Well, I actually managed to get it done! This morning I launched my third blog…DanaWallert.com, another blog about blogging!
I’m excited to be able to blog freely about all the ins and outs of the blogosphere that I find intriguing! And thank goodness, it’s finished so I can get back to writing and stumbling!
Well, I don’t know that it’s definitively the number one blogging rule. But one of the keys to blogging and online business in general is knowing your purpose and sticking to it.
Now, I’ve been having so much fun hanging out in the blogosphere with all my new found blogger pals, that it occurred to me this morning that I’ve gone a bit off track with this blog.
This blog is housed on http://www.dwwebsolutions.com - my small business website design site. DW Web Solutions designs basic websites for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Now, there’s a lot of gray area in here, but in reading through my posts from the last week, and my focus has definitely shifted towards blogging about blogging.
Don’t worry I’m not regretting that trend, in fact I’m been enjoying it immensely! But I think it’s time to bring this blog back to dealing with the business of taking small business’ online and away from the ins and outs of blogging and social media.
Now, you may be thinking shouldn’t those be one in the same? Possibly, but for the majority of my clients, no. My posts of late have been a little out of the realm of most of my customers, and I’ve had some feedback along those lines!
So anyway, I’m going to spend the weekend working on building my third blog…my blog about blogging…I know just what the world needs, another one of those! But this one will be more fun for me, a place to talk and share with my fellow bloggers about the ups and downs, the brilliant and strange of blogging and yes, my love of StumbleUpon and obsession with becoming a top stumbler!
I’m still going back and forth on the name…I have several domains in mind. And you’ll definitely hear about it as soon as I have all the details straightened out.
Meanwhile, I will continue my daily posting here on all things small business, web design and search engine stuff…just a little less SU, Digg and Wordpress!
I hope you’ll all come visit me at all my online homes (hopefully just the three, but I don’t trust myself much when I’m buying domain names! I tend to treat GoDaddy like it’s a sample sale at Jimmy Choo and buy, buy, buy!) 
PS If anybody has any great ideas for “bloggy” blog names for me, I’m always open to suggestions!
I DO!
Somewhere after 2AM this morning, I officially surpassed 1,000 likes on my StumbleUpon!
Now, I’m definitely hooked. I have a naturally competitive nature and am a sucker for “top” anything titles!
I’ve learned a lot about StumbleUpon and what it can do! I posted a list of some of my favorite posts on SU. I also saw a huge surge in traffic to my blogs thanks to SU.
I am so pleased with the traffic benefits I’ve seen from SU, but more importantly I have stumbled upon some amazing blogs and run across some great people.So here is my mission…I want to hit the top stumblers page by October 31st. Why Halloween? I have no idea, just seemed like a decent amount of time. Is it possible? I have no idea. But I know it’s impossible without a little help.
By the way, I’m not deluded…I am aware that the title is fleeting and most likely meaningless in the long term, but my ego never likes to let a challenge go untried!
What can you do?
What’s in it for you?
Not a Stumbler? Go sign up today…the benefits are amazing!
So come on everyone, let’s do this! Help me, help you, by helping me!
| Month | Unique visitors | Number of visits | Pages | Hits | Bandwidth |
| May 2007 | 296 | 613 | 1075 | 4897 | 94.02 MB |
| Jun 2007 | 771 | 1667 | 2702 | 10090 | 258.44 MB |
| Jul 2007 | 734 | 1705 | 3223 | 11747 | 267.12 MB |
| Aug 2007 | 806 | 2224 | 7407 | 30894 | 356.60 MB |
| Sep 2007 | 2895 | 3612 | 19484 | 91633 | 642.24 MB |
Alexa traffic rank based on a combined measure of page views and users (reach)
| Yesterday | 1 wk. Avg. | 3 mos. Avg. | 3 mos. Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A* | 153,455 | 991,631 |  6,940,2544 |
Those numbers are kind of unbelievable to me as this is truly the fruits of about 7 or 8 days of dedicated blogging! Note the traffic numbers for September which are substantially larger than the previous four months and we’re only at Sept. 8th!
I have had this blog going for over a year. Unfortunately, I had kind of let is slide over the first 6 months or so of this year. At the end of August, I decided to rededicate myself to blogging in general.
I have never had a lot of traffic coming into this site. Which was overall not that unexpected or problematic, as a very specific service business who was not focusing much on the traffic aspect, I was pretty happy when I could land 50 new visitors a week. I never even bothered to check the Alexa rank or many other stats programs for it because as I said, that really wasn’t my focus.
But as I’ve been significantly increasing my efficiency in actually designing my client’s websites, I’ve had a lot more time on my hands for other marketing methods. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and I’ve seen what blogging has done to help my client’s sites in terms of the search engines too.
What Did I Do?
So you can see, I really didn’t do any earth shattering…just implemented what all of the best have been recommending forever. But what amazes me is that you don’t have to be a professional blogger or blogging expert to be able to get the results from any of these techniques. All you have to be is determined and sleep deprived!
Only time will tell whether this new endeavor will have any real ROI in terms of my website design business, but I’ve already had several referrals from it…so my prediction would be definitely!
As I mentioned above, I have discovered a lot of great blogs and bloggers and online friends in general in the last two weeks or so. Here are a few…check out their stuff and subscribe to their feeds. They’re brilliant and even better eager to help!
So I’m checking around on my latest article Building Street Cred for Your Small Business and I have to say I was quite amused…sort of. I know that people steal stuff online…it just happens. I also know that people buy “so-called” private label rights articles and put them out as their own work just changing a word here or there. I personally can’t stand the thought of putting my name on something that I:
1) didn’t write and 2) don’t think is good
…but that’s an entirely different issue…
So for the first time I’ve run into a ridiculous hybrid. This blog “Or Capital On At” whatever that’s supposed to mean…and no I am certainly not going to link to them, has put up the following…
Building Street Cred for Your Small Business
“As a substance of principle, I never go to the first yearly anything.” - Saint George Carlin
As an entrepreneur, one of the toughest barriers you run into when first starting out is edifice your reputation. Whether you are in a service industry or merchandising your ain new merchandise line, how make you carry prospects to go clients? At times, it can look like an impossible task, but take heart, there are things you can do.
My first piece of advice for any new concern proprietor is usage the people you know! Whether it’s friends, family, past employers or neighbors, do certain everyone you cognize (and everyone they cognize for that matter) is in the cringle about your new concern venture. I would propose sending out an e-mail to everyone on your contacts listing giving them a dislocation of what you’re doing and asking them to go through it along to anyone they cognize who might be interested in your service or product. You’d be amazed how fast your contact listing can multiply by just asking the people you cognize to go through your information along. You can even include a particular Family and Friends offering or discount. Remember, it takes a batch of work and money to acquire your concern off the ground. Even if you only interrupt even or lose a spot of money on these sales, the portfolio and/or great mentions or testimonies you addition will be invaluable in the hereafter of your business!
Ok, so maybe you got a few gross gross sales or undertakings out of that and you have got a few solid mentions under your belt, now what? I would propose before you throw a clump of money into conventional advertisement that you take a small more than clip to really construct a first social class client list. I’ve establish one attack to tapping into a grouping of possible clients that is a small friendlier than your tally of the factory cold-calling assault. Range out to prospects that you already have got got something in common with or a connexion of any kind.
For example, when I began selling my web land site designing business, it was indispensable for me to have a solid portfolio before I could anticipate company’s who ran across me through conventional advertisement or hunt engines to swear me enough to set their company’s online mental image in my hands. So after contacting friends and household and completing a few undertakings for them, I took it a measure further.
I reached out to little concerns and enterprisers locally. By specifically approaching that group, I had at least two things in common with these new contacts: location and the battle of starting out. I establish this extremely effectual and made some great connexions by being completely honorable and unfastened with them about what I was doing and what I was hoping to accomplish. And of course, I always included information about how a website could assist them in their selling efforts.
Once I had pretty much exhausted those possibilities, I racked my encephalon for another grouping of prospects I could approach. I thought of what groupings of people I would have got some kind of natural resonance with and whom I would be fairly comfy contacting out of nowhere. For me, this mark marketplace came to mind on a Saturday afternoon while at a Equus caballus show. I grew up riding Equus caballuses and still bask my Equus caballus time! I then realized that there was a big per centum of barns I was familiar with that didn’t have got websites. So from there, I began contacting each and every barn that had an address, telephone figure or e-mail computer address listed! I got a nice amount of concern out of my attempts and managed to construct a solid portfolio to boot.
Starting out in the concern human race is always a challenge. When it come ups to little concern success, repute and mentions are key. Don’t acquire discouraged, just happen your ain grouping of “friendly” prospects and leap in!
Feel free to check out the real article here.
So is that what those software programs they sell that change articles enough so that they’re not identical to the other copies out there? It’s like Mad Libs on crack! Dear God, I’m glad my name isn’t on that! I also apologize to Saint George for even having his quote trashed…but hey, at least he gained sainthood!
I’m proud to announce the launch of our latest web design project. We’re once again stepping into the world of restaurant website design.
Left Coast Pizza in Chico, CA had a basic site put together with their hosting company’s sitebuilder. We went in and updated the site, including more photos, updated text, an online menu and live music schedule.
Without further ado, I give you Left Coast Pizza…
I’m finally fitting in some writing time, and I’ve just finished my latest article. I’d love to hear your thoughts on maintaining small business websites. Let me know what you think!
The Lindsay Lohan Approach to Website Management
By Dana Wallert
As we’ve all witnessed, maintaining anything, be it sobriety, sanity or search engine rankings takes consistency and dedication. You may have had an awesome website when you launched it five years ago, but gradually you’ve seen your traffic, earnings and search engine rankings falling. So is the answer to send your entire site to rehab once everything goes wrong?
Simply put, no. There are many things you can do on a regular basis to make sure you’re staying on the right track.
Make sure you update the information on your website as you do with any other marketing information. If you’ve stopped selling a certain product or service, make sure your website reflects that. Similarly, if you add services or products make sure you are showcasing those on your site.
Also, having a news section or even better a blog that you update regularly with any news, latest projects, tips or other information relevant to your business is a great way to make sure your site is staying fresh to readers and to the search engines!
Likewise, make sure you are maximizing any relationships you have with online and offline partners or groups. If you belong to the Chamber of Commerce in your town, make sure that your website is listed in any directories, and especially make sure they add a link to your listing in any online directory. The same goes for any other industry or local business groups you belong to. A lot of people have belonged to these type of organizations for years before they even had a website, so make sure you have updated any and all places where you are already listed. Equally, always include your website on any membership applications or directory listings that you submit in the future.
In the same way, any forums or blogs you consistently read will usually allow you to list your website in your profile or in some form in the comments you leave. Think of your website address as your online AmEx…don’t leave home without it. The more references (links) to your site that appear across the internet the more important and relevant the search engines determine you to be. They will reward you with higher rankings for related keyword searches.
So as you can see, the key to managing your website is really to stay on top of it. Pick up good simple habits, and your website will continue to serve you well! There are Promises-like website design firms that can take your website at its rock-bottom and completely rehab it, but by proactively managing your site you can save yourself a lot of time and money. So please, commit to your site’s success, and remember to take your website management one day at a time!
I’m pleased to announce the launch of our latest website. Conestogas Restaurant in Alachua, FL wanted a site that was inspired by their existing menu design, allowed customers to view and print their menus in PDF form and also had a nice flash photo gallery to show off the pictures of their beautiful Main Street restaurant!
It was great to work with Rick on this site, and I’m looking forward to getting started on a site for another of his restaurants!
Wow, I’ve been so busy designing sites for other people that I have been putting off giving my own site a little makeover. Well, I finally put myself closer to the top of my priority list.
As of this evening, DW Web Solutions has an entirely new look. I am really pleased with it. My favorite upgrades are the moving gallery of screenshots on the home page and the new gallery set up on my portfolio page.
In the past week, I am proud to announce that we have launched another 2 new websites by DW Web Solutions!
Our first launch was for Boland Recreation in Marshalltown, IA.
Our second launch of the last week was for JMAR Property Inspections in Indio, CA.
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