Favorite Foods on Thanksgiving Poll

I love eating a Thanksgiving meal. It is a lot of work, but so worth it. The leftovers taste better the next day. I'm taking a poll to see what your number one food is on Thanksgiving. Please follow the instructions to leave your vote. Here is the link to my spreadsheet.

Book Report

The book call Web Marketing for Dummies by Jan Zimmerman has a lot of information that explains the sales marketing and technical know-how on how to market your products online. Here are some highlights of the book that I thought were important.

Zimmerman states how to have a successful web marketing campaign. She points out that you should focus on what the customer wants. That  products actually sell differently online than they do in a store. Your website must satisfy the needs and interests of your target audience, so that the customer keeps coming back. Your customers are your best referrals. The website must be easy for your customers to use. Featured items should be placed at the top of the screen where they can be easily seen. Your customers must be happy with the products that they receive. Always respond quickly to email and phone inquiries within one business day. If problems occur with their order, let your customer know as soon as possible with an email or phone call. Make it clear on your website, what the refund and return policies are.

You should update your site at least once a month to improve search engine performance. Some easy ways to update the site is: new products, special offers, changes in office hours, and changes in staff. Changing multiple pages on your site improves search engine rankings. Inbound links from blogs increase Google’s rankings highly. Automated service feeds such as: date, weather, news, stock tickers, rotating word of the day, jokes, etc., improve search engine performance too. Don’t use an automated page counter, visitors will think the count is too low and think your site must not be that good. The length of your URL does not matter to your search engine. Short and easy URLs get more user traffic. Use linkable footers at the bottom of every page and site indexes for search engine improvement.

The author talks about using different Web 2.0 technology to promote your business. For each Web 2.0 product the book offers sample software to get started.

Zimmerman mentions social networking like Facebook. I looked at businesses on Facebook. Some send you right to their Facebook page, others make you log in with your Facebook account. When first looking at their page. I found it very confusing. There are a lot of distractions on the right side like advertising, and people you may know. The first page that you see is the WALL where anyone can make a post. This is also confusing because I don’t know if the business is stating something or a customer is. On the left side you can click INFO, I like this page because it actually gives you information about the business. There are other pages on the left side you can click into, to get additional information.

The author talks about what a blog is and states its pros and cons. Businesses are starting to use this as a marketing tool. The business blogs I looked at, I liked. They were a good source of information. It is clear what message the business is stating. It is clear when a reader makes a comment.

Wikis are another great tool that makes everyone a writer. The author gives an example of HP Small Business Community Wiki that allows users to exchange marketing tips and resource. I logged on to it and it appeared to me as a HP website I did not see where I could personally contribute to the site. This appears to be a good way for business’ to advertise inexpensively. You can lock wiki pages from being edited and it will appear just like a normal website.

This is a great book for anyone who wants to advertise their business online. This book reinforces what I’m learning in class and how I can apply it to the business world. This book helped me increase my marketing and technical skills.

The benefits of eating Fruits and Vegetables

Eating fruits and vegetables are very important to good health. They have a lot of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. They help protect you from chronic diseases like a stroke, some types of cancers, lowers your risk of heart disease, lowers blood pressure, and improves your immune system. It is always better to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables that have different colors, so that your body gets a wide range of nutrients. I’m always thinking of ways to increase fruits and vegetables in my diet. For snacks I like to eat fresh fruit like bananas, apples, or oranges. Sometimes I’ll have carrot sticks, celery, and peanut butter. I’ll keep them on the counter and ready to eat in the refrigerator. I use fruit and a few carrots in a smoothie. I always include vegetables in pizza, pasta, stir fries, casseroles, stews, and soup. I like to add lettuce, tomatoes, and onions to sandwiches. When I go to a party, I like to make up a veggie tray with carrots, celery, cucumbers, radishes, and red peppers. Children and adults always eat something from the veggie tray. Most people need 4 ½ cups of fruits and vegetables per day. This may sound like a lot, but is very easy to do when you eat fruits and vegetables as your snack and just add a little in with every meal. One small apple is equal to one cup from the fruit and vegetable group. Six baby carrots are equal to half a cup. Sixteen grapes are equal to half a cup. One cup of lettuce counts as a half a cup of vegetables. Here is a slideshow of some of my favorite fruits and vegetables that I like to eat.