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How to Market Your Web Design Business with Article Writing

Article writing and submission is a free and low cost way to market your web design business. It can be effective if you know the rules and submit articles on a regular basis. Well-written articles can help to position you as an expert and leader in the web design industry, which is appealing to prospective clients. It can also generate a buzz about your business that can lead to more inquiries and eventually more sales. Here’s how to approach article writing and submission the right way:

Avoid Duplicate Content

A big mistake that you can make as a web design business owner when it comes to article writing is submitting content “as-is” that’s already on your website. Major search engines frown upon this practice. They reward websites that have original content, and often punish websites with duplicate content by lowering their page ranks. One trick that search engine optimization (SEO) experts use is to rewrite the same article at least two different ways. There are tools on the web to help you with this. You can use a free or paid duplicate content checker to compare two articles you’ve written. When you’re sure that the articles are not identical, you can submit one article and post the other one on your own website. Another method is to write some articles for your website only, and write others for the purpose of submitting them online. Whichever method you choose, it’s important that you avoid duplicate content on the web.

Submit Articles to Websites with High Rankings

You want clients to find your articles, so it’s important to submit them to directories, article databases and other article publishing websites that have high rankings. Here are some top websites that should be on your list:

• Ezinearticles.com
• Knol.google.com
• Hubpages.com
• Squidoo.com
• Articlebase.com

The one exception to this rule is if you find a web design business community where establishing your credentials and expertise would be a good move for your business. The website’s rank is irrelevant in that case, and you should focus on regular article writing and submission for targeted websites.

Write a Great Resource Box

Your incentive for providing free content to these article publishers is the promotion that your web design business will get from the resource box. Whether it’s called the resource box or bio, the idea is that you get to state your name, tell a little about yourself and include a link back to your website. Readers who want to learn more about your services will read this and click on the link to visit your website. You’ll miss the opportunity to capture more leads if you write a dull resource box.  Use the following tips to write an effective one:

• Include your call to action, such as click on the link for a free consultation
• Use one or two keywords that you target on your website
• Offer a benefit to readers to draw them to your website
• Include your personal and business name

Readers will ignore a bland resource box. They will move on to the next article on the topic and forget about you and your web design business.

Outsource your article writing and submission needs if you’re overwhelmed with other work. You can hire freelance writers to help with one or both of these so that you can concentrate on other essential functions of your web design business.

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Writing Content for Your Website

Writing content for your website is an essential business strategy. Traffic flows to your website based on the content that’s on it. The first contact that many of your prospective clients and employers will have with you is your website. A polished website with solid content can foster great leads and keep prospects interested in learning more about your services. A poorly written website or one that contains sparse or little content can lead to a lack of confidence in clients who otherwise wanted to do business with you.  Follow these tips when writing content to present your services in the best light possible:

Quality Beats Low Prices

There’s a trend that’s heavily promoted by Internet marketers that has led to poor quality writing on websites. The advice given by the so-called experts is to hire writers for very low pay to generate a large amount of content on an ongoing basis. You get what you pay for, and in many cases, the content contains spelling and grammatical errors, does not translate well with an English speaking audience, offers little information and is difficult to read. Quality content will establish your credibility, expertise and brand in the online marketplace. When you’re thinking about writing content for your website, concentrate on quality. If you need to outsource it to freelance writers, make sure that you find ones that can deliver quality work. You’ll pay more, but you may earn more in sales as a result.

Learn SEO Techniques

Quality writing is one half of the equation. You need to compete with other websites that have similar content, and you can do that with effective search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.  There’s a lot of information on the web about SEO, from understanding what it is to how to use it for article writing. You can learn more about it from a blog post by Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s Webspam Team.  What you need to remember is that one of the ways your clients and employers will find you online is by typing keywords in a search engine. If you can prepare relevant articles that contain those keywords in the body as well as in the titles, then your website has a better chance of appearing in the first couple of pages of the search results. Learn as much as you can about SEO techniques and article writing, because there are many other factors that you have to take into consideration to elevate your online presence.

Use Subheadings

Web surfers have little tolerance for lengthy articles that aren’t broken up. Readers want to glance through subheadings quickly to see whether your content is what they are looking for. When you’re writing content for your website, break up your text by using subheadings. It’s effective to use numbers, tips or brief titles for your subheadings. You should also refer to the AP Stylebook for how to title subheadings, because it’s the most common format used in article writing.

If you need help writing content for your website, or if you could use an extra set of eyes to review and improve it, then hire a freelance writer or editor. There are several online writing communities for freelance writers where you can post job ads. You can also search the web for writers or post an ad on Craigslist.com.

Resources:

http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/seo-advice-writing-useful-articles-that-readers-will-love/

http://www.apstylebook.com/

Booklet with Stitched-in Folded Insert

5 Good Reasons to Take a Break at Work

Every once in a while, you need to be reminded to take a break at work. Freelancers and entrepreneurs have one thing in common: They tend to be workaholics. Working hard to perfect your craft and making sure that you’re earning enough money to pay your bills is a good thing. You’ll do yourself, your family and your clients a favor, though, if you take breaks.  You can experience great benefits as a result. Here are five good reasons to stop working and take a break:

Reason #1 – Produce High Quality Work

Looking at your work with “fresh eyes” can make all the difference in landing a gig, outbidding competitors and delivering quality work to clients. When you take a break at work, your brain functions better and you think clearer.  You may think that you’re maximizing your time by not taking breaks, but what might be happening is that you’re wasting more time. For example, it’s easy to zone out while you’re working on a design for long hours. Your brain is ready to take a break even if you’re unwilling. Rather than waste that time, and bill your clients for it, do what your mind wants you to do. Take a short break.  You will produce higher quality work as a result.

Reason #2 – Relieve Stress

A simple way to relieve stress is to take a break at work. If you don’t remove yourself from the work, at least mentally if not physically, then the stress will pile up like your workload. Find things to do that you enjoy that can be done in a short amount of time.  Checking your email or engaging in more online activities is not really considered a break when you’re working on web design or graphics work. Take a real break. Play with your kids, your pets, go and check the mail, or play your favorite song. It will help to diffuse some of the stress you’re experiencing. The truth is, stress does impact your profitability because it impacts the quality of work you produce. If nothing else, think of it as part of being a successful freelancer or entrepreneur.

Reason #3 – Shorten the Work Day

Your work hours may remain the same when you take a break at work, but it’s going to feel shorter.  Your body and your mind can feel the difference when you work for long hours without a break. Short spurts of 10 or 15 minute breaks refresh the body and you won’t feel the mental or physical pressure as much. However, you don’t want to overdo your breaks and end up with too little time to complete all of your work. One break every three or four hours is often enough to get you through a work day.

Reason # 4 – Take Time to Eat

Don’t forget to take a lunch break, and there may be times when you need a snack as well. Working while hungry is difficult and can be counterproductive. A good reason to take a break at work is to eat a healthy snack. You should avoid high sugars if possible; you don’t want to slow down your work by having to metabolize all the sugar you ate.

Reason # 5 – Have More Energy for Other Things

You should do all that you can to minimize the habit of ending work every day exhausted. It can take a toll on your family and loved ones, your personal activities and other business pursuits. You’ll feel less pain from a heavy workload when you take breaks than if you don’t. You’ll have that much more energy to accomplish all of your other duties and responsibilities.

Don’t expect a life makeover when you take a break at work, but it will have a great impact on your physical, mental and emotional health. Your business will improve, and the results will pay dividends.

How to Get a DBA for Your Graphic Design or Web Design Business

It’s a New Year and your resolutions may include starting your own graphic design business or web design business. Before you take the plunge, it’s important to get a few legalities out of the way. You’ll be glad you did because of the tax savings, and you can protect your personal assets as a result. The good news is that you don’t need to hire an attorney to take care of the basics, although it doesn’t hurt to get to know one early on in case you have questions or run into more complex issues. One important legal aspect of launching your own business is to get your DBA, also referred to as “doing business as” or a fictitious business name.  It’s a way to register your business with your state. Here’s how:

Step # 1 – Figure out Whether You Need It

You may not need to register your business.  Some states don’t require you to get a DBA if your business name includes your first and last name. For example, a business called “Jane Doe Graphics” does not need to be registered. If you decide to incorporate your business, then you don’t need to get a DBA. The exception to that rule is if you conduct business under a different name in the state.

Step #2 – Contact the Right Government Agency

Each state registers DBAs differently. You may have to register your graphic design business or web design business with your county or with the state through the Secretary of State’s office.  You can find out which office is the right one by searching the state and county websites. Once you figure out who to register your DBA with, you can proceed with the registration process.

Step # 3 – Fill out a Statement or Buy a Business Certificate

The rules for how to get a DBA also vary from state to state. It may be as simple as filling out a fictitious business name statement. The statement is usually one page that asks for your contact information, the contact information of any business co-owners, your business structure (ex: sole proprietorship, limited liability company), and a declaration which states that the information you’re providing is true and correct. Some states require you to buy a business certificate. You’ll have to provide the same information, except you’ll need to get it notarized.

Step # 4 – Pay the Fees

Whatever the procedure, you can expect to pay filing fees to get a DBA for your graphic design business or web design business.  The fees are listed on the fictitious business name statement. You may have to research the fee for a certificate on your county or state’s website.  Paying the fee can be worth it, because when you get your DBA you can legally enforce contracts that you sign during the course of your business activities, and it puts the public on notice that you are using the name.  You’ll also have an easier time dealing with financial institutions, such as opening a business bank account.

Getting a DBA for your graphic design business or web design business is a simple process. Choosing a name for your business that will lead to a memorable brand is the tough part.

Business & Professional Services Texas

I stumbled accross this site while doing some tax work and for those of you that live in Texas where I do, you can find some great resources for your business online at texas.gov.

Checkout the Business and Professional section:
http://www.texas.gov/en/Discover/Pages/topic.aspx?topicid=/business