online marketing Archives | Stella Web Studio

9 Website Copywriting Hacks You Need to Sell More

January 2, 2023January 19, 2021 by Estela Perez

Do you have a website but not selling much from it? I hear you. Sometimes you can have the most beautiful, interactive, state-of-the-art website. But if it’s not converting (a.k.a. selling, generating leads, or getting subscribers), then what’s the point of it? See, when this happens it’s usually because the copy of your website isn’t … Read more

Is Blogging Dead in 2023?

January 3, 2023August 13, 2020 by Estela Perez

Is blogging dead Read 5 ways to blog for business in 2020

Are you dreaming of starting a blog in 2023, but you think that blogging is dead? I get you. It is a saturated industry where competition is fierce and there’s so much online content already. You’ve probably wondered: “Am I too late for this?”, “is it worth starting a blog in 2023?”, “would I be … Read more

What’s the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org

January 4, 2023June 9, 2020 by Estela Perez

What's the key difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org

Are you ready to build your website with WordPress but are confused between the .com and the .org version? Don’t fret, in this post I will tell you what’s the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org.

Knowing the key differences between the two versions will save you time and money. Let’s get started!

As you may know WordPress is one of the most popular platforms for building websites. Its flexibility for design and functionality has no match. This is why it’s my #1 recommendation for my clients.

WordPress itself is free. But when choosing a hosting service, you can decide to either host it yourself (wordpress.org) or do it under their domain name (wordpress.com).

Here are the key differences:

What’s the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

With WordPress.com it’s them who host your site for free (though they also have paid plans). Creating a basic website is easy, but you have less flexibility to grow and monetize your site.

Your domain name will look like this: www.mycoolsite.wordpress.com

With WordPress.org you have to shop for a quality domain and hosting service. There’s a learning curve, but in the long run it’s more flexible for growing, customizing and monetizing your website. See wordpress.org

Your domain name will look like this: www.mycoolsite.com (personally, I think this looks more professional).

What's the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org

When to use WordPress.com

If you want to set up a basic website without the trouble of getting a hosting, and don’t want to grow or monetize it , then wordpress.com is right for you. Their free plan includes up to 3GB of data, a subdomain and includes wordpress.com ads.

But if eventually you want to grow it, add functionality and make business with it, then:

You have to pay a costly business plan that allows you to install plugins (for more functionality) or themes (to change your your site’s appearance).
You may need to hire someone to help you migrate from wordpress.com to your own hosting service.

When to use wordpress.org

If you want to grow your website through a blog, make business with it and have the flexibility to change its appearance, then using wordpress.org is the best choice.

Keep in mind though that there’s a learning curve and you have to shop around for quality hosting. But the investment in time and money is worth it. You’ll end up getting full control over your site.

To sum up

WordPress is a great platform for building websites. But when choosing between free or paid hosting, it’s best to think about your goals first.

If you need a basic website, the tech side overwhelms you, and you don’t want to grow or monetize it, then host it on wordpress.com.

But if you want to grow your site, monetize it and gain full control of it, then I recommend you to choose a quality hosting service an build it with wordpress.org.

That said, consider long term goals so you can choose the right version for your needs.

I hope you found this post useful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away on the comment section below.

To your success, 🍷

Estela.

How To Choose The Best Website Builder For Your Business

February 10, 2025May 18, 2020 by Estela Perez

How to choose the best website builder with 5 factors to consider

So you want to create your own website for your blog or business, but don’t know which website builder is the best for your project? I get you. Choosing a platform to set up your website can be tricky, there are simply endless options to pick from! WordPress, Shopify, and Squarespace are the top platforms … Read more

What Platform Should You use to Build Your Website?

January 3, 2023May 7, 2020 by Estela Perez

What platform should I use to build my website

Looking to build your own website in 2023, but there are so many options to pick from? I get you, this decision can be tricky.

Luckily, you came to the right place. In this post I’ll tell you the 3 most popular platforms for building websites, their pros and cons, and who are they best for.

Then, to wrap things up you can get a personalized recommendation through my free quiz.

Are you ready to choose the right platform to build your website? 😎

Let’s get started!

What are the 3 Most Popular Platforms for Building Websites?

What website builder should I use to build my website in 2023. Comparison of the 3 most popular website builders.

As of 2020, WordPress, Squarespace and Shopify are the 3 most popular website builders. Many successful websites have been built on them.

Keep in mind that if you’re looking to DIY, there’s going to be a learning curve. There will be a lot of things that you have to learn by yourself or to hire someone to help you out. The good news is that you can find online a lot of easy to use tools to help you set up a professional-looking website.

That said, before choosing a website builder make a careful assessment of your goals, budget, time and willingness to learn. Next, get informed on the pros and cons of each platform you’re considering.

To help you get started, I’ve prepared a list with all the details of the 3 most popular website builders mentioned here.

Let’s get started!

1. WordPress

What website platform should you use to build your website in 2023

WordPress is the industry standard for website platforms. Nowadays 36% of all the websites in the world are made with WordPress. Its user-friendly interface allows you to grow and customize your website however you’d like.

WordPress itself is free, but you will have to pay a third party for hosting. See What’s the key difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org

That said, WordPress is my #1 recommendation to my clients because it offers the most flexibility for both design and functionality.

WordPress advantages:

Easy to install and upgrade;
inexpensive;
highly customizable with endless options for themes;
flexible to start a blog;
in constant development;
supported by a global community who publishes online free documentation. This is very helpful for solving technical issues;
thousands of available plugins (free and paid) for more functionality;
good for showing up on Google’s search results through SEO;
has specific themes available for podcasters and/or Youtubers.

WordPress cons:

Not an all-in-one option, which means you have to shop around for hosting and premium plugins;
requires more technical skills than either Squarespace or Shopify.

WordPress is ideal:

if you feel comfortable enough with technology to figure things out yourself;
if you want the ability to customize your design;
for bloggers, podcasters and freelancers.

Squarespace is a sleek all-in-one option for building and hosting your website. Its user-friendly platform allows you to create nice landing pages, a clear customer “journey map” and a professional, yet easy to maintain site.

2. Squarespace

You can take a look at their Business plan for all pro users of Squarespace, which gives you unlimited (ish) pages and all of the features of Squarespace.

Squarespace advantages:

Easy to use;
has beautiful templates;
all-in-one option for domain, hosting, and design, allowing you to get up and running quickly;
includes options for eCommerce.

Squarespace cons:

More expensive than WordPress;
not fully customizable;
most templates are for setting up websites, not blogs;
not ideal for setting up podcasts.

Squarespace is ideal:

for brochure or information style websites.
if you want to go online as quickly as possible, and don’t want to be overwhelmed by options;
for beginners or anyone who feels intimidated by technology.

3. Shopify

What are the best website builders in 2023

If your main goal is to sell goods online, you can’t go wrong with Shopify. It is an easy-to-use eCommerce platform designed foremost to help you sell products and manage your inventory. It offers thousands of themes, most of them including the ability to add a blog.

There are a number of apps you can add to the system to improve the shopping experience for your customers. Many of Shopify’s features (such as auto-categorization of new items) can make large inventories easier to manage.

Shopify advantages:

Easy to use;
has lots of beautiful themes to choose from;
designed to showcase and sell your products (both physical and digital);
ecommerce options already built-in.

Shopify cons:

Expensive;
more focused on eCommerce than blogging;
extra paid apps & plugins used to add functionality can add up costs quickly.

IDEAL…

if you already have an inventory of products to sell.

What platform should you use to build your website?

Deciding to set up a website is a smart first step into building your online credibility. But when you’re in front of so many options, things can get tricky. Don’t fret! Remember to:

make a careful assessment of your goals, budget, willingness to learn ;
compare the top platforms for building websites which are WordPress, Squarespace and Shopify. For sure there many other options (free and paid) that you can check out in this guide.

I hope this article and my quiz help to take a better decision. If you have any questions send me an email.

Why a Website is Important for Your Business Growth?

April 4, 2021September 13, 2019 by Estela Perez

Why a website is important for my business growth

Thinking about creating a website for your business and wondering what are the benefits of having one? Then you’re in the right place. In this post I’ll tell you 8 reasons why a website is important for your business growth in 2021.

Some Interesting Facts

The fact is, consumers expect companies to have an online presence and will consider a company that doesn’t have one as less professional. And with an effectively designed website, you can showcase your products or services to new and existing clients 24 hrs a day, all year round.

Moreover, with the way people research for local businesses nowadays, having a website where they can find yours is key.

How to promote a blog post after publishing it

Here are some interesting statistics:

As off 2019, Americans spend on average 24 hours a week online and 5.3 hours a day on their smartphones.
As of September 2018, there are 5.6 billion searches performed per day on Google.
97% of consumers go online to find and research a local business.

That said, if you want your business to pop up in your dream client’s search queries, then you need a website.

8 Reasons Why a Website is So Important for Your Business

1 Get found online by your dream clients.

A website can get your business in front of new targeted clients. Not only those who follow you on social media, but also the people who are looking solutions to their problems on search engines (like Google, Bing, DuckduckGo).

When properly optimized to appear on search engines (with effective SEO techniques), your website can appear for organic (unpaid) search results.

2 Create new streams of income.

A website can help to create new sources of income like selling digital products or services, affiliate marketing, donations, and others. And even though hard work is required to set you up for ecommerce, it’s a long term benefit that’s worth the effort.

3 Be accessible to your clients 24/7.

In case of any eventually, a digital home base can help you keep doing business 24hrs a day, all year round. For instance, when social media platforms are down or change their algorithms, your audience can still engage with your brand through your website.

Moreover, with the new reality the COVID-19 lockdown has brought, a website can help you stay on business.

4 Build online credibility.

Imagine you’re a big success on Instagram with your fashion sense or your photography talent, and then you start getting the attention of big brands. Where would you like them to see your portfolio or send to you an email? 🤔

Well, I’m sure you’d like to refer them to a beautiful professional website where they can see who you are, your work, and some testimonials. That’s right, you want them to see your business as an authentic one. A website can help you build credibility.

See How to build online credibility for your business

5 Create authority in your industry

By publishing content regularly on your website about your knowledge on a topic, you’ll be seen as the leading expert in your niche. Moreover, you can promote that content to other social media channels, right from your website.

See How to grow your email list and show off your expertise with a quiz.

6 Cultivate trust for your business

Blogging regularly about your craft and sharing your knowledge with your audience, can help you build a connection with them. In other words, by evolving your website into a blog, you can earn your reader’s trust.

See “Why Start a Blog for My Business?”

7 Brand positioning

By building a website with a consistent look and feel, people will start recognizing your brand’s voice. It can help you to stand out among a sea of competitors.

8 Grow your business while you sleep.

By implementing an Email Marketing System (EMS) on your website, you can build an engaged audience through email subscriptions. But most importantly, you can keep that audience. Say goodbye to social media’s algorithm, you can still engage with your readers.

What are the benefits of having a website for my business

Where do I get started?

If you’re ready to set up your website, then the next step is deciding to either DIY or to hire someone to help you out. Either way, start by making a careful assessment of your budget, time and willingness to learn.

Next, get informed on the most popular website builders nowadays. To help you find out the right choice, I’ve set up the follwing free quiz.

Take the first step!

Having your own website can bring new possibilities for your business’s growth. From reaching your ideal clients, to creating new streams of income. Moreover, a website is essential to keep your business thriving during these challenging times.

That said, grab your spot in the digital world and get a website today!

7 ways to establish online credibility for your brand

September 17, 2019March 27, 2019 by Estela Perez

How to establish online credibility for business

If you have some sort of online presence your brand is exposed every day to new audiences, which means there’s an opportunity to make a good first impression among them. In this post I’ll tell you how to establish online credibility for your business, by implementing 7 actions.

How to establish online credibility for your business

1. HAVE A WEBSITE

Having a website helps building your online credibility — A website is a permanent place where people can learn about you anytime, anywhere.

When people search on Google to discover new products or services, they will want to learn as much as possible about the company they’ll choose to buy from.

Probably the first place people will find out about you, will be through your Facebook page, which is a good start.

However, having a website that showcases the personality of the company, and your products or services, will give people signals of the authenticity of your business.

In addition, it is strongly recommended to register your own domain name with a .com extension, and getting a SSL Certificate as a seal of trust for your website.

2. BE ACCESSIBLE.

Place your contact info, working hours, social media accounts, and contact form in a visible place across your website. Also, create an “about” page for yourself and/or the team members of your company.

Additionally, have a personalized email address with your own domain name and avoid using free email services.

3. BUILD A CONSISTENT BRAND.

Choose a professional logo and a set of colors and fonts for your brand. Implementing a consistent image for your business will help you build memorability. As a result of this, every time you share a post on your blog or social media, people will start to associate it with your brand.

4. HAVE A SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE.

How to rpomote a blog post after publishing it

Ask yourself where your ideal audience is gathering and focus on using one social platform regularly. Adding social media to your marketing strategy, will allow you to develop a relationship with your audience using a more relaxed tone of voice.

The following quote illustrates the style to use on social:

“For businesses, communication through social media requires to abandon the marketing speech and using a more authentic tone of voice. A company that uses a corporate speech on social media, runs the risk of being perceived as someone who during a social event, talks to her friends as though she was a walking brochure.”
Brunet, Lessard, Ducas – Les Médias Sociaux en Entreprise

5. CREATE USEFUL AND ORIGINAL CONTENT.

Why start a blog for your business, what it is and who blogs and how to create an effective blog post — Build authority and create trust through a blog.

Writing regularly (or blogging) about your product or service is a great opportunity to build authority in your niche. For instance, you can create content inspired on the questions customers frequently ask about your products or service. As a result, you’ll start establishing yourself as an expert on your industry, and furthermore, gaining your audience’s trust.

6. CARE FOR YOUR AUDIENCE.

Care for your customers whether you're online or offline to build credibility for business. — Care for your customers whether you’re online or offline.

If someone takes the time to reach you out by email, or on your blog or social media to ask a question, to make a thoughtful comment or giving a review (good or bad), please take immediate action and respond as soon as possible. This will be key to not only create a good impression, but also a good reputation.

7. ASK FOR REVIEWS AND TESTIMONIALS.

When browsing on Google, people will make a quick scan of the results and will naturally choose those businesses that have the best reputation. Therefore, take care of your customer service (online an offline), so people will be willing to recommend your brand to others. Also, ask satisfied customers to leave a review on your website or social media platform.

CONCLUSION

Taking the actions mentioned above will allow you to make a good first impression online. Moreover, showing authentic care for the people that takes the time to interact with your business online or offline, will build a more valuable asset for your business: credibility.

What other actions do you think can be taken to build online credibility? Share your thoughts on the comment section below.

Thank you for reading!

Please subscribe to my blog to receive online marketing tips by email.

How to establish online credibility for business with 7 actions — Pin this image. Follow me on Pinterest

How to create viral content?

March 14, 2019March 13, 2019 by Estela Perez

Getting content to go viral is every online business or digital marketer’s ultimate achievement. Just imagine, having thousands of people re-sharing that awesome video or post you created, within their social network. Basically, setting your content on autopilot.

Well frankly, who wouldn’t want that for their online business?. There have been times when the subject has came up during meetings with my clients, where they’ve mentioned the idea of creating a viral content, to which I politely nod and suggest to discuss further later on.

“Asking for viral content would be like demanding a movie producer to win an Oscar”.
Michelle Blanc, Les Médias Sociaux en Entreprise.

I imagine this is the feeling you get when your content goes viral.

Given that this is a frequently asked question by people who have an online presence, I decided to investigate more about this subject and get some answers. Here’s a summary of the most important aspects to consider.

How to create viral content for your business?

As the phenomenal quote above says in a few words, there is no magical recipe to create viral content. There are however, three basic factors you can work on, to hopefully succeed in this area of online marketing.*

1. Create content that will reflect positively on the sharers within their social network.

Generate in people the need to express themselves through your content, by sharing it within their social network.

Create content that for instance will make people look smart, trendy, funny or positive in social media if they share it. Emerson Spartz, CEO of Dose, a digital media company told Forbes Magazine the following remark:

“People will be more likely to share your content if it will reflect well on them.”
Emerson Spartz

Additionally, he suggests that this content doesn’t necessarily need to be original. You can use existing content -like funny articles, cute animal videos, nostalgic or informative content- as long as it reflects positively on the sharers within their social network.

2. Make sure your content is easy to share in social media.

People’s time is limited, don’t over complicate things for them, asking them to take a bunch of steps to share your content. Additionally, don’t forget to add a call to action to your post or video. For instance, ask people to share it. As obvious as it sounds, a reminder of what to do next, is an absolute must!.

3. Set a strategic plan to launch your content

Be strategic about creating viral content for your business. Photo: Unsplash

A viral post is rarely a spontaneous event. Firstly, you need to carefully set a strategy on how, when and where your content will be launched. In order to do this, you have to coordinate the efforts with your marketing team and even contact the right influencers, bloggers, radio speakers. Additionally, paying ads may also have to be considered.

That being said, most of the operations that have gone viral, took off AFTER being strategically shared through different channels. In other words, you have to have a launch plan and avoid hoping that everything is going to take off all by itself.

CONCLUSION

So let’s recap: create content that will reflect well on sharers within their social network, that is easily shared and set a strategic plan to launch it.

Here is a graphic that sums up the elements mentioned above. Pin it or save it for your reference.

Three aspects to cover if you want your content to go viral.

Do you have content that has gone viral? What actions do you think are needed to succeed in this area of online marketing?

Thank you so much for reading!

Please subscribe to my newsletter to receive online marketing tips by email. And of course, share this post. 😉

SOURCE:

Social Media for Business, (Les Médias Sociaux en Entreprise), Brunet, Lessard, Ducas. Infopresse, 2012
The Secrets of Viral Content and how to create it, Mark Hunkler for Forbes Magazine, 2017

What to do after publishing a blog post?

March 27, 2019February 15, 2019 by Estela Perez

How to promote a post after publishing it

Once you hit the “publish” button for a new post, you have to tell the world about its existence, in other words, promote it on the web. In this post I’ll tell you what to do after publishing a blog post in order to get new readers from search engines, newsletters and social media.

THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS FOCUS ON:

Making your post visible on search engines.
Getting new readers from social media.
Notifying your subscribers of your brand new content by email.

What to do after publishing a blog post?

For each post I publish, I immediately carry out five key activities (divided in two main areas) to promote it online.

Submitting the new post to search engines for indexation in their database.
Telling people about the new post through social media, newsletters and commenting on other blogs related to your niche.

What to do after publishing a blog post - how to promote a post

I. SUBMITTING YOUR NEW URL TO SEARCH ENGINES

Submit your post url to search engines and start getting traffic

Firstly, in order to make your post visible as soon as possible, submit your new URL to search engines for indexing in their database. For this purpose, use Google’s Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. These free services will make your post appear in search results, measure your site’s Search traffic and performance, and fix issues. As a result, your post will show up for search queries matching the keywords you optimized your post with.

II. TELLING PEOPLE

2. PROMOTE YOUR NEW POST IN SOCIAL MEDIA.

Start by finding out who is your target audience, where do they gather, which social media platform they use. Depending on your answers, create an strategy for the platform (s) you choose.

3. USE EMAIL MARKETING

A powerful strategy to build a base of readers, is by asking your visitors to subscribe to your newsletter. This way, your subscribers will receive an email from your blog every time you publish a new post. Additionally, if you’re new to blogging, the best solution is MailChimp to start building your email list.

4. COMMENT ON OTHER BLOGS

Visit other blogs relevant to your niche and leave useful comments. As a result, you’ll get their interest and eventually gain new readers.

5. ANSWER TO EVERY COMMENT

Take the time to answer every comment on your post and show you care for your readers.

WHAT TO DO AFTER PROMOTING MY BLOG POST ON THE INTERNET?

At this point you’ve learned how to create an effective blog post and promoted it online, but somehow you’re not getting a lot of traffic. Don’t be discouraged, this is a learning process and there is always room for improvement.

STAY TUNED

In the next post, I’ll give you some tips on how to improve your post performance with the use of insights to increase its visibility.

Thank you for reading and I hope you found this guide useful!

Please leave a comment or subscribe to my newsletter to receive online marketing tips for your brand.

What is SEO and Why you Need it for Your Website?

September 24, 2020October 6, 2017 by Estela Perez

understanding seo search engine optimization

If you have a website and want it to be seen by new audiences, then performing proper Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques will help it appear in relevant non-paid results.

Maybe you already have a blog or website that gets a lot of traffic everyday thanks to paid advertising, social media efforts or other online platforms. This is a great start!

However, knowing how to properly optimize your posts or pages, can help them appear in the Search Engines Results Page (SERP) for non-paid results.

Additionally, performing proper optimization requires technical skills that you can do yourself or hire a professional to do so. Whichever solution you choose, it will be a good long term investment.

Let’s take a look at some basic concepts on SEO!

What is SEO and Why You Need it for Your Website?

What is SEO, why do I need it and where to start learning this technique. Stella Web Studio — Photo by: Stella Web Studio

1. WHAT IS SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of optimizing a website to make it appear in a search engine’s (such as Google, Bing or Duckduckgo) organic (non paid) search results.

2. WHY YOU I NEED IT FOR YOUR WEBSITE?

Because while paid advertising, social media or other platforms can bring traffic to your website, the majority of online traffic is driven by search engines.

“In a nutshell, SEO is one of the the only online marketing channels that when set up correctly, can continue to pay dividends over time. Whereas, advertising needs continuous funding to send traffic to your website.” Moz.com

3. HOW GOOGLE DECIDES WHAT PAGES TO SHOW?

Search engines like Google, go around the Internet 24/7 and read (or crawl) every content they find, saving an HTML version of it in their database (called “the index”). From the moment your site is in Google’s index, it can appear in its search results.

In other words, Google reads what it’s available, adds it to its database and sorts it according to the relevance to search queries.

As for the order in which a site appears, Google has an algorithm that decides what pages will be shown. Although this algorithm is a secret, there are some on and off factors that help a site rank in a high position on the Search Results Page (SERP).

Here’s a good read on the topic:
The Ultimate Guide to Google Ranking Factors in 2019

4. HOW DO I GET STARTED WITH SEO?

Depending on your budget, time, willingness to learn and complexity of your website, you could:

A) Perform SEO basics yourself. There are a lot of online resources to start learning this technique at your own pace. There are free resources like the MOZ blog, that I strongly recommend, and from where I’ve got my knowledge in the topic. For instance visit their “The Begginer’s Guide to SEO” and keep it for your future reference.

B) Hire an SEO professional, consultant or agency. If decide to take this option, I’d recommend you to first make a research on the best options available. Keep in mind that the wrong SEO could actually hurt your website more than it would help.

Essential SEO Reads

Also, you can add to your personal library the following book references:

SEO for Dummies by Peter Kent, which will give you a quick and practical understanding of this technique.

2. The Art of SEO, Mastering Search Engine Optimization by E. Enge, S. Spencer, and J. C. Stricchiola (O’Reilly). This book will give you a solid knowledge on this tehcnique.

Create useful content for humans

Start off by creating high quality content on your blog that responds to people’s questions, and find out how people are asking them. Then perform proper search engine optimization to let search engines know you’re providing the right answers to your audience’s questions.

When performing SEO make pages primarly for users, not search engines — Create useful content for humans first, and perform proper SEO consequently.

Conclusion

To sum up, whether you decide to learn this technique or to hire a professional to perform SEO on your website, keep in mind that when done well, it will help your brand achieve real goals for your success.

Thank you for reading!

Let’s keep in touch!