What you’re now reading is known as a “blog”, which is short for “weblog”. Basically it’s a method of publishing news on your website on a regular basis. You simply log in, type your post, and click “Publish” - it’s that simple.

Here’s more good news - search engines like blogs.

An example from this website: After Anna Mears won her gold medal at the Athens Olympics, I posted this short note of congratulations. Within days I was recieving a lot of traffic courtesy of people searching Google for “Anna Mears”. Within days. And even now, I still rank Number one:

The reasons why are outlined in the link above - but whatever the reasons, I can vouch for the result!

Do you have news you could share with clients on a reasonably regular basis? Maybe you could benefit from a blog too. It can be integrated with your existing website, and we can also use it to form the basis of an email newsletter.

Sharing your news with clients has never been easier!

Websites are like pinball machines.

“How do you figure that out?” you might ask.

An interesting commentary was published on Evolt.org yesterday, in which the author makes the following observations:

1. Pinball machines have to stand out in the arcade, and quickly communicate a message to passers by (usually something like “I’m fun!”). The home page of your website needs to quickly communicate too, so people don’t just “wander by”.
2. Pinball machines have the same basic controls, and while the machines themselves differ in what they do, you don’t need a licence to operate them. Similarly, a website needs to be easy to use with simple controls (or buttons).
3. Pinball machines offer feedback when targets are reached, and encourage new players to keep going. Websites need to do much the same thing, and offer the right amount of information at the appropriate stages.
4. Pinball machines have a built-in processor that tracks usage, how many free balls are awarded, and so on. Websites can offer you a lot of information about it’s usage - the point is, do you monitor it? You can’t improve what you don’t measure!
5. Is your website memorable? Classic pinball machines have something memorable about them - what will people remember about your website?

And in closing, the author states:

“The reason pinball machines are a good metaphor for conducting business online is because they are business tools. Their purpose is to make money. And, they do so by giving users a pleasant experience in hopes of establishing loyalty and return visits.

Interesting illustration. Read the full article here.

Hard drives have moving parts. Little motors that spin disks around at 7,200 revolutions per minute. Like anything with moving parts, hard drives eventually wear out.

If yours wore out today - how much information would you lose? Family photos? Accounting data? More?

Backing up is a bit of a nuisance to have to do, but if you have anything vaguely important stored on your computer it’s a necessary chore. With the price and availability of CD or DVD burners, it’s not quite the task it used to be, either. A couple of options:

One: Burn it to CD or DVD

Quick tip: use re-writable media for your important backups. Either CD-RW or DVD-RW/DVD+RW. The reason? Regular CDs and DVDs have big questions over their longevity. Maybe they’ll last for decades, maybe they won’t. It’s pretty much agreed though that the re-writable versions last much longer, as they use a different method of actually storing the data. I won’t get all technical here, but to be on the safe side, use rewritables for your backups or archives.

Two: Use an external hard drive

An alternative is to use an external hard drive. These plug into a USB port so they’re nice and easy to use. Create a folder with the date, and copy your ’stuff’ over. Next time, create a new folder with the new date, and so on. When the external drive gets full, delete the oldest folder and keep going.

What to backup?

This will vary from person to person & computer to computer. But you’re basically looking for:

1. Your “My Documents” folder.
2. If you’re using Outlook, search for your *.pst file. That has all your email, your calendar etc.
3. If you’re using Outlook Express, search for the *.dbx files and include the whole folder that they’re in. Then find your *.wab file, which is your address book.
4. Accounting programs like MYOB or Quickbooks often save files in their own folders - make note of where they are too.
5. Check any other industry-specific software you might be running, and see where they save their data files.

This list is by no means complete - get some specific advice if you’re unsure.

But whatever you do - put some sort of backup strategy in place before it’s too late!

We all hate spam.

We all love spam filters.

But…

Check what they filter!

A client recently had an email addressed to them go missing, and after investigating we found it in their spam filter. Sure they save a lot of junk mail from clogging up your mailbox, but the flipside is they also grab emails they shouldn’t from time to time.

It’s probably a good idea to check the folder where your spam goes once a day, and just make sure that nothing is in there that shouldn’t be. Once you’ve checked it, empty the folder so that next time you won’t be sorting though the same things again.

Spam filters are pretty handy, and mostly they get it right, but just be aware that they’re not infallible.

In a previous article, I outlined how to install email stationery so that it appears with each new message.

But what if you don’t want it to? What if you run a couple of businesses and need to choose which email stationery you use, or if you don’t want your business email stationery on your personal emails?

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This method of installing email stationery sets up Outlook or Outlook Express so that it will appear with each new message you create, automatically. Don’t know what email stationery is? Read the previous article.

What you need before you start

If you have ordered email stationery from us, you will receive a file that will install everything you need on your computer. All we have to do is tell Outlook/Outlook Express where it is!

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You may have seen emails arrive with the sender’s logo and colours neatly tied in with the message. This is known as email stationery and is an important, and often overlooked, part of your overall branding strategy.

Business cards have your logo, your invoices and letters have your logo, even your vehicle might have your logo. And when you think about how many emails you might send in a week, the lost branding opportunities begin to add up.

Email stationery can be set up in Outlook or Outlook Express two ways:

1. It’s automatically there each time you start a new message, or
2. You can manually select it with each new message (enabling you to have more than one at your disposal - handy if you run more than one business.)

A final important feature is to include a link to your website as part of the email stationery.

Simple. Effective. Overlooked.