Paula G. Web Design

If you are in or around the Doylestown, PA area (just outside of Philadelphia, PA in Bucks County), here’s the scoop on a speaking engagement I have coming up this week…

Blogging is all the rage and part of a savvy Web 2. marketing strategy. But, it is right for you & your business? Join me as I  share with you the ins and outs of getting started with blogging. In this seminar you will learn:

• What a blog is and why it is such a popular marketing tool
• Questions to ask yourself before you get started
• How to get started with your own blog and what tools to use

When:      Wednesday, June 4th, 2008    8:00AM
Where: James Lorah House, Doylestown, PA
More Info: http://www.womensbusinessforum.org/

This event is free and open to the public as part of the regular monthly meeting of the Doylestown Women’s Business Forum.

The other day I was having a conversation with a potential client when she started apologizing for not being better with technology and not having had any success building her own site. I get this a lot. I am not sure why, but it seems web design and financial planning are the two main fields where people for some reason think they should be able to do it all on their own. I mean, I have yet to hear a colleague or client say “I have this painful tooth, but if only I were better at dental surgery I could get this fixed right up in my spare time.” Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? Yet that seems precisely the line of thinking many solo and small businesses take when it comes to their website and Internet Marketing.

Now, if you are dead set on taking the DIY route, I am not here to stop or criticize you. It is your business and the choice is ultimately all yours. However, I would like to put forth a compelling list of 7 reasons why it is not the best use of your time or money to do so.

1) Do you consider a website a once and done project? Are you prepared to make an ongoing investment in writing content, updating the site, and maximizing your technology investment so customers can find and buy from you? On the web content is king so unless you only want a virtual brochure, you need to be ready to invest ongoing time on your site on a regular basis (at least monthly). A team of professionals can help you navigate these waters and make it easy for you to do so. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you have a professional email address with your own domain name? If you don’t you may be harming your business’ image. Even if you plan on doing minimal Internet marketing, rest assured in this day and age people expect to be able to contact you via email. As a result, you’ll undoubtedly have it on your business card.

If you’re using a free or personal email address for you business, stop now. I can’t tell you how many cards I get with “SoandSo123@yahoo.com” or the like. My immediate impression as a prospect or possible consumer is that they couldn’t even take the time and spend under $10 to use a professional address. Remember everything you do in your business - in person, in print, and online is a reflection of you and your business. You only get once chance to make a first impression so make it a good one.

So, how do you do this so easily and cheaply you ask? It’s simple. Go and register a professional sounding domain name if you haven’t already. You can do so for just $9.99 at GoDaddy . Buy a domain name, create a free email address something like “yourname@yourdomain.com” or “info@yourdomain.com” and then have it automatically forwarded to your personal email account. You don’t need to do anything different to receive this new email. No new accounts to set up, no new places to check your email. It simply automatically forwards all mail that comes into that address to the email address you specify (your personal address).

Voila! A professional image with your email address for all your communications for under $10.

Note — with this setup, you won’t be able to send email from this new business address. To do that, you would need a basic hosting account at which time you could set up an email address that would allow you to both send and receive email from that address. That is only minimally more expensive (approximately $10 for the domain and then $4 a month for basic hosting) and requires a few extra steps to set up and retrieve/send your email from your favorite web based or regular email program. It is worth the extra effort and expense…

Welcome to the Paula G. Web Design blog brought to you by The Paula G. Company. For many moons clients and friends have asked me “When are you going to start a blog to help de-mystify the whole process of websites for small and solo businesses?” Well, like the cobbler whose family had no shoes, my own projects took a back seat.

That doesn’t mean I’ve been a stranger to blogging though. I have been running my Coaching for Lesbians blog for almost 2 years now and am a producer and writer at Queercents. In addition I have built blogs and membership sites (based on blogs) for clients.

My goal with this blog is to help take the fear out of the web for you. Skipping the techno-speak I want to talk in plain English to you about the workings of the web and what you need to consider as you create a new or update an existing website. I also want to be able to recommend products and services I personally believe strongly in and use in my own business.

Please take a look around, comment freely, and recommend this blog to others.