Microsoft have relaunched windowslive as a social networking platform. For some time they seemed to be desperately trying to buy Yahoo!, then [allegedly] tried AOL, they’ve got nowhere with Facebook, Bebo and the likes and seem to have given up hitting an existing, popular market. Even their most popular platform;  Hotmail has been falling behind as other webmail systems moved into the realms of AJAX programming (the ability to load web content without reloading the entire page), their Spam filter also leaves much to be desired, certainly compared to Gmail who’s spam filter is virtually flawless!

Microsoft have tried giving away free templated websites with Office Live (which they are still doing) but the uptake seems slow and promotion scarce (for which I’m certainly thankful for), the software itself is flexible but a little over-complicated. The bonus is that they provide the hosting and domain name for free which you can take with you if and when you upgrade. For small websites with few followers, this is an excellent solution.

So what are Microsoft doing now? They seem to have gone back to their corner muttering insanities under their breaths and started work on their own products again. I fear this is too little too late as they attempt to copy the best bits from other sites rather than being inspired and moving the web forward.

Microsoft should ideally stick to offline software and continue developing it’s own products rather than trying to hit the online market. As their web efforts increase, their software side seems to be diminishing, allowing open source equivilents and indeed Apple to take the limelight. Windows is, and always has been a great product, most complainers are complaining using this platform so they must be doing something right even though it’s not quite perfect for everyone. The online side of Microsoft, that is their email exchange software and various others should be opened up to avoid the need for specific Microsoft exchange servers. This way they can compete with Google documents (which is not 100% Word compatible, and certainly far from perfect) then they will continue to dominate the office and avoid loss of marketshare to these free services. Unfortunately as more and more people are storing documents online and slowly coming to terms with editing them online, Microsoft are losing out to online office solutions.

The moral of this story is really to stick to what you’re good at. In a previous employment, I worked initially on design, development, hosting, web, print, seo, stationary, and promotional products. Between two people it became impossible to do anything with 100% quality. We attempted to project manage printers etc. but this too impacted on what we were best at. Only when we removed these ’sidelines’ were we able to concentrate entirely on web design and development and spend time making things run efficiently with the quality we, and the clients were happy with. External products we could work with but were not seen as supplied by us, so once we sent clients out to a printer, we didn’t have to worry about how things were moving. This is a lesson I’ve brought into Zako Media and until we have the skillset and staff to offer a particular product or service, we won’t offer it. I only want Zako Media to give out work which we and the client are happy with, we will not dilute our efforts, attention, knowledge, time, or profits on external activities just to try and help make a sale.

Ever wondered how to make money while on holiday? Most service providers ask this question every day. When you are not present, the business effectively pauses, your income stops but your bills continue to fly through the post every month. Is there a way to turn your knowledge into a real salable product? A product which sells itself while you take a break, go away, recover from illness? Before you answer that question, let me tell you about ebookplace:

Zako Media has teamed up with copywriters, search engine optimisers, marketeers and together we have put together the ULTIMATE ebook package. Using our individual expert knowledge and project managed by a single point of contact, we can help you with all aspects of ebooks from the initial concept, right up to taking your automated payments through automatic distribution.

We’ve also setup ebookplace A free community that is totally focussed on eBooks and other digital products. This community is ideal for people who have never written an eBook, and equally suited to seasoned eBook experts. You can explore eBook marketing ideas, share your eBook experiences, demonstrate your eBook knowledge, take part in eBook discussions, and if you are new to eBooks, ask all those eBook related questions that you were dying to ask.

But what have you got to write about?

Share your business knowledge, share your personal experiences, perhaps your recovery path through terminal illness, inspirational passages or poetry. Not everyone can afford your consultancy fees and you’re not willing to drop your prices that low, how about offering an alternative? Add worksheets to help them on their way.

If you think there’s a market for it, go onto ebookplace, talk to the growing community and find out. Don’t know how to write, market and sell? That’s where we can step in to give you a helping hand.

The quality ebook market is continuing to grow, don’t let that book stagnate inside you

Many people I speak to as potential clients are left in this situation. They’ve forked out for a nice (or not so nice) website, they’ve added it into the google thingy and now… nothing… not a sausage… or an enquiry.

If you want an egg to roll off the table into a bucket, you need to tip the table in the right direction and make sure the bucket is ready and in place to receive aforementioned egg.

How do you tip the table? There are a number of ways including paying Google for clicks to your site, through to a little tweaking to help position your website. (See Nikki Pilkington’s 299 steps to website heaven for some great tips, or talk to Nikki, another SEO specialist or even your web designer directly.

One easy way is to basically link to it. Make sure in the editing page of your Ecademy profile your web address is filled in. If you have a blog or other websites, link back to your main website with descriptive text. (don’t just call the link ‘Click Here’)

So the table’s been tipped, with any luck, the egg will start to roll. Any eggs placed on the table in future will also roll. Now how to get it into the bucket instead of on the floor?

Route your visitors through the site and make sure they finish up with a call to action. Come and see us, send me an email, call me for a no-obligation quote, speak to me for impartial advice.

When?

Call me NOW for a quote!

What’s the catch?

Call me now for a FREE instant quote!

Can what you do initially be done online? Do you sell widgets? Could you ship them to clients paying through the site? Can your quoting system be automated in the form of an online calculator? Could the site book appointments/viewings/meetings/rooms online? This makes the table slippy to make the egg slide better. Eggs don’t want to think, but they can break so make it easy.

You can of course complement table tipping with egg removal. This method involves picking up the egg you want in the bucket, and placing it directly inside. Make sure your website address is on every business card, letterhead, invoice, compliments slip, mailshot, newspaper ad, magazine, and catalogue you hand out. This method is easier individually than the table tipping method, but you can only move the eggs you’re targetting. Any eggs you miss will stay on the table.

Eggs are now starting to slide and more are being laid? Get some statistics for your website. I know it’s a load of numbers but they are useful numbers. Google Analytics provide a very nice, clean tool, sometimes they’re even built into your web hosting package. These statistics will show you how many eggs were laid on the table, how they slid and where they landed. If 90% of your eggs are leaving the table at the wrong side, maybe you need to adjust the tilt. If people are leaving when they read the ‘About Us’ page, what am I doing to scare them off? Change it, watch the stats, see if it’s made a difference. The more you offer value (depth of tilt) and the easier it is for eggs to slide, the more eggs will start flowing through.

Once the eggs are falling into the bucket, it’s then up to you to do what you do best to catch them.

How many people hit your site last month?
How many people used your enquiry form or called you whilst on the website?
How many of these enquiries turned into sales?

“But the website isn’t our main way of generating business”

It doesn’t have to the main way, but if you’re marketing to billions of people, you want to convert some surely. Otherwise they’re using your competitors.

Where are your eggs getting stuck?