If you have a traditional HTML website – or have a website that’s run on a content management system, you definitely want to check out my new teleclass next week, Top Ten Reasons to Switch to WordPress.  If your website is more than a few years old, or if you want something that is easier to maintain, it may be time to rebuild your site in WordPress.

As you may already know, WordPress is a blog platform. It’s been around for ages, but over the past few years it blossomed into a flexible and stable content manager that can help you increase your Internet visibility.

Why switch your website to WordPress?  Here are Mary’s top reasons to make the jump…

1. WordPress has built-in blogging.  Yes, you need this!
2. A site built in WordPress has search engine optimization (SEO) baked in
3. You can make your own content additions and edits, with no webmaster needed.
4. There are thousands of beautiful layout themes available (no cookie-cutter sites!)
5. WordPress is a free open-source system that is constantly improved and upgraded, and there are no licensing fees.

And, did I mention that I’ll be emceeing the event?  Why don’t you join us on Wednesday, November 3 at 2pm for the “Lunch -n- Learn?”  REGISTER HERE

D #1: Here is the first advantage of using one of these services, say, in lieu of sending batches of emails from your webmail or Outlook: deliverability.  If you send batches of messages from your ISP, there is the possibility that your messages will be tagged as spam and not delivered.  Email service providers, however, understand this issue and work with the Internet Service Providers.  They typically have some type of “spam checker” module to review your copy and your contact lists and help you avoid issues with your messages.

D #2: Here is another advantage of using an email marketing service: design.  The email marketing services usually have some type of HTML designer so that you can add colors and images to your email messages, newsletters and campaigns.  There is typically a library of templates that you can pick from to then add your own graphics.  This gives a very consistent look to your messages and builds your brand.  I have found that some of the services have a better design system than others, which makes my work easier.

D #3: There are many more advantages to using an email service, but I’ll cover just one more: developing your list.  The contact management built into these providers makes it easy to grow your contact list.  You have the ability to create a contact form that you can use on your website, to automatically add people to your distribution list.  Depending on the service, if someone completes a contact form on your website, they are added to a drip campaign and will automatically receive emails from you on a schedule.

But, which service is right for me, you ask?  No need to worry, I have a solution.  The illustrious Mary Motz (my co-creator on eProduct Flight Plan), is offering a fre*e teleclass on Wednesday, Sept 29th.  Her teleseminar is titled, “Selecting the Right Email Marketing Service for You,” and is bound to answer any question you have about the email marketing services out there!

Click here to register for Mary’s Email Marketing teleclass

Mary is starting a monthly internet marketing teleclass series, and starting with the basics: Email Marketing

Here are the deets:

Wednesday, September 29, 2010
2:00pm Eastern (11:00am Pacific)

If  you’re confused about what email broadcast features you should look for – this is for you!

During this complimentary 1 hour teleclass, we’ll discuss:

• What to look for in an email broadcast service
• A quick feature comparison of the major services (including AWeber, MailChimp, iContact, Constant Contact, 1Shopping Cart & more)
• How the latest list integration features should be considered in your decision
• Suggested services for common business situations
• How e-commerce and shopping carts work with email marketing
• Q & A session

And, no surprise, Mary will be recording the class, so if you can’t make the teleclass live, you’ll get the audio recording.

Click here and sign up NOW

One can never prepare enough, I think.

I want to share 3 Preparation Tips with you that I use to organize virtual events for clients.  They are my ‘mise en place’ for virtual events.  Mise En Place is a french term meaning “things in place,” which I borrowed from the culinary industry.   My mise en place consists of two documents (a Timeline and a Workflow) and a practice event.

Preparation Tip #1: Timeline

For ample marketing and organization the Timeline is imperative for your virtual event.   It is a critical path that outlines Pre- and Post-event Marketing efforts, Attendee registration (and payment if yours is a paid event), Attendee messaging (email reminders) and Post-production tasks, and who is responsible for each task.  As a Virtual Events Specialist, my clients rely on me to have each task listed and assigned with a deadline date.  So for instance, while it is my client’s responsibility to decide the title and description of the event, it is my responsibility to determine which tool will work best and get the word out about the event.  For a typical complimentary teleclass or webinar, I find that 2 weeks is ample time to announce and market a virtual event.

Preparation Tip #2:  Checklist

The other document on which I rely heavily is a checklist.  Much like the pre-flight checklist a pilot uses, this document lists step-by-step instruction for me and my client so that no details of the event management are overlooked.  Every detail.  I remind myself to open my email account (so I can provide trouble-shooting assistance to attendees).  I remind myself to have a glass of water available.  I remind myself to make sure that anything with a  noise is quieted during the call.  Every detail is listed on the checklist.

Preparation Tip #3: Practice Event

My last suggestion for Virtual Event success is the practice event.  This is usually done the day before your actual event.  I dial into the conference call line or log into the webinar tool with my client and we have a dress rehearsal of the event.  The Practice Event is a great way for you to test your Checklist and work out any bugs in your plan.  I practice my welcome script, I practice muting phone lines, I practice changing presenters.  Practice makes perfect, after all.

What are your ‘must-have’s when planning a virtual event?  Feel free to comment below…

What do I mean by Multimedia?   Think audio and video.  With audio there are several options like audio recording a blog post, creating a podcast, or creating a teleseminar series.  Add in video with options like video blog posts, webinars, maybe even live-streaming an event.  Sound challenging?  It doesn’t have to be.  I can consult with you to teach you the ropes, or manage the tasks start to finish – you choose.

When you expand your marketing with multimedia, your message reaches more folks.  How?  Syndicating your posts, podcasts, audios and videos via social networks and the many sharing sites on the Internet, you’re touching a wider audience.

Future blog posts will include tips and tricks for producing your own multimedia – some video posts and some audio – to demonstrate the ease with which you can add multimedia to your marketing mix.  If you have a specific question you’d like me to answer in a future blog post, please post a comment below, or email me at carla@wilsonva.com.

Here is a quick audio version of this blog post: (It took just less than 10 minutes start to finish to record, edit, and publish the audio to my site)

This is about the resources, services, tools, timelines and checklists that will get your e-product off the ground and soaring online smoothly and successfully.

Our bonuses include:

My Resource Rolodex that lists the many tools (many are f*ree!) out there that will help you launch your next eProduct.

Mary’s Shopping Cart & Payment Processing Demystifier – your quick guide to shopping cart and payment processing options

A Sample Flight Plan – An example project plan flowchart for getting a product online, along with a blank flight plan for you to complete for your project.

A Pre-Flight Task Checklist – Did you forget anything? You won’t with this handy task checklist.

I’m happy to extend a 25% discount for you to join us.
On the ticket order form at the bottom of the screen, click
the orange “Enter Discount Code” link and enter the code:

friends25

Click here for full details and to register.

Shortly, I will be able to announce that I have earned my Virtual Event Specialist certification through VAClassroom. I want to help entrepreneurs implement the use of multimedia in their marketing efforts, and felt a live stream video was one method of demonstrating the ease of use.

Do your research, and choose a vendor based on your needs.  Some options to consider: Do you need a back-up phone line?  Will your callers be using VoIP service to call in?  How many callers do you expect?  What is your monthly budget for this service?  Bells and whistles cost money, but if you don’t need lots of bells and whistles, then you can save yourself some budget dollars.

After choosing your vendor, you will set-up an account with them.   A unique conference call line and PIN will be assigned to you.   (These details are what you will share with your audience prior to any teleseminars you offer.  )

Decide what day and time will be best for you – and your audience – to deliver the teleseminar.  (Remember that with recording capability, you won’t have to try to coordinate the schedule of your whole audience.  Simply offer them a recording of the call to playback at a later time!)

Send out an email invitation to your list giving them the call-in information.  Don’t forget to send them a couple of reminders (1 week out,  3 days out, 1 day out, and the morning of…) to ensure that the callers have all the details to attend the call.

On the day of the call be prepared with your information, a glass of water, and a cheery attitude!  Call into the teleseminar line about 15 minutes early.  Welcome callers as they come on to the call.  Start the call recording.  Introduce yourself and deliver your information.  After you have delivered your information, have a Q&A session.  Thank the callers for attending.  Stop the recording.  Download the audio file of the call, and follow-up with an email to your list to send them a recording of the call.

….Or hire your Virtual Assistant to manage all these details so you can prepare more information to present ;-)

What is a teleseminar (aka teleclass)?    Typically teleseminars are training or sales information delivered via a conference call.   A day and time for the call is scheduled.  Attendees are sent invitations to the teleseminar and are given the conference call number to dial.  On the day and time of the call, the host and attendees call in to the conference call line.  The host presents the material and answers questions from the audience.  After the event a recording of the teleseminar is sent to attendees (to benefit those that could not be on the call live).  Voila!  Information delivered, call recorded, your time is leveraged!

Tomorrow you’ll learn how to host your own teleseminars.

According to a VAClassroom.com presentation I attended:
“Businesses are adapting to Virtual Events at a record pace! 67% of professionals responsible for physical events report that overall attendance has dropped, and 76% of businesses say have already begun using or plan to start using Virtual Events in 2009. In fact, 70% of Corporate Event Organizers predict a reduction in live events in 2010, and forecast major growth in virtual conferences and webinars.”

Think about how much information you have to share with your target market.  Wouldn’t a virtual event of some kind help you leverage your time and money to share your information?  Of course it would.

In my next posts, I’ll outline some of the virtual events you can consider for your business.