5 steps to launching your website

5 Steps To Planning Your Website

by with No Comment ArticlesBlogs

You have made the decision to invest in a website, but what do you actually want to be on your website?

There is a lot more aspects that go into creating a website than just making sure you have content and beautiful images. The following steps make sure you have a comprehensive plan for your website, so it delivers exactly what you need.

1.      Identify the Purpose of your website

For most websites this is to drive sales or increase enquiries but how are you going to do that? The actions you want your visitors to make needs to be clear and at the forefront of your mind throughout the entire build of your website.

Are you selling products – then make sure the content and layout educate visitors on those products and encourage visitors to travel through the website to the shop.

Are you selling services – your focus needs to be on educating people on your service, making it clear the solution your service provides and encouraging visitors to get in touch or book in an appointment/purchase the service.

Sharing information – Consider what format your visitors will absorb that information. Do they prefer podcasts, blog/articles, How to Guides?

2.      Features

Once you know the purpose of your site you need to consider the exact features you will need. Features can include:

  • A theme
  • Possibly a page builder
  • Plugins
  • Specific content
  • Connections to 3rd party integrations

When selecting a theme there are a number of things to look at, in particular if the theme is compatible with the plugins and 3rd party integrations you want to include. Many purchased themes come with a number of plugins included to help you obtain the look provided in their demo version and will list popular plugins they are compatible with – mainly WooCommerce and page builders.

I highly recommend Themeforest.net for themes, there is so much choice to pick from and the way its all laid out makes it clear to see how updated the theme is, how response their customer support is, and the compatibility with other plugins/WooCommerce/WordPress versions. You want a theme that is updated regularly, with good customer service and works with the plugins you need.

WordPress has its own built in page builder Gutenberg blocks, but for additional elements and styling options a page builder such as WPBakery or Elementor are recommended.

3rd party integrations can be features such as payment gateways, email marketing, booking software; and working out whether they are compatible or require specific plugins to work.

If you provide a membership, or sell certain products, you are required to include certain terms and conditions or even use certain terminology on your website. Research will be needed to ensure you use the correct ones for your site.

3.      Create a Content Inventory

Now you know the focus for your website and have looked at themes you like, you can cater the content to fit. It is a really simple process and extremely useful part of the planning process. The content you use has to be of benefit to the visitor, so consider the jargon they would understand and the way they absorb information.

You can use the demo of a theme you like the look of to assist in determining layouts and available sections.

A content inventory can simply be done using a spreadsheet, think of it like a map of your site and its content. The following column titles can get you started, but feel free to add more if needed.

  1. Page Title – These need to clearly identify what is on the page and are the first thing Google sees when doing an SEO search.
  2. Page Sections – Break your pages down in to sections with things like a larger header image, About us section with text and image, Our work gallery with 3 columns, CTA, Footer
  3. Content Required – its at this point you need to really think about the content each of the sections you will need. The header image needs a short snappy sentence and CTA button, the About us section needs max 100 words and an image, the Our Work Gallery needs 3 images of previous work that links to portfolio pages, CTA needs another snappy sentence giving the visitor a reason to click on the button, the footer needs social media links, a sign up form, 2nd menu etc
  4. Content Ready – when you have all the content you need for that section/page you can place an X in this column helping to keep you on track.

4.      Get your branding in place

When compiling your content, particularly the imagery you need to consider how it ties in with your branding. If your branding is bright and relaxed, then dark or corporate style images may not work.

You also have to consider how to pair the colours from your branding. When placing buttons on top of coloured areas colour combinations can either work really well or leave your visitors squinting at it trying to work out why. If you place elements on top of images they can blend in if the wrong colours are picked, even if you place an overlay on the image you risk it distorting the image just to make the element fit.

Another important element of branding to consider is your logo and how it will work with a theme. If you have a theme in mind look at the logo being used in the demo, would your logo fit in that place? If you want an inline menu layout (Menu options / Logo / Menu options) will your logo fit in within the menu line or stand out too much? On a website I completed the branding was a logo that looked very much like a clothing tag, because of this we chose a theme that had a side bar menu so the logo could sit as if coming out the side of the screen. It wouldn’t have worked with an inline menu or sitting above the menu.

5.      Content

The content to place on your website can actually be one of the hardest steps of preparing a website. The words have to entice a customer to journey further into your website and react to your call to actions, they have to speak to the customer in a way they understand while still showing your expertise, knowledge, and personality.

I highly recommend to all my website build clients that they work towards 500 words minimum per page to help get in their keywords and their message across to customers.

The content needs to be presented in such a way that it keeps the readers attention while providing all the information they will need. The most pertinent details should be placed near the top of the page with short and simple sentences. Don’t limit your content to generalised, high level statements though, be specific with real world examples to help readers visualize your message.

Each industry has its own jargon that makes sense to those in the know, but customers may not. So always nix the jargon as much as possible and keep it accessible. Find yourself using the same words over and over? Then why not check out Thesaurus,com for alternative ideas. It can get pretty boring reading what appears to be the same words over and over again. Ensure though you keep your key terms consistent to avoid confusing visitors and search engines.  

Don’t be afraid of white space either, visitors will generally scan through webpages first skipping over large sections of text looking for bulle or numerical lists and smaller paragraphs. The use of headers can hep break up the text even more, clearing highlighting key areas to engage with and help search engines navigate the page.

There is so much more you can do with content these are a few starting tips to help.

Next Steps

With just these 5 pieces of information you can get started with your own website build or be able to provide a well thought out plan to a website designer to build the site for you. Check out other sites in your industry or with a similar feel to what you are aiming for to give a better visual idea once building begins.

Keep referring back to your content inventory, your branding and your message throughout the build to ensure you are staying consistent and providing the best customer experience possible. Once completed send it out to a few friends and get their opinions to help catch anything you may have missed – think of it as quality control! When ready get sharing remembering to keep everything up to date.

Things to remember when moving hosts

Three Things most people forget to consider when moving hosts.

by with No Comment ArticlesBlogs

At some point we all move our websites from one host to another. Be it due to costs or available resources, its one of those business management tasks we find ourselves doing.

It seems simple enough – find a new provider that has everything you need at an affordable cost, purchase the hosting package and leave it to them to handle. Simple right? Wrong! There is a few little extra bits you need to consider, such as the available resources the hosting package will provide – so if your running a membership can the new hosting package handle the amount of php requests you will need? Photo heavy website – does your site have enough storage for the images? These can all be answered easily by the host with a quick chat with them.

There are 3 extra bits though that most hosts don’t cover or advise on clearly. Some hosts may offer to migrate your website over for you, but few will offer to help with emails or domains. See below for what I mean.

Emails

What happens to your emails when you move host? I have had a number of clients come to me and assume that when they move hosts their emails also move… but this is not true.

When you use a host provided email address those emails are saved on a server with the host. When you move hosts and cancel your previous hosting package that space of server is wiped clean ready for someone new to use it. If you don’t have a back up of those emails you will be losing years and years of emails.  The easiest way to create a back up is by using Outlook. You input the server details before the move, wait for outlook to sync all your emails then create a back up of all the emails. (Instructions can be found here from Outlook) Then when you move hosts you can sync the back up with the new webmail.

If you use an email address with Gsuite then you will need to update your DNS server settings again to reconnect your email address and Gsuite.

Domains

If you have a number of additional CNAME or TXT records set up against your domain and move it along with your hosting, then you need to make a record of these. They will not be instantly transferred and can cause issues with services such as email marketing and general emails if not set back up.

This is specially true when using a service such as Gsuite that requires a number of MX records to be set up in order for Gsuite to process your emails, you may suddenly find that your emails stop working and your inbox suddenly goes quiet if you do not remember to re-create the MX records. If you don’t know how it is usually possible to contact the host for help.

Your Website Itself

If you have built your website using Wix, or Godady builder or any other form other than WordPress be prepared to have to rebuild your website. These types of builders own your website; therefore you can’t just take the site and transfer it to a new host, you will have to totally rebuild the site.

Whereas if you have built with WordPress .org things are far easier.

You can use a tool such as All In One Migration to create a back up of the website before purchasing your new hosting. Once purchased install WordPress, and the All In One Migration plugin. You can then easily import your backup and hey ho your website is up and running on your new hosting.

Be careful though, if you had plugins that had licences or api keys you need to check all of these are working to ensure a flawless transfer.

These three things are just 3 of the main host migrations issues I have come across, but there are plenty of other little things that are forgotten in the process. It can be beneficial to keep track of what and where your domain is linked so when you do choose to move you know exactly what needs updating or modifying.

Need help or want to discuss more about moving hosts? Then get in touch today!

Are you ready for Zoom 5.0 let RedRite Help

Zoom 5.0 – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

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March – April 2020 Zoom users experienced a large number of security risks, with random strangers popping in to their chats, unfortunate and at times disturbing screenshares happening and a number of other security issues. At a time when video calling for meetings and socialising was a must thanks to Covid-19, this caused major concerns and safety issues for those using Zoom.

However, Zoom were fast to respond, and instantly new security measures were put in place. Users suddenly found they needed to include passwords when sending invites to people, and for some the waiting room feature was rolled out immediately. Zoom started working on new ways to ensure security and privacy in the Zoom calls, eventually coming up with Zoom 5.0, released on April 27th 2020.

The new version of Zoom was encrypted by 256-bit GCM encryption, a tighter more robust encryption for meeting data and to reduce risk of tampering. All users of Zoom have to upgrade to Zoom 5.0 by May 30th 2020 in order to actually use zoom. So it was highly recommended you pre-warn your attendees prior to the call, allowing them time to upgrade beforehand if they hadn’t already.

Part of the new security features in Zoom include:

Improved Security Features and controls – The host can control who screenshares, if chat is available or not, and even whether people can rename themselves and change their profile picture or not during the meeting. The host can also remove a user from the meeting, or report them to Zoom’s Trust & Safety Team who will review them and take appropriate action.

Waiting Room Be Default – The waiting room feature was available prior to Zoom 5.0 but in the new version enabled the waiting rooms by default for Basic, Education and Single Licence Pro accounts. When a participant joins the call, they are left waiting for permission to enter by the host. If the host does not recognise the participants name, they can refuse them entry to the meeting. It is also a useful tool if you have back to back meetings, as it prevents participants from joining too early and ‘walking in’ on a meeting not meant for them.

Complex meeting Ids and Passwords – If you have shared your meeting room ID with people then you will need to check that it is the new 11 digit unique meeting ID. The IDs are also being removed from the content sharing window so no accidental sharing of the ID or other meeting information.

Anyone who has held a meeting post April 27th will have noticed they are required to create a password for meetings. In Zoom 5.0 these passwords will be more complex and administrated account admins can set requirements for the password (such as length, alphanumeric or special character requirements). Passwords come as standard on the Basic, Single Licence Pro and K 12 customers.

Watermarks – Firstly is the new Audio watermark. When turned on and a user starts recoding during a meeting, their personal information is embedded within the audio of the meeting. If you then find a copy of the audio published without consent on the internet Zoom will be able to trace it back to the participant that shared it.

Secondly, is Screen share watermark. Similar to the audio watermark this feature superimposes an image of the users email address on any screenshots they take during the meeting. Allowing it to be traced back if sensitive information from shared graphs, for example, has been shared without consent.

Meeting Registration and Authentication – Plan to publicise a networking event but want to ensure you know exactly who is joining the meeting? Then this feature is perfect as it allows you to set a registration form for the meetings. Collecting their names, email address and any additional information you may require from them before they join the meeting. Instead of the usual meeting ID link instead you share the registration link, and can identify attendees before the meeting begins. You can also run a report to collect all their information – so ensure you make people aware you will be doing this ahead of time, especially if you then plan to use that data in some way. Remember GDPR!

Authentication is available on Business, Enterprise and Education accounts allowing you to restrict access via specific email domain names – i.e so everyone with a company email address.

Recording Security – If you store your recordings on the cloud these are now encrypted with complex passwords by default to ensure only you can access them.

Data Centre Information – Hosts can now choose which data centre regions they would like their meeting traffic to use when scheduling a meeting. Zoom’s Data Centre’s are US, Canada, China, Austalia, Europe, India, Japan/Hong Kong and Latin America. This feature, at the time of writing this article, was only available to paid accounts.

These are just some of the new security features available, with more being considered and trialled depending on your account level. Many users will have received an email once the forced change was required but it is still best to ensure anyone you are having a meeting with has upgraded to save time when joining the meeting and avoiding any unnecessary disruptions.

If you want to check your version of Zoom is 5.0, you can do this by opening up the app on your desktop, when it prompts you to log in or join a meeting it tells you the version at the bottom of the screen.

Not used Zoom before and would like to test is capabilities, then why not book a 30 min free cuppa with me and we can go through ways you can use Zoom in your business.

Website Jargon by RedRite

Website Terminology and Jargon

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As I am getting ready for my first Website building workshop quite a few people have been asking about the different terminology used when it comes to websites. There are quite a few terms that website developers and designers throw around that might as well be another language to those who don’t spend their days buried in code, so here are some of the most commonly used terms you may here when considering a website for your business.

Back-end/Dashboard

This is a term used for the area within your website that you use to create pages, make updates and maintain your website. In WordPress it usually has slim black banner across the top of the page, and then the menu choices (Pages/Posts/Plugins etc) is don the left hand side.

Wordpress Dashboard

Cache

When you visit a website it will leave a few crumbs of information within your computers memory, sometimes when you make a change to your website you can not always see it straight away. This is because your computer is loading these crumbs of information rather than the new information. You maybe told to clear your cache – to do this you will need to clear your browser history in settings. This will clear away all these crumbs of information ready for new bits of information.

Cpanel/Plesk

This is the names of the control panels that hosting companies use. You will see these when you log in to your hosting account and they showcase a large number of tools – many with 1 click install WordPress options – for you to manage your website. The version depends on whether or not your host uses Linux operating system or Windows. These areas are usually used by your website developer as you can manage your email accounts, the DNS settings and your website files/databases from here so unless you understand what it is you want to do -and how to do it – it is best to stay avoid fiddling if you can.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)

This is the file that determines what your website looks like. It can determine if there is space between your images and or what colour your buttons are and so much more. It is actually a type of computer language that many web developers understand. So, when you developer/builder advises they need to add something to the CSS to make what you want happen it means they are updating this file.

Domain or URL

This is the address of your website. What is typed into a internet browser when you want to visit a website. For example, my domain name is RedRite.co.uk. You need a domain to read the files stored in your hosting that makes up your website.

A URL is another name for the link to a website but also include the bits after the domain name. So RedRite.co.uk/ is the domain and when put together with a page name or a blog post name it becomes a URL. It is the full website link to any page on a website rather than just the name of the website.

DNS

DNS is something you will hear when discussing your domain and hosting if they are owned by 2 different companies. It stands for Domain Name Servers and is like a directory for your website but in a language a computer can understand. Computers can not read Domain Names so they need it in a terminology they understand, thus DNS settings. DNS settings can also include details in relation to your emails and where they are delivered. I strongly suggest speaking to your domain and host company before making any changes yourself to these settings.

Favicon

Ever noticed on a website tab there is a tiny little logo or image? This is a favicon. It can make your site more recognisable to visitors when flicking between tabs who are more familiar with your logo than your website name.

Hex Code

Been asked for a hex code for a colour on your website but utterly confused? A hex code is computer language for colours, a way for the computer to read the exact colour and shade you want to show. You can easily type in your colour and Hex Code into Google and be shown a long list of hex codes for that particular colour and all its available shades. A hex code begins with a hashtag (#) and usually made up of letters and numbers.

Hosting

This is the home where you will place your website. Hosting is a file on a computer (hosting company server) that holds all the files that create your website. If building a self hosted website then you definitely need hosting to install the software you want to build your website. Whereas services such as Squarespace or Wix provide the hosting for you as part of their package price so you don’t have to worry about it.

HTML

HTML is another website language that determines the structure of the website. When combined with the CSS it makes up what your visitors see. HTML identifies elements such as Images, Paragraphs and links.

CSS Coding
CSS Example

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation is something you have possibly heard of and it is definitely something worth considering with a website. SEO is action taken to make your website search friendly. These actions include having correct Keywords, correctly naming images and making your website user friendly so that you are more visible by search engines. It increases your ‘Free’ or ‘Organic’ rankings on search engines.

SSL Certificate

Security is extremely important these days when cyber crime is becoming a huge expensive industry. Google made it a requirement back in 2017 that any website without an SSL (Security Sockets Layer) certificate would be flagged as unsafe and therefore affect rankings. SSL is a Standard Security Technology that creates an encrypted link between a customer and your website. It helps ensure information such as name, email address and IP address (where your computer lives on the internet) is kept private and safe when visiting your website. With a SSl certificate you will notice the beginning of any URL on your website will be HTTPS:// rather than HTTP://

Is there anymore terms you have heard of and do not understand? Then why not pop them across in an email or message on my Facebook page and I will be more than happy to explain them to you.

Wordpress Versions - which one?

WordPress – What Is the Difference?

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Mention a website building platform and guarantee WordPress will be one of the names mentioned, if not the first. First released in 2003, WordPress now has around 58% of the CMS market share depending which survey you look at (CMS is Content Management System), and around 75% of live websites are either built on WordPress .com or using the .org installation.

But what is the difference between .com and .org? And what is the difference between normal hosting for WordPress and WordPress managed hosting?

WordPress .com

This version of WordPress I hosted by WordPress itself, on their own servers, and there are a number of levels/packages of flexibility available.

  1. Free Package – The most basic package is their free blogging package that provides you with a WordPress domain and a basic platform to blog. They only have 3gb of storage for this site so best for small sites.
  2. Personal Package – Similar to the free package but this allows for a custom domain. A domain ca be bought via WordPress or with an external provider.
  3.  Premium Package – The minimally suitable website for freelancers and business owners who are wanting a platform to advertise their services. This is the first of the packages that allow monetization of the site, including a PayPal button – the Free/Personal packages do not allow any selling on their sites at all!
  4. Business Package – Perfect for a growing business with unlimited storage and monetization allowed. WordPress advertises this as coming with SEO tools as well as Google Analytics integration. This Package also allows the uploading of Plugins and installation of 3rd party themes.
  5. Ecommerce Package – Everything from above plus integrated tools to sell directly through your site. These integrations include currency tools, shipping methods and ecommerce marketing tools – social media and Mailchimp tools.

While perfect for personal blogging and a starter business this version of WordPress can get costly as your website grows, and to a point requires some HTML/CSS knowledge. This is because to achieve a personalised look you will need HTML to code the layout of the pages themselves.

WordPress .org

This is my favourite version of WordPress, and when you ask around in Facebook groups for websites, or how to on websites majority of commenters will be talking about this version. This requires a hosting package, as well as your own domain name but all it takes is a quick 5 minute install – which many hosting companies will do for you – and your site is up and ready to get going. The fees associated are usually an annual fee of your hosting and domain name, while the WordPress version itself is free.

This version allows you to install any number of themes, or to even code your own pages if you prefer using PHP templates page templates. There is thousands of free and paid for plugins that allow you to do anything from take a subscribers details, place a Cookie notice or host a course and membership on your own website.

Not confident in HTML/CSS/PHP – no worries! Page builders such as WPBakery, Divi or Elementor make creating any number of layouts possible, and you can easily drag and drop on to the page different elements such as images, text blocks, sliding images etc

This version of WordPress has been used for websites such as UPS, CBS Radio and countless other Top 500 Companies.

WordPress Managed Hosting

This is where most people get confused when looking for hosting for their WordPress website.

Managed Hosting for WordPress is usually slightly higher in price per month than normal shared hosting, yet cheaper than dedicated hosting. So what exactly is managed hosting and why is it more expensive than standard shared hosting?

Well, it is exactly what it states. The hosting company manage the maintenance of your website for you, running updates and controlling your Cpanel for you – which is perfectly fine if you do not know what you are doing but a number of times I have needed access to a Folder to install something for a client and the hosting company refuses access. The servers themselves used to host these sites is specifically configured to optimise Wordpress websites, and the support you receive is from expert support staff. A down side is though a number of plugins are blocked form running on Managed WordPress sites, usually ones that could potentially slow down your website – however sometimes these plugins are essential so load time has to be sacrificed.

Managed WordPress Hosting Packages comes with a number of pros and is really good for small business owners who need the technical support and want to leave things such as updates to someone else to worry about. However, sometimes you have to weigh the costs, would it be cheaper for you to get Managed WordPress Hosting, or to pay £75 for 90 minutes of training on how to keep on top of your plugins and the basic knowledge of maintaining your site?

 So there we have it, the basics of WordPress Versions. Have you built your site already on WordPress? Then why not share your site on my Facebook page.

Not got a website yet but interested in using WordPress for your site, then give me a call to discuss my WordPress Website Building Packages, all designed to make building your site easy as possible.

Save Money in Business

Saving Money in Your Business

by with No Comment ArticlesBlogs

One thing people are always looking for is to save money. However, following on from a recent networking event the attendees realised that we may not always be as open to saving money as we think. We discussed savings in gas and electric at home, but it got me thinking about ways we can save money in business as well.

So here are my top ways you can save money in your business.

Regularly check contracts

You would be amazed how many people forget their contract end dates. Usually at the end of a contract where you received a really cheap deal at the beginning, the rates will triple in price. If you do not keep track of those contracts due to end you may get stumped with an unexpected payment taken from your account. Such services are hosting packages. Many companies offer an introductory rate for the first 12 months, but on renewal it will go sky high.

Keep a note of these renewal dates and about 2 weeks before they are due start looking around for better deals elsewhere. The same for mobile phone contracts. I saved £20 per month by shopping around for a better deal.

Consider Paying ‘Get Out Fees’ to make long term savings

My mobile phone contract was due to renew in April, at a monthly cost of £53 per month but I had been offered a far better deal by a different provider saving me £20 a month. So, I paid the get out early fees (£40) and saved myself £200 long term that I can look at investing in my business.

Many services from internet and landlines, to service providers such as those of point of sale devices, will have a get out early fee arrangement. It is worth getting someone to look over all your bills for you and see what savings can be made compared to staying with your current provider.

Do You Really Need it?

Another great money saving trick is to check if you actually need a service, or a different level of plan with your current providers. Take for example Dropbox, I was paying monthly for 1TB and yet had less than 1gb of files stored in it, files which I had not touched in around 6 months. At the same time I was paying monthly for my Office 365 business account, which comes with 1TB of One Drive. I removed all business files from my drop box, added them to the One Drive and cancelled the plan. Saving around £90 a year.

Similarly with Hootsuite, I had their premium version which I got at a discount several years ago, yet I had not used it in 18 months! So I cancelled my plan, disconnected the platforms I no longer use and saved my self around £150 a year.

So how could you save money in your business?

Social Media as a Marketing Tool

Social Media – An Important Marketing Tool

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We all accept that social media is essential for a business, but not necessarily understand why. Business owners who hire someone to help with their social media see the money going out and not always see the money coming back, in direct relation to their social media activity.

That is because the return on investment can be low on social media, especially if you choose to avoid using the ads. If you do choose to use ads you find yourself forking out a fortune on them. People get stuck in a rut of feeding money in to the ads, while actual interactions and sales on social media are low.

This is why I feel there is a misconception of how social media can be used as a marketing tool.

How to use social media as a marketing tool – for free!

It is very rare to find anyone over the age 13 who doesn’t have some form of a social media account. It is estimated that by 2020 there will be 2.9 billion social media users worldwide (according to Statista). Just think of all those people scrolling down their screens who could see your business!

And that is just it…

Social media is not necessarily about selling – because to be honest who checks their Facebook or Instagram to go shopping? Social media is about being seen. It is about sharing your brand with the world, so they get to know you, learn about the people behind the brand and for you to build a relationship with them.

Don’t get me wrong, you do still need to post about your product/service. How else will people know what you do? But if all you do is post selling posts, well you can wave good bye to the number of interactions on your page.

When social media first started, it was all about the numbers. The more followers the better, using systems such as like ladders to build a huge following bigger than your competitors. Now though social media is more about the interaction numbers – the impressions, the reach, the number of actions on your page/posts. To obtain these numbers your posts must give people a reason to interact and share with their friends.

Examples of ways to make free social media work

Are you an Author? Then do a leading quote from your book, or even your favourite book, with an eye catching graphic as the background. Are you a Make up artist? Then share a picture collage of your most favourite looks – on you – with one or two tips to make it possible. These types of post are related closely to your business, give a sneak peak in to your services and an insight into you as the owner. It is these types of posts I have seen get some of the highest interaction rates than any other post types.

For example, I recently did a post on procrastination. I was struggling to come up with a plan for a website and was easily getting distracted by personal chores that needed doing. So, I cleaned under my stairs, and took a break. Suddenly the idea I had been struggling to grasp hit me like a 2 by 4 and I was able to sit and complete the website. The aim of the post was to show that even as a business owner I struggle with productivity at times, but it also dropped in a touch of one of my services.

Now this post didn’t get me a rush of people wanting a website, but it did get me a few comments from people, who then mentioned it to their friends. Helping me expand my reach and spreading my business name.

And that was the aim, to interact with those that currently follow me, and have them naturally share my name to others through their interactions with others. All while giving an insight to me as a business owner.

All it takes is just 15 minutes a day to put up a post and interact a little in groups where your audience can be found. Or you can schedule your posts upfront on a weekly/monthly basis then spend 5-10 minutes just interacting a day. While your waiting for the kettle to boil, or the kids to come out of school, there are plenty of easy short times to interact on social media without allowing yourself to get absorbed in it – which I know I can be guilty of!

Social media is about being social, not about selling – its even in the name!

So do not worry if the selling post you put up last week did not result in any sales, as long as your reach/impressions are at least 20% of your followers that post worked to get your name in front of someone, and next month when they are shopping, your name will come to mind!

Business Process, Personal Note from RedRite

Changes to RedRite – and a Personal Note

by with No Comment Blogs

Dear Clients (current and potential),

Throughout July and August I found myself struggling a lot with all my commitments, to you as my client, to my kids as their mum and to myself. Mistakes were made all round to which I apologies for and will be making amends where possible.

Reflecting on those mistakes and looking forward to the next few months I have come to the realisation my business has developed and grown beyond my current processes, to the point they are actually having a negative impact on my business. I find myself checking emails before I have even opened my eyes in a morning, or checking them as they close on an evening. I have found myself trying to research and build websites on my phone while walking around parks with my kids during the day. This as expected has a negative impact on my love for my business but even more so it has a negative impact on the quality of service I am providing.

As many of my clients know I have medical conditions, and a son with disabilities, so we both require a number of medical appointments. As of the 3rd of September I will be taking on the task of going through the Autism Diagnosis process with my son, which will require more than the usual medical appointments. I am also under going treatment on my eyes to prevent any vision loss due to my medical conditions, and will be starting a new medical regime to hopefully improve my health – I have to fight for funding first though! I do not envision this having a major impact on my work but I will keep you updated.

Also in the upcoming months I will be starting Uni studies again. My course starts on the 1st of October and in April I will be taking on a 2nd course which will overlap. These are the last 2 courses for my Uni degree and vital to me receiving my degree so I will need to be able to dedicate the necessary time to them.

Taking all these upcoming changes in to consideration I am changing aspects of my business process to ensure I can fulfil these commitments and also fulfil your projects.

  1. I will no longer reply to messages before 10am in the morning, and after 8pm at night. The exception to this rule is
    • Wednesdays, where I will stop answering messages at 2pm so I can spend the evening studying.
    • Monday’s and Friday’s mornings till 12pm where I will be taking care of household errands and studying.
    • Times when I am involved in my kids after school activities and it is difficult to (usually between 3:30pm and 6pm)
  2. Instead of instant replies with minimal information, replies may take longer, so I can guarantee a more in depth reply with more relevant information. This will avoid messages getting missed, or small tasks being looked over. I understand these are all important but they sometimes are overlooked when buried in emails with big project details.
  3. Sunday’s are my social media day so anything you wish posting for the following week will need to be provided by 1pm Sunday.
  4. Any documents that require regular updates – such as reports or tracking documents – will be saved as an online file for easy access, and to avoid having several copies of the file floating around. A link to this file will be provided when the first document is created.
  5. I have turned off email notifications on my phone to negate the urge to reply while on the go as this has shown to cause quite a few problems, with mistyping and missed messages etc

I hope you can understand the need to fine tune my contact hours, and the way I work to provide a better service to you while also being me, a mum and a student. Many of my clients have always been accepting of my many roles and at times restrictions, to which I am appreciative as I know it can be hard when you want something done urgent. However, this way should create a smoother more efficient working process for all.

If you have any concerns then please do get in touch and I will work with you to relive them.

To anyone out there thinking they are alone struggling with being a business owner – you are not! We all have something going on in the background and it is doesn’t need to be hidden away. You will be surprised how many people are understanding and appreciative of knowing, creating a better working relationship between you.

Care and support

Shari Sant

RedRite Founder

Working with a Virtual Assistant, Remote work, RedRite

How to work with a Virtual Assistant

by with No Comment Blogs

Be warned this holds my personal opinions which some may not like

One of the most common questions I get asked when discussing being a Virtual Assistant with people is how does it actually all work though? Like, how do they send me the tasks, how do they know what tasks to send me, and the questions go on. If you are not sure what tasks to outsource, then check out my Services Page for some ideas.

It can be a daunting task knowing you are handing over responsibility of your business, even just parts of it, to someone else to manage. Many people who have built their business all on their own can struggle with letting go, so knowing how the process works will help ease some of that anxiety.

The biggest success factor of working with a Virtual Assistant is trust, although we don’t expect you to trust explicitly from the word go – because it is very rare you trust someone after meeting them the first time – a little bit of trust and an honest open working relationship can quickly develop that trust to a point you wonder why you didn’t consider hiring a VA before!

There are so many articles online that discuss working with a VA but I found none of them really explained things from our point of view and the ways we feel comfortable working with you. So, here are 3 important factors I feel create the best working relationship between a VA and their client.

  1. Communicating is Key

Usually one of the first questions asked is how do you communicate tasks to a VA? The answer is simply yet very broad. What ever works for you and the VA. Some VAs prefer to use project management or CRM systems such as Trello or Slack which allow you as the client to enter a task, and then communicate any information relating to it. You can then track the process of the task as the VA works on it.

Some, like myself, are happy to just use email or Whatsapp to confer, alongside weekly/monthly telephone calls to update you on the progress. If you have a preference it is always best to discuss this before you get started, so you both understand what is preferred and why.

Regardless of the tools you use what is important is that all the necessary information to complete the task, and your expectations are clearly communicated. Avoid sounding patronising and doubting in their ability to complete the project and offer that bit of trust that they can do it – you wouldn’t have hired them if you didn’t feel they could.

As Virtual assistants we feel more valued if our clients talk to us, let us know where they want to take their business, any problems they are coming across and anything that could help us improve the services we offer, as well as have a greater understanding of you and your business.

  1. Sharing is caring.

Sharing necessary information and documents is vital to getting a project off the ground, and if your assistant has them all upfront then there is less time and stress on both sides later on. You can share via email, or via a transfer system such as WeTransfer. A more efficient way and beneficial for long term work is creating a shared folder in a system such as Dropbox to keep everything in one place. What is better is if it can be integrated with the project management system to keep files and information linked with the task associated with it.

I strongly suggest sending files though with identifiable titles. Instead of xyz123.doc, save the file as Project A Information.doc this way it makes it easier to locate the file and link it to the required project/task. Also if you update the file change the title to state the date updated or which version it is, there are a number of times I have been sent the same file yet it has a number of changes from clients and when looking for them later it has taken tracking the original email to identify which is which version. I had one client who send each file with v1, v2 etc afterwards and this made it so easy for the pair of us to track everything.

  1. Respect

It seems a silly thing, but respect goes a long way to building a trusting long lasting work relationship.  I hear so many heart wrenching stories of Vas who have been treated like a lackey or as close to a coffee girl as you can get remotely. It wears a person doing being treated like that, especially one who is also a business owner and is there to help you with yours. We have a far better understanding of the trials and tribulations that a business owner goes through, allowing us to sympathise with you and offer solutions that actually work. We, like you, have working hours, we have times when we are happy to contacted, and we also have families and other commitments.

More and more VAs are ending agreements with their clients because of this lack of respect. We accept it can be hard to let go at first, but if after 6 months you still can not let go and are micro managing then that VA is not the one for you because no trust has been built.

Not all VAs agree with my methods, feeling their personal lives should be kept separate, but I am upfront with my clients about my children. about my uni studies (which will end in September 2019) as well as my medical conditions. So, they know in advance why I have the hours I do, why sometimes I am delayed in replying and I feel it helps them get to know me as a person better.

Working with a Virtual Assistant is no different to working with any employee/Business partner, you share necessary information with them for them to complete their assigned tasks, you chat to them about the tasks so they know what your expectations are and you be nice to one another. The only difference is the software used and the fact meetings have to be done via video conference (unless like some of my clients you live close to one another and can meet for coffee). The hardest part is you can not watch over their shoulder while they do the work like you might do with an in-house assistant.

So, what is now stopping you from working with a Virtual Assistant?

Liz Hall, Business Branding, Liz Hall Design

10 steps to brand your brilliant business

by with No Comment Blogs

Branding your small business is one of the best things you can do to make yourself recognisable to your customers (and potential customers). And it helps you stand out from the rest of your competitors.

And it’s not as difficult as you might think.

It’s all about your logo

Your logo is a great starting point as it’s the visual mark which makes you instantly recognisable.

Whether you create one yourself or hire a professional, make sure you have a good logo which represents you and your business.

Pick a font or two

Fonts are like people, they each have their very own characteristics and personality.
What we’re aiming to do is pick 2 – 3 fonts that complement both your logo and your business personality – fun, quirky, traditional, modern.
Then try sticking to these fonts for all your marketing – your business stationery, leaflets, website and social media images.

Create a colour palette

Choose 3-5 colours that complement your logo and make a note of the RGB and # values.
That’s it!

Choose images that reflect your brand

Whilst I always advocate getting professional photography where ever possible, it’s not always possible. So stock photography has its place but choose wisely.
I’m a big advocate of Pinterest and always advise creating a branding board. Pick images that you feel reflect your business and its personality. Try create a theme or style – it might be particular colours, or a background, or objects.

Keep referring back to it when searching for stock photography.

Find your voice

The way you write is as important as the way you look. Again, it has to be consistent with your logo and your business personality.

Now that you have the basics in place, all you have to do is make sure that every thing you put in front of your customers follows these brand guidelines as you never know where your customers will find you.

Print

Check all your print and make sure everything is consistent – colours, fonts, images, logo. And most importantly, make sure your message is consistent. Customers need to know at a glance who you are and so make sure your business card, flyer, leaflet or brochure is properly branded.

And while we’re at it, check everything you ever send to a customer – quotes, invoices, freebies, information sheets, envelopes. Everything you give or send your customer should have your logo and contact details.

Social media

Keep your social media as consistent as possible – use the same image, icon or photo of yourself.

Although each platform is very different, a common style running through your accounts is important. Make your headers similar with your style of image and colours. Create posts that are uniquely your style and voice so followers can recognise you in their feed.

Website

Your website is your 24 hour shop front.

Your print, social media and website should all balance and complement each other, and give the same message about your business. If they don’t work in harmony, your customers will get mixed messages making it harder for them to buy from you.

Blogging

Apparently blogs are one of the most believed forms of marketing and people are more likely to believe the information they read on them.
Having a blog on your website helps build trust with your customers and potential customers.

Face to face

If we run our own business then we ourselves are the face and personality of that business. How we present ourselves to the world is just as important as having a good logo or the right imagery.

We can hide behind social media and our websites but at some point we all face our customers – in a shop, networking, meetings, videos or Facebook Live.

And finally

Keep following the guidelines you’ve created will make your design and marketing so much easier as you won’t be spending hours looking for the right images, colours and fonts. Your print, social media and website will all look consistent, no matter where you customers find you.

This Guest Blog was written by Liz Hall, from Liz Hall Design

Liz Hall DesignLiz Hall Design works with small businesses to create fresh and modern brands that sparkle and put the fizz back into your business.

Make your customers notice you and engage with you from the minute they see your business card, website, social media, newsletter, leaflets and postcards.

Interested in working with me? Get in touch!

Call me 07890 748790
Email me hello@lizhalldesign.co.uk