Run a design business- Lynda.com

It's one thing to be a skilled artist—and another to be a great entrepreneur. Our Running a Design Business series offers practical tips on managing the day-to-day operations of your design company. Veteran designer Petrula Vrontikis dispels myths and shares realities in Freelancing. In Starting Small, she explains how to build a strong, sustainable foundation for success. InDesigner-Client Agreements, design management consultant Terry Lee Stone explains how to draw up proposals and contracts.

Easy Way to View Sum or Average in Microsoft Excel 2010

Many times in Excel we use the SUM or AVERAGE functions.  Well did you know that if you don’t this data in a place on your spreadsheet, and just need it for a quick reference, that you don’t even have to go through the steps of using the function.  Simply highlight the cells that you would like to see the sum or average of, and look in the bottom status bar and you will see the number of cells you have selected, the sum of those cells, and the average.  You can even select cells that are not adjacent to each other by using the CTRL key will selecting your cells.

Report: Pinterest users outspend other social media users

An article from Constant Contact Blogs

"According to a recent study from Monetate, the average pricetag from a sale generated on Pinterest is $80.54, compared to around $70 for both Facebook ($71.26) and Twitter ($70.17).

While Pinterest users may spend more, they are also more difficult to convert. According to Monetate, the conversion rate for the average Pinterest user is .36%, compared to 1.08% for the average user on Facebook.

Bottom Line: One of the biggest differences between Pinterest and other social networks is that users on the site tend to approach Pinterest with much more of a “shopping mentality.” According to a recent study from ComScore, 32% of online retail shoppers have made a purchase based on what they’ve seen on Pinterest.

If you’re looking to add something new to your social media marketing, Pinterest is a great place to start."

Select All in Microsoft Excel 2010

As many of you know, Ctrl+A is the shortcut to select all your information, but this shortcut unfortunately does not work in Microsoft Excel.  When you press Ctrl+A it will select the cells current area.  If you would like to select the whole document, press Ctrl+A a second time instantly it will select the whole document.  Or another way to select the whole document, without having to drag your mouse through the entire document, is to click the small gray box in the upper left hand corner of your spreadsheet. 

Tell a story with your camera- Lynda.com

Learn to document the world around you in creative and compelling ways with new courses on visual storytelling. A renowned photojournalist captures the folks and food behind a working restaurant while telling the story of his career in Douglas Kirkland on Photography: Storytelling through Photography. Then Jeff Sengstack demonstrates how to plan shoots, craft a story, and edit footage in Video Journalism Storytelling Techniques.

Using the AutoFormat Tool in Microsoft Word 2010

We have all probably used Word’s AutoFormat Feature without even realizing it.  Auto Format as you type will automatically change your quotes to smart quotes, insert bullets or numbered lists and such.  But did you know you can apply these AutoFormats to text that has been typed up outside of Word and copied in? For example, if you have a poorly formatted email that you need to have in a Word document, you can make all the corrections with just one click.  Highlight the text you want to AutoFormat and then click the AutoFormat button. Although the problem is, if you are using Word 2007 or newer the AutoFormat button is not on the Ribbon.  You can add it to the Quick Access Toolbar by clicking the File tab, Options, and then Quick Access Toolbar.  Next, in the dropdown list under Choose Commands From select Commands Not in the Ribbon, and lastly select AutoFormat and add it to the Quick Access Toolbar. 

Study: 77% of smartphone-driven retail purchases happen in stores- Constant Contact

An Article from Constant Contact Blogs

 

"According to new research from Nielsen, more than three quarters of all smartphone-driven retail purchases are taking place offline.

While 42% of the 2,000 retail customers who participated in the survey reported that they rely exclusively on mobile when researching a purchasing decision, the vast majority say that they are much more likely to come in store rather than shop online.

Other interesting findings included:

·        57% of people searching on a smartphone expect retailers to be within five miles of their location

·        24% of people searching on smartphones consider local proximity of the business to be the most important search variable

·        33% of people searching on smartphones are looking specifically for retailer contact details (phone number, address, directions)

Bottom Line: While most of the talk around mobile over the last few months has been focused on the type of actions users are taking online, it’s also important to understand that what mobile users are doing offline can be just as important. The reality is that with more people researching your business on mobile—through search, social media, and even in the inbox—you have more opportunities to bring people into your place of business if you’re providing a positive mobile-experience.

Whether it’s taking control of your online listings, adopting a more mobile social media strategy, or making the change to mobile-friendly emails, there is plenty you can do right away."

Set up a Warning to Never Save or Send Documents with Tracking Information

The tracking revisions feature in Word can be very useful especially when co-authoring a document.  Although, once you have finalized your document you have to remember to turn off the tracking before you print or email it.  You can now turn on a setting that will warn you before you try to save/print a document that has tracking information.  Go to the File tab, then click Options, and then Trust Center. Next click Trust Center Settings and in the list on the left of the window click Privacy Settings and under the group labeled Document Specific Setting click a check mark next to the setting “Warn before printing, saving, or sending a file that contains tracked changes or comments.”  Now you will never have to worry about sending out a document with tracking information again!

Linecard – Lights Up Arizona

Lights Up Arizona asked Your Computer Lady to create a one page marketing piece that shows his clients which manufacturers Lights Up Arizona represents.  The linecard lists all the manufacturers along with a brief description of the company as well as pictures of their products.  Lights Up Arizona uses this linecard on sales calls and at trade shows.

Homesnap

This is a really neat app that can be put to good use as the Housing market is making a comeback.  With Homesnap you can take a picture of the front of a home and find its most recent closing cost, lot size and school district.  For some homes you can even see images of the inside. Homesnap functions like an online realtor.  You can find more information at homesnap.com. Happy house hunting!

Web Site Expansion – Quantum Art

Your Computer Lady worked with Quantum Art by expanding the content on their website and to present a better overall picture of the two artists and improve their SEO on their web site.

Default Settings in Microsoft Excel 2010

If you use Excel often and are not a fan of the default settings it has set for font and font size, you can change those and even change the default number of sheets it has for a document!  Simply click the File tab and then Options.  In the pop up window under General you can make all the changes you want to these default settings.   There are many things that you can change to make Microsoft Excel easier to use and changing your default settings is simple way to do this.

New Web Site – CSI Phoenix Chapter

Your Computer Lady has maintained CSI Phoenix Chapter’s DNN web site for over 10 years.  Needing to refresh their website, CSI asked Your Computer Lady to create a more up-to-date looking website in WordPress.  This new WordPress site will be easier for the Chapter to maintain.

Delivering relevant content is a top concern for B2B email marketers

An article from Constant Contact Blogs

"For business-to-business (B2B) marketers, being able to target the right message to the right audience is a top priority.
According to a recent report from BtoB Magazine, 47% of B2B respondents cite “delivering content that’s relevant to a segment” as the top tactic they can take to improve their email marketing efforts. Lead nurture programs (43%), content quality and volume (40%), and list segmentation (30%) were also top concerns for B2B email marketers.
As far as email marketing goals, customer acquisition is the top goal of B2B businesses. Other goals include: lead nurturing (29%), brand awareness (18%), customer retention (15%).
Bottom Line: Whether you’re a B2B, B2C, or nonprofit organization, delivering content that’s relevant to your target audience is an important part of any email marketing campaign. By delivering content that’s relevant to your readers, you’ll have more opportunities to engage your audience and to stay top-of-mind in the process.

When you consider that for 56% of consumers, irrelevant content is a top reason for unsubscribing from brand email lists, it’s clear that all email marketers need to be focused on delivering the right content to the right people every time they hit send."

New Web Site – Maxwipes

To do market testing and to build credibility with potential distributors, Maxwipes needed a website. Your Computer Lady re-built a stalled website with a WordPress structure. The Products Page allows users to purchase products. As the company was new, we started off with PayPal’s buttons. The other site pages reveal the concept of the products and its many uses. A blog was added to help build organic Search Engine Optimization to spread the word about the firm.

In addition, Your Computer Lady set up a Facebook Fan page, a Twitter account and a YouTube channel. Social media can be the least expensive means to build name recognition for a company. It takes time, of course, to manage the information feed but it can be done in-house or with Your Computer Lady support.
Software used: WordPress

New Web Site - Smith Telephones

Smith’s Telephones wanted a brochure site about the company but also a way to sell inventory of phones and parts.  The site covers all the needs of the company in a simple, clean format. Software used: Google Apps.

Animation Painter in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010

A great time saving tool you can use in Word when copying formatting is the Format painter.  Well did you know that in PowerPoint there is an Animation Painter? You can easily use the same animation on different objects on different slides without having to re set it for each one. Simply click on the object that has the animation you would like to use and then click on the Animation Painter tool.  You will find this tool in the Animation tab under the Advanced Animation group. Lastly, click on the object you would like the animation copied to, and like the format painter, you can double click on the Animation Painter and copy that animation to multiple objects.

New Web Site - Emory Black

This published author needed a site to promote his two published books while allowing room to grow when the third book is published in 2014. WordPress was a perfect fit. We were able to use graphics from the old site that the author liked. We were able to structure the site to provide growing space for lots of new stories!  Software used: WordPress

Slice App

Slice is a new app that you can use to help track all of your online purchases. It saves your receipts, tracks your packages so you will know when they will arrive, it has a feature that alerts you when the price on your items drops, and it also keeps up with your purchase history so next time you are trying remember what brand you bought of a particular product all you have to do is open up Slice.  You can find more information about this app at Slice.com.

Marketing Flyer – CIW Defense Equipment

CIW needed help putting together a simple, one page flyer to hand out to prospects. Your Computer Lady created the flyer using the design and graphics of their web site to build corporate branding for the company.  After getting price quotes, Your Computer Lady had the flyer printed and delivered to CIW!

Remove Auto Formatted Border in Microsoft Word 2010

Many times I have been typing up a document in Word that uses dashes, and the next thing I know I have this long line across my page that I can’t select or delete. What has happened is Word has inserted a bottom border on your page.  Here is how you can get rid of it.  First make sure you are clicked on the Home tab, and in the Paragraph group click the Border icon.  It is found in the bottom right corner of this group.  In the menu you will notice that Bottom Border is selected, click on No Border and your line will disappear. Now you are probably thinking well that’s great but how can I prevent it from happening? Well let me show you.  This is an Auto format feature in Word, so you will need to start by clicking the File tab, and clicking Options.  Now in the list on the far left of the window click Proofing, and then Auto Correct Options. A new pop up window will appear where you will click the tab labeled Auto Format as You Type. Lastly under the section labeled Apply as you Type remove the check mark next to Border Lines.  Now you will no longer have this problem.

New Web Site – Eagle Design Solutions

Eagle Design Solutions is a wholesale distributor catering to the home builder and remodel market in Arizona and New Mexico. They are a new company and needed their first web site.  Your Computer Lady was very fortunate to create their site using WordPress. The software offers so much to new companies because it can be expanded easily. It also controls costs because staff can edit the pages themselves.  Using our expertise with WordPress sites, Your Computer Lady was able to create an online searchable inventory as well as a blog to help Eagle Design Solutions to keep their customers informed of stock on hand and the latest trends in kitchen sinks. Software used: WordPress

New Web Site – LuxeSpecs

A longtime client of Your Computer Lady, Sherry Hauser, Owner, Hauser Designs started a new company - Luxe Specs.com  - and asked Your Computer to build the web site for her new company.  LuxeSpecs is a searchable web site to acquaint luxury homeowners and designers with products that are available for remodeling or building a new luxury home!    Software used: WordPress

Creating the Animusic DVDs - Part 2- Animusic.com

Administration – Eco Bay Home

Eco Bay Home offers an extensive line of eco-friendly products on their web site.  Your Computer Lady assisted Eco Bay Home via Big Commerce by updating their web site with their new products.  Your Computer Lady was able to quickly update new products to their web site for customer purchase.

Web Site Update – CSI Houston Chapter

The Houston Chapter needed a site that could be edited by chapter members. Your Computer Lady took the existing site content and built a new WordPress site. Then we trained volunteers to do maintenance.

Use Both Portrait and Landscape Formats in the Same Document

Microsoft word does not make it easy on you to have portions of your document in portrait and other portions in landscape, but it is possible using section breaks.  First, place your curser at the point in your document that you would like to change to landscape.  Insert a section break by clicking on the Page Layout tab and in the Page Setup section click Breaks.  In the drop down list select Next Page. Next, move your curser to the end of the text you want to reformat, and insert a matching break.  Now place your curser anywhere between the two section breaks, and back in the Page Setup group click the drop down arrow in the far right corner of the group.  This will open up a pop up window, click on the Margins tab, and at the bottom of the window where it says Apply to select This Section, and also change the orientation to landscape.  To finish you just have to click Ok.

Transcription – Hargis + Associates

Hargis asked Your Computer Lady to attend  public committee meetings, record the meeting and then transcribe the meeting discussion in minutes format. The meetings were highly technical discussions of water pollution. But Your Computer Lady was able to provide a detailed draft that could be finalized by the experts.

Pocket App

Here is a neat new app for all your devices.  It’s called Pocket, you can save articles and videos into this app so you can read/ watch them at any time.  Once you have saved your articles in Pocket you can view them later at any time, and you don’t even need internet connection!  You can check it out at getpocket.com.

Email Marketing – Coffee News

Coffee News has a very successful local newspaper and wanted to improve their follow up with prospective advertisers.  Through Constant Contact, Your Computer Lady set up 10 AutoResponder emails to send to potential customers promoting Coffee News services and advertising possibilities.  The AutoResponders are set-up to be emailed to potential customers automatically once they have joined the mailing list.  This keeps Coffee News in front of potential customers.

Selection panel in Microsoft Office Word or Excel 2010

When using multiple shapes or pictures in Microsoft Word or Excel the Selection panel makes it much easier to get things in the correct order, being which shape you want, in the front, and which you would like in the back.  It is very easy to find and use.  Once you have inserted your shape or picture the Format tab will appear.  In the Format tab and in the Arrange group you will see the option called Selection Pane. Once you have clicked on the Selection Pane the pane will open up on the right side of your screen, and now you can easily rearrange all of your shapes and pictures in the order you would like.

Email Marketing – DesignWorks HC

Your Computer Lady assisted DesignWorks HC creating an email marketing campaign.   Your Computer created a custom template to mirror the look of their web site and trained the staff at DesignWorks HC to use Constant Contact.  This enabled DesignWorks HC to create their own monthly blog recap emails using the email template the Your Computer Lady created for them. Software used: Constant Contact

Email Marketing - First Class Green Cleaning

First Class Green Cleaning needed a way to follow up on past clients.  Your Computer Lady created 6, 12 and 18 month emails to send out on service anniversaries.  This type of email campaign keeps First Class Green Cleaning in the client’s mind as well as attracting them with a coupon at the bottom of the email for new services. The coupons remind the clients that First Class offers many services, not just carpet cleaning. Software used: Constant Contact.

New Web Site - Black Pearl Yacht

Black Pearl Yacht needed a web site for the new charter business.  Your Computer Lady was able to create a user friendly web site detailing their charter services, the area of the Caribbean they serve and the entertainment options available. The site has a calendar showing open dates that can be maintained by their staff. Software used: WordPress.

Creating the Animusic DVDs - Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAE7974A68AC62B47