This article is a synopsis of an hour long talk given by Sole Practitioner, Paul Hajek of Clutton Cox to the Bristol Sole Practitioners group on Thursday 28th January.When Harold MacMillan was asked what was the greatest challenge for a statesman he replied “Events, dear boy, events”.Well, as Sole Practitioners we seem always to be dealing with events. I remember writing a response paper in 1993 on behalf of the Bristol Sole Practitioners’ Group in response to “The Cost of Default”. More recently, we have had to deal with fundamental changes in Legal Aid, Professional Indemnity, Referral Fees and now the Legal Services Act.Here is a leaflet from Quality Solicitors which has a banner headline;If “Tesco Law wins will the last lawyer to leave Britain please turn out the lights”.But, how about some good news on referrals. This week on Monday, I had 48 referrals; on Tuesday I had 44 referrals and yesterday I had 52. At this rate, excluding weekends, I will have some 10,000 referrals this year. ALL these referrals were FREE and courtesy of Google and the InternetThe Topics which I will cover1. Google, Websites and Internet Marketing
2. Blogging – and why you should start straight away
3. Twitter: How you can build your brand
4. LinkedInYour WebsiteBefore Google can refer potential clients to you, you need a website or a blog. Your website should form the HUB of all your marketing efforts, both on and offline. Your website should be seen as the start of the process and not the end of the process. Your website is a dynamic tool to attract existing and potentially new clients.Your mission is to get found by Google. The quality of the content on your website is crucial. Google loves content new and refreshed. The new world is now governed by the maxim “CONTENT IS KING”. The internet has subtly changed the rules of marketing so that it is not so much, who you know, but more, who knows you.Website BasicsThere are literally millions of websites in existence. Yours will not be unique or ground breaking. Do not get hung up on design and look. You need a 7 -10 page site to start the ball rolling. You can always add to it later and change the design if you need to. You need a straight forward “Content Management System (CMS) provided by your website company to allow you to update your site whenever you want.3 Steps1. CREATE Remarkable Content
2. OPTIMISE your content for search engines (SEO) and other audiences
3. PROMOTE your remarkable content in social media, e-mail marketing and other channelsYour mission should you decide to accept it is to lead people to your website, and convert that traffic into clientsSEO-Search Engine OptimisationYou will not be able to embark on the creation of a new website or a revision of your existing website without encountering the term SEO or SEM- Search Engine Marketing. Google looks for relevance when it trawls websites for answers to questions that people type in to its search engine. Google is particularly keen to get local relevance. You can put your site forward for free to Google Local.You will have seen this in practice if you type in a localised question to Google and seen the Google Map and a list of firms down the side of the map. You should also encourage your client to give you a testimonial on Google Local, as those testimonials will give you the edge over a site with no such referrals.Organic or Paid LinksThe so called organic links are the ones you find on the left hand side of the page, normally underneath a couple of paid links. Other paid links are shown on the right hand side.I have not gone down the paid link or AdWords as it is called and try to produce remarkable content to vie for high spots on the organic left hand side of the page. AdWords can be very expensive as you will pay for any click through to your website. It is possible to limit your expenditure by putting a cap on your monthly expenditure.Google AnalyticsYou should also ensure that your new site has the codes included from Google Analytics. This is another powerful and free tool from Google. It will allow you to check how many people have visited your site, which were the most popular pages and which page they exited on.Blogging – Why you need to start straight awayI have mentioned before that moving up the rankings on Google takes time. The quickest route to success is by way of a blog, or web log for its longer name. By creating blogs on your areas of specialisms, using keywords and phrases you will be found a lot sooner by Google.There will be little activity when you first start. If Google finds you within one or two months you will be doing well. Once found Google will revisit your website more regularly. The more content I add the more frequent Google’s robots crawls my site. I try to blog every 3-4 days or 8 times a month, sometimes more sometimes fewerYou will also demonstrate to your existing and potential clients your area of expertise. Every blog post you make is another page added to your website, so your basic site can grow very quickly. You can also send internal links to other parts of your website for other keywords or phrasesIf you in turn send your blogs to other websites, free or paid for, these will be indexed by Google and provide links back to your website. Every link is a vote for your website in Google’s eyes. These links plus size of your site comprise your Google page Ranking score on a 1-10 basis. The BBC will be a 10. Clutton Cox has a Page Rank 4 for its home page. Getting links from high ranking sites gives you more kudos in Google’s eyes. It is better to have 1 link from a high ranking site than many links from low ranking sites.My property blogs have been shortlisted for the prestigious PrimeLocation blog awards. Find other blogs on your subject and get into conversations. This increases your visibility on the web. There is a Law Gazette blog for example. Through leaving comments on the blogs I have begun a joint venture with a marketing expert.TwitterTwitter is a micro blogging site where you are limited to 140 characters or a couple of sentences. For business purposes you follow people of interest and in turn you are followed. As a rule of thumb for every 10 tweets as they are called 1-2 can be overtly business orientated.Twitter allows you to put a personality behind the on dimensional website. People tend to do business with people they like. You will also meet like minded souls. The internet is a giving rather than taking community. Tweeters like to spread knowledge and interest. I am following and being followed by other solicitors and lawyers in the US and elsewhere.LinkedInLinkedIn is a professional networking site. 27 million registered professionals. 8 million unique visitors each month. The idea is to connect or stay connected with past companies, and join new groups and forums.It can be characterised as taking business cards to the next level.Bringing It All TogetherI thought I would conclude with an example of how it is working for me and should be working for you.Last Friday at 5.00pm I posted a blog entitled “Conveyancing in Yate” 10 Things You Need to Know if You Are Moving Home”. Yate is a town a mile away from me in Chipping Sodbury and dominated by corporate Estate Agents from whom we get no business. To get to these potential clients before they do, creating remarkable content on their relevant topics is my strategy.I checked on Monday morning first thing, and typed into Google “Conveyancing in Yate”. My blog had been indexed by Google over the weekend and sat proudly at No. 5 in the organic left hand side list. Later that morning, I had an email from my website from a new client who had instructed me to do his Conveyancing online.I telephoned the client and asked what had led him to choose us. He lived about 10 miles away but had found our website through Google. He had read my blog on Conveyancing in Yate and was taken by my local knowledge. He had all the information he needed to make his choice. We had been preselected.Google had referred him to us.Work in ProgressI want to put video testimonials on the site, audio content, and more cartoons.I also want to help as many Sole Practitioners as possible achieve what I have achieved and to fight the next “event”, the advent of the Legal Services ActThank you.
Google – The Sole Practitioners’ New Best Friend
Keep These 5 Rules in Mind for Successful Commercial Designing
Who doesn’t want an excellent commercial design? Excellent commercial design is important to maintain the reputation and brand image of the company. As it is said, the first impression is the last impression, a good impression always attracts potential customers. It’s obvious no one would ever love to walk in a congested environment with bad lighting.
Bad design and interiors deteriorate the productivity of the employees. It can be a confusing task when planning a commercial designing project for the first time, hiring expert Commercial Architects Melbourne can be the best option to know about the latest trends and perfect matching designs.
This blog is about some basic rules to consider for making the commercial project successful.
Keep structures versatile
When it comes to transforming any commercial space, focusing on convertibility and keeping office interior decor versatile can be the best option. It can be done by implementing a versatile structure to spaces such as cafeterias, offices, and many more. Everyone gives preference to comfort hence, focusing on spatial and versatile design will help to complete commercial designing projects in an optimal way.
Consider the latest technology implementations
Technology plays a supportive role to enhance the commercial designing project. Moving forward with the latest technology is important to execute any business smoothly because technologies make the work much easier and comfortable for the employee as well as organizations. Implementing centralized and decentralized digital control is much needed in any commercial design.
Keep office aesthetics updated
Good aesthetics and interiors impact the overall representation of the office and make the place functional and attractive. Hire a reputed designer for modern décor and furniture ideas. Hiring a designer reduces half of the project stress and helps to meet the contemporary fashion and latest trends. They can help to choose the perfect theme that blends well with the office decor, atmosphere, and colour.
Provide personalized space to prevent congestion
Majority of customer prefers personalized space such as different seating to seat comfortably and do the personal work. Personalized space is one of the crucial factors for customer-based service offices such as hotels and cafeterias to provide an ambient and comfortable place.
Always keep safety first
Safety is the central feature of every construction and designing project. Hence, it’s the high-priority factor to keep the aesthetic and functional safety at the working place. It can be compromised for interior decoration and design purposes but it’s not at all affordable to compromise for safety purposes.
Following the above useful ideas can easily help in the successful completion of a commercial designing project in a safe and pleasing way. In today’s, modern construction, reliability, and comfort is also an equally important factor.
Final words,
It’s important to hire the experienced Building designer Melbourne to make the commercial designing project worthy. Hope the above rules helped you to scale up your interior designing projects with a better outcome. Follow the above tips for any renovation or remodelling project and surely you will get award-winning and achieve a better office experience.
How Long Should A Laptop Battery Last And How To Increase the Battery Life
No matter how expensive your laptop is, its battery won’t last more than four years. According to experts, a new laptop battery gives you as many as 1,000 cycles. In other words, you can charge and recharge the battery up to 1000 times. However, many factors play their role to increase or decrease the lifespan of a laptop battery. For instance, the material used for producing the battery substance. So, if you want to ensure that your battery stands the test of time, given below are some of the tips that can help.
1. Install a good battery monitor
If you are looking for an alternative, you can choose from tons of third-party utilities. Basically, the software programs help you monitor your laptop battery. These programs have no compatibility issues with any type of laptop.
Using these tools, you can find out which programs are using most of the battery power. You can then close the unwanted programs to save battery power.
2. Install maintenance apps
You can use some manufacturer-recommended maintenance tools for maintaining your laptop battery. Based on the type of your battery, you will receive different suggestions. Apart from this, your operating system will come with a built-in utility that can help you keep an eye on your battery condition.
3. Maintain your device temperature
You should try your level best to ensure your laptop maintains its temperature. In summer, electronic devices tend to heat up, which negatively impacts the life of the battery packs.
Therefore, you should make sure that there is a little bit of space between the bottom of the device and the table you have placed your device on. Besides, the ventilation system of your device should be working properly. For this purpose, regular cleaning of your device is quite important.
4. Don’t use maximum brightness
When your screen brightness is at maximum level, your device will use the maximum power. So, turning down the brightness is the first thing you can do to save power. Also, it is not a good idea to keep the brightness at max level as it can have a negative impact on your eyesight.
So, by following these simple tips, it will be easier for you to extend the life of your laptop battery.
5. Change the power-saving settings
Before you do anything, go into the power options of your laptop. If you are using Windows operating system, you can go to the control panel to access the power options. The control panel can be accessed from the Start Menu.
Some users have MacOS. If you are one of them, you need to access Energy Saver, which is found in the System Preferences. If these values are set to default, your computer will use the least amount of power.
So, what you need to do is make small changes to the settings so that you achieve a balance between power and performance. For best performance, there is always the choice to connect your device to the AC outlet.
The Best Ways I’ve Found To Make Money Online From Home
Have you been looking for a way to make money online without having to know much of the internet stuff? Wanting to work at home but don’t know how to do it? Here is the key gem: Between all the tricks on joining the craft beer movement, opening a gallery or being a tour operator, you will find clever advice that anybody can apply to make money online quickly.
The most basic way to make money online is through affiliate marketing. It is really easy. Basically you set up an ad for someone she is selling something and when they click through and buy it, you make money! Simple enough if you have no technical skill at all. Here are some simple tips on how to earn using affiliate marketing:
Drop-shipping is one of the most useful methods. You select a product in which you believe there is a demand and then drop-ship it to your customers in small quantities. You make money from the difference between what the stock costs and what you sell it for. For this method, it is important to note that you may need to make space for your inventory on your premises or perhaps wait until you have a build of an inventory before you can start drop-shipping; but the advantages make it a good choice for those seeking to make money online from their spare time.
Paid surveys are a great way to earn some extra cash. These can be accessed easily and there are many sites where you can get paid from spending your spare time. There is one site, though, which is said to pay $200 a week for twelve weeks straight – you can’t beat that kind of money making potential. With paid surveys, it is important to note that the sites are generally scams, and that you need to do some research to ensure you are making good money making opportunities.
Finally, a passive income generating method that can bring in money on autopilot is eToro’s Forex trading. This works by allowing you to invest on a demo account and earn money from the performance of the currencies being exchanged. The best thing about this system is that it allows you to do virtually anything and still see profits coming in. eToro has an average starting price of less than $50 and can generate an income of five figures in just a few months.
These are the best things I have found for making money online from your home. Though none of them are as good as, say, a paid-online course, they are much more affordable and can provide a valuable education to start earning money immediately online. With just a little research, you should be able to find a legitimate opportunity to get paid to learn the basics of making money in the currency markets. This is a truly remarkable opportunity.
Finding the Best Business Idea For Your Home Based Business
How many home based business opportunities are available to you? If you want to make money online at home, you really have many options to choose from. The big question is – which one will give you the biggest chance of success? Is there a ‘one size fits all’ answer? The simple truth is that not every opportunity is right for everyone, and not every opportunity will bring you the greatest amount of profit.
So, what are some home business ideas that can make money online for you? The quick and dirty answer is: the one that best suits your particular set of needs. Make a list of your priorities, including a high income; a low-risk schedule; freedom; flexibility; work-life balance; independence; something in your range of skills and expertise; and interesting work that you have an interest in… You can take this list with you and talk to people who are working from home on the same things that you would be considering. Chances are that you will find some great niches that fit your standards and your desires.
But what if you want to get started right away? It’s easy to think that you can jump into a new business idea and be successful immediately, but this often isn’t the case. It takes many different things to make sure that you will be able to get through the hurdles and actually make it to a point where you are seeing profit. If you don’t work at it slowly, you will be setting yourself up for failure. Here’s the lowdown on some different things that you should consider as you create your own business idea:
First, you need to think about what you have to offer. If you don’t have any ideas as to what to do as a freelance writer, a lowdown on finding a niche is very important. Many beginners go into this completely clueless. But if you know that you have a skill that others are desperately seeking, you may be able to provide them with the service they are looking for without having to spend much time building up a website or getting traffic to it.
Another thing to consider is what kinds of products or services would best fit a niche that you would like to get started in. In this case, the lowdown on finding the best business idea for you would include taking a look at what you love to do and what you can offer others. If writing is not your strongest point, but you love to get creative, consider freelance data entry. Freelance data entry does not require a lot of startup capital, but you still need to have the skills that will allow you to be successful in this area. The best lowdown on finding the best business idea for you is to simply start looking at what you like to do and what you can offer others.
There are many other areas of freelance writing that you can explore in order to make the most out of your home based online business. Freelance writers are in high demand online. If you have the skills that are needed to do well in this field, there is no reason that you should not be able to find a great home-based online business that will give you the income that you want.
Earn Money Writing From Home And Never Run Out of Ideas
Is it your dream to work from home as a writer and earn money from everything you write? That was my dream for years, and 20 years ago it became my reality.
One of the hardest things at first was to come up with ideas of what to write about. I started by doing freelance writing and I also set up my own website and I wanted to write and publish books. It was all a great plan, but it meant coming up with thousands of ideas.
At first I didn’t think it was possible, but it turned out that not only was it possible to come up with endless ideas for writing, but I ended up with notebooks full of ideas because I had more than I could ever use at once.
And I’ll tell you 3 things that helped.
1. I write fast. Once I’m into writing an addictive story or an interesting article – or series of articles, I get into a writing ‘flow’ and can write for hours. I never stop and second-guess myself. I just keep writing because fast writers are mega producers and never have time for writers’ block.
2. The more I write and the faster I write, the more writing ideas I have. Productive writers always get an abundance of ideas as they write. When I’m immersed in my writing, my creative mind goes into hyper-drive. Even if I started with only one or two ideas, once I sit down and start writing the ideas start flowing. And it doesn’t matter what I write. Even if I’m journaling or copying out someone else’s writing by hand (just for practice), it inspires ideas.
3. I love to write. Most days I’m excited and motivated to sit down and write. I hurry through other chores I have to do so that I can get to my desk and write.
At first, being a writer was hard because it’s not easy to work from home with no boss, no set hours and too many distractions. But once I got a writing routine, I found that once I sat my backside in my chair and started writing, it was easy to ignore everything and motivation arrived and kept me going.
So if you find yourself longing to write but stuck for ideas, just sit down and start writing. Write anything even if it’s just nursery rhymes you were taught as a kid, or open a book and start handwriting it out.
And if you’re like me you’ll find that even on days when you think you don’t feel like writing and the ideas just won’t come, sit down and write anyway, and before you know it you’ll be overloaded with ideas.