Contractors are busy. Demolishing, building, remodeling, upgrading, crafting, and designing day in and day out. When you spend every day on the job site with dirt on your knees and blueprints in hand, you often aren’t thinking about one crucial part of your business platform—your website.

Your website’s job is to be forming good impressions of your contracting company while you’re out doing the dirty work. Your website works for you, and just like the rest of your employees should be giving its best.

I want to go over 5 simple checks you can run on your website today to make sure it is operating at peak performance.

1. Is Your Website Secure? (https://…)

Website security is of utmost importance. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—you will be hacked. It’s not if, it’s when. I’ve discussed website security at length in this post. But for today, just know that at the very minimum you need to check to make sure your site url (webpage address) is protected by a secure socket layer (SSL).

Here’s the simplest way to check this for your website: go to Chrome, Safari, or any other internet browser and enter https://yourdomain. See if you are able to access your site securely or if you get an error message. Make sure you have the “s” after HTTP …. like this… https:// That is the secure protocol for web browsers.

This is important because not only is an unsecured website dangerous to your privacy, if your potential clients get an error message upon entering your website, they may turn away and never come back. It’s vital that your website is secured with an up-to-date SSL Certificate.

2. Is Your Website Mobile Responsive?

Mobile-responsive websites are designed to look good and run well on both a desktop computer and mobile phone. If you are a millennial this is a no-brainer. You’ve probably got this covered. However, if you are an older contractor and have owned your website for a long time, you should probably check into this. No one wants to pull up your website on their phone and need to zoom all the way in to see your phone number.

The easiest way to check your site’s mobile responsiveness is to run your site through a free online tool. Search “mobile responsive site check” in the search bar, and Google gives access to their site checker right there in the search engine. Super easy. Enter your web address. Then analyze the results. It should be very clear if your website responds to mobile devices or not.

Another easy way to check: pull up your website on a desktop computer. Drag the size of the browser window down so that it is very narrow like a phone. Your website should adjust automatically to a mobile layout if it is mobile responsive.

This is important because today nearly 60% of internet searches are made from phones. If your website is not mobile responsive you could be losing potential customers. If your website checks out to be not mobile responsive, do some research or hire a professional to fix it for you. You want to be able to meet the needs of the current audience.

3. Is Your Website Fast Enough?

People searching the internet, do not like to wait around for a website to load. Waiting is especially trying if it’s being held up by fancy moving graphics with cumbersome files. Most internet-searchers will leave the site if it takes more than a few seconds to load. Call it instant gratification, impatience, entitlement or whatever you want, but it is the state of the internet today. Get in front of it and make sure that your website responds quickly.

Again, there are free tools to check out your site speed. Here are two that I recommend.

Gtmetrix.com

This tool will give you a comprehensive report on the speed of your site. If it appears to be too slow, they will even give insight into how to fix it.

Google Dev Tools

Developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

Google makes it easy and free for you to check your website speed. Visit that link above and enter your website address. This search will reveal lots of data for your website, but the main thing, for now, is to check how fast your site is.

If it’s slow, do what you can to speed it up. Clear the homepage of large, clunky files, etc. This is important because a quickly-responding website could be the ticket to getting your website visitors to stick around.

4. Does Your Site Have Broken Links?

When you first designed your website, you probably linked to other pages on the internet. Information pages, contact information, additional resources, etc. Over time, these links will change, but the website pages that contain the embedded link do not change. Clicking on the link will take your website visitors to either the wrong place or nowhere at all. The longer your site exists the more potential there is to have links that no longer work.

There are some cool tools that check for this and show you exactly where these broken links are on your site. Then, all you must do is fix them.

The simplest and easiest tool to use for this is probably brokenlinkcheck.com.

This is important because your website visitors need to be able to trust you and your information. If your links are broken, you cannot provide them with the information they need. A secure system of working links makes the experience of visiting your website much easier and enjoyable for them.

5. Is Your Site Being Indexed in The Google Search Engine?

Did you know it’s possible for you to have a website live on the internet without Google indexing it to include in the search results? It is possible! That is very alarming.

Make sure that you have Google Indexing “turned on,” and that there are no other indexing issues concerning your site.

Go to: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/index-status. Add your site and click on “Index/Coverage.” Google will let you know if there are any issues concerning the indexing of your site in their database.

This is important because the main reason you have a website at all is so that you’re there when people search for you. You need to be the answer to their question. If you’re not even in the index, you can’t work on getting to the top of the search results!

How to Move Forward

Once you’ve run these 5 simple checks, take care of any issues you encounter. If you do not have an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate—install one. If your site is not mobile responsive—get a new one. Speed up your lagging website, and make sure you’re included in Google search index.

As a contractor, you are out on the job every day making a huge impact in your community. Don’t forget that the more “unseen” part of your brand is very important too. For many people, their first impression of you is what they see online. Make sure your first impression is a good one by ensuring your website is performing to the best of its ability.

*****

Thank you for joining me today. If you have any further questions or comments, please join the conversation in the comments below.

*****

Follow me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes stuff. And if you want to go deeper with marketing your business, you may get a free copy of my contractor marketing book, Contractor Marketing Simplified.

The post Five Simple Checks For Top Website Performance appeared first on Martin Holsinger.

How do you know when it’s time to launch your own contracting company?

While this is not my usual contractor marketing blog post, I thought it would be good to write a quick article and share how I answer the question when it’s asked of me.

Many people dream of starting their own contracting company and striking out on their own. They dream of having their own business, owning lots of nice tools, being their own boss, and having the freedom to do what they want when they want to.

Maybe that’s you today. So how do you know when the time is right to quit your current job and launch out on your own?

Here are five simple checks that have helped me as I’ve launched new ventures a few times throughout my life. Ask yourself these questions whenever you’re feeling restless and wanting to move out into the new, uncharted territory of owning your own business.

1. Do I Have the Skills?

This first question is a no-brainer. If you want to build a house for someone else, do you actually know how to build a house? If you want to remodel a bathroom, do you really know what do with everything you’re going to find behind those walls? If you want to add an addition to someone’s house, do you know how to lay a foundation securely for your specific climate? The questions are limitless.

At an even more basic level, do you know how to read a tape measure? Run a tablesaw without having a sheet of plywood kick back and knock you to the ground? Use a staple gun without shooting through the wood you are holding, sending staples out the other side of your finger? Take it from me—I’ve learned some hard lessons through experience.

The key here is to learn all you can before starting your own company. There is something to be said for “faking it ’til you make it”; every new business opportunity is risky in many ways. But you owe it to your clientele to be the best you can be at the service you offer—even when you’re just starting out. It’s important to your clients, and it’s important to your reputation. Work hard at anything you do. Discover your strengths, discover your weaknesses, and learn all you can so you can create an outstanding product for your client.

2. Do I Love This Type of Work?

Think again about the area of business you’re wanting to enter alone. Do you love it? Others might be making a lot of money doing it, but what if you don’t actually enjoy the work and end up regretting it?

Sure, Instagram photos of the finished products look awesome, and you’re pumped to be able to do that for your future clients—but what if everything behind the scenes is a total killjoy for you?

Here’s the key for this question: it’s worth it to take time to dabble in the kind of work you are looking to go into before you take the plunge.

Work for another contractor for a few years. This will do several things for you. You will see whether you enjoy the work or not. You will pick up the necessary skills. You will observe how this contractor runs the business, and you will learn invaluable lessons, both positive and negative.

3. Is There a Demand for My Service?

Everyone has a job they excel at, but that gifting isn’t in demand everywhere you go. When you’re thinking about going out on your own to start your own contracting company, examine the demand in your locality.

Maybe you have the skills and love the work, but are people in your area buying it? If not, then you will most likely have a very hard time growing a new business.

This is an additional good reason to work for another contractor for a while. You need to find out if there really is a need in your area for the service you will offer.

For example, maybe you want to build spec houses. The facts are there; spec houses are not a hot commodity in every market in the USA. Or perhaps you want to build boutique custom homes. Same thing. Not every market wants high-end boutique custom homes.

Research your city, your market, your target audience. If you find there is a need there for the job you will provide, move forward with confidence.

4. Do I Have a Five-Year-Plus Mindset?

Starting a business is hard. It takes work. It generally involves literal blood, literal sweat, and literal tears. I’m not saying you won’t make a good living the first year, but I want to remind you that it typically takes three to five years to establish a business in a new market.

It’s worth it to get out of debt and save up some cash before you launch your new venture. This will help in those first rough times. If you really want to see your contracting company through to establishment, develop a long-term vision. Know what you want your company to look like at the end of five business years. Know what baby steps to take along the way to get it there.

The going gets tough, and you will want to quit, but if you maintain a five-year mindset, then you will persevere and see it through. And even after five years, as your business grows and more headaches show up, just having a long-term vision will enable you to see this thing through.

5. What Does My Spouse or Mentor Have to Say About This?

Seek counsel from important figures in your life, both personal and business. I cannot think of a major decision in my life that went wrong by listening to the heart of my wife. Let me say it another way: every time I have a major decision to make, I ask my wife to think about it and let me know her thoughts. I have never regretted taking the time to do this.

There have also been times in my life that I had to wait to launch one of my ideas because my wife wasn’t ready. It was totally worth it to wait a little bit for her to get fully on board. Also, there have been times when my wife was urging me to step out in faith, and again I’ve never regretted listening to her heart. For some reason, God has blessed my wife with deeper intuition than what I have. If I charge ahead thinking that I know what’s best, putting my thumb on her feelings rarely turns out well.

My wife and I are in this marriage for life, so it just makes sense that we make these weighty decisions together. Then we have each other for support when the going gets tough.

Of course, this goes both ways. If you are a wife, then listen to the heart of your husband before launching out. If you are not married, then seek the advice of your mentors, especially the mentors who know you best. This could be your boss, coworker, dad, brothers, mother, or your high school woodworking teacher. Simply put, just ask lots of questions and seek advice from those who have been through more in life—in business and in personal life. It never hurts to take wisdom from people who have gone before us in a venture.

Summary

You should have skills and a love for the job. Seek wise counsel. Figure out the need in your community. Develop a strategic vision and a long-term mindset.

Throughout my life, these simple checks have helped me avoid making hasty decisions that will end up costing me more in the long run. If you are facing the question of whether or not now is the time to launch your own contracting company, hopefully, these five checks will be of assistance.

*****

Thank you for joining me today. If you have any further questions or comments, please join the conversation in the comments below.

*****

Follow me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes stuff. And if you want to go deeper with marketing your business, you may get a free copy of my contractor marketing book, Contractor Marketing Simplified.

The post Am I Ready to Launch My Own Contracting Company? appeared first on Martin Holsinger.

There’s nothing more unsettling than waking up in the morning to find your contracting website security has been hacked; It’s alarming to see your website directing readers to inappropriate material, clickbait, or any other link over which you have no control because your website has been hacked.

Recently I had a contractor come to me asking me about the security measures we perform for our website clients as his website had been hacked more than once. I’ve learned a thing or two in the years I’ve been helping contractors, and today I want to give you a few tips on how to keep your website as secure as possible.

Currently, if you have a website and any online presence, it’s not so much a matter of IF your website will come under attack, but WHEN—so here are five tips to ensure you have a rock solid, protected website!

1. Update Your Passwords

This is a very foundational tip, and one that’s important for you to practice across all your online activities—not just your website. Updating your passwords on a regular basis is vital and important for your online safety.

Also, it is highly, highly important that you create indecipherable and unique passwords for each of your accounts. Hackers are primarily able to access accounts through insecure passwords, and passwords created with your first name, last name, or date of birth are very insecure. To make sure your password is strong, use a combination of uppercase/lowercase letters and numbers or symbols such as stars, dollar signs, hyphens, etc.

Lastly, I then recommend that you change your passwords regularly. Twice a year is sufficient, but if you want to be really proactive, change them once a month.

Store your passwords in a secure space such as LastPass, where you can access them, but no one else can!

2. Use WordPress Security Plugins

The second security tip I have for you today (and this is assuming that your websites are built on WordPress) is to use the security plugins built for WordPress.

Here are a couple of WordPress security plugins I recommend:

SUCURi

SUCURi is a powerful WordPress security plugin. It does auditing, malware scanning, and hardening. The plugin developers are constantly updating SUCURi and building it up so that it works better and better every year. There’s a lot of things that I certainly don’t understand about hacking, but having a plugin like this installed in your website will definitely help with checking for malware, spam, blacklisting and other security issues.

Wordfence

The next plugin I want to recommend is called Wordfence security. Wordfence security is pretty simple to understand; it’s an antivirus firewall and malware scan and it constantly runs in the back of your website keeping track of what internet users are doing or trying to do with your site. If something goes wrong in your website, it will be recorded by the plugin.

The developers at Wordfence are continuously analyzing the current threats and developing new detection rules and protection to help stop hacks before they happen.

Brute Force Attempts

I want to encourage you to make sure your security plugins are set in such a way to limit brute force logins to your website. A brute force login is when a hacker will try to login to access your WordPress dashboard by using what are called ‘brute force robots.”

These robots go out to comb the internet, find a WordPress website, and start hitting the login with combinations of usernames and passwords. I mean, we’re talking thousands and thousands of attempts to log in within minutes—possible because it’s all done by robots and not by people. So you can imagine that by just sheer brute force they can eventually figure out what the combination is and get in to the website.

It’s very helpful to have a plugin that will limit brute force attempt. In other words, if you try to log in three times and all three times you fail, the plugin will stop the login option, making it impossible to login. Having that capability built into your website is very important to keeping your website secure from hackers.

3. Use a WordPress Framework With Child Theme

All right, we’re going to move on to our third point; use a child theme framework on WordPress. A WordPress child theme is a website theme that sits on top of a WordPress framework. The child theme takes care of the look and feel of the website, and all the customizations that may have been made. It makes updating your website easier, and there is no risk of losing your customized features.

We use and prefer the Genesis framework from Studio Press. We have used this framework for years, and it’s very, very good, rock solid, and secure. When they were developing Genesis, they brought in one of the core WordPress developers to make sure that the Genesis framework was as secure as possible. With his guidance, they were able to build their framework to follow all WordPress’s best security best practices, and they have continued to do so.

I highly recommend Genesis and a child theme for your WordPress website. Not only is it secure, but it also makes updating your site and your site customization easier.

4. Regularly Update Your Website and Plugins

It’s very important that you update not only your WordPress site, but also your plugins on a regular basis. Hackers often take advantage of vulnerable websites through outdated plugins. The plugin developers will continue to run updates to keep their plugins secure.

Whenever they issue a new update, you should immediately go into your dashboard and update those plugins. This is so important that we’ve included regular updates to all the core codes and plugins of the website as one of the main services we offer in our contractor website maintenance package. It helps keep your website very secure.

5. Secure Your Website Domain Name

Our final tip for this article is to make sure that your website domain name is secure. I’m talking about the SSL certificate at the front of your domain name.

If you go to a website on a desktop and you look at the domain name, it should say (https://). It will not be just “http” because the “http” is not secure and Google is now requiring that all websites have the “s” added. This creates a secure socket layer and makes it obviously harder to hack—better for Google and better for everyone.

This is also something we require of all our contractor website clients as well, and thankfully, secure socket layers are not expensive. They’re also easy to purchase and install. Of course, there are different levels that you can purchase. One level contains a green bar that shows very quickly if a site is secure. It costs a little bit more, but still it’s not too expensive. In my opinion, it’s totally worth it. Securing your domain name is a practical way to protect your website from hackers.

Summary

To keep your website as secure as possible, update your passwords regularly with unique and indecipherable passwords. Install WordPress security plugins to protect your website, and update them every time an update is released. Use the Genesis WordPress Child Theme for a secure, easily customizable website, and ensure that your contracting company’s domain name is secured and approved by Google.

These are just a few simple tips to help you zip up your website security in the present and as you move forward with building your online presence!

*****

Thank you for joining me today. If you have any further questions or comments, please join the conversation in the comments below.

*****

Follow me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes stuff. And if you want to go deeper with marketing your business, you may get a free copy of my contractor marketing book, Contractor Marketing Simplified.

The post Contractor Website Security – How to Avoid Getting Hacked appeared first on Martin Holsinger.

In the last couple years, we’ve watched Instagram roll out update after update—some smaller, like the ability to post photos of any orientation and follow hashtags—and some larger, like the introduction of IG stories. Each of these new updates has given you unique ways to promote your contracting business on Instagram.

This month Instagram released a brand new, revolutionary feature…Instagram TV.

What is IGTV?

IGTV is Instagram’s first ever long-form video platform.
Previously, videos posted on IG have been restricted to 60 seconds long; on the IGTV channel you can post videos from 10 minutes to an hour long! The one limiting factor is that videos can only be posted in the vertical format, but that should not be a hindrance, since we’ve all grown accustomed to filming video for IG Stories.

Anyone can start an IGTV channel, and the videos can be viewed either in IGTV’s standalone app, or on the IGTV channel within the IG app.

Why is IGTV Revolutionary For Contractors?

The introduction of IGTV for the contractor’s business account is exciting for several reasons. If you’re wanting to post longer videos for your followers but haven’t yet made the leap to open a YouTube channel, you’ll now be able to do that without even leaving the IG platform. If most of what you post on your IG stories is long videos chopped up into 15 second portions, IGTV gives you a way to post those videos smoothly, leaving your IG stories for daily updates and before and after photos.

I’ve seen quite a few contractors sharing vlog style videos where they start the IGTV video in their pickup and by the end are at a job site explaining something in detail. It’s cut up and edited into a nice vlog style video, but it’s in the vertical format. That’s great use for IGTV—bringing your followers along with you on job sites and explaining your work process. Another great way to use the new channel is instructional videos—film a series of how-to videos in the vertical format and post them (daily, weekly, monthly) on your IGTV channel to provide value to your followers.

How to Start an IGTV Channel

• Download and sign in to the standalone IGTV app.
• Click on Settings > Create Channel
• Click on the + Icon to add your first video!
• Give your video a title and description.

Include relevant keywords in the title and description so that IG users can find you when they’re searching for videos related to your topic! You’ll also need to select a cover photo for the video; it can be either the first frame of the video or any other frame from the video—whatever will make the most compelling cover and draw people to your video.

After your video is posted, you can interact with other IG users in the comments as well as view statistical insights from your post in the “Insights” section.

Summary

If you’re a contractor on IG looking for a new way to provide value to your followers, IGTV gives you a way to do just that. It’s simple, easy, and rewarding to be able to post videos of longer length on Instagram. Enjoy filming insight-rich and informational videos for your followers without even leaving the platform.

The post Introducing IGTV For Contractors appeared first on Martin Holsinger.

In construction work, contractors trust the designers’ plans; designers trust that the builders will safely construct the building according to plan; and most importantly, the homeowners trust the people they’ve put in charge of creating the future home for their family. After everybody shook hands and exchanged names and contact information—the process of building a home is begun. Soon a beautiful house is established, rising from the solid foundation of concrete and a customer-contractor trust relationship.

Contractor/client relationships require trust.

Today we’re going to look at how to establish trust before you’ve even met the client in person. Maybe even before they’ve asked you to work for them at all! Consider these two keys to building trust online.

1. Provide Value to Online Users

What you do online has to provide value to your potential client. Be thinking about your future customer and how to serve them rather than thinking of yourself and how to get more business.

Approaching online marketing from the position of “how can I serve my future customer?” communicates trust to your prospect. They come to your online presence seeing that you have no agenda other than helping them get what they want, and trust is communicated non-verbally. When you set up your content to serve the best interest of your potential client, you craft an online presence flavored with integrity.

Internet users can sense through the words you write, or the videos you create that you are a person there to help them achieve their goals.

Here are some ways for you to provide value online:

• FAQs. Think of the most common questions homeowners are asking and create answers from your own experience. Then put your new content online in helpful articles or videos.
• Articles. Write articles giving tips and tricks to improve their home. Provide articles to help them fix up or maintain their house. Any kind of article that helps your homeowner is valuable.
• Videos. Create videos answering their questions. Faced with a customer’s dilemma, create a video showing them how to do it themselves or how you can do it for them.

2. Provide Reinforcement for the Value Given

Just as concrete needs reinforcement, so does your online content and marketing message. How can your potential client know whether you really are what you say you are? Here are some ways to strengthen your marketing message online.

• Testimonials. Testimonials from happy clients provide powerful reinforcement.
• Portfolio. The more high-quality pictures you can provide of your work for your customers’ research the better. Having a strong, up-to-date portfolio legitimizes your online presence.
• Awards and Credentials. Have you won awards for your craftsmanship? Showcase them! Are you a qualified re-modeler? Do you have credentials from past training? List and explain what each of them mean, and how they will benefit the customer.

A firm foundation of trust between contractors and their clients doesn’t just happen. When you build a house, you don’t dig a ditch, pour some concrete in the cavity and immediately build a house on it. A lot of planning goes into the foundation. It takes a lot of hard, backbreaking work. It’s going to be the same way for you and your contracting business.

Summary

Research who you most want to serve—your target audience — and see how you can provide them with the thing they need the most, whether that’s information, videos, or photos, etc. Learn what they need and be there to give it to them. Sharing information and having a helpful online presence is the key to building trust with future clients before you’ve even met them.

*****

Thank you for joining me today. If you have any further questions or comments, please join the conversation in the comments below.

*****

Follow me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes stuff. And if you want to go deeper with marketing your business, you may get a free copy of my new book, Contractor Marketing Simplified.

The post Two Keys to Building Trust Online appeared first on Martin Holsinger.

These first impressions are invaluable. An obvious positive reputation based on customer reviews and your place in search rankings will increase your likelihood of building a new client relationship. A negative review or lack of any online presence at all may foster distrust or develop disinterest.

Most likely, your established customers know you are reputable and to trust your services, but what about online? Without personal experience, potential clients don’t know your reputation when they research your company online. You need to help them get to know you by providing them with a clear picture of your services and character. Positive reviews from satisfied customers are the most effective way to develop a good reputation

A solid online reputation is your most valuable company asset. Take control of your online presence to achieve your marketing goals.

Step 1. Create a Plan

Develop a plan to gather reviews from your clients. Don’t make the mistake of “winging it.” A bulletproof reputation doesn’t grow overnight; neither does it come by taking a weak stab at marketing, blindly hoping something good comes of it. Think it through.

Here are five questions to help you work out a plan.

• Who am I going to ask for reviews? Past customers or new customers?
• How will I ask them for reviews? Will I send them an email? Will I call them on the phone?
• How many times will I ask them? Just once … or three times?
• What will I ask them? Will I write a script to send to everyone when asking for reviews?
• How often will I rest between campaigns? Will this be only one time? Or will I do this every six months? etc.

After asking yourself these questions, plan your marketing strategy based on your answers.

Step 2. Choose Your Platform

Once you have established a plan, choose where you will publish your reviews. There are many available platforms for this purpose; here is just a short list:

• Your Own Review Site
• Google
• Houzz
• Bing
• Yahoo
• SuperPages
• Insider Pages
• City Search
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Each of these platforms offers you a place to post your online reviews so that prospective customers can research your company. For even better results, publish the reviews on multiple platforms.

It’s best to start with Google Reviews. This ties your business reputation directly into the world’s most powerful search engine. As you get reviews your company rises in the search engine’s system. Your ranking in Google’s search engines is important to your accessibility by prospective customers and the success of your company. If you proceed and develop your own branded review site, you can still take your Google Reviews and add them to your site manually.

Step 3. Create a Simple Tutorial

Many of your customers will not know how to leave a review, so make this process as easy for them as possible by giving them clear instructions to follow.

There are three different types of tutorials:

Written Tutorial

Perhaps this option is pretty “old school,” but written tutorials are very effective. On your website, blog post, or in an email, type up step-by-step instructions for leaving you a review.

Illustrated Tutorial

Take screenshots of each of the previous Written Tutorial steps and place them in the text. That way your client can see exactly where they are supposed to click and what they are supposed to do. Create this yourself and send it to your clients.

Video Tutorial

Use screen-recording software such as SnagIt, Screenflow, or Camtasia to go through all the steps of leaving a review. You can show your mouse clicks and record your own voice giving instructions.

If you don’t want to create your own screencast, find one pre-made on Youtube showing the exact steps you want your customer to take. Then just send them the video!

Step 4. Respond to Your Reviewers

Once a client has left you a review, take the time to respond with gratitude. Continued communication with the customers kind enough to help build your reputation is vital to your growth and influence. Of course, your clients can choose to leave either a positive review or a negative review; you should know how to respond both.

Negative Reviews

Upon receiving a negative review, your first instinct will likely be to lash back. Even if you feel misunderstood and unjustly criticized, please don’t do it.

You have the choice to ignore the negative review and hope it gets buried by positive reviews, or, you can try to make it right. Most problems or misunderstandings can be remedied, so make amends with your dissatisfied customer as much you are able. Mending broken trust with disappointed reviewers will help you take back your reputation and ultimately profit your business.

Positive Reviews

When you receive a positive review, remember that your satisfied client did this as a favor for you. Personally tell them you are thankful for the time they spent in doing this. Be grateful and appreciative. To save time, you may want to write a script that you can use repeatedly to thank your affirmative reviewers.

Note that it is against the law to tell your clients what to leave in their review, or even to tell them to leave you a ‘positive review.’ All you are able to do is ask them to consider leaving you a review online.

Schedule Your First Campaign

I hope you’re beginning to see the necessity of online marketing in your company’s success and the simplicity (albeit hard work) of building your online reputation.

If you are ready, go ahead and begin your campaign. Offer excellent services, choose a review platform, design your own review tutorial, then just do it: send that first email. You won’t regret it, and your business will thank you later.

Most clients are very receptive to helping you in this way, and after your first campaign is a success, you will want to think about an ongoing plan to regularly enhance your online reputation.

Create a solid online presence based on positive reviews, and you are well on your way to effectively managing your most valuable company asset: your reputation.

*****

Thank you for joining me today. If you have any further questions or comments, please join the conversation in the comments below.

*****

Follow me on Instagram for behind-the-scenes stuff. And if you’re wanting to go deeper with marketing your business, get a FREE copy of my new book Contractor Marketing Simplified. (USA Only – just help with the shipping & handling)

The post How To Get A Five Star Online Reputation appeared first on Martin Holsinger.

For me, the week after Christmas is always reflective, and anticipative. I feel like the year is winding down, and It’s almost time to begin the new year.

We all know the old chime… “We wish you a Merry Christmas,We wish you a Merry Christmas… and a Happy New Year!”

The “Merry Christmas” is the easy part. But how do we best prepare for a happy new year?

A Goal Setting Blueprint That Actually Works

Preparing for another year is imperative for a contractor. And in order to do that. I’ve found it necessary to do two things: 1) Reflect on the past year, and 2) Plan for the next year. The cool thing about this, is that you can do it in July, and it still works! So, even if you are reading this in July, you can still do this.

Let me show you the exact process I use to reflect on the past year, and plan for the year to come. As we go through this together, I hope it will inspire you to do it as well.

Choose Your Location

It doesn’t really matter so much where this event takes place. What matters is that you set aside ample time to go through it completely.

I usually take at least one whole day and go away somewhere and work through this. A coffee shop. A mountain cabin. A quiet place at home. The important thing is that you cannot be distracted by work or other obligations.

Reflections Of The Past Year

This part of the process is just as important as the planning part of the process, if not more so.

This past year you’ve had wins, losses, personal growth, and much more. All these things have brought you to where you are now, and will prepare the foundation for what’s to come next year. That’s why it is so important to spend plenty of time going through this part of the process.

First of all, look at what you’ve gained and experienced.

Then, look at what needs to be released in order to make room for more.

To get started…Get out your journal, or calendar,  and go through it looking at the events of your past year.

Answer the following questions as completely as you can: Note: Modesty is not allowed here. Elaborate as much as you can.

• What are some of the successes, wins and accomplishments of the past year?
• What was the major area of growth?
• What are you most proud of?
• What have you learned about yourself and your life?
• What insights have you gained?
• What are you grateful for?
• Who were the important people in your life during the last year?
• Is there something that used to be important to you, that no longer is?
• Is there something that used to be unimportant, but now has greater importance in your life?

Time To Release

• What are your disappointments, failures and breakdowns? Acknowledge these as an opportunity to let them go.
• What events occurred that you can make peace with and let go of?
• What negative experiences and associated negative emotions are you ready to leave in the past year?
• Who are the people that you said goodbye to? Acknowledge them … and then let ‘em go, along with any negative emotional association.

The Coming Year

Choose A Theme

1. Choose a theme for the entire year. It can be “laughter” or “financial success” or “health.”…etc.  Pick a theme that resonates with you.
2. Make a commitment to yourself to weave this theme into your work, play and relationships.
3. Visualize the Year
4. Transport yourself to Dec. 31 of next year. Contemplate this for a few moments in silence.
5. Write a letter to yourself or any of your loved ones as if it was written New Year’s Eve of next year. In it, describe all of the amazing things that happened to you over the year. Include items about your career, your financial situation, your love life, your health and your free time. Make it bold and exciting to you. Feel what it would be like to have lived that amazing year. Write this letter in past tense.

Major Goals

• Pick 3 to 9 things from your letter that you most want to attract in the coming year and begin writing a plan for attaining those things.
• Make sure that each goal is constructed in such a way that it is possible to see if you have accomplished it by the end of the year. (Use S.M.A.R.T. Goals. See illustration below)
• Include each major area of your life – health, career, finances, etc.
• Do not choose more than 9 goals for your entire year. You can break each major goal apart into sub-goals. But, you do not need to set more than 9 major goals for next year.

Write Them Down

Now it’s time to write them down and publish them. No, I don’t mean publish them for the world to see. In fact, it has been proven scientifically that sharing your goals with the world has a reverse effect. Your brain experiences a release when you share it with others, which in turn, triggers the same feeling as if you accomplished the goal. So, your brain now thinks you’ve already accomplished it, and there is no need to go for it. So, the experts do not recommend sharing your goals publicly.

However, if you are like me, and you need a little accountability… Then there is nothing wrong with being open and honest with your mentor, coach or friend. but make sure that they will hold you accountable to really accomplish these goals. Otherwise, there’s no point in sharing them.

How to publish them

Calendar. You can put them on your calendar, first of all. That’s right. Go ahead and schedule the accomplishment of these goals on the calendar. Setting a due date will motivate you to accomplish your goal.

Laminated. You can print them out and have them laminated. Then you can put them up in strategic places around your life.

Screen Saver. You can put them on your screen saver. That way whenever you aren’t active on your computer, you will be reminded what your goals are.

Conclusion

Congratulations! If you make it through this entire process, you have done WAY more work towards creating an inspiring future than most people ever will.

Thinking it through. Visualizing the result. And writing them down. This all takes work. If you have done this, you are well on your way to the best year you could imagine.

I can’t wait to see you, and your results, next year at this time, and wish you “A Happy New Year” all over again.

The post How To Prepare For A Happy New Year appeared first on Martin Holsinger.

I’ve created this free guide to give you the answers to the following important questions and challenges most contractors are facing these days:

• How do I get started with building my online presence?
• What is the best way to make a contractor marketing website?
• What are the best WordPress plugins to use for contractors?
• How do I optimize Google and Facebook for my contracting business?
• What steps should I take after my website is setup to get found by my ideal customers?
• And much more…

The foundation for building trust online is having an online presence. Therefore, whether you take this further and get involved with paid advertising, marketing funnels, and other lead generation strategies or not… I want to make sure that you build your online presence today.

So here is the solution. If you follow these steps exactly as I have them laid out, you should be able to have a high quality online presence in one weekend.

So, let’s get started.

Here are 10 simple steps to build your online presence fast:

#1. Get Your Own Domain Name

If you already have a domain name, then you can go ahead and use it. If you don’t have one, then search for one that is available.

We have tried many different name registrars such as Godaddy, 1and1, Hostgator, and many more. We have not found any as good as Namecheap when it comes to quality and awesome customer service.

We are now affiliated with NameCheap and you can use their name search tool, and purchase a domain name by visiting www.namecheap.com

When you find a domain name you like, purchase it. After you purchase it stay logged in. You will make some changes to your domain shortly. But now it’s time for step 2.

#2. Get Hosting

Make sure that wherever you purchase hosting, that they offer you cPanel as part of their package. For most contractors, you will simply need a shared hosting package. Again, we have used many different hosting companies. We haven’t found any as good and fair priced as NameCheap. So, to get high quality hosting, at a very affordable rate, go to… www.namecheap.com

After you have your access to your hosting account. Then login to your cPanel. This is where you will control your hosting service. You can setup your email accounts here, and install WordPress. Which leads us to step 3.

#3. Install WordPress

The cPanel makes it very easy to install WordPress. Near the bottom is a section titled: Softaculous Apps Installer. Find the WordPress Icon, and click on it. Then click “Install Now.” Then follow the steps from there on, to install and activate WordPress on your site.

Once you have the login details to your WordPress dashboard, then you can login and start setting up your site.

#4. Contractor Theme and Plugins

There are lots and lots of WordPress themes out there already built for contractor marketing. The best advice I can give you is to just perform a Google search for “WordPress Theme for Contractors.” You will find some free themes, and some paid. After you settle on your theme go ahead and install it.

After you have your theme installed, start installing Plugins.

Here are the top 7 plugins we use for all of our contractor marketing websites:

• Akismet
  Used by millions, Akismet is the best way I know of to protect your blog from spam. It keeps your site protected even while you sleep.
• GravityForms
  With Gravity Forms you can easily create web forms and put them on your website. You can then manage form entries within the WordPress admin. It is a very good plugin, and one that we use on all our sites.
• Yoast SEO
  The first true all-in-one SEO solution for WordPress. It includes on-page content analysis. Which means you can see what needs to be tweaked on your piece of content for SEO right there while you are writing it. It includes XML sitemaps and much more.
• Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Hardening
  The Sucuri plugin provides you the best Activity Auditing, Malware Scanning, Security Hardening and Post-Hack features. SiteCheck will check for malware, spam, blacklisting and other security issues like .htaccess redirects, hidden eval code, etc. For all that this plugin can do, the most amazing thing is that it’s completely free.
• BackupBuddy
  The most complete WordPress solution for Backup, Restoration, Migration, and Deployment. BackupBuddy backs up a customizable selection of files, settings, and content for a complete snapshot of your site. You can restore, migrate, or deploy your site to a new host or new domain with complete ease-of-mind. (Do not ask how many times we’ve had to do this. More times than we can count. We couldn’t have done it without these backups.)
• Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress
  This is a Google Analytics for WordPress plugin, which enables you to track your site using the latest Google Analytics tracking code. It also allows you to view key Google Analytics reports within your WordPress dashboard.
• W3 Total Cache
  Is the highest rated and most complete WordPress performance plugin. It dramatically improves the speed and user experience of your site. It will add browser, page, object, and database caching – as well as minify content delivery network (CDN) to WordPress.

#5. Customize Theme

After your plugins are all installed go ahead and start customizing the look and feel of your website. Use your own images and content to make it feel like your own brand. Use the built-in tool that WordPress provides called: “Customize Your Site.” It is very easy to use, and saves you hours and hours of time.

#6. Setup Facebook Page

Now go to Facebook and create a business page. Make sure you select local business. Enter your address, and phone number…etc. Facebook will want to verify that you are the owner. Then, add a couple of posts to your page, so that your first visitors know that you really are there. Here’s the link to Facebook’s Page Creator. https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/

#7.  Optimize Google Local

Go to Google Business. http://www.google.com/business

Find your business and claim it. Google will send you a postcard in the mail.

After it comes, and you’ve verified yourself, then go to your Google page and totally optimize it for your business.

Add at least 10 photos. Add 2-3 videos if you can. Add a good description, and as much info about your business as you can.

#8. Ask Customers To Leave Reviews

Send an email to your top 10 customers and ask them to leave you a review. I would highly recommend that you start with Google reviews.

Then, after you get about 5 reviews on Google, you can start asking them to leave you a review on other sites as well.

#9. Write Your First Blog Post

Come up with a list of 10 titles that you want to write about on your blog. Choose the most exciting and easiest one, and write it up.

Publish this first post on your blog. Be sure to include compelling images.

#10. Spread The Word!

Share your first blog post on your social media accounts. Share the reviews on social media as they come in as well. Let the world know that you are now online. Don’t be bashful. You can even ask your friends and family to share your website on their feeds if they want to.

Congratulations!

You are now online with a powerful, up-to-date, 21^st Century web presence. Just by taking those 10 baby steps, you are well ahead of most of your competition.

Next Steps…

Where do you go from here? How do you get more people to find out about you and your website? How do you stay top-of-mind to people in your community?

If you want to increase your reach and get a return on your contractor marketing investment, then this is where I recommend that you start…

#1. Regular Blog Posts. I recommend that you publish a new blog post on a regular schedule. A new blog post once per week is best. But once per month is fine too. Just make sure you do it on a regular schedule.

#2. Email Newsletters. Set up an email auto responder and send a regular email newsletter. This will help you stay in touch with people and keep you top-of-mind.

#3. Online Ads. Run Facebook and Google ads. This is one of the best ways to reach people in your local community. Your ideal clients are on Facebook, but have never heard about you. Use Facebook ads to reach them.

The secret to building trust online is to continue to update your online presence with ongoing, fresh, high quality content. Many contractors struggle with keeping their content fresh and engaging.

Just the tip of the Iceberg…

So there you have it…This little contractor marketing quick start guide boils it down and shows you exactly how to get your online presence up and running fast. But, as you can also see, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to building a powerful online presence which builds trust and brings in more customers. There is the possibility that you may get stuck implementing the steps I’ve shown you throughout this guide.

If that happens let me know. We have services and programs that will take you deeper and help you get where you want to go with your online marketing. Please send me an email if you have any questions from here on out. I’d love to help you where I can.

Have a great day!
Martin Holsinger

The post Ultimate Contractor Marketing Quick Start Guide appeared first on Martin Holsinger.

I’m going to give you 12 ways to build your online presence this year. I’ve broken this post up into free strategies and paid strategies.

I’ll start with the free strategies.

7 Free Online Marketing Strategies for 2016.

#1 Blogging Regularly.

Blogging is still very, very important for marketing your small business, and the reason is because a blog is online real estate that you own and control. Blogging is simply giving relevant information which answers people’s questions online.

#2 YouTube Video Marketing.

Craig Heffernan has an awesome YouTube channel, and in his YouTube channel he has a lot of video’s that he’s created as tutorials.

In his video,  “How to Build a Deck Around a Pool” (see below) he has created an excellent tutorial showing how he builds it. And he’s got almost 3 million views on this video alone.

As you can see, YouTube marketing is a very effective and powerful way to grow your online presence.

#3 Instagram Marketing.

For this example, we’re looking at the channel of Tyler Grace from TRGHomeConcepts.com. He has a beautiful channel on Instagram. He posts pictures of his work. He is a talented craftsman, creating beautiful carpentry and craftsmanship. He has 3,600 followers and over 420 posts.

I looked up his channel on Iconosquare. I can see that he gets an average of 150 likes per post and an average of 20 comments per post. That means this guy’s very engaged. He has an audience that’s very engaged, and his Instagram channel is doing very well.

#4 Periscoping for Business.

Live video is on the rise. We have Facebook Livestream. We have Periscope. We have Blab. We have Meerkat, and there’s a host of new platforms that just came out last year.

These live video platforms are growing exponentially.

This would be a way for you to grow your audience through authenticity. Simply by getting in front of the camera, being real, being you, and telling people what you know. You will build your audience.

#5 Start Podcasting.

Podcasting is also on the rise. Yes, podcasting is old technology, but if there’s a fresh insurgence of podcasts, and podcast listeners now.

#6 Host Online Webinars.

You could do a regular webinar, or a periodic webinar. Simply invite people to come, get on their computers, login, and teach them something through online webinar technology.

#7 Local Online Newspaper Articles.

Another way you could build your online presence this year, is by writing an article for your local newspaper and having it published online.

Just reach out to your local newspaper. Send them an email, give them a phone call, or whatever, and create an article that helps their audience.

Write an article that answers people’s questions. You could do this more than once. You could even become a regular contributor.

Build your online presence through giving tons of value and using the local media online to do so.

#8 Local SEO.

This is an old one, but it’s still important. If you have a local business, and you want to get noticed when people are searching for you, then you need to be found on the local search engine.

The way to do that is through optimizing your Google location, now known as “Google My Business.” As well as optimizing some of the other local directories like Yelp, Houzz…etc.

It’s very important that you have optimized your local presence, and your website correctly, so that you are showing up in the local search results.

#9 Regular Email Newsletters.

Email newsletters are a great way to stay top of mind in front of your prospects and former customers.

A great way to do this is to send out an email once a month with something valuable that helps your homeowners or your community learn something.

In the following example from GregSmithCompany.com, he has all of his back issues on one page of his website. I clicked and opened one of his newsletters. The article title is: “6 Home Office Trends to Inspire You for 2016.” He’s got a little picture of him on there. And then on the left hand side are some links to his website, and how to contact him.

Email newsletters a great way for you to stay in touch with your prospects or with your former customers and build your online presence over time.

3 Paid Online Marketing Strategies for 2016

Now these last 3 strategies that I’m going to give you are paid, but effective.

#1 PPC Advertising.

The first paid online marketing strategy I have for you is pay-per-click advertising.

Google is probably the best known for this. You pay Google to put your listing on the front page of the search results when people are searching for your keywords.

For example, If I’m looking for a local plumber, you can see in the screenshot below, that Coy’s Plumbing is one of the first results. If I look on my mobile phone and do this search, he’s right at the top before I see anything else.

And plus, they now have the mobile version of advertising where it’s click-to-call! You don’t even have to click through to the website anymore. On that ad, people can just click it and it will ask them if they want to place the call. It’s very effective!

#2 Youtube Advertising.

Right now YouTube advertising is very cheap, and it’s effective.

Like here… I want to watch this video … I’m looking at this video here called “How I Transformed My Kitchen Cabinets for Under 100 Dollars,” but before I can watch the video, there’s this ad that pops up.

You could be the advertiser that pops up in front of people when they’re searching for a video around your offer. You can also target people based on where they live. Therefore, when they’re watching YouTube videos, you can pop up in front of them just based on the location, or their interests, or their age, or whatever.

#3 Send Out Cards

The last strategy I have for you today is to use SendOutCards. Now, you might say, “Well, SendOutCards is an off-line strategy.” In a sense it is. It’s direct mail. They will get a physical card in their mailbox. But it’s an online platform.

You can login to your SendOutCards account and send a postcard or a greeting card to your prospect, or to your customer, and have a direct connection with them that will help build your business.

There you have it.

There’s 12 online marketing strategies for 2016, to help market and grow your business using the internet.

The post Contractor Marketing Strategies for 2016 appeared first on Martin Holsinger.

With the power of the internet, you have the potential for that to happen.

You basically have 2 options: 1) Pay Google for more visibility through paid advertising. Or 2) use “elbow grease” to increase your visibility. In this post, I’m going to show you how to do the latter.

5 Tips to Increase Your Local Visibility Online

In this post, I’ll give you 5 ways to use the internet to increase your local visibility using the internet. So stick with me to the end, and let’s get started.

#1. Have Your Own Mobile-Responsive Website

You need to have a powerful website that you own and control. This website needs to be fully mobile-responsive. What I mean by that is your website needs to work perfectly on all devices. It must respond based on what device is using it. From a full-size desktop computer, all the way down to a smartphone. It should adjust and work perfectly.

Something else you need to have with your website is a clear call-to-action. I see so many people trying to market themselves online, and their website has no call-to-action. You land on their website, you look around, and you’re like, “I don’t know what to do here.” Give people a clear call-to-action. Tell them what to do.

Have a button right in the middle of the page or near the top that says “Call Now” or “Click Here to Subscribe” or whatever, but give them a clear call-to-action.

Another thing you need to be doing with your website is providing fresh, valuable content on a regular basis. We call it blogging.

You need to be giving your audience good, valuable content that helps them.

#2. Develop A 5-Star Online Reputation

The second way to increase your local visibility online is to have a 5-star online reputation.

You say, “Well, how do I do that?”

The way to do that is to be 5-star! Have a reputation in your industry, locally, that people talk about.

Be that good.

Having a good product, or a good service that matches your reputation, is the first step. And then you need to ask people to leave a review for you.

I recommend that you start with the Google Review Engine.

Ask your happy client to go to Google and leave you a review. Then once you get a few reviews on Google, try some of the other review sites like Yelp or Foursquare, and get a couple reviews there.

Then, I highly recommend that you have your own review site. A review site that is branded like a website just for you. Have people leave reviews there, and you will build a good, solid online reputation that you own and have a more control over.

#3. Develop a Strong Social Media Presence

The third way to increase your local visibility, is to have a strong social media presence.

You knew I was going to say that, right? You’re probably thinking Facebook. But there’s other platforms that you need to have a strong social media presence on.

Right now, I highly recommend Instagram. Instagram is very engaging. People engage with content on Instagram more than they do on some of the other platforms. Develop a strong Instagram channel. Provide good, valuable images, pictures, or quotes, or something that you can feed your audience on a regular basis that helps them.

Also develop your presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Post daily if you can, providing good, valuable content that will help your audience. This will help build that solid online presence so that you’ll become the local celebrity for your industry.

#4. Grow a Powerful YouTube Channel

The fourth point, and probably my favorite, is to have a powerful YouTube channel.

The first thing you need to do is brand your channel. In other words, develop your channel in a way that matches who you are, and your brand.

When you start creating videos, there’s a couple things for you to keep in mind.

1. Every video should help your audience. This is imperative and paramount. Every video should bring value in some form or another to your audience.
2. Infuse your personality into every video. People go to YouTube to see “you” on the tube. So in order to get more visibility, then get in front of the camera, and be you.

Give value to your audience. Everything you do should be to help them, to educate them, or to entertain them. Over time, your YouTube channel will begin to build up, and you will increase your online visibility.

#5. Be 1st In The Search Engines

My fifth and final point for you today is to be first in the search engines. This is what we call SEO or search engine optimization. It all starts with your website. Go through your website and make sure that the titles, the tags, the subheadings…etc. are all aligned with good SEO principles.

Then when your website is fully SEO optimized, go to the online directories and optimize them. Start with the local directories like Google My Business. Claim and verify, and then optimize that directory for you and for your business. Then do the other local directories like Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, Foursquare and Facebook…etc.

Then branch out from there, and do some of the other directories in your area.  Include your local chamber of commerce and different places like that. The more you put your brand online, the more it’s going to help build up your presence.

All of this combined together will cause you to increase your local online visibility.

Time For Response

Well, there you have it. 5 of my ways to increase your local visibility online. Hopefully you have found this article helpful for your business.

Here are 3 things you can do in response:

• Share this article with someone you know would benefit from reading it.
• Join my list and be notified whenever I publish new articles like this.
• Send me your thoughts and feedback.

The post Increase Your Local Visibility Online – Here’s How appeared first on Martin Holsinger.