A Note

I won't be taking on any additional clients for website design, I am swamped. My theory of keeping things simple and  being a little patient with marketing is working. I am currently getting the hang of social networking. Since I'm not a full time web designer any longer I have the time to do the research I like to do before I "buy" into any of the SEO "you have to" stuff. The SEO business changes rapidly, in my opinion, and I don't see much change in SEO know it alls. Sorry for being blunt, but if someone wants you to fork over $400 a month plus, I want major performance, not just the same old thing.

What I am finding that really works with regard to social networking is:
Attend events - show up consistently
Join organizations and get involved in mommittees
Network with other trade partners
Invest you time
Volumteer
Build relationships
Recognize those who have helped you out
Be authentic
Don't act desperate
Listen to what people are saying, and follow through
Share your experiences
Be a mentor
Fous on giving, not getting
Let people know what your expertise is
Follow up with people
Learn about other trades
Don't be afraid to give feed-back
Ask lots of questions
Be respectful of your peers and their existing relationships
Set goals and manage your time
Maximize customer service
Treat everything you do as a networking opportunity.

Social Networking is not just for the internet, facebook, twitter, etc.

Success = Dig in and Do It

This morning while reading my email subscriptions from those who are "in the know" category, I came upon a well said statement from "ProBlogger". A statement worthy of passing on, unfortunately most of what I read is so redundant I wouldn't dream of passing on, anyway:

"The Internet makes it very easy for people to do favors for each other. Go meet everyone you can. One morning, you might receive an email from someone who thinks you are worth more than you do. When they tell you that, don’t argue.

Go go go.

Today.

Now.

Don’t look back

Don’t second guess.

You’re not the passenger, you’re the driver.

Refuse to deal with life. Make it deal with you."

Building confidence over a lifetime of "been there done that" means that we've tried, success or failure, we've tried. But we forget some of those successes when we fall flat on our faces. I don't see the take charge attitudes I once saw in people I meet online or offline. Hard work pays off as well as persistence, determination and of course the never give up attitude.

What I see to much of today is people with their hand out wanting someone else to do the work and they take the reward. I believe that is why all the "get rich quick" scams are so successful. The highway to happiness, speed to your dream destination can cost a bundle resulting in nothing but an empty wallet.

There are no short cuts and unfortunately there is little desire to take time, research, learn, attempt, etc. Whatever we do we need to share and build each other up. If someone gives you a meaningful compliment accept it and glow!

That being said I would like to thank all the people who have given me their kind words, compliments, and the like. You encourage me everyday and I sincerely hope at least some of the offerings in this blog help you.

That is why WebSitesWork! and so do www.privatestockjewelry.com, www.homebasedjewelersshowcase.com, gotrocks4sale.com, as well as my other websites and blogs. (But I just can't find the time to tweet.)

I would like your opinion

I've just set up a website for my friend Millie; she's Overstocked with Rocks. This is the first phase, there are many, many pictures to take. Between you and me she should open a brick and mortar store.


Seriously, I would like "objective" opinions. I know that most of you are not jewelry designers looking to purchase precious and semi-precious gems, that's not the point here. I want an objective opinion of the website.

Please keep in mind the about page, and the blah, blah, blah pages have not been constructed, those aren't the important pages. I won't give you a quarter for your opinion but I'll give you a link!! That's worth a bunch more than a quarter!

Link Referral Update

If you are unhappy about reviews, your rating or any other problem you can remove your listing by going to the "contact page".

You will see:

"I wish to discontinue mailings or retire my account: login to your account and change your preferences and follow the instructions."

However, if you want to share your reviews you can post them on your site, html will be generated for you so you can copy and paste the reviews. If you scroll down on the side bar you will see and example.

Traffic - Traffic Falling? No Traffic:

Check out Google Trends, you can learn about the trend of your market. Becasue I am a Home Based Jeweler I checked http://www.google.com/trends?q=handcrafted+jewelry. In an effort to promote traffic and sales of Handcrafted Jewelry on http:homebasedjewelers.blogspot.com I checked the "trend" of handcrafted jewelry and this is what I found:



Google states: "Trends scales the first term you’ve entered so that its average search traffic in the chosen time period is 1.0; subsequent terms are then scaled relative to the first term. Note that all numbers are relative to total traffic."

Checking Jewelry the trend shows:



basically the same trend.

People get so frustrated becasue they don't get enough traffic and I ask, how may of the same people really work at "getting traffic". Are you using the tremendous tools that are available at no charge. SEO's charge big bucks to "guarantee" top listings and what tools do you think they may be using?

Go to http://www.google.com/trends to check out what your market looks like.

To tweet or not to tweet?

Twitter:
To tweet or not to tweet?
How do you tell who is worth following though once you've found them?
How much time out of your ‘no time left’ day do you have to tweet?
How do you know the person you are following is even who they claim to be?

If you find someone with 2500 followers, you might think they have something of value; but do they?
Spammers are hitting Twitter like the plague. Twitter has started to verify account because of a lawsuit. Almost everything I read about marketing says you MUST be on the social network and yet I have not seen much that interests me because idle chit-chat is a waste of my time. In addition to all the nonsense that is going on in Twitter.

By Mike McDonald
“Social Media is still an area very much in it's development. There will no doubt be plenty of twists and turns as we move along. However, there is one thing you can absolutely take to the bank: if aren't in it, you need to get there. For better or worse, "wait and see" strategists have no place in this world.” (Mike has been covering ebusiness and the search industry for WebProNews since 2000.)

Somebody please tell me why I Must! The “authority” (?) that be tell us we must right after they tell us it’s not a good place to be. Go figure. Yep, and they will probably come with search engines for tweeters too.

What is the difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu?
For bird flu you need tweetment
And for swine flu you need oikment.