5 Shareable Reads this week:

9 Ways to Improve Customer Communication On Your Website

Top 10 Marketing Infographics of 2011

12 Most Underutilized Brand Touchpoints 

The World of Social Media 2011 – VideoGraphic

+ One just for fun:

Nothing to do with business whatsoever – but something I plan to try in Jan.  I may make it to Jan 5th.  We shall see! 
30 Day No Restaurant Challenge

Daily Ideas

http://www.psfk.com - ”go-to source for new ideas and inspiration for creative professionals”.  Great collection of “daily ideas” across 14 categories including “work and business” and “web and technology“.

Creative Design

http://creativebits.org/ – a blog about creativity and design.

Inspiration

http://www.hongkiat.com – creative tips for designers and bloggers.  I especially like their “inspiration” section.

Just plain talented

Erik Johansson – Photographer and retoucher

"Homeplate" by syntheticpanda via Flickr

Don’t post another FB post before doing this 6 point spot check on your own site!

1.  Pull your own website up on a mobile device – what does it look like?    Be sure to try several smartphones and tablet varieties  if you can get access to them.  It your site is not easy to browse on these – make it a priority to fix it.  

• Depending on your business/org type – you’ll want to check for the basic things that customers might need to do on your site via mobile devices:  Fill out a form, make a donation, get directions, purchase an item, check your menu, etc…  Take the time to check them out and go through the process just like your customer would. 
• Get help from a local professional like Summersault.  Don’t be afraid to get a quote – you’ll never know what to plan for it you don’t.
• If you are a small fry like me – try wordpress.com  - easy to use and mobile friendly.
• Other tips for mobile friendly sites can be found here:  8 Simple Steps to a Mobile Friendly Site

2.  How long does it take to find a phone number or contact info?  People still use phones for actually making calls – don’t make it too hard to find!  I actually looked up a guy the other day to call and found his twitter, facebook, linkedin, youtube and oodles of other social links and never found the number.  Sometimes you just want to call a person (at least I do!).

3.  If your “about page” only contains your mission statement – you need an overhaul.  There has to be something more important about what you do besides your mission statement and the fact that you started business in 1975.

4.  If you are a one person team – don’t write in 3rd person.  Especially not your bio – we know you wrote it.  Write like you would actually talk face to face to someone.  Don’t use words you have to google (or those that your audience would have to google)  - just talk plainly.

5.  Create a “meet the staff/team” page if you don’t already have one.  People work with people.  Don’t forget the people.  Check out this post from Smashing Magazine with 20 “meet the team” examples.

6.  If you are not blogging – get blogging.   Create your own content and share that on third party sites.  Link back to your own stuff.  Not sure what to blog about?  Here are a few ideas.

• FAQ – take simple basic questions your customers ask every day and write a simple post to answer it.  Blog posts do not need to be pages and pages of research. They can be short and sweet.
• If you don’t like to write – record short video posts and post those.
• Google it.  Serious – you should.  If you are an insurance agent, google “insurance blog” and start following agents already doing it.  Once you get started – your own ideas will start to kick in.

So that’s it.  A few simple things you can do as you start the week.  Have anything to add?  Did I leave off a website pet peeve of yours?  Add it below in the comments.  I’d love to hear from you.

Things you need to know about me – Rachel Hughes.

I’ve held a number of jobs during my 30 years in the work force: pizza maker; ice cream scooper; free-lance writer; director of a day care center; consultant; administrator for a state weatherization program; ad designer; restaurant reviewer…. Some were more impressive than others. Some were more fun than others. All taught me valuable lessons.

Current job # 1

I am a wife, mother and grandmother. This is my most important job. For eight years, I was a single mother. No one has a harder job than single moms. There were times when I had to water down the milk in order to make it last until payday. I shopped at Goodwill and garage sales for Christmas presents for the kids. We had refrigerator stew (you may call them left-overs) A LOT. But through it all we had each other and when all was said and done, I ended up with some pretty terrific kids. This job taught – and continues to teach – me that nothing is impossible as long as you have faith and patience. But mostly faith.

Current job #2

I am a restaurant owner. This is my ‘before 7:30 a.m., after 5:00 p.m. and on the weekends’ job. Earlier this year, my husband, Ron, and I acquired Tom’s New York Deli, a quirky little restaurant downtown. We are working to find that balance between keeping the best of Tom’s and introducing different menu items that will entice new patrons through the door. Soon, we will be changing the name to The Tin Lizzie Cafe, in honor of our 1924 Model T Roadster. We’ll be introducing our new logo, sprucing up the façade and putting some paint on the walls. This job has taught me that no matter how good your intentions are, you can’t please all of the people all of the time and if you let that one negative comment get to you, you’re defeated. It also taught me that having the right partner is the most important part of owning a business. Yeah, my husband rocks!

Current job #3

I am a Development Officer. I have been a fundraising professional for nearly 20 years, most recently at the Wayne County Foundation. Call me crazy but I love this job. I love meeting people, learning about their passions, and then helping them find ways to support local charities and students. It’s not about asking for money. It’s about building relationships that connect people with passion and resources with organizations and students who can benefit from their generosity. This job teaches me daily that every gift is important and meaningful and there are a lot of generous people in this world who put others first.

Bobbie asked me for 6 things, I think, but as I thought about and wrote this blog, I discovered that most things in my life revolve around these 3 jobs. Jobs that I feel very blessed to have and am grateful for every day.

Rachel Hughes, MA, CFRM
Development Officer at Wayne County Foundation
rachel@waynecountyfoundation.org
@RachelHughes

The first one will be this Wed Sept 21 from 9am-1pm.  You do not have to stay for the entire window – it’s just an open free space where you can come and bring your current project and bounce ideas off of other professionals who will come to do the same thing.  I personally plan to attend and get feedback on a couple creative pieces I have been working on.

Why would this type of event or “meet-up” be useful?
-Practice a presentation you’re working on
-Bounce ideas off of the group
-Perhaps you have a tech question – swap your knowledge with others who may have already figured out that same problem.
-Enjoy working in a group setting