Wanda Baader

Wanda Baader is a online marketing and business strategist, speaker and consultant. She is the owner and founder of Strategize Your Success, a full service marketing agency. She enjoys working with entrepreneurs, non-profits and small business owners who need help with their online marketing, social media and Wordpress website development.

  • Protecting Your WordPress Content

    Protecting Your WordPress Content
    Online security is a big concern for many online businesses today. How can you protect the hard work that you have put into your WordPress blog and site? How can you try and keep people from stealing your content?

     

    Unfortunately, “scraping” is what can happen.  This is when someone takes the content from your website and uses it as theirs by posting it on their website. Most people don’t even know that they have been scraped until they see the duplicate content or they have problems with search engine rankings because of it.

     

    Protect yourself from the beginning so you don’t become a victim yourself. You’ve worked too hard to build your reputation and your optimized content to have it tampered with. 

     

    Protecting Yourself and Your Content

     

    The reality is that you can’t stop someone who is set on stealing from you with any reliability unless you put safeguards in place.

     

    Here are some tips to get you all set up. Keep in mind at posting that these were up to date with the current WordPress version. We recommend that you always read about any plugin before you consider using them. Sometimes plugins don’t always play nice so always backup your site before trying new plugins.  This list represents some available plugins but there are more options. Visit WordPress for more information.

     

    * WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click –

    This WordPress plug-in protects the post content from being copied by any other site author. The plugin will keep your posts and homepage protected by multiple techniques (Java Script + CSS). According to the developer no one else offers this technique in any other plugin.

    *WP Secure Image – 

    This WordPress plug-in allows you to copy and protect your images. Protects from right click mouse saves, drag-in-drop, site grabbers and page save.

    Protecting Your WordPress Content

    *Copy Protect Web Pages and Media –

    This WordPress plug-in uses encrypted images to copy protect all media including image, Flash, PDF and video from right-click-saving and mouse-drag and prevent print screen and screen capture. This plugin can add copy protection to any page or post by simply adding a small CopySafe encrypted image.

     

    * Easy Mark –

    This WordPress plug-in can automatically add watermark to images as they are uploaded to your WordPress media library. You can also watermark existing images manually (all at once or an every single image). Watermark can be an image, text or both.

     

    Protecting your website information is vital to your reputation and also making sure that someone else doesn’t profit from your hard work. So take the first step today and research into ways to save your content. Prevention is essential when running an online business.

     

    Have questions or need help with your website development or security? We can help contact us today. Use our contact form below.

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  • Email Marketing Makes It Happen

    Email Marketing

    Opt-In Marketing

    One of the most valuable assets an online business can have is an opt-in list.  What’s this and how does it work?  We’re here to help!

     

    An opt-in marketing list is where a customer (or potential customer, but it’s most often somebody who has purchased something from your site) gets an option to include themselves in on an email list that your company sends out. 

     

    This is very different from spam, which is where unscrupulous business owners go “phishing” for random email addresses that they find on the Internet and relentlessly bombard these poor souls with emails.  Spam does nobody any good and basically ends up costing a business a lot of money and ends up irritating people.

    Opt-In Lists

     

    An opt-in list, though, is a brilliant for business because the people who receive your emails are actually interested in receiving them.  You can send to this list of people whoare interested in keeping in touch with your business by sending occasional emails and only when you have something of worth to say or offer – which can detail everything from the current goings-on of your business to deals and offers and promotions.  Many companies offer special promotions to those who join their opt-in list as an incentive to, well, opt in.

     

    Opt-in lists give customers who are interested in you your attention.  Even better, the effect of an opt-in list is entirely traceable, as if you start offering promotions through your list you’ll be able to tell how many of them get redeemed.  Opt-in lists are also another great way to get out more of that free expert content you offer, specially designed for those who wish to follow you.  Many smaller businesses offer Q and A sessions through their opt-in list, where followers can ask specific questions that can be answered through the general forum of your email.

    PromotionsEmail Marketing

    These lists are also the digitalequivalent to having “regulars” at a store and engaging them in casual chat.  Through an email list you can develop more intimate relationships with customers as compared to the normal “anonymous buyer” that hops into your site to pick up a few items, and then hops out without you knowing anything more about them other than what they bought. Close relationships with customers generate brand loyalty, which is a hot commodity.

     

    Want another bonus?  Email marketing can also be entirely free if you manage it yourself.  Even if you choose to outsource your email marketing or leave it to an employee to handle, it is much cheaper than print advertising because of how targeted it is.  Individual customers make specific requests, and you fill them by sending out the information direct to those who asked for it.  It’s a very simple, yet incredibly effective method of advertising that is guaranteed to optimize conversions and get people talking about you, particularly if you make your opt-in list a desirable deal to join.

    We are here to help you with your email marketing needs if you’re overwhelmed and need help. Contact us today!

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  • Networking for Potential Clients

    Networking for Potential Clients
    Networking may be one of the oldest forms of advertising…

      
    Traditionally, with this approach business people  attend designated “networking meetings” where they  meet other people and exchange business cards in the hope that one of the people they talked to would send some clients their way.   Some people may look at it as an “Old School” method but networking done effectively can still work. It’s about building relationships and taking that initial introduction to the next level.

     

    Other business people have realized that networking can be done anywhere, not just at designated meetings.  These people often carry business cards with them at all times and may strike up a conversation with the person in front of them in line at the grocery store or sitting next to them at the Little League game.

    The Internet of course has taken networking to a whole different level…

     

    Now people are turning to social networking sites in order to meet new potential business partners and clients. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Google Plus are providing us with the means to connect with people from all over the World and not just in our backyard.

     

    It doesn’t matter which form it takes place in, networking is essentially a way of marketing your business through building relationships with other people.  Some of these people may turn into your clients, some may be a source of clients, and others may actually become future business partners.

    Networking for Potential Clients

    Networking has many benefits…

    Generally speaking, it is a free or low cost activity.  It can take up some of a person’s time, but other than that, there really isn’t a huge cost unless you’re traveling to a conference.  It is important to note that some networking groups do require a membership fee, but it is very easy to find many free networking opportunities if that is your goal.

     

    In many circumstances, a networking situation will lead to word of mouth advertising, which is extremely valuable.  For example, if a web designer meets someone through a networking group or through a social networking platform and establishes a connection, that person may recommend them to several people they know on a personal level.

    I’ve had great success in networking in person and online. I have found that joining groups in LinkedIn and Facebook has provided me with great strategic partners and allowed me to increase my bottom line by featuring my business knowledge thru posts. Being a giver and helping others goes a long way with getting future referrals. 

    Advertising…

     

    As you know, when someone sees an ad they take it with a grain of salt.  They know it is advertising.  But when someone receives a recommendation from a person they know and trust, they often follow that person’s recommendation and buy the services or products that have been recommended to them.

     

    Whether done face to face or over the Internet, it does take time to build relationships with other people.  Some easy ways to get things started may be to spark up a conversation about something you have in common with the other person, or to offer help or advice to them.

     

    The effects of networking may not be seen overnight, but over time a person will start to receive calls or emails from potential customers saying that they were referred by so-and-so.  This lets the person know that their networking has paid off.

    So I challenge you to go out and do some networking. If it’s in person and you don’t like to go by yourself go with a friend. If you are brave go solo. Create a plan before you go if possible on who you want to connect with. Ask for introductions.  

    If you’re braver on the Internet take that route. Step outside your comfort zone and meet new people.

    I love networking with my blog followers so please leave me your comments and connect with me on social media.  

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  • A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

    A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
    You’ve heard the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  Now, more than ever images are more important in your marketing plan.

    We live in a visual world. We make decisions based on what we see. Images appeal to our emotions.

    Content may be king, but images are queen.  With networks like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, images are shared instantly from your smartphone.

    Visual content including photos, videos and graphs, have been proven to grab the attention of your readers and are more likely to be shared than text alone. As a marketer, images can help you build effective and shareable selling campaigns.

    Of course, you don’t want to just throw random images into your marketing mix. You need relevant and professional looking images that engage and help communicate what you are trying to say?

    The 3 basics of creating effective visual content should be:

    • The style and type of image needs to be consistent throughout your all your products. That doesn’t mean all your images have to be photographs or clip art. What I mean is you should be keeping a consistent color and font style.
    • Know your target market. Knowing who your target market is and their preferences will help you determine where and what types of images to use.
    • Think outside the normal. Be creative in your use of images. Go ahead and change images, add text to photos or combine images.

     

    A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

    Where can you use images?

    Full length articles need images to break up big chunks of text. Images can be used in your branding and logo. Use images in your social media channels to make it more interesting.

    Use images online in your website and offline in any advertising or conferences you participate in.

    Images are clearly a major part of buying behavior because they grab attention and evoke emotions in your buyers.

     

     

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  • Blog Marketing for Small Business

    Blog Marketing

    Blog marketing can be quite complicated for anyone that has never even blogged before. If you are considering getting into small business blog marketing, you will want to first have a blog and see what that is like before you get into something more. Blogging requires dedication and patience. You have to update your blog on a regular basis in order to keep your readers happy. Doing so will keep them coming back for more to check out your latest post.

     

    Blogging for your small business consists of writing about your business. It definitely is a great tool that you should use to get your business out there and known by others. However, you will need to be patient because it can be a long process that will require much of your attention. Just because you have a blog does not mean that someone is going to find it and read it. You are going to have to make it known. Nowadays most people combine their blog with their website. If you have them separate make sure that your readers are aware that you have both and refer them to each other.

    Blog marketing is something that anyone can do.

    Having a blog and keeping it up to date with the latest information is not hard. All you need to have is a plan and you will be set to market any type of business from your blog. This plan should definitely include an idea of who your ideal client is. Narrowing this down from the start will save you time and money. There is no use blogging to a market that is not looking for what you have to offer.  Whether you are selling a product or a service, it does not matter. A blog that is marketed the right way will be beneficial to any business whatever it might be.

     

    So you are probably wondering how you are going to accomplish this blog marketing. When you are marketing a blog, you pretty much do it the same way that you would market a website. It is going to need keywords, great titles, eye candy (great photos) and content. Remember when using photos that you need to have the right to use them because it can get your business in trouble if you don’t. Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t mean you can use them. Play it safe and use a reliable source like rtf123 or Fotolia. Be sure to read their licensing to be clear on how you can re-use these pictures in the future. Some companies will allow you to use them on social media for instance while others don’t. These resources are inexpensive and can make your blogs pop.

     

    You can write your own content or have someone write for you.

     

    Keep in mind that you can write the content yourself but if this is not your gift you can pay someone else to write it for you but be sure that your personality shines through by infusing your voice into the content. Also, be sure that the content is relevant to your followers so that they will want to read it. This will keep them coming back. Also, make sure that the content is written using keywords that work for your market because this will be how new readers will find you on Google and other search engines in the future.

     

    Once you have chosen the type of content that you want to be noted for, and gotten some content and photos published on your blog, you will be ready to get it out there some more. Using social media platforms is a great way to share your blog. Choose the platforms that will attract the type of audience that holds your ideal blog follower. An example, is if you’re a Mompreneur who loves blogging about cooking and crafting then you might find great followers on Pinterest and Facebook.

     

    One of the best compliments you can get is to have a comment.

     

    Blog Marketing

    Another important thing to remember when you are blog marketing is that if anyone leaves you a comment, you should acknowledge it and respond as soon as possible. You can also comment on other blogs that are relevant to yours, and leave a link to your blog as well. This will help bring in visitors to your blog, and you will begin to see more and more traffic.

     

    Blog marketing for your small business is not rocket science, however someone that has never marketed a single thing before in their life may have problems. Be sure to visit our resource page for additional information to help your business. Remember be persistent, consistent and don’t give up.

    At Strategize Your Success we help entrepreneurs, small business, coaches and consultants with all their online marketing needs. If we can help you please contact us. We can take the pain out of figuring out how to do things right.

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  • Email Marketing Autoresponder Options

    Email Marketing
    When it comes to email marketing businesses are concerned on whether they should use a single or double opt-in option. Some will say that using a double opt-in makes them lose subscribers – after all, how many people really take the time to click a link to confirm their subscription? That may be a good argument but it’s really a weak one if you think about it.

    Anyone that is interested in receiving the information you’ll be sending is going to take the time to click the confirmation link. It’s pretty normal and standard these days so people are aware they have to confirm if they want to be added to your list.

    There are several reasons you should use the double opt-in function.

    1. Canada’s new Anti-Spam Law. With the recent changes Canada has made and the implementation of their new Anti-Spam Law, double-opt in should be an absolute mandatory part of your email marketing campaign. To learn more about the new law (for Canada), check out this article: What You Need to Know About Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL).
    2. Less chance of being flagged as a spammer. When people are required to confirm their subscription, your emails have less of a chance of being marked as spam.
    3. Better open rates. When people are required to confirm they want to receive your information and are willing to not only sign up for your list, but click that confirmation link, you know they truly want to see your emails. This means you’ll have better open rates.

    These are just three of many reasons you should (or at least consider it) use double opt-ins for your email lists. It truly is the best way to not only protect yourself, but to ensure that only people who really are interested in what you have to say and want to be on your list, end up on your list.

    If you need more proof that double opt-in is the way to go, look at some of these organizations that require people to confirm (double opt-in) when they sign up for their lists:

    • Oprah
    • IRS.gov
    • Microsoft
    • Whitehouse.gov

    And that’s just a few!

    One other thing to keep in mind – yes, some people will sign up and still not click the confirmation link, it happens. But don’t fret. When it comes to email marketing and building your list, you want quality over quantity anyway. If you find that it’s happening often then you might want to put a note on your thank you page (You do have a thank you page you send people to after they sign up right?) telling people that they will receive an email shortly and to be sure they click on the confirmation link in it. Remember, sometimes people just need to be told what to do!

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  • Email Marketing and Your Aweber Stats

    If you’re growing your mailing list and emailing on a regular basis, that’s great. But there’s a little more to email marketing than just growing your list and sending your subscribers some emails that you hope will get them to do something – buy a product, purchase a service you’re offering, attend an event you’re putting on are some examples.

    You need to know some statistics on those emails to figure out what’s working and what’s not. We have a lot of clients who use Aweber but don’t quite understand how to find their stats or how to interpret what they mean once they find them.  So we thought that others may have some of the same questions.

    With Aweber, you can easily see some basic stats about what your subscribers are doing. On the main page once you login to your account you’ll see recently sent broadcasts. This will show you the percentage of opens, clicks, bounces and complaints. While these stats are good, you can get even more specific than that.

    Here is an example of a broadcast. To find your stats click on ‘view stats’.  A new page will pop up that looks like this:

    Aweber

    Now you can see that there were a total of 161 emails sent to this campaign list, there was 1 bounce (email was undeliverable), zero complaints, 3 clicks and 1 unsubscribe.  I purposely skipped mentioning the 41 opens you see on the blue arrow because it’s a bit more complicated than that. Let’s break it down:

    Opens

    The 41 opens (which is a 25.6% open rate for this particular email – not too bad, but definitely could be better) are what is known as unique opens (as shown in the green box above on the graph). Unique opens are when someone views your email in HTML format. (Note: if someone opens your email more than once, Aweber doesn’t keep counting that as an open, they’re counted once.)

    But if you look at the blue box on the graph, it says there were actually 56 total opens. So where do those other 15 opens come from and why don’t they show in unique opens?

    Great question!

    Those other opens are the people that view your email in the plain text format instead of HTML. 

    One neat thing about this stat is you can scroll down the page (you have to click on 41 opens on the left hand side of the box first) and see the names of the people that opened this email. From there you can create a segment based on these people (this is good for if you want to send a follow-up to just those that opened it).  

    Clicks

    In order for Aweber to track how many clicks are made on a link you’ve included in one of your emails, you have to enable this option within Aweber.  For instructions on how to do this, see the article:  How Do I Track Click Throughs on Links in My Messages?

    As you can see from the stats above, there were 3 clicks on a link I included. If you click on that (3 clicks) and scroll down a little ways it will show you what link those 3 people clicked on. 

    Sales

    We do not currently use this portion of Aweber stats. If you would like more information on how it works and how you can set this up, see How Do I Set Up Sales Tracking?

    Web Hits

    Again, this is another portion of the stats that we don’t use and don’t have set up. You can learn how to do it by visiting How Do I Install Email Web Analytics?

    Unsubscribes

    This statistic is pretty straight forward and doesn’t need much explaining. It simply shows you who unsubscribed from your list via this email message. Keep in mind that unsubscribes are counted in your total subscriber pricing programs with Aweber so getting them off your account usually makes sense so you can make room for people who want to hear from you.

    As you can see, Aweber statistics can show you a lot about your subscribers and what they’re doing. This is helpful information for you to know and can help you figure out which email strategies are getting you better responses than others.

    We hope you found this information helpful. If you’re thinking about working on growing your email list and strategies we recommend checking out our “15 Day Email Challenge” which is currently on sale.

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  • 4 Tips to Help Make Sure Your Emails Don’t Get Sent to Spam

    4 Tips to Help Make Sure Your Emails Don’t Get Sent to SpamYou work hard to get people to opt-in to your mailing list.  Once you get them on your list the last thing you want is your emails to end up in the dreaded spam folder. Here are some tips to help make sure your emails get to where they need to be – in their inbox.

    1. Do not buy lists! Sure, we all want huge amounts of subscribers but it’s not worth your reputation to pay for those subscribers for a few different reasons. One, it’s not a targeted list of people. Out of say 1,000 people maybe a handful of them will actually be interested in what you have to offer. And two, these lists have the potential to get you blacklisted. How? If people don’t recognize you and mark it as spam or there are a bunch of bad (dead) emails that start bouncing back these are red flags and can quickly classify you as a spammer. When it comes to protecting your reputation and your mailing list, please stay away from lists of names you can purchase!

    2. Pay attention to the from field. When setting up your list(s), it’s important to pay special attention to the from field. You want to use your name or business name so that people will recognize you right away. As mentioned above, if someone doesn’t recognize the from name (and even the email address you use), it’s way too easy for them to mark your email spam.

    3. Clean up your lists regularly. It doesn’t take much, at least not in Aweber – the service I use and highly recommend – to go through and clean up your lists. What do I mean by cleaning up a list? Removing those subscribers that have been inactive for long periods of time or bad email addresses.

    4. Don’t use words that are considered spam. When writing your subject line, it’s imperative that you skip words that look like spam. One of the most obvious words is free (and that includes writing it like this: FREE. In fact, don’t ever use all capital letters period). If at all possible avoid using this word in your emails. But there’s also some other words that can send an email straight to the spam folder:

    • Sales
    • Satisfaction guaranteed
    • Click here
    • Act now
    • Risk free

    4 Tips to Help Make Sure Your Emails Don’t Get Sent to Spam

    These are just a few of the suggested spam words you should skip. Here’s  The Ultimate List of Email SPAM Trigger Words to check out.

    15 Day Email ChallengeNeed help with your email marketing. Check out our latest product. This challenge will take you by the hand and show you how create a winning list of subscribers.
    “The 15 Day Email Challenge”

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  • Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

    Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
    Stepping outside our comfort zone can be one of the hardest things any of us can do. Some people experience panic attacks or freeze up just thinking about trying new things. Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately?

    I like change and learning new things but I still have my comfort zone. So what I purposely do is make myself step outside the zone all the time. I’m not going to lie sometimes its scary and nerve racking but well worth it in the end because I know that’s were awesome happens. You end up gaining new skills and experience that otherwise you may have never mastered.

    Many successful people will tell you that challenging yourself and trying new ideas and strategies doesn’t always work but if you’re not learning or growing you will never experience awesome!

    Being a marketing coach and consultant I find that change is a constant in my marketplace. My job is to help my clients stay current and also step outside their box. Just this past week I worked with my one of my clients and together we both tried something new. She had not really done much video marketing and I had never produced anyone in a video (besides myself) so together we did it!

    Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

    What a great time we had with the camera crew and the staff at GMLCPA. We both made our debut, stepped outside the zone and gained experience. What more could you ask for, right? Well now I’m ready to do more of these and so is my client because we got over the scary part of trying something new.

    I’d like to challenge you to take time this week and step outside your comfort zone and push your personal boundaries. Try something new. Stretch yourself. Push yourself to do something even if it’s a small step and be the brilliant, talented and brave person that you know you can be. Please be sure to share your experience with us here on the blog.

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  • How to be a Social Media Influencer

    Many people think that building a huge following on social media is all it takes to become a successful influencer. There is actually a lot more to this than you may realize.

    how to be an influencer on social mediaWhile it may be easy for you to create a new Facebook fan page and build a following of thousands of fans, what you need is active followers. An active follower or fan is someone who takes the time to comment and share your content. It is this activity that the major sites like Klout and Kred take into consideration when measuring your influence.

    It is possible to get your fans and followers to engage with you by following some simple steps. First remember that social media is about sharing content. While your main goal may be to have others share your content, this will not happen unless you share theirs first.

    Another aspect that you want to master is the one of listening. Listen and read the comments that your fans post and then take action on them. By doing this you are actually showing them that you are interested in what they have to say. This will help you build trust and respect amongst your followers and in turn this will improve your power of influence.

    Always remember to be yourself when using social media and don’t try to come over as you think people want you to. You should know what your brandhow to be a social media influencer is and what message you are trying to convey to people.  This places you in an honest light and again helps to build trust with your customers. After all you want to be someone who your customers can happily do business with.

    When it comes to adding content to your social media sites then always aim for quality content first. When having any type of social media conversation it is best to have one great conversation with one person than to try and have a mediocre one with ten or twenty people at one time.

    Social media is meant to be fun so don’t forget to include this in your business. You don’t always have to be serious. Exposing a fun side will not hurt your business at all. Instead it will make you look more human and friendly to your followers and more approachable.

    So instead of worrying about how to become the next best social influencer, just get out there and inject your personality into your sites. You may be surprised by what happens. And remember to have fun!

    If you are your looking for assistance with your social media influence please feel free to reach out to me. I understand what it’s like to struggle with the constant changes that happen in our fast paced business world and I’d be glad to be your guide. 

    http://my.vcita.com/d802bba6/scheduler

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