There is nothing worse than knowing that your website is getting stale and not knowing how to give it new life. It is time to freshen up your content already! You don't always need to throw out the baby with the bathwater, but you can take a few minutes each day to get the job done.

Baby steps.... It's all about baby steps because tackling the whole site can be overwhelming. So take things one at a time.  Every day- gather your team for 15 minutes, decide what is new or old, assign each task to someone and hold him or her accountable for getting the info to you by the end of the day.  
1.    Day One:
New Products or Services- If you have new offerings, you NEED to put  them on your site. You are wasting your marketing dollars if your site has old or outdated information. So, if the reverse is true and there are services you no longer provide- get rid of them.  
2.    Day Two:
Updated Staff Directory- Here's another simple step to take. Look through all of the contacts and contact information. If there are new people to include or people to remove, go ahead and make those changes.
3.    Day Three:
Blog Post- When was the last time you posted a new blog post? If you need help getting creative.....why not start with the first two steps to get the ball rolling. What are your new products? Why have you given up the old? Who's new on your team and what value do they bring to your business? You get the idea.
4.    Day Four:
Fresh Images- Do you have a banner at the top of your website that has been there from the start? How about photos or images that you have never changed and quite frankly are outdated? If you are stuck for ideas in this task, you can do a couple of things: call on your graphic designer for new ideas, talk with your staff about what they think would make the site "pop" or that would enhance your message, or even go through the images of your staff- they are dated and you can have some new ones taken.
5.    Day Five:
News- Have you been in the news for anything lately? Have there been any press releases or articles that have been written about a staff member, business event, awards, etc? Perhaps you have an area on your site that includes news. If you do, seek out what has been happening outside of your company and include links to them on your site.

There- in five days you have been able to freshen up the content on your site and hopefully, it was not as painful as you had originally thought. This is so great for bringing in new visitors, for search engines and for team morale. So, schedule in one week to update your website. You will be happy that you did!

It is so easy to get sidetracked when trying to implement marketing strategies, especially when there are so many choices for delivery out there. "You have got to get on Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, have an email campaign," etc., etc., etc.

First of all, no matter which program you use to get the job done, it has to be something you are comfortable using- at least at the start. If you are anything like me, the tools need to make sense and you need to understand how each one contributes to the big picture.  So, let's break it down just a bit.

1.    Target Audience- Who are you looking to target? If you don't know- figure it out, because that will have an impact on the delivery method you choose.  If you don't know whom your target audience is- then you need to figure it out. This is absolutely critical!  (Think about it.....Teens vs Elderly, Creative vs Concrete, B2B vs Consumer Driven) All of these audiences interact with social media tools differently as well as overall communication styles.

2.    Choose no more than three methods of delivery- Although you need to put effort into your marketing, you need to be realistic about how much time you have to implement. Social media tools like Twitter, Linked In and FaceBook to name a few can be a huge waste of time, unless you have a plan of attack and work with them in a purposeful fashion. Now that you know your target audience- deciding on delivery should be a bit easier.  **Keep in mind that you also have to know what you are doing with these tools.

3.    Set Some Realistic Goals- Why don't you start out with some short-term marketing goals so you don't get too overwhelmed. If your primary goal is to get comfortable with a couple of tools, then you need to practice and watch the results. You also need to get into a rhythm (you can get sucked into wasting a lot of time pretty easily- so watch out for that).  So put in your daily schedule to spend the first 15 minutes of your workday "doing" what needs to be done in the plan.  Once you get comfortable with the tools, then you can really start to hone your marketing strategy.

4.    Put it all together-How will you use the three delivery tools as complimentary systems for getting the message across?  I will give you an example: If you have chosen to write in your Blog and use Twitter and Linked In as your three delivery systems you can do the following:
          a.    Blog-Determine a theme of the month for blogging. If you sell sunscreen you might start talking about the hazards of the sun and the lifetime damage that can be done to children's skin, perhaps talk about what SPF and UV are all about, how to read ingredients and which ones tend to cause allergic reactions.... Whatever the case may be. Then you plan how many entries you will write about this (1 a week, 3 a week or even 2 a month)
          b.    Twitter- once you have completed your blog, twitter about it with a link to your site. (Also think about following certain groups- daycare providers, stay at home moms, beach resorts, - hopefully they too will be following you. See where I am going with this?) Twitter once or twice a week about not leaving the house without sunscreen on after June 1st or link to pertinent health articles.
           c.    Linked In- Use your profile updates to indicate that you have posted a new blog and to give your contacts ideas about why they should consider your product.  A couple of times a week is adequate, but it should compliment your efforts with the other two.

Marketing is tough and there are so many options, but what will make all the difference in the world is to be consistent and purposeful. Start with small steps, as you get comfortable, you can think bigger and bigger.  

Streamline your marketing efforts, so you can focus on making money.

This may seem so simple and yet, many people don't do it. If you have been writing and re-writing an article, email, newsletter, etc. and you are really not sure if it sounds right try READING ALOUD.

 That's it. If you read something you have written aloud ( better yet, have someone else read it to you), I guarantee that you will see how to self-edit.  From the tone of voice to proper grammar, there is something about reading out loud that is different than reading it on the screen. I think much of it has to do with the fact that our brains play tricks on us and reading is one of those skills in which we see things because we know what it should be. 

This is also a great tip for those of us who respond to emails that make us angry or upset. Once you have finished writing your hasty reply, please walk away, then go back and read it aloud. If you think it is offensive, you might think twice before hitting send. After all, that email is a document once it is sent. Think of it as a kind of check and balance for yourself.

So, that's really all I have to say about this. The next time you find yourself questioning a written document- just read it aloud.

I use the term developers loosely as I know it can mean a number of things. The point is that if you are creating websites, doing graphic designs, writing code, writing content..... you need to get involved and stay involved in order to continue educating yourself in the field.

We all know that technology changes at the light of speed and that keeping up is a huge challenge. If you are good at what you do, then you are probably very busy and spend most or all of your days and nights in the office pumping out work. So, how do you find out what other fun things are happening in your field or what is coming down the pike? If you are using a lack of time as an excuse-sorry not acceptable.

 If you are not involved in a technology discussion group, forum or even a user group, then you are probably missing out on some great advice, tricks, tips, and creative ideas. Even more so, if you don't participate in something you are going to fall behind the times. Here in southern Vermont, we have a number of exceptional developers, programmers, designers, etc that take time out of their schedules to attend in-person meetings: The New England Adobe User Group and the Joomla! Users Group New England are just two. Both of these groups offer the participants a chance to learn new things, ask each other for solutions to problems, and to get to network on top of it all. It doesn't matter whether you are new to development or have been in business for years, what you take away from these meetings is invaluable.

Sure, forums are great, but when you get a group of techno-geeks in a room watch out! The information starts flying and all you can see are light bulbs going off everywhere. It's like the paparazzi is in town. There is so much work to go around and there are so many new things entering the market daily, that it would behoove everyone in the field to find a group in which they can participate. Not only will you take something away, but you will more likely be assisting someone else.