Who do I optimize my website for?

A study from iCrossing in the summer of 2005 found that 40 percent of people do online research prior to purchasing products.

In 2005 studies showed that 80% of site traffic originated from search engines. That may not be the case in 2008-20010 even, but the numbers are still high and quantifiable. If the viewer is a returning customer or a referral, chances are they already know your website address and are going to be a direct visitor. On the other hand for customers who want to shop around, know nothing about the industry (your industry), people who can't remember your name, someone looking for your site but not sure what its called, or someone who just randomly stumble upon your site.. those are the people who you are optimizing your site for.

So in the long run you will want to spell your name wrong, or the way you've heard people accidently spell it the most. You will want to use the keywords YOUR CUSTOMERS would think to look for, not your industry jargon. Well you will actually want to use both industry jargon and advanced terms. For example if your a plastic surgeon in San Francisco, like Dr. Kulick, you will want to use terms like breast augmentation and breast implants. If you are a holistic massage studio and not neccessarily a day spa, like Sabai, you may want to use both terms because thats whay your audience may think to search for you.

Dveit Minneapolis, MN Website Design Portfolio Facelift

The past few months, Dveit.com as a Minneapolis based professional web design company has been thriving with new business, and I’ve completed a bunch of new sites; So I decided to give Dveit.com a little face lift. The new site features a brown, tan, and blue color scheme, and use of HTML.

For Dveit.com, the original site was very clean, but the grey, black, and blue color scheme was not a cheerful and bright as it needed to be to best represent the company. So I rebuilt the existing site, changing both the format, colors, and giving the site a simple but elegant new logo. I made many design changes along the way, updating the site navigation and adding several new portfolio peices, a slide show of my fine art work, and video/audio blog links.With a page just for social media, I took initial layouts that I had designed and built the website. You can view my online portfolio here.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? What does SEO optimize?

Natural search results are the organic results that you receive when you enter a keyword, term, or phrase into a search index. When you optimize your web site for proper SEO, you choose what terms best describe your product and services, then optimize your site for those words or phrases. When you do this correctly, your site will show up higher then other sites for those keywords or terms in the natural search results.

You also have the option of paying for search results in the sponsored section of search engines. The problem with this is, you have to pay for each search engine individually. You bid for terms, like an auction. So some phrases and words are $15 dollars, while others are .10 cents. Plus when you pay for results you either pay per impression, click, or acquisition. Pay-per-impression is paying for so many views of your ad. Pay-per-click is every time someone clicks on your ad. Pay-per-acquisition is when you reach your goal, so every time someone fills out a form or buys something. The third (pay per acquisition) is the hardest to find, and often the most expensive. Pay-per-click is the way Google works, and pay-per-impression is an option on sites like facebook. Where you can pay for every 1,000 times your ad shows up on someones screen.

In SEO, all your traffic is FREE, after paying for a specialist to optimize your site. In the long run though, it's more efficient to have great content that is relevant to customers and fully worthy your time and money to just hire someone to help you with your seo and copy writing.

New Massage Website for Sabai Body Temple

The new soon-to-be ecommerce website, built and designed by Desaraev Freelance Design, and the final version just launched this month! The redesign and rebuild of Sabai body Temple, a Uptown Minneapolis-based company that offers holistic massage and body services. Besides giving their website a new look, I was able to add several new features and add-ons as well, such as newsletter sign-up, gift certificates, newsletter archives, and more. Online at SabaiBodyTemple.com.

If you’d like to sell something online, I can set you up with an effective, powerful set of online tools that you can administer and manage yourself. If you’re already selling online, but want something friendlier to use, better looking, and with great features and flexibility, contact me.

How to determine "Is my site indexed"?

Here's how to check if your site is Indexed in the Top Search Engines:

How to check to see if your site is on Google, Yahoo! and MSN:

(note msn can be a little flaky and may say it has more pages indexed then the others)

enter:
site:domain.com (don't enter site:www.domain.com)

In the results it will say Results 1 of 10 out of about 78 from domain.com
Meaning that Google has indexed 78 pages from your site.

If you think a new page is missing here is how to check for individual pages:

• Download the Google Toolbar
• Then Click the i icon on the Google Toolbar.
• Selected the Cached snapshot of the page from the drop down list
• If it shows up its indexed, if not then it may or may not be indexed (most likely not)
  

OR if you don't want to download the toolbar.

• Go to Google
• Enter (into the search) example: cache:http://dveit.com/page.html
• (replace my domain dveit.com with your actual url)

To check Yahoo Directory go to dir.yahoo.com
To check open project go to dmoz.com

What if my site is not indexed? How do I submit my site to Search Engines?

Register your site. It's simple. Here are the sites to go to:

• Submit my URL to Google
• Submit my URL to Yahoo
• Submit my URL to Yahoo Directory
• Submit my URL to DMOZ
• Submit my URL to MSN
  

What is a "Search Directory"?

A search directory is a categorized list of information about web sites. The primary difference between a search index (aka search engine) and a search directory is the directory has information about the sites (like viewer information, owner, etc) and search engines contain information indexing all individual pages. Yahoo! has the biggest search directory (http://dir.yahoo.com).

How do Search Directories index information?

Unlike search engines, search directories do not use bots. Instead they use website owner provided information like title tags, meta descriptions, and the larger directories like Yahoo! they have actual people who review every site to make sure that each web site is in the proper category.

Affordable quote on Search Engine Optimization (seo)

Search Engines, bots, and Websites Explained in One Easy Analogy

Search indexes or search engines are actually companies, like Google the largest and most popular search engine, that use software called spiders or bots to crawl web pages and index the information about them. The bots are run off of very complex mathematical algorithms that make up a calculation from a complicated and proprietary formula.

So lets break that down into an analogy that everyone can understand, shall we? Imagine that Google is your local library, only much bigger. The robots would be librarians, and the algorithm would be like the dewy decimal system, which would make your website a book. Your website may have a lot of wonderful content, but if it has 50 subjects instead of being optimized for a very specific theme it may be hard for the bots to index your website for the keywords you were hoping for. So a search engine specialist is the one who determines who would read your books, what keywords they would tend to type in to find you and your services, and then does a series of linking building and keyword implementation to make the bots read and index your book properly.

How to Get your website Indexed in Search Engines BEFORE it ever launches!

Many Search Engine Optimization or SEO articles focus on what to do after you launch your site. Many SEO experts, discuss on-site preparation and keyword research, but this article will focus on the ever neglected pre-planning that will help you get indexed on the BIG three Google, Yahoo, and MSN BEFORE your site ever goes live.

Top TEN steps for SEO before you launch your site, so that you can be ahead of the game.

The key to getting your site indexed in the big three is getting links pointing to it from sites that are already indexed. When the search bots crawl those sites they will inevitably find the link to your site and your site will be added to their index. Follow these Ten steps a month before you launch and you'll be a step ahead of the game.

- Register your domain name.

- Put up a Splash home page.

- Start a blog and sign up for Feedburner.

- Write a few articles and submit to directories.

- Get a link from an indexed site.

- Submit your site to Google, MSN, Yahoo, Ask and the open directory project

- Put your link on delicious

- Promote your soon to be website on social networks, build the hype.

- Comment on blogs related to your site

- Send out an eNewsletter, promoting the new site and the launch date.

Catch Your Client's Attention with an E-Newsletter Campaign

Build your brand with a wide exposure for your small business by producing an email newsletter. You can offer coupons in your campaign, use e-newsletters to keep in touch with your target market, offer them tips and tricks with related products and services they may be interested in, all while building brand loyalty and stabilizing your reputation as a professional in your field.

Virtual businesses and conglomerates can both use e-Newsletters as part of their marketing plans. The trick is to know what an eNewsletter camapign can offer you, and what it's limitations are.

SmartBrief Reader Poll

Here are the Top 10 Reasons to use an eNewsletter Campaign:

1. Establish yourself as a Professional
   

   People like to do business with people they trust. Providing your subscribers with content focused on solving their problems or helping them build their business will give you credibility in their eyes, and make them more likely to pay attention to your message.

   Be sure to always give your audience relevant and helpful advice. Web readers have seen so much fluff and fraud that they tend to be a skeptical bunch, so your advice must be solid, well-thought out and creative. Stay away from promises of "The Ultimate This" or "The Most Fabulous That!" Unjustified hype makes people hit the unsubscribe button.
   

2. Archive the Information on Your Site to Enhance SEO
   
   If people are too busy to read your great newsletter right now they may want to read it later, or they may find you because you archived it. Simply add another page to your website. Then archive all your optimized pdfs on your website. Title the page Newsletter Archives and your set.
   
   
3. Build Your Brand
   
   Monthly or bimonthly eNewsletters get your product or service offering in front of your target market on a regular basis. Offer quality content with helpful tips to your subscirbers, create brand recognition for your product or service, and in the process your product or service becomes the customers top of mind thought when they are ready to buy.
   
   
4. eNewsletters are Budget Friendly
   

   Producing an eNewsletter is an ideal way to promote your business on a budget. There are a number of eNewsletter services online that offer free trials for you to take a test drive and see just how easy it is to get your message to your subscribers.

   Prices for ongoing monthly subscriptions range from about $12-$20 per month or more, depending on the size of your list.

   And make sure that you are giving your subscribers some sort of value-added bonus for signing up. A short, free ebook, audio recording or free trial of a service is a great way to encourage people to subscribe to your list, and ultimately build your business.

5. Connect with Sales Prospects
   
   People may spend as little as five seconds on your site to decide if they like it or not, but may not want to roam around on it very long. Some may hit your landing page, sign up for your newsletter, and others may be referrals. So your first newsletter to them may be your first impression, chance to connect. This leads into Quality vs. Quantity.
   
   
6. Easy to Mass Distribute
   
   Just because you can send out 20 newsletters in a week, doesn't mean you should. E-Newsletters can be distributed with your own data base (for those who are more advanced), or for beginners and professionals who do this a lot and want templates their are options like constant contact, exact, icontact, Lyris, My Emma and many other sites that will help with the template process as well as tracking your master unsubscriber list.
   
   
7. Personalize - Build Relationships with your Target Audience
   
   The more personalized an email is, the more likely someone is to continue reading it. Why not know very specifically what each of your customers like to purchase from you, what services they prefer, what industry they are in, and what they struggle with from day to day. If you can ask them, or figure that out and customize more then one e-mail for your customers the better. Add your client's names to the top of each e-newsletter, and spell them correctly, by using a database to automate the process. Entice them with products or services related to the ones they normally purchase, or that other clients have also purchased both. Offer them recommendations or care instructions. This obviously takes a bit more effort, but isn't it worth it in the long run?
   
   
8. You can have an ordinary or extraordinary eNewletter Campaign the choice is yours, and its simple
   
   What you can't do yourself, hire a professional to do. Make every newsletter unique. Put effort into everything that leaves your store or office.
   
   
9. Easy to track Success
   
   Tracking online success is easier than mass media or traditional media. Just add analytics or tracking, or use pre-built tools. Whatever you do, know what is and is not successful, and learn from it. What are your newsletter campaign goals? A click through to your site? A purchase? A download of your new e-book? Whatever it is, track it. You can track when an e-mail is opened, when a button is clicked, when ANY of your links are clicked, when a form is filled out, and how many pages that person visits. Find the right tools for you, or again hire a web professional to do it for you.
   
   
10. If your new to the Internet, or E-Newsletters you can always hire a professional
    
    
    

Top 5 Obstacles When Starting an eNewsletter Campaign

1. CAN-SPAM
   
   With the recent CAN-SPAM legislation, there are certain laws you must abide by. In addition, many ISPs and e-mail applications deploy filters that will prevent your legitimate eNewsletter from ever reaching its intended viewer – and you'll never know if they read it or not!
   
   
2. ISP/E-mail application filters
   

   Users often employ their spam filters to avoid newsletters that they no longer want. Instead of unsubscribing they simply tell their spam-blocker that the newsletter is spam. Voila: the newsletter no longer arrives in the inbox.

   The fact that many users will declare a newsletter to be spam when they tire of it has terrifying implications: legitimate newsletters might get blacklisted and thus ISPs might block their delivery to other subscribers. This is a compelling reason to increase the usability of the unsubscribe process: better to lose a subscriber than to be listed as spam.

   
   
3. Too Long - Make your eNewsletter Scannable
   
   Try not to send newsletters too often, and keep them brief. Just tack on enough information to catch their eye, and lead them to the call to action. Design your newsletter to facilitate scanning. Use a professoinal copy writer to create a funny tagline, joke, or free downloadable screensaver etc and them real them into your website for sales.
   
   
4. Keep newsletters Current, Timely, and ready for Immediate Utility
   
   Know your client. Write about information that is useful, and relevant. Ie.:
   
   • Work related news, or activities that are related to their companies
   • Prices and Sales
   • Personal Interest or hobby related
   • Seasonal
     
   • Events, Deadlines, Important Dates
   • New Products - How tos
     
   
   
5. Keep it convenient
   
   Make the eNewsletter easy to read. Easy to unsubscribe to the newsletter. Easy to find later (on your site).
   

Proposal Writing

• Don't use "I" a lot.
• Know your Audience
• Define the Problem
• Offer a Solution
• What is the Proposal's Purpose
• What evidence does writer give?
• Is his argument valid?
• What is missing?
• Redundant? Why?
• Prepare for Counter Arguments/ Justifications
  

About a Company: IDEO

IDEO is a multi-disciplinary creative design group oriented toward innovation. Work is conducted by teams of folks with diverse backgrounds. Their design process encompasses early client Q&A sessions during which project problems are described through design and prototype development.

Motto: We engage in "Continuous Innovation versus/plus Continuous Improvement"

Early Adopter - Takes a risk on a trend early on (before it's too cool)/

Digital Design - Not just better, faster, also creates the impossible media.
Material Technology: Structural Durability - Advices

Three Types of Subjective Authenticity

1. Authenticity as formal harmony, balance, delight.
   A thing has "authentic" value because we percieve it to be well designed, it my reflect authentic wisdom.
2. Authenticity as connection to time/ place.
   An argument for coherence and continuity as aesthetic pleasure as opposed to correctness according to some objective standard (aethetic regionalism can reflect either motive).
3. Authenticity as self expression
   I identify with that designed thing or person or era, or dress, hairstyle, non local culture, tradition, not as a disguise for who I really am, but beacuse in some sense it reflects or expresses who I really am.
   

My Art

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31975106@N08/show/

3 Types of "Objective" Authenticity

1. Authenticity as Purity:
   The original form of something is true and legitimate, aadaptations, appropriations by others are all..
2. Authenticity by Tradition
   Surfaces/Styles have meaning fixed by tradition, these traditional ways of doing things have value because thats the way you do it... rejection of the past destroys value.
3. Authenticity as "Aura"
   This is revealed through evidence of aging of use- changes that can only occur through time. Obviously old things are appreciated by some, but also not to others. This allows age to be revealed and can be used for falsification.

What is characteristic of all types of "objective" authenticity (according to postrel)

Objective view, look down, impersonal, subjective is more personal/ and as a close up view. More on Subjective Authenticity in my next post.

Live Chat

Dear Companies EVERYWHERE,

Please do NOT post a button for live chat on your site and then give me a robot. Not cool. Also do not hide your contact information. That only makes me want to search out for your top competitor and become their number one customer.

Thanks,

Live  Person

Help the Animals, Not with MONEY, Just a quick VOTE....Oh and here is a cute story

I'm not sure where the following originally came from, but I received it in an email from my Dad, and thought I could use this touching cute little tid bit to inspire you. Inspire your to do what? In Moses Lake, Washington there is an animal sanctuary with a lot of love and heart for animals in need. I know this sounds like a sappy story to get your money, BUT IT'S NOT so please don't trail off and stop reading. Simply read the fun story I attached for your entertainment (that is completely unrelated), and then go to http://ad.vu/gbf7 and vote for the Daze of Camelot Animal Sanctuary (in Moses Lake WA) if they win the sanctuary will receive $25K to help care for the animals. Just two weeks ago practically no one had voted for them, and then my dad sent me an email asking for my help. I sent this message out to the twitter community and a few people retweeted it. A few days ago they were in fourth place, and the voting is almost over. With your help we can get them the money they need to help take care of cute animals like the story below. I know some of you think I'm lame for sounding like an infomercial right now, but I wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't for a good cause for people and animals that I know are going to use the money for GOOD. Make a difference, I don't want your money, just five seconds and a quick vote! Ps. you can vote daily... if you are so inclined ;)

Cute white tigers find new mom!

When hurricane Hannah separated two ultra-prosh white tigers from their mother, Anjana came to the rescue. Anjana, a chimp at TIGERS in South Carolina , became surrogate mom and playmate to the cubs, even helping with bottle feeding, according to The Sun. But here's the truly amazing part: Anjana does this all the time, having raised leopardsand lions.

Follow up to Bob the self appointed Social Media person.

Chris Brogan wrote, "Bob -Then Next Chapter," this morning so I thought I too would do a follow up. Now we know that "Bob" was initially in interactive marketing and web design. Personally I think it's a bit his own fault for not fighting to stay in his field, although I'm curious what his new role entails and why he is not putting as much energy into it as he is into fighting for social media. Change can be good, true, but if it's outside of your passion or qualifications change is the worst thing in the world. I know.

I know a designer/programmer/seo person who was once hired onto a company primarily for design and seo/sem/social media. This person initially loved their role, the people, and thrived on the opportunity to learn new things. In this person's free time they constantly read about work related topics, blogs, and studied new ways of improving daily tasks. Unfortunately at the beginning of this self-starters tenure with the company another employee unexpectedly had to leave (for personal reasons unrelated to the company or this story). So people from another department knew that the person had experience in programming, not the persons strong suit, but loving a good challenge, the opportunity to learn, and wanting to always help out and stay busy the person happily said yes to adding this role to the person's long list of responsibilities. Before the other coder left, the happy interactive person studied with the other employee and read many books to improve what could be considered par skills. It worked, but the person still went to meetings for the other two departments, but people slowly stopped giving the once happy employee design and seo work, until programming was an all day every day task. In the long run, the company still benefited from ideas the employee had for the other two departments, but lost the employee in the short term because they utilized the wrong skills and burnt out the person.

My best advice:

• Know what you ARE and ARE NOT good at. Make sure your employers are also aware. (Preferably at the interview stages)
• I've even been hired and put into roles that I personally made a point to tell management I'm not good at, and need to stear away from (in my interview I brought this up). Sometimes even that is not enough, and so you just embrace whats coming to you, and probably put feelers out for good measure.
  
• Never stop learning, but study the most in the field you have chosen to work in, or in "Bob's" situation have been place in.
  
• Let your management know that you welcome change, but if it doesn't work out also make sure that you both have talked about a plan B (putting you back into a role or similar role that works for you.)
• This is where I am curious what Bob's new role is, if he was moved because he was actually bad at it in the first place, or because management doesn't want an employee directly representing the company through marketnig if said employee does not take guidance very well. Also why wasn't Bob trying more to get his old role back, before wrongly initiating strategy that wasn't his to initiate (especially without a department behind him to help or tools do the job at full force).
• It is okay to make friends outside of your department (and every company would probably agree), it's also great to share your knowledge and expertise (not on company time), but Bob probably should have thought ahead and not made his boss feel like he was trying to go out of his way to be sneaky with management. One thought for Bob, don't personally represent the company with your new found hobby. Instead, start a blog (again not in the company's name), still share ideas, it's not the company's place to tell you what to learn or share about in your free time as a hobby (unless said company made you sign an agreement not to freelance.. in which case I probably would have never accepted). At this point social media is not Bob's job, it's not something he should do at work, and it's not something he should do in his freetime as a representative of the company, but it is a passion and therefore an acceptable freetime hobby.
• Bob, put feelers out more then just Brogan's article, or accept your new role/fight to get your old one back.. although with recent reviews I'm guessing your company wants you as far from marketing or speaking for them as possible. Don't get me wrong I totally applaud your effort, you probably did more good for your company then bad, and you probably started something that could have been great for them. In the long run though, its not really our choice what voice our clients want to have, or how much connection they want to have with consumers.
  
  An analogy for this might be comparing an interior designer to what Bob did at his company (although again I think in theory what he did was good, and that more people should do it with the approval of their client's or bosses... going directly against orders is not so good). Say we have an interior designer named Sally, and she has two clients Bob and Anna. Bob likes the cabin feeling, is very outdoorsy, likes manly plaid (but not red and black) designs, as well as his trophy hunting collection of deer heads. Anna on the other hand is very modern and enjoys brisk and bright feeling spaces, lots of open air, deep earthy tones mixed with bright warm colors, wants everything to be very organized and clutter free, with lots of stream lined furniture from pricy well knowed craftsmen furniture builders.
  
  Now image that Sally laid out a plan of action for each client, and like HGTV implemented her ideas (without consulting her clients first), but unlike HGTV these people ARE expecting quality results that they get to help revise prior to contractors tearing apart their spaces. Once Sally and her contractors show up for day one, Bob greets Sally at the door expecting to go over her plan of action, but instead Sally trots in and begins removing furniture and accessories. Bob of course is in a state of utter shock by this and at once asks Sally to stop, so for the time being she does, but comes back when Bob is away from home only to begin again her unapproved strategy. Bob comes home and while he likes what she has started, is upset, and fires Sally. So Sally stops work, and leaves completely. This leaves behind a half completed interior design job, a confused client, and an unpaid Sally. Next up is Anna. Sally learned her lesson and this time consults with Anna with most of her ideas, Anna approves what she sees, only tweeking a few things on the design board. Happily Sally begins her new job, but neglects to check in with her client (like a good waitress even would do), and that makes Anna a little antsy. Anna is the one who hired Sally, and is also the one who makes all household decisions on design. Sally comes up with a couple more ideas, and instead goes out of her way and consults with Todd, Anna's fiance (who does not yet live in the same house). Todd likes all the new ideas, vetos some other ideas. In the end the home looks wonderful, but a few things are not Anna's style and by the time the house is finished her and Todd have broken up. Anna is very flustered by the idea of having her home have a few decorations and colors she doesn't like, and even worse hates the idea of having to keep the masculine new furniture that Todd picked out for her living room and bedroom. She tells Sally that she would have loved to have been part of the process a little more and would like Sally to replace the bad furniture, accessories, and repaint the walls that Sally had changed colors without her approval. Sally finally learns her lesson in customer service and completes the job with Anna heavily watching her every move. Anna ends up very happy with Sally's work and refers a couple friends, but warns them to micro-management Sally due to past experience.

Take both stories only for face value and the valuable lessons in this post. I look forward to seeing everyone's comments. Good luck Bob and Chris, I commend your efforts and my sympothy goes out to you in the ackward situation your in, but serendipity is in everything so I'm sure their are better days coming.

Connect with me online:

http://www.dveit.com
http://interactivemedias.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/desaraev

Web. Design. Search. Marketing

How to Request Bloggers to Write Product or Service Reviews

Personally I wont write about anything I have never used, for the obvious reason that I don't know anything about you or your product. Plus if I did and later found out your product or service was awful I would feel bad. So always send a sample. Also it helps to send the blogger a write up about your company, or a press release. Be nice and confident, but also don't force them to write or say anything they don't want to. I also like to be transparent, so be understanding if the blogger wants to tell their audience that you requested that of them. The community will respect both of you more for it.


Did I miss anything? Let me know connect with me online:


http://www.dveit.com
http://interactivemedias.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/desaraev

Web. Design. Search. Marketing

How to use twitter if you have lots of followers.

I recently read yet another one of Chris Brogan's posts, "How to use twitter at Volume." This post simply lays out how he manages following thousands of people and responding to them. It also gives recommendations on apis to streamline tweet reading, filtering, and monitoring. The only thing I don't agree with is Chris say that he doesn't or can't respond to EVERY reply message. I make a point to personally reply to all @ messages (@ = reply or a message meant for you that is still public, it works by adding the @ sign before the person's username). I also personally reply to all Direct Messages. You can send direct messages by adding d a space and then the user name example: d desaraev or d ivesdigital vs. the public @desarae (no space).

Find me on Twitter.

Tips for Companys on SEO/Social Media and just COMMUNICATION in general.

...or maybe this post should just be called, "Companies who DON'T get IT." Get it? I.T. and it, okay I'm a nerd moving on. I just read a post by Chris Brogan called, "Shut up your helping the customers." Great post, I encourage you to read it. It's basically about a guy who works for a very large fortune 500 company that sells extremely expensive products. The company does a direct mail campaign that excites it's consumer base, and the customers want to interact more with the company online. The guy starts a forum and uses social media to connect with his consumer base and is reprimanded for doing so. On the one had, it's not good to tempt fate or go directly against orders from your boss or upper managements, but on the other hand they should have been more open minded. The story has a few wholes in it, but I think it may have helped if the guy had taken more time up front to discuss this stuff with his bosses. You never know how high up the big 'NO' was coming from, and I'm not sure he was even in the marketing department. On the other hand this story has inspired me to share one of my own little stories.

A Interactive Maketing Strategist was working for a small web design company at the time that we will just call company A, anyway the company wanted to start offering new services for their clients like SEO and social media. Unfortunately they were not terribly prepared for all that this can entail, like holding client's hands and walking them through the scary new territory of communicating directly with your consumers, having to pay for analytics tools, social media  tools, needing more then one person to do the job, not having a copy writer on staff, or understanding that sometimes the client may change their mind and get scared regardless of success or a small set back (like SEO dropping one or two spots on occassion). This brought to mind a particullarily odd circumstance where the client had both an SEO campaign and were just started to wrap their head around social media, starting with a twitter account. Twitter was ironically a huge success (depending on what you consider a success), lots of people who were in said companies target market immediately friended the client's profile. In less then a week they had 400 followers, and a dozen posts with some interesting content communicating about the company's services and products or just answering questions. The following week the client calls to request that twitter is stopped because it is now second on a google search for their name and they have recieved more traffic from twitter in two weekks then in the past month from search engines or direct visitors (thanks to google analytics). Unfortunately for the client people on twitter still talk about them, but no one is their to talk back now. This could have been a great new adventure for them and a great way to find new clients, but the web design company was too scared to let the strategist explain why it could have been a great thing for them and instead repremanded the strategist. In the end ladies and gents these things all take time, patience, understanding and forward thinking bosses, and a well thought out strategy... oh and more often then not A LOT of coddling on the strategist's part.

If you would like to connect with me online, find me on twitter.

Meme Games

Meme is when you basically tell someone or a group of people something about yourself that they or everyone wouldn't expect and/or doesn't already know about you. I used to have a boss that would encourage this as part of meetings. We would go around the room say our names, job titles or what we did for the company (contractors), maybe your favorite thing, and one thing that you think no one else in the room knows about you. It's a way of getting to know the people around you a little bit better, a way to encourage a family, or team feeling in the room. I was reminded of this little communication gem, while reading one of Chris Brogan's most recent articles, he had received a fwd of some kind asking him about himself.

To strengthen our bond as a community, or just from writer to reader, I thought I would join in the fun. I encourage you to do the same, add me on twitter, and let me know something new about yourself that I don't already know.

Five things you probably don't know about Desarae Veit:

1. About my education: I applied to the Air Force Academy, but didn't continue perusing it when I found out they do not accept any transfer credits (from anywhere). I graduated high school before college. So when I headed to Iowa State University, I started my road towards a bachelor degree as a Junior, which turned a 5 year program into a three year program (also partially thanks to taking 17-30 credits every semester).
2. Pageants: I used to participate in pageants (5 total), but only ever won one, and it was local.
3. Clubs: I was in Girl Scouts, FFA, 4-H, and IAYI until my senior year in high school.
4. Science: I won a national science fair for my 3 year project on raising artemia salina (brine shrimp aka sea monkeys). The project also earned the Naval Science Award and a small scholarship.
5. World Food Prize: I used to volunteer with the World Food Prize. The final event gave me the wonderful opportunity to meet a nobel peace prize winner, many country ambassadors, and tons of incredibly smart people. I also submitted research towards GMO's (genetically modified organisms), but never finished the project so that I could put more hours towards my brine shrimp project. I was inspired by NASA's research with the creatures in space, a 2 year marine biology class stunt, and submitted my findings to the Omaha Zoo. Random fun facts: Brine shrimp and many other sea life are very under-researched, marine biologists are extremely underpaid, and their are still hundreds of thousands of un-named aquatic wild life in existance around the world.
   

George, Washington Seattle, WA the space needle and more..

As many of you know (and some don't), I'm on vacation in Washington state this week. My dad lives on a gorgeous ranch here with over 90 horses. We visited Seattle (over two hours away), the space needle, the sky city restraunt (at the top of the space needle), and the Seattle Art Musuem. I've thoroughly enjoyed being here and seeing my family. I will be headed back to Minneapolis tomorrow and I'm happy about that too, but I've had a wonderful trip. Today we went on a short (two hour) trail ride. Of course no geek on vacation with access to wi-fi can resist their work-o-holic tendencies so I've also been on the computer working 60% of the time.

 

Sharing my trip with you:

 

The seattle trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2253929&l=5da6a&id=16900609

The ranch: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2253257&l=694ee&id=16900609

The ranch: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2253252&l=51782&id=16900609

 

The ranch's website: http://www.coolriverranch.com

 

Check back with the ranch website soon, as I will be updating it in the next month!

Crowdsourcing, a good pass time, but not a full time Gig, & how to for Buyers.

Have you heard of crowdsourcing? I'm sure many of you have, but for those who have not here is the Wikipedia definition:

Crowdsourcing is a neologism for the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people, in the form of an open call. For example, the public may be invited to develop a new technology, carry out a design task (also known as community-based design^[1] and distributed participatory design), refine an algorithm or help capture, systematize or analyze large amounts of data (see also citizen science).

The term has become popular with business authors and journalists as shorthand for the trend of leveraging the mass collaboration enabled by Web 2.0 technologies to achieve business goals. However, both the term and its underlying business models have attracted controversy and criticism.

I've taken to doing one or two of these contract jobs for fun (per day). It only takes an hour out of my day and well if I win bid I'm generally awarded between $200-$1,500. Not bad for a simple logo, website layout (no coding), identity packaging, or other random design work. Their are sites also for coding that you bid by the proposal, but I prefer to just use the design sites rather then waste my time and energy on the proposal sites. (Don't get me wrong some people are largely successful with the, but you are competing against 20-300 other individuals, which is why I'd rather not spend 2 or 3 hours perfecting a proposal)

 

Their are many sites that run off this basis such as guru.com, freelancers.com, ideacrossing.com, cambrianhouse.com, uship, sitepoint, threadwise, istockphoto, and their are many others. The basic premise is someone posts a need, the talent responds with samples, the buyer then chooses a winner for the project. The buyer pays and everyone is happy.

 

Okay, so crowdsourcing can be a little more complex. Let's break it down so that it's easy for you to have a successful project posting. If you are the buyer it helps if you are as descriptive as possible. Since you wont have an account executive to ask you questions and flush out what you really need, I will layout what you should write up in your project posting.

 

Ten BUYER tips for having a successful crowdsourcing project:

• What is your goal?
• For example are you looking for a logo? If yes, then you need to tell the creatives a little more then just, "hey I need a logo." Say I need a logo for business cards, stationary, letter heads, a sign, or all of the above. That way the designers can know more specifically how to lay it out. See if your doing business cards and you can only afford to use two colors, that is something important to mention, because for your online logo you may want it to appear more vibrant. So you may need them to design two of everything.
• Do you have a theme?
• The theme is your style. You may like modern styles, simple layouts, intricut designs, very feminine touches, or very bold and masculine themes. Maybe you want a mixture? A way to describe this to the designers without trying to figure out a fancy way of saying what you mean is a sample board. What is a sample board? find magazines with the style you like, other logos, fonts that you like, colors (preferably as a palette), and lay it all out in a collage like square with your color and font preferances in the bottom right corner (preferably labeled). Then scan it or take a picture and use that to post with your project. If you have an old logo, post that too.
• Who are you, and who are your clients?
• Are you a printing company targeting large businesses, or a mom and pop shop targeting a smaller marketing? Do you have more then one type of client? Lay that out in detail. See also my article on personas.
• Do you have samples of old pamphlets, logos, a website, or anything else that represents you and your company? Proudly display it or attach links to it. If you have a company blog, that will also help represent your voice. It's always nice to get to know the buyer a little bit, and to better understand who they are.
• Know what kind of files you are going to need: Psd, .jpeg, .png, all of the above, resolution, color scale, rgb, the exact sizes you need, the font names etc.
• Be sure to comment on the samples you receive. It's nice when the site you uploaded your project to has public forums, this way you don't have to repeat yourself. Just mention you need a specific color, or hate a certain layout, and hopefully the creative will catch on, as well as new comers looking to try out designing for your project. Be as precise and use constructive cristism, also make sure to tell people when they are headed in a direction you like.
• Invite creatives from other projects or online to bid on your project, thus giving you more options.

Re: [desaraev - Interactive Media] New comment on "FREE-lancing" Doesn't mean I work for FREE..

The post very specifically says multiple times that to be a freelancer you have to get your work done, as in it is your first priority. I'm sorry you have never met me and theirfore are assuming I'm a boozer, but rest assured anyone who HAS met me will testify that I'm very much the opposite. Those notes where more for fun then anything, but I never once said that I NEVER shower, I hate my work, or I take breaks so much that my clients are pissed off. Very much the opposite where I specifically said, you don't have to get out of your pjs (meaning right away), I do love my work but if you get stuck you can walk away or go work on another project for a little bit, and getting your work done and looking nice in public was emphasized more then once. So stop skimming and actually read what I wrote.

 

I very much love what I do, my clients are all very happy, with the obvious occassional set back (that every freelancer and agency experiences), and I don't know when my blog became a place for nasty hate mail. So rest assure happy clients and freelancers who feel the need to write to me, I work all day, more then most agencies, in fact I'm on vacation now and have still seen my computer everyday. So if I want a ten minute break, I will take one. My work ethic was not in question with that silly post.

On Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 7:08 AM, Josh J  wrote:

Josh J has left a new comment on your post ""FREE-lancing" Doesn't mean I work for FREE.":

As a fellow freelancer I've really got to question your ability or business sense on making it on your own. When your top 3 bullet points suggest you could crack open the tequila at 10 am, potentially haven't showered for a week (unless of course you have to meet the occasional client), and your toothbrush being nearby as your top 3 reasons for starting up your own business then I wish you all the success you can muster out with that work ethic. Maybe stick with doing what you love as the only reason to go out on your own.

Long lunches, numerous breaks, and vacations at the drop of the hat are fine if you can actually put in the time to get your work and administrative obligations done. Remember, you only have yourself to blame for your success or failure.

I wish you luck, but I just fear for the freelancer that has to clean up after you.
Posted by Josh J to desaraev - Interactive Media at November 13, 2008 9:08 AM

Funny new book and video from Jen Lancaster

The following is a repost from Jennsylvania, the blog of Jen Lancaster former VP, sales person, and brilliantly sassy/bitchy/funny author of my favorite new books. (Ok I'm still on the first one- bitter is The New Black, but I should be on to the next two within a week). The books are the hilarious memoirs of her life as a Chicago fashionista in the business world and how she manages love, life, work, and a big shopping addiction. Great tip from her: "NEVER carry a Prada bag into the unemployment office."

Jen, I've done that, but unlike you I only own a couple of purses... and they are all foe or hand-me-down designer. On the other hand the rest of my decor doesn't live up to your prada lifestyle..oh and you can sign up online ;)

Who Likes to See Fat Chicks Running on a Treadmill?

If you answered, "I do, I do!" then oh boy, do I have a video you'll dig.

If you cant see the video go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8jnXfVPGfA

And yes, I work out in pearls - doesn't everyone?

(P.S. If this doesn't inspire you to buy the book - or at least lay off the donuts - then for Christ's sake people, I don't know what else I can do here.)

"FREE-lancing" Doesn't mean I work for FREE.

I've noticed on more then one occassion young companies not appreciating proper talent, and often asking for students to do their work for free. (I've actually found a couple of pretty awful posts recently on craigslist from people who don't appreciate talent, hard work, and the college degree you pay for with good work.)

I've also seen friends ask friends to work for free (nothing wrong with this), but soon realize that is how their friend makes their living and time is money. Money is what keeps peoples mortgage payments on time. There fore working for free is mostly impossible. Although I've done it on occassion, but more as a good will gesture to and mainly on discount, and less for free. (This doesn't mean I NEVER do work for free. I've done work for both charities and family for nothing more then a smile.)

So in retrospect I've put a wonderful list together of WHY I enjoy owning my own marketing/design/developement/social media/research/strategy business aka freelancing.

The upside to working from home (in no definate order):

• Happy hour could potentially be ANY HOUR, as long as you don't miss meetings and get your work done. (Emphasis on get your work done.)
• Pajama Mondays and all other days that end in Y, as long as you leave for meetings and social networking events in more appropriate attire. (preferably something classy that you would be comfortable wearing to sunday church or an interview - this doesn't mean I never get dressed.)
• You have your tooth brush nearby after breakfast, lunch and dinner -- oh and working at your desk is very OPTIONAL. Also you don't have to leave the office for lunch to get away from the one or two annoying co-workers.
• Your office naturally can and will look as nice a you would like. No cubical living for you, my freelancing friends.
• Nothing is worse then working for a company who prides themselves in being the one place that is political bullshit free, and one month in realizing they are sooo full of shit you can smell it a mile from their offices.
• Bonus of being your own boss--- pc bs or not.. you're boss is hot, stylish, and tech savvy in his/her pjs. That would be you ;)
  
• Working for yourself, you can take breaks anytime you need to. AGAIN --you still have to get your work done. So break time is NOT 24/7.
• Lunch meetings can be anywhere, and run late without the fear of answering to someone else (or being the last person back from lunch).
• You are the boss. You can juggle as many clients as you can psychologically handle, or hire help when needed-- without asking for permission.
• No fear of getting laid off, but you do still have to keep your clients happy. (you're clients CAN and WILL fire you if you slack off or don't attend to their needs)
• No worries about cleaning up after the last person who had your job, made all your clients unhappy, and now are a little skiddish about the new kid. As a freelancer you meet your clients, get to know them like friends (professionally), and have the opportunity to keep them happy. Although their can be ups and downs, it's a great feeling to know that you may predict their needs and try to prevent any troubles.
• You CAN, but generally should not... wake up at 9 a.m.vs. 7 or 8. (Think of what you could do with the two hours you slept in)
• No yearly review. Although their is monthly client reports.
• You only have your self to blame for extreme success or horrid failure.
• No long commute, awful bus trips with smelly neighbors, or hitting rush hour.
• You are less likely to forget something you need at the office... or if you do forget it.. it should only be inches away.
• Your schedule may be incredibly busy with work, but at the drop of a hat you can take any vacation you can afford. Wifi willing your at home working situation could be beach or resort side.
• You get paid to do what you love. Working in an office or from home. You are getting paid to do what you love. (And I love what I do)

Don't get me wrong I've worked for a couple of agencies (and loved it), places I've hated, and corporations that had an amazing and forward looking attidute. Work as with life, is all about what you make of it. These are just a few random reasons I'm enjoying working as my own boss. Believe me their are many more, and sometimes just as many reasons I sometimes consider job hunting. (Although not recently)

Working with people is great, agency atmospheres can be fun, and some corporations can be open minded, others are synical and can leave an awful taste in your mouth. Make the most of whatever working situation you choose.

NEVER Lose an idea, password, or have to search twice for a hard topic!

I bet your wondering, what is this lady's great idea to solve all my idea filing woes? Well your in luck. It's really not that crazy, hard, or time consuming. Simply archive everything!

I'm not telling you to write everything down on your computer and save it, because frankly that would file up your hard drive with useless information. You don't even have to buy an external hard drive. Here are two ideas:

Sign-up for a free gmail account.

Every time you learn something complicated, like a new coding technique just take notes and email your self. In the subject line tag it with keywords you would think to type in to yourself for future reference.

Example:
So if it was a coding note, I would tag it with the words: Coding, what the code might do for me, where I have used it before. Then when I need it again I would just type in one of those words and EVERY email I've ever written or received would be pulled up from my archives.

You can also make folders to organize your emails in. Set filters to automatically archive or organize your emails.

Saving passwords in your gmail account is NOT highly recommended, but if its not very important feel free to do that as well. Just keep in mind its not the most secure method of archiving your passwords, but is an option.

Another option for storing all of your information is EVERNOTE.

You can copy full web pages and bring them up online or your desktop. This program also lets you tag items, and set up folders for them.

Networking- It's all about WHO you KNOW.

"According to the Society of Human Resources Management, 60-80% of jobs are filled not through want ads or online applications, but word of mouth. Behold the power of networking." --Russell and Hazel

To ensure you can keep in touch with contacts, and reach for full social butterfly potential I've a few tips for you.

IDEA 1: File your Business Cards

EVERYONE receives a business card at one point or another. If you haven't either your a wall flower, never leave the house, or may need a breath mint; but networking etiquette and tips on where to meet professionals is a completely different post.

When you get home after receiving someones business card. Make a note to yourself where you met the person, what you have in common, and anything else that was memorable about them. By making notes to yourself you ensure that in a month or year after you have forgot the good times you had talking to that person, that you can easily call them up and have something to remind them about your conversation. You should NEVER get rid of a business card, unless you truly don't like that person. Even then its nice to keep so that you can write notes on it.

Quick Break Down of idea 1

• Take notes, and save them with your business cards (or write on the back of them)
• Never throw away a good contact (or bad if you want to be able to remember them)
• Store them with a Rolodex or card scanner
  

IDEA 2: Don't forget to follow up

Within a week or two of meeting someone you should always say a quick hello if you enjoyed meeting them. I admit I don't always remember or have time to do this, but its always a nice gesture. It's best not to call unless you have a reason, like setting up a meeting. Simply send a quick email thanking them for their conversation and maybe mentioning something you guys talked about.

Completely Fictional Example:

Hello Cory,

It was great meeting you the other day at the AdFed Student Advertising Summit. I really enjoyed learning about all of your exciting projects and that you also love snow boarding. If you get a chance it would be nice to get the link for that blog we were talking about. Anyway keep in touch, I'm sure we will be seeing a lot of each other now that your a member of Ad Fed. Feel free to give me a call if you need any help with a web design project.

Best wishes,

Desarae A. Veit

IDEA 3: The NETWORKING BINDER

From the Minneapolis store of Russell Hazel comes the "Networking Binder."

Who knows someone in Boston or Barcelona? Who has an in at that hot new company? Who can help get me an interview—and help me avoid saying something stupid once I get it? That's where your Networking Binder comes in. With sections for employment, school, and more, it's an indispensable resource for accessing the knowledge and connections that can make things happen for you. Meet 'em, talk 'em up, and file 'em away for the future. Keep in touch and the right opportunity is bound to come your way.

Put It Together
1. Create a section in your Mini Binder each facet of your network, then make lists of all the people, past and present, who may be valuable to know. Here's a place to start:

Employment: co-workers, bosses, clients, vendors
Education: instructors, classmates, counselors, department heads
Clubs: fellow members, teammates, coaches, mentors
Miscellaneous:friends of friends, friends' parents, family friends, co-volunteers

2. Separate each section with a labeled Index Divider and a Paper Pocket. Use the Paper Pocket to hold all the materials collected as you network: business cards, meeting notes, company background, member lists, etc.

3. Write up your lists of contacts. In addition to basic contact information, try to note when and where you met them, their position, personal interests you might share or anything else that can help rekindle your association later on. Three-hole punch your lists and snap them in by section.

4. Update and add contacts as you go. Remember—you never know who you might be a great future contact.

Materials
- Mini Three-ring Binder
- Mini Index Dividers
- Mini Paper Pockets

I hope this helps you with all of your networking endevours! If you'd like to meet me or have any questions or comments feel free to find me on twitter @desarae, check out my website, or leave a comment on this post! Until then happy networking.