I recently tweeted the question ‘What is one mistake the webmaster’s often make?’ While my Twitter followers came up with lots of great answers, my dear friend Charles, who you may know on Twitter as @hawaiianshirts, came up with a fantastic answer. He asked what I would do if something happened to my website. In all honesty, I couldn’t come up with anything besides the word ‘panic’.

To get a little farther into the topic, Charles came up with the excellent post I am sharing with you today. This post really got me thinking about what would happen if I was no longer here. What would happen with my company? My website? Would my husband think to check? Heck, my poor darling doesn’t know how to check my email. The entire situation would be quite a nightmare, I’m sure.

Webmaster Disaster Preparedness for Small Business

In memory of all of the on-line small businesses that did not weather the storms; but with a little forethought, possibly could have.

Like many small businesses on-line you have poured every penny you could get your hands on into the business. As well as devoted hours upon hours of your time to get where you are today. Business is good, your brand has a following, and your family business is paying the bulk of your personal and operational expenses.

Yep, we have all done the Snoopy dance at one time or another. But lets bring in the evil thunderclouds and rain on your parade.

You awake one fine morning and find out that your business or ecommerce website is no longer online. Your money tree has vanished overnight; you think to yourself… what shall I do? The reality is that you’re in a complete state panic and you can’t think clearly at all.

Ok so you managed to calm down enough to make a call your hosts support department (that is providing they offer 24/7 support). The support technician finally answers and informs you that the RAID controller went out last night and IT is working on it. Whew, glad it’s a problem with the RAID controller and not my site. Even though you have no idea what a RAID controller is, you take the tech for his word and make the assumption that it will soon be fixed.

Minutes have now turned into hours and support is now telling you the repair is estimated to take a few days. Assuming you are financially dependant on your ecommerce site, you are now faced with some important decisions. I am willing to bet that very few SB have any idea what to do next.

That is why you need a Disaster Preparedness plan for your small business. Hint: Your first step is for you to go out and buy a tabbed notebook. Also keep in mind that my suggestions and comments below are not intended to be a business or site specific nor a comprehensive plan. But I do hope they make you give thought to this important, yet seldom talked topic.

• Your site is down and you have determined that you need to move to a new host. Time is money and researching prospective hosts can be time consuming. Do it while things are rosy, once you have decided on a backup host, write down all of the pertinent information in your book under the Hosting tab.

• Shipping API’s, what could go wrong there? I mean all those do is retrieve the shipping cost from the shipping service. Ok smarty pants, your pinging USPS during the holidays and their service is down for an unspecified time. Folks, you just lost your ability to make strong holiday sales. Without a shipping rate being returned, its most likely that your shopping cart wont allow the user to proceed and or close the transaction.

• One solution is to ready an API for a backup shipper. Some 3rd party carts have multiple shipping options so all you may need to do is pre-configure it, and then it’s just a flip of a switch. Regardless, note it in your notebook so you have a quick reference.

• Site management. If you’re like many SB you are probably the cook as well as chief bottle washer. If your stricken with an illness that lays you up for weeks, maybe even months, do you have someone that can fill your shoes?

You probably don’t, so it’s highly advised that you discuss this amongst those who will be impacted by your absence. In your site management section, document where, what and how the site is managed, as well as any passwords that may be needed, etc.
Don’t forget things like domain renewal, management of auto payments etc

• You give up the ghost in your sleep. Ok that’s certainly not my idea of an early retirement, but I could happen and does. I asked my wife Peggy what she would do in that situation, she so elegantly said she might place a for sale ad in the paper. I steered clear of the “its an Internet business” discussion and asked what the selling points would be and how she would conduct the transaction. Her response then changed to “I don’t know”. Well that’s an honest and respected answer because I don’t either. Is there such a thing as a website Realtor?

• Accounting. Well you may say that it has nothing to do with the actual website, indirectly it does. As Webmaster you’re probably in charge of managing your payment gateways and reporting features. In your notebook, document the critical processes as well as offer some insight on how to access them. If your temp bookkeeper is under the gun to file your estimated state sales tax and they can’t access the data, you’re in a heap of trouble.

• It’s all on your PC, what can go wrong there? I say anything and everything can go wrong with a PC. When your hard drive blows up just how do you plan on accessing all your important files? Answer, you don’t. So play it smart and buy a thumb drive with a fairly large amount of storage capacity. On it you can store a backup of your web, as well as important files and other information. Also if MS Outlook email is a key component of your business operation, make a copy of the .pst file and store it on your thumb drive. Microsoft’s .pst files have a size limit and once you hit it you will loose all core functionality and access to your local emails and settings. You will get no warning that its about to happen.

So that’s my short list for a Webmaster Disaster Preparedness plan for small businesses. Think about your own business, discuss with those concerned, and document an escape plan. It just might help you survive an otherwise cataclysmic web event

Mahalo

Charles Stankovich, co owner of Wave Shoppe Hawaiian Shirts

(On a personal note, Charles creates stunning Hawaiian dresses, shirts, and sarongs from fabric he has designed himself. They are truly beautiful, and worth checking out.)

Popularity: 58% [?]

Hiya!

In case you haven’t noticed, things have been quiet. Well, I have no excuse except to say I’ve been very pleasantly busy! And I have an announcement:

Freedom Freelance is getting a new look, a new brand, and a new direction. We’re doing away with all of the old stuff and bringing in lots of new and exciting things. When is this going to happen? A few weeks hopefully depending on the copywriter and the technical side of things.

In the mean time, hope things are going well with all of you, and if you need anything, please give a shout!

Popularity: 22% [?]

I don’t normally rant on my blog, but after seeing many big name bloggers struggle and make tweets like this I felt it was time for me to have my say. What’s all the hubbub about?

Bloggers are being all but stoned to death for taking money (or products) in exchange for sponsored blog posts. That tweet clearly states that the isn’t a paid post, but at the same time, why should they have to explain things like that? It shouldn’t make a difference whether it’s paid or not, so long as it’s honest.

Sponsored blog posts are yet another advertising/social media marketing practice being used by many companies. These aren’t little companies either; think cameras and cars for starters.

I don’t care whether we are talking about Brian Clark, Darren Rouse, Michel Fortin, or Joe Blow from down the street. When these people post entries in their blogs, they are providing a service. This service includes all kinds of thoughts and information that most readers would not have access to otherwise. The reader takes this information and can apply it to their own writing and blogs and make money with it.

Now, many bloggers sell advertising, have affiliate links, or use Adsense to monetize their service and ensure they can cover costs. I have several affiliate links on this site. I don’t hide the fact they are affiliate links. I have even provided readers with an alternative, non-affiliate link to use if they so choose. The only thing is that I only choose products that I have used and have had a positive experience with. In many instances, they have helped me get to where I am today.

Honesty and transparency is more than my values coming through in my writing. It has become a mainstream marketing trend whether we all like it or not. Consumers demand this out of every company they purchase from.

And they should!

I think, as a whole, we’ve had enough of the sleazy marketing types that could ’sell you the wedding ring from your own finger’. I agree wholeheartedly with this trend. I feel that this is the positive effect of the recession. (Because money has become tighter in most instances, people are a lot more careful about where they’re spending their money.) I also think part of the reason for this change is social media, which is the driving mechanism behind this trend.

What irritates me the most are those who write a sponsored post, and get roasted for it. Now, I could understand if this was kept a secret, but not when they are open and honest from the start. The way I see it, the ones who get these opportunities are all big time names who have been around a long time. Their readers have generally been reading them for a long time, and should have some level of trust there to ensure the honesty of the blogger.

What bothers me is the idea that some people feel offended that the writer would take money to write a post. Hello??? How much do some readers honestly expect to get for free? The money isn’t out of their pockets. No one is forced to read the post. No one is forced to buy. What’s the issue?

I do think there is a reason for this. Michael Martine of Remarkablogger (Michael, I think this was you. If it isn’t please correct me. It sounds like Remarkablogger wisdom to me though.) hit this nail right on the head with a single statement. ‘If you don’t monetize from the start, readers are offended by it when you do decided to recoup some of your loses’ (paraphrasing here, but you get the idea).

Regardless of what anyone tells me, there is a lot of expense tied to blogging, particularly for those who blog or write professionally. The time invested in quality posts costs money. Then, there is hosting and domains. On top of that, there are the expenses associated with the design, development, and upkeep of the site not to mention those last-minute, panicked repairs. Bloggers shouldn’t have to apologize for trying to recoup some of these costs and even make some profit.

Dirty money? IMO, not a chance!

Am I being irrational here? Should bloggers refuse companies who ask for sponsored posts? Should it only be done under certain circumstances?

</rant>

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There has been a particularly heavy run of scammers praying on writers these days. Some in particular have been extremely convincing. For example, ’send in a resume and a requested writing sample and we’ll pay you big bucks to write for us.’

Unfortunately, this has sucked in a good number of newbie and experienced freelance writers. Don’t to fall for it!

Providing Writing Samples

Lots of clients and companies request a specific sample related to their industry. When you submit this sample, the idea is that the client will see how you write in their industry and what kind of knowledge you have about it. Unfortunately, those who are crooked will take the sample and just never bother to contact you. Never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever submit a writing sample.

Don’t fear however, there are ways around this little hiccup to satisfy both the client and the writer.

Send links to work you have done previously, or a link to your online portfolio. Whatever you use for this should be diverse enough that the client can see what you’re capable of.

If it is something you want so badly and you have no other choice but to submit a sample, consider writing the piece and adding little tidbits of hidden text. It can’t be just any kind of hidden text, however. Add a standard phrase such as ‘Angie Haggstrom‘ and add it to the end of a paragraph in the middle of the sample. Once you’ve done that, set up a Google Alert specifically for the ’security phrase’. When they attempt to use it, you’ll be instantly notified.

I’ve found that generally works brilliantly. After all, if the scum bag is too lazy to write his or her own piece and too lazy to pay anyone to do it, they are most likely too lazy to read through the entire article. You might also want to consider including these pieces in places such as CopySentry.  (The cost is deductible in many instances ;))

Writing ‘On Spec’

Writing ‘on spec’ means you write up the piece according to the instructions given by the client. Submit it to them to the client for their inspection. If they like it, you get paid. If they don’t, you have to rewrite it or the client moves on to another writer.

While this might sound like a fair practice, this is the number one way writers often get screwed out of their money and their work. How? You submit your best piece of writing and the client ‘rejects’ it. However, two weeks later, you’ll either find it plastered all over the Internet with a different by-line, or they will have someone rewrite your piece for a dollar or two and make thousands with it.

Granted, not all clients will do this, but it happens all too often to try it.

Require all clients to give 50% of the project up front. This way, if they take your draft copy (or original piece) and fail to come back with the rest, at least you’ll have something to cover your efforts. Also, this is a good way to get rid of the scammers right off the top. On larger writing projects, I will even ask for 50% up front, 30% halfway through, and the remaining 20% at the end. The client demonstrates a small bit of faith in me, and I demonstrate a certain amount of trust in them.

Writers hate asking, clients hate handing it over, but you only have to get cheated out of a pay check once to get over it.

When Is It Ok to Write for Free?

I don’t generally write anything for free, but like anything, there are exceptions to the rule. In some instances, the exposure is an equal trade off for the money. In some instances, the opportunity to write about the topic is more than enough to peak my interest.

My article for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, my guest post at Search Engine People, and even SEO Scoop are great examples of this. These were all opportunities that I rather quite enjoyed doing and don’t often get the opportunity to cover in my daily work. Combine that with the great exposure, and I was more than compensated for my efforts.

So I guess the moral of the story is, unless you are sure you get something from it for 100% sure, don’t give your work away for free! If that person wanted you to write it, your stuff is obviously worth the compensation!

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No one goes into business, or starts a career with the goal of failing. Everyone starts with the best of intentions, works hard, and does the best they can possibly do. But, you need to also remember that nothing ever stays the same. Everyone is always looking for a better/faster/more efficient way of doing things. Failing to keep up with these changes, as well as what’s going on in your industry, can literally degrade the quality of work you do as well as the service you provide.

Don’t see it? Take SEO, or search engine optimization, for example. Say Google changes its algorithm, which determines how it organizes and presents search results. If you don’t keep up on what these changes are, you can’t adapt your methodologies and techniques accordingly. This means you are unable to do your job, and may even cause your clients to suffer terrible penalties by the search engines.

As a writer who provides a large amount of SEO copy and articles for marketing, I am passionate about the SEO industry and associated news. However, I also need to keep up on what’s going on in the writing industry as well as the areas my clients are involved in.

Is this time consuming and take a lot of work? You bet it does, but it I owe it to my clients. I wouldn’t feel right about doing my job and having others pay me otherwise.

You can find the latest news and information just about anywhere. Belonging to the right groups is often a good start. For me, I find Twitter keeps me up on all the important news bits and information in terms of writing and SEO. I am a huge user of Google Alerts and Social Media searches and monitoring. Lastly, I have an extensive RSS reader that pulls feeds from some of the most influential blogs and bloggers in these industries.

Of course, there’s other benefits to this as well. I’ve become well-versed in many different areas, which satisfies my information obsession. The amount of unexpected things I’ve learned and had the pleasure to do has been amazing. It is these things that really make this ‘job’ the absolute best I’ve ever had.

It has also allowed me to get in contact with and become great friends with great people from all industries and walks of life. There is always a good conversation or debate somewhere. When I’m having a down day, or an extremely stressful moment, or am having one of those ‘OMG what am I doing moments’, I always have support and the backing I need to succeed. I hope that I can do as much for them.

If you are not keeping up with your industry, you are doing yourself and your career just as much of a disservice as you are your clients.

Popularity: 18% [?]