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Freshness Test: Is Your Business Website Up To Date?

Does your business website pass the freshness test? When was the last time you checked in on it?

An outdated website is bad for business. Think about it. Have you ever visited a website that was woefully out of date? You know the type; one with old events being advertised on the homepage, broken links, or the latest post on the blog is two years old.

What did you think? Did you wonder if the business was still in business? You’re not the only one.

Your business website serves as an online destination for your customers and potential customers. For some, it may be the first impression they get of your business. That’s why it’s important that it be up to date.

So, bring up your website right now in another window and review these things to see if your business website passes the freshness test.

Business Website Freshness Test

Calendars & Events

Scan your website for any time-sensitive items. Look for outdated events, promotions, expired discounts or coupons and get rid of them.

Blog

If you have a blog, when was the last time you posted? If it’s been longer than 30 days, you need to remedy that. Set aside a few minutes to brainstorm some post ideas. Make a list, and then make a commitment to update that blog at least once a month.

You don’t have to write a 10-page white paper. Short articles – 400-500 words – are fine. Just remember when you are writing, to set aside the sales pitch and instead opt for blog topics that will deliver helpful information and value to your website visitors.

Don’t have a blog? You should consider adding one to your business website. A regularly updated blog is one of the best tools for improving your search engine rankings. It can also prove to be an unmatched marketing tool. A blog allows you to showcase your expertise, and gain credibility with your audience. That credibility makes it easier to persuade them to make a purchase or contract a service from you.

Links

Go through your website page by page and check for broken links. Delete or fix any that you find, and while you are at it, look for opportunities to add some fresh links. Up-to-date internal and outbound links can help improve your search engine rankings.

SEO

Speaking of search engine rankings, check in on your website’s SEO. Do you have keywords assigned to your pages and posts? Are your posts and images optimized? Make adjustments as needed, or hire an expert to help.

Grammar & Spelling

As a writer, nothing screams “unprofessional” louder to me than a website with spelling or grammar errors. Though the majority of your website visitors may not be writers, they will notice. Proofread your website. Have a friend do the same and clean up any spelling mistakes or poor grammar.

Design & Navigation

Now that you have some of the immediate concerns addressed, take a thoughtful look at the design of your website. Does it look good? Is it a website that you are proud of? Does it have a clean, modern look? Are you using high quality images?

Think about it from the perspective of a potential customer. Is it easy to navigate? Does it give them the information you want them to know as well as the information they are seeking?

How does it read? You want your website copy to communicate in a clear and concise way. You need to say just enough to give a good overview of your business, your products or services and what makes you different and better than your competitors. Too much copy can clutter the page and overwhelm the reader.

If you’re not happy with your website, consider a redesign. Hire a professional to help. If your budget is tight, you could consider using a DIY website platform like SquareSpace.

Make It A Habit

Once you’ve gone through the steps and made much needed updates to your business website, make it a habit to review these things on a regular basis.

Gone are the days when you could build a website and then forget about it for a few years. Effective, lead-generating business websites are living things. They evolve. They grow. And they should be updated on a regular basis. So, keep your website fresh. Your credibility depends on it.

RELATED CONTENT: Why You Must Have A Business Website

Nine Ways To Get Paid Faster As A Freelancer

If you’re a full time freelancer, no doubt you have experienced the roller coaster ride also known as WAITING TO GET PAID. Symptoms include: being ready to pounce when the mail carrier arrives. You also know the fastest route to the closest branch of your bank. And, you are quite aware of the latest possible time to make a deposit that will be credited for the same day. It’s stressful. You can’t control when that check is cut. But there are some things you can do to get paid faster.

Get Paid Faster By Invoicing Immediately

When you have projects piled up on your plate, it’s easy to put off administrative tasks. Though you may not directly charge your clients for the time it takes you to create and send an invoice, invoicing is a revenue generating activity. If you don’t invoice, you won’t get paid.

Your clients won’t start the process of paying you until after they’ve received your invoice. So, invoice as soon as possible after you’ve wrapped up a project or your hours for the month. The longer you wait, the longer you will be waiting to get paid for the time you’ve put in.

Get Paid Faster By Knowing Your Clients’ Pay Cycles

Many businesses have specific pay cycles. If you are working with a client on a regular basis, it’s worth asking if they have a pay cycle that you could/should follow for invoicing.

For example, I have a client that I work with three or four times a year. This particular organization cuts checks twice a month. Checks are cut on a Monday. The invoices are due for processing on the Wednesday before the checks are cut. If I can get my invoice in by the Wednesday deadline, I can get paid two weeks faster than if I wait.

Get Paid Faster By Accepting Credit Card Payments

Many online time tracking and invoicing programs like Harvest, FreshBooks, etc. allow you to give your clients the option of paying invoices by credit card. You will need a PayPal (or similar service) account to make it work.

Embrace it. You may be surprised to discover that some clients prefer to pay this way. My experience has been that clients that do pay this way, pay faster. So far, record time is three minutes from the time I invoiced.

Get Paid Faster By Requiring Money Down

For me, this was a lesson learned the hard way. Long story, but about six months into my business, I got stiffed for 50+ hours of work.

I was naïve. And, since I had a good rapport with the client, I had no reason to believe I wasn’t going to get paid.

I wish I knew then that requiring a percentage down was a common practice among freelancers. It may not have resulted in me getting paid for all of the work, but I would have been paid something.

Nowadays, depending on the size of the project, I invoice for 20%-50% upfront for new clients and clients that I have worked with previously, but do not work with on a regular basis.

Get Paid Faster By Charging A Late Fee

Add a late fee to your invoices to motivate clients to pay on time. Some invoicing programs allow you to set this up automatically. Spell out the terms on the invoice. Clearly state when payment is due and how the late fee will be calculated.

It doesn’t have to be much – 1%-2% per month after the payment due date can be enough to get a client’s attention. It’s also enough to make you feel a little better about getting paid late if they are a slow pay.

Get Paid Faster By Working On Retainer

It’s great work if you can get it. Working on retainer typically means that you get paid at the beginning of the month for hours you will be working during that month. Retainers are typically longer-term agreements. For example, a client might sign on with you for 20 hours a month for six months or a year.

You get paid before you actually perform the work, which is great. But because the client has made an advance purchase of your time, you are beholden to them to be available when they need to cash in on the time they’ve purchased.

That said, it doesn’t mean you can’t establish some boundaries. You’ll want to have a signed contract or signed written agreement spelling out the terms and expectations of both parties. It would also be worth addressing in writing what happens if the client does not use all of the hours they have purchased. Are they forfeited? Do they rollover?

Get Paid Faster By Accepting Payments On Large Invoices

This is probably not a strategy you want to implement on a regular basis, but there may be times when you may want to consider accepting payments on large invoices.

For example, I have a client I have been working with for almost five years. He consistently pays within 7 days of receiving my invoice. About a year or so ago, he was experiencing some cash flow issues. At the same time, he was ramping up his marketing and needed more help from me (about twice as many hours) than he typically needs in a month.

When he received my invoice, he contacted me, explained his cash flow situation and asked if he could pay the invoice in payments. I agreed.

It was a good solution for both of us. It gave him a little time to recover from his cash flow issue and I was at least getting something, instead of waiting for the entire amount later.

I would not have done this for just anyone. He and I have a well-established relationship and I felt like it was a good decision that I could live with.

Get Paid Faster By Cutting Off Repeat Offenders

If you have clients that are routinely slow at paying their invoices, you may want to think twice about working with them.

If your “slow-pays” are creating a hardship for you, they may not be worth the stress you experience while you are waiting for their payments to arrive. It takes time and energy to follow up on invoices and rework your budget when expected payments don’t arrive. You could be spending that time and energy doing work for clients that pay you on time.

At the very least, consider pressing the pause button on any new work until you’ve been paid for the past hours you have put in. Be sure to communicate why so they understand what your expectations are.

Follow Up To Get Paid Faster

The simplest thing you can do when invoices go unpaid is to follow up.

Don’t just sit idly by. Yes, it can be awkward, but if you’ve put in the work, you deserve to be paid.

Think about it this way. If you just walked out the door without paying for a cut and color at your hair salon, someone would follow up. It would be immediate, and possibly with shears in hand.

As a freelancer, you don’t usually benefit from getting paid at the time of service. But, when your invoice is due, it’s due.

Decide on your payment terms, clearly state them on your invoices, and follow up when payments are overdue. My invoices are due upon receipt. I typically start follow up after 30 days.

A friendly email reminder usually works. Sometimes invoices just get overlooked or stuck on someone’s desk.

Do you have any strategies to get paid faster that I haven’t covered? Tell us about them in the comments below.

Blogging For Your Business: A Beginner’s Guide

If you’ve done the research, you probably know that blogging for your business is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your customers. Maybe you’ve even added a blog to your business website, or have it on your to-do list. The question now is – content.

While the design of your website plays an important role in catching a visitor’s attention, when it comes to blogging for your business, content is king.

How Blogging For Your Business Helps

Blog articles are synonymous with the term “content,” but content can come in many different forms, including infographics and videos.

It works for you, educating your audience about your products or services and building your credibility as an expert in your industry.

As a bonus, regular updates to your company blog can help increase your search engine rankings, making it easier for potential clients or customers to find you.

The better your content, the better your blog. Here are a few tips to help you get off to a good start.

Table The Sales Pitch

Your company blog is not a place to advertise. It’s not a sales tool. It’s a place for potential customers to get to know you and your business. It also serves as a platform for you to position your business as a valuable resource for the audience you are trying to reach.

The value of blogging for business is that it helps you build trust and credibility with your audience. Those are two things that can ultimately convert prospects into customers or keep existing customers coming back for more.

Post With Purpose

Though blogging may have had its start as a place for dreamers to post deep thoughts, when you are blogging for business, it’s different. You want every single blog to have a purpose, and potential for the reader to benefit from it.

Your posts need to be relevant to your audience, and be something that they actually might read. If not, what’s the point of putting it online in the first place? Spend a little time brainstorming some topics. A good place to start is by thinking about common problems that your customers or clients face and offering your expert advice or pro tips for solving them.

For example, if you are a massage therapist you might put together a list of stretches for relieving neck tension associated with sitting behind a desk all day. A life coach could post articles with tips for finding motivation to achieve goals. Own a café? Do a blog post on your favorite herb and how you like to use it. You get the drift.

Brainstorm and come up with a list so you will never be short of ideas when you have the time to write. Try to post at least once a month, more often if you are able. When you have time to write, even if it’s not time to post yet, go ahead and write your article. You can schedule it or hold it for later.

You Don’t Have To Do It Alone

If you’re too busy to write blog posts yourself and don’t have a staff member who can do it for you, there are ways you can still have an active and engaging blog.

You can hire someone to write for you. Quality freelance writers are skilled at becoming “experts for a day” on whatever topic you would like them to write about. Find someone in your local area or consult websites like Upwork to find a writer who can help. Ask to review samples of their work before you hire them for the job.

It’s also possible to purchase content that’s already written. Services like Constant Content offer pre-written articles for a small fee. You can also order custom articles on topics of your choice for a higher fee.

Whatever route you choose to keep your blog updated, make sure what you are posting passes a quality check. Poor content and poorly written articles will undermine any potential that your online presence has. Misspellings and poor grammar will make you AND your company look amateur at best, and that is NOT what you want people to think of when they think of you. Proofread before you post.

If you’re just starting out, the idea of making regular updates to your blog on top of everything else you need to do can seem a little overwhelming. But blogging for your business can be an effective and inexpensive way to get the word out about what you have to offer. It is well worth the effort. Stick with it and just keep in mind that content is king.

Six Ways To Achieve Better Work Life Balance As A Solopreneur

To the untrained eye, it may seem easy to achieve work life balance as a solopreneur. Your friends with “day jobs” may see the grass as being so much greener on our side. Sure, we often have the ability to set our own schedules. We don’t have to ask permission to leave the office to go to a dentist appointment. We can take time to go holiday shopping when the mall is less crowded.

There are a lot of perks to being self-employed, but those of us doing it also know it can be a juggling act that can lead to stress, anxiety, and frustration. Work life balance as a solopreneur can be difficult to achieve.

As a one-woman show, you are among the busiest of business owners. You are wearing most of, if not all of the hats. You are in charge of sales, marketing, inventory, bookkeeping…the list goes on and on. Plus, you are doing the work of providing the service that you offer or minding the store. And, that doesn’t take into account the family commitments and other obligations competing for your attention as you strive to be successful in every aspect of your life.

Achieving The Elusive Work Life Balance

I’m sorry to report that there is no magic formula to achieve work life balance. But here are some things you can do to help reduce your stress as you try to keep all of the balls in the air.

Keep Your Eye On The Prize.

Establish short-term and long-term SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goals for your business. Having SMART goals in place will help you maintain your focus on what you ultimately want to accomplish. Having that focus will make it easier to eliminate or avoid obstacles and other distractions that pop up in your way.

Keep A Calendar.

That means one calendar with everything on it. Whether you choose an electronic format or a hard-copy planner, your business meetings or deadlines, personal appointments, and other commitments should all be in one place so you can avoid double-booking. It will also help you foresee potential log jams, so you can take action to mitigate the stress of a work-related pile-up.

Prioritize.

Make lists daily to help you maintain focus on what must be done that day. Setting priorities will help you stay on track and avoid diversions. Inevitably, you may veer off your plan from time to time, but a daily priority list can get you back on track when you do get distracted.

Delegate.

You can do anything, but you can’t do everything. If you can do nothing else to improve your work life balance, at least try to delegate. Ask family members to pitch in to help with household chores and errands. Consider outsourcing certain business tasks or projects that don’t necessarily need to be performed by you.

Learn To Say “No.”

If you are able (or appear to be able) to balance your business and personal commitments, chances are you are the “go-to” person for a lot of people in your life. Give yourself permission to say “no” to anything that adds more to your already full plate. Likewise, take a look at your current list of responsibilities to see if there is anything you can give up.

Make Time To Relax.

Your brain and your body need downtime. Relaxation relieves stress and can help improve your concentration when you return to your tasks. Schedule yourself time to recharge your battery, the energy you gain from relaxation will make you more productive later.

Building and growing a successful business requires a time commitment that cannot be compromised. But if you maintain your focus, stay organized, and give yourself a little downtime once in a while you will experience less stress and be better positioned to achieve your business goals.

What tips do you have to achieve better work life balance? Share them in the comments below!

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Six Ways To Make More Money As A Freelancer

As a freelancer, cash flow is often a feast or famine situation, especially when you are first starting out. Employing strategies to level out those peaks and valleys is essential. Here are some lessons I have learned along the way and tips I’ve picked up from others to help you make more money as a freelancer.

Evaluate Your Hourly Rate

Are you charging enough for your time? Yeah, I’m talking to you. We women are hilarious. We are furious about pay inequality in the workplace, but as freelancers we are quite notorious for undervaluing our services. If you want to make more money as a freelancer, I have two words for you…stop it! You’re in charge, get paid for what your talent and experience are worth.

Your freelance hourly rate needs to be within the range of what others are doing in your industry and perhaps your locale, but remember that it is uniquely yours. Do a little research on freelance rates. Also, take your experience and talent into account. Then set your rate and start earning what you deserve.

Make More Money As A Freelancer By Giving Yourself A Raise

Maybe you’re happy with your hourly rate. Great! But are you bumping it up on an annual basis?

Generally speaking, when you are working for someone else and you are doing a good job, if the company is in good financial standing, you’re probably going to get a merit increase on annual basis. Why aren’t you treating yourself the same way? Consider giving yourself at least a cost of living (2%) increase on an annual basis.

Limit Face-To-Face Meetings

This was one of the best pieces of advice I received from a friend who is freelance website developer. If communication on a project can be done on the phone or through email, do it that way.

When you are juggling multiple clients and projects you need to be efficient with your time. Face-to-face meetings are sometimes a necessity, but they can also be a time-suck.

Even if you are being paid to be there (and you should be), meetings can interrupt your momentum and decrease your productivity for the day. Less productivity means fewer billable hours and less folding money for you.

Advertise

20 years ago, advertising for a freelance business would have been a luxury that few could afford. Social media has changed that. With social ads, you can cast a wide net to reach potential clients worldwide or hyper-target your message to a specific locale or industry. And, you can invest less money in the effort than you spent for that fajita bowl you had for lunch.

Diversify Your Services

Not everyone who needs your help can afford to hire you. But maybe there’s something you can offer to that audience that will be a win-win for you and them. If you want to make more money as a freelancer, you should give it some thought.

For a freelance website designer that might mean you offer some templates at a low price point. For a freelance writer or marketing consultant, you might offer an affordable webinar with blogging or social media tips.

One of my clients, a freelance HR consultant, offers an employee handbook as a base level service. Because it is template-based, she is able to quickly and easily customize it for her clients at an affordable rate. They get something they need. She gets paid. Everyone is happy.

Stay In Touch

Many of my clients are “one and done,” meaning they contract me for a single project, and they may never need my services again. But even when there is no plan for a future project, I stay in touch.

Staying in touch keeps you top of mind and makes them more likely to call you when another project comes up or refer you business when they encounter someone who could use your help.

Don’t be a pest, just check in once in a while with a friendly email or a call. Consider it light networking.

Just last month, I reached out to a client that I worked with last year, asking if I would see him at an upcoming industry conference. As it turned out, he was not attending the conference, but he called a week later with a small project for me. Cha-ching!