Most of my client’s websites are for local small businesses. I am a huge supporter of small business because I know how rewarding it is to start your own business and serve those who share your same interests. If you have a website, it makes your small business look BIG! You need to be online, so you can be found before customers turn to someone else. All projects welcomed: Big or small. "Let's build something great together!"

  Most of my client website needs are agriculture-related, which isn't surprising for the SW Minnesota area. We understand that you are busy, even during the winter months, but it's a great time to catch up on your business goals. Spending more time inside is an ideal time to think about what a website can do for you. Depending on the type of services you offer I can help you reach the customers who are looking for you online. You need to be there, so you can be found before they turn to someone else.

  Almost fifty percent of my clients are women-owned or managed businesses who offer better time management, attention to detail, and longevity by providing better flexibility with both business and family goals. This inspiring business foundation is motivating for both employees and customers alike assuring women great success by allowing a substantial income. Behind every successful woman is herself.

  E-commerce has dramatically changed the way business owners reach customers. In today’s world, a combination of a brick and mortar store with an online store is the key to staying in business. An online store can take you to the next level by offering product videos, product reviews, product comparisons, links to media coverage, customer product sharing, world-wide exposure, additional product options (color/size/inventory) more payment options and is open 24/7! The most important investment you can make is in yourself (your business) Always deliver more than expected, because opening the box is half the fun.  

  Small businesses are trying to get through this pandemic in any way they can. Some are planning for the upcoming holiday season, but don’t have the strength or energy to even think about what they’re supposed to be doing next year.  We’ve already seen massive shifts in how business is done, and how you, as a business owner, market your business. So, how are you going to create momentum and get new customers in 2021?  Below you’ll learn four different strategies you can implement to help your business grow in the new year.  1. Market as if in-person events won’t happen If your business primarily used to focus on in-person events as a way to get new customers, it’s important to craft a new marketing strategy as if this won’t happen. Although restrictions are loosening, you don’t want to put all of your customer generation tactics in a single area.  For example, if you’re an agency that used to rely on events to generate leads, you can start hosting virtual masterminds with experts in y

I know in the past some of you have noticed that when sharing a link [like your website] on Facebook the desired photo doesn't show up or no photo at all. Well, I have a fix for that. Here is a website that generates special links that will show the photo of your choice.   https://anyimage.io/ All you need to do is fill out your info to create your own specialized link, then copy and paste this link into a Facebook posting box [as shown below] and enter your message post, and done!   Save this link "forever" because you can reuse it. :) It should work better next time you share your page now. Here is a sample photo as an example.   Links are deleted if they are not clicked at least once every 60 days​ with the free account. And you are allowed 10 links per month. S​hare away!​

 

 

  I made this diagram for my clients who have a slideshow on their website, to help explain why some photos look better than others once they are placed into a slideshow.    It all has to do with the position of your camera when taking your photos.    Photos will always fill into the shape of the slideshow until the left and right edges of the photo meet the horizontal frame. Then the photo can be adjusted up or down to best fit the photo subject in the frame.   Please do not crop your photos before sending them to me, so I have the flexibility to crop them myself if needed.   If this is too much information, just follow these simple rules for a nice professional look, and I will take care of the rest! :) Read more details.

Add on online order form to take orders 24/7 including gift certificates. Display your current or modified products and services on your website. Better yet, add a full functioning store with checkout and worldwide exposure. Offer digital products to purchase or download like ebooks, patterns or memberships. Add links to your website to signup for subscribers, newsletters or blogs. Hire employees to work from home by adding an online application. Edit your websites, title, keywords and description to fit your business today. Setup a Facebook business page to be linked to and from your website. Add documents to be downloaded by your customers without any face-to-face interaction. Add a news or press release page explaining your current business operations. Well, there you have it! 10 ways to promote profits during uncertain times.

To help you keep your business growing, we've pulled together free products, resources and tools from trusted sources. You'll find creative solutions with links and articles specific to the evolution of your business that you can do when business is slow.   What to do when times are slow to promote the growth of your business? Our services are up and running so your website business can remain open. I am available to do work of all kinds. Here’s our  Service Page  for ideas you might be interested in.   Send messages or write social media posts to connect with your customers even if your doors are closed.   Read our favorite “Links, Endorsements & Affiliates”  here . There are some REAL goodies here!   Read our “Website Owners Guide”  here . All kinds of ideas to promote yourself!   Search Google for -  business things to do when you aren't busy . These are VERY informative!   Get advice from other business owners. Small businesses are adapting to stay open. Right now,

  Share Your Testimonial with Us! When someone takes the time to recount a positive experience, it speaks volumes. And so, I would like to request a small favor. Would you be willing to submit a testimonial that will give others a sense of the experience and service I offer? I sincerely appreciate your help and look forward to serving you and meeting your needs for years to come. Submit a testimonial now.

  Do you own or manage a small business? In today’s world, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to find good quality employees that you can count on. The more applicants you receive for a position, the greater the chance is that you will be able to find and hire employees who are a perfect fit for the job.   I can convert your current employment application, whether it’s in paper form, a PDF file or a custom form into an interactive online form that can be submitted and emailed directly to you. This allows job seekers from anywhere to submit an application without mailing in a hard copy. All you need to do is email or share a link to social media or add it to your current website to prospective employers. This makes the process more efficient and easier than ever to find the right people to interview potential employees.   Get the ball rolling, and message me for more information.

  YDO has added a wealth of new information to our website titled: Links, Endorsements & Affiliates Be sure to read up about the many websites that we feel would be of great use to you  here!

  Because I've had some clients for quite some time, some of you might be interested in giving your website a fresh new look. If you are going in a new direction with your business, it just makes sense that you may want to change the style of your website as well. YDO can implement all kinds of new features or additional content that your customers would love to learn about.

  SCORE provides confidential business advice through a network of 10,000 volunteer business experts. Since SCORE is a nonprofit resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), mentoring services are free, regardless of the number of times you visit a mentor. Free Mentoring & Online Business Workshops! Start & grow your business with free webinars, resources, and free local mentors. Webinars. Helpful templates & tools. Free resources. Courses: Finance, Marketing, Loans, Strategy. SCORE  is the nation's largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors. They have helped more than 11 million small business owners since 1964. Visit:  https://www.score.org

  What kind of first impression do you want to present to your customers in your industry? I can help you with your custom business needs to bring you to the "next level of success." Invest in your business. It pays off. I have nearly 20 years of experience with developing websites and marketing online businesses. Make your business a priority and contact me today at…   https://www.facebook.com/ yourdesignsonline/ Creative projects include, but not limited to the following:   Promotional materials Digital or printable publications Product or business demo videos Graduation or funeral videos Informational brochures Customer invoices or proposals Event fliers or posters Business or product logos Business card design Online directory submissions E-commerce startup Blog set up Ebook creation Facebook business pages PowerPoint presentations Formatting professional documents Website development Domain setup and redirect Graphic layout and design Storefront or vendor show banners Cu

  Inbound marketing  is a  marketing  methodology that is designed to draw visitors and potential customers in, rather than outwardly pushing a brand, product or service onto prospects in the hope of generating leads or customers. potential customers find you through channels like blogs, search engines, and social media.   Outbound marketing  typically is accomplished using the more traditional ways such as direct mail, telemarketing, email  marketing  and events. Every business needs to do some kind of marketing. But  what kind  of marketing is the most effective? Most of the conventional marketing approaches are too expensive or unwieldy for smaller businesses and startups to successfully employ. That’s why inbound marketing, and its various techniques, make sense for any business — but especially for startups and smaller businesses. There are hundreds of ways to use inbound marketing to grow your business. Below are some to start with. If you aren’t using any of these techniques, pi

  Back in August 2005 a hard disk drive company called Maxtor (later acquired by Seagate Technology) introduced a “World Backup Month.” In 2011 Ismail Jadun created World Backup Day on March 31 of each year. March 31 is chosen as the date for world backup day in order to drive the message that one should backup all those pictures, spreadsheets, love letters, cat pictures, & important financial documents before it's too late (and you become an April fool). Backing up refers to keeping at least one copy of your computer files backed up in a device other than your internal storage. This can include backing up data to an external storage device, such as a USB or HDD or to a cloud service. Having more than one copy can provide even more security for your data. Backup can be easily accomplished using automatic backup software that comes with many external storage devices or computers. Saving at least one copy of your data with updates on changes regularly can avoid a lot of heartbrea

Getting a website is easy – But keeping a website fresh and exciting – NOW that’s a totally different story! I’ve come across websites which have never been updated since the day they were launched. It’s  always win-win  when you maintain your website regularly – just like a car needs to be finetuned and maintained once in a while, so does your website.   Here are some ideas to get you started: New Products/Services  – Have you launched any new products or services recently? Added some new feature? Share that on your website. In the News  – Was your business featured in the news recently? Got interviewed for a magazine or trade journal? Share that on your website. Customer Feedback  – Did your customers give you positive feedback? Did someone comment positively about your service? Share that on your website. Business Changes  – Did you hire extra staff? Renovate your business premises? Added more orders? Changed address? Expanded your reach to other regions? Share that on your website.

  What kind of business do you want to portray? Whether your proud of your heritage, religion or special causes you can display them on your website with suitable badges and seals. Here are some samples and examples of available ideas. • Your status with the BBB, chamber of commerce, awards, memberships, licenses or certificates. • Your individuality including faith-based, family owned and operated, women owned, veteran owned, small or locally owned business. • Your distinctiveness including home-based, self-employment, handmade, earth-friendly, made in the USA or recent business anniversary. • Also don’t forget to display badges and seals that link to your websites security credentials, return policies, and warranty and guarantee policies.  If you don’t see what you need, just let me know and I will take care of it. I want you to have a website that you are proud of and represents your uniqueness. 

 

  Here Are 9 Ways to Stay Profitable Year-Round  What should you do during the off-season? You can let it pass and wait for profitable times, or you can try to stimulate sales. There is a strict seasonal prevalence in some niches when the difference in profits runs up to 100%. Stores that sell Christmas decorations, Valentine’s cards, and Easter sets earn mostly during the holiday seasons. These products don’t find a quick sale during the rest of the year. You can’t fight seasonal prevalence in this case because you won’t be able to increase sales by much anyway. However,  if the difference in revenue during the peak season and the off-season is about  30-40%, it does make sense to work for profits.  Here is how you can stimulate your sales during the off-seasonslump. 1. Add Seasonal Products Pause to think during your peak sales — what are you going to offer your customers later? How much time and money will the reorientation of your business take? Say you make and sell summer sandals

What pages do you need on your website? Here we list 13 important must-have pages your small business website should have, what you should include and how you can go about creating them. What pages should my website have?  This is a very common question online entrepreneurs and small business owners ask when they are looking to develop a website. Here we list the  most important and must-have pages your small business company website should have . When it comes to creating pages for your website there is a set of web pages that are  standard or general which all small business websites should have . Here below is a list of the  9 most common pages that every website should have , and the type of information these pages should feature and include.    1. HOMEPAGE   This is the page  most people will see first , and as such, it should tell everyone who you are and what your company does. The content on your homepage should be  intriguing  enough to  capture the attention  of your visitors

  What are your Frequently  Asked Questions for your visitors? Now, more than ever before, customers are looking for self-service options that allow them to work through issues and answer questions on their own (instead of having to go through a support channel like phone or email.) In fact, research shows that 90% of consumers now expect a brand or organization to offer a self-service customer support portal, and 60% of consumers have a more favorable view of the brand if their self-service offering is mobile-responsive.  This is one reason  a FAQ  page is a good idea. By creating a resource with commonly asked questions and answers, you can cut down on customer service costs and empower your online shoppers to find the information they need to complete a purchase–all on their own. What is a FAQ Page? FAQ (frequently asked questions) pages are helpful resources that help answer common customer questions. Essentially, they work to help overcome obstacles to purchase by addressing some