Archive - July, 2011

Earn Money – Spread the Shingle Page Project

By on July 17, 2011 in Marketing with 8 Comments

Shingle Page ProjectOne of the challenges of  The Shingle Page Project has been getting to the businesses themselves.

Chambers of Commerce and local Merchant Associations sometimes are willing, but they all want Shingle Page to become a member first. And I’m not going to become a member of every Chamber across the Midwest.

So it’s been by foot – which is great when you like to meet people – but it will take a long time to reach folks.

So I’m asking you to help me help those small, solo, and rural business folks you might know. And, your help can also help yourself:

For each referral that ends up with a Shingle Page – you earn $50. And on every fourth referral that gets their own page, you get a bonus $50.

Here’s what it looks like

  • 1st  = $50
  • 2nd = $50
  • 3rd = $50
  • 4th = $50
  • Bonus on the 4th = $50
That’s $250 to you and 4 small businesses, solopreneurs, or rural shops that are now on the web. So talk with your barber or favorite pub; your massage therapist or that antique store you visit on Saturdays; your cousin going into real estate or your aunt that sells her crafts on Etsy.
Just send them to the Shingle Page site to get started.
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Finally . . . Move to WordPress

By on July 15, 2011 in Blog Coach, Books with 3 Comments

WordPress All-In-One for Dummies Book
After 5+ years, ConverStations is operating on something other than TypePad. On June 27, 2011 – with a post title Conception is Messy – I began publishing this site on WordPress.

When I first began this project in 2006, I chose Typepad as a platform for two reasons:

  1. Then, Typepad was easier for most business folks to use and update, and
  2. WordPress didn’t have the flexibility unless you knew code.

About a year ago, I decided that WordPress was a better way for two reasons:

  1. Now, WordPress is easier for most business folks to use and update, and
  2. with a plethora of themes and plugins – a more complete web presence is a few clicks away.

A few distractions and one great attraction later, and we’ve finally made the move.

Theme: I’m using the Standard Theme (aff link) by 8bit for its simplicity and its support, but it also fits the needs for most of the clients I currently work with. It’s so very easy and clean. Highly recommended!

Site Help: WordPress Hacks and WPBeginner were two sites I referred back to often and oftener.

Manual: The manual I used until it became dog-eared was the WordPress All-in-One For Dummies
(8 books in one volume).

I’m still not done. There’s plenty of links that need to be checked, images needing moved, and a category cleanup – but for the most part the framework is up and the inventory is in-house. I’ll share more on plugins I’m using and some of specific help-texts I found in the very near future.

I stayed calm knowing this: Before Organization is Disorganization. (Deja Vu?)

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Is it Simple to Share? #Simple2Share

By on July 7, 2011 in Blog Coach, Marketing, Social Media with 2 Comments

Hershey's
Legend tells us that among the early successes of the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Candy bar was how the design made the candy so simple to share. Just break off a piece and give some to a pal.

There is a bit of a ego-massage in sharing, isn’t there. Of course, that shouldn’t be the end goal of sharing, but sharing is a feel-good for both parties.

When building a web presence, I would think it important to ask yourself the question:

“Is this easy to share?”

And how do people share things they find on the web? They Re-Tweet it. They “Like” it or share it on Facebook. They “plus” it. Even if you’re not an active participant in the social arena, be smart in making your pages and sites – #Simple2Share