Subdomain vs. Subdirectory: What’s the Difference

by Barbra Sundquist

Domain name, index file, add-on domain, subdomain, subdirectory – the terminology related to website structure can be mind boggling. Here’s an explanation of the Domain Name System (DNS) that will help you sort this out.

First thing to understand is that the Internet’s domain name system has a tree structure or hierarchy, with each node on the tree being a domain name.

A folder contained inside another folder is called a subdirectory (aka  subfolder) of that folder. Together, the folders form a hierarchy, or tree structure.

What’s the difference between a subdomain and a subdirectory?

A subdomain is a domain that is part of a larger domain. For example, vegetablegardening.mywebsite.com is a subdomain of the mywebsite.com domain.

You’ll notice that a subdomain (vegetablegardening) comes before the  main domain name (mywebsite.com).

In contrast, a  subdirectory (aka subfolder) comes after the main domain name.

So a subdirectory (aka subfolder) would  look like mywebsite.com/vegetablegardening.

Which is better for SEO?

For purposes of search engine optimization (SEO), Google treats a subdomain as a separate entity. So if the main domain (mywebsite.com) is just doing great – lots of page rank, backlinks, and authority, none of that will be of any help to vegetablegardening.mywebsite.com.

Subdirectories will benefit when other parts of the same domain are doing well; so that mywebsite.com can “pass through” some of its page rank and authority to mywebsite.com/vegetablegardening.

This is one of those things that SEO experts like to debate over – so be prepared for different opinions on this.

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Top 7 Home Business Advice Articles

by Barbra Sundquist

cat on table with tulips

#1 perk of owning the blog: being able to post pics of your cat!

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been writing this home business advice blog for nearly 4 years.  A lot has changed in the blogging and online business world in that time.

Perhaps that’s what  motivated me to respond to the challenge that Darren Rowse of Problogger issued today: publish a post that is a list of 7 links to posts that you and others have written that respond to the following 7 categories.

  • Your first post
  • A post you enjoyed writing the most
  • A post which had a great discussion
  • A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written
  • Your most helpful post
  • A post with a title that you are proud of
  • A post that you wish more people had read

Here goes:

  1. My first post was published October 30, 2006 and it was titled Logo Design: Make it Easy on Yourself
  2. The post I enjoyed writing the most would have to be How to Set Up an Aweber Autoresponder. I enjoy writing how-to articles that help other people do practical things. Nothing is more satisfying to me than getting a comment from a reader that says “Thanks – I was having trouble figuring that out and now I can do it!”
  3. A post which had a great discussion was my article on How to Make a Trackback on a Blog. Again, the how-to articles seem to be the most popular on HomeBusinessWiz. This article has 26 comments and counting. Although maybe it’s more accurate to say that this post has the most comments, not necessarily the most discussion (important distinction).
  4. A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written. That’s easy: anything from My Husband is Annoying, which I find hilarious.
  5. My most helpful post: Judging from the feedback I’ve received, my most helpful post from the past four years of blogging about home business tips is How To Set Up a Business Paypal Account.
  6. A post with a title that I’m proud of is Lawyer, Accountant, Candlestick Maker: Does Your Home Based Business Really Need Them?
  7. A post that I wish more people had read is My Favorite Coaching Questions, because they are questions that would dramatically improve anyone’s business communication skills.

I enjoyed this challenge – it was fun to look back over the 300 articles I have written in 4 years of writing this blog.

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10 Money Saving Tips for Home Business

by Barbra Sundquist

pink post it note

The less you spend, the more you earn!

As a home business owner, I’m always looking for money saving tips. The less money I spend on operating costs the more left over for me! Here are 10 money saving tips for your home business.

1. Piggyback promotions
• Include business information such as flyers or coupons with invoices or online newsletters.  This is a great money saving tip that is also quick and easy to do.  Remind your customers of your special deals right at the time that they have you in mind. Be sure to provide an easy way for them to pick up the phone or click the “Buy Now” button.

2. Save money with joint ventures
• Share mailing costs, distribution methods and contacts with other businesses in your area. Do a Google search for “home business + your town” to get lots of contacts.

3. Establish a referral marketing plan
•  Exchange referral information with other businesses in your area. Ask your customers to participate in referral based sales – perhaps offer a discount for every five referrals they provide that result in additional sales.

4. Set up a Paypal business account to provide an easy way for customers to pay you online.

5. Cancel unneeded subscriptions
• Check your credit card statement to see what recurring subscriptions you are paying for. Cancel any that you are not using regularly.
• Cancel magazine subscriptions. You really don’t have time to read them, anyways, do you?
•  Do you really need a land line, a fax line and a cell phone, or could just a cell phone do the trick? Do you even need the cell phone? Could an online phone service like  Skype suffice? Big monthly savings opportunity here.

6. Cut back on office supplies and equipment
• Buy stamps for mailing instead of using a postal meter. Renting postal meters is expensive and unless you do mass mailings on a regular basis, is not cost efficient.
• Obtain free business forms online. The Internet has hundreds of sites that offer free, customizable forms for many universal transactions.
• Download free software before you purchase a program. Most software providers have trial versions available at no cost. Use caution when downloading from sites that do not display security locks on their pages.
• Buy used equipment. Attend auction sales or warehouses dedicated to selling refurbished computers, copiers, phones or other items. Often you can find items in extremely good condition at a fraction of the cost of new. Similarly, used office furniture outlets often have very good buys on gently used chairs, desks, etc. Check out online classifieds such as Kijiji and Craigslist, as well as the classified section of your local newspaper as well.

7. Review your insurance rates regularly
• Take a look at your insurance coverage instead of just automatically renewing it each year. Shop around when policies are up for renewal. But never cancel an insurance policy until you are absolutely certain new coverage is in place.
• Re-assess your medical insurance. Be sure you have up to date information on past claims payouts as well as the loss ratio of paid claims to premiums.
• Raise your deductible. This will result in premium reduction , which can provide substantial savings over time.

8. Watch your credit
• Do credit card comparisons, especially if you maintain unpaid balances. Shop around for the best interest rate.
• If you pay balances off monthly (and we hope you do!), look for a card that has no annual fee.
• Avoid cash advances. Interest charges on cash advances are higher and are calculated from the moment you access funds.

9. Take advantage of all tax breaks
• If you operate your business from your home, deduct items such as mortgage interest, utilities, home maintenance expenses, lawn care and house cleaning services.
• If you travel for business, save all fuel and food receipts.

10. Cut utility costs
• Ask utility providers if they have a special rate available for businesses.
• Comparison shop for a telephone service provider.

What’s your most creative money saving tip for home business? Please share in the comments section below. Thanks!

This article is intended for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal or financial advice.

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How to Write an Author Bio

by Barbra Sundquist

Even though writers have a natural ability to put words together, most writers find it excruciatingly difficult to write their own author bio. This article gives practical guidance on how to write an author bio.

Let your author bio brand you

Here are some points to consider when writing a short author biography.

1) Think about who is going to be your reader. It could be an editor but it could also include business associates, radio hosts, or even your own family. Write your bio for your intended reader, and don’t forget that your readers might include people from different generations.

2) Prepare several author biographies of different lengths. Pull one out for an appropriate setting. Author bio  examples can be a short blurb in a single sentence for a magazine, a longer version of about 50 to 100 words in a query letter for a novel, and a full page for a press release.

3) Decide on the points you want to include. Most authors find that they have more information than they need. Be ruthless in editing your bio to include only points that are relevant. Does your fishing hobby provide good background for a murder mystery novel you are submitting to a publisher? Probably not. You worked in a coroner’s office for a couple of weeks to learn about medical examiner’s terminology? Now that’s relevant.

4) Make a list of writing credits to highlight. Not more than three or else it would take up too much space.

5) include contact information and website so readers can learn more about you and your writing. You can include a longer bio when you write your website biography.

Reveal your personality

An author bio plays an important role because it communicates who you are. In the same way that a business card introduces you, a bio serves as a short introduction to your writing. Take the time to think carefully about what you want readers to remember when they hear your name.

Readers like to know about you. Biographical information such as marital status, number of children, pets and hobbies show that you are a normal person and help readers relate to you.

Reflect your unique writing style in your author bio

When writing your author bio, give readers a sense of what to expect from your writing. Tailoring the tone of your author biography to the content and style of your work. If you’re a humorous or satirical writer, include some humor in your author bio. If you’re an academic writer, your author bio should reflect the academic world. The tone you take in writing your bio creates expectation of your written work.

Here are two contrasting examples:

Norman Langford grew up spying on the neighbours and taking notes in a little black book. No surprise that he ended up writing spy novels!

Dr. Laura Smith has been writing on gender studies for over 20 years. Her research interests include mothering, gender roles and media representation of women.

Consider Using a Template

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Consider using a fill-in-the-blanks bio template to save time and headaches. That way you can complete your bio writing task and get back to the writing that you actually enjoy!

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Creating an Info Product: What You Need to Know

by Barbra Sundquist

Last week, I was talking with a colleague about information products. My colleague works with managers who are struggling with software development projects help get those projects back on track.

He’s great a what he does, loves his work and has tons of great ideas for creating information products. But he hasn’t made much progress around creating an information product.

Why?

In his own words, “I’ve created one information  product but no one bought it. I’m not sure why but I’m worried that what I know just doesn’t translate well into something people will pay for.”

It’s a common issue: you love your work and the clients you work with love your work too. But you wonder whether what you do will translate well if you’re not doing it in person.

Love + Market Need = $$$

If you want a product that practically sells itself and that you feel good about offering to your customers, your product must meet two conditions:

#1. Your product must be based on your talent, expertise, and joy

#2. Your product helps other people solve a problem that is bothering them RIGHT NOW

If the product doesn’t meet condition #1, it doesn’t matter how much people want it, you will not be able to solve their problem because you lack the expertise and passion to do so.

If the product doesn’t meet condition #2, people won’t buy your info product because they don’t want or need it.

Find the “Sweetspot”

The “sweetspot” is the set of problems which meet both conditions: the problems you are good at and enjoy solving AND for which there is market opportunity (problems customers REALLY want solved).

Envision two circles whose edges overlap so that they share a common area (like the Mastercard logo). The area of overlap is the sweetspot for your product. If you’re going to create just one information product this year, you want to create one in this sweet spot.

There are 4 steps for identifying products in the sweet spot.

Step 1. List Common Problems You Help Customers With

Take a moment and think about the customers you’ve been working with over the last three months or so.

Once you have some specific customers in mind, jot down all of the problems you helped them with. (Although your clients typically come with one specific problem, there are usually several others related problems or you may uncover a larger, more basic problem as you learn more). For example, here are common problems that a project management consultant deals with:

  • Project team members lack skills to complete their tasks
  • Team members fail to communicate progress and/or problems with each other
  • Project manager isn’t available enough to give team direction
  • Team lacks good tools for tracking their progress
  • Upper management doesn’t support project
  • Unrealistic deadlines and goals
  • Project gets bogged down because of unnecessary steps

Step 2. Identify Your Favorite Problems to Solve

Looking at your list put a check mark next to the ones that evoke an “I want to do that more!” response in your heart. Don’t over-think this. The response you’re looking for is a sincere “More!” not a “should want to do more.” Shoulds, woulds, and coulds lead to products that don’t sell.

Now, do the same thing but this time check ones in which you feel genuinely proud of the results you helped the client achieve. Also include those which are still works in process but you feel good about your contribution so far. Again, don’t overthink this step.

Now circle all the problems you listed that have two check marks. These are the product ideas that go into the “Love” part of the equation.

For example, our project management consultant looks at his list and realizes that some of the problems are “people problems” (right people with right skills and knowledge) and other problems are “tools and resource problems” (right software and procedures). Because his background is in software design he decides the problems he really wants to create products around are the tools and resource problems.

Step 3. Identifying Marketplace Needs

Now that you have identified one or two problems that you enjoy helping people with and excel at providing, let’s look at opportunities in the marketplace. Some specific actions to find those opportunities include:

  • What is already selling in your area of expertise: Search Google, Bing, and Amazon.com using keywords that describe the problem area.
  • What frustrates people most in your area of expertise: Monitor discussion forums (Yahoo groups and Google groups), blogs and social network sites (Facebook, Linked in, Twitter)
  • What recurring topics show up in publications on your topic?

As you look at the marketplace, jot down the problems/questions that keep coming up.

Important: A “gap” doesn’t necessarily mean there are no products or services out there providing solutions. If a question seems to be coming up again and again it suggests there’s a need for fresh insights, perspectives, and voices. Maybe yours.

Example: Among the problems our project management consultant sees coming up:

  • Whether or not a project needs project management software
  • What to do when you need to “fire” someone from your project team
  • What to do when team members are sabotaging your project
  • What is the best project management software for a project
  • How to find bottlenecks in a project
  • How to create a good time estimate for completing projects
  • How to convince upper level management to increase your project’s budget

Step 4. Finding Sweetspot Product Ideas

You’ve identified problems you’re good at solving; you’ve identified gaps in the marketplace, now it’s time to identify the “Sweet Spot” for your products.

Looking at the problems you circled in Step #2 and the problems and questions you listed in Step #3, look for any problems that satisfy both conditions:

#1. Problems you are good at solving and enjoy solving

#2. Problems that continually crop up in the marketplace

Create a new list with the problems that meet both conditions. These are your “sweetspot” product ideas. Products that, with the right marketing message and support, will practically sell themselves.

Example: Looking at both lists, the project management consultant chooses the following problem as a basis for his next information product:

  • Finding and dealing with bottlenecks in projects

Since his expertise and interest is in process improvement, it makes sense to create a product that will help teams find and eliminate steps causing bottlenecks.

Bottom Line

You can create products that will practically sell themselves if your products solve problems you love to solve and solve problems that your customers keep asking about. With one or two products that meet these criteria plus a good marketing message and timely promotions to your prospective buyers you really can make a difference and grow your bottom line.

About the Author: Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, “Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!” go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com

 

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Paypal Business Accounts: Standard or Pro?

by Barbra Sundquist

When setting up a Paypal Business Account, you will be asked what kind of account you want. There are about six different options, but the two most common for small businesses are:

  1. Website Payments Standard
  2. Website Payments Pro

Which should you get?

I have “Standard” and it meets all my needs for accepting online payments quickly and easily. It has worked reliably for me for over five years now, and my bookkeeper really likes how it keeps all the “money in and money out” straight. Website Payments Standard is what I recommend for most small businesses starting out online.

To understand which type of Paypal Business Account is best for your circumstances, you need to decide how you want customers to check out and complete payments. There are basically three ways this can happen:

1. Paypal combined with a third party shopping cart system

If you use a third party shopping cart such as 1ShoppingCart, e-Junkie or WAHM Cart then Website Payments Standard is what you want. This is the process that customers will go through:

  • click your “buy” button
  • get taken to your shopping cart
  • fill out the info that your shopping cart requires
  • get taken to  Paypal to complete the payment using a credit card, bank account or Paypal account.

2. You have no idea what a third party shopping cart system is, nor do you want to get one

No problem! If you don’t have a shopping cart system at all, then choose Website Payments Standard. It will provide you with little “buy now” buttons that you can put right on your website. With this method, customers simply:

  • click your “buy” button
  • get taken to Paypal to complete the payment using a credit card, bank account or Paypal account

3. Paypal combined with a self-hosted shopping cart

If you have your own shopping cart hosted on your server, then you want Website Payments Pro. With the Pro version customers can shop and pay directly on your website.

Here’s a summary of the differences between the “Standard” and “Pro” accounts.

Website Payments Standard

* Accepting payments today: no additional application or shopping cart is required.
* Customers shop on your website and pay you on PayPal; even without a PayPal account.
* No annual contract is required.

Website Payments Pro

* Get features of merchant accounts and gateways at a lower cost.
* Customers can shop and pay directly on your website, or check out in a few clicks on PayPal.
* They can also pay you with credit cards via phone, fax, mail, or in person.

Here’s an article I wrote that gives step-by-step instructions on how to set up a Paypal business account. You might want to print out those instructions before going to Paypal to set up your account. Don’t worry, it’s easy! You can do it in just a few minutes, and start accepting customer payments immediately.

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Rapid Mass Traffic: How Does It Work?

by Barbra Sundquist

I got a promotional email today from someone who presumably is an affiliate of the Rapid Mass Traffic product. Normally I just delete these types of emails and unsubscribe from the list, but this email caught my attention. It was GOOD. Here’s how it started out:

Hi  Barbra,

I want you to be honest with me and to yourself…

… are you ready?

Do you really have the patience, time, energy and money to keep on blogging, writing, begging for JV’s, paying for backlinks, using more and more software, taking endless seo lessons … week after week, year after year?

I know I certainly don’t.

After all, isn’t that why you want to make money online … to have more time and more freedom?

Can you really say you have that right now? Is all that time and effort you’re spending trying to get a few hundred visitors per day REALLY worth it? I mean, is it really PAYING off for you?

Against my better judgement I clicked the link to view the Rapid Mass Traffic sales letter. Like many internet sales letters, it went on and on and on. It promised a secret technique that would “skyrocket traffic and earnings to a whole new level!!” And yet nowhere did it actually give any idea of what this magic technique is.

A little more digging and I found out in the comments section of another affiliates blog that the magic bullet is something called PPV. Having no idea what PPV is, I did some research and found this explanation:

Here is what ppv marketing is. Adware. I know you have heard the term, but may not be familiar with what it is. Have you ever had a virus like issue where, whenever you type a url in the address box or tried to perform a google search, and a new, seemingly random browser window opens up over your intended result? That is adware. I have never experienced it personally, but had it happen on a work computer several years ago after a co-worker downloaded the file sharing application kazaa. The two ways it can plant itself on a users computer is by the user downloading an application like kazaa, where in the fine print… let me correct myself… in the minuscule print, you agree to allow them to show you advertisements in exchange for their free application. The other way that a user can have this happen is, for no better term, a virus. A virus known as adware.

The way ppv marketing works: An affiliate advertiser signs up with an adware company and from there it works in much the same way as google adwords. They can bid on the same keywords as they would on google, and when the user of an infected computer performs a search on that term, the user will get their normal google search results, but the adware causes their computer to open a browser on top of their google search results with their ad.  Source: ppv marketing – what is it? | Make Money Online at Natespost.com

Yuck. The PPV method sounds spammy and definitely not something that I want to be associated with. As a result, I won’t be buying Rapid Mass Traffic.

Update: there is an informative thread on the Warrior Forum about this product.

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Marketing Plan for WriteABio.com (Case Study)

by Barbra Sundquist

bio templates logoAre you an entrepreneur at heart? Me too. I love figuring out how to make businesses work. Over the past 2 years the income from my bio templates site has rivaled that of my coaching practice (talk about passive income!).

It’s been going so well that I’ve decided to cut back on my coaching business and focus more attention on my bio templates business. My first goal is to increase sales, and there’s two ways to do this: I can either 1) increase the visitor to buyer conversion rate, or 2) increase the overall amount of traffic (more visitors = more sales).

To date only .25 of one percent (yes, only one quarter of one percent!) of visitors to my site make a purchase. My goal is to double sales by the end of the year. I will need to either 1) double the conversion rate, or 2) double traffic.

I thought that since I already have good traffic, the most logical place to start is to try to increase my conversion rate.  (As you may know, conversion means ‘how many visitors to your site take the desired action”. In my case, the desired action is to purchase a bio template.) To help me increase conversion rate, I hired a company called SiteTuners.com to critique and revamp my site. SiteTuners specializes in landing page makeovers with a view to increasing conversion.

I had hoped that the revamp of the website would double the conversion rate. Alas, it hasn’t happened. Truth be told, my brand spanking new (and expensive) website is doing no better at converting visitors than my old homemade site. Hmmm…

There are more things that I can test and tweak on the site, so hopefully over time I’ll be able to improve the conversion rate.

In terms of building traffic, I’m more experienced at that and have developed a marketing plan aimed at doubling my traffic. Here’s an outline of my plan:

  • build backlinks (SEO)
  • do on-page optimization (SEO)
  • add more info on individual product pages
  • sign up new affiliates and get link from their sites
  • dominate search engines for search phrases related to “write a bio”
  • track in Market Samurai

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Coach Pooja: Active Meditation in Action

by Barbra Sundquist

 

Pooja Bhangar Khandelwal

Pooja Bhangar Khandelwal

To dream big and live your best life, stepping out of your comfort zone is a given and requires a mindset that embraces challenge and adventure. Coach Pooja Bhangar Khandelwal lives and works by that mindset. Her motto is  ‘live-UR-dream’.

Challenges are a part of life!

Pooja recently immigrated to Vancouver, BC with her daughter to continue the pursuit of  their best life. India’s first (and only) certified female life coach from the International Coach Federation and coach certified from the International Coach Academy, she also holds an MBA in Marketing with 15 years of experience in client relationship management.

“My work is about motivating, empowering and assisting people to dream-discover-develop their best life.”  Along her own journey of self-discovery and transformation, Pooja discovered and then became a certified facilitator of Active Meditation. She is  also certified as a graphologist, dream-analyst and Zen Tarot card reader.

Active Meditation began journey within

Pooja defines Active Meditation as “Soul Gym” for spiritual fitness using physical activity such as breathing, movement, visualization, and exercises to find the stillness within. “Like all others, I face challenges everyday so I energize and rejuvenate myself with Active Meditation every single day. Since the process throws out all the disempowering emotions and fills me up with the positive energy from within, everyday begins with a fresh start.”

My personal favorite, “Gibberish and Letting Go”, is an exercise allowing for a moment to get it all out, be still with your silence then let it go.

Awareness building and self-empowering

LifeCoachingWithPooja.com is just one project that Pooja’s positive energy is currently focused on. She has also partnered with  TheManifest-Station, an online community and information hub for thought leaders and seekers. A budding advocate, Pooja conducts Active Meditation classes in schools and leads a popular weekly class at a local studio. She also shares her life experiences and skills by volunteering with Battered Women Support Services and Minevera Foundation for BC Women, empowering women in transition.

“I am learning and experiencing the tremendous latent power women have in bouncing back from any adversity”,  she says with pride.

Working from home is a great asset

“I am a single mom and my daughter is my top priority. I call myself ‘mom-coach’!  Working from home allows me that opportunity to be around, with and for her. I can work around her schedule and still complete my agenda for the day. I have the balance of being a self-propelled home-maker and a working woman.”

Differences between Vancouver and India?

“Oh! There is an ocean of difference. People I meet here are true to themselves. Life is ‘REAL’. Though India is known to be the land of the sages, the spiritual awareness here is amazing.  Everyone is focussed on self-care. People are community minded – I mean, they think of the larger picture. I have not seen organized volunteer work on this scale in India.  I have felt so welcomed by the people of Vancouver, that I do not consider myself a new immigrant and have not participated in any program that are offered to enhance settlement!  This place became ‘home’ almost instantly.”

In the pursuit to follow your dream, where ever that dream takes you, Pooja definitely has the goods and the experience to help guide you through your journey.  And remember to pack your sense of adventure.

Personal note to Pooja: welcome home, eh.

About the author:  Mark Kokocki is a life & (in) business coach plus personal trainer and owner of  dropdeadhappy.com working with people and businesses who are ready to be (& play with) their best.

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Blogging Tip: Fix Your Permanent Redirect

by Barbra Sundquist

Marko Saric at HowToMakeMyBlog.com points out that the following website URL’s may seem like they are the same page to you, but to a search engine they might actually seem like two different pages:

http://yourblog.com

http://www.yourblog.com

What’s the problem with that? Search engines may think www.yourblog.com and yourblog.com are two different blog sites. As a result, you won’t get the full SEO (search engine optimization) benefits that you should. In plain English, your site may not rank as high in the search engines as it would otherwise. The solution is to set up a permanent redirect (technically called a “301 redirect”) between these sites. Once you do that, you will get full search engine credit for your work on these blog sites and it will improve your search engine optimization and the SEO rankings.

Go to Marko’s article  Fix Your Permanent Redirect To Optimize Your Blog SEO to get the code to fix this. When this code is saved to your index.php, all your visitors will be redirected to www.yourblog.com even if they enter yourblog.com in their browser address bar.

 

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