7 Things Highly Productive People Do by Ilya Pozin

You have more important things to focus on than, um, focusing. Get back on track with these tips.

You probably don’t want to admit it but you love distractions. In fact, just like monkeys, you get a shot of dopamine every time something pulls you in another direction. Why do you think you check your email so much?

Want to be more productive and get your focus back? There are no secret tricks here… do one thing at a time. Stop multitasking—it’s just another form of distraction.

Easier said than done, I know.

Continue reading at Inc.com

Use Social Media and Social Bookmarking Websites. Social Media websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are beneficial network and marketing websites. Social Media websites can prove to be valuable in marketing your website and the services that you offer to potential clients.

Social bookmarking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit, are simple; yet profitable when wanting to drive traffic to your website. These websites will aid you in establishing your brand and encourage traffic to your website. There has been an increased trend with internet based business owners; therefore, implementing a strong marketing platform will improve your website’s traffic and your
client base.

Use Blogging. Blogging is another website in the form of social media. A blog combines commentary, images, and/or links to your website. A blog allows you the opportunity to keep an online “diary” of your thoughts, progress, events and articles that pertain to your website and business. Additionally, your blog encourages user participation and allows your readers to comment on the information posted in your blog. Furthermore, several social bookmarking sites will allow you to link your blog to your social bookmarking account; which will increase your targeted audience.

Use article marketing. Writing articles for publication is an effective tool for driving traffic to your website. Websites such as Ezine Articles and Aweber allow you to share your knowledge, expertise, wisdom and in return you can receive traffic back to your website. Many article publishing websites allow you to post a profile of yourself, your business and your website at the end of each article; which will promote your business and build increased traffic to your website and/or blog.

Describe your services offered accurately. Your website is your blueprint for the service that you are offering to potential clients. When listing your services you want to be accurate and precise without becoming too wordy. Using keywords to give a description of the services you offer will amplify your potential client contacts.

Offer discounts for those who book your services through your website. Promote your services and make use of your website traffic by offering online discounts and/or specials. Also, rewarding your current client base for referring friends, family and colleagues is an attractive incentive and will increase client retention.

Provide testimonials from current or past clients. Posting testimonials on your website is an effective tool in gaining prospective clients. Potential clients will relate their business needs with your current client base. Therefore, reading testimonials from current or previous clients provides potential clients with a history of your work ethic. It will entice prospective clients to contact you.

About Us/History Page. Listing your experience, expertise and/or education will provide your potential
clients with an outline of your background. Your experience, expertise and/or education will lay a foundation for you and your new client to build upon.

Staying one step ahead of your competition is essential when marketing your website and business. Consider implementing the tools listed above and you are already on the course for success.

We have designed over 100 WordPress websites since 2007

See our portfolio of coaches and therapists WordPress wesbites

A really simple way of putting featured posts on your website.

Description:
This plugin let’s you add – to any spot on your blog’s sidebar – a section dedicated to the articles you’d like to highlight. How it works is very simple: once it’s installed and activated you can decide which articles to add to the highlights section, how many to display, the display order mode and the size of the image retrieved (it takes the first image in the article and automatically resizes it using the “timthumb.php” script).

Some Features:

• Specify a title to be shown on the sidebar.
• Choose the number of articles to display in this section.
• Choose the way in which the articles will be ordered.
• Define the dimensions of the image that will be created.

Author: GdnGroups

Download: Click on the link to download

Screenshots:

Read Post:

I’m often asked by my Virtual Assistant clients, “I submit articles, I tweet on Twitter, and post on Facebook, I publish an ezine – do I still really need to blog?”

Yes, you do! And here’s why:

Connect on a personal level: A blog is a way to start a conversation about a particular subject – in this case related to your business and the issues surrounding it. By inviting your readers to join the dialogue, you create an opportunity to engage your readers – clients and potential clients — on a more personal level than in a website or even an ezine. Your posts reflect your thoughts and ideas on certain matters, making deeper connections with your readers’ ideals, values and needs. Readers can comment and commiserate on issues, offering you the chance to offer solutions. This is relationship building – taking you a step further toward creating clients for life.

The consistency of your topics is key to building and keeping an audience. Readers turn to blogs for specific information, news, ideas and conversation about a topic that is important to them. By keeping your posts consistent, you become an expert and the source of what they are searching for.

Search Engine Ranking: Fresh content is the steam that fuels search engines. And as we all know, steam rises! Again, the key is consistency in your posts. When your posts contain related keywords and phrases time and time again, search engines, like Google, put you higher in the rankings. Don’t let your blog sit idle. Post regularly and send your search engine ranking skyward!

Fewer people are subscribing to ezines: I’m one of them. I can now count on one hand the number of ezines I receive in my inbox. People are becoming overwhelmed with email and fewer are signing up to receive ezines. More people are signing up for news feeds to receive new information from sources they know and trust- blogs. If your readers are signing up for your news feed, you’re delivering fresh, timely information to them every time you post.

Not everyone is on social media: On the flip side, there are some people who are not on social media, who may prefer to receive information by e-mail. Blogs generally offer either an RSS feed or an e-mail digest. Or, with applications like Google’s Feedburner, you can create e-mail newsletters from your RSS feeds, and track the usage of your subscribers.

Reliability and control: A month or so ago both Facebook and twitter were ‘down’ for a substantial amount of time. That was a wake-up call for us to be equally active on platforms that we can control, such as a blog. Who knows what might happen to Facebook or twitter – but I know nothing will happen to my own site/blog – and therefore I make it a priority to be active there also.

Remember – there is no single magic pill in Online Marketing. Just because Facebook and twitter are so popular, doesn’t mean you should neglect the other areas. Having a blog can be an invaluable way to build a following, brand yourself as an expert, and rise in search engine rankings. Having a presence on multiple fronts (blogging, social media, website, ezine…) will put you in front of more readers, and give you the optimal return on your time.

Author: Donna Toothaker is CEO, founder and coach of Step It Up VA Coaching, http://www.stepitupva.com.

PS: We design custom blogs to match your website and seamlessly merge your existing website with your new blog. Contact us about how to get you blogging in 2011. WordPress CMS is our number one choice for blogging and web design applications. Check out our portfolio for our very extensive examples of WordPress blogs and websites.

There are many reasons why small business owners should not only consider this but actually have it as one of their marketing strategies.

Here are some of the advantages of having community:

• You can showcase your expertise
• You can reach more people compared to having mainly one-on-one relationships
• Community members can communicate more frequently with you and other members
• You can identify much clearer the needs of your community
• Your members can identify their unique needs a lot quicker
• Your community can proactively communicate their needs to you
• You can gain accurate feedback from your members much easier
• You can bring other experts into your community to support your members

Many business owners worry about implementing this strategy but quickly forget the idea because they feel overwhelmed by just thinking about it. This is where we are your go to people for bringing this vision to reality. You can do this and we will make it happen.

Contact us for a FREE consultation about how to strategically build a community around your business and connect with the many people that need your products and or services.

In these latter parts of the year, a lot of business owners are working on revamping their websites and I do know that a lot of the websites that I use for various reasons are rolling out their new sites instead of waiting till the start of the upcoming year.

Are you thinking about rolling out a new dynamic website for 2011? Here are some questions on an important aspect of having a business website:

• Is your website going to showcase your products and or services effectively?
• Will you be offering quality real life examples for potential and existing clients to review?
• Will you be putting on display rave reviews, projects, services and products you have completed?

If you are not highlighting your expertise, demonstrating the value that your potential clients and customers need….then STOP! And get back to the drawing board.

Your website is the one place where there are no restrictions to showcasing what you have to offer.

I provide a FREE 30 minutes consultation, use this opportunity to chat about upgrading your online marketing presence and how to strategically showcase your products and services.

1. A professionally designed website gives you an edge over your competitors.
2. To potential customers, your website is like a store and your business card.
3. Your website acts as an interface between your organization and the rest of the world, year round.
4. Critical points of building an online business presence is having an appealing, informative & interactive website.
5. Having a great website is an absolute first step in creating a marketing brand for your company.
6. Your website is a great way to communicate with potential customers.
7. Usability of your website can convert more people to purchase services from your business.
8. Well designed web sites work so that your company is well-presented in the business environment
9. Your website is a reflection of the way you do business.
10. Your website has the potential to give your business a larger customer base online.

For additional tips and to see how AI Virtual Solutions can help you get started on your website, do call or email us. Here are a few additional tips to consider as your website comes together:

1. Besides a having a great look, a website must be also be user friendly, easy to navigate, understand and find.
2. An attractive & professional looking website will give your business credibility & help strengthen your brand.
3. Visitors typically decide within seconds whether or not they are staying on a website aka buy from you!

So you say to yourself why would you need the services of a trained web designer, if you can get it done on your own.

Sooner or later, it gets to the point where you need your business website to reflect your commitment to your business.

Do not think that the well informed potential client would have a positive impression when they view your website as “homemade”.

Here are some of the assumptions that they will form:

• You are new in business: Being new in business should not be perceived as negative but truth be told, people would be reluctant to want to buy from a person that is just starting out. You should not blatantly promote that a potential client would be your first client. You should promote your expertise and previous experience.
• Your business isn’t making any money: If people see a “Free website by Blah Blah” on the footer of your website, they would think “Can’t afford a paid-for website”.
• You don’t have clients and/or customers: People want to deal with businesses that have a proven track record.
• You are not committed to the business: This means that you can pack up shop tomorrow and not finish their project or provide after sale care.

Did you know that these conclusions would be drawn in less than a minute? All of these assumptions would take them to your competitors, period.

These are some of the reasons to hire a professional web designer:

• Many are business owners themselves
• They understand what gives a positive or negative impression
• They provide more than just web design
• Many are trained not only in web design but web development, search engine optimization, internet marketing and more; and have in depth knowledge and experience in these areas
• Many don’t charge an arm and a leg, they have affordable services packages to meet the needs and budget of a potential client

A very important thing that I continue to see in successful business owners and I’m privileged to continue to connect with many; is that they delegate to experts in fields that they don’t have the a background or in depth experience in.

Remember, First Impress Counts! and Anything Worth Doing is Worth Doing Well!

It’s our 3rd year anniversary today! Its been an interesting journey thus far. I’ve cried, laughed, being frustrated, worked through the day and night, looked like someone whose just getting out of bed at 3pm…but I’ve loved every minute of it.

I want to say a huge thank you to my husband, whose been a tremendous support and I truly appreciate his mad IT skills; My girls (9 and 5) who have become such young ladies and have made this journey easier; My team members for all their hard work and awesome clients for trusting me with their businesses.

Most of all, I’m thankful to my heavenly Father who has made this possible. I’m truly humbled.