Category Archives: Blotter

How to eliminate distractions and get into the zone

How to eliminate distractions and get into the zone

If there was one aspect of work you could improve at, what would it be? For many, it’s eliminate distractions and becoming more productive by cutting down on the things that draw time away from work and entering that ever-elusive “zone” where getting things done becomes second nature.

Traditional wisdom tells us that the ability to get working is either something you’re born with or not. But the truth is, it’s something that you can learn, provided you’re dedicated enough to taking the right steps. A good way to look at things is that productivity is one part mental, and one part habitual.

Eliminate DistractionsTo eliminate distractions you may consider these ideas:

Eliminate Distractions: How you think matters a lot!

First, you need to “get your mind right,” so to speak, and eliminate distractions. One of the biggest reasons people get distracted or can’t find their stride while working is because they can’t get out of their own way and make things happen.

Do you find yourself justifying time wasted with excuses?

  • “I couldn’t get it done because X happened first.”
  • “I don’t have enough time because blah blah blah.”
  • “There was no way I could have etc. etc.”

This is part of the problem when trying to eliminate distractions. Even when those excuses are justified, simply harping on them isn’t fixing anything. Instead of worrying about what has gone wrong or could go wrong, you need to change your frame of mind from one that is looking for excuses to one that is looking for solutions.

Eliminate distractions with ease

Eliminate distractions with ease

Part of that change comes from how you think to eliminate distractions. When there’s a lot to do, it’s easy to get hung up on how stressful and overwhelming the situation has become. That approach, unfortunately, will paralyze you before you can formulate a plan to reach your goals.

Eliminate distractions when working

Eliminate distractions when working

A much better approach is to take a step back and ask critical questions that can lead you to accomplishment.

  • “What needs to be done, and what’s the best way to make time for it all?”
  • “Where is all this stress coming from, and how can I eliminate some of it to succeed?”
  • “How can I change my approach to get things done?”

By simply asking these questions of yourself, you’ll have taken one of the most important steps to cutting out what’s holding you back and marching confidently into the zone where you can do the most good. Now, it’s time to organize yourself so you can eliminate distractions.

Eliminate Distractions: What You Do Decides Success

With the right frame of mind, you’ll see that there is a way to structure your schedule to have the most impact. To eliminate distractions means to find structure.

Let’s say, for example, you’re launching an online crowdfunding campaign, and there are multiple components you need to handle to ensure success. In a frantic state of mind, you might try “multitasking,” tackling everything that you can think of at the same time.

This will usually lead to ruin, as you juggle all of your work and complete it slowly and poorly.

A much better idea would be to set a timetable, allow yourself a suitable amount of hours to concentrate on one task at a time, then hammer them out with increased focus (and ample breaks in between each) for better results.

You can use online tools like Clockspot to keep yourself on schedule, and you’ll probably find that working in this way allows you to get more done in the long run.

Remember that you need to incorporate both the right mindset and the right tools to get in the zone and eliminate distractions. You’ll be well on your way to a more productive day.

Author Bio – Wendy Dessler

Wendy is a super-connector with OutreachMama and Towering who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.

 

Website manager marketing in 7 steps

Website manager marketing starts with making a plan. The website is both technical and creative and should include ongoing strategies for bringing visitors to the website and actioning the functionality there. Website manager marketing solutions are a combination of a forward-facing technical applications married to traditional marketing and public relations practices. The point is to drive more and better traffic to a website.

Create Strategy for your website manager marketing plan

Website Manager Marketing Checklist:

1. Deploy the Website

Deploy the website using WordPress or other Content Management System to allow for frequent updates by multiple contributors. Use a hosting service that allows for automatic website backups. Appoint an implementer and developer (PHP developer if using WordPress) to execute on the next steps.

Use GetFlyWheel.com or another premium service that allows for rollbacks and easy deployment and management. The hosting service will allow the client to maintain the website address and maintain exclusive control over the pages.

2. Functionality for Website manager marketing

(i.e., Buy Product, Contact Business, Schedule Service, etc.)
Perhaps the most important aspect of the website manager marketing plan, the functionality gives an action item for visitors to the website. For example, a doctor’s website would offer online booking, an eCommerce website generates sales and other businesses may simply be looking for someone to call a phone number or fill out a form so that a sales person can follow up with the user directly. Useful functionality on a website is the key to a successful website manager marketing plan. If using WordPress, this means implementing existing or new plugins.

Article creation, social media, seo optimization, topic creation

For SEO you’ll want the WordPress SEO Module, for links to social media accounts, the website manager should use a Social Media Optimization Module (Share buttons for your pages including universal sharing button, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, WhatsApp and many more.), for Newsletters sends use something like MailPoet or other turn-key application for building emails, for contact forms use Contact Form 7, for eBlast – 10,000 emails – additional $75.00/thousand), for optimizing with Google utilize the Google Analyticator, and for security try out Securi. In addition to these standard plugins for WordPress, the Website manager should respond to the needed functionality on the website.

3. Content Creation

600-800 Unique words per week in original blog and page posts. Content is king for website manager marketing tactics. The key to any successful website is good content and functionality. Storyboarding, location scouting and creating a schedule for blogging is important. Article Creation should include 600-800 unique words in each blog post with 5 images/month minimum. Additionally, Social Media posting with 5 unique post/week minimum on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, etc. is important.

Content creation creates your brand

4. Thought Leadership Blogging and Videos

Place videos on your website should occur four times per year or weekly, if possible. Website manager marketing should focus on why the website is a thought leader with the relevant content contained within the video.

Thought Leadership through Video Creation

Reputation building will be accomplished by producing content that includes blogging and video. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP is the expertise on a particular subject. Creating informative content that demonstrates thought leadership or demonstrates a unique or compelling argument is what all good viral posts and videos have in common. Blotter follows and recommends the Ann Handley model for publishing dynamic content, but Blotter has simplified it to focus on the good of the good writing style.

5. SEO Optimization

Communicating with Google and other search engines allows users to find the website. Website managers should utilize keywords on each page and follow standard optimization practices throughout the website. Here are free optimization tools to use: CLICK HERE

Utilize the latest Search Engine Optimization strategy to maximize the success for website manager marketing results. Utilizing WordPress SEO (Yoast) plugin or other software to allow for on-the-fly optimizing of new posts and pages on the website. Create Google Analytics account and run diagnostics to ensure best practices.

6. Client engagement through Social Media & eNewsletters

Automatically emailing collected email addresses will promote the website’s content and video. The Newsletter eBlast allows for the creation and sending of emails by capturing email addresses and posting periodic updates email newsletters, the education of existing and new customers will be assured while motivating them to use the website’s functionality.

Thought Leadership News & Articles

Consistent customer communications means utilizing a service such as Hootsuite to schedule communications to Facebook pages or tweets to users, for example. Email newsletters are highly recommended as an ideal mode for direct customer engagement.

7. Public Relations & Marketing for Website manager marketing

Working to market client to major news outlets for dissemination of information will attract new business and help to build reputation through traditional and digital media outlets. Boost reputation of business by working with major news organizations, industry publications and websites, and soliciting the re-distribution of content, video and news via third-party media.

Website manager marketing

Implementation of digital and traditional website manager marketing may include contacting other website for back-linking opportunities, guest blogging or sending press releases to magazines and newspapers. Social Media posting and coordinated posting is important to any Website manager marketing plan.

5 Steps to make a negative space logo like FedEx

5 Steps to make a negative space logo like FedEx

There’s nothing easy about making a negative space logo like FedEx, but here are a few basic steps to launch the project. Working it out can take days if not weeks, but the concepts to create a good negative space logo only requires these 5 easy steps.

Negative space is that area around a graphic which helps to define the boundaries of the positive space while communicating a message or idea.

1. Start with the white space – White spaces are often ignored around logos, but if we take a closer look at the FedEx logo we will see how white space is captured in between the “E” and the “X” to create an arrow pointing rightward. Focus on the white space and decide where you have to build in the negative space icon (see below).

2. Download a font or icon to create the negative space – By building a simple font or icon into the “featured image”, you can create the negative space while having a symbol that is already representative of the message you want to communication. (DOWNLOAD SAMPLE ICON HERE)

Sample Icon for Negative Space

Use a sample icon for creating negative space for a place to start.

3. Use basic design discipline to create the “featured image” where the negative space logo will play off – The results of making negative space logos can be brilliant, but they also risk being too clever for their own good. For this reason, you should start with a simple and effective “feature image”. For example, if you are a beer store, use a mug of beer and play off the handle’s negative space.

beermug

This is the “featured image” where we will take negative space. An open handle is perfect for a font or an icon.

4. View other examples – Where negative space in logos have been successful, including the famous FedEx example, you will find tips and trips for applying your own hand at creating a negative space logo. Design factors that lead to the success of a negative space logo remains basic understanding of graphics and design: symmetry, simplicity, color selection and communication apply to a negative space logo as do any logo. Google “Good Logo Design” or CLICK HERE for some ideas on what makes good design in logos.Examples of negative space logos:

negative-space-logo-fedex negative-space-logo-kn negative-space-logo-kolner-zoo negative-space-logo-martini-house negative-space-logo-nexite-logo negative-space-logo-shift negative-space-logo-snooty-peacock negative-space-logo-spartan negative-space-logo-texas-wine negative-space-logoff

negative space logo

There’s nothing easy about making a negative space logo like FedEx, but here are a few basic steps to launch the project.

5. Apply the icon into the designated negative space – The last step in creating a negative space logo is to drop the icon into the main logo image you are trying to set off. For the sake of this tutorial, see below concept with utilizing a font instead of an icon to create the negative space, with the same outcome.

How to make a logo like FedEx requires knowledge making negative space logos. There are only a few examples of well-designed negative space logos.


  • Negative Space Oddity – A bloggers favorite negative space logos at LogoDesignLove.com
    more

  • How to Use Negative Space  – Some more tips and trips at 1stWebDesigner.com
    more

  • HP’s Logo Story – The bumpy road one negative space logo took at TheVerge.com
    more


How to file a Form-1099 to tax a website manager

How to file a Form-1099 to tax a website manager

You should tax-a-website-manager using an IRS Form-1099 when he or she was paid $600 or more for their services during a single calendar year, and he or she is not a full-time employee. A website manager can also be referred to as a webmaster, web developer, site author, web coordinator or web publisher. Whether contributing content, technology or a combination of services, the IRS doesn’t care and you may be held responsible for not issuing a Form-1099 for your website manager.

When to issue your website manager the Form-1099

Any worker who starts work on a project of yours – whether technology-related or not – should be asked to complete the IRS Form W-9 on the first day of work. This is the form you will use to submit the IRS Form-1099. On the W-9 the name of the contractor, business and the tax identification information (or Social Security #) will be identified along with address and signature of the contractor. Do not wait until after the contract finishes a job to issue the W-9.

Form W-9: DOWNLOAD

1099-form

Place website manager income in Box 7 within the Form 1099-MISC.

With the completed IRS Form W-9, you are now ready to use the information provided by the website manager to issue the IRS Form 1099 and send a copy of that IRS Form 1099-MISC to the website manager. A copy must be sent, according to the IRS, by January 31st of the following year, and you must file a copy with the IRS by February 28th of the following year. The IRS deadline for electronic filing of a Form 1099 for a website manager is March 31 of the following year.

There are many ways to check your work when working with W-9 forms, and having a CPA or other tax expert look over your paperwork filed for the Website Manager is always a smart thing to do. Also, be sure to retain copies of any tax documentation submitted to or received from your contractors.

Form-1099: DOWNLOAD

 

See website manager job descriptions: CLICK HERE

According to Salary.com the average yearly Website Manager compensation was $93,921 for 2016. The range of a website manager’s salary is generally between $70k – $110k.

tax-forms-for-website-manager

USEFUL LINKS ABOUT SUBMITTING TAX FORMS FOR WEBSITE MANAGERS:

  • SUBCONTRACTOR OR EMPLOYEE? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT
  • RED FLAGS THAT RAISES THE CHANCE OF AUDIT: CLICK HERE
  • SIX COMMON MISTAKES MADE ON A 1099 FORM: CLICK HERE
  • HOW THE IRS DECIDES NEGLIGENCE OR MISTAKES: CLICK HERE

 

1099 Forms are a pain in the neck

You should issue the IRS Form 1099-MISC for your website manager when he or she was paid $600 or more for their services during a single calendar year.

5 steps to get back a website held hostage

5 steps to get back a website held hostage

A website held hostage by a website manager who can’t or won’t return control of it is bad news. Follow these five steps to regain control.

WHOIS sample

WHOIS sample

1. Secure Domain Name Registrar Access – The website held hostage will have a domain name, so ensure you are the designated “registrant” for the domain name (i.e., www.YourDomainName.com). The “registrar” (i.e., Network Solutions, Register.com, Godaddy.com) is the one who will dictate who has access to your domain name and can make changes to it. It is not enough to be the “domain administrator” and you should be sure you have secured ownership over all domain names and have updated access with a username and password to the registrar who controls it.
WHAT TO DO: If you are unsure of how to find who owns the domain name, query a WHOIS on the domain name and you will see the ownership information. Contact Internic to file a complaint and request action to have a domain name you legally own transferred back to your control. ICANN is a non-profit organization who the United States government gives governing control over domain names on the Internet. More information about ICANN can be found at http://www.icann.org.

Many website managers specialize in helping individuals with a website held hostage

2. Backup website files and database – In the event you have a hostile situation with the website manager, make sure you have a copy of the website held hostage. Because you should assume he or she might delete all the information in vengence, it’s important to retain a copy. Most hosting companies provide for backups already, so you might contact the server hosting company and ask.
WHAT TO DO: If the website manager is unaware that you intend to move services to a new provider, contact him or her to ask for a backup of the website “for contingency purposes.” Ask for a copy of the website including all database files, images, etc. You may also go the route of asking the old website manager to set up a “mirror website” that you will host on your own. In worst case scenarios, there is an archive of most websites dating back more than a decade at the public Internet Archive: Wayback Machine.

Website held hostage

3. Get New Website Hosting Service – The website manager accesses remote hardware to publish, update and manage the databases, text and graphics on a website. Website hosting companies are contracted by the website manager to host the website. Contact the hosting company to ask for FTP control and to block the website manager. Website hosting companies include Amazon, Hostgator, Westhost, GetFlyWheel or other commercial services.
WHAT TO DO: If you cannot get control of the existing website on the existing website server, you may contact a new server hosting company and ask them to help you transfer the files to a new server. They may also have suggestions on moving databases and ecommerce features.

4. Utilize an Emergency Website Restoration Budget – The investment company Vanguard recommends a minimum 3-6 months cash savings when planning for personal life emergencies. If you’re a web-based business, a similar budget would be appropriate to cover worst-case scenarios. We’re talking about an emergency resulting from a website manager blocking access to the website, the website getting hacked, or your customers’ data released and defending lawsuits or a website held hostage. Yeah, it can be that bad. But don’t despair. Website transfers are fairly inexpensive, and hosting companies like GetFlyWheel.com will move websites for free so you can get started again.
WHAT TO DO:
Allocate a monthly budget to a savings account where you can dip into when things go wrong. It will happen. You may also consider whether to buy insurance for my website.

5. Make yourself the website manager next time – Take control of your website and make sure your new hosting company or contracted website manager gives you FTP access, Content Management System access and domain name registrar login credentials. Blotter is similar to many companies who specialize in restoring new versions of websites based on crashed websites or websites that have been compromised by malware or rogue webmasters. A website held hostage should not lead to money extorted by the website manager, so call someone who specializes in helping you get back your website.
WHAT TO DO: Call (917) 524-7077 and request a free consultation on how to get your website restored.

ARTICLE: What to do when your website crashes

If you don’t have the financial security and the contingency plan to deal with a website crash, theft or website held hostage, then you might as well admit that your plan is to file for bankruptcy.

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close