Last month I refreshed the appearance of my www.Toolie.com website and added a few key pages. My www.Toolie.com website is my “dashboard” site; if you visit that site you can see pretty much everything I’m doing from one page. I removed some icons for sites I’ve consolidated under a new site; removed my Twitter feed (I needed the space), and moved my social media icons up to the top of the page.

Working on Toolie.com is the culmination of about 5 months of expanding and “making over” my major websites with a new appearance and more content. One of the longest-running sites I have, www.ToolieNetBiz.com/ expanded from the original 7 pages to 35 pages simply because I finally took time to sit down and write down everything I have done and can do as an Internet Business Consultant.

I aslo created a whole new site, www.ToolieWebDesign.com, where I documented the over 50 custom websites I’ve created for my clients as well as for my own business. I’d been doing the work all along; I simply hadn’t created pages to describe my skills! A web design colleague (whom I met and became friends with recently) took a look at it the other day, and complimented me on both the appearance and the clarity of the content. That made my whole week!

As fellow entrepreneurs, I’m sure you have activities that you’ve added to your “portfolio” of skills in the last year. Are they reflected in your current site(s)? If you had pages that outlined what you can do for your prospects, would that help turn them into customers? You bet it would!

Last week I participated in a focus group for a company with whom I do business, and they asked us how we shopped for their particular service. Nearly 90% of the participants said they went to the company website as part of their decision to engage those services. The same is true for your business, or could be, if your website information is current. Your site could be selling your products and services FOR you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, but it needs to be up-to-date.

It also matters whether the menus are easy to use, whether the page names describe the page contents, whether the font is easy to read, and whether your content is clear and concise. By clearing up these minor “road blocks,” your website “path” to a sale is easier for your prospects to “travel.”

This coming Thursday night October 21st, at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern, you have a unique opportunity to get expert advice from me about your sites during my “Website and Blog Makeover Night” webinar. When you register, you can submit the URL of the website or blog you’d like me to review, and I’ll give you suggestions on how to increase the effectiveness of your site. I’ll identify things that could be improved or enhanced, and give you suggestions on how to make that happen.

I’ve also found some new scripts that I’ve used with my clients which add functionality to websites for a very low cost. I will show you demonstrations of those scripts so you can decide if they’d be helpful to your business as well.

Best of all, if you decide to make changes to your site, my Autumn Savings 30% Off Sale can make the process quite affordable.

Click the blue registration button above to sign up for the webinar. I’ll see you on Thursday night, October 21st at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern!

Toolie

WordPress is WordPress is blogging software that is also being used to create websites. But is it the right choice for your business? In answer to my clients’ requests, I’m conducting a no-cost webinar on Wednesday,  September 29 at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern called “WordPress Inside Out.” We will pull back the curtain on WordPress and show you how it works so that you can decide if it’s suitable for your business.

We’ll examine important issues about WordPress such as:

• Installation, ease of use, features
• Ability to customize, flexibility, scalability
• The importance of branding, layout, and other issues to consider
• Free themes, premium themes, custom themes
• Plugins, feeds, widgets
• And much more..!

I will also answer questions you submit by Wednesday noon (Pacific time) at www.AskToolie.com, along with questions from participants that evening. This webinar will be recorded and made available to everyone who registers. Simply click on the blue Webinar Signup button at right and you’ll be taken to the sign-up page.

I’ll see you Wednesday, September 29th at 6 pm Pacific time, 9 pm Eastern
time!

Thanks!

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.

It’s been an incredibly busy 3 weeks for me. I got a ton of new info about social media marketing at the National Speakers Association National Convention that I will share with you over the next few months.

Then I decided to consolidate my products onto one website (this one), including pulling all my past free webinars into one location AND moving this blog from www.FixMyWebsitePlease.com to this website (shortcut: www.WSEBlog.com).

Then I fulfilled a dream of mine to set up a website with as many of my pre-tested, low-cost and free resources as I could, and to conduct some webinars on Internet Marketing 101. I’m calling it the “Internet Business Literacy Project,” and I aim to draw attention to the needs of people who could benefit from learning web skills that can improve their employment situation.

Did you know that the World Wide Web started 20 years ago this month? I was still in Los Angeles at the time, working as a technical writer. I’ve been teaching computer stuff ever since. Now, thanks to that World Wide Web, you and I can enhance our business-reach over that Web. But there is a price of admission.

If I have learned anything about computing (and about how adults learn) in the last 20 years, it’s that it draws you in. First you’re happy with any website that gives you visibility. Then you realize you need to market yourself, so you start blogging. Pretty soon you start to care that your sites reflect your company logo, brand, colors, products, services.

You keep bumping into HTML, Cascading Style Sheets, graphics, video, etc. but you’re thinking you don’t really have to learn or understand them. You’ll get by, just as you have so far. But I’m here to tell you that making time to learn them will open up new business opportunities to you. You can decide one day that you’re tired of putting off a really important dream like the Internet Business Literacy Project and just put up that website in a few days, instead of weeks or months.

I’m not asking you to learn all there is to know about HTML and CSS. I challenging you to learn the 20% of HTML/CSS that affects 80% of what you can do with a website or blog. Having that key knowledge gives you tremendous leverage — you can create attractive, useable, maintainable sites that support your business and help other people too.

That’s what it means to be a Web-Savvy Entrepreneur. I’m talking to all of you who have something important to say to the world, and are ready and willing to do what it takes to make this happen.

Welcome, Web-Savvy Entrepreneurs!

Toolie

Well it’s the middle of summer, and we here in Seattle are FINALLY enjoying summer weather. I found the top of my desk again (after digging through a week’s snail mail), and I am starting to put into motion the cool things I learned while I was at the NSA Convention.

It feels really good to know that whatever website, blog, or Internet Marketing-related ideas I get from a learning experience like that, I can implement them immediately. If it means I add more pages to a website, no problem. If it means I start a whole new blog, I can do that. If it means create a new email campaign, or add an opt-in box, NO PROBLEM. I’m not waiting for anyone else’s schedule; I can set things up now and benefit NOW.

At the core of my confidence is my knowledge of HTML and CSS (by the way, I learned most of it AFTER leaving Microsoft). Even if you decide to use software like WordPress to set up your website, you’re going to bump into HTML and CSS over and over and over again! It’s time to stop hiding from them, and really learn the 20% of HTML and CSS that will get you 80% of the way.

My “I Can Fix My Website Monthly Membership” program is a low-cost, effective way to get started. In fact, on Tuesday, July 27th at 4 pm Pacific, we’re having the first of 2 webinars this week — an Open Q&A where you can bring your questions about ANYTHING related to websites, blogs, and Internet Marketing (yes, including Social Media).

http://www.toolieforums.com/zmember/signup.php

Then on Thursday at 4 pm Pacific, I’m demonstrating how to create an Offline Marketing piece that can drive traffic to your website or blog. You get both of these calls PLUS access to our private Technical Support Forum for just $27/month. Both webinars are recorded and added to our soon-to-be-released how-to Video Library. Sign up today, and you’ll immediately receive the GoToWebinar registration links so you can join us for both calls.

Make this summer the one when you finally take charge of your websites and blogs. I’ll be here to help you succeed.

http://www.toolieforums.com/zmember/signup.php

Have a great week!

Toolie®

Kickstart Cart/1ShoppingCart is a very powerful tool with lots of built-in features for Internet Marketing. One of the least implemented features and potentially most profitable ways to promote your business is through the use of the Affiliate Program module in 1ShoppingCart.

In answer to my clients’ requests, I’m conducting a no-cost webinar on Monday, July 12 at 4 pm Pacific/7 pm Eastern called “Setting Up Your 1ShoppingCart Affiliate Program.” I’ll walk you through each phase of the setup, and show you how you can encourage your affiliates’ participation by providing materials they can use right away.

Here are some of the topics we’ll cover:

• The single most important thing you can do to help your Affiliates get credit for their referrals
• Determining commission rates for your products and services
• Setting up individual Affiliate programs
• Creating “media” that your Affiliates can use
• Customizing the “boilerplate” text
• And much, much more.

Simply click on the big red button at right to go to the sign-up page.

I’ll be using Kickstart Cart (a private label brand of 1ShoppingCart) for my demonstrations. If you don’t have a Kickstart Cart account, I encourage you to sign up for or upgrade to their Professional Plan before the webinar begins so that you can follow along. Just click on the banner below to get started.

So sign up for the webinar by putting clicking the red button at right, and I’ll see you Monday, July 12th at 4 pm Pacific time, 7 pm Eastern time!

Thanks!

Toolie®

P.S. If you need help setting up your cart, you can use my Kickstart Cart/1ShoppingCart Setup and Training service. Remember, you can get 30% off that service if you sign up before my sale ends on July 14th.

The recording from last week’s “Cool Features for Your Site” Webinar is now ready for viewing. Just click the big blue button at right to sign in and view the recording AND download all the demo files I created for the webinar.

This Thursday, I’m having one of my “I Can Fix My Website” Monthly Membership webinars, and we’re going to learn how to do 1-minute Video Ads for our websites and blogs. If you can sum up what your website is about in 60 seconds, then you have a good chance at making a sale. Half the problem websites and blogs have in attracting their target markets is that their owners aren’t clear as to what needs to be on the site.

So creating a 60-second ad is also a good exercise in being clear about what’s important. I hope you’ll join the ICFMW Community by signing up for membership. In addition to 2 webinars per month devoted just to members, you also get access to our technical support forum for websites and blogs. You can post a question and I’ll answer within hours on subject ranging from fuzzy photos to misbehaving websites to blogs out of alignment to Internet Marketing strategy. You can cancel anytime, but once you realize how helpful the forum can be, you won’t want to cancel!

Sign up at the link below, and you’ll immediately receive the GoToWebinar registration links for BOTH webinars (June 24 AND June 29th). The second webinar is an Open Q&A Session, so bring your website and blog issues, and I’ll try to solve them on the spot.

http://www.toolieforums.com/zmember/signup.php

See you on Thursday!

Toolie®

If you’ve ever studied what makes businesses successful, you may have encountered the concept of the “slight edge.” In the world of websites and blogs, that means it isn’t always the big flashy websites and blogs that get the business, but the smart, well-designed sites that anticipate what your visitors need and want, and supply it to them.

Sometimes that means a well-placed graphic, or text with highlights that make your point stand out, or subtly-placed credit card logos that reassure people that they’ll be able to afford your product or service.

This coming Tuesday night, June 15th, at 6 pm Pacific, 9 pm Eastern time, I’m going to show you one of my web design secret weapons for placing these kinds of cool features where they will do the most good. Here are some things we’ll cover:

• Adding backgrounds and border to text with a simple set of instructions you create once, and use again and again.
• Adding hyperlinks to a newsletter or long web page that jump within a page and back again.
• Putting an image on a website, blog, or ezine someplace OTHER than the top left corner. It could be your photo, a set of credit card logos, a Copydoodle, a BUY button, or any other kind of image!
• Adding an opt-in box or a block of contact info to your website without having to copy and paste it 14 times.
• Placing audio buttons and video frames anywhere on the page and having the text wrap around them.
• Creating FAQ pages whose questions appear in a list while answers show or hide when you click the button. I have 2 versions to show you!

Simply click the red Register button at right, and you’ll be taken to the registration page. You’ll then receive an email with the GoToWebinar link. Complete the GoToWebinar registration form, to receive your customized Join link, and you’re done!

I’ll see you Tuesday, June 15th at 6 pm Pacific time, 9 pm Eastern time!

Thanks!

Toolie®

Thinking about making changes to your websites or blogs, but not sure what might improve them? Got a gnarly issue that keeps popping up on your site that you’d like to get fixed once and for all? What about adding some new pages, a new widget, a new opt-in box? Need help figuring out how to squeeze in the changes and balance everything?

This coming Wednesday night, May 26th, at 5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern time, you can get answers to these questions on-the-spot during my free “Website and Blog Makeover Night.” Whether you just want a second opinion or you’d like me to look at code and offer suggestions, this is your chance to get technical help, so that you can have the websites and blogs you want.

Simply click the big red button in the box at right to go to the webinar sign up page. When you get to the GoToWebinar registration form, enter the URL of the website or blog you’d like me to review. If I can show you how to fix your issue during my review, I will be happy to do so. We can also meet later to discuss a plan to make the updates.

I will review as many websites and blogs as I can during the 90 minutes, in order of registration. I will also be revealing some new websites and programs of my own that are designed to further support your web-savvy education, so you won’t want to miss those details!

So sign up by clicking the big red button in the box at right, and I’ll see you Wednesday, May 26th at 5 pm Pacific time, 8 pm Eastern time!

Thanks!

Toolie

What kind of email list do you have? How did they find you? What caused them to sign up for your content? What are you saying to your prospects to turn them into customers? Is yours the kind of Internet business where the focus is on selling a product once, without follow-up contact?

I was listening to Bob Proctor’s Six Minutes to Success Videos last night, and in one of early lessons he said something that stopped me in my tracks: what inspires you? Without hesitation, I thought to myself, “working with people who are determined to succeed.” It’s that kind of tenacity I look for in my clients. Those are the people who come to me for coaching: those are the people I want on my email list. It’s a deliberate goal for my business to work with people who recognize the value of learning web skills that support their online businesses. And it is nothing short of thrilling to see them wrangle their websites and blogs with confidence. I’m just as happy about their success as they are!

When you first learn Internet Marketing (depending on who mentors you) it feels like you’re under pressure to build up the numbers in your database, without any filtering for “quality.” How do you “filter for quality?” By establishing up front that you deliver value, and that you are not going to rely solely on the delivery of free information to attract customers.

Yes, you’re going to create an opt-in bonus that delivers solid, usable, valuable content, but you’re also going to have half a dozen $7 Reports, and maybe some $27 products. Each and every one of those products for which you charge money must over-deliver on quality, of course. In the process of offering these low-cost purchase opportunities, you’re communicating that you have value to offer, and that you deserve to be compensated for your quality products. This is not an easy thing to do! It requires subtlety, some thoughtful planning (including a “sales funnel”), and the conviction of your own worth.

This point was dramatically demonstrated to me by a fellow Internet Marketer, and I’ve never forgotten the lesson. After being on his list for a while and attending a number of his free teleseminars and webinars, he suddenly announced a $7 webinar with content that interested me. Now, I like to attend free stuff as much as the next person, but I thought, “hey, I can afford the $7. He’s already given plenty, and I’m going to go for it.”

When the event started, he explained why he had charged for this particular event, and he said to us what I’ve explained above. He wanted us to think about our own lists, who we had attracted, and whether they were responsive and willing to compensate us for value received! It was a timely lesson for me, and I began changing the way I communicated with my own list.

Tonight, Wednesday April 28th at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern, I’m sharing my methods for building and improving your email list based on my own 6 years as an Internet Marketer, plus work done on behalf of clients. I haven’t charged for a webinar for quite a while, but this is one topic that is so critical that I’m devoting 2 hours to the workshop. Plus I’m including a CD of the recording, a 14 Day Trial Membership I Can Fix My Website Support Forum, and other bonuses, all described at:

http://www.icanfixmywebsite.com/listwebinar/

Whether I see you tonight or at some future webinar, I strongly encourage you to reflect on your own email list strategies, and decide who you want to work with! I’ll be here to help.

Toolie®

P.S. You can also click the big red button at right to get to the salesletter page. Enjoy!