It’s a Changing World
Posted on | December 4, 2012 | Comments Off
It seems that everything has changed quite dramatically over the last few years, the most obvious reason being the worldwide recession and how it has impacted on most businesses. But also in the aspect of web design and seo. Did you know that Google have made over 500 changes in the algorithm they use to decide which page appears where in their search results? And it’s not even the end of 2012 yet!
I refer to web design and seo in the same breath because there are quite a few elements of having a website which does well that fall right into both camps. For example, use of the title tag can be used well, completely abused or in the case of many sites just duplicated over every page, any seo worth their salt will tell you that’s not a good idea for a number of reasons, however for those who don’t know much, if anything about either the optimisation or design aspects of a site, probably let their designer do this for them which is often a bad idea. Firstly because if the over use words in there or just duplicate the same title tag over the whole site, it could do more harm than good, but also because the designer isn’t interested in the optimisation of a site, so will not have done proper keyword research and just fill it with what they think you want, most likely without even asking.
As we march on towards 2013 there are so many things which have changed, it used to be that a load of junk links with the target phrase in the anchor would push you up the results, but this is no longer true, in fact, it seems that the majority of directories, blog commenting and profile links are completely worthless now, and in some instances can even harm your site.
I’m no expert although I do read some of the online seo press, so suggest everyone does the same thing if you don’t want to be left behind.
Evening Entertainment and Reception
Posted on | August 24, 2011 | Comments Off
Most wedding couples these days have an evening reception party with music for dancing. In truth, entertainment is 80% or more of the success factor in any event, while it is often amazingly as little as 5% of an allocated wedding budget.
A late ceremony start, a few flower heads missing and even an average meal will hardly raise a complaint by any of your guests and will be more than made up for with experienced entertainment that perfectly celebrates your special day. On the other hand, the most beautiful ceremony, stunning meal, fine wines and fabulous dress can be easily forgotten if your guests’ last memory is of a poor performance at the evening reception party. It’s what guests talk about going home in their taxis, the main discussion over breakfast the next morning, and often creates fantastic memories that are spoken about long after your honeymoon.
So how do you avoid getting it wrong?
Firstly, make sure your venue can accommodate the requirements of the band – Where will they set up? Is there sufficient power and space? Is there a sound limiter in place that will restrict the band’s live performance? Also consider that many bands and musicians are human and will require breaks, food and refreshments. A certain amount of venue support is needed too such as a changing room. Once you have confirmed the venue are willing and able to accommodate the band’s basic requirements – remember that you are looking to provide musical entertainment for all your wedding guests, so be open to different types of musical styles, not just your own personal favorites.
Most musicians’ websites will have audio clips or soundbites. Listen to them and think about your guests in attendance – the music should appeal to their tastes too so perhaps a four piece male rock band wouldn’t be well received by your older relatives who want to celebrate on the dance floor too! Some bands provide a video of a live performance. A promotional video is often a necessity for a completely professional band as they perform exclusively at weddings, for private customers and as corporate entertainment which are not open to public viewing. Although many websites state you MUST see a band live before you book them, this isn’t true. If the band are professional, experienced and have positive reviews and recommendations, they will be more than capable of doing a great job for you and your guests.
Also, beware when ‘shopping around’ . Professional bands perform for private clients, corporate events and special occasions week in, week out. The most inexpensive party band to play live may seem a great bargain or cost effective, but you get what you pay for. Many bands are formed with musicians who just play for fun at pubs and clubs with the occasional private party thrown in. There are also plenty of newly formed student groups who may have excellent musical skills, but will not have the business, performance or customer service experience needed to provide a fully professional service for your event. This is why some bands are much cheaper than professional outfits, or depending on which way you look at it, professional bands are more expensive – there is a very good reason for this!
In summary, if you are planning to book a band for your evening reception and want everyone to remember them for all the right reasons, allocate at least 10% of your budget and choose a highly recommended professional entertainment – you won’t regret it and your guests will love you for it! Now, don’t get me started on the wedding and reception photographs, that’s another post completely…
How to Find People to Join Your Band
Posted on | August 12, 2011 | Comments Off
If you are looking to form a new band, it can be difficult to get people together with the right sound and attitude to complement your own vision. Whether you are on your own and looking to start a completely new band, or you just have one or two vacancies in your band you need to fill, here are some tips to help you get the mix you need, and mitigate the risk of those pesky “artistic differences” further down the line.
Use Social Media
The old school methods of finding band members, such as advertising in the music press, do still work, but you are going to get a much better response by trying to find people via social media sites. There are some sites dedicated specifically to introducing band members, such as JoinMyBand.co.uk and Band-Me-Up.com, but spreading the word on Twitter using hashtags relating to your location and what you are looking for can also be a great way to get your ad seen.
Be Clear About What You Expect
When advertising for or talking to potential new band mates, make sure you are completely upfront about what you want, need and expect, and what they can expect from you. If you are a professional party band, you need someone who will rehearse until they are tight and can be reliable, but you won’t need someone with song writing skills, for example.
Tell them what your aspirations are, how regularly you gig and rehearse, what percentage of covers to fresh material you play, and how much (if anything) they can expect to earn as things currently stand for your band. You definitely need people on your wavelength both musically and from a business perspective. There is no point taking on an amazing guitarist who wants to be in a band that’s trying to get signed, if you are putting together a band to play covers at functions for reliable money instead.
Audition
Depending on what you are looking for and how many responses you get, you may want to shortlist from demos or just hold a couple of auditions straight away. These can take whatever format suits you. For a lot of bands who play their own material exclusively, you’ll probably want to see how they handle your genre from a technical perspective by playing some cover pieces and then perhaps having a jam session to see how naturally they latch onto and integrate with your sound. If you are looking for someone who has song writing or lyric writing skills, you will almost certainly want some samples of what they do.
Be Flexible
Don’t forget, it’s not just a general pop or rock band which may need musicians, so if you are looking to join a band consider a wedding band or party band, and not just on your doorstep, if you live in Oxford also look around for Hampshire wedding bands, Wiltshire based groups, Surrey bands or even Bristol bands for hire, the wider you cast your net, the better the potential catch.
While you do need to have a clear idea of what you are looking for, having some flexibility can actually be quite inspiring. You may have thought you wanted a male lead singer, but what is the harm in auditioning a female who applies just to see what effect that has on your overall sound and image. You may be surprised by the new directions your venture can be taken in by keeping your search slightly broader than your initial idea of your ideal band mate.
Great Website Design
Posted on | June 29, 2011 | Comments Off
Conducting business in an online environment is becoming the norm day by day. The majority of websites these days are set up for sales; however, not every ecommerce website is as well-built for ecommerce as it could be. The following are a few of the elements of a great website design that will work well with ecommerce, making it easier for you to do business online.
Elements of a Great Design
There are several elements that you want to be sure to include in your website design, such as:
• SEO so that your customers can easily find your storefront
• a logical flow to the site and individual pages
• some type of shopping cart software
• a billing and payment software structure
• site analyzers so that you are able to monitor your traffic
• great images
Never underestimate the importance of the images that you place on your site. When in the design phase, you want to be sure that your site is structured in such a way that the implementation of images is seamless. Especially if you are selling specific items, people want to be able to see what they are buying before they actually purchase it. You should add images of the products from various angles. Potential customers love being able to see a product from all sides before they buy it.
Site Mechanics
Of course, the images should be great in order to enhance your site; but, you also want the site’s mechanics to function properly, as well as for the site to be easily navigable. For instance, you want to be sure that your shopping cart as well as your billing and payment software works properly in order for your potential clients to be able to make seamless purchases without a lot of hassle. You also want to be sure that the search engines, but particularly Google, can easily find all the pages.
Site analyzers are just as important. If you are going to put in a lot of work designing your site to maximize its potential, you want to be able to measure its profitability. There are resources that can measure the types of traffic you are getting, from where you are getting it, and how much of your traffic is being converted into sales. All of this information will allow you to tweak and fine tune your site as you need to in order to maximize the potential it can have. A great resource for this kind of data is Google Analytics, and best of all it’s completely free.
As you probably already know, a fair amount of SEO services must be used, or search engine optimisation work must be done yourself, as well, in order to maximize your site’s potential for higher search rankings. You want to be sure that your site is as high as possible when searching the major search engines regardless of the search query. If your site’s content has been optimized properly, you can expect to rank higher in the search engines. see a company such as eco seo in Swindon and how they rank for the term “seo swindon” to see how effective it can be.
A great website is measured by more than just the way the site looks to visitors. It is mainly about such aspects that cannot be seen but that work in the background to help ensure your success.
Old Site
Posted on | May 6, 2011 | Comments Off
I found an old site under the same name, here is what they had to say about themselves, unfortunately it seems they are no longer around:
Reasons to shop with Kitty and Polly
Shopping online is quick, simple and secure. Here are the top 5 reasons to shop with us
1.Speedy delivery – we aim to ship orders within 24 hours
2.Peace of mind – all orders are processed securely by WorldPay
3.Delivery is still only £3.50 for 1st Class Recorded delivery
4.Ease of purchase – you DON’T need to register before you buy !
5.Gorgeous, girly, cute and quirky gifts for someone special or for you !
Read more about our handmade loveliness here !
handmade handbags.jpg
Just In – New Handbags & Accessories
Gorgeous new clutches and hair accessories have just arrived at Kitty & Polly .. treat yourself to a satin clutch or a handmade felt hairclip
Get more details by clicking here !
handmade gifts
Gifts for Women
Every woman loves to receive gifts but for men it can be quite a challenge to find her the perfect gift. To help you along, we’ve put together a selection of handmade gift ideas for the special women in your life…whether it’s your wife or girlfriend, sister or mother . We have handmade gifts for birthdays, Mother’s Day and Christmas
Just starting out
Posted on | May 6, 2011 | Comments Off
OK, so this is the first post on this here blog and I’m not even sure what it’s going to be about, I’m just letting my short fat fingers do the typing and write out whatever is going through my head.
It’s not as fast as iI would like, but I never learnt how to touch type, so progress is slow.
Anyway, I really just wanted something on here to get started, other than that “hello world” post which was on here as standard.
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