Guest Posts – Keep Up With The Web

Keeping Your Online Business Secure

Running an online business can be a very rewarding opportunity. Due to the potential savings for the business owner from not paying for a physical storefront, online businesses can often offer services and products for a better price to their customers or, at the very least, afford to offer free shipping. Both can drive a lot of business to their websites from those looking for a deal or those who simply do not have the time to shop at their local stores.

The main problem lies in the fact that running an online business can bring about security risks, not only to your customers, but also to yourself. No one online is immune to cyberattacks, and many aren’t even aware of how to protect themselves online to begin with. Though data breaches could still happen when you’re well protected, it’s very rare, and by following some simple security tips, you may never have to deal with the devastating effects of a security breach at all.

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How Convincing Content Can Get Your Customers to Buy

Any digital marketer will tell you that the average conversion rates they get from websites hovers between 2 to 6% across the board. Of course there are outliers at both ends of the spectrum, however, that’s the ballpark in which most websites operate. So what do the high performing outliers do that sets them apart from the average Joes?

In two words, inbound marketing. A sound inbound marketing strategy can double average conversion rates for websites from 6% to 12%, according to research from HubSpot.

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Podcasting: Because Your Audience Wants To Hear From You

Podcasting is the natural next step in relationship building. They know and trust your voice. They feel like they already know you. Knowing that your audience, your target market, and your clients truly want to hear from you is the most compelling reason to get started with your own podcast.

They know and trust your voice. They feel like they already know you. Your podcast is just the natural next step in your ongoing relationship.

You already have at least two-thirds of the structure you need: your blog, your audience. The other third would be your email autoresponder series. Podcasting is the natural next step in building relationships online and offline.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves!

Radio Tales

When is the last time you listened to the radio, as in AM/FM? This morning? Last week?

Personally, I don’t listen to AM/FM radio much these days at all. But it so happened that I was visiting a friend on a Sunday morning and she had her radio tuned to her favorite weekly old-time gospel program. What struck me was the line-up of songs: they didn’t appeal to me in the least but it got me to thinking about how the radio station chose the songs to play.

They play what the people want to hear.
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Choosing WordPress Themes: Security Risks, Code Bloat and Other Issues

Years ago in the early days of WordPress, everything was free. You either chose a boring default theme, picked one someone else had created or wrote your own theme. Then two things happened: 1) people realized they need to make money and 2) hackers discovered themes are a way to create security holes.

Unfortunately, since one can get website code easily, it is easy for a hacker to use a particular theme to hack your website. Also, there is the do-it-yourself trend, in which someone who knows no coding wants to set up a whole WordPress site with only a click here and there.

However, if one also wants a complex theme or lots of choices, this can bring about what is called “code bloat” – lots of calls to the database that slows down your site or lots of short codes that make theme switching difficult. In this post we will discuss two issues: theme security and code bloat. Then the post will suggest a few ways to make good theme choices.

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2 Powerful Strategies You As A Blogger Desperately Need

Who doesn’t love blogging?

Who doesn’t want to improve upon what they’re already doing or learn something that might help them move forward!

Whichever might be the case for you, we are happy you’re here.

Sherryl was so kind to extend an invitation to be her guest so I thought I would share some very powerful strategies with you that have really benefited me.

I have no doubt that you’re already doing really well with your blog but there is always room for improvement wouldn’t you agree?

I believe every blogger needs to know these 2 powerful strategies in order to improve their blogs. They can even help you become a better blogger too.

So what exactly am I referring to?

Let’s start with this one…

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People Will Buy From You When They Understand What Business You’re Really In!

Are you confused and wondering why people aren’t buying more from you?

After all, you have a great product or service that everyone needs or wants! But for some reason they are not coming to your website to buy from you or to contact you for a call or meeting.

When you follow-up with people do you get pleasantries and are asked to email or call them and when you do all you get is silence on a routine basis?

The cause may be revealing and the solution easier than you may think.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I meet someone for the first time at a networking event, in the line at the store or even on the airplane I’m often asked; “What do you do?”

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Re-Thinking Your After Blogging To-Do List

It’s not over, when it’s over,” they say.

Just writing up awesome content and publishing on your blog isn’t enough. There’s a lot more that has to go on after publishing. Sharing on your social networks, reaching out to influencers to let them know that they’ve been mentioned in your post, and a lot of those other things you do to push your own content are basic essentials, and you’re probably already doing these.

But then, there’s a lot more that ought to be done. There’s just too much content out there and you’ll now need to do keep doing more just to be seen, heard, and read.

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Self-Serve: How the Mobile Age is Impacting Customer Service

Prior to the days of the Internet, businesses were very limited by the number of options they had for communicating with their customers, making it difficult to build brand loyalty on a broad scale. But thanks to the ever-evolving technology, the ways in which businesses are able to connect with the customers has changed and improved drastically. Today, in the digital age, small and large companies alike are leveraging mobile technology and social media together, interacting with their most loyal customers in ways that are convenient for both parties involved.

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What’s Better Than Blog Updates? Autoresponder Series That Rock!

Are you creating permanent marketing assets that can be used over and over again? How many sales do you make from people who subscribe to blog updates?

Bloggers are writers and, therefore, uniquely qualified to craft engaging autoresponder series for themselves and clients.

Do your clients a huge favor by helping them create strong, meaningful email marketing materials and steering them away from “just blog updates.”

They are filling the seats. Hanging on every word that proceedeth from your lips (err, pen). Because you’re sending them an autoresponder series that rocks, not just ‘blog updates’. Right?

Is your email marketing audience looking for blog updates or informative autoresponder series?

Email Marketing: It’s The People That Matter

We’re almost at the close of 2014. We’re looking forward to filling our calendars with engagements for 2015. Some of us are in the midst of mobile marketing for the holidays or thinking about how to incorporate responsive email design in the coming year.

All those activities are worthwhile but totally worthless unless you add major value to those outgoing emails.
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Security on My Mind: How To Successfully Evaluate and Protect Your Online Technology Assets

Website security is a big problem. The evil surrounding us is baffling and seemingly indiscriminate.

The numbers show dire consequences for businesses that fail to put preventive measures in place. But you don’t have to be a sideline victim.

It’s time to adopt an offensive stance to protect online technology assets (like your business website). Empower yourself with information and proactive strategies.

Website Owners Unite! It’s time to take up an offensive position that keeps our online technology assets in tip-top shape.

It's Time to Protect Your Website Technology Assets by Vernessa Taylor on KeepUpWithTheWeb.com — It’s Time to Protect Your Website Technology Assets by Vernessa Taylor on KeepUpWithTheWeb.com

Security on My Mind

I’ll be listening to what you have to say and I’ll try to gear my posts to what you want/need to hear.” — Sherryl Perry, from her About Me page

I enjoy interacting with the community here at Keep Up With The Web. When I re-visited Sherryl’s about page, the quote above struck me as appropos to what I wanted to write about and share with fellow entrepreneurs here, mainly because it falls into the “what you want/need to hear” to keep your hard work and hard-earned dollars from being taken from you by nefarious, badly behaving others out on the world wide web. The focus today is to help you evaluate and protect your online technology assets, especially those that impact your internet business activities.

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