My computer and I have a relationship. We understand each other, she helps me and makes my life flow, she's my baby...but sometimes that baby acts like a toddler having a tantrum. Digging her heels in and freezing up on me when I'm on a deadline or "hiding" important documents in an endless stream of folders leading to more folders leading to more folders. It all feels very similar to the discussions my son and I used to have when he was younger "Where did you hide my keys!?" Only to be met with big surprised looking eyes and "What keys?" So I love my computer, but there are times...I think you know what I mean ;) Those times when all you can do is click the mouse 500 times, angrily type lskdjflaskdjflksdlkfjsdlkjsldkl;sdkfjsldfjksdfklj, or yell "AHHHH!" at the top of your lungs making the guy sitting next to you at Starbucks very uncomfortable. I've found that in those situations, much like similar situations with my 5 year old, it's best to stop, take a deep breath, and and meet your distraught loved one with a calm, logical mind. Easier said than done...am I right?! So when you feel like throwing your computer out the window, try this quick exercise to take it all down a notch and make friends with your computer again:
Creativity and Joy, Erin Add Comment Smiley Happy People 04/06/2011
Our eyes and brains are trained to pay attention to human faces. We are drawn to them, we like to look at them, and we will notice them first before any other image or object we see. Since you help people and build trust with people and make people's lives better...images of people are great to have on your website and you can use them to draw your guest's eye to an area of your page that you'd like them to focus on. So what's better than people? Happy people (because that's what you do, make people happy!) I found some great images of happy people for you in the Creative Commons database. You can use them for free, just make sure to give credit to the artist.  By orangeacid http://www.flickr.com/photos/71753457@N00/2292315767  By rolands.lakis http://www.flickr.com/photos/26691915@N00/97499962  By maessive http://www.flickr.com/photos/42346519@N00/2382743925  By tibchris http://www.flickr.com/photos/8381313@N08/4477768326  By jon smith 'una nos lucror' http://www.flickr.com/photos/45542449@N03/5438819932 Cool Social Media Buttons 03/04/2011
Have you ever wondered how to get those cool social media buttons on your website? Follow these 3 quick and easy steps to get those little great looking connectors on your site.  Step1 - Get Your Social Media Icons. Go to http://webtreats.mysitemyway.com/category/icons/ or search 'free social media icons'. The icons come in sets (with Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, etc). Find the one you like and download it; they're usually in a zip file so you'll want to extract files to be able to see them all.  Step 2 - Insert the Icon. At this point the icon is just a picture so insert it into your website just like you would any other picture.  Step 3 - Link! Let's say you're making a Facebook button, go to the Facebook page you'd like to connect it to, copy the url address (www...) of that page. Go back to your website, click on your picture and choose to link the Facebook icon picture to a website (in Weebly the link is the little chain link). Copy in that address from your Facebook page, hit save, publish your website and Presto...Cool Social Media Buttons on your website! Give it a try, have fun, and tell us how it went by adding a comment! Erin Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful holiday full of the 3 F's...family, fun, and food. As my Christmas gift to you, I searched the Creative Commons stock on Flikr for some of my favorite winter photos you can use on your website for free. To grab them, just click on the photo to be taken to the page where you can download the image.    You can use these as you like on your website for free, just remember to give credit to the artist (usually by placing a small link at the bottom of your webpage to the artist's photo. You'll find the artist name next to the photo and can use that as the text for your link. Ex. instead of www.domain.com//blah blah blah, put jenny downing as your text and link it to the photo) You can see the links to these artists at the bottom right side of this page. A bit of effort, but it's much better than paying a fee for every photo you use, thank you generous Creative Commons artists! Creative Commons photos are great for blog posts because you might want some visual impact, but you don't want to own (or have the budget to own) every image on your blog. To experience more of the wonder of the Creative Commons world, go to http://search.creativecommons.org Enjoy, stay warm, and I'll see you on the other side! Erin Why Snow = A More Powerful Website 12/15/2010
Snow? You might ask. Well, it's white and takes up a whole lot of space which makes me think of white space which is what your website needs to be professional and inviting to your guests. Find out how to use white space to your advantage... So this week I completed a project I've been putting off. It only took about 20 minutes and it's already saved me more than that, you gotta love organization! In the world of technology, if you're anything like me, you have usernames and passwords to account after account. Email, websites, autoresponders, Facebook, Twitter, you name it. Up to this point, I'd been keeping my usernames and passwords in a notebook - list style, which worked out really well for a while...until the list became 5 pages long, boo. Every time I needed a password, I'd scan through the multipage list looking for the right one and each time it bugged me. Then a lightbulb moment (ta-da!). I decided to write my usernames and passwords with the program/website they belong to in a small extra address book I had laying around. Now they are all grouped alphabetically, so when I'm staring at my Netflix screen wanting to watch a movie (and I could have sworn I'd asked it to remember my log-in information for me), I can grab my little black book of passwords, flip to 'N' and there it is - in less time than it would take to request an email reminder and way less time than it did to scan 5 pages of passwords, yahoo! Do you have a time saving organization system for your technological life? Please share by commenting below, we'll love you for it! Creativity and Joy, Erin Be the Master of Your Domain 10/14/2010
There's nothing I hate more than extra protection/certifications/add ons that I buy just because I have no idea what they really do and frankly they scare me a little bit. What do I need extra protection from? I'd rather not find out, so I buy them anyway and end up feeling duped. This week's quick tip...how to get your domain name (your www.yourbusiness.com) without overspending on unneccesary add ons. The video below takes you through from start to finish...enjoy! P.S. I am so excited! Schelli Whitehouse, Money, Marketing, and Soul Coach extraordinarre, asked me to help create a program that is the next leap forward in Business Evolution, offering something never seen before that will put you on the fast track to getting your skills out to the people you love working with. Click here to check it out! Creativity and Joy, Erin Leave a comment below if you like this and want more! What do you want to know about web creation, social media, shopping carts, email autoresponders, etc? In Case You Missed It, Here It Is... 08/19/2010
Tonight's call was SO GOOD! In case you were busy (aren't we all ;) and missed it, you can grab the recording below. On the call we talked about:
P.S. If you want to take advantage of the special offer at the end of the call, email me (erin@the4hourwebsite.com) before registration goes live tomorrow afternoon and I'll hook you up! It was a BIG one, and a deal you don't want to miss... 
The 3 Secrets to Irresistible Headlines 08/09/2010
 Whether it's for your upcoming class, the subject line of your blog post/email, or your website, you need a hook. That short, catchy phrase that grabs attention and keeps 'em reading. Maybe we don't need to be as cheesy as the Weekly World News, but go ahead and get their attention! Here are three basic formats for titles/headlines: 1. How to __________________________. 2. If you _________________, then _____________________. 3. The ____ secrets to ________________________. There are endless possibilities, for good structural ideas, check out magazine covers while you're waiting in line at the grocery store. Be enticing, be detailed (ex. 'How to Double Your Mailing List in 1 Week'), and have fun! How to Choose Images 08/02/2010
 Back when I was teaching design, we had an assignment that had students draw an object as a self portrait. It went like this...choose an object (let's say clock), then don't stop there, think about what kind of clock represents you best. Are you a stop watch, a grandfather clock, and alarm clock, a wrist watch? If you're a stop watch, are you digital, old fashioned, metal, plastic? Each has a distinctive personality and we were asking them to think more deeply about how they choose visuals for their designs. You can use this same technique when deciding what images to include on your website. Say you want images of nature because your products and services have a natural quality. Ask yourself the following questions...What aspects of nature best represent my business (trees - grounded and strong, flowers - vibrant and colorful, leaves - life transitioning, etc.)? Then go deeper, say you choose trees. What kind of trees best represent your message (evergreen - everlasting, redwood - tall and wise, flowering trees, newly budding trees, old winding trees, etc.) Think about the qualities/personality of the object itself as well as it's shape, line, and color. Is your message logical (perfectly pruned and angular bonsai tree) or free flowing (natural and bushy tree) Continue this process, going deeper and more detailed each time until you have images that truly represent your business and your message. |  Get the FREE video
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