5 Keys to Establishing Your Presence
After spending the better part of the last year trying to figure out how to best share my feelings and thoughts, expanded my social presents, and igniting an online business plan, I have decided that I have an organized a relatively sound business strategy for implementing the infrastructure necessary to migrate a online hobby into an online business.
While most of this is my spin on the approaches and tools, I can not take a lot of credit for inventing any of this. This is through the had work of many of the Internet world’s most brilliant minds.
Following are the key components:
1. Domain Name
Choice a name that reflects your branding. If you are luck enough to find a name that is relevant to your business all the better, however if you don’t, find a name that can represent your brand. A short, catchy, easy to remember name is always a good idea. Who would have thought that Go Daddy, Google, Yahoo, or Tweeter would be household names. Check out the video below by Bob Parson’s of Go Daddy to help you locate an effective name
Once you have selected a domain name you will need a place to present your message or implement your online business plan. This requires a hosting plan. There are several variation of plans. Feel free to review these plans to find one that is right for you based on your experience level and business strategy:
2. A Hosting Plan
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Website Tonight – A non-techno solution works well for lots of first time users or business professionals that don’t know a lot about website development or don’t have the developments tools necessary to create that professional site. Website Tonight is a template based solution that supplies the basic website framework and infrastructure to give you the ability to have your website up and running in a very short time without a lot of training or experience.
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A Shared Hosting Plan – This plan is idea for the user that has access to a web developer or has the experience to develop a web presents using your choose of a pre-configured Windows® or Linux® plan. This plan allows the owner to develop a traditional website using dynamic content from a database or us a variety of tools such as Dreamweaver, WordPress, CGI, Flash, Java, .Net, and many others.
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Virtual Dedicated Server – Virtual Dedicated Server offers affordable flexibility for site owners who need full control of their server space at a price that won’t break the bank. Get custom results by building your own server or choose a pre-configured Windows® or Linux® plan, each featuring Plesk® control panels, optional managed backup and more. There’s never any need to buy additional hardware — our elastic virtual server technology makes it easy to grow your server size as Web traffic increases.
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Dedicated Server – A Dedicated Server is perfect for eCommerce, multimedia, gaming and other sites that need advanced performance, reliability and control. Choose from pre-designed Windows 2008 and Linux plans featuring multi-core processors, enhanced options like managed backups and much more – or build your own server for customized results.
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Custom Website Design – If your budget permits a site developed by a professional web development service might be the your best bet. This can get your business up and running quickly and reflect your professional brand. There are many service available but one of the best is The Dream Design Team presented by Dossigan’s Domains.
3. Accessorize
We all have seen that the critical part of any decor and fashion statement is how it is presented. A great website name and 99.9% uptime means little if the content doesn’t deliver its intended message. Here are a few critical components:
- SSL Certificate – You will probably need a SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to keep you customers information secure and to give you customers the confidence that you are a repeatable business.
- A Shopping cart, - there are many. A few are Quick Shopping Cart (works well with Dossigan Domain’s hosting), Ecommerce (a WordPress plug-in), and Zen Cart (software provided with Dossigan Domain hosting).
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Merchant Account - A Merchant account or PayPal relationship are channels of receiving online payments. PayPal has the limit in that everyone that want to use it has to have a PayPal account, however it is a cost effective way to start you store front quickly. A merchant account is a great solution and gives you store front a professional look and allows the customer to use there payment option of choice. A Dossigan Domains Merchant Account makes e-business simple. Increase sales, cut paperwork and reduce risk – our partners authorize credit card purchases, process them and deposit the proceeds into your account. It’s simple!
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Social Media Tools – This accessories cross into the marketing arena as well. It is extremely important to develop a relationship with your target market and customers. People want to do business with people they identify with. Social media tools have made this a reality over the past few years.
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One critical components of a social presents is a personal blog. Dossigan has a couple of products; SmartSpace that incorporate a Social Dashboard Quick Blogcast and Website Tonight, integrates Twitter and Facebook; also you can implement Website Tonight and Quick Blogcast ala-cart. Another great solution is WordPress, one of the leading products for building your Blog. WordPress has 100’s of templates and 1000’s of plug-ins to give you the power to present your image the way you want.
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There are several social media websites that are critical in connecting with your customers or potential customers. The top sites are Facebook.com, Twitter.com, LinkedIn.com, and MySpace.com.
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Google tools provide a variety of tools to help you market you site and gather relevant content, such as, Google Alerts, and Google AdWords
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I will publish a separate blog to address Social media at a later time. Stay tune.
4. Marketing Tools
There are two sides to this story,
1) Strategy – this is a topic that needs it own space and discuss. I will post a separate topic on this shortly.
2) Marketing Tools – which I will cover now.
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Site Analysis – Web Site Analysis – This will give you the information and demographics to determine how your business is doing and how to develop you future strategy. It gives you live statistics on who is visiting, were they are from, and what they find interesting about your site. You can even use site analysis to track path analysis to see how your product presentation performs.
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Email Marketing – Face it: There’s a right way and a wrong way to do most everything. This is particularly true when it comes to email marketing. The last thing any law-abiding citizen ever wants is to be associated with spam. Now you can enjoy all the benefits of email marketing – and steer clear of ever being considered a spammer. No one wants to receive marketing emails they didn’t request. That’s true! But there are many people who want to know about your products, company or organization. These people will welcome hearing from you and actually look forward to getting your emails.
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SEO – Search Engine Optimization – This is probably the most critical part of having a successful online business. No matter how great your product or message is, if people can’t find you, you will not be heard. The old saying "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it did it make a sound" is appropriate here. Activity is the difference between hobby and business.
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4 Steps to Success
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Search Engine Visibility – robust analysis (including keyword usage, spiderability, and Robots.txt files and Robots Meta tags) of your site’s strengths and potential weaknesses helps you secure crucial search engine success. Improved Site Spider increases the performance of the Site and Keyword Analysis tools so you get detailed, site-specific results faster than ever before.
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Submission – Easily submit your Web page(s) to leading search engines. Around the world or region-specific, it’s up to you. Search Engine Visibility helps you submit your site to more than 200 search engines and directories in all!
Target your local audience. Submit your site to local search engine programs like Google® Local, Yahoo!® Local, Live Search (MSN) and Local.com®. * For brick-and-mortar businesses only; not available to online-only businesses. Or use Search Engine Visibility to submit your blog to more than 75 blog search engines and directories. -
Web Analysis – This will give you the information and demographics to determine how your business is doing and maybe how to develop you future strategy. It give you live statistics on who is visiting, were from, and what they find interesting about your site.
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Reporting – No more wondering about results. Search Engine Visibility is loaded with reports that give you answers, including Link Popularity to gauge the crucial number of inbound links to your Web page; List Checking to verify that your Web page is listed with the Internet’s leading search engines and directories; Alexa®/Google® Rank to assess your page’s online performance; Competitor Rank to compare your site’s search engine ranking to that of your competitors; and Keyword Ranking to learn your current ranking on AltaVista®, HotBot®, Lycos®, and MSN®.
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5. Have a Business Plan
A friend told me once there are lots of ideas, but success is 25% idea and 75% implementation. I believe now that is a conservative estimate. You should have a professional brand that portrays your image. If you need help with this check out “Brand Design Team” from Dossigan Domains. A solid plan is absolutely imperative.
Here is a message from Bob Parsons
Below are Bob Parsons’ 16 rules for success. Rule # 1, "Get and stay out of your Comfort Zone" is one the rules that has had a huge impact on me personally. I have tended in the past to try to avoid situations that were not natural for me, however i found attacking your weakness is the best way to eliminate that weakness. You can go to Bob Parson’s Blob for a complete explanation of the rules and even purchase a poster for you wall as a reminder.
In short here are the Bob’s 16 Rules:
- When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.
- Never Give Up.
- When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.
- With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.
- Focus on what you want to have happen.
- Take things a day at a time.
- Always be moving forward.
- Be quick to decide.
- Measure everything of significance.
- Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.
- Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing.
- Never let anybody push you around.
- Never expect life to be fair.
- Solve your own problems.
- Don’t take yourself too seriously.
- There’s always a reason to smile.
Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother.
He always reminds me: "We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time! – Bob Parsons"
These are 5 major components. There are lots of specifics and lot to learn, but following these steps and components will be a great start to. As Bob states “Never Give up” .
Devastation or Opportunity? Your Choice.
Greensburg, Kansas May 4, 2007
I was just watching a show on the Green Planet Channel about Greensburg, Kansas. On May 4, 2007 a Category 5 Tornado struck the town of Greensburg, Kansas wiping out most of the town as you can see from the photo …more photos.
11 people were killed and 1400 peoples lives were thrown a huge change of direction. The initial devastation of the event can’t be measure in just the millions of dollars or in the destroyed memories that mother nature had decided to claim. Family members were lost or injured. Homes and worldly possession were leveled, twisted, and cast into a pile of rubble.
This left the town’s people with two choices. Wallow in there own self pity and waste time on why is God doing this to them or regroup and come together as a community to rebuild there lives. Fortunately, as is usually the case, the community decide the latter. Not only did they decide to move forward with there lives, they decide to move forward in a way that is environmentally sound. They are rebuilding green, making there community sustainable. What a victory from the jaws of defeat these courageous people have chosen.
Like most residents, City Administrator Steve Hewitt lost his home and everything he owned, but he believed the tornado had a silver lining. “It forced people to make change. It forced people to say, ‘You know what we have is an opportunity unlike any other community gets,’ ” Hewitt said.
Watch the video, then read on.
This is a valuable lesson for us all. Disasters, devastation, hard times and bad times are just the door way to a life that is grander than any of us can image if we make that choice. Look at Japan’s response after having the bomb dropped on it. They came away as a leader in the industrial revolution. Hearing from your doctor that you have a terminal and serious illness or losing a love one are all horrific events. You and I can recount numerous examples of devastating events. But in every case we have a choice of how we move forward. Not moving forward is a bad choice. Having the option to let go of the past and embracing the future is a true gift. It is too bad that it take these travesties for us to realize that gift.
Though in many cases it’s not as horrific as the disaster previously discussed, I believe many of us are living in an opportunity right now due to our economy. It hasn’t been to good for many of us. I believe the punchline is that its not so much a slow in the economy as it is changing course, a new economy so to speak. I don’t believe this is an attack on Capitalism, but rather an attack on Consumerism (and many poor spending habits of both money and natural resources.)
We need to adjust our live to new ways of living and thinking. The old economy, the old industrial revolution of consumerism is taking a huge change of direct. Our challenge is to see if we can flow with it and not to continue trying to swim up stream in a direction that will not render the fruits it once did. We also need to not get discourage when thing don’t work out the first time. We are navigating uncharted waters. There may not be any specific manual on how to navigate these waters. We have an opportunity to learn, evolve, and define our future. The future is ours to build. Our fathers and mothers life styles may not be available to our generation. We would be wise to learn from history and not repeat the excess of the last two decades. This applies to not only our personal financial habits but also our planets limited resources. <strong>This is exciting stuff!</strong>
It’s time to take charge of our lives. Life choices are not a political problem. This is an individual life choice issue. Stand on your values, just make sure your values are not confused with those hard headed ideas of “well that’s the way its always been done”. Don’t wait on the government, your parents, your spouse, ignite your fire. You’re driving, step on the gas.
Whatever choices you make, have confidence that it will lead you down a path that can <strong>lead you to a life beyond your wildest dream</strong>.
A full story on the town of Greensburg is available at After tornado, town rebuilds by going green
Transparent Solar Panels –
Great post from Konarka Technologies. Solar cell take another step:
Massachusetts-based Konarka Technologies Inc. has developed a transparent plastic solar cell that it hopes will be built onto electricity-generating windows.
The Lowell, Mass.-based company on Tuesday said it has
reached an agreement with Arch Aluminum & Glass to use Konarka’s plastic solar cells in building materials, including windows. Under its Arch Active Solar Glass development, the company has built prototypes of windows with the solar cells between two panes of glass. The photovoltaic cells can
be tinted different colors…. Read more
Training, 1 part action, 4 parts Motivation.
Any life style change, education, or exercise program is 1 part effort and 4 parts motivation. For the effort to be sustained it is important to have the reason to go for it, whether that be spiritual, financial, or for your health.
From my running background, I have several friends that ask how many miles are you doing a week or month. After your answer they nod and ask about the courses or routes. After explaining the route they are indignant that I would call that 3.75 mile route 4 miles. They would comment “Oh you’re not doing 30 miles a week. You are doing 25 miles a week”. Its the old “you’re not as good as I am, because I always round down” syndrome.
This is where my pet peeve kick in. So many of us allow our egos to take control and get caught up in the numbers that we don’t focus on what’s import. The point is whatever it take to motivate a person is ok. It pretty easy to get up in the morning and have that first cup of coffee, but you need a reason to get out the door and start that morning jog or run. If you run that same 3.75 mile course on a regular bases and it motivate you for whatever reason to do it again tomorrow then who cares. If a run is easier today than yesterday, then that is what its about.
Honesty and candid feedback is important, but it’s not a license to tear people down. This is typically the excuse that is used when stifling a person. I believe the key is to expand ones focus beyond there nose. Everything isn’t about you all the time, just as it true that it is all about you sometimes. So when you feel like the phase “I’m just being honest” is about to erupt, weight the consequences.
We all have choices:
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We can encourage someone to improve their health, their finances, or their spiritual life or
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We can discourage them to bring them down.
Which one is going to make you feel better about yourself. I suggest if it is option 2 get some counseling.
So if someone talks about how god lifted there spirit or old John said he ran 20 miles Saturday when he really only ran 16 miles, let it go. The important thing is that they were uplifted and old John did 16 miles and they are excited about it.
Give support and encouragement to your fellow runner or fellow man, whatever the endeavor. You may need it yourself sometime.
5 Easy thing to sustainable living, today!
Greener and sustainable living is something I feel we don’t give enough effort. The planets resources are limited and wasting god’s works on frivolous pleasure is just not responsible.
If you do 5 simple thing every day you can make a difference. Here are 5 simple thing you can do today to contribute:
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Instead of watching TV today, turn it off and read a book.
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If you have a trip to make and walking, cycling or public transits is an option add a little spice to your life and give it a shot.
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Make a meal today that requires no cooking. Fix sandwiches and have a picnic with your family or friends in the park.
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Limit your driving trips as much as possible. Examine your day, make a list of what you need to do. Review the big picture and refine the amount of resources need to get it done.
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Do some exercise outdoors. Instead of a trip to the gym, take a hike or jog with your family, friends or pet.
I’ve realized on many occasions that doing sustainable living returns rewards more than just good for the planet. I tend to get a little exercise and I get in touch with my spirit. A good example is mass transit. If I ride the bus, I would either walk or bike to the bus stop. If I bike I might then bike to the next stop or to the destination. And finally, since my job funded my bus and lite rail fee, it would be free or at a minimum cheaper than the automobile expense for the same trip.
Spending time with love ones, spending time with God or spending time with yourself doesn’t require a lot of natural resources if you give it little forethought. So give it a try today. See what returns it gives you both physically and spiritually.
MONEY AT EXPENSE OF YOUR SOUL
Many of us are searching for answers to find the financial resources to make ends meet these days. The rules have changed. The playing field isn’t exactly what it was when we were growing up and establishing our belief systems taught to us from the previous hard working, sweat on their brow, hands-on generation. This holds especially true for those of us floating around here in Cyberspace looking for some sort of lifeline to tether us to reality.
Well this blog is not meant to give any specific solutions or answers, because I can only answer my challenges based on my belief structure, my spirit and my soul. Your answers need to come from within. The only suggestion or point I want to share is that IT’S OK TO PUT MONEY IN YOUR POCKET, JUST DON’T MAKE ROOM BY SACRIFICING PART OF YOUR SOUL.
Most of us have read books by Robert Fulghum, the most famous of which is “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”, and all have been very grounding for me. His latest is no exception. But what I’ve gotten from it is that you know in your soul what is right for you. Just don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Joe Dominguez wrote “It’s ok to have emotions, just don’t be had by your emotions” in “Your money or your life”.
My statement to you is as you pursue financial stability keep your pursuits in align with your spirit and your soul.
WINDPOWER 2009 Conference & Exhibition taking place May 4 – 7, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.
| May ’09 | May |
| 4 | 7 |
WINDPOWER 2009 Conference and Exhibition is the largest annual wind conference and exhibition in the world featuring over 13,000 attendees and over 1000 exhibitors. Each year, wind energy professionals gather at this event to learn about the latest industry developments and technologies, review new products and services in the expansive exhibit hall, and network with leading industry decision makers. Join us for what promises to be another exciting event taking place May 4th – 7th, 2009, at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois…. Wind Power 2009
Solar Power International ‘09
| Oct ’09 | Oct |
| 27 | 29 |
The Solar Electric Power Association and Solar Energy Industries Association look forward to welcoming you to the year’s largest business to business solar event in North America. We expect 650+ exhibitors and more than 25,000+ attendees in Anaheim, California, October 27 – 29. With top-notch keynote addresses, 200+ speakers, more than 65 breakout sessions and dozens of optional workshops, this is the premier place for expanding your business opportunities and networking with the foremost members of the solar industry. Mail Marketing Read more….
Leave the Planet as good as you found it!
BUY GREEN! VISIT OUR ENVIRONMENTAL STORE.
Man has been around the planet for a mere 7 million years, however only the last 11,000 years or so has man started to progress beyond being a hunter gather . An excellent book that discusses this is Gun, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. Since man emerged from his hunter/gather roots and dedicated itself to making the world a better place, the planet has steadily deteriorated. Most of the innovation, while making life easier, more luxurious, increased man life span, has been at the expense of the planet.
The purpose of this site is to bring to the front as much pertinent information as possible to help people live in a sustainable fashion. Leave the planet as good as we found it. God, Our creator, Allah, or whatever name your belief system what hang on her, created the heavens and earth to be in total harmony. We can’t fix perfection. We just need to keep from mucking it up.
EnviroArt is also striving to bring artistic flare to sustainability. We believe sustainability can be artistically implemented in many cases. A wind turbine can be stylish and colorful or blend with the landscape around it, Solar panels can be integrated as shade, an earth roof can be a beautiful garden. The possibilities are endless.
Please register with EnviroArt and join in the mission of sharing information related to the leaving small footprints.
Balance the Environment and the Arts
Welcome to EnviroArts. We are striving to support the Arts, as well as bring environmental conscience to the artistic community. Our major objective is a communication portal for the artist and the resources necessary to pursue there passions. We also want to show that environmental considerations can also be artistic, and artistic expression and be in harmany with the enviroment.
