Graceful Resources

Online Scheduling and Web Design Help

Brent Peterson

How to Correct Your Website Facebook Share Image

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When you or someone else shares a link to your website on the largest social media platform on the planet, Facebook will automatically attempt to associate an image with the page address.

If it’s a blog post (e.g. https://gracefulresources.com/errors-in-email-sign-up-incentives/) or specific page (e.g. https://gracefulresources.com/about) , Facebook will typically recognize the featured image associated with the content. It will also display the Meta Description – a fancy tech term for the text (up to 156 characters) that display under the link title in search engine results and on social media platforms like Facebook.

But when it’s your overall website address (e.g. https://GracefulResources.com) that is being shared, Facebook can get confused on what image and text to display and if it can’t find an image, it will display a big empty box (which doesn’t exactly inspire people to click on the link).

This happened to a client site I just launched and it was my error.

Here is how it looked on Facebook:

NoFacebookShareImage

The good news is that I humbly share my missteps here so you can put to practice the corrections I learn.

How to Correct Your Website Facebook Share Image

There are three steps to test and (if necessary) fix your own website Facebook share image when your URL is shared.

STEP ONE:  Preview Your Website Content with the Facebook Debugger

Facebook has a free publicly-available page that lets you preview what your website content looks like when it is shared and it lets you reset (or scrape) what Facebook is seeing.

Here is the web address:  https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/.

Simply enter your website address and then click “Debug” to preview your site:

FacebookShareImageDebugger

Technically speaking, Facebook looks for Open Graph (og) tags on your website to know what title, description, and image to display. If they are not explicitly set on your website, Facebook will guess at this information.

STEP TWO:  Correct Your Website Image, Title, and/or Description (If Required)

If you discover your intended image, title, or description is incorrect or missing, you’ll need to fix it within your website dashboard. If you are using WordPress, I use and recommend the free Yoast SEO plugin to fix this problem.

Once the plugin is installed and activated,  click on Social in the new SEO menu and then the Facebook tab to specify the Frontpage Settings:
FacebookShareImageYoastSEO

At the end of the same Yoast settings page, you may also need to enter a Facebook app ID. For more information and instruction for the app ID, please reference this article.

If you are running your WordPress website on the Rainmaker Platform, you can simply email their helpful customer support team with your front page image and description, and they will set it up for you free of charge. That’s what I did for this website and here is how it looks on Facebook:

Facebook-Error-Corrected

If you using another platform service, I recommend reviewing your social media metadata settings within your account or contacting the corresponding customer service for assistance.

STEP THREE:  Reset (or Scrape) What Facebook is Seeing

Once you make an adjustment on your website back-end, you can accelerate the time it takes Facebook to take another look at your website content by asking Facebook to scrape your address again.

If everything looks good, your website is now ready to be shared on Facebook!

In the case of my client’s new website SoftballPitchingTools.com, the correct results are now confirmed:

NoFacebookShareImageFixedHope this helps,
Brent

Other Resources for Your Online Success

  1. Lead Magnet Project (an interactive online project for professionals building relevant email lists)
  2. Lead Magnet Survey (share your own opinion about email sign up incentives and discover what other entrepreneurs recommend)
  3. Lead Magnet Guide (5 essential characteristics for email sign up incentives)
  4. Lead Magnet Examples (Graceful Resources email subscribers can add their own web address for free)
  5. Recommended Website and Email Software Resources (you’ll also discover why these resources are recommended)

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!

Brent

What is an Autoresponder and an Email Example

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It seems one of the most common characteristics (and challenges) of any new industry is the jargon. The fast-growing world of digital commerce is no exception with it comes to its own terminology.

It really hit home for me at a dinner conversation at a Phoenix restaurant following Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula (PLF) event a few months back.

PLF_Live

An experienced online entrepreneur across the table asked a relatively new entrepreneur sitting next to me about her autoresponder.

She gave her a blank stare in return.

The digital commerce veteran fired back at her, “You DO have an autoresponder?!”

The tone of the follow-up question was unprofessional so I quickly translated the question for my colleague and changed the subject.

Let me now do my best to translate for you as well because if you think you’re the only one who is confused with all this “tech speak”, you’re not alone.

What is an Autoresponder?

In the online commerce space, an autoresponder is short for an “automated response email”. In other words, it is an email that is triggered automatically by someone else’s action online.

A common action is an entry into an opt-in form like this one to join a mailing list.

Autoresponders have actually been around since the dawn of email (and for that matter, since the dawn of direct mail when you filled out a card for the receipt of more information in your mailbox).

What_is_an_autoresponder

In the email space, you probably know autoresponders most commonly as an Out of Office message.  They go out automatically by your email client (like Outlook) in reply to a co-worker when you are on vacation.

Today, marketing email services like ConvertKit (here’s a summary of why I switched from AWeber and MailChimp) send out autoresponders around the clock in response to opt in form entries and specific actions that subscribers take from within their email messages.

For example, as an entrepreneur, you can set up an autoresponder message trigger if someone simply clicks on a link in an email message you send out.

Autoresponder messages are also commonly used in e-commerce transactions. If someone makes a purchase on your website, an automated message should go to the customer via email with a purchase receipt moments after the transaction.

An Autoresponder Email Example

Autoresponders are also often in the form of a sequence of messages, and the setup procedure varies by email marketing service.

It can be a little tricky to set up and test technologically (if you are seeking additional guidance, you may be interested in the Lead Magnet Project).

Here’s an example from the website SoftballPitchingTools.com:

  1. A site visitor enters her first name and email address in the pop-up form at the top of the screen or via a pop-up form that is triggered when she clicks on a specific link on the website.
  2. A brief thank you message then displays in the same pop-up form and asks the person to confirm her address (this step is called a Double Opt In Confirmation and it helps reduce spam and invalid email addresses on your mailing list).
  3. An autoresponder message automatically goes out to the person to confirm her email address. ConfirmEmailExample
  4. Upon clicking on the confirm your email address button, the autoresponder then automatically redirects the person to a thank you landing page (a great cross-selling opportunity, by the way).
  5. On the thank you page, the person is advised to check her inbox for a welcome message (a second autoresponder) that includes a coupon.

The relationship with the website visitor starts and it is all powered by email autoresponders!

You DO have an autoresponder?

Next time, you too will be prepared to say “Yes. Yes, I do.”

Cheering for your online success – one project step at a time!
Brent

 

3 Content Marketing Tips from an Expert Blogger

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I’m admittedly still in the analysis (what do I need to do next) stage from my trip to Denver for the Digital Commerce Summit. The event was hosted by Rainmaker Digital (formerly known as Copyblogger Media), the company behind the Rainmaker software I use to run this website.

(Here’s a summary of why I recommend trying out Rainmaker free of charge.)

Content marketing was a big theme of the event and, by Copyblogger’s definition, content marketing means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers.

As mentioned in my last journal entry about the event, content marketing is often in written form (e.g. blogs and emails), verbal form (e.g. podcasts and webinars), and visual form (e.g. online videos and infographics).

One guest speaker at the event knows a thing or two about blogging. He is Kevan Lee, the director of marketing for Buffer, a popular social media publishing tool for brands, agencies, and marketers. The Buffer app blog is very popular, to say the least.

The blog attracts the right customers to their company site leading to daily sales of their app. It’s a business model that over time delivers solid financial results.

So what is their secret sauce?

3 Content Marketing Tips

According to Kevan, their blogging success is based on three simple content marketing tips. By writing it down here on this online journal, I’m confident I will be less likely to forget these tips, and I hope they are of value to you as well.

Content Marketing Tips

Content Marketing Tip #1: Be Authentic

Since online marketing really is just our best effort at the time, be honest about it.

Don’t try to be someone else. Be yourself.

People connect with real people more so than with brands.

That’s why big corporations often rely on individual (non-celebrity) personalities in TV commercials. We are in the marketing age where small businesses are the greatest threat to big companies because of the authentic human factor.

Here’s a snapshot I took of Kevan’s notes with my phone about this tip:

KevanLeeDCS2016

Content Marketing Tip #2: Be Objective

When you share content on your blog, do so without a bias toward knowing the only answer.

Yes, demonstrate authority on the subject, but avoid absolute certainty.

It’s attractive to be open-minded.

To be suggestive rather than prescriptive.

It’s ok to hedge by saying “could be” rather than “it is”.

Content Marketing Tip #3: Be Empathetic

Lastly, understand and recognize other people’s feelings.

Listen to what people are saying.

It’s never been easier to scan comments on social media, but more importantly, ask questions every chance you get online and off. People want to and deserve to be heard.

The entrepreneurs who are listening will succeed. The online tool I love to use to ask questions of clients is Typeform (here’s a summary of why I use and recommend Typeform – plus a discount).

I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.
~Lou Holtz, College Football National Champion Coach, ESPN Analyst

3 Content Marketing Tips from an Expert Blogger

So in summary, here are three basic but powerful tips as you share your voice with the world, and that is to simply be:

  1. Authentic
  2. Objective
  3. Empathetic

I’m cheering for you!

Commerce may be increasingly online but it thrives on human connections.

Hope this helps,
Brent

FREE QUICK REFERENCE TECH GUIDE (click here): Discover the Graceful Resources I use and recommend for websites, including the reasons why, plus the mistakes to avoid when starting out in digital commerce.

Please let me know if you have any questions via my contact form or in direct response to my free Graceful Journal email mailing list.

I’m here to take away the pain of figuring out how to use new web technologies so you can gracefully profit online from your passion in life.

4 Lessons Learned from the Digital Commerce Summit

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I just returned home to Virginia from a trip out west to Denver, Colorado for the 2016 Digital Commerce Summit.  The Summit was hosted by Rainmaker Digital (formerly known as Copyblogger Media). This is the same company behind the Rainmaker software platform I use for this website.

The 2-day conference at the old Paramount Theatre in Denver was well organized. As a technology project manager by trade, I have a big heart for events that communicate and stick to a daily schedule from start to finish.

There were also several social opportunities to “work the room” each evening, but I will confess that I’m terribly shy in a crowd of strangers (even with a shared interest) so that aspect of the event was admittedly difficult for me.

But I’m a better person from the overall experience.

DigitalCommerceSummit

I also arrived a day early in Denver to participate in a workshop on developing online courses.

One of my intentions with Graceful Resources is to offer online classes for entrepreneurs that outline easy-to-follow actionable steps for web/email design, setup, and integration.

If technology is not really your thing, then you are my target audience! 🙂

I now have a journal full of notes from the event, but let me start with my four main lessons learned and then follow with more conference insights via this blog (click here to stay connected to my upcoming posts and announcements).

4 Lessons Learned from the Digital Commerce Summit

Lesson Learned #1: Rainmaker Digital Team is Made Up of Good People

In Denver, I got a chance to meet members of the Rainmaker Digital leadership and support team and the experience reinforced my trust in Rainmaker (the company and the product).  They were approachable, friendly, and sincere. As someone who has been burned by software developers and so-called marketing experts in the past, I believe the right people are more important than the right solutions.

Yes, good software (and hardware) is critical in today’s digital economy, but don’t underestimate the value of people you can trust. If interested, here are 9 more reasons I use and recommend Rainmaker for my online business.

Lesson Learned #2: Email is Still King for Online Commerce

As a Gen-X professional, I’m hopelessly addicted to email and I assumed Gen X’ers (ages 35-50 as of 2015) and Baby Boomers (ages 51-69) were the last generations to actually use email on a daily basis. Wrong.

Millennials may be more social media savvy than my generation, but there are also habitually reliant on email in their professional and social lives. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur like me (whether part-time or full-time), you have to build your email list every day through your website (as outlined in this earlier post I wrote).

By the way, millennials (ages 18-34) are now the largest living generation in the U.S.

Lesson Learned #3: Conversions Occur Primarily on Mobile Devices

If you are planning to sell new digital products online (like an online course) to people who would benefit from your knowledge and approach to solving problems, the conversion of a business lead to a paying consumer will likely occur over a mobile device.

Any conversion process takes time, and all generations today are using their phones and tablets to first exchange information via email, blogs, podcasts, and social media communities (plus countless messaging apps).

That being said, it is imperative that your initial online content and conversations are “mobile friendly” (especially your website). If not, someone else with similar authority to you may win the trust of your audience simply out of convenience.

Lesson Learned #4: Content Marketing is Critical for Your Success

Content marketing is a bit of a buzz term, but according to Copyblogger, it means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers.

In other words, it means choosing your online messages strategically. There is an art and science to content marketing (especially the use of buyers’ emotional triggers like scarcity – we buy more because of the fear of missing out).

Online content marketing is often in written form (e.g. blogs and emails), verbal form (e.g. podcasts and webinars), and visual form (e.g. online videos and infographics).

Good content marketing doesn’t happen overnight for any of us just because we have something to sell.  Like anything worth pursuing, it takes practice and coaching.  And your own blog is great place to practice (see also 3 Benefits of Blogging).

In my next journal entry, I plan to share a new post titled  “3 Content Marketing Suggestions from an Expert Blogger“. It will be based on insights from one of the Digital Commerce Summit guest speakers Kevan Lee. Kevan is the director of marketing for Buffer, a popular social media publishing tool for brands, agencies, and marketers.

4 Lessons Learned from the Digital Commerce Summit

So in summary, here are my main lessons learned from the October 2016 event in Denver:

  1. Rainmaker Digital Team is Made Up of Good People
  2. Email is Still King for Online Commerce
  3. Conversions Occur Primarily on Mobile Devices
  4. Content Marketing is Critical to Your Success

These lessons may align with your experience and research as well.

Hope this helps,
Brent

FREE QUICK REFERENCE TECH GUIDE (click here): Discover the Graceful Resources I use and recommend for websites, including the reasons why, plus the mistakes to avoid when starting out in digital commerce.

Please let me know if you have any questions via my contact form or in direct response to my free Graceful Journal email mailing list.

I’m here to take away the pain of figuring out how to use new web technologies so you can gracefully profit online from your passion in life.

How to Find a Good Web Designer

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My website journey over the past eight years has admittedly been an adventure with the web designers I’ve hired, but I wouldn’t be where I am today with Graceful Resources without some… let’s say “less than trustworthy” people along the way.

I’m sure you can relate as well in any career field (not just web design). It’s what we do we with the experience that defines our long-term success in service to others.

When we run into obstacles (and we all do) we essentially have one of two choices:

  1. We become more bitter and give up, or
  2. We become a guide for others.

I have chosen the latter through Graceful Resources and I hope you do as well in your line of work (and you become comfortable with the criteria that follows for trustworthy professionals).

How_to_Find_Good_Web_Designer

My Web Designer History

This site I am sharing with you today is actually the fifth WordPress site for my business that I’ve designed.  The other four have now been retired.  Over the years, here are some of my experiences:

  1. A web designer/developer charged me $750 initially and then went AWOL when I realized he didn’t know what he was doing.
  2. An SEO firm (recommended by a friend and local CEO) charged me $1000/month for four months to “optimize my site for search engines”. In the end, they got my first site blacklisted by Google because they tried to game Google’s algorithm by stuffing my site metadata with keywords.  They then charged me $2000 to fix the website. In short, they were web con artists.
  3. A project manager in California charged me $3000 and then outsourced my web project to someone else in Brazil. The problem wasn’t that he partnered with someone else to help with the technical side of things. The problem was that he failed to keep me updated on the project.

I also hear “my IT guy disappeared” stories all the time from hard working, honorable people just like you.

How to Find a Good Web Designer

There isn’t some high tech answer to finding a good web designer.

In the end, we are talking about finding good trustworthy professionals, and I will defer to NY Times best-selling author Dr. Henry Cloud for his guidance on this one.

In his new book The Power of the Other: The Startling Effects Other People Have on You, from the Boardroom to the Bedroom and Beyond – and What do Do About It, the author outlines the following five criteria to assess if you can trust a person in your life.

When applied to web designers, I wish I had these five criteria in my back pocket years ago. But today, I hope my future clients (whether for direct web projects or my upcoming online courses) would judge me by this same list.

  1. Trust Someone Only if You’re Sure That Person Understands What’s Important to You
  2. Make Sure the Person Has Your Best Interests at Heart
  3. Ask Yourself if the Person is Reliable Before You Turn to Him or Her for Help
  4. Assess the Person’s Character
  5. Consider the Past Experiences You’ve Shared with the Person

I recognize the fifth criteria from Dr. Cloud may be the most difficult to assess with someone you haven’t worked with yet, but I encourage you to consider all initial interactions over email, phone, blog, social media, etc.

In the end, business relationships are about trust.

For your own business, I encourage you to publish on your website the following three critical pages to build trust with your site visitors (you can click on each for my example):

  1. About Page
  2. Testimonials Page 
  3. Contact Page

And to review the same content on the website of your future web designer or another business partner critical to your success in today’s economy.

Hope this helps,
Brent

Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback via my contact form or in direct response to my free Graceful Journal email mailing list.

As a certified project management professional (PMP) specializing in web design and lead generation strategies, I’m here to take away the pain of figuring out how to seamlessly integrate web and email software resources to grow businesses online.

One project step at at time.

How to Install an SSL Certificate (and 3 Reasons You Need One)

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Last week I did something I should have done for my daughter’s photography website when I first launched it back in the spring.

It’s a mistake I don’t want you to make as well.

The error is to forget to install an SSL Certificate on all website pages.

In her case, the only truly secure web page was the one that opened separately to process a photograph purchase through PayPal.  All other pages including “pre-cart” pages were not encrypted and while it was not required for those pages, the error may have sent the wrong message to site visitors, leading to abandoned online carts (more on the reason why in a moment).

What is an SSL Certificate

SSL is kind of a geeky term. It stands for Secure Sockets Layer, an encryption technology patented by Netscape back in 1995 for its popular web browser.

If you are a Gen X’er (like me) or a Baby Boomer, you may remember Netscape!

Netscape eventually sold out to AOL and transformed into the Mozilla Organization (think Firefox browser), but once upon a time, Netscape controlled 90% of the internet browser market.

Eventually, some software company run by Bill Gates took over the famous Netscape Navigator browser with a product of its own called Internet Explorer.

SSL secures the connection between your web page and your visitor’s web browser so information is not compromised.

In other words, it helps protect your visitors’ information such as name, email, personal address, and form of payment.

How_to_Install_SSL_Certificate

Like me, you will recognize a web page with an SSL certificate by the “https:” prefix in your browser address bar.  The extra “s” after the standard “http:” (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) stands for Secure.  This website is one example.

While an SSL is required by financial institutions for web pages that handle online commerce (such as processing customer credit card transactions on your website), it is now a best practice to install an SSL Certificate across your entire website, even if you have nothing for sale yet.

3 Reasons to Install an SSL Certificate

Here are at least three reasons to install an SSL Certificate on your current or future website:

  1. It helps protect your site visitors

    The protection of personal information of others is one of your top priorities even if you are just getting starting and building a mailing list.  A secured web page even for an opt in form for email subscribers speaks volumes about your priorities.

    I no longer opt in to someone’s mailing list with my first name and email address unless the page is secured. I encourage you to follow the same rule to protect yourself from spam.

  2. Google will reward you

    While an SSL Certificate won’t boost your website to the top of Google search results (high-quality content coupled with good SEO metadata settings over the long term is still the rewarded path), Google announced in 2014 that HTTPS was a ranking signal for websites.

    In other words, Google factors security into its search algorithm.

  3. SSL certificates are inexpensive (if not free)

    When I launched my first website in 2008, I did so to sell a product to help job interviewers ace their upcoming job interviews.  I had no choice but to purchase an SSL Certificate. I did so through GoDaddy and it was pricey.  Now an SSL Certificate through GoDaddy (they are one of the largest SSL Certificate Authorities in the world) is about $60 per year.

    It’s worth every penny for just the first reason listed, but you can also get an SSL Certificate for free. For example, Certificate Authority Let’s Encrypt is, in fact, a free SSL Certificate, and the one I used for my daughter’s website through WordPress host WP Engine (who I use and recommend – here’s why).

How to Install an SSL Certificate

To install an SSL Certificate on your website, my best advice is to contact your host company directly or, if applicable, your designated web designer. The steps to set up an SSL Certificate vary by host company, but it’s likely easy than you think if you are working with a company with good customer service.

Often, it is just a matter of ordering the SSL to set things in motion and then handing off the technical installation side of things to someone else.

If you host a site through the Rainmaker Platform which is what I use for Graceful Resources – here’s why, the Rainmaker support team will install an SSL certificate for you at no cost. Just ask!

One final tip when requesting an SSL Certificate:

Ask your website host or designer to also load all images on your website over HTTPS. There are some extra steps involved for your tech support contact, but if images (such as your featured blog post image) are not secured, your site visitors will see a “mixed content” error in their browser address bar.

A “mixed content” error may be nothing more than an unsecured logo on your website, but to your site visitor, it could easily lead to confusion and uncertainty over site security for them.  If that happens, they will likely not opt in to your mailing list or purchase one of your products.  They will also likely never return to your website.

As always with any changes to your website, test it out yourself in your browser to make sure everything looks right!

Hope this helps,
Brent

Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback via my contact form or in direct response to my free Graceful Journal email mailing list.

As a certified project management professional (PMP) specializing in web design and lead generation strategies, I’m here to take away the pain of figuring out how to seamlessly integrate web and email software resources to grow businesses online.

One project step at at time.