Using the Internet to Market: Your First New Year’s Action

The early-bird discount for Building Buzz with Blogs, my teleseminar series with colleague Diane Levin, expires on New Year’s day. If you’ve been thinking about joining us, use this link to get your discount:

Building Buzz with Blogs: Internet Marketing for Dispute Resolution Professionals.

Making an ADR Blogging Commitment

Several months ago, I saw data reporting that hundreds of new blogs are created each day, but most are abandoned within weeks or months.

To get the benefit of having a blog, you have to, well, blog. You need to make a commitment to do it regularly and for the long haul or you’ll have started something that had great potential but didn’t yield because you didn’t invest enough to make it successful. It may take six to eight months for your blog to begin bringing in clients, depending on how much time you put into it and how effectively you’re speaking to your desired audience demographic.

What does it mean to blog regularly? [Read more]

Creating Your ADR Blog

This section assumes that you have identified a brand and blog name, registered it, selected a hosting company and had WordPress installed.

If you elect to use DreamHost and aren’t sure how to fill out the online form to request the WordPress installation, feel free to give me a call and I’ll walk you through it. It’ll take about 5 minutes. If you’ve completed the form and received the post-installation email from DreamHost, but there are details in it that bring sweat to your brow, give me a call and I’ll walk you through those steps, too…again, it’ll take about 5 minutes. It’s just my gift to you, in keeping with the season.

Once both steps are completed, you should be able to log in to the administration panel of your shiny new blog. And then what? [Read more]

Selecting a Web Host for Your ADR Blog

Finding a reputable, service-oriented and feature-rich web hosting service for your blogsite similar to finding a good domain registrar: Ask around, find out what services have good track records and what ones to avoid.

I am presently using DreamHost and have been quite satisfied with their service, though I know others who haven’t been. As you decide what’s right for you, consider the following: [Read more]

TimeToMeet Makes Meeting Scheduling a Cinch

In November’s Mediation Resources Roundup I mentioned a simple little online program that makes meeting scheduling easier. Doodle’s still worth a look, but I have to say that a free new program I’ve found has just become my favorite. [Read more]

Choosing Your ADR Blog’s Platform

Your blogging platform is the software you use to run your blog—it’s infrastructure. Before choosing a host for your blog, it’s important that you understand the software options available to you.

I have strong opinions about these options and so do other experts. For every opinion I offer, I’m confident you can find someone with a different view. I think you’ll find, though, that most marketing and business development experts share many of the views I’ll offer here. If you want to find alternative views to round our your thinking, the web can help you.

Blogging Platform Options

At the moment, there are essentially two options from which to choose. [Read more]

Buying Your Brand and Blog Name

Once you’ve finalized your brand name, which I recommend also be your blog name whenever possible, it’s time to purchase or register your domain name.

If it’s your intention to start your ADR blog in the near future, perhaps within the year, I recommend you consider signing up for web hosting at the same time as you register the domain name. Many of the most well respected hosts will include a free domain name registration with your hosting package, so you would not incur any additional fees to buy a domain name (though they only cost $6-$8 USD per year). I’ll be discussing web-hosting services in more depth in a few days.

If you have a good idea for a brand name and what to secure ownership of it while it’s available, then it may not make sense to pay for a we hosting package right away. In this instance, you can register a domain name only.

There are many domain name registrars offering services. [Read more]

How Important Is Owning Your Domain Name?

It’s good business sense to have your own domain name instead of using a free hosting site to which your site is attached (e.g., www.FreeYellow.com/YourSiteName) or buying hosting from a service that will append your site to their domain name. Here’s why:

• Your own domain name is, ideally, more memorable, and therefore easier to find you online. When people are looking for you or your business, they’ll typically think of it by name or brand (which may be the same).
• Your own domain name conveys professionalism and credibility. Your own domain name, especially in an increasingly web-savvy public, tells your visitors that you take your business seriously. And in a field still struggling to create a professional identity, your professionalism efforts move us all forward.
• Your own domain name conveys stability. [Read more]
  Previous article in this series Next article in this series

  Article Series

  1. Making Mediation Your Day Job™ Part 6: Getting Started with an ADR Blog
  2. Choosing a Name for Your ADR Blog
  3. Finding Your Perfect ADR Blog Name
  4. Mediation Has a Branding Problem
  5. Creating Your ADR Business Brand
  6. Finalizing Your ADR Business Brand
  7. Get Feedback on Your Branding Ideas
  8. Check Your Brand’s Availability as a Domain Name
  9. How Important Is Owning Your Domain Name?
  10. Buying Your Brand and Blog Name
  11. Choosing Your ADR Blog’s Platform
  12. Selecting a Web Host for Your ADR Blog
  13. Creating Your ADR Blog
  14. Making an ADR Blogging Commitment

  Filed Under Mediation marketing · Leave a Comment  

  Time’s Person of the Year: A Story About Community and Collaboration

  December 17, 2006

  Time Magazine has announced its Person of the Year. It’s you.

  If you’ve ever written a book review on Amazon.com. Or blogged, vlogged or podcasted. Or had a LinkedIn, MySpace or Facebook profile. In short, if you’ve ever contributed to part of Web 2.0, you’re part of what Time calls “a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before:” [Read more]

  Filed Under Your ADR web presence · 1 Comment  

  Check Your Brand’s Availability as a Domain Name

  December 15, 2006

  
  While the other steps are under way, I recommend you check to see if the brand names you’re considering are available as domain names.

  Ideally, your brand should not only be the name of your blog, but also the domain name people type into their web browser to go to your blog. This helps eliminate guesswork on the part of prospective clients who recall your savvy brand…it’s what they will probably try typing first if they’re trying to locate your site without your stationery in front of them.

  To see if a domain name is available for purchase [Read more]

  Previous article in this series Next article in this series

  Article Series

  1. Making Mediation Your Day Job™ Part 6: Getting Started with an ADR Blog
  2. Choosing a Name for Your ADR Blog
  3. Finding Your Perfect ADR Blog Name
  4. Mediation Has a Branding Problem
  5. Creating Your ADR Business Brand
  6. Finalizing Your ADR Business Brand
  7. Get Feedback on Your Branding Ideas
  8. Check Your Brand’s Availability as a Domain Name
  9. How Important Is Owning Your Domain Name?
  10. Buying Your Brand and Blog Name
  11. Choosing Your ADR Blog’s Platform
  12. Selecting a Web Host for Your ADR Blog
  13. Creating Your ADR Blog
  14. Making an ADR Blogging Commitment

  Filed Under Mediation marketing · 2 Comments  

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