Useful Plugin for your Wordpress Categories

Wordpress, Wordpress Top Tips

My Category Order

My Category Order

As a fellow Wordpress web designer, I found myself searching for a plugin to help organise certain categories in the sidebar. I didn’t want to exclude or order the categories via the code, as I knew that at some point the customer might want to do this for themselves, so my search began. The plugin which I found is called ‘My Category Order’, I found it extremely easy to use and will definitely use it again on other websites. Please follow the link to download and start using it.

Blogging and Beyond – 5 top tips for newbie bloggers

Blogging, Wordpress Top Tips

Here am I giving out new tips to newbie bloggers, and I’m fairly new to blogging myself. The best way I have found to learn anything new is no more straightforward than to research it. I’ve also learnt that blogging is about finding your own voice. Don’t rush it, it may take a while, but it’s worth investing the time, because when you get it right, you will see your followers grow, and that’s important. I’ve spent a fair bit of time reading a lot of other blogs and have found some great nuggets of information so I thought what better way than to share them with you.
Now that we’re specialising in WordPress, I am talking to a lot of clients about blogging, and although many of them have heard about it, they are still well – unsure. So here’s what I have found out: Read the rest of this entry »

Is it time to re-design your website?

Marketing, Websites

Many businesses carry on with the same old website, thinking that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. However the question is, was it working in the first place? The internet has changed beyond recognition since it first arrived in our lives all those years ago. Then eventually every business realised they needed a website just to keep up with the Jones’. Read the rest of this entry »

The Art of Twittering

Social Media

It appears that wherever you go you’re hearing the words “Twitter” and Tweet and maybe wondering what on earth is going on. It certainly seems to be taking off now, and more and more people are connecting onto Twitter, albeit some have not quite mastered the art of twittering.

We have just recently done a couple of presentations for local businesses in Somerset on marketing and the use of social networking sites in your marketing strategy, and my theory is right. There is a myth that it is a complete waste of time, and people just don’t get it. Presenting about the use of Twitter and how it can add value to your business, the feedback was Read the rest of this entry »

Good reasons for marketing an up-to-date website

Marketing, Websites

We are often approached by many new and existing businesses to discuss their website and my point always comes back to – yes have a website, but what do you want (potential) customers to do once they arrive there? Do you want them to email you, call you, or just simply fill out an online form – or even purchase a product? This needs to be obvious on arrival at your website. Read the rest of this entry »

Planning, designing and marketing your future as a modern graduate.

Marketing

The way I have come to see it, from my short time here at LA Marketing and Design in Shaftesbury, is that as a fresh graduate, the key to success in life follows the same vital ideas and concepts that one needs to create a successful business. First you have to investigate; this process is perhaps the most difficult. It involves looking at yourself and breaking ‘you’ down. Your likes; your dislikes; your skills; your qualities, and finally, where and who these factors may appeal to. Call it a filter. One big business filter. Then follow the marketing process. Marketing: a noun used to describe ‘the skills and functions, including packaging, promotion, and distribution, involved in selling goods” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. When we consider a business, this term may seem obvious, but what about when we apply this as a metaphor to our own career? The most important thing to remember is to play the game in the most successful way possible, and to find a way to stand out from the crowd; this means marketing yourself as if you were a business. If done correctly this will not only prove your abilities, however it will establish a sense of trust between you and your target audience, be it an employer, a company or a client.

Why Internet Marketing is Essential to Any Online Business

Internet Marketing

I came across this blog, and it so echoed my thoughts that I just wanted to share it with my customers.

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business. Marketing builds awareness. Awareness lets potential customers find out about your product or service. Just as with a bricks and mortar business, marketing is essential in order to let people know your business offer exists.

Although the World Wide Web can be thought of as a media channel where prospects will see your copy day after day, the truth is that unless you attract those prospects to your website first then your efforts are in vain. Read the rest of this entry »

Social Media – how do you manage it?

Social Media

Social Media is a phenomenon. I am still a newbie when it comes to Twitter, Facebook, Stumble Upon, Delicious. I’ve been reading several blogs about how to manage your time with all these wonderful interfaces that exist and how to stop them from taking over your life, and I am still working on a solution.

The issue is that I love it, am passionate about it and want to keep on surfing and linking but now my “in-tray” is becoming bigger I am struggling to juggle the time. I also have to take into account the family – husband, teenage children who are great and just get on and do their own thing, but need still need love and support, which I am blessed with, and I just need to focus on my strategy for the social media side, and how to integrate this with work, homelife and catching up with friends. Read the rest of this entry »

Why businesses should address their marketing in a downturn climate?

Marketing

Many could argue in our current economy that businesses need to zip up their wallet, pull tight the purse strings and cut down their overheads. This could, and should be true – but to a point! There is a fine line between cutting back, and reinvesting what is reasonable to get and keep your business on track. In a downturn one of the first areas of cutting back is marketing, but it shouldn’t be. Marketing is one of the most important exercises a business can do. If you don’t shout about getting your name out there, your competitor will! And you can bet what you like he’ll do it bigger and louder, and so when opportunities arise who’s name will be at the forefront of the potential suppliers list? Read the rest of this entry »

My First Blog

Marketing

Watch this space – this is my first blog, lots more to follow shortly.