Once you are willing to leave your comfort zone, you’ll find that almost magically you will be more open minded and willing to seriously entertain the concepts, methodologies, practices and reality of what it takes to survive and thrive online!

Ask any successful Nentrepreneur and they will tell you that they leave their comfort zone on a regular basis!

Nothing online resembles to the above. If you want online success you need to be prepared to leave your comfort zone in the dust!

As a matter of fact, those who do ditch their comfort zone, do not feel 100% secure, are not completely comfortable with testing out new things and are not entirely open to drastic change. But they do it anyway…

I remember one of my most stressful comfort zone desertions. I had to empty some information from one of my site’s databases. Not the whole database — just the tables that contained invalid and no longer needed data. I remember how nervous I was — I checked and double-checked I was doing the right thing. I remember thinking (and actually saying a little prayer) that I wasn’t going to crash or destroy the whole database in the process!

Once I completed that task I was not only relieved that I did it properly, I was actually pleasantly surprised the site in question didn’t crash and was still working properly! That night I had several shots of Ouzo in celebration. Now, doing this task is a no-brainer. All because I pushed myself to learn and challenged myself to complete that task risking possible Armageddon.

When was the last time you left your comfort zone? A bit of discomfort can be a great motivator and downright exciting due to the anticipation of the unknown that lies ahead. Give it a try!

At your service,

Your WordPress Consultant

Time to Ditch Your Comfort Zone? is a post from: WordPress Consultant: Judith Kallos, At Your Service...

Here we are in 2012 and we are back in black. Today you may run into sites that are completely blacked out in protest of the SOPA (Stop Internet Piracy Act) that our government is toying with. Stop Internet Piracy Act — sounds good doesn’t it? But common, haven’t we learned that when the government creates something with a feel-good name that rarely turns out to be the case?

WordPress.org is black today:

Many websites are blacked out today to protest proposed U.S. legislation that threatens internet freedom: the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). From personal blogs to Wikipedia, sites all over the web — including this one — are asking you to help stop this dangerous legislation from being passed. Please watch the video below to learn how this legislation will affect internet freedom, then scroll down to take action.

Have you checked out Google today?

SOPA will basically give the U.S. government the ability to control, censor and block content based on it’s discretion — this could include your site or Blog! Click on the info graphic to the right to get a visual of this craziness.

Are we really going to allow some of the most techno-challenged under-performing government personnel with the lowest job performance ratings in our history censor us? I don’t think so! Haven’t we had enough of government telling us what is good for us and playing big-brother as if, as if, they know better? I know I have!

In my case rather than going black, I thought I would help educate. On all my sites I now have that black STOP SOPA banner in the top right hand corner that when clicked on takes you the site where you can get informed and involved.

• You can have your own ribbon by installing the Stop SOPA Ribbon WordPress plugin — easy!
• You can black out your site by following the instructions here.

Get informed; become involved — this is that important!

At your service,

Your WordPress Consultant

“Yes, I’m Back in Black” is a post from: WordPress Consultant: Judith Kallos, At Your Service...

For your convenience and consideration, I update this post each year so you can get a reminder of the things you need to think about moving forward!

WordPress site owners are safe to assume that there is no standing still or resting on your laurels when it comes to doing business online (That’s when your perceived competitors fly right by you!).

Here are the important issues, in my experience, most WordPress site owners can improve upon. I’ll also pepper each with links to other articles here on my site that cover each item in more detail for your convenience:

9. I will review my e-mail and customer service practices to make sure all communications with customers are grammatically correct, professional in appearance and tone and include the information the customer desires. I will respond to site comments and e-mails as quickly as possible realizing the rabidly competitive environment online will settle for no less — only Extreme Customer Service will do! This includes using my site’s domain name for all business e-mail communications which lends to my credibility and my first responses to inquiries being recognized instead of being misidentified as spam.

8. I will check my site at the beginning of the year, then minimally quarterly, to make sure information is current and updated. This includes updating my “About” page to show the now — not yesterday. I realize by not updating, my site is stale, offers no real value to my site visitors and hinders gaining any relevant rankings with search engines.

7. I will finally embrace the concept that to acquire any relevant organic (free) search engines rankings that I have to change how I view my site. Not as brochureware, but as a living, breathing interactive tool used to acquire, support and keep customers and cater to their needs. If I don’t have a Blog to carry out this task, I will set one up Q1 and commit to posting at least 3 times each week with new useful and relevant information my site visitors will appreciate.

6. Inline with #7 above, I will learn about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) basics and principles, so that I have a solid understanding about how search engines actually work, how they rank sites, and what I need to consider when adding content to my site. Without a solid grasp of this information I am literally handicapped and working at a deficit.

5. While content is King; promotion is Queen. After writing a new article I’ll then submit it to article repository Web sites so that it is available for publishing on other sites and newsletters. I will keep a notebook with me so that when I get an idea to Blog about, create a video or for an article or informative white paper, I’ll write it down and not forget to follow through. Unique helpful information is what makes WordPress Web sites popular and valuable which assists to increase ranking popularity.

4. I will check my WordPress site navigation, tag and category structure to make sure it is intuitive and not duplicative. If my theme doesn’t allow the navigation I need — I’ll get a new premium WordPress theme. I will make a serious concentrated effort to only categorize my information in the most relevant category. Not “categories”, or 5 or 10 or all! Sticking with only one or two categories allows my site information to be tightly organized and focused. Tags are given the same consideration and contributes to a  “user-friendly” experience.

3. I will investigate all the Social Media networking opportunities and set up my site’s feeds wherever possible. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook are just a few of the sites I need to set up profiles on and use to brand and market my business.

2. I will update WordPress and my plugins as needed and not put this important and necessary task off! I will also make sure my site’s visuals and functionality stay current so that my business appears viable.

And the number one resolution that every WordPress site owner needs to embrace to succeed in the year ahead….

Raise your hand and repeat after me…

1. I will pledge to use interactive technology as it is now and whatever it evolves to be in the year ahead to its full potential for my business. From Blogging to Videos, Social Media to creative marketing tactics and everything in between. By not investigating how to best use these applications for my business is simply lost opportunity.I understand this will take some time and a bit of a learning curve to fully use these resources effectively on a daily basis, but I am a smartie and I know if it needs to be done for the health of my enterprise — I’m there!

Those site owners that embrace the interactivity options available to them will be found, will gain new customers and will support more business than those site owners who do not openly welcome these opportunities. If you do not embrace these 10 items in 2012, you can bet your competitors who do will reap the rewards.

With all the doom and gloom being fed to us in anticipation of the year ahead, I’m choosing to take a different stance and that’s why I’ve written this article for you. As one commentator I recently heard said, “Time to man up and make 2012 what you want it to be. Don’t be a passive observer but an active aggressive participant. Man up!”

And that’s exactly what I plan on doing here @ TheIStudio.com! Won’t you join me? Wishing you all the best of success in the year ahead!

At your service,

Your WordPress Consultant

Top 10 WordPress Site New Year’s Resolutions is a post from: WordPress Consultant: Judith Kallos, At Your Service...