Well, yes I did.  I had a nice 2 week reprieve from the “summer” season but that came quickly to an end with the “end of year crush”.

I’m not really sure why (and it seems to get worse every year) but I get inundated with new prospects as the holidays approach.  And I’m not the only one, I get several referrals from other developers that are similarly getting barraged with requests and I know the ones I pass overflow business to are also booked.

My only theory is that people made pledges to themselves that they would either get a web site or fix their existing web site and make it work better for them this year and suddenly they realize ‘this year’ is almost over.  I also get some stragglers that want something up ‘for the holidays’.  Most holiday-themed (or shopping themed) sites need to be up and running by no later than mid-September to be contenders for the holiday shopping frenzy. 

As for anyone who wants a site by the end of the year, I pretty much have a policy against it by mid-October.  Normally, 6-10 weeks is plenty of time to finish a site, but I find it works out better for everyone involved to have a realistic view of their level of involvement during the holidays.  Plus, launching at the beginning of the new year can give you a sense of optimism and vigor to meet your business goals for next year.

For those who still want to try to find a developer that will say they can finish your project before the end of the year, I say sincere apologies that I cannot oblige and good luck with your project.

As usual, November marks the end of our busy season at YNot Web. This seems to be the normal ebb and flow here, with tons of summer projects and vendors that scramble to make it online before the holiday season.

I relish this time as it lets me reconnect with the quiet clients and reflect on changes to make to my business in the coming year.  If you’ve been quietly contemplating your business, feel free to drop a line.  Maybe you are reflecting on the changes you would like to see with your business or web presence next year.  Now is the time to plan and I’d love to give you ideas and inform you of any methods or technologies that could help your business go the direction you want.  From marketing, to lead generation, to conversion systems– we have the tools and know-how to help.

This is a summary of a recent full-length article.  To see the full text, go to “Take Action Today” in our Articles section.

So many times I have given ideas and advice to clients about steps they can take to to increase the number of leads or improve their conversion rates from prospect to customer, yet rarely do I see those ideas put into action.

Doing nothing never has a positive effect on a business.  Absolutely anything you do can have an impact, so chose an action and just do it!
Often times our marketing and relationship building efforts are cumulative so each step you take builds on your previous steps, bringing greater results.

Here are my top five suggestions I give customers for bringing in more prospects- pick one and try it TODAY.

1. Contact your current customers.
2. Send a press release and post it under “News” on your website.
3. Get out and introduce yourself.
4. Follow-up with a past business contact.
5. Write an article in your area of expertise.

Choose one of these action items to do today. Then tomorrow, pick one again, and so on and so forth.  Watch for the immediate effects and keep in mind the cumulative results.

Lately I have been receiving a huge amount of spam- not those normal levels of annoying amounts that get stuck in my spam filter anyway- but a noticable influx alot of which is getting through my spam filters with business-like topics such as “RE: Our meeting” and “Nice to meet you”.

So I started to investigate and fortunately for me, MOST this new spam is coming through one particular address.  See, I set up addresses just for this purpose- spam avoidance.  Not only can I change this address, I can set up “spam catchers” to discover who may have leaked my address to spammers.  Let me explain.

The address I am getting this huge new amount of spam is one I use for ‘art’ related services- stock photography, icons, images, etc. that I use in the course of my business.  I have used this address for three companies.  Suspiciously, I recently cancelled my membership with one of these companies… so I have my main suspect.  Often companies will sell or give your contact information to 3rd parties which is why you MUST read their privacy policies.

So to prove where these spam may have originated from (in case the two companies I continue to work with are not honoring their privacy policy), I just added two addresses- one for each of these companies and updated my profile with each.  My previous email address no longer exists and I will be instantly alleviated of the spam.  If either of my current art contacts sells or shares my address, I will know exactly who the problem-child is and end my business-relationship with them.

Forwarding email addresses are great for this purpose– check your domain registrar or web host. Most of them (including YNot Web) include Free Unlimited forwarding or “alias” email addresses. Try it out -especially when you are unsure of who you are dealing with on the internet.

Well, its been a while and you may have wondered why I’ve been so quiet on the blog for the last couple of weeks. Simply busy. In addition to the Fair Oaks Dog Walk that I coordinated this year, I had a rather large launch occur recently: Sports411 Fantasy Sports site. Now that the site is launched, my schedule will allow me to add my regular comments and followup on that How-to create a PDF article I promised.

Thanks for your patience!