I have read a lot of blogs that discuss marketing
your brand. One of the key things suggested is that you have an elevator pitch
for your product, service or business. An elevator pitch is a brief summary of
your products key selling points. By brief, we mean the time it takes to ride
an elevator in your office building.
The key to the pitch, apparently, is to say
as much as you can about your product that will make the person listening want
to hear more. Usually that person is someone you are trying to sell to or
trying to get more funding from.
Another view of the elevator pitch I have
been thinking about is what to say when someone asks “What do you do for work?”
When I worked for an employer, it was really simple to answer that question. I
would just say who worked for, and that was generally enough to satisfy them.
Since I started freelancing, when friends
and associates asked me what I was doing these days, I sort of fumbled my way
through the answer. The problem was I had not really given much thought to
answering the question properly. I also found that the work I do is not unique.
I’m not saying I’m not good at my job, but I’m just not the only one doing this
work. So I realised I’m not in a niche market. If you read any blogs about
starting a blog, one the first things they recommend is to identify a niche
market and corner that market.
So, here is my answer to the question “What
do you do for work?” –
“I am a freelance consultant specialising
in helping small businesses make the most of their network, e-mail and website.
I am able to slot in at any stage of a project or I can manage the whole
project for you if that is preferred.”
How would you answer the question “What do
you do for work?”
As a start to the new year, I have changed the default listing of articles. Previously you would have seen all the articles on the one page. I have changed the query, so it will only list the last ten articles on the home page. The older articles can still be read by using the archive section in the sidebar.
I have done this because I felt, as the site grows, it may take longer to view the pages if it is loading all the blog articles. Also, it makes better blog sense, just to have the the latest and up to date articles on the front page.
The BBC technology news team have listed their top highlights of 2008.
What was you tech highlight of 2008?
A feature of any blog is the ability to subscribe to a RSS feed. To allow me to track the subscribers to my RSS feed, I have transferred the feed to feedburner. This will provide me with a variety of customisation options as well as track how people are subscribing. A useful thing, if I want to reach my blogging goals of 2009. So, please all of you click on the button on the sidebar and become reader of my blog.
It's almost the end of the year, so I thought I would set myself some goals for my website.
So here they are
-
Reach 50 RSS Subscribers
- Post at least 2 original articles each week
- 1000 site visits per month
- Launch 2 new sites
What are your goals for 2009
The next version of Microsoft Office is due out in 2009. Most small businesses have relied on verious versions of MS Office to accomplish their day to day business. Unfortunately, the cost of the different versions have made it difficult for the small business owner to continue justifying upgrades to the next version.
With the next version of Office, Microsoft are preparing web versions. Some of these will be free, which may well help the home and small business user. The BBC have an interview with Stephen Elop, the head of Microsoft's business division.
As this is a new site, you can expect some changes.
A recent addition to my posts is the use of categories. Each article will be categorised, with new categories being added as required. You will find a list of the categories in the sidebar so they can be easily browsed.
Also in the sidebar, you will find an archive area. I felt this was appropriate as the site grows. The archive is arranged by month with the total posts for that month.
To make it easier to keep up to date with the site, a RSS feed has been provided here. This should work with any RSS agregator.
I'll keep you posted on more additions to the site.
A design requirement I keep coming across is how to incorporate ads in a website design. Even if there are no ads initially, there will be one day. That means you have to plan for ads when designing the layout of a new site.
I am so glad, I'm not the only one to come across this issue. The guys at Smashing Magazine have found it as well and compiled an article around ads in website designs. It shows some good and bad examples.
Gartner has produced its latest analysis of the smartphone market. The figures are at Engadget which shows that the iPhone has passed Windows Mobile for the firts time. I am a big Windows Mobile fan, so find this very interesting. Microsoft need to get Windows Mobile 7 out sooner than later before they slip much further.
The use of RSS has grown significantly. However, a downside to using RSS feeds is that you can end up so many feeds in your list that you just don't have the time to read them all. A good post here at webworkerdaily on how to fine tune your RSS subscriptions.
An absolute must is to spend a little time every so often and clearing down dead feeds. It can be so easy to get overwhelmed by duplicate feeds
It looks like Microsoft are looking at a January release of the first beta version of Windows 7. This blog post explains how developers can get their hands on a copy at the Microsoft Developer Conference
As the year comes to a close, we look back on the year that was. Lifehacker has published their list of the most popular top 10's of 2008. Take a look and see if any make your top 10
Hi there
This is the first post for my new blog site. Rather than use an existing blogging engine, I have decided to create my own. Over the coming weeks, I will be adding additional features to the site.