Promotional Designer

Writing made easy – OK less challenging.

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:10:00 PDT

One of the things that the 30 day challenge is showing me is that I know a lot more than I thought. However, along with that I am learning how to tie things together. Now don't get me wrong I am learning tons of stuff, I didn't know as well, but I am a bit slow at doing the lessons – (have to keep my clients happy as well, I have to work on their projects!)

I don't know if you are like me, but I do a lot of research and I am constantly learning about techniques and collecting ideas. Sometimes what I am learning doesn't tie to together in my mind like it should, and it doesn't all come together in an organized fashion.

Well today I am going to tie together how to write interesting articles and blog posts using several items that I love – Google Notebook, Google Reader – and an editor (Microsoft word, note pad, whatever you desire) by sharing a video by Ed Dale.see my previous article on Google Notebook

This 30 day challenge video is going to blow you away. You are going to see that getting fresh content for your projects doesn't have to be hard at all. It can even be fun!!

I hope you enjoyed and learned a lot - even if it is just a refresher course!! Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

How to Write E-mail Promotions That Get Results!

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:20:00 PDT

I absolutely love this series of free - video's, I hope you enjoy them and learn as much as I have. Below is a total synopsis of the video's (video by video) and exactly what you can expect. You will love them! Have you ever been faced with the task of having to write an email promotion to your list, and then realized that you didn't know what to say or how to say it? Michael Rasmussen's new video course "E-mail Promos Exposed" promises to solve that problem for you by walking you through the actual process of creating effective e-mail promos step-by-step. ************************************************* If you're in a hurry, just go ahead visit this URL to get instant free access to these videos: Free Video's I decided to see if Michael's videos live up to their promise by trying them out myself. Here's what I found: ************************************************* Over all Quality ************************************************* The first thing I noticed when I opened up thefirst video was the stunning production quality. He used Camtasia Studio for the production, which is now the industry standard for creating high-quality screen capture video products. I also liked how Michael divided the Free Video's up by section, and then again by sub-section. For example, one video is all about the subject line, and then there are different parts of that video that each cover a certain area of crafting a killer subject line. Now let's move on to... ************************************************* THE ACTUAL VIDEOS ************************************************* Here's a brief summary of each video. Obviously it's impossible to list every single thing here, but I want you to get a feel for what each one covered, and how well it covered it. If you're in a hurry, just go ahead visit this URL to get instant free access to these video's ************************************************* VIDEO 1 - INTRODUCTION This video served as an introduction to the wholecourse. You get to see a picture of Michael in his every day life, and he establishes his credibility right up front by talking about some of his successes online. He even provides proof of credibility by displaying two checks which prove that, when it comes to the subject of making money with email promos, he knows his stuff. This is a good lesson for anyone to get. When ever you're teaching people how to do something, it's good to establish your credibility up front, so that there's no doubt about whether or not you'requalified to talk about the subject. Most product developers either skip or minimize this step. VIDEO 2 - BEFORE YOU WRITE THE PROMO This video talks about some things that no other marketer has bothered to mention. You'll learn things like:

The mindset you need in order to write an effective promotion
The different tools you need before you get started
How to keep your e-mails laser-focused
How to create an outline that practicallywrites the email for you.

This was a fantastic video, and did a good job of kicking things off. VIDEO 3 - THE SUBJECT LINE I liked this video, because it talked about one of MY biggest weaknesses when it comes to writing e-mail promos... the subject line. The subject line is a confusing topic, because nobody's 100% sure what the best tactics are. Michael breaks it down, and reveals:

The biggest secret for writing a subject line that makes people insanely curious.
Techniques for personalizing the subject line.
Mistakes to avoid when using personalization.

I was surprised to find that I was making some of the mistakes that Michael mentioned in this video, but now I know better. VIDEO 4 - THE OPENING This is where a lot of people slack off when writing their emails. Michael talks about how important it is to create an opening that is conversational, and then reveals techniques and examples on how to do that. He also reveals:

How to get people to keep reading your email once they've opened it.
How to make your opening interesting.
Mistakes to avoid when creating your first few paragraphs.

VIDEO 5 - THE BODY COPY This is one of the "meatiest" portions of the course, because it reveals techniques that are not widely discussed on the forums, blogs, and in most e-Books. He talks about the importance of keeping your body copy tight and relevant, and then reveals how you can do that. You'll also learn:

How to write powerful bullets that make people curious and want to find out more.
Simple formatting tricks for making your body copy easy to read.
The secret of "bucket brigade copy" and how to use it in your e-mail promos to force people to keep reading.

VIDEO 6 - THE CALL TO ACTION This is where a lot of people wimp out in their e-mail promos. They start out strong, but when it comes time to ask the reader to click the link and take action, they don't know what to say. Michael talks about some of his favorite techniques for making that happen. He also reveals:

The "magic question" to ask yourself that will make your close much more powerful.
The secret of the "unanswered question" and why handling this is a surefire way to get people to act right away.
The structure of a powerful close.
Mistakes people make when creating their close.

VIDEO 7 - CREATING AN EFFECTIVE P.S. Some people say that the P.S. is one of the most important parts of the email, because it is often the one thing that gets people to click the link at the end. In this video, Michael talks about:

Why you should including a P.S. at the end ofyour email.
The 4 different kinds of P.S.'s you can use (this section was a real eye-opener for me).

VIDEO 8 - COMMON MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE I loved this video, because it showed me some mistakes that I was making that I wasn't even aware of. Unless you're a seasoned pro, you're probably guilty of some of the things that Michael talks about in this video as well, and that's why it's so valuable. I've shaved years off my learning curve, because now I can avoid some of the costly mistakes that I was bound tomake in the learning process. VIDEO 9 - HOW TO CREATE FOLLOW-UP EMAIL PROMOTIONS This video alone is going to make me a lot of money. Why? Michael shows in this video how important it is to send a follow-up promotion, and he shows you exactly how to do it.

He covered things like:

The psychology of follow-up e-mail promo's.
The 2 main types of follow-up promos that make the most money.
How to over come readers' objections in your follow up e-mails.
The 2 most common mistakes people make when writing follow-ups and how to avoid them.

VIDEO 10 - HOW TO WRITE BACK END E-MAIL PROMOTIONS Every marketing guru out there says that the REAL money is on the back end. The problem is... Most people have no idea how to set up a back end system that makes money. This video will teach you how to set up an automated back end. He reveals things like:

Common mistakes people make when creating backend email promos.
How to prepare a backend promotion sequence.
The big difference between regular and backend e-mail promos.

VIDEO 11 - CREATING AFFILIATE EMAIL PROMOTIONS Some of you are strictly affiliate marketers, or you would like to promote products that you love - and get a bonus in return. Let's face it, if you only have 3 products, can you really afford to only email your list 3 times a year? They'll get bored hearing about the same old products over and over again. This video sheds some light on how to create killer affiliate promos. Michael reveals things like:

The two main types of affiliate promos.
What makes affiliate promos different than regular promos (and why ignoring this huge secret could cost you big money).
Michael's favorite tactics for creating affiliate promos that no one else is doing.
3 different ways to add scarcity to your affiliate promos (this is the most important section of the video, so make sure you watch itover and over again).

************************************************* CONCLUSION ********************************************* As you can see, E-mail Promos Exposed really packs a lot of punch! Most of the courses out there offer only watered down, weak content. Not this one! These videos are going on my "A-list" for along time. I've already watched them twice, and plan on reviewing them every couple months to make sure that I have the principals, techniques and tactics burned into my mind. If email marketing is an important part of your business (and in my opinion, it's the most important part of ANY online business), then you owe it to yourself to check out Michael's exciting new videos, E-mail Promos Exposed. Here's the URL where you can get instant free access to the videos right now. Free Video's I hope you take advantage of these free video's they are phenomenal... Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Did you know?

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:21:00 PDT

I decided to do some house cleaning (on my computer) something that scares me to death simply because I know without a doubt I will throw something away that I need.

I don't know if you are like me, but I save 50 of the same thing in 20 different places just because I want to make sure it is safe…

Needless to say I have a lot of “junk” cluttering my computer…

While I was in the process of cleaning out my files, I ran across some notes I had taken while attending a seminar with a client. I thought I should share them with you.

Understanding the dynamics – of internet users – will really help enlighten you – it gives insight into what type of people buy on the internet – it will prevent you from becoming frustrated because you will know certain things are normal.

Last but not least it will show you why you should you should have your business on the internet and which direction to go.

Understanding Internet Users – learn from statistics…

Why should you have your business online?

Online retailers are acquiring new customers at a 15% annual rate versus 2% for brick and mortar stores. --Deloitte & Touche USA, November 2006

U.S. consumers are expected to increase their spending at online retail stores from $877 per consumer in 2005 to $1,512 per consumer by 2009. --eMarketer, May 2006

E-commerce is growing at a rate of roughly 25% per year even though the number of shoppers has remained about the same. --U.S. Department of Commerce/Gallup, March 2006

Why should your have a professional website?

75% of online shoppers say they would not return to a website that took longer than 4 seconds to load. --Akamai, November 2006

86% of internet shoppers will return to a website if they find that Website useful. This is why you need to have a website that is put together by a seasoned professional up to date and has information that is valuable to the visitor.

Why should you bother with a blog or email campaigns?

Consumers are 50% more likely to be influenced by blogs and e-mails than radio or TV advertising. --EPM Communications, April 2006

Roughly 30% of the total U.S. internet population visited blogs in the first quarter of 2005. --comScore, August 2005

Why should you use social networking sites?

45% of active web users visit social networking sites. --Nielsen/NetRatings, May 2006

And that was in 2006!

Did You know…

85% of home shoppers today use the internet to shop …

According to the National Association of Realtors 2007 profile of buyers & sellers:

The average age of people who access the internet and purchase the most (on-line) are between the ages of 25-55 – 84%.

64% of internet consumers have a household income of $ 50,000 - $ 124,999.

You may be surprised to learn only 2% - 5% of your website traffic actually completes the online registration/contact form… This is why you need to offer something of value, entice your visitors to sign up on your auto responder – this will build your database – and your database is gold!

The vast majority of people who surf the internet - call the office – visits in person or do nothing. Make sure you have a phone number and email visible - have everything on your contact page.

I hope these statistics give you pause for thought. It really clarified for me why it is so important to pay attention to detail and shy you need to have all the right things in place to get the results you want…

Make sure you have a marketing website – not just a pretty brochure or a website that ranks high on search engines but when a potential client clicks on the link they leave the page as fast as they find it.

You are shooting yourself in the foot is you don’t have all your ducks in a row. Translation: You don’t have the right website for your business.

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design For a free - no obligation consultation

Short and Sweet - Great HTML Reference

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 06:28:00 PDT

I don’t know how many of you do your own website if you are one of those people who – update your own website – or design your website you will love this tool!! Most people do not hand code anymore it is tedious and really quite time consuming – if you are one of those people this website will be invaluable to you. More than likely you use a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) this would include – Dreamweaver, front page etc. Even then you will appreciate this website (even love it!). There are many times when creating a website using Dreamweaver, I have had to go into the code and change tags or tweak the code just to get the look I want. Well guess what – I found a wonderful website that helps you with all your .html codes… The link is below http://htmlplayground.com/ I am amazed at all the little (and big) treasures that you can find on the internet if you dig deep enough!! Pamela – Artista Design

Blog or Website? Which one do I need...

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:36:00 PDT

Many moons ago websites were the only thing that a business or person had to showcase his business or expertise (on the Internet). Now with the advent and explosion of blogs many people have chosen to use blogs over websites. Depending on your business and what you are trying to achieve most businesses need both.

There are exceptions to every rule, however, using both will give you a big advantage over using one over the other.

What is the difference?

There is a big difference – a website is a carefully thought out and executed store (for lack of a better word). It is like a corporate office or an exclusive piece of property. The look and feel of the interfaces are branded to attract your perfect clients and to create an experience for the visitor. The domain name is an important piece of your branding as well and should be an extension of the business.

A blog on the other hand is more of a social networking site. A blog can brand you as the expert in a certain field or gradually help you to become a well known personality. It has constantly changing content and is made to interact with visitors.

It is like inviting someone into your home or to a coffee shop to chat or to tell them about things they find interesting or useful. A blog can have its own domain name but it is of less importance – that it be named a business name.

A website and a blog go toward hand in hand. Well built websites selling services and/or products will stay pretty static.

While a blog will back link to your website and provide the communication so vital to keeping in touch with your clients and potential clients, it also helps push up you rankings on the search engines.

A website will provide stable communication – on task messages about your product and/or service as well as various other items such as online portfolio, testimonials, e-commerce store, ability to accept payment through merchant accounts, policy and warranty information etc.

Anyone can set up a blog, sometimes it can be a challenge to make it look professional.

A website takes a lot more time, work and money. This works in your favor if you are trying to portray a successful image (,or you are successful and want them to know that).

I hope this clears up the debating; I see going on in cyberspace – to blog or not to blog:

Should I blog? (YES BLOG)

Is a website the same as a blog? (NO IT IS NOT).

Do I need both? (MOST PROBABLY!)

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Twitter – What’s All the Fuss??

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:31:00 PDT

I have to tell you for some time now I have been reading everywhere - Twitter this and Twitter that.

I have also read comments like “I just don't see how Twitter is such a great tool” or “I don't have time for Twitter it is nonsensical”

I decided I had to try it out for myself, all the negative comments I have read are wrong as a matter of fact, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Twitter has actually gotten me in contacts with more people on an one to one basis than any other social networking tool...

It is faster and more effective than any other web 2.0 site, I have worked with. Don't get me wrong I have had great success on a number of sites but with Twitter it was pretty much instantaneous.

I decided to jump into Twitter a few weeks ago... I must admit in the beginning I really didn't get it – you basically blog 200 words at the most and follow people around – or they follow you around...

What's the Big Deal Right? WRONG, it is a BIG DEAL...

I must tell you as an extremely busy person myself – someone who spends my life developing websites and working on the Internet I have never seen anything with such fast straight forward results.

IF you are not on Twitter sign up now, be sure and put up your profile and a picture... add your links. Then start following people that are in your industry, or you would like to connect with.

It just takes a few minuets to write a comment – then answer some of your followers comments --- Pretty soon you're connecting with like minded people.

If you have signed up on Twitter and have not worked it shame on you!

If you put in just a few minutes a day commenting – posting links of your blog posts and other topics of interest – answer some of the people who you are following – you will see a boost in your network connections I guarantee it!

Anyone who does not believe in the power of Twitter, or doubts what I am saying needs to see this.

I made a fantastic connection on Twitter and the next thing I knew...

Well see for yourself: http://tinyurl.com/got-to-see

The proof is in the pudding!!

OK now Twitter away – and you will see how powerful it is!!

Don't forget to add me to your Twitter friends! http://twitter.com/pamelajacob

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design

Great Promotion.

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:33:00 PDT

Who says the universe doesn't deliver? OK I may be - counting my chickens before they are hatched but - I was just thinking I should buy an Ipod - nano when an announcment came about a great contest - and the prize is??? You guessed it an Ipod Nano!! If I use the word bloggeries in my blog - I get a chance t o win! So here it is... Bloggeries, bloggeries, bloggeries... One entry anyway... OK I will give you the link as well! By the way it is a great forum - you should sign-up! Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

10 Reasons You Are Not Rich...

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:49:00 PDT

Have you ever though why are they so well off? You say to yourself - if I just made the kind of money they do!! Think again here is an interesting article that will give you pause...

10 (More) Reasons You're Not Richby Jeffrey Strain

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Many people assume they aren't rich because they don't earn enough money. If I only earned a little more, I could save and invest better, they say.

The problem with that theory is they were probably making exactly the same argument before their last several raises. Becoming a millionaire has less to do with how much you make, it's how you treat money in your daily life.

The list of reasons you may not be rich doesn't end at 10. Caring what your neighbors think, not being patient, having bad habits, not having goals, not being prepared, trying to make a quick buck, relying on others to handle your money, investing in things you don't understand, being financially afraid and ignoring your finances.

More...

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Are Your Profits Being Stolen Out From Under You?

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:08:00 PDT

I have had an interesting few months, I am constantly learning – as we all are in the Internet world.

One client I have been working with – had developed a training manual and threw her life experience into this book. She had published this manual as a hard back and is even teaching classes in her industry. Being in the next phase of development my client felt like she would like to give the opportunity of her expertise to anyone who desired a rewarding life in the travel industry.

Walla, we put her book together into an e-book and developed a landing page for her business.

When Cherie asked me “what can I do to protect the book from being passed around or pirated” I was surprised – I had never in all my years in business been asked that question...

I knew how to password protect a book and stop anyone from being able to alter the contents. I had never really been concerned about the material being sent from one place to another.

Was I being naive? I had always dealt with books that had affiliate links and the authors of these e-books really didn't mind passing the book around or even giving it out for free.

This training manual (as my client so elegantly put it) was 15 years of her life and resources. It was a lot of hard work and tears to pull everything together...

It is her bread and butter. I finally understood..

How many of you have an e-product that you have slaved over and really need to protect from piracy? (click on CB Protect)

If you are into affiliate marketing you may be thinking well I want my book to go viral – I will make more money that way. That is fine – but if you are not an affiliate marketer, and you need to protect your property. What do you do?

On the other hand, even if you want to have affiliates – how do you protect them, so they get the commission they deserve?

Did you know..

4 out of 10 copies of software and e-books are pirated/stolen.

Only 17% of Internet users pay every time for the software they download.

70% of Internet users say they would not be likely to pay your full price for your software (when they can download them for free).

85 of Internet users feel the "tech. Industry" is so prosperous it doesn't really matter that they have unlicensed (stolen) software.

36% of Internet users don't even know it's illegal.

Over 2 billion was lost in 2002 for North America alone due to software piracy (over 13 billion worldwide).

These facts are based on the Global Piracy Studies conducted by IDC for the Business Software Alliance. Among other measures to determine these figures, IDC conducted more than 5600 interviews in 15 countries.

After learning these facts and doing some online research into the best possible service – that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg. I have found a solution.

CB Protect. It protects e-books, and software downloads.

The Virtual Vault ^TM FORCES USERS OF YOUR PRODUCT TO PAY, OR THEY DON'T GET ACCESS. Your software or e-book simply will not open if they didn't buy it from you, even if they get a copy from a friend that bought from you.

The Virtual Vault^TM even revokes access from refunded customers!

It is customizable and even works with Paypal and merchant accounts.

Bottom-line – if you have a product you want to protect – please check out this website.

Try it out for 30 days only a couple of dollars– you have nothing to lose...

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design

Blow Out Price for Royalty Free Photos!

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:25:00 PST

I have decided that when I run across a good deal (this is a great deal) I would share it with you. There are a lot of places to buy images some you have to pay per image – some are more expensive than others. So many times new online businesses are using images they do not have permission to - and a lot of the free sites have a written agreement that you will use them for your own personal use not for business advertising purposes. This can open your business up to law suites and other copy right infringement problems - and believe me when you become successful people will notice...

Because I am a designer, I buy subscriptions to websites that allow me to download royalty free images (unlimited). I never know from month to month what images I may need or what type of clients I will have.

I just became aware of a fantastic sale www.iclipart.com this service offers - clipart - photo's - fonts - sounds.

They have a smaller inventory than a few of the other site I get photo's from but for $29.99 a year (that is only $ 2.50 a month) unlimited downloads and the images are royalty free in addition to that ... How can you beat it!

Who know how long they will have this sale?

To be honest with you I do have a favorite, and it is clipart.com – it has a Hugh variety of great photos and clip art (so don’t let the name fool you) along with free fonts and sounds…

Great for those multimedia projects that you are trying to finish up.

If you are in the graphic design field and need very high resolution images you may want to go to photos.com – much more expensive but when you are in the print industry you need a much higher quality graphic. These pictures are much less expensive than buying them piece by piece…

These photos are not just your standard stock photos – large formats and professionally done. Clipart.com has professional looking – unusual pictures.

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Are you being penalized for duplicate content??

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:17:00 PST

I have been hearing a lot about being penalized for article duplication on the internet. I started to really get concerned a lot of the articles I submit to e-zine articles get published on various site.

I know how important back links are to search engine position and have always used this method as part of my marketing strategy.

I am sure a lot of you do too…

But what about the duplication penalties that I have heard about from search engines?

Is it really worth it or not?

I found an article that really clarifies the dilemma and honestly gave me a sigh of relief – I hope it does the same for you. This article makes total sense.

http://tinyurl.com/article-duplication

Keep on submitting articles for submission in article marketing forums it is a great way to get rankings on search engines …

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design

Create More Success in Your Life! Things That Work…

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:08:00 PST

1. Hire experts to do what you are not good at!

If you are an expert in your field and really good at what you do – why waste your time trying to figure out how to do things you

a. Don’t know...

b. Are not good at...

c. Don’t have time for?

For example, I love designing websites and marketing materials, as an artist I just love it. I happened to be born with an artistic gene, I am an expert at designing and developing websites that are marketing machines. I have been in this industry for over a decade - I have experience – I have learned so much I am a great consultant. I can draw up marketing plans etc.

Programming is not my talent and it is not my niche…

I tried when I first started and found I just am not the programming type – it took me days to accomplish what it takes a programmer an hour to do. Being in this business so long I have some very good connections. When I have to have some heavy programming done I don't do it myself I hire the best… Saves me time, stress and ultimately saves me money.

2. Prepare – have a plan.

I have seen so many people just decide one day to have an online business and they don’t do the preparation needed to really have a solid foundation. You need to write out a business plan – if you don’t know how just write out what your goals are and a detailed map of how you are going to get to your goal.

When you get to the point you need a website – what type do you need?

a. Do you want to use you website to market your business?

b. Do you have a product or services you want to sell?

C. Do you want to put up a portfolio?

Would a blog be what you need or do you need both…

You get my point.

3. Have the right image!

If you truly want to develop a successful business, a solid foundation is one of the most important things you can do. It will be the springboard where all your success will come from.

What do I mean by “The Right Image”?

Well that will depend a bit on what it is you are doing. First your business does need a website – I may sound like a broken record but – it is true!

People use the internet as a research tool to learn more about businesses in their area – or around the world. Secondly the website, your business cards and all marketing materials must be branded and attract your target market.

If you are in a business that deals with children and parents it will look quite a bit different than a business that is for the Adult – Professional world.

Branding means to have all marketing materials, website, ads etc have the same images, colors, flavor, and feeling that you want to portray to your customers/clients.

Last but certainly not least – when meeting people in person make sure you make a good impression – dress so you look like a successful business owner – be polite and always remember you never know who it is you are talking to – it may be the person that will open the door to a flood of clients.

3. Be prepared to work.

Business is hard work – it is fun and challenging as well - but it is not going to be a piece of cake. Be prepared to put the time in especially in the beginning when you are trying to get established. Realize that when you own your own business you will be responsible for the success or failure.

Failure comes when someone is not ready to put in the work involved in getting the business off the ground. Failure comes in when you give up - because things are not going as you thought they would.

Remember: The difference between success and failure is that the successful person, will stumble and fall at times but they get up dust off the disappointment and figures out a way to solve the problem.

The unsuccessful person stumbles or falls and doesn't get up - decides life is against them "so why try?".

I don’t care what you have heard – if you think you will be making big bucks with very little time invested think again.

4. Networking the back bone of any business – network!

I am sure you have heard the saying “it isn’t what you know but who you know” – I believe that is only half true – it is “what you know and who you know”. That is the beauty of going to networking events or accessing web 2.0 sites and getting to know people on-line. It really is amazing what you can accomplish when you are networking with the right people.

5. Money is made and lost through relationships…

If you only have your eyes on you and what others can do for you, than you my friend will find that you will be on the losing end of #5

6. Sell – Sell – Sell

A lot of people really have a negative image of a sells person – it congers up someone that is insincere at best and a crook at worst. Nothing can be farther from the truth. A good sells person believes in what she/he has to sell and considers it something that will make that persons life a little better.

When you are authentic – then you believe in your product and service. When you believe in what you are doing than it is just natural that you will be excited and enthusiastic about getting the word out to every one that can benefit.

Have you ever heard “Your mouth is your business it should always be opened”? Funny saying but it is really true – please don’t go overboard and bore people to tears by just talking about you and you business – but where appropriate talk!

Find solutions for people that need your expertise. It’s all about balance – and (where appropriate) don’t forget to ask for the sell.

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Back to Basics...

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:50:00 PST

I just read a blog entry that states that PHP makes you cooler… Really? In my opinion and I have been around quite a while – as a business you are not in the market of being cooler by using the latest and greatest programming language. You are in the business of being efficient and protecting the bottom line … Let me explain… Back in the good old days (about a decade ago) – when I was learning and developing my first websites it was all straight html – not only that but one had to be careful about images because they had to be itty-bitty and we didn’t have the compression techniques that we have now. Once - I went out in the world of business – website development and design, I realized that there was so much more to building a website than the design (flashing graphics and programming gizmos). The design is important but so are the other crucial elements. Being search engine optimized, having a way to capture customer that come to the site, being able to market it by keywords and other such means. Making it professional looking is something I am naturally talented at and important – but making it work for your business - a marketing piece was quite something else and really one of the most important things of all. This is something no website designer/developer knows without being out and experiencing the real world of Web Development – Search engine marketing and a host of other business related subjects. So I Wrote the Article Because? I can not tell you how many times I have seen business owners – being horns waggled into putting up a site that is done completely in PHP– when they didn’t need it. Not only is it a lot more expensive, but it also will cost you a pretty penny when you need to find another developer to work with you. Nine times out of 10 times - if you are a small business and you are being told that you need to have a PHP site … You had better turn around and run the other way as fast as you can. No PHP - doesn’t make you cool when you don’t need it… Why should you believe me? Well for starters I have been in business for over a decade and been quite successful. Think about it... #1. Understand that you website is a marketing tool for your business, as that it will be changing and growing according to your business needs and direction. Making sure that your website can be easily updated and changed is so important. Most businesses need to watch the bottom line and don’t have a mountain of cash to throw away. It will cost you just as much if not more to update this type of website, and if you bring in another web developer, they may have to come in and re-create everything especially if your original web person wrote a lot of their own script. #2. Also I don’t care what they say I have been in this business a long time, and I know it is much more difficult to be SEO (search engine optimization) when you have these types of websites. The spiders that search engines send out don’t always have a way to index the keywords when you have a lot of scripting that they don’t understand - if your programmer/web developer doesn’t really understand what it takes to get the website search engine ready you are up a creek without a paddle. Unless you have tons of money for paid marketing and advertising, and/or you are someone like Coke, Pepsi or Nike who already have brand recognition – you are going to fine that you are not happy that you have put a lot of money out without the results you expected. In some cases you may find – you are looking at an empty coffer and you are no where near reaping the benefits. I am sure I will get a lot of flack from the die hard programmers that believe that everything has to be a PHP page… But honestly – you can insert PHP script into your basic web pages. In addition, there are reason why you would want to use PHP don’t get me wrong. Why use PHP? Put to proper use PHP can be a fantastic scripting language. PHP is a scripting language that is often embedded into HTML to add functions HTML alone can't do. PHP allows you to collect, process and utilize data to create a desired output. In short, it let's you interact with your pages. If you need to embed dynamic text into static text, you’ll find PHP extremely useful. It was designed for this, and it excels at it. PHP is also very useful for integrating web pages with databases. Perhaps you will want a PHP page as a sub-page for dynamic (text, graphics, video’s etc). But think about it before you decide – I promise you do not want to be one of those business owners that is sorry – and feels they have to get a new website so they can get back to basics! Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

What’s The Focus – SEO in 2009…

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:35:00 PST

Let’s say, you have a strong website that is designed to attract your target customer, fast loading, great navigation an opt-in box to capture people who come to your website – with a really good free report, book, information… You have worked hard and now you are ready to unveil your business masterpiece…

But Wait – Have you optimized your website for the search engines? Have you forgotten that all important step…

The basic foundation of your website is where everything else springs from and Search Engine Optimization is part of that.

There is so much misinformation out on the internet and great information as well – how do you sift through it all??

You may think your website is totally SEO compliant (search engine optimized) but things change from year to year. The basics do stay the same for the most part - but a lot of little things change that can make a BIG difference they need to be looked at and addressed.

Did you know that Google does not use the description Meta tag anymore? Alternatively, that Meta tag keywords in general have lost a lot of the weight, they use to carry?

Does that mean you don’t need Meta tags anymore?

Of course you need them – do you realize that a lot of search engines do use Meta tags! Don’t under estimate the power of yahoo, MSN or any of the specialty search engines out there.

I know everyone wants to be on top of Google. I love Google and all the fantastic tools they have – but don’t overlook all the others.

A customer is a customer is a customer!

There is nothing better than people doing a search and finding you – on any search engine - that would be your target market and therefore your best customer(s).

The point of this article is??

I want you all to take a look at what you can do to refresh or update your website to make it a search engine compliant. You website may be on top now or close – but make no mistake – you must make sure you make these small changes as well because you may find yourself missing (suddenly).

Case in point:

I have been working with a client for the last 2 years (outstanding company).

We rebuilt the website – so that it was totally SEO compliant, fast to load and had a solid foundation. We have for the last year done a lot of linking – advertising – web 2.0 and marketing in general.

Everything is right where it needs to be – do we stop now??

NO – of course not – in fact my customer was a little worried about the economy her industry was/is getting hit hard and even though she is doing well she wants to continue to.

We delved into a lot of different new material – and low and behold found out that a lot more weight is being put on other items on a web page. We thought we had everything covered but, talking with an expert we learned even more about what needed to be done for 2009 so I am passing it on to you…

8 Thing you may not know about SEO 2009

1. Make sure you have a descriptive title – do not duplicate it on any of your pages! Put Keywords in your page title.title 2. Give you pages an H1- html - tag for the main titled sections our your pages. Make sure the visible title on the copy of your pages are keywords. 3. Have a sitemap that is compliant with Google, even if you have a small site. Make sure the links on your sitemap does have keywords for the links – and descriptions. More information on sitemaps – click here 4. Have Google analytics placed on your site (or another good analytics code/software) check out the keywords that you are being found by and use the keywords to develop web pages. 5. Do not use duplicate content on your website – in other words if you have a page on branding – and a page on graphic design make sure they have totally different text/copy on them. 6. Make sure each page has its own set of Meta data – and the copy/text on the page reflects the keywords you are using on that particular page. 7. Just because you have several domain names pointed to your site does not mean Google or any other search engine is picking up the name as keywords to your website. So what will you do with those domain names? You can develop landing pages and apply these domain names but do not duplicate content – from your main site and you may want a different IP Address (that is a hot debate now). 8. Don’t forget to have a robot.txt file placed in your root directory – it invites search engine spiders in to search your files – you can also direct the search engine spiders on what files you do not want them to index (look at).

With the New Year comes excitement and new challenges. I know that this is one will be our best year yet!

If you are a newbie and need me to explain anything that you just don’t understand please shoot me an email – also I am running a special on sitemap development. So if you are interested let me know, and we can talk!

To an amazing 2009!

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design pamela@artistadesign.com (801) 910-4825

Site maps – Do you have one? Do you need one?

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:34:00 PST

Do you have a site map for your website? Is it built correctly?

In the past when I would built a small website I really believe a sitemap was all important. After all I made sure the navigation was very clear and visitors never had to go deeper than 3 clicks to get to the pages they wanted.

I hate to admit it but boy was I wrong!

Recently I along with a client of mine had a consultation with a major SEO Guru. I believed we had done everything right but it is always a good idea to double check – then triple check. SEO rules do change from time to time. Usually subtly but these small changes are important.

Going through this critique really made me realize how important a site map is to every website. It is not just about the .html site map that your web visitors will see but a site map that is developed in xml that can make a difference in your indexing on Google.

I developed a site map for my client a few days after having this discussion and it wasn’t more than a week or so later when I searched Google – the website had been re-indexed and to my surprise we also had the sub-links under it!

It is important to have both an .html site map and an xml site map…

Not only is it important - it's Priceless...

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Blogging – Don’t Ignore the Upside.

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:13:00 PST

Do you still resisting the idea of blogging? On the other hand, do you have a blog and you just cannot bring yourself to “write” those articles??
Are you tired of being pushed into writing in a blog… and besides you just do not have enough hours in a day???
Well, I am going to give you some hope – and some tools to help you with your blogging.
First I want to tell you I did drag my feet for a while on blogging, and I am an avid writer . I just could not bring myself to take the time or put the effort into setting a blog up or writing articles day after day.
However, I must tell you when I decided to do it – I jumped in full force – and boy, am I glad I did. With-in 6 months of starting my blog, I started to hear from people all over the USA and even from some other countries – after that I was a believer...

Why you may ask…

Because as people read my articles they came to realize I was not just another business trying to con them. I was not just out for the money – I was an expert in my field, and I was a genuine, authentic entrepreneur.

I do walk the walk and talk the talk, and I am not afraid to tell the truth if I have hit a rough spot I will share my experience – knowing it will help you avoid those pitfalls. If I don’t know the answer to a question, I will tell you so - then I will find the answer. You can count on me to guide you and put you on the right track. I believe we all have radar that will signal us when we have found someone with credibility issues – some people chose to ignore this warning. Sometimes we don't have enough information to know what a person or business is about – well when you blog about what you know – and show your stuff your readers will be able to see that you are the real deal…

For those of you who do not have a blog - go to wordpress.com or blogger.com and sign-up it is free.

How do you come up with an article? Or a blog post?

1. Find the latest news in your industry and write about it.

2. Actually post a portion of the article you are commenting on and link back to the original article

3. Write about what people should know about your industry and/or service and don't be afraid of giving out to much information.

4. Think about all the things you have heard from past clients, what were their worries or objections? Write about them – overcome their fears or objections using information

5. You can start posting articles from experts on all kinds of subjects –that pertain to your particular industry. As long as you post their resource box on the bottom of the article you post - you can get these articles for free. There are tons of websites that supply free articles but in my opinion Ezine Articles are the crème – de la –crème.

6. Invite an expert to write an article for your blog and tell them you will place a resource box back to their website etc.

Another great tip when writing your own articles is to make sure you keep them and use them - more than once!

When I post an article I don’t just type it into the blog I use a word document to write my article – the reason I do this are two fold.

A. I can save this article to be refurbished once I have written it - I will place the document in my article file –, and I can use it to post to article marketing places, websites, newsletters or Squidoo – Hubpages etc., don't ever let a good article go to waste - save it!

B. I can write the article – edit it – spell check. I will usually write an article come back the next day and read it, and most of the time, I will reword a thing or two.

You may eventually end up like I have…

You will not believe it but these days I have several blogs –, and I blog for one of my clients. This gives me a total of about 8 blogs I am posting to. Some of the blogs I work with are nothing but the latest in news on one topic or another.

How can I do so many? Well, I found a tool that is called Post Later – I love it.

I usually take a few mornings out of my week to – write articles and find great articles to post on my blogs (or my clients blogs). Before I found this great tool – it did become a headache trying to synchronize the postings and remember when to post the others.

Not anymore! I didn’t want to talk about postlater.com until I had actually used it, and it works like a charm. It has a very minimal monthly fee – especially when you realize how much time it really saves you.

If this is your first blog you may or may not need this, but if you are writing in several blogs – my friend you dearly need this!

Here is how it works...

You can schedule posts through out the month and beyond. You post by date and time - it is so flexible... Lets say you have 3 articles place them in the scheduler - and forget about them (post one on Monday - one on Thursday - and the other next week)!

You can do this with unlimited articles and unlimited blogs..

Check it out you will love – love – love it!!

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design "Creating the Image You Need to Attract the Customers You Want!"

Visit all my sites! http://linkbun.ch/6ymj

Don’t Fall Victim to Dishonest Web Developers

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:40:00 PDT

A Disturbing Trend

Yesterday I had a phone call from a person who was quite frustrated about a website he had a web professional do for him (that is what they called themselves – I beg to differ).

He had a basic website built and now could not get that person to send him any information on how to update it (no password, login or ftp) – nor was he informed on the very basics of the site its self.

That in its self is disturbing –, but as I looked into it for him, I came to find out that the domain name was not registered in his name but that of the business who built it for him. He did not even own his domain name –, and it is his family name.

This website was not a website at all but a Word Press blog. That isn’t a big deal except, he was led to believe that this was a website, on top of that it was built with a Word Press Theme template.

Consequently, no custom banner was ever involved, he was being led to believe it was custom, and this web business was being territorial about what??

This enrages me, it gives all web designers/developers a bad name – and I for one hope that none of you go through anything like this. As a result, I am writing this article to warn you.

Please be sure that whoever you choose to do a custom website for you – actually will do a website – if they want to do a blog as a website you need to know.

If you want a blog set up that is great but just be aware of what you are paying for.

What are you paying for? A template is a template is a template right! WRONG… When talking about a template with a potential web designer make sure that you differentiate what you are talking about.

Some templates that are sold –are not actually custom. You may be buying a template that a 1000 other people have with some custom features like – different website copy etc.

Some templates are semi- custom – these will be furnished with a different banner – your original copy and possibly some other graphics that are bought by you or the developers.

The templates that are truly custom, – are not always called templates you own the whole website - the design, concept, and copy. The whole website is yours and only yours.

No one will have a website like yours because it is one of a kind. You own the copyrights to it – you own the original graphics that are developed.

This can be true for blogs as well as website. As I have talked about in a few of my previous articles – make sure you do not – let me repeat – do not – put all you eggs in one basket.

How to Protect Your Business

I suggest you register your own domain name – I like godaddy.com – they are easy to register with, and you can transfer your domain name to any host. They are also inexpensive, but beware of the pop up screens that ask you to buy everything under the sun most of the time you only need the domain name – by pass the rest.

Host with a different provider – I like “Hands On Web Hosting” – they are prompt to answer my questions, I can set up my own emails, I love the staff – knowledgeable and customer service friendly.

If you want a cheap template that is customizable - hire a web designer/developer to help you customize it and upload it to your host – when you buy it from a host it is tied to the host… If you can afford it have a custom website – it is well worth it in the long run, and it is YOURS…

You do not want to be in the situation where you have everything done by one company.

Picture Yourself in this Situation

Scenario: You found a company that does everything – registers the domain, builds your website, sets up your emails and even hosts the website for you – WOW. How convenient is that!

Everything goes along smoothly and you are happy happy happy… Then something goes wrong – your email is not coming to you like before. You try to get a hold of them, and they do not answer. Your emails are you life blood, your income …

What do you do? You decide to take the bull by the horns and move to a different host – What happens when they own your domain name, or the custom template you bought isn’t custom at all and owned by the company, or what happens if they refuse to cooperate… Unfortunately, this happens a lot.

My Story

I had a host that I had used with for 5 years – they were great, you could contact them on the spot, and then with out my knowledge they sold the company – change of owners.

Everything changed, they would accept only email communications – that were not answered in a timely manner - I became really unhappy with the host, and I moved.

However, I had set up my business the right way and transfer everything without a hitch or hiccup.

Heed My Warning

Educate yourself before you jump in and decide what you want for your business – make sure you can trust the people you work with – that they are interested in your business success not just the bottom line – money in their pockets.

Find a professional that can answer your questions – remember, there are no dumb questions, especially when you are building a business.

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design Check out my sites at: http://linkbun.ch/6ymj

Squeeze pages, Opt in-boxes, Auto responders HELP!

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:06:00 PDT

Unless you have been living under a rock you should know that your database is gold and one of the most important things you can have on your website. FYI – opt in-box is just another name for and auto responder.

No matter how great your site is people get distracted and your visitor can be gone before you know it. That is why you need to collect information through an opt in-box (auto responder).

Capturing the names of visitors that come to your site only makes sense, you need to understand a simple fact, most visitors who come to you website will visit about 6 times before they decide to buy anything. The person who signs up, for your freebie is someone who is interested in what you have to offer, they simply do not know if they should trust you – or even if you know what you are talking about. Caution: Make sure and reassure you visitor you will not be selling, trading or other wise using their information for anything other than what they are signing up for…

This being said – it is essential to have it on our website(s), but have you ever thought about developing a squeeze page – and using this explosive combination!

The value of a squeeze page is you can micro - target your market and get people who are extremely interested in what you are offering.

This is why using a squeeze page with an Opt in-box (getting permission to follow up with your visitors) can be so powerful.

What is a Squeeze Page?

A squeeze page – that gives away something of value in return for information is one of the most important things you can do for your business.

Consider it a marketing page that distributes information of value FREE. And in return will give people a sense of your expertise and/or credibility in the market place.

A squeeze page is really a 'trading' page - you are trading something of value to your visitor and they in turn give you information about themselves.

Why do businesses use squeeze pages?

They help target and capture potential clientèle that are interested in your product and service. The most valuable squeeze page will combine two elements – offer the visitor a product at a discount and even when they don’t purchase the item, give them something of value for FREE… The visitor that signs up will be able to go away with a valuable piece of information. You will then have their information to thank them for visiting – and to announce other specials in the future.

Can you see why having a squeeze page can be invaluable? Having an auto responder, to collect information that you need, being able to market to that person, keeping your company/business name in front of them, letting them know when you have specials (etc.) is essential, for both a squeeze page and website.

It should be an integral part of you online marketing strategy.

Squeeze page Layout:

Keep the layout simple and to the point.

It is important to capture (opt in-box) only the minimum amount of information needed for the follow up - name; email address is all you really need.

Asking for state, country or phone should only be done later after they commit to more than the "freebie".

People are often reluctant to give up a phone number - especially on the first contact. They fear being put on lists or being called at all hours of the day or night.

It is important the visitor understand his/her information will be kept confidential. Remember that you can, and should, acquire more information as you develop the relationship between you and your customer.

You can make your own squeeze page but I am tired of seeing the same old page again and again… Are you??

Hire a designer to build a professional template squeeze page for you. This is especially important if you are not technically savvy. The cost of a good squeeze page is an excellent investment and well worth the money.

Make the effort to monitor your page by putting Google analytics or your favorite statistics code in the page. I love Google analytics because it is free and you can find amazing things about your visitors. If you don’t have a lot of visitors or people are coming and not signing up – you will be able to see what is happening. You can then go and tweak your page.

Graphics & Content:

Graphics are important – I am a visual person so I really love to see a page that is attractive and modern.

Copy – I am sure you have heard often – sell the sizzle not the steak. That may be true with the first page of your website but a squeeze page is different.

This page is should be very targeted and direct. Let your visitors know exactly what this information or product will do for them.

Put your picture and a short bio somewhere on the page, this will lend credibility to your offer, what a great way to introduce yourself to first time visitors. Don’t forget to link back to your web site.

You need a high quality offer to entice the visitor to hand over her/his information. It should be something that is valuable – don’t be afraid to share – I promise it will come back to you ten times over.

Free reports are great items for squeeze pages. And these items need not be your product but can be products for which you are an affiliate.

The information you are offering is only limited to your imagination – Example – lets say you are a sculptor and you don’t have a clue what to offer… What about the history of a famous piece of sculpture?

I guarantee anyone who is attracted to your page will want that information…

See what I mean. Be creative – put in the best keywords – send them out to search engines, tweet about your page – tell your friends on FriendFeed – and what about FaceBook, >LinkedIn, Plaxo…

The possibilities are endless. Need I say more?? Pamela Jacob - Artista Design Check some of my sites! http://linkbun.ch/6ymj

Are You Getting What You Pay For?

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:53:00 PDT

As I was finishing up a clients site – I started thinking about all the small details that had to be done and put into place before I could consider the web site complete.

A lot of businesses that hire web designers/developers really have no clue as to what makes a web site – an outstanding marketing tool. In fact, some web site designers have no clue (because of the lack of experience and/or knowledge) what needs to be in place for the “complete package”.

I have seen it time and time again, – so I thought I would take this thought and put together what you should expect, from a professional web designer.

I am sure you are aware of the standard things you want when your website is being developed such as:

A great looking and customer pleasing interface.

Graphics that are optimized. This will allow your website to load fast in any computer browser.

Copy/text that is professional and conveys what you are going to do for your customer – and why they should come to you, for the service or product you are offering.

Navigation that is straight forward and direct so that visitors can find whatever they are looking for in 3 clicks or less.

A opt in-box (auto responder) so you can capture the information from visitors that come to your site and are interested in what you have to offer.

What are some of the things you may not be aware of –, or that you didn’t realize your web professional can or should do for you?

Each page of your site should have its own unique title.

Keywords should be placed in the copy/text of the page and reflected in the meta-tags. I have my clients send me the keywords they want to place and do a little research to see if those are the keywords that should be used, or if I can find something better but similar.

Have no more than 10 great keywords in your meta tags This is according to Hub Spot a leader in SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Make sure some type of analytics is available for your website. I always put Google analytics on each web page so that my clients can see a broad spectrum of what visitors are coming to their site, where they are coming from, what percentages are from search engines or back links etc. The information you can collect while using Google analytics is invaluable and can help you tweak your marketing.

Create a site map not only an html site map but an xml site map. It is so important – the search engines love site maps and so will your visitors when they want to find something fast.

A web site is much more than a brochure online – of course you can have that if you would like, but you will miss so many opportunities to market to your target audience –, and I am sure your competition will love you for it!

Some other things to think about – if you are not familiar with Internet jargon – (a lot of successful business owners are not), don’t be afraid to talk to your web site developer about hosting, domain names, and how to market your web site online.

You should also be able to count on recommendations about services and product that will enhance you targeted goals and/or can be used in conjunction with your online marketing such as web 2.0 sites, auto responder, what you need in a host, etc.

You should be able to have an open dialogue with the professional that is building your online business, without feeling stupid, or that you are being condescended to – if not – how professional are they??

Until Next Time -

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Check some of my sites! http://linkbun.ch/6ymj

Mind Mapping - It Works!

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:04:00 PDT

How many on your have heard of mind mapping? I love the concept and for my (abstract) brain, there is nothing like a mind map to pull all my idea’s together in one place.

If you are not familiar –Wikipedia give a very succinct definition:

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

This definition seems a little dry, it is really a lot of fun and even a little exciting to be able to map out your idea’s – business or other wise on a mind map. It is the first step to organizing your thoughts and putting them into motion.

I learned to do it as a teenager – I just took a big piece of poster paper and put my idea in the center from there I would draw lines to the steps to get to that goal.

It is simple and direct – for the high tech version there are a lot of programs and websites that can cost you a lot or a little, I found one that I love and it costs less than $50.00 a year, in fact – you can share you map with clients, partners, make as many as you want. I love doing it to help my clients plan out large projects.

In creating your business a mind map is invaluable – your can take an idea and break it down. You will find that it will help you in all areas of your life where you have goals but in business it rocks.

Here is a mind map I have created using an online website called mindmeister.com– click around on the map itself take a look you will see how cool this website is.

For complete .pdf - click here

I was doing a little history and found out that mind mapping is really not that old at all (maybe to you twenty something’s it is!)

Mind maps came along in the late 60s – this unique way to tracking and planning was the brain child of Tony Buzan. He found that because of the visual quality of the maps it made it much easier for his student to remember and review things they were learning. The non-linear nature of mind maps makes it easy to link and cross-reference different elements of the map.

Tony Buzan found a business partner in the mid-70’s named Peter Russell together they taught mind-mapping skills in a variety of international corporations and educational institutions.

8 steps to mind mapping…

1. Use just keywords and/or images.

2. Put the central idea in the center of your page and then start placing the keywords around it.

3. Use color to depict themes and ideas

4. Anything that stands out on the page will stand out in your mind.

5. Put ideas down as they occur. Don't judge or hold back.

6. If you get stuck go to another area and start there

7. Think three-dimensionally

8. Be creative have fun – think outside the box

Video of the actual founder Tony Buzan and how to mind map

If you have never done a mind map, there is no time like the present. You may find that you mind will become uncluttered and you will be able to plan out your strategies much easier – and with less stress!

Try it and let me know how it goes!

Pamela Jacob – Artista design

The Skinny on Press Releases

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:35:00 PDT

Press Releases are a great way to get recognition – especially when what you have to say is news worthy. Not only do they get people’s attention they also provide back links to you website – and that is (as you know) gold.

One of my clients recently received (for the second year in a row!) an award for Best of Salt Lake City 2009. We are both thrilled - we have worked hard to get high visibility and build a client base (second to none) in her industry.

Last year when we won this award - we sent out Press Releases to the free PR sites – and even though it was a bit time consuming the results were fantastic. This year I am finding that it is a little harder to get in and submit them. In fact a lot of the free press release sites are no longer free.

This really isn’t a big deal (I do believe in paying for good service) except one of the best websites (PRWEB.com) has gone from a free service to a paid service and the starting point is $ 80.00 and up – Because of their sterling reputation – it may be worth it to pay – but make sure your Press Release is one that is top notch – and if you are on a shoe string budget you may want to start with the Free PR Sites.

The purpose of this article is to give links to some of the Press Release web sites – and also valuable information on the experiences I have had trying to submit to each of the sites.

If you are not familiar with how to write a Press Release don’t waste your time, read my – report on how to write an effective press release - one that works!! Click Here

Then come back to this article and get the list!

10 Press Release Websites – the Good, Bad and Ugly…

http://www.PRWEB.com

One of the best for getting a lot of exposure – you use to be able to submit free press releases – as well as buy extended services. This service is no longer free – the fee’s range from $ 80.00 - $ 360.00 you will get good visibility but it can be pricey for a business that is new or marketing on a shoe string budget.

http://www.prlog.org/

Truly a free site – I loved submitting on this site just register and the rest is really easy – a must when submitting your Press Release.

http://www.1888pressrelease.com

Once you register this website is easy to submit to – they do have some paid plans that are far less expensive than PRWEB if you are on a limited budget but not totally strapped you may wish to get one of the enhanced plans they range from $ 10.00 to $ 50.00 check out the website to see all the options.

http://www.bizeurope.com/pressrelease.htm

Very easy to submit to – no registration, just submit – once submitted it just disappeared – so I am not sure how effective this is… I tried searching several days later – could not find the link?

http://www.PR.Com

This web site is a bit cumbersome – You are require to register – I When I was registering they had you fill out a lot of sub-topics - good in refining the search results – however I didn’t read the fine print and I ended up with a $ 60.00 bill at the end.

To be fair I was able to back up and re-do the Press-Release and it was simple. I paid 0 but once again you can pay to have pictures and different keywords and regions selected. I have heard this is a good site to get listed with Google News so perhaps really picking some good categories would be worth the small price.

http://express-press-release.net/

This is no longer a free site – however it only costs $ 29.00 and claims to do the same as PRWEB for quadruple the price.

Expressly published within 24 hours on all 12 State-based PR sites across U.S., on our EPR Blog Network of more than 30 Blogs, on our PR forum all part of EPR Nationwide Network as well as on 3rd party social media and bookmarking sites

http://freepressindex.com

This is an interesting site – you just access the press release link and you fill it out – no up sales at all. Very easy, no registration - -

FreePressRelease.co.cc

This was a very straight forward free site. It gave me a choice to submit to different countries – I choose England because I had already submitted press releases all over the place and I want to attract people from overseas to what my client has to offer.

http://www.i-newswire.com

This was another “free” service but it looks like it costs $25.00 to submit a press release because I have decided to pay to Prweb for my press release (I know they work) I skipped this – but you may want to pay a few lower fee press release sites – let me know how it goes if you use this particular website.

http://www.IndiaPRWire.com

As you can see this is a place to submit international press releases this may benefit you or not. When I registered it offered a place to put my company profile and it will be placed below the actual piece. I like that – I did have to register and it seemed to be a lot more info then a lot of places I registered. Once it was submitted it said waiting approval, I like that it shows me that someone is looking at the quality of the actual content.

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There are many more press release websites some free some for a fee FYI: I did use prweb.com for my client’s press release – it was a paid inclusion - I get progress reports and they have submitted it to a lot of social media sites.

We went live with the press release on 2009-04-22. So far we have release has received 62340 impressions and 944 reads. This is in only 7 days not bad – it is well worth the price we paid – you will have to decide what is best for your business…

.Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Article marketing – “Simple things that Make a Difference”

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:58:00 PDT

It is amazing that for as long as I have been in this business I still run across things that I should have known – thing that just make a lot of sense.

This morning I was going through my Google Alerts and found an article on how to make the most of “Article Marketing”.

In the article there were only a few tips but they were so profound I have decided to pass them on to you my readers…

Tip number 1:

When writing an article for a blog or other venue don’t just write on the topic but “pick an aspect of the topic, state an opinion and back it up with details on why you believe the way you do.”

When providing an opinion, you will then spark a discussion – and people, especially on the social sites – love that. I would suggest you make sure it is an educated opinion – but then again if you just want to get some attention you could play the devils advocate – it just depends on what your goals are.

Tip number 2:

Encourage your readers to respond to your article.

We have all seen the comments section on the bottom of a blog post. This helps your reader become engaged in the conversation - most of the time it is important to let your readers make comments – however sometimes comments can take away from your article – (I prefer to moderate my comments simply so that a “knuckle head” doesn’t get on and us profanity or some such stuff) – another way to encourage participation is through a survey.

A survey not only encourages your readers to become engaged in the topic but it is also a great way for you to know who your visitors really are and what is important to them – WOW talk about a win - win.

In my list of some of the most unique and fun business sites I do mention some websites that provide customers with a service that can build surveys for little or nothing.

The one I chose to use for this article – is http://surveymonkey.com this website allows you to have a free subscription or a paid one.

I simply made my survey – created the link – now I am counting on you to look at it and fill it out – answer my questions so I know what you think of this article – and what else you would like to know.

Click Here to take survey

To your success in 2009

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Search Engine Submission – Some Basic Rules

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:56:00 PDT

One of the most fundamental and effective things your can do to get targeted visitors to your website is listing with the search engines.

You may be thinking duh of course it is!

However, you would be surprised how many online business owners don’t understand the basics of search engine submission – or think they do but then find out it is not as easy as submitting and forgetting.

I am a firm believe in hiring professionals to do the things that you are not good at – it is cost effective when you get the right people for the job. It frees you up to make more money in the long run because you are not struggling to learn something you are not even interested in knowing.

With this being said – it is important to understand who you are hiring, and if they are truly the professionals they claim to be. I cannot tell you how many people I run across who have been ripped off by unscrupulous (so called) businesses.

This article is to help you have the checks and balances you need before submitting – and make you aware of some of the most basic (an important) things you need to know to get the most effective results.

Step number One – website development

Make sure your website is search engine optimized – has keywords and is really up to snuff. It isn’t all that difficult if you know what to do and how to do it.

Make sure your web developer/designer knows that you do want your website to be put together in the most effective way for the search engines. If they don’t know how to do it – you need to find someone else.

If you are building your website, there is so much information out about SEO, do some research so you know what you need to have on your website.

I have a free check list – for you to go through you can pick it up at http://artistadesign.com

Even if you are hiring your website designer – pick up my free SEO check list so you can make sure that your website is exactly how it needs to be.

Please make sure your website is designed to look professional as well as have all the right keywords and copy in place.

Step Number Two – Who?

You need to decide if you are going to be the one to submit your website to the search engine or hire someone to do it.

If you are going to personally do it – make sure you have gathered all the pertinent information together – submission places will ask for descriptions, keywords and more. Make sure to include the name and contact information for your business. Even if you are going to hire it out it is good to gather all this information to give to the person you are hiring.

Search engine submission is very time consuming – you have to fill out forms and information that are asked for and every search engine is different. You need to make sure you get it right the first time.

One thing that may be very advantageous for you is to find a student, who is good on the internet – who can submit your site to various search engines. Make sure they keep a log – you are going to be able to save money and help them in the process.

If you prefer to hire a professional service make sure to get referrals and do your research – you will find a lot of charlatans’ and unscrupulous people promising the world and delivering nothing.

Beware of companies that promise submissions to hundreds of search engines – which are more often than not a lot of false promises.

When you submit to the DMOZ and other big search engines you will be picked up by a lot of the little more niche sites – where do you think they get their lists from!

There are a few good, solid dependable companies that can help and networking with people and businesses that are willing to give 110% is always a good thing. I have made many friends for life by networking with people and businesses who know how to give good customer service and are willing to give as well as receive.

Step Number Three – Somethings to Remember

You will want to submit your website to search engines more than once, and if you are a busy business – your website will always be evolving and growing. Search engines love new fresh content that is why having a blog associated with your website is so important.

It is going to take time to see your website emerge to the top of search engines – it can take months. There are other alternatives as you strive to reach that goal – like pay per click – back links – JV partners – article marketing – press releases and social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, Linked-in, Hubpage, Squidoo, friendfeed etc.) that will help you market your business, they all work like a puzzle and each one enhances the other.

Few things are more satisfying than reaching a goal – and building a successful online business can really be a lot of fun and very financially rewarding.

So pull up your boot straps and get to work – enjoy the fruits of your labor – you deserve it!

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

What is branding and is it important to your marketing strategy?

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:23:00 PDT

When you read about branding you often think it just means a distinct logo – or perhaps mark – but branding your business is much more than that. It is an attitude – a way of doing business – where people get what your company is really about.

A company or business should make sure that all pieces of visual marketing materials are – distinct and memorable – through the consistent use of company logos, corporate colors, typography and any other visual elements that have been decided on.

But - creating that visual consistency and identity is only the first step in attracting your perfect customer (branding your business) – as important as that is – there must be more than a visual image to keep a client – coming back for more.

Branding is much more than just ensuring that customers recognize a logo.

Branding means creating an emotional association (such as the feeling of success, happiness, or relief) with your business, product or service.

It is the quality, integrity and customer satisfaction that customer associates with your business.

If you have read many of my articles you know I am a strong believer that you must be true to your word – integrity in all things.

I am forever amazed at business spend lots of money to look great and have such a professional appearance only to fall short when it comes to people skills. Living up to your word and taking care of clients is what builds a strong customer base. That is a major part of branding your business -

How many times have you come across this type of business – they look good, they sound good, and they promise you the farm but when it comes to delivering, they fall short? On the other hand, maybe you loved the product and service but when you have a question or problem you couldn’t reach them – or they wouldn’t even call you back?

To be truly successful you must care about the client’s satisfaction – as well as the integrity of your word. This is a continuation of branding your business.

FYI: Did you know that when a customer is satisfied – they may tell a person or two – but when they are unhappy with a product or service they tell at least 10 people?

Need professional branding? - Mention this article and save 20% on websites development, business cards, logos and more!

Pamela Artista Design - 801-910-4825 pamela@artistadesign.com

Excerpt from 63 Lead Generation Strategies

pamela@artistadesign.com (Artista Design) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:51:00 PDT

I have not posted a lot of articles this last month - I have to apologize, I have had a lot of clients and work so that took precedents – a great problem to have!!

If you have not signed up with Twitter I would suggest you do that I have gotten so many wonderful links to articles and websites that are of value – as well as some really magnificent quality connections.

If you have been in business any length of time you know that networking is really important.

Generating leads is the life blood of any business Today I read an article that was sent out from one of my twitter friends and it really hit the nail on the head.

This is part of the article it came from a blog called http://www.marketingwizom.com and I know you will enjoy it. You can read the rest of the article by clicking on the link at the end…

Enjoy!

63 Lead Generation Strategies Lead Generation and Customer Acquisition Strategies

Here is a quick overview of some of the highly effective strategies you can use to generate many more qualified leads and clients for your business.

They are all simple and cost effective to implement once you know what to do and how to do it. By bridging the gaps in your knowledge we can show you how to get the most out of any of these approaches, no matter how large or small your business.

1. Direct Mail

An extremely flexible medium that gives you access to any number of otherwise inaccessible prospects for many different purposes; to sell your products; generate sales leads; follow up enquiries; get more business from current customers; keep in touch with former customers; close the sale in advance ... and so much more. It allows you to present every benefit of your product or service over those of your competition in a manner that’s 100% consistent. This is not just in their offices and during the business day, but in their homes, in the evenings and at weekends. Reaching the right audience with the right offer and the right message is the key to success, because the only thing that counts is how many sales or inquiries your mailing generates.

2. Effective Advertising Advertising should be nothing less than ''salesmanship in print,'' i.e. it should do the same job that a top sales person would do face to face. If you approach advertising in a scientific manner, following proven principles and facts, it no longer has to be a gamble. There are many extremely effective ways of using advertising in a highly targeted manner, that can’t help but grow your business. This includes 1) advertising only in media that reaches a sufficiently large number of the kind of people you're trying to reach 2) focusing the entire thrust of your communication on your prospect’s interests, not your own 3) giving your prospects enough information and education and 4) offering them something appealing that'll get them to respond now.

3. Referral Systems

One third-party endorsement is more powerful than a hundred presentations. Getting your customers to recommend and encourage other people they associate with to seek out your products or services is the most coveted prize in selling, besides a sale. There are hundreds of referral systems you can use; to create an unlimited supply of hot prospects; to get prospects returning your calls; to contact hard-to-reach buyers; to create a reputation that opens closed doors; to enhance customer loyalty; and to increase sales and multiply profits. Referral systems make your life easier and more professional, and bring higher profits with increased customer loyalty.

4. Host Beneficiary Relationships

There are bound to be other non-competing businesses who have already spent years attracting and establishing relationships with the very people who are prime prospects for your own products or services. By establishing the right relationships with those ''hosts'', those customers can be yours for the asking, with the full co-operation and permission of the businesses that acquired them in the first place ... and it will bring you more customers and more cash right away.

5. Word-of-Mouth Marketing

This is the most powerful, persuasive marketing weapon available to any business. It drives customers to try products or services more than any other marketing technique ... more than advertising, salespeople, direct response, and public relations combined! And contrary to what you might expect word-of-mouth is not out of your control. There are dozens of techniques for launching your own highly successful word of mouth campaigns, based on an all-important Decision Matrix and a proven seven-step process. More… Until Next Time... Pamela Jacob - Artista Design<