated code and pages for your website, Facebook integration, a Text Message Sign Up tool, and QR Code set-up.

Create intriguing email campaigns…

Both platforms offer several email design templates, each of which can be customized with your colors, your logo, your photos, and your content. Once your email is set up, you can set it to send now, or later, to one or more of your email lists, with no worry of your clients receiving two or more of the same email even if they are in multiple lists.

Review your email’s success…

After your email campaign has gone out and has had time enough for your clients to open and review it, you can log back into your account and review how many people the email was sent to, how many bounced (meaning the email did not get through for a variety of reasons), how many people (and who) opened the email, how many links were clicked and who clicked those links, and how many people forwarded your email on to their personal contacts.

Interested in Email Marketing?
If you would like help, contact me to get started!

The post Email Campaigns & Marketing appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

Thursday night, I participated in an event called IGNITE Carroll. What’s Ignite Carroll you ask?

This was my chance to take the stage and to “enlighten” the audience about one of my passions! BUT, I had to “make it quick!” The IGNITE concept puts multiple speakers in front of an audience with only 5 minutes to speak on a topic with a power-point presentation that auto advances every 15 seconds.

And what did a photographer and web designer decide to speak about you ask? My topic was “The Art Of Juggling”, and I mean literal juggling… with balls. I was nervous… I wondered more than once why I had put myself in this position, talking in-front of an entire theater audience, on camera to be recorded and put online FOREVER! Then crap, I found out I was first. And let me tell you, I got a lot more than I expected…

I planned on taking it easy and not OVER practicing my speech as April 23rd approached ever so slowly…

Well, that didn’t happen. I practiced… a lot.

But the day of the show, I didn’t practice once. And I didn’t take any notes. I wanted to truly take in the whole night and enjoy myself, not fret over perfection.

At the show? I nailed it. And for the first time, I was not shaking after speaking infront of a group.

Comfort Zone Expansion ACHIEVED!

The comradery was the most gratifying… the fun leading up to the event and the night of the event, even weeks before, was a great way to connect with the organizers and other speakers. I feel closer to two of my fellow speakers than ever before! And during and after the show, the hoots and hollers, and speakers coming up to each other to compliment one another, just goes to show you how supportive like-minded, creative, and outgoing individuals are.

After the fact… I’m already trying to figure out what to speak about next. That alone should be a testament in itself… you should be there, in the audience or on the stage, at the next IGNITE Carroll!!!

2015 IGNITE Speakers

“The Art of Juggling”
Kelly Heck, Owner Kelly Heck Photography & Website GURL

“Back to the Future”
Drew Richardson, Owner, Lucidity Research

“Main Street: Where Unity meets Community”
Michelle Sholund, Owner, By the Bay Botanicals

“Making Time Matter”
Mark Blacksten, Vice President & Team Manager, M&T Bank

“Print Advertising is Still Alive”
Ashley Moore, MDB Maryland and Trembling Giant Marketing Relationship Manager

“Importance of Keeping A Personal Health Record”
Bob Cage, Managing Partner, Hippocratic Systems, LLC

“What can James Bond and Jason Bourne teach us about changing American values and ideologies in the aftermath of the Cold War? Maybe a lot.”
Bryn Upton, Associate Professor of History, McDaniel College

“CTC IGNITES Carroll”
Vince Buscemi, Chairman, CTC Board of Directors & McDaniel College Director of Digital Communications & Social Media

“Marriage Matters”
Amy Gilford, Relationship Educator, Marriage & Relationship Education Center

“Story Corps”
Tina Waganer, Owner Cre-a-tv

“Honey Bees”
Randy Linville, Millville Farms

“Advocating for your Loved Ones with Dementia”
Kathy Rus, Owner Law Office of D. Kathleen Rus

“Drones – Reality vs. Myth”
Chris Allport, Partner, New Spin Robotics

IGNITE Carroll is arranged by the Carroll Tech Council. Learn more at http://carrolltechcouncil.org/ignite/

Read an article about IGNITE Carroll 4 in the Carroll County TImes.

The post Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

Your grade school teachers always told you to answer WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY. SOOOOO important. You need to write web copy that answers all these items in a way that helps your content rank in the Search Engines. It must include jargon and non-jargon terminology while it also pinpoints your target audience. It may seem like it takes a lot of thought to write for the Search Engines, but for the most part it’s about detailed, quality writing for HUMANS.

WHY, Why, why? That’s the biggest question you need to ask yourself. Why are you doing what you do? What is your goal? Why do you want to achieve that goal? Your website, for example, is a tool to help you achieve a goal. Simply HAVING a website is not a strong end goal. Your website is supposed to work for you… so what do you want your website to achieve for you? Another example: ranking better among your competition is not a strong end goal – why do you want to rank better? If you need more business, that’s a great reason… but if you’re swamped with work, you may want to refocus your goal. You could still work on ranking higher, but maybe you need to narrow your niche or your geographic region to fine-tune the type of work you want flooding in.

Nearly two years ago, I completed a thought provoking l exercise called SEVEN LEVELS. My fellow students and I wrote out an everyday goal, such as “I want to earn more money”, and the second step asked WHY I wanted to earn more money. Then WHY I wanted #2, and why I wanted #3, and why I wanted #4… until I reached SEVEN answers. Let me tell you, that seventh answer was the bomb, not to mention the growth and exploration of each of the preceding levels.

I may seem like a curious and annoying First Grader when I’m interviewing you and asking WHY over and over again… but the WHY is so important. Your WHY can lead you to a very sentimental purpose that could mean a lot not just to your clients, but to you.

My WHY still holds true today… are you curious what my seventh level is?

“By helping the people around me, I can make a difference in this world… butterfly effects that can change the thinking of generations to come. Knowing this can help me achieve true peace of mind and total satisfaction in a life well lived.”

What’s even better, you don’t need someone interviewing you to do Seven Levels yourself. Find a quite place and block off 30 minutes to 1 hour to try SEVEN LEVELS for yourself. Let me know what conclusion you come to, whether a personal or business approach. And…

Always think deeply about your WHYs.

The post I might sound like a First Grader… appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

I’m also pumped to share that fellow Taneytown entrepreneurs RUST by Justin Staudinger and Taneytown Dance Center share in my joy as an Honorable Mention. I love being neighbors with two fantastic and businesses (and people) thriving in Taneytown, Maryland.

The post Carroll’s Best 2017 – Honorable Mention appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

11 Strong “Call To Action” Words

1. Join

2. Learn

3. Start

4. Discover

5. Free

6. Save

7. Try

8. Find

9. Get

10. Now

11. Today

Want some textual examples?

1. Join TODAY and Membership is FREE!

2. Discover why people made the switch!

3. Act Now!

4. Free Gift, TODAY ONLY!

5. Find out how to increase conversions!

6. Sign up for FREE!

7. Save when you buy now!

And let’s not forget, NUMBERS play a huge role…
Don’t these sound more enticing?

1. Join in the next 5 Minutes and Membership is FREE!

2. Discover why 10 Million people made the switch!

3. 5 ways to ACT NOW!

4. 3 FREE Gifts, Today Only!

5. Find out how to increase conversions by 3-Times!

6. Sign up for 12 Months FREE!

7. Save 25% when you buy now!

Everybody Loves Buttons

You can’t put functional buttons EVERYWHERE, but online you can in most places! There’s something so special about clicking a button, and that’s why so many people have lost tons of money in Vegas. So, take advantage of buttons! I mean, could you resit clicking the Ham Button at https://hambutton.com/? Do it, I dare you. I bet you click it more than once.

Need a button graphic? No problem! Design it yourself in an image editing program. No time for that? Do it free online, at a site like https://dabuttonfactory.com/.

There’s even free CSS code button generators, for all you that don’t want to deal with coding. Check this out: http://css3buttongenerator.com/

More Graphic Call To Actions

Want a little more pizzazz to your webpages or social posts? Dude, you can design your own stuff with little effort! Check out www.canva.com, they have tons of awesome templates for various uses. And even though some of their offerings have a cost, you can do quite a lot for free.

Email Signatures

There is something about email signatures that I can’t get enough of. It’s like a business card, one of the most passed out marketing pieces you’ve got. MAKE IT GLORIOUS! You can design BEAUTIFUL and detailed email signatures yourself. I have two, one for Kelly Heck Photography, and one for Website GURL, check them out (and heck, they even have clickable buttons!):

You want to know how sneaky I am? You have to email me if you want to know what FREE website I used to design my email signature. So do it, email me! Let me know how you are, what you’re tackling, and know that I’ll be excited to reconnect with you.

EMAIL KELLY NOW!

THANKS FOR READING! Please share your great ideas below – what suggestions would you add?

The post Are Your “Call To Actions” Effective? appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

Mornings are the perfect time to reflect on all that the day has for you.

Since Feyisola’s talk was about contact forms, let’s focus on communications (we all have to make sales, find new contacts, keep existing contacts, market ourselves effectively, etc…. it’s all about communication.) In terms of communications, there is always more that I can improve upon… I’ll lay my weakness and strength on the table for you.

Biggest weakness is my lacking use of social media in my marketing strategy – I know I could get so much from it, but I’ve struggled to stick with it. Today, to try and resolve that, I’ve revived my HootSuite account and connected the three accounts I want to use the most. Once I get back on track with this habit, perhaps I will pull more in.

Biggest strength is honesty and courtesy. I find that transparency is one of my greatest strengths, once I can engage a point of contact in conversation. We connect on a level of friendship and trust, and transparency does just that. I try to leave no room for assumptions, only certainties, so that all parties understand the expectations moving forward. And approaching all situations with as much courtesy as possible can only lead to that friendly connection. (And for anyone that reads this, I hope you feel I project this as well, haha! If not, I need YOUR reflection on what you think I could do better.)

Woo, asking for feedback is kinda scary, but we have to do it! Do you have any feedback for me? And what do you feel are your two communication weakness and strengths? Be bold, share! Maybe we can work on these skills together.

The post Growth is about REFLECTION appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

I gave a lecture all about Facebook to a networking group, Women In Motion, of Mount Airy, MD. Part of our instruction included a fun Facebook LIVE video, in which I give advice on how to write an engaging Facebook post to gain more engagement from your fans (and their followers). You’ll also get to meet about 20 members of our networking group (very beifly of course!).

Please watch, enjoy, and share your thoughts and any ideas I may have missed!

The post Website GURL on Facebook LIVE – How To Write An Engaging Facebook Post appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

After a brain-dump, I have many an idea to share. These ideas could be used for not just an Event / Group / Artists, but for general marketing for your business and your team members. Though I’ve left the “artist” and “event” wording, be creative and see if you can apply some of these same ideas to your marketing plan.

…and, in all of these efforts, the goal is to remind and increase reach. So, your current followers may need a friendly reminder to SHARE this with their friends… so focus on “Call To Actions” that encourage posting, sharing, forwarding, inviting, etc.

Take time to re-strategize what you do on a regular basis to strengthen your marketing efforts. Please let me know what has or has not worked for you, or what I may have missed. Suggestions are always welcome!

The post Spread the WORD… but how? appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

Perhaps a REPLY is not appropriate… maybe I want to give you a call, or learn more on your website, or plan a visit to your store/shop/office, but you have no email signature. Do I take the time to ask, do I take the time to search, or do I move on? Convenience is a vital element to spur action from our target audience. The easier you make it for your potential client to take action, the more likely the conversion.

Look more professional and make a commitment to set up your email signature. Not tomorrow, or next week. Do it NOW! It’s so easy, and most email platforms allow you to do so. Not sure how? Look it up on YouTube (links to random Gmail and Outlook videos provided below):

• Gmail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBkKRJlTwIs
• Microsoft Outlook 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcnnk7k4NZA

Not sure what to include? I’ve included suggestions below:

• Name (first & last)
• Phone Number (office and cell, perhaps?)
• Job Position
• Company / Organization Name
• Location Address / Mailing Address
• Website Address (with clickable URL)
• Social Media (with clickable URLs)
• Image of Company / Organization Logo
• Image of YOU (get a professional portrait)
• Slogan / Tagline
• (Do you have any other ideas? Please share them in the comments!)

Find whatever combination works best for you and your recipients. You can provide a lot of information in a small amount of space (look up Email Signature Examples on Google Images). You certainly don’t want to overload recipients with too much information, but making sure you give them what they need to take action is a wise move on your part, and a nicely designed email signature looks really sharp (first impressions anyone?). Please lend your suggestions in the comments below. And, if you need help, I’d love to help you get your signature set up so it is attached to every email You send automatically – just give me a call or shoot me an email!

The post The Most Neglected Marketing Tool Ever appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

The value of professional photography begins with the belief that your investment in a photographer will produce returns on your investment. If first impressions are based on visual appearance, then your advertising & marketing visuals should be priority number one, whether they are graphics, photographs, or video.

A professional photographer has (hopefully) the ultimate combination… a creative eye and technical lighting abilities. Photography is a medium of light, and a photographer typically knows how to use light best to highlight their subject. Professional photographers also make a point of harnessing high quality equipment. From the camera to the lenses, to studio lights and light modifiers, to the post processing programs that enhance your photos, we have the tools necessary to compliment and control our light sources and create images that explode with color and detail and WOW factor!

How many people buy your product or service when you have cell phone photos on your DIY website? Then imagine how many people would buy the same product or service on a professionally built website with professional photos? It’s all about who looks more serious, because when a business takes my money, I expect to get what I paid for, back. We are all looking to establish trust with our ideal customers, and a professional look does just that.

Follow the link below to learn more about tips and tricks and other advice to prepare for your photo shoot. All the advice is directed at those booking a portrait session, but applies to the team in your business office, as well as your family, children, and high school senior portrait sessions.

INSPIRATION REFERENCE:
Refer to Kelly Heck Photography’s “What to Wear” Guide and other helpful details to look your best for Photo Day! www.kellyheckphotography.com/what-to-wear

   Leave some love below!  

The post The Value of Professional Photography appeared first on WebsiteGURL.