Reigniting the Blog

Hey there. It’s been a while. Sorry to not keep in touch, but I haven’t updated the blog in a long time for a good reason. I’ve been busy with clients and that is always a good thing. But I’m coming back and going to keep this thing updated going forward.

I haven’t stopped with client work, I’m just making an effort to prioritize blogging again. I am in the process of writing a large piece on how the redesign happened for this site and will be as thorough as possible. But from here on out, thoughts, tips, code and anything else is fair game and I’ll be updating regularly. Wish me luck…


Cloud HQ Review: All Your Files Anywhere

I am an avid user of the cloud and cloud storage. Dropbox, having been synced to my external hard drives on two computers, is my default “hard drive.” I am also an avid user of Evernote. I mean to use Google Drive and my other cloud accounts more, but the hardest thing is to remember where my “current” versions of files are. So I stuck with just Dropbox for files and Evernote for notes.

What I kept looking for and needing was a way to have everything stay connected. I thought about adding my Dropbox folder inside my Drive folder, but I was afraid of what would happen to the several machines that I only sync certain folders with.

As you can see, I spend quite a bit of time contemplating file management setups! So naturally I was interested when I read a review of Cloud HQ and decided to give it a shot. Here’s what I learned about their cloud storage solutions:

You start with creating a free trial account on one of their tiers that vary by the number of accounts and paired connections you need. Then you pick what services you would like to sync with one another.

I began with Dropbox, as it is my lifeline to my world and my work. Since I wanted to have more access to my Google Drive files and have them up to date, as well as having better access to my Dropbox files on my Chromebook, I paired these two first.

Once in the Synchronization Pairs screen, simply select which accounts – and which folders in those accounts – to pair together. In addition, I selected my SkyDrive account to one-way sync with Google Drive, and to have it convert my documents to Drive documents upon sync. With both pairs, I also chose to create backup archives in the process.

I have far more cloud storage accounts then I know what to do with. Being able to use them and sync things allows me to take advantage of them. Now, instead of always changing where I am saving my Microsoft Word documents, I can actually use the cloud service that they offer, then just sync it to where I am more familiar. At the end of the day, what I really have is more options and more comfort.

Really, if you are someone who cares about file management and/or data safety, this is a service you should look into. I work from multiple places and the idea that I can just hit save in my office to save something to Dropbox, then go open it on my laptop, then save it again and be able to open that same file in Google Drive on my Chromebook and have each time be the most recent version of that file, is an amazing feat in technology.


A New Coat of Paint With Thesis

Imperomedia.com has a new look. Over the past two weeks or so, we have taken the design of our website and repackaged it to better optimize our message and our overall look. Perhpas most significantly as web designers, the new look was created entirely with the Thesis theme. While there is certainly a learning curve with Thesis, this is now the second site I have built with it and it is feeling more and more like it will be my default theme of choice for future sites and clients with no other requests.

I am certainly happy with how the site looks, but it is and will continue to be a work in progress. I will try to post more articles on using Thesis and what I have learned along the way. I was able to discuss some of my issues via Twitter with Chris Pearson, the creator of Thesis as I built my first site with Thesis and found ways to make the difficult things easier. Essentially, the site is built with boxes upon boxes inside of boxes, each styled uniquely and holding different functional powers. We are running a lot of widgets and also a lot of custom functions, but in the end, I feel the site has a cleaner look and vastly improved functionality. I like clean and I like easy. This site is now both of those things to me.

I’m excited to present this new look and I am equally excited to see where it evolves to next.

Image: Flickr user Amiefedora


2013 In One Infographic

2013-In-One-Image

Illustrator Mario Zucca was able to put into one drawing what many people would struggle to put into an entire full-length article. In his words, “Miley twerked! Snowden talked! Healthcare.gov tanked!”

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Zucca crammed 90 different stories into one graphic and takes you on a short journey of how on his blog. It’s a wonderful graphic and a great way to review the year.

As far as I’m concerned, any image with Walter White and the Bluth Stair Car in it are alright by me.


Six Ways to Get Over Writer’s Block

Writers BlockAnyone who has ever needed to write something -= for work, school or leisure — has run into writer’s block. It sneaks up on you and leaves you staring at a blank page feeling hopeless. It can be extremely frustrating. The good news is that just as well as it will surely arrive, it will also surely pass.

Before you give up on writing due to writer’s block, here are a few ways to try to fight through the difficulty and end up with a productive writing session after all.

Change The Scenery

Sometimes snapping out of writer’s block is all about changing your environment. Perhaps you always write at the same computer in the same room at the same time. Try packing up your laptop or a notebook and head out to a coffee shop or the library. There are many places to set up shop to try to write and picking some new scenery can often jump start the creative process for you.

Start with the Conclusion

The part that people get stuck on with writer’s block is the beginning. Getting started at all can be the hardest thing in the world. So don’t start at the beginning. Start writing at the end or in the middle. Anything that gets words flowing is a step in the right direction. Once you have something going, you can go back and fill in the blanks or the beginning.

Get Motivated

Lack of motivation can be a killer to a writer. You don’t always feel like writing when you know you need to be writing. But when you have to write, you have to write. So just write! Sounds easy, right? Write anything to get writing, even about a different topic. Try some free-writing and see if the juices start flowing. Write a review of a book or a product. Once the wheels get going, you might find that it is much easier to tackle the writing that you actually sat down to do.

When it comes to writing or productivity in general, starting gets you so much further than you might think. Tell yourself to write for five minutes or to write one page. You will likely find that you just keep on going and end up with a good session. Baby step your way to a long walk.

Get Inspired

Inspiration is a large part of the writing process. What are you going to write about? Why are you writing today?

Being creative, you know that inspiration can strike anywhere. Put yourself in situations conducive to creativity. Put on your favorite album and listen to the creativity in it. Read a chapter of a book you love. Take a walk and daydream. Take things in and allow your brain to relax. Once you are in this state, you may find that inspiration hits you and the words just start flowing.

Have a Ritual

If you play golf, you may be familiar with the importance of a pre-shot routine. You may get your yardage, take a look at the hole, take two practice swings, waggle once and swing. Every. Single. Time. It builds a routine and takes the thinking out of things. The same thing can apply to the creative process and writing.

Create a routine where you do the same thing to prepare yourself for the work ahead of you. Perhaps you brew a pot of coffee, jot down some bullet points, put on some music or go for a jog before you start writing. If you keep a good ritual, you will find that the process gets simplified and allows you to think only about the project at hand. A better work environment and eased mind creates better work.

Put Pen to Paper

It can be so easy to stare at a blank computer screen. Or be distracted by the Facebooks and Reddits of the world. Eliminate this atmosphere with the old fashioned trick of picking up a pen and paper! You can write anywhere with a pen. And you can also doodle and draw. There are many ways to allow your creativity to start flowing with a pen and paper. Sometimes going old school can take away the block that staring at the screen can create. Start writing anything on a piece of paper and keep going until the writer’s block has been defeated.

Conclusion

Everyone has their own way of writing and their own creative process. My ways might not work for you and yours may not woke for me. But we both know that writer’s block will hit us both and that when it does, we will feel lost. Anything new may help jump start the creativity and get you out of the rut. When writer’s block inevitably hits, try one of these techniques and see if it helps you out of your jam.

Photo Credit


The SEO of Tolstoy: A Guide to Effective Content Strategy

The SEO of Tolstoy: A Guide to Effective Content Strategy (via Wallaroo Media)

The SEO of Tolstoy: A Guide to Effective Content Strategy In order to run an effective content strategy for yourself or a client, you need to keep in mind that your audience requires specific, useful information in order to make an informed decision…


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4 Tips to Help Generate Local Sales

Getting your website optimized for search and generating traffic is only one part of successfully marketing your site or your product online. While link building and sharing content is always necessary and a good strategy to increase traffic, often your main target audience and most likely customers are in a much more narrow demographic: local.

Getting your business in front of this key demographic involves many of the same techniques as getting traffic elsewhere on the Internet, but with a few minor adjustments. Here are three valuable ways to help get a little bit more of that local base on your site or in your store.

Stats say that 20 percent of all searches on desktops are local searches. More importantly, 50 percent of mobile searches are local! Don’t lose out on these customers!

Search Engine Local Listings

Everyone knows the importance of Google when it comes to search. What not eveyone knows is just how important they can be for local businesses. Having your company listed on Google Places can be an amazing way to get more people to see your business. Go on over to Google Places and you will be able to add your business if it isn’t already on there, including your address, hours, and category.

What this does is allow for your business to show up when people search for what you offer in your area. If you are a local flower shop, you will have the opportunity to shop up and be on the map when people search for flowers in your area. Google Local results are very different than simple search results as Google looks to connect shoppers or customers with companies that offer what they are searching for in their immediate area.

Be sure to fill out any and all information when creating these profiles. Google will show your business on the map and show your address when people in the immediate area search for you. Be sure to put the right category on your business so you can be found more easily also.

You can also sign up for Google Places and show up in local search results without a website. Just an address or service area and a phone number will get you listed. Think of this as being a free entry into the most populated and used yellow pages ever.

For the price of free and the chance to be seen by so many potential customers, there is no good reason to not have a Google Places page filled out.

Don’t forget to visit Bing Places while you are at it. Bing is carving out a nice little share of the search market and there is no reason to ignore another opportunity to be found.

Same goes for Yahoo! Local. Get yourself on there!

Have a look at getlsited.org’s Local Search Ecosystem chart to get an idea of just how many options there are to be found.

Locally Focused SEO

Search engine optimization can be summed up as an effort to point people searching for specific things towards your website, and trying to rank as highly as possible in search results for what people are looking for. Often, so much effort is put on the major keywords of a business that regional descriptions are taken for granted.

You may be the best guitar store in all of your city, but if all of your SEO focuses are on keywords such as guitars, strings, Fender, Les Paul, etc., but not much effort is put into focusing on the location of your store, you might not be drawing the best visitors. Of course it is always good to have web traffic, but I would bet most companies would take less traffic and more customers if given the chance.

Be sure when creating content on your website to mention where you are now and then. If you are blogging about your company and your product, be sure to include the locational phrases that your customers may be searching for or searching from.

As always when talking about SEO, put your emphasis on writing for your customers and not the search engines. Having said that, remember that the search engines are there and that they are looking to you for help knowing what your site and each page is about. Write for the customers, but don’t be afraid to remind the search engines just where those customers are.

Be sure to look for local blogs and directories to list your site. Getting inbound links to your site is always good and connecting with other local businesses is as well. Double win.

Pay Per Click

There are times when you will want to use CPM (pay for impressions) and times you will want to use PPC (pay per click). This is one of the times you want to use the pay-per-click. Targeting your campaigns towards people in specific areas and within a specific demographic will target your search to near pinpoint precision. Restricting your budget to “per click” allows you to bid for people in your market searching for what you are offering. Create multiple landing pages and multiple ads to try to find the best conversion rate to sales and you will have a good idea as to how much you should be budgeting on your campaigns.

Nothing wrong with doing CPM marketing, of course. Either way, be sure to target specific targets and demographics to get your message and your ad in front of the right eyes. Having a blog and a great website is wonderful, but having good, meaningful, targeted traffic is even better.

As with any advertising online, experiment with different ads and formats and see what is working. Thin out the herd as things show themselves to be successful and you will end up creating very effective ads.

Local Social Media Marketing

As a part of your social media marketing, local businesses have sites that they can use more effectively than non-local businesses. Are you watching your Yelp reviews and responding to them? If you are a restaurant, is your profile in your control on Urban Spoon. Be sure to pay attention to the social media sites that are available to you as a local business and be active on them. Run Foursquare promotions when it is applicable and get involved with the local online community. Being active immediately gives you the edge over your competitors that choose to not be active. Take any advantage you can get.

Moral of the Story

When it comes to having a local business, the point of your website is often to get local potential customers to your store or on your webpage. Targeting them through ads and offering your business information in local search results will better help you connect your local business with real local customers.