There’s nothing like writing out a gratitude list to lift your mood, your spirit. But why is that so? Well, I think it’s because we get into the present, the now, and that is the only real place. And, there is where God is. Focusing on what we are thankful for opens our heart and allows even more grace to flow in. It attracts the frequency of grace.

Expressing gratitude on a regular, consistent basis puts one in the flow. Writing a gratitude list each evening (physically or mentally) is a peaceful way to end the day and drift off to Dreamland. And, writing one out in the morning will easily get you out of a funk if you woke up on the wrong side of the bed!

1. Use the “site:” operator to limit searches to a particular website. This is particularly handy because the built-in search tools of many sites don’t return the results you’re looking for, and some sites don’t even have a search feature. If I’m looking for New York Times Op-Ed posts, for example, I would try this search: op-ed site:newyorktimes.com.

2. Use Google as a spelling aid. Entering a word into Google is a quick way to see if you have the right spelling. If it’s incorrect, Google will suggest the correct spelling. Additionally, if you want to get a definition of a word, you can use the “define:” operator to return definitions from various dictionaries. For example, try define:syrinx.

3. Use Google as a calculator. Google has a built-in calculator – try entering a calculation like 10*(24/8+14). Of course, your computer also has a calculator, but if you spend most of your day inside a browser, typing your calculation into the browser’s search box is quicker than firing up your calculator app.

4. Use the “time:” operator to find out what time it is anywhere in the world. This one’s really handy if you want to make sure that you’re not phoning someone in the middle of the night. For example, try time:Kauai. [Boy, I wish I was there now ]

5. Get quick currency conversions. Here’s an example for converting euros to dollars: 25 euros in dollars.

6. Area code lookup. Need to know where a phone number is located? Just type in the number of the area code. For example, where the heck is area code 208?

Please comment below to share some of your favorite Google search tricks.

• Use a good and trustworthy hosting service.
• Install only quality themes and plugins.
• Do not use “admin” as the login for any account on the blog.
• Make sure that passwords are strong and don’t contain any dictionary words.

The above precautions are a must. That being said, the reality is that these precautions won’t protect you against WordPress crashing, so you need to take care of some additional things if you want to be able to get your site back to work as soon as possible.

Make sure you have a backup strategy. In some cases, a backup might be your only way of getting your site to work again. Like any of your electronic files, you  should always have backup copies – sorry to ‘should’ on you, but this is really important. And, yes, that means more than one, at different locations. And remember, with WordPress, there’s not just the WordPress files, but also the database.

Remember to update your blog safely every time you do it. Many crashes happen immediately after or during an update. This is because that’s the time when many files get altered by new code, which can sometimes act strangely.

So what if the unthinkable happens, and your site does crash? The aforementioned is from a blog post on Themefuse; I found it very informative and well written, even fun – really. Check it out: http://themefuse.com/blog/restoring-wordpress-after-a-crash/

When I’ve sent out an e-news to a small, very targeted list, I can easily get an open rate of 50%, sometimes even 100%! But, let’s be honest – when you’re talking about 10 to 20 people, that’s really no big deal.

However, now we have the case of the latest e-news sent to volunteers at Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition.  VVCC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing direct services free-of-charge throughout the Verde Valley (AZ) to ‘neighbors’ – seniors and adults with disabilities who ask for help to remain living independently at home.

Out of 203 email addresses (bounces already excluded), VVCC enjoyed an open rate of a whopping 55.2% or 112 contacts! That says a mouthful.

So to what do we attribute this awesome open rate?

Well, first of all, volunteers have been getting acclimated to receiving an e-news every 2-3 weeks for the past 3 months or so (consistency). In this organization, word of mouth is strong, so folks have been talking up the e-newsletter to other volunteers. Articles are relevant to the audience, interesting, down-to-earth, and kept brief; for more information, there are links to connect to the organization’s website. The formatting is simple, with some nice graphics throwing in a splash of color and art.

VVCC had been enjoying open rates in the high 30′s and 40′s. With this leap into the 50th percentile, it will be interesting to see what happens moving forward.

In any case, congrats to Verde Valley Caregivers for the great e-news they mail to their volunteers. Communications are blossoming, and relationships are strengthening thanks to their using this tool.

And, kudos and many thanks for the awesome work Verde Valley Caregivers does in the community!

With this new year, we are proud to announce the publication of The Computer Spirit’s monthly e-newsletter, hot off the press last night! Read the issue now. It’s been a long time coming.

We’re also proud to announce the addition of a new page on our website, e-Newsletter Archives. Here you’ll find past issues of “Reaching Out”, the joint communiqué of me, Rog, The Computer Spirit, and BizWorks Studio. In it, we share mostly about our adventures in living, with a strong emphasis on community, connection, and service.

Now, you’ll be able to read the e-newsletter of The Computer Spirit as well.

The Computer Spirit will cover a variety of topics, and I trust at least some portion of the words written within will provide value to you.  It might be in the realm of spiritual or personal growth; becoming more computer and Internet savvy; learning email marketing (newsletter) facts and tips, or gaining words of wisdom about WordPress and website development and design. Hence, I hope you’ll be inclined to check out each issue, glean what you can from it, and perhaps even pass it on.

Of course, if you’re on our mailing list, you can get our e-newsletters delivered directly to your Inbox. If you’re not yet on our mailing list, please subscribe now.

And, oh yes…

1. Content
2. Delivery day and time
3. Contact list quality and age

Let’s explore these a bit more…

1. Check your content:

• Use a recognizable “From” name. Make sure you use a “From” name and address that includes your name, company, product, or service name – whichever the recipient will know best. When you repeatedly brand the “From” line like this over time, you assure the recipient that the email is coming from a reliable and trusted source and builds familiarity and credibility.
• Grab them with the “Subject” line. Most e-mail providers can accommodate a subject line of up to 60 characters but make sure the subject is short and to the point, between 30 and 40 characters and no more than 5-8 words, and state a clear benefit to opening the email. Make sure the subject line does not look like spam.
• Target your audience.  Review the click rates or send a short survey to learn more about your audience.  You can then segment your audience by saving respondents with similar interests and preferences into new contact lists. 

2. Consider your delivery day and time: Industry statistics suggest that recipients are more receptive to offers in the mid-day, mid-week timeframe. However, the best time to send varies by audience demographics.

3. Evaluate your list: Sometimes your email or survey content is good but, if you are getting a lot of bounced emails or any spam reports, your contact list needs cleaning.

Be aware that Constant Contact and other email marketing service providers cannot track every contact who opens your email. While they do provide information about who opens mail, the data is not always complete.

The not so-good news is that non-HTML emails or text emails are not tracked and some email reading applications do not allow Constant Contact to report opens. Also, some email readers let the recipient choose to allow open tracking as a personal setting. But the good news is that for all these reasons, it is likely that your actual open rate is higher than what is reported!

Here are some points about backing up your website…

• Most host servers back up the entire server, including your site, every night. But it takes time to request a copy of your site from their backups, and a speedy recovery is critical. You need to learn how to back up your own site files and restore them.
• How often should you back up? That depends on how often you blog, how often you want to do this, and how you would feel if your website was lost. It is your decision.
• Keep at least three backups on file, just in case one is corrupted or lost, and store them in different places and on different mediums. I usually keep 3 different backup versions of my website (3 different dates) with a copy of each on my hard drive, USB drive, and external hard drive.
• While there are plug-ins to automatically back up and restore your WordPress website, currently there still is not one that seems to be quite satisfactory. And, even if you were to use one, it is advisable to back up those auto-backups with a manual backup every once in a while to guarantee that the process is working.

There are two parts to backing up a WordPress site:

1. Database
2. Files 
   . wp-admin
   . wp-content
   . wp-includes

Click here for a PDF file of detailed instructions for backing up websites that are hosted by GoDaddy.

Constant Contact has extended the promotion to Midnight, Saturday, December 31st… Get 2012 off on the right foot!
 
Simply click on the Sign Up Now! button below to get started.  You will be taken to our Constant Contact website page – just click “Sign Up” in the top right hand corner of the page to begin the buying process.
 
 
Use the promo code EMM2011SP after you’ve entered your credit card info to get this special offer.

Questions? Call Joyce @ 480.223.8368.

Hurry, the clock is ticking away!

By what method can nonprofits provide accurate information to their communities on a timely basis, thereby counteracting the flow of false information? How can truth see the light of day?

We suggest that living websites and e-newsletters provide tools for creating a culture of truth-telling. Put it out there in writing for everyone to see. Help your organization and its community get used to information in the open. Provide responses to shady stories circulating around you.

It may take awhile to develop these tools and have them adopted as part of a more open culture, but what other choice to you have? Sending your own message out through your own grapevine is a losing battle.

I just heard about your book. But before I buy it, I’d like to know a bit more about the book and about you.

Or, maybe I just read the book and I want to know if you’ve got anything else available for me to read. I’d also like to hear your story – about how you came to write the book.

Perhaps I’d like to contact you – would you speak to my readers group? Would you be interested in a booth at our book fair? Would you consider meeting for coffee to talk with me?

You’ve already addressed these readers and some of their needs on the cover of your book. And, you’ve probably packed a lot into that small space. Your simple website is your opportunity to expand on your book cover – and more.

Here are some examples of what you can present on a simple author website:

• Your book cover
• A synopsis of your book
• Sample chapters from your book
• Your bio and information for the media
• Opportunities to purchase your book
• Your contact information

And, anything else you’d like to say. We encourage authors to carry on a dialog with readers through a blog. Writers write – readers read – and comment. It can be a very beneficial interchange for everyone.

Simple author websites don’t take a lot of time or money to develop. We’re delighted to teach authors how to maintain their websites so they can have control over the content and make changes or additions whenever they’re moved to do so.

And, in cases when you don’t want to talk with anyone, you can just refer them all to your website for more information.