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Do you have a website, but find it a challenge to keep it updated? If so, you may be in the market for a Virtual Assistant who specializes in website management. Much cheaper than a website overhaul, a simple maintenance plan can keep your website up to date and looking fresh.

Lack of Time

Time has it’s affect on all of us. Websites are not immune to the passage of time. As the Internet grows standards change, browsers adapt, and audiences start to expect different things. How your website stands the test of time depends on how well you adapt to these changes. Unfortunately, the last thing a busy business owner needs is to spend an hour or two a week navigating a CMS or even worse, the code itself!

Along with changing consumer expectations are the opportunities missed because events and promotions are publicized at or after the fact. I’ve seen several business owners post things to their website the day of an event, or in retrospect. Websites that encourage repeat visitors should reward them with timely news. But face it, you’re too busy organizing the promotion or getting ready for the event to handle all of this yourself.

Lack of Experience

I have worked with several people who use preformated code to update their websites. They change their blog post based on filling in different information into the coded template and then they upload the information. Sometimes the template gets compromised: a DIV gets removed or added or a picture is bigger than the containing element. For those with little coding experience this can be horribly frustrating. For a Website Virtual Assistant, it can be simply a few minutes of looking at code and putting in the missing elements.

When I first started studying website design and usability, I had difficulty making my designs look just right. They were functional and pretty but lacked… something I couldn’t put my finger on. I spent hours rearranging elements and removing pieces hoping for balance. Then I broke down and asked a Graphic Designer friend of mine for help. The answer? Proportions and alignement. With a trained eye my friend could easily see why certain elements seemed off in seconds. If only I had asked my friend sooner! A Website VA can bring this same level of expertise to your website – freeing up your time for your business.

Lack of Money

A Website Virtual Assistant is going to be one of the least expensive options for making custom updates and changes to your website. Sure you can buy one of those “All-in-one” website builders for fairly cheap, or find a free WordPress theme, but does that really represent your business? On the other hand, professional web designers are definitely worth the cost but how many small business owners can afford them? Once the design is done, how many businesses can afford to make updates and changes?

In the days before I became a Website VA, I had the opportunity to participate in several website projects. I noticed a common theme: each of the businesses failed to consider the costs of updating the site. In one case, the web designer had locked certain areas of the site for updating. If the client wanted a change made in this area, they would have to contact the designer to make the changes… at $75 and hour. In the beginning this seemed reasonable, but after the first month and several small tweaks to text, the maintenance budget for the website was gone. Result: an expensive website (original design cost was $35k!) that now looks out of date and is difficult to maintain.

A Website VA is middle ground and can provide small changes, updates and upgrades for your site at minimal cost to you. Don’t fall prey to instant good looks that are quickly outdated and costly to upkeep. Choose a format (such as WordPress) that adapts to your client/consumer needs and your budget. Then find a relatively low-cost VA who can help you keep it fresh and exciting.

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I will admit, right off the bat, that I am not a designer. I have never had any formal education in designing print materials. Nor would I consider myself to have “artistic flair” when it comes to the creation and layout of websites and print advertisements. What I do have is a strong sense of what appeals to me. When I see something that catches my eye I often bookmark the site, cut out the magazine photo or take a picture. Then when I’m ready to create a new web layout or advertisement I search through these snippets for inspiration. Sometimes I find myself unhappy with the placement of an object or the combination of typographic styles. Somehow the overall design seems — off. It’s when I hit this “How To” wall that I turn to my trusty friend and close companion… the Internet.

Color Scheme Best Practices for Print

Recently I began thinking about Best Practices for web color and if there were any web rules I should master, so that I could purposefully utilize and adapt them in my work. I have read in several locations that there are certain color schemes that work well for print advertisements in capturing an audience’s attention. The combination of yellow and black is a popular choice for logos and highway signs. When it comes to using color schemes many resources also mention the psychology of colors. Color psychology and its use in marketing involves invoking the desired response in a viewer based on associations with a color. For example, many “green” companies are using the color green in their logos. This use of color helps strengthen the association between the company and it’s eco-friendly stance in the eyes of the consumer.

Many of these articles on the use of color in print advertisement and product design still apply to web based media. However, in my search I also found a number of articles and references on website usability. In particular designing websites so that they can be viewed well by people with disabilities. For example, how would your website look to a person who is color blind? Many sites also mentioned the importance of scalable type for those who have limited vision. These articles reminded me of a trip to the Stanford CCRMA Lab I did when looking to start my Masters. I met an amazing blind woman who was helping to design a mouse/software application that would let people read a website as if it were written in Braille. What a concept!

I did not find a yes or no answer to my question, but I did find some good guidelines. Below I’ve listed a few of the passages that stood out for me and some links so you can come to your own conclusions. As for my understanding? There are no recommended colors, but there are some best practices that should be followed for both information accessibility and artistic design.

Best Practices for Web Color and Accessibility

• “If you must change use an alternate color scheme for your links, consider using a close variation on the blue/purple standard. Otherwise, help make it clear to visitors which is which by using a dark/strong color for unvisited links and lighter/faded color for visited links. In this way, you de-emphasize visited links – places where visitors already know about and possibly did not find the information they were looking for.”
  (Source: Ohio State University: Web Accessibility Center)
• “Make sure when using vivid color schemes that you allow sufficient contrast between elements without using too much (such as red text on a green background). This is especially important with text, as improper contrast can make things very difficult, if not impossible, to read.”
  (Source: Noupe.com: 20 Vital Techniques & Best Practices For Effective Web Design)

Best Practices for Web Color and Marketing

• “A recent poll suggests that light designs are preferred by the general web-going audience by a whopping 47%. The main reason is readability. Most people don’t like viewing light text against a dark background on websites because it strains their eyes, making for a much less enjoyable experience.” (Source: Webdesigner Depot: The Do’s and Don’ts of Dark Web Design)
• “It really boils down to your target audience and what psychological message you want to convey in colors. ” (Source: 2CreateAWebsite.com: Color Psychology in Online Marketing)
• “Choosing the perfect chromatic palette is important in order to effectively communicate the message, in order to strengthen the idea of a unique entity and to create brand awareness.”
  (Source: Avangate.com: Choosing the Right Colors for Your Website)
• “92.6 percent said that they put most importance on visual factors when purchasing products. Only 5.6 percent said that the physical feel via the sense of touch was most important. Hearing and smell each drew 0.9 percent.” (Source: Color-Matters.com: Why Color Matters)

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I have been a fan of WordPress for many years. I began using WordPress as a blogger, but soon found that using WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) was the best option for my needs. I’ve created several websites that are pure CMS or a CMS/blogging mix. I’ve found WordPress to be an extremely adaptable alternative to other website platforms. I joke that it is the chameleon of the web world, changing its face to meet the needs of the environment it is in.

As I pondered the uses of WordPress for small businesses, I came up with three distinct reasons why I would choose WordPress over any other platform.

It’s Very Easy to Add Content to a WordPress Site

Once the system is in place, the business owner can take control. If you are a restaurant owner and you want to change the weekly special on your website, you can do it with ease. If you find that you just can’t find the time then there are inexpensive people who can help you. It shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to change an item on your sidebar or in your website menu list. The days of designers and programers who will not relinquish site maintenance are gone. With WordPress, the ability to take control of your web presence is back in the hands of the website stakeholders.

It’s Fairly Easy to Add Functionality to a WordPress Site

WordPress can adapt. It’s a little more complicated than adding in content, but changing a WordPress site to meet your needs can be done. With WordPress I’ve created blog sites, static pages, e-commerce sites (yes within WordPress not as an aside) and membership sites. You don’t have to limit your website to what the platform can do, now you can design it based on what it needs to do to perform–without spending the big bucks to do it.

It’s Easy to Customize the Layout of a WordPress Site

There are many different free themes and paid themes out there for WordPress. If you don’t have a design in mind you may be able to find a free one that works well. Change a few of the header graphics and colors to match your businesses look and feel and voila! Customized look and feel at a fraction of the cost. If you have an existing design, and a little CSS/HTML knowledge you can adapt your existing design to lay on top of the WordPress loop. WordPress design can be as little or as much as you need it to be.

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You just contracted with the best designer in town and had a new website put together. You admit it looks great – just the right measure of flash and professionalism. Since you’ve changed the design though, your web sales are down. Google Analytics is showing that people aren’t just clicking on the categories and posts on your home page. What happened?

If you’re serious about finding the answer to this question then you need to ask your customers. Perhaps there’s one or two who you always get feedback from when you introduce a new product. Ask them to visit your site and take a look around. Ask them to purchase an item, or try and find out information. Ask them what’s missing. You may be surprised to hear what they say.

I was recently working with an author over a few blog posts I was doing. She was kind enough to go through the website and give feedback. She gave me a step by step report of going through the site from the perspective of a teacher trying to find a book to purchase. And when I saw it through those eyes, it was confusing. I had made some decisions based on what I knew about the site, instead of doing it from the perspective of my ideal customer. The design was confusing. Beautiful, but confusing. It was inhibiting sales.

Another thing the author pointed out, was that she was very comfortable with the old design, and that this one took some getting used to. Instead of listing prices individually next to items, I had put them in a drop down box. When she went to the page, she had a difficult time locating the appropriate prices because she was still expecting to find the information in a way similar to the old website. I added pricing information as text, but kept the drop down menu for ordering. This quickly solved the problem, and sales on the site increased.

Since that experience, I have learned how important it is to have a non-biased third party view the site and test usability. Pretty is nice, but if the ROI is little to none, what was the point of pretty?

Image courtesy of Garry Knight

What is Customer Loyalty?

Mindshare.com defines customer loyalty as being more than customer satisfaction: “Loyalty is a higher-order measure of customer attachment than satisfaction. Loyalty involves an emotional commitment to your brand.”

If you are an online store or an e-product, how do you develop that emotional attachment to your brand? If you’re a brick-and-mortar store, how do you use online tools to continue your customer outreach?

How do You Build Loyalty with an eNewsletter?

1. Communication

Don’t limit your communication only to when customers enter your brick and mortar store or when you’re asking them to buy your product. Sending out helpful tips or “thank-you” discounts are a positive way to communicate with your customers.

2. Meet Customer Needs

The best way to meet customer needs is to listen to their questions and provide meaningful answers. Are prospects and clients asking about a particular add-on that you don’t carry? Perhaps it’s time to do that. If you provide a service, is there a common task that people are always inquiring about? Perhaps it’s time to expand your business to include that service. If it’s something you cannot feasibly add to your business at this time, is there a way you can answer the customers need with a tutorial or article? If so, that’s a great thing to add to your eNewsletter. Remember, for every person who has asked you a question about your products and services, there is at least one other person who hasn’t asked yet.

3. Customer Incentives

I use the term “incentives” but what I really mean are thank you’s. With an eNewsletter you have a perfect opportunity to target people who have purchased your products or services before. By offering your customer base special deals that you don’t extend to anyone else you are showing them that there are added benefits to being a customer. Think of it as “reverse customer loyalty” – now you are showing that you are loyal to their needs.

4. Product Awareness

If you have a new product or service that fills a common customer need, don’t be shy about getting the word out. If you’re choosing products and services that match up with your customers needs you are doing them a favor by bringing it to their attention. The trick is to present the information in several different ways – a graphic ad, an article about the product’s benefits, or perhaps 10 Tips and Tricks to make the product more useful.

5. Treat People with Courtesy and Respect

In many ways this last tip relates to everything else. There can be a fine line between providing just the right amount of information and bombarding your customer/client with too much. You don’t want to be the used car salesman of the eNewsletter world. Provide an easy way for them to unsubscribe and constantly solicit for feedback on your business and your newsletter. Find a balance that meets most of your customers needs. Remember, a little thank you once in a while can go a long way.

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You may have developed the greatest product since sliced bread. You may even be giving it away for free. But if no one knows that your amazing business or organization exists, how will they ever make a purchase from you?

With marketing and sales techniques we build bridges that encourage consumers to discover very specific things. We don’t build paths – people tend to step off of those. We don’t create maps – people tend to not follow them. We build a bridge that carries the consumer safely over the vast sea of internet information and lands them directly on our virtual doorstep.

When you’re building your online advertising campaign you need to devleop your strategy on the bridge principle: how can I (a) guide the (b) consumer from demographic directly to my (c) product. You should already have a grasp on the demographics you want to tap into from a market analysis. For example, you may find your ideal customer is a stay at home mom between the ages of 25-35. If this is the case, you would look at what types of websites and advertisement methods would best reach these customers, possibly Facebook and various SAHM sites. Now that you’ve identified (b), and I’m pretty sure you know what (c) is, you can calculate for (a) your advertising message.

There are a number of great guides for writing blog posts ( ProBlogger and Dennis A. Mahoney at AListApart.com) but not all types of blog posts are appropriate for small businesses. In this tutorial we explore creating a blog post that is in the best interests of both your business and your customers. For each blog post, we are going to validate its success by seeing how it measures up to the following three questions: 1.) Does it benefit someone other than the business? 2.) Does it increase your online presence? 3.) Does it help establish your authority in your chosen niche?

STEP 1: Choose a topic that matters to your customers.

In step one you are going to focus on problems that your customers or clients are currently facing. The more timely the focus (ie. Gift Ideas for Dad around Fathers Day) and the larger the problem, the better the topic is. Brainstorm for several minutes on some problems that you are aware of. If you have a retail storefront, has there been a product that people are asking about? If you have a service operation, what complementary services could you offer advice on? Choose one of the problems for this blog post.

STEP 2: Choose keywords.

In step two you are going to choose keywords that will help search engines find your post when people look for solutions to the problem you are addressing. You can find tools using Google’s Keyword tool or Trellion. Type in the phrase that you feel is most appropriate to your topic. Look at the suggestions offered and how many people have Googled that term. Choose three terms for possible inclusion in your blog post.

STEP 3: Choose a format to solve the problem.

Once you know what the problem is that you want to solve for your customers, spend some time figuring out the format that is going to work best. Some popular examples are How-To, List, Tips and Tricks, History, Reviews or Interviews.

STEP 4: Solve the problem.

Once you have the format and the subject of your blog post you can sit down to write! Be sure that the body of your blog post answers the customers need. End your blog post with a call to action or a solicitation for comments or feedback. Invite your users to add their own suggestions or ask more questions. It is through this solicitation of your guests that you begin to build a robust blogging community.

STEP 5: Edit your blog post.

Blog posts look best to the writer moments after they’ve been finished. But don’t press that “publish” button just yet! Editing your post for clarity and conciseness is important. Your blog is an extension of your business and misplaced words, incorrect assumptions and poor grammar can lead to negatives for your business. I suggest that you sleep on your post, and in the morning, after a good cup of coffee take a quick read of the post. After it passes a morning inspection, post it to the blog and see what happens

1. Pay careful attention to design.

Just like a storefront or product display sets the ambiance for a shopping experience, so too does the design of your website. A bad design can send a prospect running for the door.

2. Be sure to greet your customers.

Make that home page all about your customers. Ask yourself, what would they want on the home page? Where would they go first? Make sure that the paths to important information are easy to find.

3. Create a dialogue with your customers.

A blog is a great way to show customers and prospects your personality. How many times have you gone into a cafe with average food, just to stay for the ambiance and the hostess who always knows your name? Sometimes the reason consumers stay with a business is based on emotion. Attempt to connect with them. Remember – a dialogue also involves you listening to them!

4. Provide them with the information needed to make a decision.

Reviews of your services or products provided by third parties is a great way to validate your website information. Provide expert insight from a recognized name to enhance your services. If you are a nursery – ask one of your local master gardeners if they would like to have a weekly spot on your website. Also, be sure to give them access to all of the information you have. Not sure how to write it out? Find out what the company says about the product and ask if you can utilize their creatives.

5. Say thank you, and make it easy to “Come Again Soon.”

Sometimes you only get once chance to hook a prospect. What happens when they’ve Googled 10 other people in your industry? Will they necessarily remember how to get back? Using a social media service such as Facebook, Twitter or even an eNewsletter allows them to easily store your information in a format they use. Providing these options shouldn’t be seen as a way to “gather fans” – but as a service offered to your customers.

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Adding opportunities for prospective customers to interact with your business in a positive way allows you to gain trust as an online entity. Trust is fundamental when doing business online because without it many prospects?are unwilling to make that final step and part with their hard earned cash. By utilizing tools such as blogs and newsletters you can help cultivate a sense of trust that will encourage prospects to turn into customers. It’s something that I like to call pre-customer service.

Think of blogs and email newsletters as a means of chatting with your customers. In a storefront you would be able to encourage buying behavior by walking up to them and answering questions they may have about your products. Online you would do this by providing detailed information that is readily accessible.

You must go beyond providing a basic description in a catalog website because in many cases these are simply detailed sales pitches. Would you simply read off the side of the box to a customer in the store? Probably not. Most likely you would provide product comparissons, or describe different situational uses of the product. It’s these types of “store based” questions that will comprise the information you would put in your blog or newsletter.

If you’re using these techniques to enhance your storefront business you have a great opportunity to encourage casual browsers to buy. Consider how many people who come into your store who say “No” when asked if they need help and then they leave the building empty handed. Perhaps they like what they see but the time to purchase is not right. Maybe they do have questions but they feel uncomfortable asking. Instead of just walking away, hand them a business card that simply has your website address on it and a few highlights about what they can find there such as demonstrations, upcoming sales, and your email newsletter. In that way, you can turn the shy prospect into a customer, and then stay in the forefront of their mind when they are ready to purchase.