"Thanks for the recommendation!"

I recently received a lovely surprise.

My doorbell rang and when I answered, there was a man with a lovely autumn bouquet in his hands. I signed for it and took it into the house.

Who could it be from? A few possibilities ran through my head, but none of the people I thought of turned out to be the sender.

It was from a friend, to thank me for–get this–recommending a particular product, which she bought.

Her note said, “Thank you for recommending XSite Pro [website building course]. It’s amazing and is going to help Celebrate Kids so much! I’m grateful that all your teaching and recommendations are dependable. I pray God continues to bless you!” (Dr. Kathy Koch, who by the way has excellent resources for parents and educators at www.celebratekids.com)

Did I “sell” Kathy on this product? Yes, in the sense that she bought it. But why did she buy it? Because I raved about it it honestly. Because she’s bought other things I’ve recommended (Teleseminar Secrets course among other things), and benefited.

You really don’t have to “sell” people, in the sense of twisting their arms or using sneaky psychological tricks. All you have to do is honestly, passionately share what you’ve found that made your life better in some way, and why.

Of course you will gear your approach to what you know your hearer(s) desire (your “why” must match theirs), but isn’t that commonality you share with them what connected you in the first place? So even there, you don’t have to strive. You simply share from your heart, and let your audience decide if what helped you will in fact benefit them.

If you’re trying to sell your book, remember that it’s really all about your message, and if you weren’t passionate about that, why did you write the book in the first place?

So just share your passion to people who would be interested, and “selling” is a cinch.

Of course, there’s another factor. That’s your own integrity.

People who have followed me for even a little while know that I only recommend people or products that meet this criteria:

• I’ve used personally and benefited from the product/service/course.  Almost always, I’ve bought the product or course myself.
• The person/company  behind the product/course/service has proven to operate in utmost integrity. There must, for instance, be good customer service, and no shady dealings of any kind.
• The product must be great value for the money charged.  What I recommend must give back more than what you pay.

I know my criteria are pretty stringent, but there they are. That’s why you don’t see me promoting a lot of other people or products. When I do, you know why.

And do I receive a commission of some kind as an affiliate for what I recommend? Usually. But since I’d rather have your trust than your money, I won’t recommend anything or anyone that doesn’t meet my criteria, no matter how much commission I’d receive as an affiliate.

That’s a promise!

The majority wanted a “a step-by-step guide to creating an effective author web site.” So I was about to design one.

Then I got word that the company that designed the software I use to create all my sites (except my blogs)–in minutes–and search engine optimize them so they come up higher than my blogs–this very company is coming out with a comprehensive course on that very thing. More than 30 hours of detailed instruction on how to build a great we site.

I well remember how fearful I was to create my first website–how monumental it felt. How much there seemed to know to get it right. Anyone can create a blog in a few minutes, but to get it right so that search engines find you quickly … so that you can actually sell something (like your book) on your site … that seemed monumental.

It’s not.

Especially not with this massively detailed blueprint for website creation, brought to you by people who know a thing or two about the subject matter. Their award-winning software is the best value for the money I’ve ever spent. (I’ve written several blog post on this. Just search for “XSite Pro” in the search box on the right. It really does do all it says here.)

While so many of my friends complain about how it takes forever for their web master to make tiny changes on their site, costing them search engine rank, time, and money, I shake my head and in 15 minutes add something to my site, update it for the search engines, and publish with the click of my mouse.

All because of the software from this company that is now selling this course on creating websites. Their track record with me personally and with many reviewers makes me certain that their new course, which took a year to develop, will be nothing short of excellent.

The course will be available Wednesday, October 21, but you can sign up here to attend a webinar on Tuesday, AND possibly win a FREE course. I believe you need to be present for the webinar to win the free course, but sign up anyway, because I think the webinar will be recorded.

One more thing: I’m thinking of creating a bonus along with this, on what you need specifically for an effective author website. If you would be interested in that, comment below or send me an email (diane at wordstoprofit.com). Also tell me what your biggest concern is as you think about creating and/or maintaining an author website.

OK, so I get an email from Facebook saying, “You haven’t been back to Facebook recently. You have received notifications while you were gone.” (Naughty me!)

So I click on the link. Ask trusty Roboform to fill in the password etc. Didn’t work.

Strange. It always did work. It worked on Tweetdeck.

So I click around some other ways and FINALLY get into Facebook. (Somehow, don’t ask me what finally worked.)

So, where are these friend requests? Not a clue. I click Friends and see I have some Suggestions. I click on some people I know I’d like to be friends with. Every time I click, I have to

type two (difficult to read) words for verification. If it takes 20 seconds to type in those 2 words (more for the less readable ones), for those 35 people I’ll spend 12-15 minutes just sending requests.

Then they have to go and try to do what I tried to do above. Just to “connect”?

BTW, I still can’t find the people who have requested my friendship.

Can someone please tell me why Facebook is so popular?

If you want my updates, to go twitter.com/DianeEble please. Twitter I can handle.

Now, why am I bothering to write this?

See if this next snippet gives you a clue.

My husband came home from work telling me they got a new copy machine at the office. One that takes special training to figure out. One that needs a MANUAL to figure out how to use. He still hasn’t been able to do the (formerly simple) task of making a copy to then fax to someone, though the machine is supposed to do it.

The old machine worked just fine, he says. He’s not the only one for whom the new machine is a source of frustration and time wasting.  Everyone is complaining about it.

Do you see anything these two situations have in common?

How about uncritical acceptance of technology that sucks time and does not measurably add anything to one’s life? In fact, too often all it  adds is frustration and stress.

So here’s my humble theory of why the economy is in shambles:  We’re all too busy trying to figure out and/or keep up with technology that we can’t get any truly productive work done!

The main thing is, we’re not asking ourselves the right questions BEFORE we jump into The Next Cool Thing (like whiz-bang copy machines or the latest social networking thing that EVERYONE uses, after all).

Don’t get me wrong. I use a lot of technology and what I use makes my life measurably better. Like Roboform, Evernote, my XSite Pro software that allows me to create and manage websites quickly and easily. Two weeks ago I got new software that I LOVE that truly helps me be more productive. I don’t know where I’d be without these great tools.

But always I ask: “What will this REALLY do for me, and what is the REAL cost in terms of time and energy?”

Another question: “Does this ‘fix’ what ain’t broke?” (Sorry about the grammar, but sometimes slang is more effective.)

Are you asking the right questions? The economy depends on you! (LOL)

It would have taken me 5 minutes at most to do the same thing in XSite Pro, the web design software I use for most of my sites.

People keep telling me WordPress blogs are better, so easy to use.

My experience has been: I could not even have a WP blog without Cathy Perkins, “the wordpress wizard.” I listen to her free weekly teleseminars and without those, and her expert help when needed, I’d be lost.

On the other hand, I’ve had very few issues with XSP. I can put up a web site in minutes. This one I put up in 10 minutes. The template came with the program. It was a matter of copying and pasting the copy I’d already written in Word. (And unlike copying and pasting from Word to a WP blog, I have little to no issues with formatting.)

What about search engine ranking with XSP vs. WordPress? Well, when I put in the keywords ‘develop your audience” into Google just now, my WP blog (this one, which I’ve been posting on for years) came up 3rd, and my NEW site (the XSite Pro site, www.developyouraudience.com) came up FIRST.

That’s because the search engine optimization is built into XSite Pro and it’s entirely controlled by me. Very easy to do, too. With a blog, supposedly it’s “built in.” There are plug-ins you can use to optimize. But that involves, again, a whole lot more work than what I have to do with XSite Pro.

AND, the work I did do on my new blog page, I had to know html to figure out how to format the look. I don’t have to know one thing about html to use XSite Pro. If you can use Word, you can use XSite Pro–they are that similar.

So, again, I have to say I much prefer XSite Pro web design software. It’s a very small investment to make for software that will save you gobs of time on creating a website. You absolutely do not need any webmaster with XSite Pro. Their support is fantastic if you do have problems. It’s honestly one of the best products and companies I’ve run across–period.

And I’m pretty picky.

Because of this, and the fact that many people have asked questions about this topic,  I’m going to answer by sharing a couple of resources. Note that there’s a great bonus on one of them that expires TONIGHT (Jan. 29).

The questions are:

• “Do I need a webmaster to put up a website? What about a designer? Is there any quick, inexpensive, easy way to put up a website without without paying an arm and a leg for a webmaster?”
• “I’m not at all technical. Can I ever possibly create a website and maintain it myself without a webmaster?

I remember the fear and trepidation I felt just a few years ago at the very thought of creating a web site.

I didn’t know where to start or what to do. Then a friend told me about one of the resources I will share, and it made all the difference.

But first, let’s talk about whether you need a webmaster.

“Do I need a webmaster?”

In a word, I say no.

If putting up a website were very difficult, I would be the first to say, “Get a webmaster.”

But nowadays, you simply don’t need one. For all the time and money you would put into finding a good webmaster, communicating what you want, and waiting for them to make every little change you want, you could have invested it in a bit of software and/or training, and have complete control over your own website.

While my friends complain to me about waiting for their webmaster to put up a simple change on their site, I am able to go to any of my sites at any time and update them at will.

And since new content is what the search engines love, my sites are likely to get higher ranking than theirs. Not only that, but when you leave things like optimization up to a webmaster, often they haven’t a clue how to do it. So you have to learn it anyway, communicate it, and hope they get it and do it. (And you’re paying and waiting all that time.)

So, if you’re ready to take the first step in New Era Publishing–having an effective web site–I urge you to check out two resources, either one of which allows you to put up a professional-looking website without a webmaster, maintain control, and do everything you need to do to lay the groundwork for becoming a presence on the Internet.

Resource #1: XSite Pro Web Design Software

As I said, I can relate to being clueless and fearful about creating a website. Back a few years ago, a friend told me about a program, XSite Pro Web Design Software, and I created my first web site. (That site is for my Abundant Gifts book, and you can view it here.)

I went on to create almost all my web sites with this excellent program, and I love it. Now Version 2 is even more robust yet easy to use.

This is best for you if you are not at all technical (believe it or not, a friend who IS technical hates this program). If you can use MS Word, you can use this. There is a bit of a learning curve, but the documentation is excellent, and truly, it’s not difficult!

It’s also your least expensive option, at less than $200.

People tell me that blogs are better than “static web sites” and they’re right. But XSP sites are anything but “static.” You can search engine optimize them quite easily–the program shows you how. You have to use keywords in anything you do online (articles, blog posts), and this program gets you in the habit of thinking that way and makes it oh so easy. It even gives you a report and pointers how to optimize your site better.

I put my Publishing Coach Weekly site up, if I remember correctly, in something like 43 minutes–including the header and design.

No webmaster needed.

More information is here. There’s also a brochure you can get that tells more about it.

I have to say, this is one of the best products of any kind I’ve ever bought. Everything on the sales page is true. (Not often I can say that!)

And the support is great. You just have to keep in mind that they’re based in the UK, so there’s a time difference. Recently I contacted them and then resolved the issue myself (I just needed to upgrade). I told them I’d resolved it. They still got back to me.

As a company and product, I give them an A+.

Oh, and they even have a membership site where you can learn about Internet marketing, if you like. I’ve attended some webinars and they’re great.

Enough raving about that. If you want your own software and don’t mind learning how to use it (forever), get XSite Pro web design software.

Resource #2: Website Creation Workshop with Christina Hills

This option might be exactly right for you if you want someone to take you by the hand, step by step, you have a little more money upfront to invest in your learning, AND you want a WordPress blog.

Everyone says you need a blog (I agree, UNLESS you have an XSP site), and there are definitely advantages to having one. And WordPress is the best blogging platform.

I know, Blogger is easy to set up, but I tell you, it’s not as secure as having your own blog on your own server. In fact, one of my Twitter followers just had her blog shut down by Google (who owns Blogger blogs) and has no idea why or what to do about it.

The answer is to get your own WordPress blog. I have two WordPress blogs, http://www.abundantgiftsblog.com and http://www.yourbookpublishingcoach.com. I recommend WordPress blogs if you want a blog–period.

Christina Hills will show you how to set up and run a WP blog WITHOUT a webmaster.

If you want crystal-clear, step-by-step instructions as to how to get one going and maintain it yourself, Christina Hills is one of those people who makes everything very simple and doable.

I’ve attended several of her trainings and she’s crystal clear about every single little step.

She’s starting her Website Creation course on February 10, and you can get a taste of her teaching style and what you’ll learn by listening to her preview call (recorded so you can listen when it’s convenient for you).

Christina is also offering a bonus which EXPIRES TONIGHT, and it’s a good one: two Early Bird Mastermind calls before the workshop actually starts.

These Mastermind calls are in addition to the 8 modules of training and call-in day during the 10-week Website Creation Workshop that starts on February 10th.

On the ‘Early Bird’ calls you and Christina will get a chance to talk live and she will personally coach you and help you focus your website/business ideas on these calls.

So there you have it–two excellent resources that will allow you to create web sites that are easy to maintain yourself. Your initial investment should be all you will ever need, at least for a long, long time.

But whatever you do, make sure you have a site you can easily add to and control yourself.

Oh, and let me know when your site is up. Send me a Tweet on Twitter and I’ll make sure all my followers know about your new site!

This way you can view the articles when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store, or stuck in traffic, or as you’re waiting for your child to be done with practice….

Just go here. You can read the new article on how to become a prolific writer in 15 minutes a day (and then you can start right away!). Pretty cool way to “redeem” some dead time, don’t you think?

(If you too want your website to be available on people’s mobile phones, check out XSite Pro web design software. This is a very easy-to-use, inexpensive program that gives you full control over your web site, and has search engine optimization tools that are easy and effective. It’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made.

I have to say, for me (as a non-techie person who doesn’t WANT to mess around with figuring out how, for instance, to upgrade a blog)–hands down, it’s XSite Pro web design software (version 2) .

As far as I can tell, XSP can do anything a WP blog can do with the WP plug-ins that are available. Yes, some of those plug-ins are very cool, as I learned from Cathy Perkins, the WordPress Wizard .

Last week, using the HeadSpace plug-in, I posted a blog and optimized it and in a few seconds, when I checked Google for the keywords “best self-publishing company,” my site came up #4 on page 1!

However, it didn’t stay there. I have no idea why. And, I had to add keywords in around 3 places to optimize the site.

But the clincher for me was what happened when

I “upgraded” my blog. If it was up to me, I’d stay with WP 2.2 forever. However, the older version opened me up to hacks (happened twice), so I had no choice.

Cathy Perkins’s class with the “pre-flight checklist” was invaluable as a guide. Nevertheless, when I took the plunge, all sorts of messy things happened with the blog.

Depending on when you view this, it still might not look right. The header was messed up (Cathy fixed it), the sidebar categories were gone, and other things were not quite right

Without Cathy’s expertise to guide me (from her classes, free and paid), I don’t think I could manage WordPress.

On the other hand, with XSite Pro, all I have to do is put the keywords in the space provided, add a description, and it’s all optimized for search engines and humans.

With just a few mouse clicks, I can put in audio and video, add the “Share This” info, create RSS feeds, even put my site into a form that can be read on mobile phones! I can add sticky notes and all sorts of cool things. (I have a sticky note about my Abundant Gifts free book sale if you want to view a sample.

And though I have NO training in design or software, I was able to play around with my own header with XSP to create some variations.

So, my position is: WordPress is great IF 1) you like to keep up your own blog, 2) you’re jazzed by cool plug-ins, 3) you like to learn all the time and you have the time and will to maintain your blog OR 4) you have someone else to keep up with all the WP changes and maintain your blog.

If you would rather focus on creating content, don’t mind learning a few things ONCE that you can use forever (at least for the next few years until XSP does another major upgrade), prefer to have control over your own site (without having to spend a lot of time maintaining the tech stuff), all without sacrificing any search engine advantages–get XSite Pro.

I still think it’s one of the best products I’ve ever come across. I used one little feature–the email cloaking “widget wizard”–and cut my email spam by at least 80 percent.

I can even get a report that tells me how readable my copy is, how I can optimize it further.

As you can see, I could go on and on about XSite Pro! In addition to the main site, here’s a link to a webinar that explains how it works.

Otherwise, move on. I know your time is precious.

Sunday at 3.p.m ET is the last webinar to explain how XSite Pro web design software can help you build great-looking, search-engine optimized sites fast.

I was thinking about how much money XSite Pro has saved me.

I spent $110 to get the basic web site for Words to Profit designed (via someone at elance.com that a friend recommended).

And … that’s it!

With the basic design for www.wordstoprofit.com, I could create the variation you see as the header to this blog.

Then, I decided it made more sense to change the header for two of my sites, from Words to Profit design to Your Book Publishing Coach:
http://www.writingsecretsrevealed.com
http://www.writeyourbookrightnow.com

It took four clicks to change, save, and publish each site; 1 minute 22 seconds for the whole process.

And I did not need any web master to do it.

If you like the templates you’ll get with V2 (full sites, sales letters, product pages), you won’t even need a designer. Attend the webinar or just watch the video to see all the things you get “out of the box.”

If you already have a header or logo, you can just use that.

What I did NOT have to spend anything on:

• extra graphics. The library has all sorts of cool graphics, and V2 has an additional Clip Art gallery.
• expensive Search Engine Optimization. There’s a great feature built into XSite Pro that not only enables you to set each page up so search engines find you–it has a whole section that tells you how to improve it.
• software to redirect links. I know friends who bought some software to create pages like http://www.wordstoprofit.com/xspweb.html. I didn’t need to pay extra. It’s built in to XSP.

This same feature saves me money on unique domain names as well. I could try to think up an easy-to-remember domain name to send you to XSite Pro, and spend $6.99 or more, or I could in seconds flat create this url redirect:
http://www.wordstoprofit.com/xspweb.html

It still makes sense to you, it’s not ugly, and it gets “wordstoprofit.com” before you again. So, even though my domain names are inexpensive–well, $0 is still less than $7, right? It all adds up.

I also don’t need a web master to insert codes such as web forms for people to sign up for your newsletter. Or audio or video.

In V1, it was cut and paste–very simple. In V2, however, it’s even easier. Everything is done from within the program, without even having to cut and paste!

The new version of XSite Pro web design software has some other very cool features, such as the fact that your web site can show up on someone’s mobile or iphone when they search for sites. How great is that? You can also use widgets and RSS feeds.

And if you don’t even know what widgets and RSS feeds are–don’t worry. There’s a manual that explains everything clearly, and you can learn a lot about all the possibilities of Web 2.0 web sites from reading the Manual. When you’re ready. It grows with you.

To get you started, there’s a Tutorial to orient you quickly.

You also have access to the Forum, and a great Helpdesk system, for support. You’re not left on your own.

Sign up for the webinar to find out more about the amazing new features of Version 2 (which I myself am now exploring, having just upgraded):

Two caveats:
1. It does not work on a Mac. Sorry!
2. Check the system requirements (download the brochure). Happily, I just bought a new computer that has XP on it, and XSP is “made for Windows XP.” It is Vista-compatible, and a friend is using it with Vista, so I know it does work. But when your site gets very large, as my wordtoprofit.com site is, if your computer has limited memory, it can take forever for your computer to load, save, and publish your XSP site.

You’ll be seeing changes in my own sites based on the new features of XSite Pro web design software, so stay tuned!

But I hope you’ll consider trying it yourself. You will be amazed at the great-looking sites you can create … the fun you’ll have learning cool things you can do … the added exposure you’ll get from higher rank in the search engines … and the money you’ll save as well as make from your site.

If the webinar is over by the time you read this, go here.

Carol’s question:

“I understand the difference between a website and a blog. Is XSite Pro for a static website or can it be used as a blog? You said you use Word Press for your blog. If I purchase XSite Pro, can I use it as a blog to post and update frequently?”

My answer:

XSite Pro web design software is not something you can use with or as a blog. A blog is a completely different kind of software platform. XSite Pro creates stand-alone web sites that you can make as small or large as you like.

I have just been looking at XSP V2, and I like it better than a blog in many ways.

The features are very powerful and easy to use (great documentation, with screen captures to walk you through each segment). A lot of what XSP does, you can do with WP plug-ins, I think–if you know how to get them and use them. If you tend to be techy, you might prefer WP blogs. My techy friend likes finding all these cool plug-ins. Me–I prefer to click a few buttons and let the program do it for me.

(By the way, their support is great, too. Fast turnaround, and clear instructions. I tested this recently because I just got a new computer, and needed to know how to get my stuff from old computer to new and integrated with V2.)

The ability to easily update content is one of the main attractions of blogs, and that’s why search engines love blogs. However, if you have a “static” web site where you can easily update content, you have the same search engine advantage.

With XSite Pro web design software, it’s extremely easy to update content AND optimize it for search engines at the same time. It’s just like typing something in Word, and then you click the Publish button and it’s on your site. But better–you have complete control over the keywords and page descriptions. With WP (which I like and do use), I have to trust that the search engines are picking up on the right keywords. Or, I use a plug-in (I think it’s called Header2 and there’s also one called SEO pack), but I have to go back and put the keywords in. I posted on both my blog and site last night, and with XSP it was much faster and easier to do. I find that XSP saves a lot of time.

Also, there are ways to add content automatically to your site, through RSS feeds and other ways I’m just learning about, with XSP. You can do that same thing with WP, I understand–again, IF you know the plug-ins and where to go. With XSP, it’s all in one place, there’s a manual to consult, and once you learn it, you get it working on all your sites.

Another thing that I like better about XSP is the control you can have over each page of your site. For instance, if you have an opt-in or squeeze page, you can make one page be that. With a blog, you likely need a whole new url to point to that squeeze page. And it’s another site to maintain, rather than a page over which you have complete control in XSP.

WordPress is good, and I have several WP blogs myself (this is one of them!). It just requires more techy skill and it seems like there are always upgrades and things you have to know. I listen to Cathy Perkins’s Wizard Weekly teleseminars on WP, and don’t know where I’d be without her help. I just learned I have to do all these things to my blogs before I upgrade to the new version so the sites won’t “break.” Yikes! And of course, I should upgrade because otherwise, something terrible might happen (what, I’m not sure. Something about security). So–I like  much better for all these reasons.

If you’re not sure about whether XSitePro web design software is for you, why not attend one of the upcoming webinars? No cost, and you’ll get a feel for the features. You can sign up here. http://www.wordstoprofit.com/xspweb.html Dates are July 2,4, 8, so do it now if you’re interested.

I just upgraded to XSP V2 and so am just exploring the new features, but so far I’m liking what I see very much! I was just reading about adding a “site search” for visitors. Very cool. I have one on my blog, but my site actually has more content, and I want people to be able to search it.

(My full review of XSite Pro is here, if you care to learn more about my perspective, having used V1 for some 4 years now.)