I have been on the internet for a long time. I enjoy the freedom I have in owning and operating my own websites. Do you have a passion project you want to start or how about creating an additional stream of income. I can help make your website dreams come true!
The simplest way to explain this is that raster artwork is comprised of or made up of pixels which means raster artwork distorts or pixelates when enlarged or scaled beyond the boundaries of it’s dimensions. Watch the embedded video to see how images distort.
Vector artwork is line artwork based on mathematical calculations. Vector artwork can be scaled up or down without losing quality or distorting.
Why does someone need raster to vector artwork conversion?
If someone wanted to scale a normal image for a tee shirt design or other large print it is impossible to scale a low resolution raster image large enough to use in place of a vector based image.
If you plan on using your business logo on a variety of swag such as mugs, business cards and t-shirts then I would highly recommend having a vector copy of that logo.
Hey everyone, Rob here with Rob Web Joy dot com. In this post I will provide six valuable tips that are guaranteed to help freelancers maximize their income by getting more work and exposure.
Before I begin I want to emphasize that the tips within this post apply to anyone and everyone including local businesses.
I am going to show you some great ways to get your business in front of local buyers.
This is a great time to release this information as we speed steadily toward the end of 2018 and simultaneously toward the beginning of 2019. Let me start by wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Tip 1
I probably don’t need to say this because it should be obvious but I want to think about everyone who may read this post or watch this video in the future. So the first tip is to get your offer in front of as many people (theoretically) as possible by making your offer available on all the big freelance websites!
The downside of being a seller on freelance websites is, you will not receive your full sales price because these freelance platforms take a percentage of your earnings and you will not receive your money immediately in most cases.
Be sure and perform your own research!
The aforementioned inconveniences are all the more reason to take full advantage of the free tools we will be discussing in this video.
Tip 2
Get your name out in your local area. It’s hard to chew with a lot of food in your mouth, and that’s kind of the way I look at promoting your business. Focus on your local area first and then expand your reach. Use Google trends to see what location searches most often for your service.
That being said, expanding your local reach can be accomplished in many ways but the first way that comes to mind for me is to create a free Google Business listing. Formerly known as Google My Business, Google Business listings are pro bono and very powerful for local marketing.
You will need some basic things to verify your business listing. The primary things you will need are images such as a logo, information about your business, hours of operation and other typical information. The more detailed information you can provide the easier it will be to confirm and verify your listing.
You also get access to a free business website through your free Google Business listing which can save you time and money if you choose not to create your own website.
Unsure what to name your business? Why not try something like Video Editing by John Smith or John Smith’s video editing services. I have heard mixed recommendations about whether you should or should not include keywords within your business listing name. You may want to experiment with this and if you are ever questioned about it just say that you included a keyword phrase just to clarify and emphasize your value proposition.
Tip 3
Set up your free Bing Places listing. Make sure you use the same business name for this listing as you did your Google Business listing. Bing now gives the option to import information from your Google Business listing which is super helpful.
Tip 4
Buy your own domain name and create a website that you have full editorial control over.
I say this for a few reasons. The first reason is because it helps protect your brand, gives you more control, and provides you the opportunity of setting up a professional looking business email address using a either a free GMail account or paid Google Cloud gmail account.
The idea behind owning your own website and domain is to maximize control and revenue by not having to share your income with a website that is going to charge you a certain percentage just for selling your service on their platform.
So in theory this strategy will help you get more exposure in your local area and help you keep more of the money you make.
Tip 5
Consider advertising. You can use Google or Bing pay per click ads, Facebook ads, YouTube ads or a combination of all of them. I know a lot of you might not like the idea of paying for advertising but the cost of local advertising is usually much more cost effective than national campaigns, especially if you get your targeting laser focused by using exact match keywords or specific appropriate demographics for your ads.
Tip 6
Use analytics or some form of pixel for audience re-targeting. You may not sell people on your service the first time around but it’s important to know who is visiting your website and interacting with your content. These folks represent potential sales in the future which may lead to referrals which are undoubtedly the most powerful form of advertising there is.
Video Resource Guide
Get your own domain, website hosting and SSL certificates Master Your Domain
This is a must read for those who believe money saved is money earned!
This post is for those who may not be familiar with what a whois or domain privacy protection shield is or for those who know what one is but are over paying for theirs. Certain domain registrars may have their own unique name for these but the end result is the same. That result being to, as the name implies, protect your privacy. However this domain privacy protection shield also serves as a defender against not only spam emails but other more malicious threats such as computer viruses.
The reality is that opening the wrong email or attempting to open the wrong attachment could lead to big headaches for you and gasp, computer problems as well. No one wants to lose their hard drive or entire computer or be held hostage by ransom ware.
Some domain registrars or website hosting companies charges as much as $1 per month or more for domain privacy protection!
If you’re going to be online, sending and receiving emails then it’s best you know the potential threats that exist. With that in mind I am displaying screen captures below for domains with and without privacy protection.
You can see the exposed G Mail account in the first screenshot.
The owner of the domain name below is enjoying the full shield that only privacy protected domains can offer, in my humble opinion! ?
At the end of the day I really want everyone online to be safe and have an enjoyable experience. If you are not planning to buy privacy protection for your domain then it would be a good idea to use a third party email provider such as G Mail. However the cost of privacy protection is nominal for the protection it provides and you can get one year of domain privacy protection for free on new domain purchases (for eligible domain extensions).
Just to be thorough and because you’re probably wondering – domain privacy protection renewals only cost $1.99 at the time of this writing. That’s a lot of protection for a little bit of money! I have always heard you can’t put a price on peace of mind but in this case you most certainly can.
2019 is right around the corner and I know a lot of people would like to either start a new website, perhaps expand their existing website or dip a foot or two into e commerce. With that in mind I figured I would create a post about the things I believe you should have right through to absolute must haves.
Let’s start with your business structure. What I mean by that is, will you be a sole proprietor or create a LLC or some form of a corporation such as a S Corporation or C Corporation? I would recommend a LLC (Limited Liability Company) at the very least. The cost of establishing your LLC varies from state to state but if you’re filling out and filing the paperwork yourself then you can probably expect to spend at least one hundred and fifty dollars.
In my opinion having a LLC or Corporation is like owning a gun. Hopefully you’ll never have to use it for protection purposes but it’s better to have one and not need it than to need it and not have one.
Merchant Account
Once you establish your business structure and receive the necessary documentation it’s time to open a merchant account, online payment processing account or both. The reason these are not all the same is because a merchant account allows you to process credit cards as well as accept checks, money orders and cash.
The reality is that if you’re only going to process credit cards then you may only need an online payment processing gateway such as Authorize.net. I cite Authorize.net here because that’s who I use for my ecommerce payment solutions. I also have a full blown merchant account so that I can accept checks or money orders in my business’ name. Having that ability always comes in handy.
ECommerce Platforms
If you are planning on doing e commerce then you will want to choose an online shopping cart solution. I’m sure there are many options for this but the main two I will discuss here are Shopify and Woo Commerce.
Shopify seems to be the trendy choice of ecommerce today. There are a lot of people talking about the success of their ecommerce stores using the Shopify platform. Don’t let the platform take all the credit. People who succeed online know how to market their offers and business. You can probably learn a thing or two from them but that’s a topic for another day.
Shopify carries a monthly fee of $29 as of this writing and according to someone I know who uses Shopify, that monthly fee does not include credit card processing fees. You may be thinking, fees! What fees? You and everyone else who processes credit cards is going to pay fees for doing so.
If you’re going to play the sales game (uh hmmm, sell online) then you may as well accept the fact that you will be sharing your bounty with those beloved credit card companies and banks. Yay, aren’t you excited to share more of your money with other people?
The good news is you can get a 14 day free trial of Shopify but I probably wouldn’t recommend starting that without some form of a marketing strategy in mind.
The second and last ecommerce platform I want to cover here is Woo Commerce. Woo Commerce is a WordPress add on that can help turn your WordPress website into your own personal online selling machine. The back end user interface allows you to link your website with your online payment processing gateway so you get paid and your customers receive their merchandise.
Preparing Your Website
Now that we have made a deep scratch into the surface let’s talk about your website and content. Do you have written content already created for your website? What about visuals such as images, infographics, animations or videos?
The success of your business involves laying a solid foundation from the beginning and we can certainly help with that. There’s nothing worse than saying I wish I would have done this or that when I started. We hope to be the company that helps you make your online success dreams a reality. Feel free to contact us using our form or join our email list below.
Please note, I am not trying to discourage anyone but it’s really important that you know what you’re getting involved in when you’re looking to start an online business!
We are currently offering 1 domain name (includes domain privacy protection), 1 year of website hosting, 1 SSL certificate (makes your website secure) and 1 WordPress (user friendly content management system) installation for $225.00. Website content not included.
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