The Village Websmith - Web Design & Development in Your Area

Welcome to Winning Wednesday

Wednesday is derived from the Norse god, Odin who was their supreme god and god of victory. Winning is what today is about, winning new business, winning the right price for every job we do and winning ore referrals from happy customers.

Today in 1820, the whaling ship Essex sank 2000 nautical miles of South America after being attacked by a sperm whale. Not a very positive thing you may think. However, Herman Melville was so inspired by this that he wrote Moby Dick, one of the best known books of all time.

Now, I am not saying that you have to have a disaster of any kind, just that inspiration can come from unexpected sources. All times of change are times of opportunity and conversation starters don't have to be about business.

How about taking a look at an item of world news today, using it to start a conversation and then turning that round to business. Think about how the connections and mental synapses may work. See the conversation unfold in your mind. Rehearse it from statement to statement so that the connection between opening and business is clear in your mind. Conversation is wonderful, ending it with some new business opportunity is even more so.

The 'left field' message, starting off with a seemingly unrelated topic can work just as well for your web presence. For ideas, just call us on 0203 239 0350 or click in the header of any page to send an email.

Abenhall is a tiny, ancient village in a secluded quiet valley near Mitcheldean. The parish includes the settlement of Plump Hill, on the Mitcheldean to Cinderford Road as it climbs into the high Forest.

Once part of the Westbury Hundred (which was known as Dene at the time of the 1086 Doomsday book) Abenhall is on the Flaxley to Mitcheldean Road. Originally a mining and iron making centre, it is notable for its 14th century Church of St Michael, which is built of local red sandstone and has excellent contemporary carvings relating to the Forest of Dean's industries. These include a shield bearing the arms of the Freeminers on the west wall and the fabulous mid -15th century octagonal font, that has tools of miners and metalworkers incised on its St Michaels at Abenhall sides.

St. Michael's Church - originally built as a chapel of ease, the church was expanded in the 14th century to include nave, south aisle and tower. The arms of the Freeminers can be seen on the south side of the tower and on the 18th century font. St. Michael's Church - Abenhall is 1.5 km south of Mitcheldean and is set in beautiful surroundings on the edge of the Forest. Old Parish baptism, marriage and burial registers, from 1596, are stored at the Gloucestershire Record Office. For more information, please call us on the number shown, or click in the header of any page to email Abenhall-forest-of-dean@villagewebsmith.co.uk.

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Home page for Abenhall,, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire

It's Thrilling Thursday - Whip up a storm in your business

Thursday draws its name from the old English for thunder, a translation of a Latin name for Jupiter's Day. Juptier was god of thunder and is the biggest planet in our solar system, being one of the brightest objects in our night sky. Set big goals on Thursday and go large.

When asked what their busienss goals are, many will come up with answers like "Increase my profit", "Make more sales", "Get more customer referrals" or "Retire early". All very worthy goals but not the kind that can be measured. If you can't measure something, you will never know when you have achieved it.

Today is a great day for defining how much more profit, how many more sales, how many more customer referrals and how early you want to retire. Then the period must be defined. How many per month, per year, in five years time?

The targets when viewed overall can be frightening. "I want to double my profit in a year" is a very bold statement, which can seem unattainable. This is the time to 'chunk' the task. From a year, break down increases to monthly, weekly or even daily steps that can be easily measured and 'ticked off' as you go along. Even a journey of a thousand miles must start with the first step.

Go on, amaze yourself with what you can achieve. Set big goals then make them achievable by chunking them into bite-sized pieces.

Marketing, promotion and sales activities all contribute to any business goal, and over the years, hundreds of Village Websmith customers have had help with these aspects to help achieve ambitious targets. Call us on 0203 239 0350 to talk over your business goals or click in the header of any page to send an email.

Abercraf is well known for these attractions: Waterfalls caves and close by the National Red Kite Centre.

Abercraf is also close to our headquarters in Shirenewton, Monmouthshire, which helps us to maintain our policy of only working face to face with customers to make sure they get the best results quickly when writing the content for their web sites. This is a much quicker method of establishing what aspects of a business are the most promotable and getting the order of things. So, if you have a small business in Abercraf, just get in touch with the Village Websmith and experience the difference of truly personal web design for yourself. For more information, please call us on the number shown, or click in the header of any page to email Abercraf-s-wales@villagewebsmith.co.uk.

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Home page for Abercraf, Brecknockshire, South Wales

Image of Choosing Photographs Laptop Images Pankaj Patel From the page Wednesday Website Workshops

OK, so your website is up and running, all you have to do now is sit back and wait for the calls, right? Well, not exactly. Like any form of advertising, your web site needs to be promoted and managed. The message needs to be fresh, topical, powerful and in the public eye.

This takes effort. It takes imagination. It takes forethought and consideration. Luckily, there is a lot you can do yourself, particularly with Webinthebox® that can help to keep the wheels turning without spending a fortune.

In order to help this process, you can now join in an online masterclass in 12 modules based on real questions asked by real customers over the 20 years of Websmithery here. Each module lasts an hour and delegates will be provided with course material to act as an aide memoire as well as a 'homework' assignment each week, with online assessment and advice.

Are you a morning person, or an evening person? With only five spaces per workshop available, you can choose a time of day that best suits your workload. There will be a slot in normal business hours, and a slot in the early evening after work, so you can choose which group to join according to the shape of your day.

Give us the tools and we will finish the job Every module includes a recommended list of resources and tools to help you. Most of these are available free online, and are the tools that we use ourselves in the Websmithy. You don't have to spend a fortune to get reliable, easy to use, fast software.

Modules based on real world needs Over the years here at the Websmithy, a strong pattern of what our customers want to know about managing their online presence has been established. By going back over the answers to questions and concerns, the following list of modules has been created to provide the most relevant and important information.

1. Understanding audiences - human and robot
2. SEO - What it really means and how to DIY
3. Layout and graphics - their importance in framing and showcasing your message
4. Photographs - choosing and assigning
5. Photographs - what's in a name?
6. Your message - how you say what you say
7. Your message - uploading and shaping
8. Your message - grammar and spelling do matter, here's why
9. Non-web promotion - customers are everywhere
10. Social media - use it to your advantage
11. Outgoing contact - fly fishing vs ledgering
12. CREAM - the virtuous spiral of ongoing improvement

Book early and save The price of registration for the full course is just £240, payable in advance, but for bookings before August 15^th you can claim an 'Early Bird Saver' rate of £180. Follow this link to the booking page to check availability and claim your place.

Aberdare is well known for these attractions: Country park fabulous indoor market and Aberdare Park home of historic motorcycle road races.

Aberdare is also close to our headquarters in Shirenewton, Monmouthshire, which helps us to maintain our policy of only working face to face with customers to make sure they get the best results quickly when writing the content for their web sites. This is a much quicker method of establishing what aspects of a business are the most promotable and getting the order of things. So, if you have a small business in Aberdare, just get in touch with the Village Websmith and experience the difference of truly personal web design for yourself. For more information, please call us on the number shown, or click in the header of any page to email Aberdare-s-wales@villagewebsmith.co.uk.

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Home page for Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales