HAVE A LOT TO SHARE?

A blog might be the way to go. If you can get a following, you'll be considered an expert in your field, and that in turn will drive sales.

Or maybe you would just like some help from a certified nerd to get your personal blog in tip-top shape?

We'll help you learn how to manage your readers expectations and provide content without driving yourself insane. In the meantime, here are some tips.

10 Blogging Tips from a Web Nerd

1. Decide why you are you blogging.

Nothing gets done really well if you don't know why you're doing it.  You need to decide WHY you are blogging before you can make intelligent decisions about things like how to best setup your blog, or how to be found by your target audience.  Deciding why you blog doesn't require any nerdy, zen-like advice, but I wanted to start here so you can apply all the following suggestions in some sort of useful way, and not willy-nilly like a wild Comanche.

Some reasons you might be blogging:

• You like to write, and you really don't care if anyone reads your stuff.  (You're totally lying to yourself about that second part, but "I like to write" IS a good reason to write.)
• You want to become a famous blogger/writer. (OK, now you're starting to be honest. See? Doesn't that feel good?)
• You want to promote your brand, products and services.
• You want to be seen as an expert in your field.
• You want to become a RICH and famous blogger/writer. (note: there is a BIG difference between this and the last option. Hint: it's the word "rich.")
• You want to share your thoughts with a community of like-minded people.
• You're a mommy, and they made you start a Mommy Blog before they let you leave the hospital with your baby.

Take a moment to ponder your reasons for writing. If you want followers other than your family, your friends and the uncomfortably sincere girl who started talking to you in the checkout line last week, you might want to employ some of the following nerd-approved ideas.

2. Research your blogging platform.

I'm not going to go into details about what blogging platform is best, because that is a whole article unto itself. There are quite few to choose from, including WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, TypePad, blah blah blah. The main thing you need to keep in mind is that any "free" service you use is going to limit your ability to control it. So, if you have grand plans for your blog, find a nerdy friend and self-host WordPress or some other open-source program that lets you hack away at as needed. This gives you THE POWER to do anything you want (improve search engine optimization, add new ways for people to follow you, change themes, add shopping carts, etc.).

I understand self hosting requires a little money and the ability to edit the more mysterious parts of the system. Installing and tweaking can cost anywhere from almost nothing to a lot, depending on your needs and the conscience of the person you hire. I understand if you want to go with a free option. I'm just saying, there will be limitations. And transferring two years of postings to a new system once you decide you need more flexibility might be difficult.

When a cookie-cutter web design that looks like every other won't do, Vansant Creations' custom web design can make you stand out from the crowd. Whether you need:

• A clean and effective online brochure
• A site with an online shopping cart or other ecommerce ability
• A content management system (CMS) that will make it easy for you and your staff to make updates
• A small, affordable web site to give your business an online presence
• A landing page design to use with advertising and help you convert visitors into sales

we can provide you with a site optimize for your goals.

Isn't it time to get the animated mailbox off your site?

Vansant Creations can give you a whole new look, and a much more effective online marketing presence.

WE'LL REVIEW YOUR CURRENT SITE FOR FREE

Contact us and we'll review your current site, give you ideas, and send you a free web design quote. Most web design quote requests are answered within hours.

Don't struggle with some awful "do it yourself" web site template, just because you don't have a big web design budget.

Your time is worth MORE than that.

We can do clean, professional web sites (that are NOT from a template we've sold to other people) for a fraction of the cost of a larger custom site. No picking from a set list of templates.

• Custom Design
• Search Engine Optimization
• Submission to Search Engines
• Easy-to-use Menu Structure
• User Interface Considerations
• 1 Year of Free Hosting

Once you have your core site developed, you can always expand it by adding any number of add-ons, only as you need them. The good bones are already there.

Vansant Creations' web site maintenance and support is one of the major components that sets our services apart. We don't lose interest after the initial design. Every month we get new clients who have been abandoned by large agencies who lost interest in their project after the last large check was cashed.

Sometimes you only need little tweaks here and there, but you need someone to do them.

WHAT'S A LANDING PAGE?

Sometimes the first page of your web site is NOT the best place for a potential client to start.

For instance, if you are doing marketing, either print or online, that is pushing a certain product - shouldn't you push them towards a page dedicated to that product? You don't want to send them to your home page, where they might be distracted or confused by other offerings.