FAQ Update

Heya…since I’ve been rude and ignorin’ ya (sorry!), I thought I’d stop in and get you up-to-date with what’s up at the FAQ. Here’s what’s new:

• Can I Edit Web Pages Live on My Server? (for FrontPage users)
• Can I Use Articles for Product Launches?
• How Do You Make Those Pop-Ups That Look Like Post-It Notes?

I’ll work on getting some more questions answered this week. Until next time.

What Website Hosts Do You Recommend?

Q: What website hosts do you recommend?

A: In my early days online (not too long ago!), I had some pretty bad hosting experiences. I dealt with poor support and with overloaded servers that caused my site to move at a snail’s pace…and I’ve moved beyond that. I now work with a few key web hosts that deliver the kind of service that you and I deserve.

Servint: I have 2 Virtual Private Servers (VPS) with Servint and am very satisfied. There support is 24/7 and I always get a near-immediate answer to any support requests. I don’t believe they have any small hosting plans, but if you need lots of space and bandwidth (great if you have a lot of audio or video on your site, etc.), Servint is worth looking into. Be sure to tell them that Alice from internetbasedmoms.com sent you.

The only problems I’ve had with Servint is with hosting my own email lists on my own autoresponder. I’ve never figured out the problem, but since have decided against hosting my own mailing lists to avoid false spam complaints and to get better delivery rates (but that’s another topic).

Mom Webs: A nice service with great uptime. It’s full cpanel hosting and efficient support and service.

Don’t Even Know How to Make a Web Page?

If you don’t know how to edit web pages and don’t want to fuss with a web page editor or learning HTML, here’s a couple website builder recommendations.

Internet Based Family: This is a site builder that I offer that creates professional-looking websites in minutes…plus, there’s a ton of great extra features. There’s a 10-day free trial too.

…or if you’re ready for heavy-duty marketing school, check out…

SiteBuildIt (SBI): Look at SBI as a marketing school, rather than a site builder and you’ll do awesome. Ken Evoy of SiteSell includes an amazing manual that comes with the builder and the builder itself has a ton of marketing-savvy features. If you decide on using SiteBuildIt, just realize that the process of getting your site online may seem to be a slow one as you make your way through the manual….but let me tell you, if you’re patient it will be well worth it. Ken really shows you how to make sites that make money. You want to make money, don’t you?

For Domains & Hosting:

Definitely check out Internet Based Moms Hosting - your one-stop shop for cheap domains and a variety of hosting packages.

Can I Use Articles for Product Launches?

Q: How can articles be used as part of a product launch? Are there different strategies for different type of products, i.e. e-books, physical products, or launching a content website? [Read more]

Can I Edit My Web Pages Live On My Server?

Q: I use FrontPage. Can I Edit My Web Pages Live On My Server? [Read more]

Move Over Cosmo!

Last week, I was pretty excited to receive my first issue of the WC News, a printed newsletter just for work at home moms….a project from Kelly McCausey. While Nell Taliercio read hers in her bathtub, I took mine to the gym. It was a refreshing change from my usual gym reading diet of Cosmo and Blender magazine.

I love getting printed information on marketing that is relevant to the way I do business. There’s lots of great marketing books out there, but I love to devour anything that is up-to-the-minute info and is mom and/or Internet marketing related. And it’s so much better when I can get away from the computer and just enjoy the good reading.

I already receive my monthly Reese Report from John Reese and I was so glad when Kelly came out with the WC. But now, I’m done all my reading for the month. BUMMER! So, it finally inspired me to finally get my subscription of Revenue magazine. I now eagerly await my first issue.

If you’re a mom (or even Dad) with a home business, definitely grab a copy of Kelly’s publication (it’s dirt cheap!). And hey, be sure to give me your recommendations for any Internet marketing publications you subscribe to. I want MORE!

The Update on MalcolmsWeb.com

Argh…I’m up past my bedtime because I’m thinking about this one. Thinking really hard. So, I thought instead of pondering alone, I’d share my thoughts with you…since I promised you an update anyway.

I’m talking about the MalcolmsWeb.com Revival Project that I embarked on after the site was banned by Google. FYI - the site is still not listed in Google. However, every few weeks or so, it gets a cache of the home page and then it drops it again a few days later. Enough about Google. Let me share what’s been happening on this project.

In order to generate more non-Google traffic, with the help of my assistants (Thank you!), I’ve been adding original content, distributing articles and we also did a couple press releases. The results have been half-decent. Adsense income is up over 30% from June…and traffic is up about 2000 visitors per month. Not a huge deal, but I also haven’t put as much work into it as I could. I also need to make sure this all fits into my semi-retirement plan (which is going very well by the way…except tonight when I can’t seem to get to sleep!)…but really…

I guess I’ve been holding myself back.

Over the past 3 years that I’ve owned the site, I’ve learned quite a few things that generate extra viral traffic to the baby and toddler site, but I dropped a lot of them along the way. I dropped them because they were time-consuming. Now that I understand more ways to automate things (or…err…at least my programmer does - Lynette doesn’t take new clients, but she has a great newsletter you’ll be interested in), I’m ready to give some of these things a go again. This includes accepting article submissions, sweepstakes, coupons, etc. I have a bunch more things up my sleeve, but I’m not quite ready to share them yet.

I thought about adding all these things back onto the malcolmsweb.com domain, but I realized it might be time to start fresh with a new domain because:

1. Google hates this one. Even though it’s possible to live without Google, it’s much sweeter to have the almighty search engine on your side.

2. This domain name is actually quite personal. It’s also difficult to spell and remember. Malcolm is my son’s name (he celebrated his 4th birthday earlier this evening, by the way). If I want to really grow the traffic and exposure, I’d like to use a more memorable and appropriate name.

3. The site is an organizational mess. I’ve gone through this with internetbasedmoms.com already and I’d rather not go through that again. I created both malcolmsweb.com and internetbasedmoms.com when I had NO CLUE what I was doing with websites. Articles and content are all over the place and it’s tough to make your way around to all the content. I’ve resisted changing internetbasedmoms.com because the SE traffic is good and there are so many incoming links to the site…and the site is just too darned huge to mess with. However, I can risk starting over again with malcolmsweb.com since the site isn’t as large and well…as I already said, Google hates it.

I hope you don’t find my report to disappointing thus far. I asked you to give me a few months to report some results to you and it’s now been 2 months since I said I was embarking on this project. I really want to do this the right way, so I’m taking some time to restructure everything. I want to make the most of the great content at malcolmsweb.com and to re-introduce some old ideas in a more efficient way.

So, I have a question for you. I am not a fan of “giving-up”, but I’m also not a fan of throwing more time and money at some that can be done a whole lot better. Is there something you’ve been working on that could be a whole lot better if you step back, re-organize and create a new plan?

Free Mini-Site Goodies

I’ve shared some “How to Mini-Site” info with you in the past and still continue to receive lots of questions about mini sites. I’ve answered some on my FAQ, but I wanted to share a totally free resource with you.

Iszuddin Ismail aka “Kidino” has put together some videos, templates and a bunch of expert interviews in his free membership site. You’ll even see some information on using press releases for your mini-sites there as well.

Click here for free access: DIY Mini-Site

Now, This is How to Help People in Need

As we all know, Hurricane Katrina has caused an unbelievable amount of destruction in the U.S’s Gulf Coast. Even though, the hurricane has passed, there’s still many people without food or shelter.

Fellow Internet marketer, Greg Rozsa, is trying to help as many people as he can. Along with his friend, Jeff Little, the two are going to be distributing as much food and water to those in need. Greg has started a fundraising campaign that will allow 100% of the donations to go directly to helping those in need.

Firstly, I’d like commend Greg and Jeff for their selfless efforts and for trying to make a real difference. I’m so proud of you for taking time away from your businesses and families to help others.

Secondly, I’d like to tell you that these gentlemen are contributing a great deal of their own money, but could certainly use some additional funds to make the most impact. I just made my contribution moments ago. If you’d like to do the same, please go to:

http://www.helpwithkatrina.com

Also, if you are involved with any relief efforts or want to share some thoughts, please feel free to post them in the comments area.

And finally, if you’re a bit skeptical about contributing to a privately run fundraising campaign, I hope you’ll read today’s letter from Gary Halbert. Once you’ve read that, you’ll see why finding people with big hearts, just like Greg and Jeff, is just what we need. These are the people who can make the most difference.

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