My Hosting Tips

Archive for January 23rd, 2010

Before Designing Your Website

I recently went shopping for a new handbag. I have back problems and wanted one that I could carry in my hand rather than over my shoulder.

I had various criteria to consider:

• What size? A biggish one that I could hold everything in or a smaller one for necessities then I could carry a briefcase for all the rest when require?
• The ubiquitous black or should I go for something more colourful funkier?
• Shiny or matt?
• Leatherlook or the real deal?

As I wandered around the many shops I realised that looking for a handbag could be analogous to the questions that you should ask when thinking about a website.

• What size should you have? A big site with every conceivable piece of information on it and loads of different pages and subpages? Or a smaller site with the basic relevant info and a form or contact page for any further questions?
• Should the site be plain and functional or bright and in your face?
• Lots of web applications and flash or keep it simple?
• Do you employ a professional or DIY?

That last comment I have already written an article on see here but the rest need further consideration.

First and foremost you should be considering not what YOU want but what your CUSTOMER wants and needs.

Size doesnt necessarily matter so think about whether your customer needs a full list of your products and services or is a rough idea more appropriate? Would your customer be prepared to search through the site for what they want or do they just want to make a quick visit for pertinent information? Would your customer like to have a place where they could give you feedback or leave a message 24/7?

Plain or pretty? What type of customer are you aiming for? Would they appreciate being faced with a colourful and funky site or do they really want just a way of getting information in a clear and concise manner?

Do they flash? Are your customers the type of up to the minute guys who like a few effects on a site or are they cautious when faced with anything too flashy?

If you have some idea of what you want when going into thinking about a website then you are more likely to come out feeling as though you have the handbag you really wanted.

NB. If youre interested I went for a smallish mattblack bag with a bright pink lining.

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Wife mother and web designer who likes to write in my spare time.
My business Bay Web Designs aims to provide an attractive effective yet affordable web presence to SMEs and individuals.

Keys To Avoiding The Junk Folder

One of the biggest problems facing email marketing is keeping your mail out of the junk folder. Internet Service Providers ISPs and antispam software that is installed on users computers will often automatically assign incoming email messages to junk or spam folders. Unfortunately this happens without you even knowing about it resulting in your message being unread. There are a few precautions that you can take to reduce the likelihood of your message being flagged thereby increasing the chances of your message being read.

Use of Trigger words
There are certain words that will trigger spam filters to flag your message as spam. A good practice is to check your email or newsletter through a program like Spam Assassin. Such a spam program will identify the words that may increase the message spam rating and some will even eliminate or disguise them. This action will ensure that your mail will pass through the filters and get to your subscribers.

Care with subject line
An important measure to reduce the likelihood of your message being identified as spam is to use an appropriate subject line. It is good practice to identify your message to your subscribers by placing your name or publication in the subject line. Some will use brackets to surround the newsletter publication name to reduce spam identification. In order to make sure that your message is read it is good to use an interesting subject line that readers will be excited to open.

Short and honest
Try to reduce hype and advertising jargon from your messages by including only important information. Do not try to lengthen your message by adding sales copy or advertising language. Often times the more concise your message the less chance that it includes triggers words and most readers also enjoy targeted messages.

Request a white listing
A white listing from your subscribers will ensure that your messages reach their inbox. In the welcome letter of your autoresponder request your subscribers to white list your publication. Some even place a white list reminder on their thank you pages after a subscribers opts into your list. You may even want to spend a few minutes to setup some test accounts with popular free email clients like; Yahoo MSN Hotmail Gmail etc to check if your newsletter is being sent to the junk folder.

Use a reputable email list management and autoresponder service
One of the most important steps that you can take to increase the deliverability of your messages is to use a highly respected list management service. Services that are tough on spam are recognized by ISPs and enable significantly higher deliverability rates. Most of these services require or strongly recommend the use of double optin list building. Be sure to review your deliverability and bounce reports to fully understand your deliverability rates.

Send a web link for your newsletter
Another method often used to minimize the effect of spam filters is to minimize the number of words that are in your email or newsletter. By minimizing the number of words you reduce the risk of being nabbed by a spam filter. Many publishers will send an introduction paragraph to their newsletter or blog post and provide a web link where the reader can find the remainder of the message.

Quality is the key
Make sure you send only a quality publication to keep your user open rate high and to prevent subscribers from blocking your email or reporting your messages as spam. Continued spam reporting can result in an ISP shutting down your website.

Follow these points and you will be able to get a higher percentage of your emails to reach the intended recipients. Higher deliverability combined with a sufficient open rate will make your email marketing campaigns more effective.

About the writer:  Brad Semp uses his Cashmap techniques to lead entrepreneurs and business owners to higher revenues and profits. Brad provides free stepbystep help for setting up an email list management and autoresponder service in his Listping Cashmap product at http://www.ListpingCashmap.com