Marketing is like a diet plan for your business. You chose and decide ahead of time what you will put into it. Like anything, it requires energy and follow through if you want to see results. It is common sense that increased revenue and an increase in marketing spending go hand in hand, but what are some of the most useful ways to increase revenue through marketing?

Laurie McCabe from emarketer.com tells us that the right web tools are what makes the difference in profit for small businesses.

“…the use of low-cost Web-based marketing tools is playing a strategic role in helping businesses succeed. Making a few changes to incorporate more online tools into the marketing mix seems to be a key ingredient to small business success.”

Which are the most effective practical marketing tools for small businesses?

1) Website

A properly done CMS based website will undergird the whole marketing process. Your website should be the center of information for your company and is your base for all marketing. A well done website which is easy to update can make or break your business. If you are not sure what a CMS based site is see Is a CMS for Me?

2) Search Engine Optimization

Proper SEO is an essential of doing business on the web today. Making yourself easily found by the right people is the number one science being discussed on the web today. To select effective keywords, putting yourself in the mind of the customer, and monitoring competitors are the basic keys for high rankings. For the basics of success in SEO see Straightforward SEO.

3) e-Newsletters

Permission Marketing is a focused medium which keeps you directly connected with your current customers, partners and business acquaintances. Sending out topical e-Newsletters is one of the most transparent and cost effective medium for reaching out.

4) Blogs & Social Media

Create a space where your customers can interact, and see another side of your business. Corporate Blogging & Social Media helps keep the conversation going with your customers on a more personal level. To find how Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn can make a difference in your business read Social Media May Save Your Neck

Incorporating any of these four things could be a daunting task to take on yourself. As a busy executive, your time is best spent operating your business, not operating a website or implementing details of an online marketing plan. IT Hands focuses on understanding the business of our customers before making recommendations on implementing marketing solutions. Contact Us for a free consultation of how you can improve the health of your business through a marketing strategy that will fit your budget.

And that number is increasing rapidly.

Everyone is getting on the bandwagon and ebooks are being offered through several mediums including Amazon, Google, Ebooks.com, Barnes & Noble, Project Gutenberg, and many others.

Are eBooks Taking Over?

Many feared that ebooks would be the end of paper books, but we’ve actually seen the opposite. Did you know that ebooks are actually helping the sales of paper books? Many publishers are reporting an increase in paper book sales rather than what they originally thought.

“Ebook - It is having said that ebook reader will be the only dominant player in the future in the publication industry looking at the phase the technology is developing. Book readers are now no longer needs to handle a big binding book to read their favorite manuscripts, novels, literatures, story, magazines, or any other paperback content material but instead they can view it and read it with the electronic device like PDA, Smart Phone, handheld mobile, palm, pocket pc, tablet pc, and any other content readable electronic device with very good reading experience. “ From IT Global Solutions

Benefits of eBooks for Readers

1. An eBook reader is a device that allows the user to simplify their reading experience. The user can read electronic books on any electronic content readable devices including the Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook, iPhone and many more.
   
2. Users can transport thousands of ebooks on their device no matter how big or small the eBook. The reading experience is easy on the eyes due to the non glare screen- which is much more conducive to reading than a backlit computer screen. The user can turn pages simply by touching the screen or pushing a button.
   
3. The user can purchase eBooks instantly by downloading it from the internet or through 3G networks without having to wait for delivery or go to a bookstore.
   
4. The the costs of printing, shipping and distribution are almost eliminated so the price of eBooks are usually less than paper books.
   
5. The user can personalize their reading experience by displaying the text how they want and change settings on their readable device that fit their needs.The user also has a facility to adjust the font size, margin size, line spacing, etc. along with the searching features to make the reading more comfortable.

For more on the growth of eBooks see “Do i believe in eBooks?”

How are eBooks Converted?

The process of eBook conversion is simple. Publishers have the books professionally scanned and made into a PDF, JPEG or a variety of other formats.

Many companies offer a service called typesetting. This includes formatting the text, proofreading and properly aligning the text, and images. Most companies will provide full service which they will deliver the ebook ready for sale for your customers.

Finding a company that understands the needs of your publishing house and has a proven track record is necessary for success in entering the eBook market. IT Hands provides competitive rates for publishers, authors and independent writers who are wanting to get into the eBook market.

Contact us today for a quote and hear about the opportunities related to eBook conversion.

Often I get the question, “How much does a website cost?”  And usually my answer is something along the lines of, “Well, that depends…”  The point being that the cost of website creation has a lot of different factors that may influence the actual investment.  Yeah, but how much does a website cost?

We like to ask the question, “What do you want your website to do?  Asking this question will hep us understand what our client is thinking about their website investment.   Because where they want to go with their website will actually help us find out together what it will cost to get there… kind of like plane tickets.

Actually budgeting for a website is not so difficult if you keep in mind that your website, like any other business purchase, is an investment which should deliver an anticipated return.

So the first question to ask yourself is, “What do I want my website to do?”  Inform new clients about products and services?  Generate online sales?  Intranet for in-house business?  Customer service, feedback, assisting existing clients?  And/or web presence/brand image?  Maybe all of the above?  But once you have clearly decided what you want your website to do, you now need to take it one step further and attach a monetary value to that goal.  The second question is then, “What is it worth to have a website achieve this goal?”  Be honest, because that value is going to be your website budget.

So, for example, if you want your website to increase your product sales 10% you need to ask yourself two questions:

1. How much is a 10% increase in sales?
2. How much am I willing to invest to achieve this result?

That second question will be your website budget.

Bear in mind that a website may have a number of different goals but if you can define each one and assign a value to it then all you have to do is evaluate the worth of each goal and then add them up your expected return on investment (ROI).

One more time…

• know where you want to go
• know what you want to achieve when you get there
• know what you are willing to pay to get there… just like plane tickets.

• HTML
• OTML
• Mobi
• XML
• Amazon Kindle AZW
• Microsoft .LIT
• Adobe .pdf
• IDPF .epub
• Libretto Digital Library System

Warning: No Free Lunch

But converting these books into ebooks which will ‘fit’ and ‘run’ in the sleek new Ebook readers, like Amazon’s Kindle, requires a little more than ‘cut and paste’.  The process of Ebook conversion demands a high-quality, hands on approach to make sure that the book in its entirety is properly formatted and displayed on multiple Ebook reader devices.  This takes time and skill so plan on an up-front investment.  Contact us if you need help with budgeting.

But a Lot of Dessert!

But hard work and investment aside, many publishers are realizing the future return-on-investment (ROI) is pretty bright as more and more people adopt to reading ebooks through ebook readers or even their hand phones, BlackBerrys and PDAs.  It’s like the move from hardcover to paperback, why not do it?

Better Get in Line…

The battle for content continues and with the arrival of ebooks the lines are no longer black and white.  Some people think ebooks means free books.  The general industry consensus is to stake your claim and to convert your print content to ebooks before Google or some other entity does it for you.  This will earn you a place at the bargaining table when the revenue/royalty pies are getting cut up.  Again, why not convert your published works?

The Supporting Cast

IT Hands has a dedicated team experienced in ebook conversion.  If you have books which need to need to be converted to ebooks we would like to help.  We provide a quality, hands on approach to produce ebooks which will run on any desired format.  The good news is that Ebook Readers are here, but will people be reading your published works?

Here’s one way, a website is an online investment which should deliver an acceptable return on investment (ROI)?  We like to stress the investment component because, like you, we are bottom line folks who wants to make sound business decisions based on facts and not fads.

The facts are when we create a website for a client we try to use the best project management practices like SCRUM methodology to deliver a project experience and website that meets or exceeds our clients expectations.  But after all this hard work and communication will the website be perfect?  Truthfully, probably not.  Huh…?

The truth is that websites and their strategies can always be modified, tweaked and enhanced so that they achieve their goals more readily.  Another factor is that the online landscape is constantly changing so that a website created for Google search engines may need to be adapted to be viewed on cell phones, integrated with Facebook and/or other electronic media uses.  It sounds daunting, but no worries, the key is:

• Keep your goals in focus
• Have an adaptable website (think content management system, CMS)
• Continually evaluate your progress towards your goals
• Make changes based on data

For example, you may have a website with a goal to draw new clients to purchase your products and services.  Your website is live online with the information but you wisely decide that if you wrote some blogs about your new offerings and engaged with social media sites like Twitter or Facebook you would begin to draw more new clients to your website.  So you go ahead and add a blog and social media links to your site and then measure the result of your efforts.

Or you want to be found by more easily by search engines, so you evaluate your content and discover that if you rewrote your content, changed some of your key words and reworded your meta titles you would be more likely to be found by search engines.  So utilizing your website’s CMS you make these changes yourself.  Now that’s search engine optimization (SEO) do-it-yourself (DIY)!

The idea is that ongoing progress will help you achieve your website goals and return on investment more quickly.  So rather than expecting a perfect website we try to encourage our clients to plan for their website to change over time in order to meet their website goals and return on investment requirements.  To do this we help our clients:

1. Design their websites using a content management system (CMS)
2. Establish clear goals and connect goal achievement to actual investment metrics (money)
3. Continually monitor the site for goal achievement (evaluate)
4. Provide data and recommendations for goal/investment achievement (optimize)

Do this and your website will fulfill its mission to be an online investment which achieves an acceptable return on investment.

We’ve all seen them–bad websites. Everything from the ones where the color scheme reminds you of your Aunt Mildred’s retro mismatched living room to chaotic navigation which makes you feel like you’re playing a game of Frogger rather than searching for a page on a website.

If we admit it, we know that some bad websites happen to best of us. This brings us to the classic question of struggle “Why do bad websites happen to good people?”

Reason #1 Failure to see website as an investment

A website is like a vehicle (except a website actually makes money for you). A website needs to be updated regularly, tuned up and maintained. Good websites are ones that are constantly reevaluated and keeping customers engaged. Successfully websites need to be changed all the time. We’ve heard sad customers that said “My website didn’t make me any money”. When we ask if it was updated regularly, the answer is no.

Once a website is created, that is just the beginning. Regular content updates, new SEO keywords and new marketing strategies need to keep up with your specific industry. Don’t let your investment get dusty in the corner. Keep it in good shape by adding regular updates. CMS based sites are great solutions for this.

The key to web success is maintaining and updating a site properly.

Reason #2 Forgotten purpose

Is your purpose to increase sales? To get people to subscribe to your newsletter? To view your product image gallery? Then make that the central focus.

Don’t let the good stuff on your website distract from the best.

Is the purpose of your site to encourage users to read about an innovative product offering you have? Then this should be the main focus of your home page. You may have dashingly good looking corporate team members, but if your focus is the innovative product, you don’t need to have corporate profile face shots on the front page of your website. Sounds too simple doesn’t it? But this is one of the most common mistakes in the web world. Keep the main thing the main thing.

Reason #3 Doing it yourself

Lets face it. You’re busy. The details of your business consume your whole day. You don’t have time to manage a website.

We often hear “But its cheap to do it myself.”

We can’t argue that cheap is cheap, but unless you’re an expert, doing your website yourself will not produce the results you’re looking for. And it won’t reflect the professionalism and caliber of your business.

How much time do you want to spend figuring out how to update a site, learning about SEO, setting goals for the progress of your site,  keep up with the latest keywords, etc.  Your time is precious. Let us handle the details of your website, so you can focus on running your business.
Professional businesses need professional websites.

You need someone who has a proven track record and who will be around in the future, a company that is committed to your web strategy, knows your purpose and will advise and suggest regular updates to your site.
Contact IT Hands today for a free consultation.

There are options to convert: PDF to Kindle, Word doc to Mobipocket, MP3 to Kindle, PDF to MS Reader, Word doc to iphone, MP3 to Sony reader, PDF to Word conversion, and the list goes on.

With formats available such as: .htm, .html, .azw, .opf, .txt, .tr2, .tr3, .arg, .fb2, .dtb, .xml, .pdf, .chm, .pv, .djvu, .lit, .pdb, .dnl, .exe, .pkg .lbr, .bin, .prc, .mobi, .epub, .lrf, .lrx, and .pdg. the options can simply make our heads spin.

There is an ever growing amount of information about ebooks and ebook conversion online. How can we as consumers keep up?

Lets focus on 3 basic questions

1) Where are these books coming from?

Most book publishers are required to scan their books, but don’t have them in an electronic format. This is where the ebook conversion company comes in. Publishers hire IT teams to take their scanned documents and format them for ebook readers.

However all ebook conversion companies are not equal!

Be aware of :

• poor quality photos
• sloppy or inproper formatting
• spelling errors

Before you sign an agreement ask to see an example of some work that the ebook conversion company has done.

2) Who uses ebooks?

Travelers are the heaviest users of Ebooks. Most people like having a collection of paper books at home, besides who wants to throw away those Little House on the Prairie books your mom used to read to you every night? But when it comes to travel- ebooks rule.  Those who commute using public transportation and those who are passengers for hours on end in planes, trains and automobiles are prime market for ebooks. Studet

For new updates on the Amazon Kindle check out Andrys Basten’s blog.

3) Which eBook Reader is Best?

Kindle, iPhone, Sony Reader, Nook, Readius and many more? With so many choice available which one is best?

Each user has their own preferences. Read the comparison on Sony Reader vs Amazon Kindle

And of course human nature would have us thinking this final thought: “how can I get stuff for free?” The good news is…we can!

To Get Free Downloadable Ebooks

Gutenberg Project download books from thousands of authors

Google Books over 1 million free titles in ePub format

Free Ebooks. net membership required

Find the Right Solutions

With endless options in the ebook world specialized companies with proven track records are your best bet when considering converting your books to ebooks. Contact IT Hands for a sample of high quality ebooks we have done for ebook publishers all over the world.

I spend most of my time in Malaysia working with one of our teams here but being an ‘outsider’ always makes you feel like you have a target on your back saying, “Take advantage of me.”  So out of general ignorance of the cost of goods and services here I have inevitably been taken advantage of and ripped off.  They have a term here called “potong kepala” which literally means, ” getting your head chopped off” and they use the same term for paying too much for something.

As one who ‘has had his head chopped off once or twice’ I have learned that the best way to avoid the axe is to talk to local friends and neighbors and ask for their advice about who I should use and what I should pay.  So now when I need a plumber to get my bathroom fixed I ask around and find out who to call and what I should pay.  This saves me time, money and most importantly, my bathroom gets fixed.  Ah ha!

Herein lies the potential of social media.  Using the combined knowledge base of their social media networks people now have a relational way of obtaining what they need.  Just as I ask my neighbor about what plumber to use, people can ask their networks about products and services and get real feedback, in real time, from people they know and trust.  This then allows them to make informed decisions about whose products and services they use.  This is particularly important for obtaining services which not as easy to objectively quantify.

For example, you have a business that needs a website, how are you going to find a company to do the project?  Google search?  That may help but it’s pretty much like looking at a phone book and wondering which plumber to call. You want quality, but do not want to pay a fortune.  But how can you tell who can do a good job for a fair price?    Why not ask a friend or fellow business colleague on LinkedIn or Facebook or Twitter?  The chances are there are people in your network who could get you pointed in a direction which will help you make a better decision about your website investment.   This is the power of relationships and all you have to do is flex it.

So what are you waiting for?  Jump in!  Take advantage of resources and knowledge that is already a part of you.  Use social media to re-establish relationships with long lost friends and business associates and then mutually help one another as you go along.  Social media will not hurt you, in fact, it may save your neck.

]]> http://news.ithands.com/index.php/social-media-may-save-your-neck/feed http://news.ithands.com/index.php/preventing-project-creep http://news.ithands.com/index.php/preventing-project-creep#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:08:20 +0000 Jessica http://news.ithands.com/?p=360 If you’re like the majority of small business owners you have been surprised by the horrible ugly beast named “Project Creep” at some point in your career. You start a project and anticipate $2000 budget. You have a vague idea of what you want and get to work.

Before you know it the project has grown into a massive $10,000 hairy beast that overtakes a whole cubicle of its own, and even starts attacking poor unsuspecting employees in the hallway as they stroll to the water cooler. Ok maybe not… but project creep is a serious problem that needs to be addressed and actively fought against.

IT Hands has the solution to defeat project creep in each and every battle (or project) you face.

Wikipedia says that Project Creep is when “the initial objectives of the project are jeopardized by a gradual increase in overall objectives as the project progresses.” Basically, your project grows and grows and grows without you expecting it (like Bowser on the final level of Mario World).

There are many suggestions of how to fight project creep (I’ll save the tips for defeating Bowser for another blog), but in this blog we are going to focus on fighting project creep in web design.

Our Quick Tip: Built-in Web Consultation

Many companies follow the SCRUM methodology in which upfront estimation takes more time because it is thorough. Some companies claim to have ‘instant quote’ abilities, but this is as accurate as shooting at a target blindfolded and unless you have ex-ray vision, this method doesn’t work well. Any quality web design company does not quote instantly especially since custom professional websites can range anywhere from $2000- $50,000.

Web Design Consulting Milestones

IT Hands takes you through this process with one on one consultations with experienced web design consultants. We ask you questions like:

What’s your site’s purpose?

• Your website has several purposes all of which are important. We will review with you the main purposes of your website and build the website to meet such purposes. We keep the focus of your site in mind at all times to ensure that the purpose of your site is achieved

Who is your competition?

• We will provide you with resources in order to do an analysis of your competitions’ websites (or websites that are in a similar industry). This exercise is very useful in helping bring clarity to your ideas about your own website and also for distinguishing you from the competition.

What brand image do you want to convey?

• How does your customer perceive you? Make a good impression with quality branding elements in your design that will stand above the competition. How will your site be used?

How will people use your site?

• Users expect to be able to find info they are looking for quickly and easily. We will review your navigational structure and make suggestions on how to make it user friendly.

How important is SEO?

• Do you have an idea, but don’t have time to research it? Will your business plan work? We have people dedicated to finding the answers to your questions.

We also walk through:

1. Webdesign questionnaire
2. Competitive analysis questionnaire
3. Extensive Content Consultation (text and photo)

Common Concerns for Content Creation

We’ve helped dozens of customers go through the content creation process and we’ve found a few common concerns.
“Writing content takes too much time.”

• This is why IT Hands offers content writing as a service. We will review your content and make recommendations in order to create the most positive user experience. Let us do it for you.

” I’m not a writer.”

• You need to spend your time building your business. If you’re not sure how to get your point across in a clear and organized manner? We will assist you in creating content that articulates your message clearly.

“But I don’t have pictures and I don’t have time to hire a photographer”

• After helping you discover your likes and disllikes, we will search for and recommend quality stock photography that helps communicate your message.

Through thorough planning and directed purposeful questions, IT Hands will help you define the scope of your website project so there are no surprises. Because we don’t like the big ugly ugly Project Creep monster either.

For more on content creation see our content creation process or contact us for a free one on one consultation.

If you’ve ever found yourself sitting in front of a blank screen with no ideas…this blog is for you.

Think about your customers!
Your readers are highly distracted. What do our readers want? What do they expect to find?

If you’re not excited about the content for your website, your customer definitely won’t be either. Write as if you were the customer. What would excite you?

In Copywriter’s Blog on How To End Writer’s Block Forever they suggest to ask your customers! Surveys, blog comments and good old fashion phone interviews let you know what your customers are confused about, what their expectations are and how they have branded your company in their mind.

Read read read!

And you thought that once you graduated college the reading stopped? Ha!

Writing great web content is about reading great web content on a regular basis. By doing this you will learn quickly what is fluff and what is quality. When your brain is full of quality writing material, good will come out. Just like your mom always said when she would try to get you to stop watching Tom and Jerry cartoons and start getting you to watch PBS “Garbage in, garbage out!”

Getting it Done Quickly

Reuse your content. Content from fliers can be put on your website, blog, in case studies, newsletters. Don’t get overwhelmed. Use the good content you have and put it out on different mediums as suggested by Holland Mark.

Just start writing– This is typical advice for writer’s block of any kind. I have one MS Word document where I jot down all my ideas for blogs. I write a paragraph, ditch it and come back a few months later when I’ve learned more about a certain subject. It doesn’t have to be perfect the first time.  Like our old friends at Nike say ..just do it! (sorry I just had to refer to at least one overused slogan in this blog).

Promotion and Persuasion

Two approaches to promoting:

• “Chest beating” self focused approach –only talking about your own product or yourself personally- Ineffective
• Reader focused approach- talking about their problems, solutions, and the results - Effective

How to persuade without being obvious:

• Discuss trends to push for a change
• Identify problems facing readers to build credibility
• Show how things have evolved
• Suggest solutions without selling by speaking objectively

Other Tips about Content on the Web

• Don’t be afraid to offer some of your thoughts for free. Give a good sample of content through a free white paper or article.
• Be sure on your landing page to have a very basic information collection form.  Think Best Practices.
• Don’t be afraid to give a quality free sample. When people get hooked, they will come back for more.

Ask for Help

• There are professionals out there who specialize in writing web content. For a cost, you can hire one to help you.
• Your web design company should offer this as a service. See IT Hands Web Consultation process. Or contact us for a quote on content writing.

I was inspired to write about quality web content creation after hearing a webinar by Michael Stelzner, the white paper expert.

For more on Content Creation ask IT Hands Team of professional writers or see our Portfolio for examples of great content.