Prepare yourself for a change in writing styles and a much more personal look in the people behind Kella Design. Here goes…..my first blog entry.

Between having two full-time jobs, a toddler – who is just learning to walk,  and so many responsibilities I can barely keep track of them all; it seems that lately life just slips by without notice.
That’s why instead of giving up chocolate, soda or the F word for lent (mostly because I realize those are all impossible and vital for my well-being) – I have decided to take time to focus on the things that are important in life; family, friends and good old fashion FUN!

I don’t necessarily think I am unique when I say that life is hectic and sometimes I lose track of what really matters but, just in case you need some help staying on track – here are 10 things to make time for in your life:

1. Take time to think – it’s the source of power.
Thinking doesn’t always have to be focused and work-related. Take a break and make an errand list, plan a much needed vacation to somewhere warm or review your calendar for a break in the day for a nap

2. Take time to read – it’s the foundation of wisdom.
I am guilty of not doing this often enough. Actually, I think it’s fair to say I almost never read, especially if skimming doesn’t constitute as reading. The last time I read a lot of information was before our daughter was born. Mainly because I had the time then but, also because I felt it was necessary to consume every bit of knowledge in relation to raising a child – so I could try to avoid “messing her up in my own special way.” Now that our daughter, Ella is here – I realize that messing her up is inevitable and my only goal is that she is breathing each day….and smiling most days.

3. Take time to play – it’s the secret of staying young.
In my opinion, this is the greatest piece of advice and the one that we do not take advantage of often enough. Joe and I always talk about “if we work so hard now, we can play later.” But, sometimes later never comes and we just keep working. Take a vacation, you won’t regret it.

4. Take time to be quiet – it’s the moment you may never get back.
Before I became a mom I LOVED driving in the car by myself so I could blare the radio and jam at the top of my lungs to all of my favorite songs. Now, my morning commute (less than 5 minutes) is filled with nothing but silence. The reason – it’s the ONLY privacy and alone time I get in the day. I am no longer able to use the restroom, take a bath, or lay in my bed – without a little munchkin/shadow on top of my every move. Cherish moments of silence, they are invaluable!

5. Take time to be aware – it’s the opportunity to help others.
Joe gives me crap all the time for being too nice and thinking of others before myself. I guess it’s in my blood. My whole life I have been surrounded by a family that would give anything to help others and be there for  no matter what. I wouldn’t change a thing from my upbringing and I wouldn’t trade the closeness of my family for anything. I do agree with Joe though, sometimes I do neglect to think of myself but, at the same time – the feeling you get when you do something nice for someone else is indescribable.

6. Take time to love and be loved – it’s God’s greatest gift.
Love, such a tricky thing. Even though it was assumed, I grew up in a family that never exchanged hugs and “I love you’s.” You never know how important those opportunities are until you lose someone and you didn’t tell them how you felt. For this reason, I will always make sure Joe and Ella, and even our puppies know how much I love them and what I would give for them. At the end of the day, the four people/puppies within these walls and the love they give me – keeps me going and I owe them the same.

7. Take time to laugh – it’s the music of the soul.
Don’t take life too seriously. In my opinion, laughter is appropriate for all situations in life and a sense of humor will take you a long way. The ability to take a joke and roll with it is one of the best assets a person can have. I hope to die with lots of wrinkles, all of them from laughing (and squinting in the sun). Plus, laughter is good for your health. Don’t believe me? Read this article (http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm)

8. Take time to be friendly – it’s the road to happiness.
My goal is to be friendly to every person I encounter throughout my life path, no matter who they are. Not only does it feel good to make new friends but, you never know who you will meet or where life’s path will lead you. I would like to believe that good things happen to good people so I will continue to try to make that a reality. Whether that means giving money to a homeless person on the street or helping an elderly woman carry her bags – I will do it, even if it does make me a schmuck.

9. Take time to dream – it’s what the future is made of.
I am so grateful for Joe. I sometimes make fun of him for having his “head in the clouds” but his ability to dream is so admirable and possesses a child-like innocence. I on the other hand,  am the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Some may call me a pessimist but I choose the term, realist. Joe helps me see all the possibilities in life and gives me the strength to go for what I want and to never settle. So – go, float in the clouds – what’s it going to hurt?

10. Take time to pray – it’s the greatest power on earth.
No matter what higher power you believe in, it’s nice to have someone or something to talk to in times of need. I think praying represents hope and without hope for a better tomorrow, there is no point in living today. Pray for some rest, your sanity, sunshine, a new car – if anything praying lets you take your mind off of other chaotic things in life to focus on your needs.

Make no mistake about it.  It doesn’t matter if you have a powerful arsenal of promotional techniques, if you fail to impress and engage your visitors in 10 seconds or less, you’re most likely to lose them. If you want to lower your bounce rate, here are a few tips to do just that.

What’s a Bounce Rate?
Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page. The more compelling your landing pages are, the more visitors will stay on your site and convert.

1. Keep it Simple
Without a doubt the design of your website is the most important factor in trying to reach this goal. Websites that offer no white space for eyes to take a break can become annoying and cause people to leave. Keep the design simple, yet attractive. Use colors to draw attention to different areas, but don’t overwhelm.

2. Highlight Your Goods Above the Fold
Put your important items towards the top of the page. If you have an online store, showcase your products near the top. If you provide a service, display your work at the top. Strut your stuff and make sure people can see it. (Yes, flaunt it!)

3. Make your Navigation user-friendly (menu)
Your website should have a user friendly menu that allows any visitor to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Try to avoid using complicated drop-down menus and don’t bury your pages more than 2 clicks away from the homepage. I suggest using text links that contain keyword and staying away from flash menus.

4. Display Hotspots
A website hotspot is an area where people are automatically drawn to on the homepage. They are designed to get visitors to important pages quickly without even using the navigation bar. Hotspots will help you push a “call to action” or a product that you really want to sell. Make sure they are colorful and stand out from the rest of the website.

5. Improve Page Load Time
Make sure you have optimized the size of your images, kept the text/html code clean, and have designed the homepage to load in the quickest time as possible. If I have to wait all day for a page to load, I have already left the site before it even had a chance to finish.

6. Be Readable
Organize the content on the site to be legible and not just a huge mess. Bold the headers, italicize necessary content and make everything interesting to read or at least make people want to continue reading.

7. Place Search at the Top
In case people can’t find what they are looking for, they can resort to a site search. Some visitors get lost because they can find “exactly” what they want, they now have a quick fix for that.

8. Remove Auto-Plays or Pop-ups
Videos are nice, but they are not nice when your speakers are turned all the way up and the baby is sleeping in the next room. It is annoying, but not as annoying as ads that pop-up when you first come to a website. Get rid of them!

Have comments about this article? Post them here.

So you’re on Facebook and you’ve taken it one step further and set up a fan page, now what? It’s time to optimize your page and use the power of social networking to bring traffic to your website and put dollars in your pocket.

Below are a few tips that can help:

Create Ideal Profile Picture – Attracting attention is the key to getting new fans, and your profile picture is first thing people see. Ensure fans can see your entire image by creating a profile picture that is 200 pixels wide, while height can vary as needed. This is important to know because Facebook will automatically crop images and your logo may be cut off.

Claim your Username –  I can’t stress this enough – this will make it easier for people to find you on Facebook. With that being said, make sure you keep it simple. (ie. www.facebook.com/yourcompanyname) For more information on how to claim your username click here (http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=896#/help.php?page=897)

Optimize Your Share Preview – Personal profiles as well as fan pages give you the opportunity to share links. This feature also allows users to select thumbnails images to be displayed, make sure you use the images as eye candy to attraction attention to the content that is being pushed.

Define A Schedule – It’s sounds stupid, but this is the biggest step that is missed. Create a calendar to use as a guide for your updates. Make sure you mix up different update types: status, link, note, photo or video updates. You don’t want your wall flooded with the same thing over and over again. Keep the content interesting, while letting fans know you’re the expert.

Check Your Page Insights – Just like analytics on your website, your fan page has tracking as well that can tell you the data/demographics you want to know about your fans. Your page views, post quality, interactions and number of new fans are all important. Pay attention to it!

If you would like Kella Design to put together a complete social media marketing plan for you or your company, please click here.

1) Redesign Your Website

If you haven’t already, ramp up your marketing plan to update your website. Take a good look at your competitors and see how your website stacks up. Having an outstanding website will increase your sales and draw positive attention to your company. It may even lighten your work load if it is done properly. Plan ahead for items you would like in the future and at the very least have them in mind once you redesign your website. You went basic on the first one because you knew a website is a must, now is the time to do it right. Your investment in a custom built website will pay off in the end!

2) Brand Your Company

Sit down and take a little time to focus on your company image. Having a good company logo can increase the awareness of your company in your community even better than word-of-mouth can at times. If you paid your neighbor’s kid to come up with your logo, now might be the time to rethink that. Re-branding could be one of the best decisions you have ever made, and it will refresh your brand in people’s minds. Give yourself a new logo, update your business cards, stationeries, envelopes, etc. It’s a New Year and time for a new look!

3) Jump on the Social Media Bandwagon

It is not a fad anymore, it is a key component of your marketing strategy. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wordpress are here to stay. When each are used properly they can become a great asset to your business. When you are tight on a budget, or the budget doesn’t exist when it comes to marketing, social media is the way to go. It’s cheap, flexible, gets quick results and gets easier with time. Social Media and Social Networking aren’t going away anytime in the near future. If social media hasn’t become part of your marketing plan, you have some catching up to do!

4) Allocate Money to Online Marketing

Websites with relevant content will continue to rule search engine rankings. No matter what your budget, you can place your ads on Google or Yahoo and they will be displayed as part of their advertising network. Your ads appear beside related search results, people click and connect to your business. The nice thing is that you only pay when people click. Set up SEO performance goals, make them specific, measurable and timely. At the very least you want to determine if the goal has been met and why a trend has occurred.

5) Communicate with Your Customers Through Email Marketing

Use email newsletters to keep in touch with your customers on a regular basis. Your newsletters can include current or upcoming events, hints and tips, deals or promotions you are currently pushing, or topics of interest to readers. Email marketing will build relationships with current or prospective customers. You can use the newsletter as a subtle reminder to return to your website, and put your product or service back in the face of the end user.

Well looky what we have here….a little blog brought to you by Kella Design!

What can you expect from this blog you may ask? We will hit up ways to help you with design, how to work with different clients, aspects of running a small business, emerging technologies, mobile apps, that myface or spacebook thing everyone seems to be talking about, and hoping my ADHD doesn’t take over and send you down some weird path.

Basically we will hit up stuff we are interested in and things we believe will help others that do the same things we do.  We also may confuse people…..I apologize for that!

So stay tuned, there is a lot more to come!

Happy Holidays and Safe Travels to Everyone as well.