Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Como pasar de la Resistencia al Compromiso en tus Actividades o Negocios
�Porqu� muchas personas que inician una nueva actividad, un negocio independiente, un reto que implique un compromiso abandonan en los primeros meses?
How to Hire a Web Designer, Not a Belly Itcher
Based on responses to the 3-Hour Web Site Plan hiring someone to build your Web Site has hit the big time with small business owners who are realizing that often the time and energy spent doing-it-yourself may not only be better spent other ways, but also may not provide the results you want. A Web site should not only provide visibility for your business, it should also present a positive image for your business and drive either online sales or leads. If you are starting a business based on advertising sales your Web site is everything.
So how do you first find someone to build your Web site and how to do you make sure that you get what you want from the relationship?
As hiring someone to build a Web site becomes more and more popular, here is every small business owners guide to making the decision wisely:
Get your act together!
Not understanding Web technology is no excuse these days for looking like a dear in the headlines when asked – "what are you looking for?" Not knowing what you want will usually lead to quotes that can't help but be inaccurate, a lot of time (and possibly money) spent having your Web designer make mistakes so that you can tell them what you don't want and eventually get to what you do want.
Especially if you are working with a very limited budget you will want a clear plan for your site. See next week's post for coverage of some vital questions I ask all of my clients and students to help them get ready:
Be realistic and open about your budget
It is important that you know what you have to spend. If you are selling online and want to hire a reputable company, expect to spend between $1,200 and $5,000 for a Web site that can generate leads for you depending on whether you want a custom design. If you're planning to sell online (excluding a simple PayPal sales) expect to spend from $5,000 to $20,000 to get a site set up.
Get a Referral
Technology can be a murky business. I have heard both wonderful and horrible stories about business owners who hired a Web site developer from a simple online search. I strongly recommend asking people you trust for referrals. Also consider going to your local business support organization like the New York City Department of Small Business Services or Seedco and asking for suggestions.
Use The Horse for the Course
No we're not talking about OTB, and there should be no "longshot" factor in your Web site construction project. There are different kinds of practitioners involved in building, marketing and maintaining a Web site and they all have different skillsets. It's not hard to know who they are and what they do, and this is one thing you really should know.. Do you just need a designer? Do you not need a designer at all? Do you need a programmer? Maybe you'll be fine with an HTML coder who is usually less expensive than a programmer? Check out next week's post for a description of Web site roles and players.
I know it can be hard to figure out what you want and a lot of times, the person you hire will help you do that. But you want to hire people with the right skillset to even be able to answer those questions for you.
Source: http://www.inc.com/maisha-walker/2008/10/how_to_hire_a_web_designer_not.html
Start-Ups 2010: Publishing Children's Books for the iPhone
PicPocket Books
Founder: Lynette Mattke, 41
Location: Silver Spring, Maryland
Employees: Two interns
Funding: $30,000, from Mattke and two silent partners
2009 Revenue: $7,500
Start-Up Year: 2009
Breakeven: January 2010
Insider Insight: Mattke saw that her kids loved the iPhone's touchscreen and that no one had built apps out of quality kids' books.
Blind Spot: It's hard to generate profits selling books-as-apps for $1 to $3, even if you keep costs low.
At established publishing houses, sifting through unsolicited manuscripts -- the slush pile, as they are collectively, and derisively, known -- for children's books is the work of young editorial assistants hoping to get their big break by spotting the next J.K. Rowling.
Lynette Mattke, founder and publisher of PicPocket Books, is happy to do the job herself. After all, her company didn't exist two years ago. And though she studied literature in college and has a passion for children's books, Mattke had never been involved in publishing. So reviewing manuscripts remains a thrill -- as does her success at bringing them to market: In the past year, Mattke has put out 40 children's book titles, to critical acclaim and modest commercial success.
Mattke's literary career is built partly on a technological innovation. She publishes children's books in the form of iPhone apps. In early 2009, Mattke's husband got an iPod Touch and started using some of the inexpensive software programs, or apps, available for download at the online App Store. (Apple says more than five billion such apps were downloaded in the past two years.) Mattke, for her part, noticed a striking lack of high-quality children's books among the offerings. The stay-at-home mom had been thinking about what to do, given that her three kids, 16, 13, and 10, were getting older. So she set out to fill the void.
Having little technological experience, Mattke found a part-time software developer -- a family friend with a full-time job -- to build a publishing platform to her specs. Then she approached some children's book publishers and offered, for free, to turn some of their books into apps. A few saw that they had little to lose and agreed to share the revenue of any app sales. Mattke signed her first contract with a publisher in spring 2009; she found a team of graphic designers in Seattle to execute the transfer from paper to digital form and figured out how to navigate iTunes Connect, the Apple portal that outside developers use to upload and manage their apps.
In July 2009, just a few months after getting to work, Mattke released her first app. Soon, unsolicited manuscripts began to find her, which meant she could publish original titles in addition to app versions of previously published books. She added another graphic-design team, this one in India, and by spring 2010, she had 30 titles for sale in the App Store and 10 more in the works. So far, her most successful is Monster Trucks, a board-book-format title by Robert Gould aimed at the "preliterate-male" audience, a.k.a. little boys. Mattke is particularly proud of Round Is a Mooncake, by Roseanne Thong, which is illustrated by Grace Lin, winner of a 2010 Newbery Honor. Reviews for PicPocket's titles have been solid, including good mentions in Publishers Weekly and USA Today. Most marketing efforts, however, have taken the form of blog posts and networking, especially through Moms With Apps, a 130-member support network for entrepreneurs like Mattke, who co-founded the group.
These days, sales range from 50 to 100 downloads per day, at prices from 99 cents to $2.99 each. Mattke splits revenue with the publishers and authors -- and, of course, with Apple, which gets 30 percent. Revenue runs from $2,000 to $6,000 a month. That covers costs and the production of new titles but doesn't yet allow Mattke to draw a salary.
Adding more titles may change that, but Mattke has other strategies as well. Most notable, because so many traditional publishers are asking her to put their books on her app platform, she has started charging a modest fee to do so. Meanwhile, Mattke searches her slush pile for promising but unknown authors to champion.
iPhone - Apple - Publishing - iPod Touch - App Store
Link Building - What to Do
So now that we know that Link Farming is bad and reciprocal links may have limited value, how do we convince other Web sites to link to us without linking back to them?
One Directional Link Sources
First - where can you get these one directional links? Great places include:
Industry directories — sites that are directories of other sites in a particular industryAbout.com — often has directories and provides information about a wide variety of industries and specific, niche topics
Event Sites - for events you are hosting or where you are a sponsor or speaker
Online PR — PR sites, or sites that have an article written by you or about you
Library sites — if you have content that is relevant to a particular topic and for a wide range of people libraries often offer great directories and resource lists
Blogs — if you have a product or service that is exciting and you can get a blogger to write about it.
Review Sites — if you have a product that can be reviewed.
If your site has a lot of free and useful content you will have a much easier time getting incoming, one directional links.
How to Ask for a Link
Also if you plan to reach out to other sites to link to you, make sure you use the right approach.
Consider "deep linking" - invite linkers to link to a specific page of relevant content rather than linking to your home page. This is usually far more appealing for bloggers and other content sites.Make the contacts personal — avoid sending blanket emails to sites. Write personal emails or consider calling. Consider establishing a relationship over time. The extra time it takes you to do this will force you to be more selective in the sites you choose to reach out to.
Choose carefully — getting a link can be a lot like pitching a story to a magazine or even like cold calling. Make sure you have done your research and confirmed that your content is right for the site you're contacting. The last thing you want to do is create bad will by blanketing sites that have no interest in what you do.
Have something noteworthy and specific to offer — remember that in general, noone cares about your latest product or your newest client. I know that sounds harsh but it's unfortunately true. You have to find a reason for them to care. Find something interesting, unique, exciting, personal or noteworthy that would make people want to link to you.
Related Articles:
Getting Good Rank: Search Engine PrimerSearch Engine Optimization in 3 Easy? Steps10 Tips to Avoid the Biggest SEO MistakeThe 9 Places to Put Your Keywords for SEO PowerLink Building -- What Not to Do
Stay up to date:
Source: http://www.inc.com/maisha-walker/2009/05/link_building_-_what_to_do.html
A Wine Label From the Mandela Family
Makaziwe and Tukwini Mandela bring to their new wine business one of the most revered names in the world. "Yes, my father is a great person," says Makaziwe Mandela. "But this is not about Nelson Mandela."
Makaziwe Mandela is the eldest daughter of the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former South African President. Tukwini is her daughter. House of Mandela, which launched in South Africa in July, is a negociant; the company sources grapes from several growers, blends them, and markets them under its own label. Its first three offerings -- a Chardonnay, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Shiraz -- should be available in the U.S. sometime next year.
Makaziwe Mandela, who five years ago started a business to broker mineral resources, got the idea for House of Mandela from a Norwegian friend who pointed out that "there are no prominent wine brands from South Africa," she says. House of Mandela is one of only a tiny number of black-owned businesses in the country's $3 billion wine industry.
The brand, Makaziwe says, reflects her pride in her farming heritage, which she traces back to the founding of the Madiba clan in the early 1800s. "The traditions and values -- such as courage and compassion -- that shaped my father shaped all of us," she says.
How to Recruit Like Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson, a famous shock-rock singer of the 90s and 2000s, galvanized an entire group of people to his brand.
Source: http://www.betternetworker.com/articles/view/marketing/how-recruit-marilyn-manson
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