Do you want to get into online marketing?
- Part or full time?
- For yourself?
- From home?
- or for your business?
Whether it is for your hobby, your passion or your business, online marketing can reach the parts that other marketing methods cannot reach.
We've been preaching the gospel of online marketing since 2007. And now, at the start of 2012 we need to know what YOU want and need to help you with your online marketing efforts – however big or small they may be.
We want to deliver what you need in the way that you want it. So come along on Saturday and tell us.
We'll still be asking questions. What are your plans and objectives; what have you already done about it and what are the difficulties you are facing?
Odds are there will be someone in the room who has experienced the same problem and can contribute a suggestion or even a solution. You'll never know if you don't come along.
Starting at 10:30 we'll be asking everyone to contribute just a little of where they are, what they want to achieve and how you think we might be able to help. We've got all day (after all, the bar is right outside!) so don't hold back because what you say will help us to plan what we do this year.
Saturday the 28th. Click here to RSVP now.
Filed under Internet Marketing by 
Tom Mackenzie (centre) with Bruce & Laurie
A great presentation on Wordpress Security from our guest speaker, Thomas Mackenzie, gave us an insight not only into the foibles of Wordpress and how to fix them but also into Application Vulnerability.
For most marketers the security of many of the tools we take for granted is a given. But Tom is one of those whose job it is to break into websites and to expose their vulnerabilities. Fortunately, he's one of the good guys. The bad guys who do the same thing for fun or profit are called hackers and can be the bane of your life if they decide to have a go at your site.
Tom shared much of his professional expertise and his knowledge of how to protect your Wordpress installation from hackers in his presentation.
The recording of Tom's presentation will be available for members shortly in the members area together with links to the various tools he referred to.
Filed under Blog, Blogging For Business, Building Websites, Guest Speakers, Internet Marketing, WordPress by
If you’re using Wordpress and have:
- consulted with a security expert
- implemented his recommendations about
- installation
- backup
- site management
.. and are happy that the bad hacker guys are not going to get into your site and that your work is safe and secure …then you can stop reading now.
If not then:
- Does your Wordpress wobble..?
- Can the bad guys Wriggle into your Wordpress?
- Or have you Whacked the Wordpress security question into touch in the hope that it won't happen to you?
Sorry, got a bit carried away with the W's there.
RSVP for this important meeting now
Wordpress is a great site building tool for users with no technical knowledge. And it's those same people, (maybe you?) that our next session about securing your site against the bad guys is for.
Last month we showed how even new users can have a Wordpress site up and running inside 10 minutes.
That's great! But it's precisely because Wordpress is so popular that it also attracts the hackers who just take pleasure in screwing up other peoples lives by messing up their websites.
And don't think they won't be interested in your site. They have no reason for what they do – so if you make money with your site or not, whether it is of interest to them or not – none of it matters. They just like messing up websites.
So you need to understand the possible pitfalls that exist and more importantly find out how to avoid them.
Wordpress Security- be safe!
Image by Nikolay Bachiyski via Flickr
Our guest speaker will be Tom Mackenzie who is an Application Security Consultant. That means he actually gets paid by website owners to hack into their sites. Fortunately, he's one of the good guys who then advises them how to secure their site, their business and their peace of mind.
Tom is a regular speaker at internet security industry conferences and guest lectures on application security and vulnerability management at a number of UK universities.
It what Tom's got to show you about your Wordpress site isn't valuable information freely available then I don't know what is!
So if you want to:
- discover the common security problems that exist for all Wordpress installations
- and, more importantly, watch a demo of how you can scan your own Wordpress website to find any security issues with it
- Find out, step by step, how you can fix them quickly and easily
then you need to be at our next meeting on 26th November.
Register here to secure your seat.
Whether you are a new user or a Wordpress afficionado, Tom is a leading expert in his field and you're sure to learn something not only new but distinctly useful about securing your Wordpress site.
Related articles
- Get A Security Makeover For Your WordPress Site With WebsiteDefender (makeuseof.com)
- Wordpress – the new platform for spreading malware (philipramsey.blogspot.com)
- Security Alert: WordPress Timthumb Hacker on the Prowl (journalxtra.com)
Filed under Blogging For Business, Building Websites, WordPress by
For those of you following the Facebook Webinar Series I have put the links for the Action Items for the first two weeks below:
http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/FacebookAds/Bootcamp_Week1_Checklist_2.pdf
http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/FacebookAds/Bootcamp_Week2_Checklist.pdf
For those of you not following the series, hit the link below to see what your missing. (You don't need to be logged in)
https://www.facebook.com/marketing?sk=app_252206491464232
Happy Viewing
Regards.
Laurie.
Filed under Facebook, Internet Marketing, Social Marketing, social media marketing by
If you are still wondering whether you should be blogging – or simply using blogging tools for your online activities then watch this.
If you don't know who Seth Godin and Tom Peters are then Google their names to find out. Then firstly pay attention to what they say and then book your place for our next open Meetup on 29 October.
Use this link to book your place: http://www.meetup.com/Smart-Marketing-Warriors/events/34878682/
Filed under Blog, Blogging For Business, WordPress by
Last week we were talking about how to build your web presence using HTML. This week we're going to talk about Wordpress – so pay attention.
Wordpress For Your Website. Good, Bad or Ugly?
Wordpress is a free program/platform/system (use whichever word you are most comfortable with), written in … (not interested because it doesn't matter). What matters is that it doesn't cost you anything and it is available to download from Wordpress.org or, if you are really lazy, they will host your site for you on Wordpress.com.
Wordpress is a content management system (CMS) which is where it differs greatly from HTML. Wordpress is about your published content – not about what it looks like. Yes, you can make it look good too. But it's focus is on what you publish – and that's really important for SEO purposes these days.
You can install Wordpress yourself in about 10 minutes (we'll show you how). The whole point about Wordpress is that you can access your own Wordpress site, publish new content and edit what you have already published – with virtually no prior experience.
Want to see how it's done? Book now for our next meeting:
There's a basic editor installed to start with and everything about your Wordpress site can be changed and improved according to your own taste and preferences.
So what't the result? You can publish what you want, when you want and without having to learn any fancy code or paying someone else's mortgage to do it for you.
The most powerful way to use Wordpress is from your own hosting which will cost you just a few dollars per month. Because Wordpress is a content management system it needs a database and the simplest way to achieve this is to find a hosting package that runs on Linux and also provides a service called Fantastico which will actually install Wordpress for you in just seconds.
So before you commit to any hosting simply pick up the phone, tell them you want to self install Wordpress and do they provide Fantastico? You don't need to understand any of the technicalities on the hosting company website – just ask them the plain english question. And don't fall for any of the 'unlimited bandwidth/disk space' blarney either. You're unlikely to need more than 100-200 Mb of diskspace as you get started.
Want to see how it's done? Book now for our next meeting:
OK, so now you're up and running. Got your first few posts made and you've already decided you don't like the appearance of your website. HORRORS! Need a webmaster! Got to pay for new coding!!
No, no and no. Just Google for 'free Wordpress themes' and spend the next 3 days trawling through the thousands of alternative wordpress themes that are available – and all for free! You can change the whole appearance of your site in moments.
You want your website to do something new? Just search on Wordpress.org for a 'plugin' that does what you want. Install the plugin – that's automatic too from within your Wordpress dashboard. (dashboard – like a car – it's where all the switches and buttons live where you control everything)
So, if you want a membership site or a shopping cart then simply download and install the relevant plug-in.
Want to see how to change the functionality of your site.
Book now for our next meeting:
It's true that you may need to pay for some themes and plug-ins.
But it's like the rest of life – you get what you pay for. Until now Wordpress has sounded perfect, so whats the catch?
Well, software acronym-1, another acronym (remember we don't care what they are in Wordpress) and Wordpress and many plug-ins and themes are open source. That means that a core structure and format has been agreed and everything written for the product whether it be further developments of Wordpress itself, themes or plugins all have to conform to the standard.
This is supposed to ensure conformity and high standards of compatibility. Unfortunately, there are good geeks and bad geeks, just as there are good lollipop ladies and bad lollipop ladies. So you do need to keep an eye open to avoid the rubbish that can trip you up.
One easy way to overcome this issue is to have two installations and use one as a test system to check plug-ins and themes before installing on the live site.
I read an article recently which advised against using Wordpress in favour of other Content Managed Systems (CMS)
Part of the argument was that because Wordpress is so easy to use, spammers use it and this might lead to Google downgrading Wordpress sites. There are 3 important facts you need to be aware of:
1 – Google uses around 200 metrics in its algorithm to rate each site and they do not say what they are and they change from time to time.
2 – Matt Cutts had a responsibility for blogging at Google and used Wordpress NOT Google Blogger. He still works at Google but has now moved to the Web Spam team. He still uses Wordpress.
3 – Probably the most important factor is that Google loves new content. Yes, the way that Wordpress works means it is not entirely search engine optimised. But do you really think that Google doesn't know about Wordpress? All the evidence is that Google loves Wordpress. It loves how easy it is for new publishers to get online and provide new, fresh content and opinions, it loves the way it makes it easy for non-techies to manage their own site, to respond quickly to events and to integrate social media into their Wordpress website.
There seems to be little evidence of Google downgrading Wordpress and at the time of writing the opposite appears to be true.
So Wordpress is the answer to a maiden's prayer? Well almost.
Naturally, there are all sorts of pros and cons. To get your own personal questions answered then come along to our next meeting for a live demo and discussion on how to make the most of your Wordpress website.
Book now to secure your seat at the next meeting.
Filed under Building Websites, Internet Marketing, WordPress by
At our next meeting we will have a day dedicated to “Your” web presence. The website or sites that you use to get your message across.
(Don’t forget to register your place at Meetup)
In Part 1 we were talking about how best to build your web presence. The pros and cons of the different tools and services available.
This week we're going to talk about HTML – so pay attention.
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, that's enough to turn you off before you even get started. HTML is the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web. Tim Berners-Lee, generally credited with having invented the world wide web, was also the primary author of html, which he was basically forced to invent as a means of carrying information around on the W – W – Web that he'd already invented. The initial idea was to allow researchers to share information.
HTML is used to define the structure and layout of a web page, how a page looks and any special functions required to display the content. HTML does this by using what are called tags that have attributes. (Remember: 'big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite them'?)
For example <p>….</p> means everything between the tags is a paragraph. You can give the <p> tag attributes to define the font, colour, size etc. As the viewer of a web page you don't see the HTML, it is hidden from your view, however, you do see the result – it's called your web page. Unfortunately, you might have a great idea for a web page but if you write bad html then you're going to get an ugly looking web page. Shame, that, having to learn all that code..
Oh, then there's the attributes. The attributes can be defined in the tag or in the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS).
Confused already? So am I. I thought we were talking about HTML and here we are blethering on about CSS. What's CSS?
HTML is the base language, that is, the lowest level at which you can work and whichever type of website you use it is HTML that is delivered to your browser.
In its base form HTML is what is known as stateless. So, when you access a web page it is downloaded and appears in the browser on your PC. This is sometimes referred to as 'fire and forget'. No linkage is maintained between the server and the PC. The code is just fired out there and left to create it's own environment.
Still confused? Don't worry, so are the rest of us. But, hey, this is supposed to be education. So pay attention! (not!)
Most useful sites use Dynamic HTML. This is achieved using something like PHP (The name is derived from Personal Home Page:Hypertext Preprocessor) which is open source or ASP which is an active server page from Microsoft. (Yes, I know your head is starting to hurt about now. Just stay with us a little longer.)
These dynamic languages run on the server but allow the page to be changed before being delivered. It may deliver information from a database or change the colour and style of the pages. It also has techniques for retaining a connection between the server and browser.
A very basic HTML page with some black writing and some headings could be produced in about 10 minutes. Learning HTML would not take too long (got 6 months to spare?) but to be really useful you
would probably need to also learn one of the dynamic languages.
The dynamic languages have a form very similar to traditional programming languages such as C or C++. You would also need an HTML editor such as Dreamweaver.
Get the picture? Endless learning – not enough doing.
Had enough? Good, because so have we.
Because, yes, there is an easier way – and it's called Wordpress.
Halleluhah!
Next time we will look at Wordpress – the answer to every website builders prayers.
All the best from
Filed under Internet Marketing by
At our next meeting we will have a day dedicated to “Your” web presence. The website or sites that you use to get your message across.
(Don’t forget to register your place at Meetup)
Do you build them yourself or get someone else to build them for you?
The focus of the day will be on Wordpress – the 'DIY' option – but we couldn’t have a day on Wordpress without referring to other types of web presence such as a regular HTML site or a Sitebuilder package commonly provided by Internet Service Providers as part of your hosting package.
Got some questions already? Never mind, that's what we're here for.
Just reply to this Post with your question and we will answer them all on the day.
So…
Website or Wordpress? People are frequently confused by the Wordpress history – as it started as a blogging tool – i.e. a means for techies to keep a running 'web log' (= blog – get it?) of the work they were doing. So it should be simple and crude, right?
Wrong, in fact Wordpress has developed so fast and so effectively that now you can build pretty much any functionality into a Wordpress installation – which is truly a website in its own right.
You can produce a very successful website using Wordpress. So, let's take a look at the different types of website and their strengths and weaknesses.
Imagine an axis with the most flexible type of site at the left hand end and the most rigid at the right end.
At the left hand end we have the traditional website built with fancy code by a rather expensive programmer – very flexible – but you can't do the work because you haven't spent years learning how to.
Then at the opposite end we would find the site builder type site – with Wordpress sitting between the two.
Sitebuilder
A sitebuilder site is simply a template. They often look quite good and can work for you in some circumstances but your ability to adapt them to your particular needs is very limited.
They are often provided by the internet service provider (ISP) who supplies your hosting. And it is because they are fixed templates and easy for the ISP to maintain that the ISP is prepared to give them away as a means of appearing to be helpful.
Sitebuilders are true to their promise which is to have a site up and running in 10 minutes, even if you have no experience. Usually there are a number of colourful, even useful templates from which to chose and the user simply selects one and continues with what they are given. Often the ISP will provide lots of useful add-ons, which are usually free, to enhance the site functionality.
So right now you are probably thinking, "Sounds perfect, where do I get mine". Well hold on just a minute. If you have now finished with your website and will never want to upgrade or tweak it, then you're done. But most likely, you will want to make some changes and this is where Sitebuilders start to show their limitations. If what you want isn't on the menu then you simply cannot have it.
Sitebuilder packages are just fine for your family website or local community site as they are quick and easy to implement and maintain.
But they have severe limitations when it comes to updating and adding functionality.
So we've got infinitely flexible HTML websites that you can't change at one end of the spectrum – and cheap, inflexible sitebuilder sites that you can't change at the other.
Recognise a common feature?
We'll talk some more about how you can build effective websites next time…
All the best from
Smart Marketing Warriors
Filed under Building Websites, Internet Marketing, WordPress by
Is Blogging For Business A Piece Of Cake?
I'm writing about blogging for business now because it's a topic that's come up several times with my clients over the last few days. Many local business owners are now getting tuned into the blogging and social media world as a way of growing their local business and want to get themselves plugged in. And it all sounds quite simple until they come down to the nitty gritty of how to actually do it.
These business guys seem to have two main concerns. Firstly, they don't think they actually have any content to write about and secondly, they don't really know how to actually get it down in a form that is publishable.
So what advice have I been offering?
1. Firstly you must know who your audience is. And it really isn't every single person who you could ever conceive of buying your product or service. Get a grip of the idea of having an ideal customer; get a picture of this person in your head and then start writing for them. And keep the language plain and simple because you only have to have a conversation with them on paper. If you need to get out a thesaurus, then have another think. I'm assuming you already know how to talk to your customers? Well blogging, tweeting and whatever writing on Facebook is called, isn't any different. Just use whatever passes for normal everyday language in your profession, and then aim it at a 12 year old.
2. Next you need to know how to behave out there. Really you only need to be yourself, but if you're lacking in confidence then try out this tactic. Go and follow (not stalk, you understand) but follow, people in your profession who are already at least partly successful out in the online environs. What's successful you may ask? Well look at people who you know are successful offline as well as online; on twitter you might concentrate on people who have over 2,000 followers and over 500 connections on Linkedin. You don't have to do anything for a while except check out what they are saying and how they are saying it. You might even retweet or redistribute what they are saying and send it out to your growing network. Really you just want to get a feel for what they do and then you can start doing it in your own way.
3. Do plan what you are going to write about. It really isn't any good sitting in front of the telly at midnight trying to find something to blog and tweet about. And I should know! Sit down with your references and plan what you're going to post and tweet about over the next month. And you want a good mixture of information, news and marketing stuff. It's no good giving away absolutely everything in your online media because when you do try and sell you're just going to shock people who are used to the charitable you. Just remember there are ways of going about it.
4. If you're starting to write for the first time, then do be gentle on yourself. There are loads of different templates you can use for blog posts and you can also fall back on the tried and tested approach which is to decide your topic and then cover the Why, What, How and What If of the subject. Give yourself time and leave about a week between writing it and checking it through. When you go back to edit, then read it aloud to yourself and correct anything which jars as you're speaking it through. Only then do you do the spellings.
5. Get over yourself. Many many people feel self conscious when they first start blogging or publishing on social media, and that's a good thing. If you get any readers, which is after all the general idea, then you want to wow them with your expertise. Being self conscious means you will be careful about what you are saying. I'm going to suggest here that if you are blogging for a traditional sort of local business, then you do not want to start being too controversial. Being controversial may generate comments on your blog, but it will also bring out the dickheads, and remember people find it so much easier to slag you off from a distance in a comments box. And you need 14 positive comments on your blog to negate just 1 crappy one. So watch out. I'm not suggesting you become a sychophant, and there is nothing wrong with giving your opinion and generating a professional discussion on your blog, however, controversy does tend to generate ranting – and that is to be avoided.
Finally, remember that you know your subject inside out which means it can be difficult for you to to find the interest for your reader. But it is a very unusual business that really doesn't have anything of interest and you only have to think laterally. Try think about how your product moves from cradle to grave and really start pulling out some of the usually hidden depths to what you sell. For instance if you are a cake shop, what about the bods who grow the sugar, what sort of processing does the flour go through? What about the baking? How are the cake boxes made? How do they get the little ruffles into those tiny paper cases?
This may seem like the boring gubbins to you if you've just popped down the cash and carry at sparrow fart to replenish your baking stock, but when it comes to blogging for business, this sort of thing could turn out to be your bread and butter.
Happy blogging.
Related articles
- Three Ways of Writing Valuable Content for Your Web Design Blog (xemion.com)
- Have Your Business Started Measuring Its Social Impact? (diystuffandbits.wordpress.com)
Filed under Blogging For Business by
- well, sort of.
We continue to be overwhelmed by the onward march of Facebook and by some of the new terminology that it is spawning. When in doubt, ask the horse.
So here's a short video of Mark Zuckerburg, founder of Facebook, explaining Facebook approach to the meaning of 'social' and the Open Graph.
Filed under social media marketing by
