Old City Web Services

Free Tools for Content Writing

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Wait a minute… What is content?

Content is the text, images, video, graphics, as well as every additional element that isn’t part of a design. So, if you have a website, brochure, business card, social media platform, etc., then content writing should be important to you. After all, websites, pamphlets, and other marketing materials tend to have more written content than the other types of content.

We offer content writing services and can help you cross off tasks on your to-do list by creating your social media posts, weekly blogs, marketing emails, or the content for your site. Don’t hesitate to ask us if you have questions about our content writing services or the free tools for content writing below! Schedule a free consultation by clicking the button below or call us at 904-867-4112.

Schedule A Free Consultation

Free Tools for Content Writing on A Budget

We understand that small businesses have a long list of expenses. While one year, written content might be at the forefront of your mind, the next year your budget may not permit it. Therefore, we’ve comprised a list of free tools for content writing. This way your content won’t suffer if you can’t hire a professional just yet.

content-writing

You really should hire a professional.

The whole idea of marketing materials is to persuade a consumer to do business with your company. So, your content should be persuasive and convey a message. The best way to guarantee this is to hire a firm like Old City Web Services to create your website, social media posts, online blogs, etc.

A content writer ensures your content speaks to your business’ audience. The writer will make sure your content is purposeful, relevant, and structurally sound so that your reader easily flows through the text. You know how your business functions and may just not be able to put it into words.

When we design websites we encourage our clients to hire us for content writing as well. The last thing we want is for our clients to be stressed about misspellings or if their writing sounds good. In fact, sometimes when clients write their own content it delays the launch of their website because they don’t have enough time to write it or they have a difficult time putting the words on paper. Since we want our clients to have a stress-free experience with their new website, we figure it’s easier for us to write their content for them! After all, we’re sure you’d rather be running your business and doing what you love than writing content.

You really should hire a professional.

If you aren’t ready to hire a content writer, the tools above will help you write your best content yet! But when you are ready, we can help you! We use tools like these and others to write and format content for our clients. You can get in touch with us by clicking the button below or calling us at 904-867-4112.

Schedule A Free Consultation

Mission Statement

The mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success.

Please share and re-post this blog. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on Old City Web Services Blog.

Guide to Online Banner Ads

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Should You Purchase Online Banner Ads?

Online Banner Ads for Seafood Festival

St. Augustine Lions Seafood Festival Digital BannerAs a small business in a city where tourism is booming, the short answer to this question is yes! In our last blog, Advertising Ideas, we discussed the best ways to advertise during Tourist Season. To no surprise, online banner ads and other ad spaces topped our list!

How They Work

Online banner ads are eye-catching and use links to push online visitors to business' websites and landing pages. There are several outlets that allow you to advertise your business with a digital banner. But, the best way to reach vacationers with your banner is to place them on sites like OldCity.com. Visitors consider these sites as reputable, in fact, 70% of global respondents, consider websites to be the second-most trusted format to use while they are planning their vacation. These respondents, or vacationers, use websites to browse their options for lodging, activities, and restaurants.

Basically, visitors on OldCity.com are using the site as a source of information for St. Augustine. So, what better way for a small business in this region to reach potential customers?

How to Get Started with Online Banner Ads

Design

Online banner ads on OldCity.com come in a variety of designs! The design team at Old City Web Services custom designs each digital banner. Although there may be several online banner ads on one page, each one is compelling and unique.

When you hire a designer to create a digital banner you are optimizing its potential reach. Designers are trained to create interactive, responsive, and beautiful pieces to catch the eye of visitors. However, an advertisement that is created by a person without a design background may have subtle elements that will deter visitors.

Digital banner designs and banner spaces on OldCity.com are one of the least expensive ways to advertise. Why not consider adding one today?

Choose A Space

The location of your digital banner is just as important as its design. On OldCity.com, you’ll find there are over two dozen pages that were created with advertising spaces in mind. Find which category best describes your niche and place your banner on the corresponding page.

Sub-pages:Attractions, Beaches, History and Culture, Music and Art, Night Life, Shopping, Sightseeing, Sports and Recreation, Weddings, Bed and Breakfasts, Campgrounds and Fish Camps, Condos and Resorts, Historic District, Hotels and Motels, Oceanfront Rentals, Short-term Vacation Rentals, Pet-Friendly Information, Fine Dining, Real Estate, Places of Worship
Landing Pages: Things to Do, Where to Eat, Where to Stay, The Community

Online banner ads on landing pages are viewed by more visitors, get more clicks per banner, and are more expensive than sub-page spaces.

Professional Photography Matters!

Smartphones give virtually everyone access to good, even great cameras. However, that does not make everyone a photographer. It is a skill set that requires years of training and experience to see and set up a well-composed photograph. Professionals see the details most of us miss, such as whether it is a good time of day to shoot your storefront or positioning a person so that a light pole is not coming out of the top of their head. It may be tempting to cut them from your website budget but that could be a costly mistake. But, a poorly shot photo reflects poorly on your business and speaks to your consumer subtly about the quality of what you are offering them. It could be the difference between choosing you or your competitor. Look at professional photography as a worthwhile investment in your success.

Mission Statement

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – manage their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: Old City Web Services

6 Tips for A Unique About Page

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About Page

A customer’s first impression of any company is the About Page. It is just as important as a first interview and needs to stand out in order to wow an audience It is a critical element of each website. Every About Page should include factors such as a description of the company's mission, the company’s history, and what makes it unique. However, to grab the attention of an audience use these methods below.

1. Speak to your customers.

Every About Page describes the company’s purpose, but not every page stands in the shoes of the customer. Further entice an audience by meeting their needs off the bat. To do this it's important to understand what solutions the company provides. A local pub might say, “if you are interested in trying numerous local craft beers and unique beers on tap, head to our pub”, versus “our pub offers numerous local craft beers along with unique beers on tap.”

Every audience is concerned with their own problems. The sooner their headaches are relieved, the easier it is to earn their trust.

2. Add creative media.

There are a few ways to make an About Page visually stand out and media is one of the top methods. Since most pages include a large text and a few photos, consider using videos, charts, and unique employee or customer photos to stand out. A short video (under three minutes), describing the company’s mission is unique and visually appealing. Photos of creative workspaces, holiday work parties, or employee pets are also attention-grabbing. Or, consider displaying a timeline of the company’s growth like Moz.com does on their About Page.

3. Make your backstory relate-able.

Although every About Page should touch on the company's backstory, not each story is entertaining and sympathetic. If we’re being honest, most businesses don’t have an incredible startup story. Many business owners run into luck or money, have extra time or ambition, or the business is passed down from a family member.

Use the factor most unique and relate-able from a backstory and expand on it. For example, maybe you loved ice cream as a child and hence decided to open an ice cream shop. To sum it up, a relate-able story will win the sympathetic vote with an audience.

4. Speak in layman’s terms.

This may seem obvious but unfortunately many websites use terminology that is unfamiliar to their clientele. This applies to all businesses regardless of their products or services. The worst thing you can do on an About Page is to confuse potential customers. For example, words as simple as cataplana, (frying pan mainly used to cook shrimp), may be unfamiliar to some customers and might deter them from visiting a restaurant.

Testimonial on OCWS

5. Include customer testimonials.

Customers largely rely on customer feedback from sites like Yelp and Google reviews when researching a company. Therefore, adding reviews to an About Page saves the customer a step and allows the business to monitor the reviews they have access to. Even if a company has received a few bad reviews, making the great reviews standout will reassure the audience’s nerves. Make sure the reviews are up to date.

6. Highlight products or services.

Do you offer a specific service or line of products? Your About Page is a great place to highlight what is available to your audience. This element on an About Page provides easy access to customers and depicts their relationship with a business. For example, the owner of a local bar, might highlight specific events regularly scheduled. Or maybe there are certain cocktails or food items that are unique to the restaurant. Brag about the business and highlight key products.

Other things to add

The list above is intended as a guide to make About Pages unique. They aren’t necessary but will help any business stand out. However, there are a few elements that each About Page needs to incorporate such as a mission, a backstory, and a method to contact your company.

The word responsive has many meanings, but in our industry, it is a word that is critical to your online presence. In fact, it is essential that we make it easy for our clients to use our sites regardless of the device they are using; a phone, tablet, pc, or laptop.  Stay ahead of your competitor and make sure your site is responsive. Want more information on what all that means? We are a phone call away, email away, text away -  we have the answers to your questions.

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: Moz, Old City Web Services

10 Ways to Establish Your Business

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Being a new business has its challenges, one of the biggest being establishing yourself in the community. A loyal client base and name recognition are vital to your success. Without the support of those around you, failure comes closer to becoming a reality than a fear. So, how do you make your startup stand out before it sinks?

Take advantage of free listings

This is a no brainer. Putting your company’s name out there as many ways as you can for free should be a top priority. Directory listings and community calendars are great resources for the community and an excellent way to get your name out there. This takes minimal time and effort and helps establish your business among other longstanding companies in the area.

Make sure you know your target market

Take a second to sit down and really think about who your target demographic is. Who are you marketing to and how are you doing so? Are they more likely to be on social media or flipping through the latest newspaper? Spending all the time and money in the world in marketing won't make a difference if your audience never sees it.

Utilize social media

Let’s face it. Everyone is on social media these days, and as a business, it is becoming an essential way to reach consumers. Luckily for you, social media is a free and effective way to interact with customers from all over. Depending on what your business is and the age group of people you are trying to reach, you can choose the best social media platforms to reach them.

Start a blog

Think that you shouldn’t start a blog because you’ll run out of things to talk about? What if you are a very specialized business? Not a problem. A company blog is a useful platform to produce content related to your industry. Relevant content will promote you as trusted resource for your trade. Example: Say you run a gym or are a personal trainer. You don’t have to use your blog just to talk about your services. Use your platform to talk about health advice, innovative exercises, and client transformations, etc.

Implement SEO into your website

Search engine optimization is the action of making your website rank for search keywords and phrases that pertain to your website/business. It is important to have the keywords and phrases viewers are searching for installed properly on your website. If done correctly, more people will view your website which will result in an increase in business. Search engines rank your website based on common search terms, the age of your site information, site links, and the relevance of your content.

Create your Google Business listing

Listing your business on Google will make sure your business appears easily when people are searching for you on Google. You can add pictures, and people can leave reviews which add to your credibility.

Take advantage of customer testimonials

When a customer has a good experience with you, don’t be afraid to ask what they thought of your service. Testimonials are one of the best ways to build credibility with potential clients.

Send out emails

Putting customers on an email list is a great way to reach out to them long after they've left your website or store. This gives you the opportunity to tell them about the variety of services you offer, updates from your company, and news in your industry.

Get involved in the community

How do you expect the community to know who you are if you don’t try to get to know the people in it? The more people see your name associated with the community, the more they will come to know you as a local establishment. Sponsor or participate in community events. Donate or give discounts for first-time clients. Give clients an initiative for referring customers. Give back to the community. Serving others is not only great for your staff but is also a wonderful way to get to know the locals.

Network as much as possible

Getting involved with different organizations within the community is essential. Some of your biggest allies in the business world are fellow business owners. The Chamber of Commerce should be at the top of your list for business networking. The St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce’s mission states they are dedicated to improving the business environment in St. Johns County by focusing on Economic Development, Business Advocacy, Member Education, and Business Promotion. Service organizations such as United Way or Rotary are also excellent ways to get involved in the community.

How We Can Help

Here at Old City Web Services, we are dedicated to helping businesses thrive. Don’t know where to start? We offer many services that can help you out.

We can:

  • Perfect your marketing strategy to reach your target audience
  • Tune up or revamp your website
  • Write content for your company’s blog
  • Assist you with SEO and Google listings
  • Assist with print design and much more.

Go to our website, call us, or schedule a consultation with our team to see how we can help you get settled and succeed today.

Email Marketing and Landing Pages

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It is December and that means it is time for your small business to get serious about promoting your holiday sales and specials that you have going on. Email makes up over a third of the ways that consumers make holiday buying decisions.

The most important factor in your promotional emails is that they lead somewhere. In your promotional email, you need to send potential customers to a great landing page.

This can mean setting up a new page or editing a current one on your website.

The page should be catered to your sale, prices, promotion, or special that you are trying to convert customers with.

Some tips:

  • Make it mobile - it is safe to assume that many potential customers are on a mobile device when they are opening their email. The page you send them to telling them about your promotion has to be one they can navigate and read on their mobile device.
  • Keep it simple - the page you send them to should be dedicated to just the sales goal you have. Don't make it more complicated by giving them other distractions. A single page with a single goal will result in the highest conversion.
  • The elements - Stick to an attention grabbing headline and one great image.
  • Clickable call to action - give them one button to click that tells them what to do. That's it.

Follow these tips and your holiday sales are bound to increase. Need help creating a great landing page or formulating the perfect email? Contact us and we can help you today!

Tips for Creating a Compelling Website Landing Page

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When you are getting started on designing your website, there are things you need to keep in mind about the first impression that a viewer will have when they arrive at your site. From the moment a visitor clicks on your website, you want them to be drawn in. Many businesses make the mistake of not creating a landing page for their website that draws a web viewer in, and keeps them there long enough to ultimately get that person's business.

Here are some tips for creating a compelling landing page that will help with this problem:

Show your product or Service - Make sure that someone who comes to your site immediately knows what your business offers. Do you sell products? Let them know. Do you offer a service? Make sure it is prominent. Your website is way more than just a nice design. It has to be informative too.

Explain Your Business - Don't assume the viewer knows your business inside and out. You eat, sleep, and breathe the work you do, they don't. If a person has to look around to find out what exactly your business is or what it does, you've lost them. Show them what you offer and explain who you are as a business and do it succinctly and with good design presentation.

More Images, Fewer Words - Speaking of design, while a website is more than just a pretty page, it has to be visually appealing. It also has to be easily skimmable. This is made possible with larger headings, bigger text, shorter paragraphs (if you have any at all) and larger images. The truth is, people don't read on the internet. They skim. Make it look good and make it informative and don't waste the viewer's time.

Does your website do these things or do you need some help giving your landing page a facelift? At Old City Web Services, we are skilled at giving you the best combination of all of these elements so that when a viewer clicks on and arrives at your site, they have the best experience possible. Give us a call or email us today! Call us (904.829.2772) or e-mail us today!

Advertising and Landing Page Congruency

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Every day several hundred million people do a Google search, click on one of the results, get sent to a website only to be greeted by a page that has absolutely nothing to do with the ad that they clicked on.  If the website owner is lucky the visitor may poke around the site a bit; however, more often than not… they close that window and go to the next result.

This should never happen to you.  If it does, then change it. 

It is vitally important that both your advertising and your landing pages match up.  This is true of all forms of advertising; radio, email, tv, newspaper, direct mail, and magazines.  Your advertisements clearly point potential clients and customers to the information and products that they want.

To make this happen make sure that your advertisements and your landing pages have a clear message that is being delivered to a specific audience.  Don’t try to attract the whole world to you with something vague. 

Be specific and deliberate.  And most importantly…make sure that everything matches.

Questions of the day:

  • Do you advertise to get people to your website?
  • Do you use SEO to send people from search results to a landing page that matches?

How to Create a Landing Page for your Business Fan Page on Facebook

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Facebook is a wonderful tool for building your business through social media. So take advantage of the tools they offer and your ability to make landing pages right inside of Facebook. This will truly set your company apart from others and can help generate an influx of visitors to your main site.

Below are 17 steps that you can use to create a landing page within Facebook. This landing page will be the first thing visitors see when they go to your Facebook Fan Page.  Give it a whirl.

Step 1:  Login to Facebook
Step 2: Go to the FBML Application page
Step 3: Locate the ‘Add to my page link’ at the top right hand corner of the page.
Step 4: Click it.
Step 5: Find the fan page that you want to build the landing page for.
Step 6: Click the ‘add to page’ button for that particular page
Step 7: Go to the facebook fan page that you just selected
Step 8: Find the Edit tab: you will find this right below the image for your company’s profile.
Step 9: Scroll down the page and find the FBML app.
Step 10: Click the edit link
Step 11: Remove the Box setting
Step 12: Add the Tab setting. Now you are in tab mode.
Step 13: Go back to settings and click the Edit link.
Step 14: Fill in the standard text field that just opened with the content you desire.
Step 15: Change the name of the tab from “Box Title” to an appropriate tile. For example, ‘Free Download’, ‘Special Offers’, ‘Welcome’, ‘Facebook Exclusives’, etc.
Step 16: Go back to page settings and edit “Wall Settings”. Look for the option that says “Default Landing Tab for Everyone Else” and select your new tab.
Step 17: Congratulations! You have just created a landing page for your Facebook Fan page

Question of the day:

  • What exclusive offers can I offer to Facebook Fans?

Every Page On Your Website Should Have a Call to Action

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That’s what makes it a landing page.

In fact, when you understand that each and every website should be working for you to get new customers or keep track of what current customers want, then deciding what content to include on each webpage gets easier and easier.

When in doubt, about what you should do to make your website at landing page…include a sign-up form for your newsletter.

Questions of the day:

  • Do you have a newsletter you send out to clients/customers on a regular basis?
  • Is every page on your site a landing page? 

How to Use Landing Pages to Build Your Email Marketing Database

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How large is your company’s email database?  Why do I ask?  Because size does matter.  The size of your database has a direct correlation to your company’s bottom line…to your company’s cash flow.  According to research from the Database Marketing Institute, every email address captured adds $10 to your company per year.

Simply stated, if you have 12,000 email addresses in your database that adds $120,000 to your company.

Now, there are some people that earn more than $10 per name.  Matter of fact, I know of one business owner that generated close to $1.25 million dollars last year with a mailing list of 13,000 that he brings tremendous value to on a regular basis!

How did he do it?

He used highly targeted landing pages to capture qualified, legitimate email addresses.  He didn’t just want anybody on his list.  He wanted a specific type of person on his list.  With that in mind he worked to design a compelling landing page to attract the right people.

You should do the same.  Either do it yourself or find someone to help you get it done.  Here are a few things you can do to get the job done.

Design a Landing Page With One Clear Intent

If you want to build your email database then you need to create a landing page specifically for that reason.  Don’t try to sell them a product or service just yet.  You are just trying to get the relationship started.

Give Something Away for Free

To spice things up a bit, and entice them to give you their information, you will want to offer them something of value such as a free white paper, special report, tip sheet, software download,video, mp-3,  or demo.  Make sure that it is something that they can receive immediately.

Promise to Send Them Great Stuff on a Regular Basis

In addition to a free offer, you will want to let them know that you will be emailing them on a regular basis.  You want them to give you permission to continually market to them at the minimum once a week.  Make sure that what you send them is of value so that they will continue to stay on your list and open your email.

Ask for As Little Information As Possible

Let’s face it, to send something online all you really need is an email address.  So you will want to make sure that you have a form that collects their email address.  You may also choose to capture their first name.  Resist the temptation to ask for too much information too soon.  Instead, use a progressive profiling approach that helps you gather more information from them over time and as your relationship deepens.

Add a Button That Tells Them What to Do

If you want your visitors to download the free report then your call-to-action button needs to say just that.  Use phrases such as, “Send my free report”, “Download now”, “Sign me up right now”, and many others.  You get the idea.  Avoid using generic words such as “submit” and sign up.

Final Thoughts: Your email marketing landing page doesn’t have to be long, but it does have to be clean in design and clear in copy.

Questions You May Want to Ask Yourself:

  • How large of a list do I want to have?
  • How often will I communicate with my list?
  • How fast do I want my landing page up and running?
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We are Old City Web Services. We make it easy for small businesses to thrive online. Whether you need a professional website, help attracting more customers, or a fresh new look for your brand, we’ve got you covered. With over 20 years of experience, we specialize in simple, affordable solutions that work for businesses like yours. Let us handle the tech so you can focus on what you do best—running your business.

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