We’ve all seen these mistakes on other people’s websites — and sometimes on our own:

1. Using flash pointed directly at items. Flash tends to create harsh shadows behind the object (Known as flash monsters!) and washed out colors. Flash should be bounced off the ceiling, if used at all.
2. Photographing products spread out on a dirty-looking carpet or patterned bedspread. Your images look like you didn’t put much thought into them — and your customers will see that. Make sure your backgrounds don’t distract from your products.
3. Ill-fitting clothing or baby slings don’t showcase your product in a good light. Make sure your product fits the model, or that the model fits the product.
4. Photographing products worn or held by someone who looks like she is in a bad mood. I still remember a website in which a woman modeled the T-shirts she had designed. In every photograph, she had the exact same scowl on her fact. Come on — Smile!
5. Leaving a jagged edge when cutting the background out of a product image. Cutting an unpleasant background out of an image is a great idea. But leaving that jagged edge (even if you try to cover it up with a shadow), makes the image look very unprofessional. Potential customers will be turned away by unprofessional photos that make it look like you don’t care enough about your business to get a professional editing job done on your product displays.

Learn techniques for increasing your sales with great product photography! Head over to www.PresentingYourProducts.com…

Popularity: 10% [?]

Google’s making changes and the Page Rank for many sites is going up — or down.

Say what?

Code Monkey at vbModder says the Page Rank on his site has been nuts for the past couple of days. He said, on January 23:

This current Page Ranking export looks like it ended without completing. Lets take vBulletin Modder for example.

Our front page went to Page Ranking 4. It’s predicted at 6 which is meaningless, but with a three month old snapshot PR 4 would probably right for the toolbar. However, our forums are still PR 2. And the google webmaster site keeps switching between the two as the top PR page and has been since before the alleged snapshot date.

On top of that, we have newer forums that are now Page Ranking 4 and contain posts that are PR 4. Which would indicate the result of a front page at 6 and a forum home at 5 or 6. Then , we have older forums from when I started this site that still have 0 PR. What the heck is that. And to add insult to injury, (but I will take the PR) we have an archive page for a forum that has two threads that is a PR 5. This is bleepin nuts if you ask me.

There are authority sites out there right not that have 10’s of thousands of backlinks that were Page Ranking 7 before this export that now have 0. Something is seriously wrong and the bad part is it’s costing people money.

The updates appear to be done now — and I’m happy. This site used to rank 0, but now it’s a 4. Woohoo!

My vbMojo site was a 0 when I created it Dec. 5, 2006 — but now  in February 2006 it’s ranked 3. I’ll take that for two month’s work.

So, how’re your sites doing?

Popularity: 23% [?]

Kelly interviewed me last week about Presenting Your Products — and it’s live right now. I’m beyond excited!

You can listen to the interview at WAHM Talk Radio right now.
Kelly and I talked about how Presenting Your Products started, the problems it solves and I gave her a couple of tips that are included in the product.

PYP will feature audio interviews with three WAHM experts in product photography, labeling and shipping, transcripts from those interviews, study guides and video tutorials.

We are also holding a free teleseminar at 8 p.m. Central Time, Thursday, January 25. Not only will you get to hear questions from WAHMs and their answers, but you’ll also receive a special offer that will only be given to those who attend the teleseminar.

If you miss the teleseminar, you won’t be eligible for the prize — but you’ll still get to listen to the great information, as we’ll include a recording of the event in Presenting Your Products.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Watersweb Solutions LLC, distributor of Shop Kit Plus shopping cart software at http://www.shopkitplus.com, announced today that it has significantly lowered prices for the license of its shopping cart software. In some cases, the license is even free!
The popular SKPlus1000 package, now costs $58 for the license fee and $10 per month for hosting. Clients can increase their savings on the license fee by purchasing three-, six- or twelve-month packages. The annual hosting package features a free license and $120 hosting fee, providing the most savings for the package.

“Our costs for the license have gone down, so we decided to pass that savings along to our clients,” said Michelle Waters, owner of Watersweb Solutions, a five-year-old web development and hosting company. “We understand that many of our work at home mom clients are new to home business and don’t have a lot of money to spend on software. We feel that this cost reduction will help more WAHMs realize their dream of making a living while caring for their children.”

The current pricing structure can be seen at:

http://www.shopkitplus.com/index.php/skp_sales_letter/new-pricing

The Shop Kit Plus is a hosted online catalog software that features inventory management, wholesale capabilities, order tracking and affiliate integration. The catalog works with Mals Ecommerce, http://www.mals-e.com, as a backend, featuring multiple payment and shipping options.

Popularity: 34% [?]

I’ve discovered an awesome opportunity to generate media interest in our businesses with the fifth annual “Doing Business In Your Bathrobe Day.”

Send a press release to your local media, with your information, letting them know that you are celebrating this international holiday on February 12, 2007. According to WAHM Talk Radio, one home-based entrepreneur has already received calls from three local media outlets, including a TV station, print publication and online resource, after sending out her press release.

Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day recognizes the hard work and dedication it takes to be an entrepreneur. It’s a national holiday to call attention to the millions of home business owners who have waved goodbye to the corporate rat race and settled into a better quality of life. We felt it was high time to recognize the efforts and dreams of entrepreneurs. “It’s a national day to support entrepreneurs everywhere who are taking their work and paychecks into their own hands,” says Kristie Tamsevicius.

Ready to start celebrating?

Download your press release from:

http://www.webmomz.com/bizinbathrobe-local.shtml

Enter to win prizes in the Doing Business in Your Bathrobe drawing:

http://www.webmomz.com/bizinbathrobe2007.shtml

Popularity: 20% [?]

Does great customer service mean the company will bend to its customer’s will, no matter what?

Does it mean that the company is bound by “the customer is always right” — with no recourse?

I’m wondering what your thoughts are, because I recently read a thread at The Babywearer forums in which baby sling business owners discuss a particularly nasty customer service situation.

I would like to add another perspective into the pot. This situation reminds me of an entry in Seth Godin’s blog regarding the customer is always right:

Rule 1: The customer is always right

Rule 2: If the customer is ever wrong, reread rule No. 1

Rule 3: If the customer is wrong, they’re not your customer any more.

Bet you hadn’t thought of that.

Seth gives some additional advice for handling customers who are wrong:

Fire them. Politely decline to do business with them. Refer them to your arch competitors. Take them off the mailing list. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, don’t be rude, just move on.

If you’ve got something worth paying for, you gain power when you refuse to offer it to every single person who is willing to pay you.

Now that’s something to consider, especially for small WAHM businesses who can’t afford to spend 95 percent of their time placating the 1 percent of their clients who are unhappy and always will be.

Thoughts?

Popularity: 39% [?]

One of the great things about WAHMs is they can always sniff out a good deal. And I think I just found one for you:

Simply subscribe to the newsletter at Monkey Toe Diapers, an online baby cloth diaper shop owned by a work at home mom, and you’ll receive a coupon code for 5 percent off any purchase.

Monkey Toe owner Susan Mraz said that she is a firm believer in rewarding her customers and newletter subscribers.

Now, she’s the kind of person I want to do business with!

Popularity: 18% [?]