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.

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.

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.

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.

What does NOT work?

• Building thousands of low-quality links.
• Commenting on web pages and other sites.
• Mass link submission tools.
• Article spinners.
• Buying links from link farms.

BASICALLY, you want to avoid all LOW-QUALITY LINKS.

What if it’s working?? My rankings are improving!!

Sometimes these techniques work, but at the end of the day, “gaming the system” will only come back to bite you in the…well, you-know-where. Search Engine robots / crawlers figure out what people are doing to cheat the system, and eventually will plug that hole, and your rankings will ultimately be dropped. And if you do something REALLY naughty, search engines have no qualms taking you out of their search results for good.

How do I learn what’s good SEO and what’s bad SEO?

First, you can do research. A great resource is The Beginner’s Guide to SEO. And there are endless resources. But with many things, SEO changes often, so when reading articles about tips and best practices, be sure to check the publication date. If it’s dated 2011, it might be a little dated.

Second, if you don’t feel like doing research, my brief explanation on how to follow the rules is simply this…

If you are doing it for the robots, you are probably doing it WRONG.
If you are doing it for the convenience of the human visitor, you are probably doing it RIGHT.

Are you writing for the robots or for your target audience? Are you selecting your keyword phrases base on what robots will rank or based on what your target audience will search for? Are you including cross-linking and external link resources for robots or for the convenience of your target audience? Are you filling out all those local listing profiles for the robots or so your target audience has a better chance of finding you? These are just a few items to help burn this idea into your pattern of thinking. 

Here are three free tools you will want to start using to help improve your online presence:

1. Google Analytics | Track website traffic and trends.
2. Google Webmaster Tools | Learn how Search Engines view your website.
3. Google Keyword Tool | Keyword research targeting using Adwords.

When setting up Webmaster Tools, you have to define which version of your URL you want to be tracked, with the www. or without the www., and then you have to set that in your account under Site Settings. If you do not, Google may view your website as having duplicate content, which alone will hurt your website’s ranking. This one simple thing – amazing, isn’t it? This is a great reminder that duplicate content is a big SEO no-no.

Thank you for joining me on this fun lesson on what NOT to do! Looking for more advice about what to do? Below are some references you may enjoy:

• SEO Tips & Tricks to Rank Above Your Competition & Increase Your Website Traffic
• The Website SEO Checklist
• Free Online Marketing Tips That Improve Your SEO
• How SEO Works
• 4 Marketing Techniques YOU Can Use to Boost Your Web Presence

The post SEO – What Doesn’t Work & Why “Gaming the System” is a BIG NO-NO!!! appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

Let’s touch on functionality:

1. Test your Online Forms.
2. Test all other specialty functions to make sure they are working properly.

Clean up and freshen your content:

1. FIRST, Check your anayltics to see if any specific pages are lacking visitors. (Google Analytics, if already installed on your website.)
2. As you read through your content, address out-of-date content, reduce unnecessary verbiage, and add new content.
   1. Add links throughout your content to other relevant webpages (AKA: “Cross Linking”)
   2. News Items (newsletters, press releases, articles, etc.)
   3. Events / Calendar (are they current or old? are your newest items on the list?)
   4. Services / Products (have you expanded or reduced your scope?)
   5. Team (have you had any staff members change?)
   6. Testimonials from Happy Clients
   7. Menu Navigation (can it be further simplified or better organized?)
   8. Double check your contact info EVERYWHERE!
   9. Spell Check!!
3. Does your website need any visual touch-ups?
   1. Swap Photos
   2. Update Graphics (Try Canva!)
   3. Update Typography
   4. Update Layout / Design Elements
4. Test Social Media Links & Add NEW Links

Touch up marketing aspects:

1. Are visitors taking the next step towards becoming a client? See if you can strengthen your “Call to Actions”!
2. Is it easy to connect with you through your website? (call, email, sign up for newsletters, follow social accounts, etc.)
3. Are your Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, and Keywords still accurate?

Last but not least, TECHNICALITIES:

• Is your website Mobile Friendly? (Test it over at Google!)
• Check for and correct broken links. (Free Scan for Broken Links at Online Broken Link Checker!)
• AND THE  FINAL STEP… did you complete a large number of updates or add a lot of new content? Don’t wait to get better rankings, get on the waiting list to be re-indexed at GOOGLE and BING!

Let Website GURL know how your spring cleaning went,
and let me know if you think up any other good pointers.

Call me if you need help: 443-340-6317

And if you feel you have a little bit of everything and want to talk about a revamp, I’m your GURL!

PS… if website spring cleaning got you in the mood for more, check out my latest blog post about a recent favorite book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing”!!

The post It’s TIME for Website Spring Cleaning appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

Jump on over to www.BizMindedMuses.com (or listen below) to enjoy a podcast led by Kelly Heck of Website Gurl. Kelly shares great info and resources on Organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization), explaining how SEO works and sharing tactics that you can use to help improve your online rankings in the SERPs (Search Engine Return Pages). Listen in, and let us know what you think and what else you would love to learn!!

The post SEO Tips & Tricks to Rank Above Your Competition & Increase Your Website Traffic appeared first on WebsiteGURL.

WHAT CAN I DO TODAY TO STAND OUT TOMORROW?

• Share a helpful tip.
• Share a great resource.
• Post to another page.
• Pose an insightful question.
• Feature a project or client.
• Give a pitch.
• Share a Testimonial.
• Share a Photo or Video.
• Share an inspiring quote.
• Boast about a success.
• Matters of urgency.
• Tell a story.
• Make my connections laugh.
• Shout out to my SISTER COMPANY.
• Holiday Greetings.
• Share a snippet of an article / blog.
• >Give a shout out to a person.
• Give a shout out to a business.

TAGGING is a great way to spread your reach! Use the @ symbol to tag pages, places, and event pages. And don’t forget your #HASHTAGS!

Tag Another Organization FAN PAGE to Spread YOUR Reach

>Tag a City / FAN PAGE to Spread YOUR Local Reach

Use YOUR Registered Hashtags
https://www.hashtags.org/

CLICK here to listen to the full PODCAST by the Biz Minded Muses!

Download the FREE Print-Ready PDF Guide from Website GURL

   Leave some love below!  

The post The Daily Guide to Mastering Social Media appeared first on WebsiteGURL.