Create Awesome Videos with FlexClip

Create Awesome Videos with FlexClip

by | 21 May 2021 | Product Reviews, Social Media Tips

There is no doubt that in the world of small business,  videos are a fantastic addition to your marketing strategy. And now I’ve had the chance to review a fantastic new video maker called FlexClip I can honestly say that I will be taking advantage of videos far more often!

 

So, why am I hooked?

Well, if you know me at all you’ll hopefully have realised by now that I crave simplicity. I want tech to do what it says it will do and offer a practical solution for a good price. I also love a bargain, so if there is a free plan even better.

So, when I discovered FlexClip I was instantly impressed by the fact that they DO have a free plan – one that is actually free and doesn’t require a credit card to register. And even with their free plan you can create a simple marketing video for your business in quick smart time.

The interface is also super easy to use and you get a huge choice of premade templates and videos that you can use in your designs so making something quickly is a breeze.

To give it a whirl I started by creating a quick video showing my Top 5 SEO Tips for Small Business:

I think it looks super slick and it really didn’t take me long at all.

 

BENEFITS OF A BESPOKE VIDEO TOOL LIKE FLEXCLIP

I’m a huge fan of tools like Canva that allow you to create graphics, presentations and even videos – but the functionality for their video production isn’t up to the FlexClip standard. Why? Because like very piece of software out there, they have a specific focus, and video just isn’t one of them.

I like the fact that FlexClip simply focuses on videos so in the interface this is all you get. It’s specific and powerful with a tonne of tools to help you create stunning marketing videos with very little effort.

 

As with all new tools I am just gettting started with FlexClip so will update this article with more of my findings as I dive deeper into this software.

Web Goddess

 

10 Reasons to use Canva – UPDATED

10 Reasons to use Canva – UPDATED

by | 25 Mar 2021 | Business Tips, Graphics Tips, Social Media Tips, Website Tips

I simply love technology! The amazing things we can now do with the click of a button still amazes me and graphic design is one of those areas that has long been only available to professionals. BUT, with online services such as Canva, all that has changed.

Now, before you pop me a nasty email telling me that graphic designers are awesome please note that I love them and direct clients to them when they are needed. They can create designs that I would never conceive and have creativity and skill that can never be replaced. But let’s face it, no-one is going to continually hire a professional every time they want to create a social media graphic – so I believe there is room in this world for BOTH.

With that said, here are my 10 reasons (plus 1 extra) why you should give Canva a go…

#1 It’s easy to use

Before I discovered Canva, creating images for my social media posts and websites could be a long and drawn-out process. You either needed specialist software or the online interface was slow and difficult to use.

Canva changed all of that! Their user interface is drag-and-drop and there are so many templates for you to use that you can create a gorgeous image in just minutes. Whether it’s for social media, a poster, invitation or even business cards – simplicity and speed are second-to-none.

#2 Image Library

With the free version of Canva you have access to 200,000 royalty-free images to use in your designs and that increases to over 2 million with Canva Pro. You can use the inbuilt search feature to find the perfect image for your design or upload your own images to create something completely bespoke.

#3 Awesome Templates

No matter what type of graphic you are creating, Canva has a template already set up for it. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest graphics? And, that list is growing just as quickly as the online world. You can create a post with the ideal dimensions in one click right from your homepage. And if you have the Pro version, you can even resize a design to another template instantly. It saves hours of work and is great for all types of social media campaigns you may wish to run across multiple platforms.

#4 Fonts Galore

The free version of Canva offers you a large range of fonts that you can use to personalise your designs. If you upgrade to Pro, you get an extra 500+ exclusive fonts AND you can upload your own and save them within your Brand Kit to access for all of your designs.

#5 Brand Kit

This is a feature of the Pro version and definitely one I am pleased that I have. Here you can upload your company logos, fonts and colour palettes so that they are always on hand when you create a new graphic. My palette for this website is pretty simple, but it still makes it quicker to find the right teal colour by having it at hand…

And, because you can have more that one palette, I also use this if I’m doing a large website job for a client that requires imagery so I don’t have to go searching around and manually add their details each time I need to creat something.

#6 Store your designs in Folders

This is another Canva Pro option and one that I love. I can create folders for my own work and a new folder for each of my clients. As I can create up to 100 images a week sometimes, being able to sort these and find them easily makes my job just SO much easier!

#7 Design School

A resource open to all Canva users, Design School is a series of video courses on everything from graphic design basics to branding your business. There are also short challenge videos and quick tip videos to make sure you are getting the most out of this online tool.

#8 Animations & GIFs

You can now create animated images, videos and GIFs! I simply love this and created a simple animation for my Facebook page – so much fun to do and it creates interest in a way that static images simply can’t do…

#9 Collaboration Tools

As a Canva Pro user you can add Team Members to your account and share specific designs and folders with them. This is great if you are working with a group or collaborating on designs within a business. It may not be something that everyone needs, but to have it as an option for future work is worth remembering.

#10 Transparent Backgrounds

Hate the white background that appears around each of your designs when you create a graphic? Again, Canva Pro allows you to remove the background and save your design as a transparent PNG file. This automatically removes any sections of your design that are colourless (basically the background if you haven’t used an image or a colour) so they show up on your website or over other designs without the annoying white area showing. Cool huh?!

BONUS – BACKGROUND REMOVER

Since I first wrote this blog post, Canva have added and continue to add amazing new features – like the ability to remove the background from photographs with one click if you have Canva Pro. Yes, you can now upload your images with crappy backgrounds, and in one click Canva will remove them from the image. 

With all of these reasons to give Canva a go, it only remains to say that every single graphic that I create for my own website and my clients is done in Canva Pro – my job would be A LOT more difficult without it!

Web Goddess

 

Note: this post contains affiliate links to Canva Pro and I may receive a commission when you click one of these and make a purchase. However, as with everything I recommend this does not impact my review of this product. My 10 reasons listed above are based on my own continued use of this product and this post is written to help you make the best decision for your own business.

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It’s Time to Change the Way We Sell

It’s Time to Change the Way We Sell

by | 29 Sep 2020 | Blogging Tips, Business Tips, Social Media Tips, Website Tips

Is it just me, or are you also sick of the way that businesses try and sell to you based on fear and lack rather than focusing on ethics and value?

It has definitely been something I have rallied against since I became self-employed way back in 2003, raising a middle finger to the corporate ickiness I hated being a part of.

Still wondering what I mean? Here are some just some examples that I have come across:

Let me be your Mentor

Being offered a place on an ‘exclusive’ mentorship programme, only to find out that it’s actually a sales funnel for a network marketing gig and they expect you to sign up with them first!

I’ve got the Answer

Seeing an offer for a super-secret solution to something you know isn’t super secret and anyone can learn, or knowing there are different options which are all just as valid.

Let’s Connect

Connecting with someone via social media and then finding out you’ve been added to their email list without giving express permission.

Once in a Lifetime…

The offer that is advertised as a one time only deal, selling to us through the fear of missing out and only to be repeated again next week, next month or next year.

How do these make you feel? I know they really piss me off!

“Psychological tactics are designed to create false demand by feeding the fear that there will not be enough. This fear has us trapped in a cycle of consumption that is uninspired, unethical, and supremely harmful to the planet and its inhabitants.” – the ethical move

So, when I started Web Goddess in 2014, I knew that I needed to build my business around my authenticity and ethics and only sell in a way that I felt comfortable selling.

And that’s when I found the ethical move – an organisation devoted to changing the way we sell. Their original idea was to ask people to pledge that they would stop charging ‘charm prices’ – you know, the £297 price tags when we all know it’s basically £300! And because that kind of thing  really pisses me off, I pledged my support!

the ethical move

Now, the ethical move have increased their pledges against the outdated sales and marketing tactics we are bombarded with every day including countdowns that have no meaning, false scarcity (FOMO) and bait and switch techniques – and I am thrilled to re-pledge my support.

The full list of new pledges can be found on their website.

“Together, we are making the ethical move to create a new marketing standard based on transparency, trust, and honesty.” – the ethical move

So why is this important for your business?

Well for me, authenticity is EVERYTHING when it comes to creating business relationships with people – and if you start on the wrong foot then it’s pretty difficult to undo that initial mis-step!

Clients remember how you make them feel – and if you make them feel used, tricked or scammed then they are not sticking around for very long.

The alternative to following these ‘tried and tested’ sales and marketing techniques is to create a new, HONEST way of doing business – and I’m all for that. Putting people first and selling with integrity is in alignment with who I am – and I hope it resonates with you too.

I’ll leave you with these final words from the ethical move team:

“Small businesses are the largest growing sector of our global economy; how we operate will inform policy. There are a lot of us, we are courageous and adaptable — which makes us uniquely qualified to change the status quo.” – the ethical move

Stay true to what you believe in,

 Web Goddess

 

Why You Need to Stop Asking for Likes on Social Media

Why You Need to Stop Asking for Likes on Social Media

by | 9 Sep 2020 | Business Tips, Social Media Tips

I’m on social media almost daily and it works really well for my business, but my Number 1 pet hate is when people keep asking you to ‘just pop over and like my page’.

I can not be more straight forward than this:

PLEASE STOP ASKING FOR LIKES!!!

But why? Well, you may think that the more ‘Likes’ and followers you have then the better your business looks and performs on social media, but this isn’t actually the case.

In fact, having random people who have no interest in your business – like your Great Auntie Sheila who is just being polite – and members of groups who all say “follow me and I’ll follow you” can do more damage than good.

Here are 3 reasons why…

#1 They’re NOT Your Clients

Social media is all about connection. In terms of business, it’s about getting your message out to the right people – those who want to connect with you and what you do.

So, if the majority of your followers are simply there because you made a pinky promise to follow each other back to improve your ‘vanity metrics’ then the weight of their ‘Like’ really isn’t doing you any favours.

Are they actually engaging with your posts? Are they commenting and tagging you?

Web Goddess Tip: Focus on content for people who you want to become clients and follow those people you want to work with or buy from. This forms authentic relationships rather than ones built on fear of saying ‘no’.

#2 You WILL be Penalised

Platforms such as Facebook use algorithms to work out where, who and how often to show content in newsfeeds and these are based on a complex set of variables – including how RELEVANT the content is.

If you have thousands of followers who never interact with your content, you will be ranked lower (and appear less often) than pages with fewer followers who consistently get support from their fans.

Web Goddess Tip: Spend time cultivating a following of REAL customers rather than asking for random likes from people who will never buy what you are selling.

#3 It makes YOU look Desperate

Hey, I know that starting a business can be daunting and having your friends support you online is a lovely thing for them to do. But over time you want your family (remember Great Auntie Sheila?) replaced by REAL clients and people who are actually going to buy from you.

Constantly posting in groups asking for people to follow you just makes you look desperate. You need to be confident in what you are selling/making/doing and create social media content that shows that off to your best ability. That way people will follow you because they really want to, not because they are simply sick of you asking.

Web Goddess Tip: Have confidence in your business and what you provide. Let that shine through in all that you do online and you WILL create a following of people who want to invest in you and your business.

So, I implore you – please stop asking random strangers on the internet to follow you. It makes you sound desperate and will do your business more damage than good in the long run.

Instead, use your social media posts to inspire and provide value and trust that the right people will follow you – and you’ll create real connections that turn into real business.

Web Goddess

PS: If you need any help with social media, the Web Goddess Academy is the place to be for no-nonsense advice and support when it comes to shining online. This is the sort of social media myth I love busting for my members.

7 Free Tools to Grow Your Business Online

7 Free Tools to Grow Your Business Online

by | 11 Feb 2020 | Blogging Tips, Business Tips, Email Marketing Tips, Graphics Tips, Social Media Tips, Website Tips

Running a small business (or any business for that matter) can require costly investment in everything from premises to products – not to mention the costs of being online and running a website. But, there are TONNES of awesome free resources out there to help you get the message out to potential customers and keep existing customers happy. Here is my list of 7 Awesome Free Tools that you can use NOW:

#1 Google My Business

Even if you don’t have a physical location that customers can visit, registering for Google My Business is a must. As you keep your listing updated your online ranking will improve and your clients can add Google Reviews straight to your profile. This helps you appear in map searches too.

#2 Facebook

Facebook is still alive and kicking and is a great place to build a community for your business – as long as you post and interact consistently. Try giving 80% information and only promote products or services 20% of the time so your customers aren’t constantly bombarded with icky sales messages!

#3 Instagram

I recommend upgrading from a personal account to a business one (it’s still free) if you are using Instagram for business. You can use your Insta feed to update your Facebook page as well as your website so your images are always online in multiple places.

#4 Email Marketing

Social media is amazing, but you have no control over your online reach or when the platform algorithms change. So, having an email newsletter is still one of the best ways of getting news out to your clients. I use MailerLite now and can track insights for all of my email campaigns. It’s important to set a schedule and figure out your reason & vision before sending emails but it can be a wonderful way of connecting for free.

#5 Blogging

Don’t have your own website yet? No problem (although I would recommend that you have one). You can’t use that as an excuse not to start writing & sharing it online NOW. Sign up for a free account with a Blogging site such as Medium or Blogger and start writing. You can always move and update your posts later when you have a website!

#6 Google Search Console

This option is only available if you already have your own domain and website, but being able to track your visits and search queries is a great way of understanding your online reach. You can sign up to Google Search Console for free and improve your online ranking.

#7 Canva

This online graphic design platform is my favourite tool of all! You can sign up for free to create any type of graphic you can think of – from social media to posters to ebooks – Canva lets you do it all. And, if you need a little more (like extra stock images, premium fonts or a brand kit) then you can upgrade to Canva Pro at any time. I create all of my graphics (including the infographic for this post) using Canva and use them for my website, social media, business cards and even presentations.
With all of these tools, all that remains to be done is to learn how to use them! Set aside some time and choose ONE to work on first. Give it some time and energy (and have a PLAN) and see how you can improve your online reach without spending a penny. And, if you need help, pop along to one of my Digital Workshops to help you get started! Web Goddess Note: this post contains an affiliate link to Canva Pro and I may receive a commission if you sign up through the link. However, as with everything I recommend, I do so because I use it and bloody love it!
Why Website Content is Key

Why Website Content is Key

by | 14 Mar 2019 | Blogging Tips, Business Tips, Productivity Tips, Social Media Tips, Website Tips

It is so easy to get caught up in branding and sleek design when creating a website – and a business for that matter – but without the right content on your site it really won’t matter how professional it looks. That’s not to say that bad design is OK either, because the way it looks will catch the attention of potential customers. However, if they are going to stay on your site, there really has to be something of value to keep them interested and convince them that you are the person or company they want to work with. And only content can do that.

SEARCH ENGINES LOVES CONTENT

Or to be more precise, search engines love relevant and freshly updated content. Did you know that according to a Netcraft January 2018 Web Server Survey there are over 1.8 billion websites online? But of these, only a very small proportion are actually active or updated regularly. The easiest way of keeping your own site active is to write a blog and add posts regularly. Each new post becomes a new gateway to your website and gives search engines relevant topics and text to crawl. This will ultimately help your site rank higher in searches and give you a platform to show your expertise in the area you are trying to get business in. And if you have a clear idea of your target audience then this task becomes infinitely simpler to achieve, but if you still struggle for ideas on what to post, check out my list of 50 Awesome Blog Ideas – see you can even blog about blogging!

OVERSHARING IS GOOD

Some marketing gurus will insist that hiding details from visitors and only offering them answers once they click and sign up to your email list is the way to go. However, if you’ve got an overflowing inbox and little time to read through five emails a day telling you why you need to buy from someone, then employing this tactic won’t win you any new clients. I’m all for oversharing on my website and giving as many details about my services as possible – including prices. Why? Because if people see how much I charge upfront, they can make a decision there and then if they think my services are worth it to them. And sharing ‘secrets’ about web design via my blog may empower some readers to build their websites themselves but they are not my ideal clients anyway and I am thrilled that they want to learn a new skill and go it alone.

GRAPHICS AND VIDEO

Content isn’t just words – your images and videos are content too. So branding and keeping your visual content relevant is also important. It also helps break up long pieces of text so that readers don’t feel overwhelmed with long blog posts or pages on your website. I’m a big fan of Canva and use it to create all of my images (including the one below) but whatever image software you use, try to make the images your own and steer clear of stock images wherever possible. Branding your visual content is important

USE SOCIAL MEDIA

All that content you create in the form of blog posts and tips about your own industry can and should be shared via social media. You are creating a library of specialist information when you write a blog and sharing it with as wide an audience as possible is what social media is there for. So, share that post you’ve just written across Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and get your message out there. Oh, and don’t forget to share blog posts more than once. Not everyone will see your post the first time and if the content is evergreen there is nothing stopping you sharing it time and time again across your social media channels. So, what are you going to do to make your content stand out and keep your website active?

Web Goddess

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