The most time consuming part of developing a website is putting all the elements together so the earlier you start, the better.

Think about content: what do you want to showcase on your website?

Let’s say you are an interior designer or decorator, I will suggest you start:

• compiling photos of your projects: book a professional photographer now!
• preparing project summaries: put together a list of projects and for each one include location, size, type (residential, retail, hospitality, etc), timeframe, completion date, team members and contractors involved, and a short description.

Think about design: note websites that you like and don’t like. We can look at these together and gain an understanding of what elements make them good or bad in your eyes. Gather too all brand elements: your logo, colours, existing brochures and any other marketing material.

The more prepared you are, the faster your website will be up and running.

If you are still unsure about what to do, don’t worry I will guide you through the entire process. Don’t hesitate to contact me and book an initial consultation.

The post Where to start with my website? appeared first on Studio Manusha • Small Business Websites | Adelaide + Sydney.

This depends on a number of factors: the size of your website, its functionality, the complexity of the design, and most importantly, how well prepared you are at the start of the process in terms of having all your content i.e. text and images, ready to go.

As a general rule, I aim for my projects to have a turnaround of four to eight weeks. Building a website once the design is finalised does not normally take more than a couple of weeks but all the planning, preparation and approval process can take a while.

The post How long will it take before my website is up and running? appeared first on Studio Manusha • Small Business Websites | Adelaide + Sydney.

I am quite a private person so it is no surprise that I am not a big fan of social media! However, social media marketing has become an indispensable tool for any business. It is very powerful and if you plan it well, it is actually not so invasive. In fact, what I think social media does really well for businesses is to facilitate connections with like-minded individuals and businesses and, by opening the dialogue, helps establishing trust faster.

If you want the best results, before you embark on your social media journey, I recommend you do a little plan.

1. Defining your audience

The very first thing to do is to think about and define your audience. You have most likely already done this when developing your website but it is a good idea to review this anyway. Your service offering may have changed and your audience may be wider or narrower?

Now you need to work out how social media and other web-related activities can help you:

• Capture it
• Retain it
• Convert it

2. Capturing your audience

To capture your audience, decide what you will write about to attract their attention. What will you “like” on Facebook, share, and tweet about?

3. Retaining your audience

Once you have captured your audience, make it easy for them to further engage with them so they start a relationship with your brand (ie. follow you on Twitter, Facebook, subscribe to your newsletter).

4. Converting your audience

When it comes to conversion, what can you offer them so they become a customer? Facebook competitions, give-aways, or other discounts and promotions on your social media networks are worth considering.

5. Executing your plan

Now, when it comes to the delivery, my advice is to keep it simple and stay focussed!

Blogging

Pick some topics, pick some dates and start collecting data for your posts (photos, info, etc)

Set up a blogging calendar.

Be realistic about what you can achieve and try and stay consistent.

It is better to write 1 post every Wednesday rather than 5 posts all in one week.

Once your pattern has been established, your audience will start to look forward to reading your next article.

Facebook

Use your Facebook page to follow your favourite people, companies, shops and designers.

Check your newsfeed every morning to keep up to date; like and share relevant news on your page.

Let your followers know what you are up to and share what you have come across that may interest them (no need to tell them what you have eaten!).

Twitter

Use your twitter account in a similar way (in terms of learning, following and sharing); it is also easy to take great photos and tweet on the go to share your finds with your followers instantly. Make sure you link your Twitter account with your Facebook page, that way you can share your tweets on your Facebook page.

Pinterest

Why not create a pinterest board that represents your brand? This can be another visual insight into you who are, how your business thinks and operates.

Instagram

Another way of easily creating a visual feast and sharing your adventures with your followers. And by following other like-minded people, you will get a lot of inspiration.

If it is still seems too daunting, contact me to get started with your social media marketing activities.

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So I thought I would share with you my thoughts on why would one choose to work with me? I think my clients would agree – but feel free to ask them!

• I listen and learn so I can propose a solution that is right for your business.
• Rather than coming from a design or technical background, I will first give a business perspective first. I have been contributing to successful business operations for close to 20 years (wow… I don’t feel that old!).
• I speak your language (with a French accent admittedly), and that means I try and demystify the internet, design and technical terms for you. I have been told I make it much easier to understand.
• I am super organised, which means I will keep you on track and help you get your project up and running fast.
• I like to empower you by showing you how it’s done and training you on how to do it yourself (of course, if you are not interested or do not have the time or headspace, I can also assist you there).
• I like to keep it small and personal. I have a team around me that I will call on when required but I am not looking at building a big empire (or even a medium size business). I want to be personally involved in and enjoy every project I take on and develop new relationships with like minded business owners.

And then of course, there are a few quirks, like:

• You may often get my voicemail. My phone is often on silence mode when I need to concentrate or of course when I am with a client.
• I check and respond to emails only a few times a day (at least 4 times I’d say, if not more). I realised that it was too big a distraction for me and I worked out that the best way to cope with this was to turn off automatic notifications and only attend to emails at specific intervals throughout the day.
• I am too optimistic when it comes to travel time and I am not the best parker (even though I drive a very small car!)… As a result, I still tend to run a little late. I work on this every day and I have improved but I haven’t mastered this yet.

The main reason I started Studio Manusha is because I want to “make an enjoyable living”. I love what I do, I love discovering new businesses and guiding them through the maze of the online world.

I am also a home body, and my childhood dream was to be an interior architect. That didn’t quite happen but by making the interiors industry my main focus, I get to meet some inspiring people, see beautiful places and discover amazing products.
Happy days!

If you are interested in discussing your project with me or if you have any questions, please get in touch! I look forward to hearing your story.

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While Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can be tedious business, today we will talk about the importance of backlinks.

Firstly, what are backlinks?

Backlinks are links from other websites back to yours. They have a big impact on search engine rankings.

What can you do to acquire quality and relevant backlinks?

Do a little research first

Look for sites that are in the same category as yours
Find content that is relevant to your website content
Check how many links are already present on that page – it is better if the page linking back to yours has less than 30 outgoing links.

Participate in conversations

If these sites are blogs or forums, participate in the conversation and don’t forget to leave your website address at the end of your comment in your signature.

Submit your site to directories

Directories may not seem like an interesting place to advertise your business but as long as the online directory is generating traffic, getting your site listed is a good start. Most directories are free so you just need a bit of time to submit your listing. And if your competitors are listed, you definitely want to be part of that list as well. Try and be in the 1st or 2nd page for a better quality backlink.

Write and post articles

If you can get into the habit of writing for the web, take advantage of the internet as a wide and cheap publishing platform.
Always stay within your category and remember that relevant content is very important to search engines.

Tip

Getting backlinks from websites that are high traffic and already have a good Google ranking will be more valuable to you.

Why not get in touch to review your search engine marketing?

The post Are backlinks part of your SEO strategy? appeared first on Studio Manusha • Small Business Websites | Adelaide + Sydney.

Here are some essential tips on how to promote your website.

The basics = publishing your website address

• Register with search engines
• Include your web address in your email signature
• Add your web address to all your social media accounts (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc)
• Create a Facebook page that people can like/follow (I am talking about a page for your business. It is different than a personal page)
• Whenever you participate in something, an event, exhibition, press article, styling job, editorial, etc, make sure any printed and promotional material include your website address
• Ask your professional network if they can link to your site (including your agents)
• Register with some industry directories

Content strategy = Tips on what to write and share

Your web presence needs to stay fresh so you need to maintain your website and stay active on social media. When developing your site or blog, you should have answered the question: what am I hoping to get out of it? If not, it’s not too late; do it and this will help you identify your target market.
When deciding on topics, think of how you will:

1. Attract (what topics is your audience interested in?)
2. Retain (is there enough relevant information on your website/Facebook for your audience to explore? Can you keep them interested? Will they come back?)
3. Convert (if you are looking for “customers”, is it clear and easy for your audience to understand what you offer and for them to contact you / make a purchase?)

Every post you write should have a keyword / key phrase and an audience in mind to make sure you reach your target market.

Try and find something “easy” for you to publish every week on your social media accounts (be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). i.e. “Photo of the Week” – this will help to build your following without creating too much stress for you. It will quickly become a habit for you.

Publishing content

• Generate new, unique and interesting content
• Write new blog posts – regularly
• Always share your posts on Facebook, twitter, etc to reach a wider audience
• Plan ahead: Schedule posts and shares – consider Bufferapp.com to make it easier

Building up your audience

• Find sites/blogs that your audience are likely to be interested in – “Like” (i.e. follow) pages of similar interest/audience
• Engage in social media = share useful links and participate in conversations (include your web address in your comments).
• Look into adding a “follow my blog” option on your website (either a plugin, RSS or Bloglovin) so people can sign up and receive your posts by email

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