If you look closely at the blue promotional graphic on the right, you’ll see Abraham Lincoln’s face behind the text. I am rather partial to him because I grew up in Illinois, plus my father’s name was Lincoln. In the darkest days of the Civil War, President Lincoln made some courageous choices that were tough on everyone (including him), but they changed the course of history.

Similarly, sometimes we just have to sit down, take stock of our businesses, and choose to make the changes we need to succeed. Making a decision clears the way forward, eliminates what we choose NOT to do, and draws a line in the sand that says, “from here on, things will be better.” Mentally, it’s a Vote to Succeed. I’m here to make that decision easier for you with my Vote to Succeed 30% Off Sale.

That means you’ll get 30% off website, blog, and Joomla projects, consulting services, software
installations, and one-on-one coaching sessions. If you’ve got things you want to change on your website but you don’t know how, set up a consultation with me and I’ll help you figure out what to do next — and show you how to do it yourself!

• Now’s the time to learn more about your website, blog, or Joomla site; sharpen your skills so that you can update your site yourself. Visit www.ToolieCoaching.com and make an appointment for one-on-one coaching.
• I recommend refreshing the look of your website about every 3 years or so. You don’t have to do a complete overhaul, you could just take advantage of a “website update package” that might include a new header, new buttons and graphics, or an introductory video. Visit www.ToolieWebDesign.com for ideas and to view my portfolio of over 40 websites, blogs, and Joomla sites.
• Perhaps you’d like to add new feature to your website, like StarDevelop’s Live Help, that improves your connection to your website visitors. You’ve seen the chat button on my websites; for a one-time purchase and installation fee, you could add the same feature to your site. Visit www.ToolieSofwareSetups.com to learn more.
• Ready to dig into Internet Marketing? The products and services on www.WebSavvyEntrepreneur.com can teach you how to get more for your websites and blogs, and connect with your customers more effectively.
• Is it time to profit from your vast quantities of content? Have you thought about creating a community around that content? Now is the time to set up a custom Joomla-based membership site with exactly the features you want, and benefit from the residual income that membership fees provide.

So make your first decision by sending yourself to a Free 30-minute Initial Consultation to discuss
your business needs. We can make a plan to get you on your way.

The coupon code you need is:

2012SUCCESS

Using that code in the shopping cart gets you an immediate 30% off your purchase on specified products and services. Each website has a description of the items on sale.

Here’s how to apply the Coupon Code:

1. Click on the product or service link on the web page or email link that takes you
   to pay in the shopping cart.
2. On the Order page (where you put in your credit card), look FIRST for the Coupon
   Code box on the right.
3. Enter the code and then
   Click Apply.
4. You’ll immediately see your discount. Then complete the rest of the form as usual.
   
5. You will receive an email receipt
   immediately after payment.

Note: there is a minimum purchase of $95 to receive the 30% off discount.

Now is the time to get your project up and running! You’re welcome to book a free 30-minute initial consultation in my online appointment system by using the link below:

http://www.toolie.com/links/initialconsultation

Learn more about your online business, and watch your profits grow!!

Toolie®

In the last 3 days I’ve given you some pretty good reasons to attend tonight’s webinar on “Next-Level Websites for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses.” Have you been thinking about joining me?

http://www.toolie.com/links/wsswebinar

Let me give you one more reason to attend: your mindset. When times are tough, it’s tempting to pull back, clamp down, hold the fort, and fall back to limited thinking about the future of your business. One of the best ways to overcome that negative impulse is to start making plans for better times, even if you don’t know how  or when they’ll arrive. There’s something about opening up your mind to new possibilities that gives them permission to show up.

So in preparation for the growth of your business, you owe it to yourself to find out why you should consider Joomla for your next-level website. I’ve been working with Joomla for almost a year now, and I absolutely love it. For me, learning and testing Joomla on your behalf is an extension of the commitment I have always had to you: to find the best, most cost-effective solutions to support your online business presence.

http://www.toolie.com/links/wsswebinar

Join me TONIGHT to get this valuable information NOW so you can start making plans for your next website. Thanks to my 30% Off Sale, now is a great time to make plans and take advantage of the savings!

Here’s how to register:

1. Go to www.websavvysupport.com (my new Joomla site!) and click on Register/Join.
2. Choose Web-Savvy Support Registered Membership, and complete the form.
3. On the next screen, enter your name and email address to immediately receive the webinar link
   and instructions for future webinars. That’s all there is to it!

NOTE: If you have had an ICFMW membership with the site in the past (paid or trial membership), use the same username and password to log onto the site. If you don’t remember them, just go to the home page and click Forgot
Username or Forgot Password under the Login box to have them sent to you.

Talk to you TONIGHT at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern!!

Toolie®

P.S.
forward this email to a friend who might benefit!

One of the things we’re going to talk about in Thursday night’s webinar on “Next-Level Websites for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses.” is Content. So yes, we’re supposed to write articles, create videos, and grab the attention of those search engines. But after the content is written, what are you doing with it? Are you writing throw-away words or is this content that can become reference material for your clients?

http://www.toolie.com/links/wsswebinar

The answer to that question determines to a great extent what vehicle you might use to house and manage that content. Most of us solo-preneurs are familiar with WordPress and all its wonders, but what else could we be using? This is where a discussion of Joomla is appropriate, and that’s what Thursday night’s webinar is about. Joomla is designed as a content management system, and we’ll go over what that means to you and your business.

Here’s how to register:

1. Go to www.websavvysupport.com (my new Joomla site!) and click on Register/Join.
2. Choose Web-Savvy Support Registered Membership, and complete the
   form.
3. On the next screen, enter your name and email address to immediately receive the webinar link and instructions for future webinars. That’s all there is to it!

NOTE: If you have had an ICFMW membership with the site in the past (paid or trial membership), use the same username and password to log onto the site. If you don’t remember them, just go to the home page and click Forgot
Username or Forgot Password under the Login box to have them sent to you.

Join me on Thursday to get this valuable information NOW so you can make plans to make
the most of the content you already have. Thanks to my 30% Off Sale, now might be the right time to make those plans and take advantage of the savings!

Talk to you Thursday at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern!!

Toolie®

You’re invited to this Thursday night’s webinar at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern, on “Next-Level Websites for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses.” What do I mean by “next-level”?

As Internet Marketers we’re taught to go for content: write articles, write blog posts, bring those search engines in! High-content websites are an excellent goal to have, but you need some way to manage all that content and still make it available, organized, and searchable. About a year ago, I was facing this problem with my membership site: the content was on the site, but it was presented in the wrong format. I needed some way to organize multiple types of content, have it protected, and still make it a multi-user website.

So last December I began working with Joomla, an open-source, content management system designed to handle large volumes of content. Over the last 9 months, I’ve learned about Joomla, tested for use by entrepreneurs and small businesses, and built almost a dozen websites with it.

Now I’m ready to tell you what I’ve discovered about Joomla and why I think you should consider it for some of YOUR websites! In fact, I am using my Joomla site to handle webinar registrations: now you’ll just need to register and opt-in once, and you’ll have access to all future webinar registration links. Current members can just log in to get the link.

Here’s how to register:

1. Go to www.websavvysupport.com (my new Joomla site!) and click on Register/Join.
2. Choose Web-Savvy Support Registered Membership, and complete the form.
3. On the next screen, enter your name and email address to immediately receive the webinar link and instructions for future webinars. That’s all there is to it!

NOTE: If you have had an ICFMW membership with the site in the past (paid or trial membership), use the same username and password to log onto the site. If you don’t remember them, just go to the home page and click Forgot Username or Forgot Password under the Login box to have them sent to you.

It has taken time for your business to grow; it will take time to get your site ready for the next level. Join me on Thursday to get this valuable information NOW so you can make plans. Thanks to my 30% Off Sale, now might be the right time to make those plans and take advantage of the savings!

Talk to you Thursday at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern!!

Can you believe it’s almost September? I hope you’ve had a great summer.

Last week my godsons stopped by to see us, and they reminded us that school starts this week. I got to thinking about the days when my Mom took me to the “dime store” and we picked up school supplies. Dad, who was a teacher at the time, was pulling out lesson plans and figuring out which kids in his class had older siblings who had been through his classroom.

I’m glad I grew up in a house where continuous learning was emphasized as being critical to success. I’ve carried that with me into my years as an entrepreneur, and it has served me well. There’s no doubt that the Internet moves quickly; we have got to make time to keep up with it to sustain our online presence.

What’s on your plate for this fall? A refresh of your website? New content? New services? New products? What do you need to learn to make that happen? Starting today, you can get help at 30% off.

• Learn more about your website, blog, or Joomla site; sharpen your skills so that you can update your site yourself. Visit www.ToolieCoaching.com and make an appointment for one-on-one coaching.
• Refresh the look of your website this Fall. You don’t have to do a complete overhaul, you could just take advantage of a “website update package” that might include a new header, new buttons and graphics, or an introductory video. Visit www.ToolieWebDesign.com for ideas and to view my portfolio of over 40 websites and blogs.
• Add new feature to your website, like StarDevelop’s Live Help, that improves your connection to your website visitors. For a one-time purchase and installation fee, you could add the same feature to your site. Visit www.ToolieSofwareSetups.com to learn more.

These are just some of the ideas I have for you! I’ve been learning some new things myself in the last 6 months, and I’ll share them with you over the next few weeks.

All you have to do to get started is to make an appointment. Use this link: http://www.toolie.com/links/initialconsultation and we’ll work together to bring your ideas into reality.

Talk to you soon!

Toolie®

It’s hard to believe that there are only 11 days left in 2010. It’s been a tough year for just about everyone, but I’m starting to feel like things are turning around. As always, the end of the year is a good time to evaluate what’s worked for your business, and what has not worked.

I am a great believer in planning. Maybe it’s my Virgo nature, but there’s something satisfying in taking a calculated risk: researching the facts, knowing my options, and making an informed choice. Consequently, I’ve spent portions of the last 2 months taking a hard look at my business. I’ve been driven by the question I am about to ask you:

What are you going to do to make 2011 better than 2010?

It would be easy (and perhaps trite) to say to ourselves,”I’ll just do more of the same, only better.” Is that enough? Will making changes improve the situation? Well if you can examine what you’re doing honestly and say that your current activities will lead you to the success you’re seeking, then great! Stay the course.

But if you have any doubts, come along with me.

Over the next 11 days, I’m going to share with you some of the ideas and exercises that I’ve been putting myself through with regards to my business. Each of them will be tied to a specific action you can take on your websites and blogs to support the changes.

I’ll also have some specials on products and services that will be good through December 31st, so be sure to read all the way through each email.

Task for Today
——————————–
For the next 7-10 business days, write down every task you do. If you want, also start keeping track of the time a task takes. Like changing any habit, the first step is awareness. If you don’t know what is occupying your time, it’s hard to tell what to change; what to start doing, and what to stop doing. Keep the list simple; we’ll delve into the details in coming days.

For someone who has been in the computing business for over 25 years, I’m pretty suspicious about storing data anywhere I can’t see it or physically touch it (or at least touch the hard drive case). But for almost 3 years now, I’ve been trusting my precious content to Amazon’s Simple Storage Service, and I have to say that I am utterly delighted. They have been incredibly reliable and very, very inexpensive to use.

I’ve done a fair amount of experimenting with Amazon S3 because I run a membership program. My members pay a monthly fee to get access to content that needs to be protected from prying eyes, and Amazon S3 satisfies that requirement quite nicely. How so? Well, Amazon S3 is not a web server. It’s “storage in the cloud.”

You’ve probably heard the term “cloud computing” and have a vision of  big computers floating on wisps of air. Well, not exactly, but not that far off. Yes, the computers are sitting in big, secured rooms with raised floors in rows and rows of racks of servers. Our only view of the data is through some kind of access tool that lists the contents of the server we’re “renting.” What makes Amazon S3 special is that it is NOT indexed by the search engines.

Wait a minute, isn’t that what we want? Don’t we want our content found? Well yes and no. If you’re providing content to a group of clients that are paying for it, you don’t want the search engines to stumble upon it and put it into search results for everyone to see. And believe me, the search engines do find everything. I was stunned to find a reference in Google Scholar to the masters thesis I wrote back in 1986, and it’s not even in digital format!

Amazon S3 (along with other Amazon services) was originally intended to provide storage to web developers who wanted to provide services over the Internet without hosting the content themselves. Internet marketers subsequently found Amazon S3 and began using it for their own purposes. If you’re not already using it for content storage and delivery, it’s time to get the facts and make a plan.

On Thursday, November 18th at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern, I’m having a webinar on “Using Amazon S3 for Your Business.” This no-cost webinar will explain Amazon S3 in greater detail, and take you through setup, access tool selection, and some of the ways you can leverage the power of Amazon S3 for your content.

Click the blue “Webinar Signup” button at right to sign up for the webinar today.

Toolie

Seven years ago yesterday, I walked out of Microsoft with my last box of personal items. I had been there for 10 years. I have to say though that it was a relief to be free of any employer at that point. I had been ill most of the year, my mother had been placed into hospice (less than 6 months to live), and I had a terrible manager who had made my life hell. But I survived, and I got out as soon as I could.

I was lucky; I had some money saved so that I could spend time with my mother, do some traveling, publish my father’s book after my mother passed away. Then I got involved in my new profession, where I met some key people who got me started with Internet Marketing.

I came into this arena with a technical background, so I basically knew how to put together a website for myself. Entrepreneurship and marketing took much longer to grasp; setting goals, methodically building up my infrastructure, learning how to write sales copy.

Later I took a different direction with my business and it felt like I was starting over: building a new list, experimenting with different content, learning more skills. I finally feel like I’ve found my place in the world, with a specific message to deliver, and people I can help.

What amazes me is that throughout these 7 years is that “get-rich-quick” programs continue to be offered, year after year. If you’re an Internet Marketer with a specific message to deliver, it can feel like you’re a failure because you’re not getting rich overnight. We who are not content to simply “find a hot niche and milk it” are ignored by those who might teach us something because we’re not a hot prospect for them. We may buy their programs a few times, but sooner or later, we realize that they’re simply telling us to find the latest fad and work on that. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t feed my soul. I’ve already been a small cog in a big wheel. I became an entrepreneur because I wanted a chance to put my own ideas into the marketplace and benefit from them directly. I don’t want to sell anyone else’s fad.

Now, I am certain that fortunes have been made milking the latest fad. But what about those of us with specific intellectual property to sell? We have expertise, we know we can help people, and we’re not interested in selling a one-off program. We want to provide products and services that people can count on year after year. Does that mean that we’re doomed to only make money occasionally instead of a regular, even a recurring, income?

I am living proof that it’s possible to make money over the Internet selling MY products and services. Did it take time? Yes. Is it possible for you? Yes, it is. Do you need skills to make this happen? YES you do. And this is where I differ from most of the Internet Marketers you’ll talk to: they’ll gladly tell you that you don’t need to learn any technical stuff to market online. Why? Because they are selling you something that requires that you have an infrastructure in place (like a website), and they want you to buy NOW, whether you have that infrastructure or not.

I’m here to tell you that the longer you put off learning at least some technical knowledge about online marketing, the sooner you will be stymied in your ability to make money online. It just makes sense; if you’re going to depend on your website or blog to make you money, you’ll be happier, more in control, and more profitable if you learn how it works so you can repair it in a crunch.

I am here to help. My job is to make it possible for people with purpose to get their message out into the world. I didn’t start out as a techie, far from it. But I grew into it, and you can too. 

• Others will tell you that you need a website or blog. I will show you HOW.
• Others will tell you to put an opt-in box on your site: I will show you step-by-step how to it.
• Others will encourage you to add video to your website. I can help you figure out what to say, show you exactly how to put a video together, how to edit it, how to install it on your site.

Do you have to learn everything there is to know about websites and blogs? NO, you don’t, unless you want to become a web designer. But there exists a core set of knowledge that is helpful to Internet Marketing that you should learn — the beautiful 20% that affects about 80% of what you do with a website or blog. I have figured out what that 20% is, and I can help you learn what is needed immediately. The rest you can learn if you want to, or just let it go.

So as I celebrate my 7th year of entrepreneurship, I invite you to join your fellow Internet Marketing People with Purpose. Stick around, and I will show you how to become a Web-Savvy Entrepreneur. Let’s make money together, doing what we know we were born to do.  Get started by adding yourself to my Website and Blog Tips mailing list (see sidebar), and I’ll start teaching you what you need to know.

Toolie®

It’s Back-to-School time and your clients will be returning from their vacations any day now. Wouldn’t it be great to have some fresh content for them when they come back to visit your website? Maybe you’ve got some new podcasts to add to your site; or you are ready to create an introductory video; or you have some articles that you want to add to increase your website content; or you have a new service that needs new pages.

Perhaps you’re ready for a new look to your site; a change of colors, a new logo, a new layout, adding a news feed. Now is the time to take advantage of discounted prices on website and blog projects, on individual coaching sessions, or a new Internet strategy.

I’m extending my World Wide Web 20% Off Sale a few extra days because a change of plans. Originally the sale was going to end on September 6th, but now that I’ll be out of town Labor Day weekend, I wanted to give you a few more days to secure your discount before prices go back up.

You’re welcome to book a free 30-minute consulation to talk over what your websites and blogs need, and we can make a plan. For projects over $400, we can work out a payment schedule.

To make an appointment for help, just visit www.ToolieCoaching.com and read about the variety of ways I can help you with websites, blogs, and Internet Marketing stategy. Then click on Make Appointment, and follow the instructions to choose your appointment time and pay online.

Step into autumn with a site that is ready for your customers. Make your To-Do list and then make an appointment today!

Talk to you soon!

Toolie®

Today’s webinar is entitled “Selling Products and Services over the Internet”, which starts at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern. We’re going to go through the nuts and bolts of making your services available, including using an online appointment system, voice-over-Internet, and having some method for recording your phone sessions.

Investing in a high-quality microphone and audio/video editing software means you can turn your intellectual property into digital and physical products for sale. In this webinar I will have lists of software, hardware, and services that can support your business.

You can sign up for the webinar at www.WorkOnYourWebsite.com.