and my poor website has been "under construction" for several months. Seriously, someone push me off the ledge. I become so overwhelmed on content and writing the correct words that nothing happens. I have never had a lack of words from my mouth how come the website is so intimidating? Suggestions?
diana

Have friends and family look at your website. Even former work mates help out on occasion. As your networking friends as well. My group of networking people have been the best source so far.

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Tracey

I am beginning to work on re-doing my website so I completely understand. One thing that helps me is to take a step back, look at what you have, and visualize where you want to be. Once you have accomplished this, take the dog for a walk, run some errands, anything to keep your mind clear from the subject. Then after a few hours, revisit your project with a fresh pair of eyes and a clear mind. Write the things you want to say on your website down on a piece of paper and then read it back to yourself. This is where you begin to critique your language and clarity. Soon the words and ideas will flow and you will have completed your website.

Hope this helps! Best Wishes!

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Winston Stewart
PennWin Administrative Services

That's good advice from Winston. I should do that more often myself.

Maybe the problem is a bit of perfectionism mixed with a fear of public speaking. Not that it's really public "speaking" - but it is putting your words out there for the whole world to see. And I'm afraid I'll spell something wrong or say something stupid in front of the whole world and ... oh wait, we're talking about you not me.

Maybe just putting something up - even if it's not the best - will get you flowing. The hardest part is pressing that "publish" button. But even then it's not set in stone - it can always be changed. It gets easier after the first one.

Deb

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Deb at Ivy Freelance
Metrics, Marketing and Macros

Originally Posted by Ivy Freelance

Maybe just putting something up - even if it's not the best - will get you flowing. The hardest part is pressing that "publish" button. But even then it's not set in stone - it can always be changed. It gets easier after the first one. Deb

Deb is right. I've done this a million times. It all goes back to what I said earlier about writing the direct things you want to say and then reading it back to yourself. Get something up there. Once something is there staring you in the face you will automatically begin to criticize yourself, starting the "flow". Keep us updated and let us know how everything is going for you. Best Wishes!

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Winston Stewart
PennWin Administrative Services

I think in this business we are all super self-critical as, doing what we do, we want everything to be perfect to the nth degree and the quality of our work to be 101%+ so we're always beating ourselves up . I did quite a bit of work on my site over the years but keep changing it and tweaking. Now, with the blog and stuff on it I've not touched yet it's going to need a lot more work but that will have to wait until after I've moved house and settled in.

Lynne

I suggested that you have something up on your website. Perhaps just basic information. I myself took some time to finally get my website up it was very frusterating - but I finally did it.

Good Luck

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Virtual Express Inc.
Ramonita Comas

A website is always changing, and it should be, as you will be adding/changing things as your business grows or just updating you services. So the best thing to do is to have something up and keep revisiting and changing it as you go along. Just ensure that anything you do put up is spelt correctly and grammer is right.
Just one more tip, try to source some different images for you site it will keep it interesting.

Good luck, and have fun with it.

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Vicky
www.c-vas.eu

Whenever I get writer's block I literally force myself to step away from the computer and work on something else. You will accomplish nothing by "forcing" yourself to writer. You will just become even more frustrated.

When your relaxed the ideas will start flowing trust me. Also, I have yet to use this site but from what I have seen and heard from others you might want to check it out...http://skribit.com/ Your website will be awesome!

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LaTosha Johnson
http://www.targetstars.com

Hi Diana,

There are some good suggestions here! Just getting started is an excellent tip. I write website copy for a living, and whenever I find myself staring at a blank page (which happens more often than I'd like!!), I will sometimes review websites that are similar to what I'm trying to achieve (ie. competitors' sites) and that can get the juices flowing. Of course, you NEVER want to plagiarize, but sometimes looking at other sites can give you an idea of formatting you like (ie. headlines or no headlines? bullets, paragprahs, or a combination of the two?).

If you're still stuck, I have a free copywriting tips report that you can pick up from my website that might give you a few ideas to get the thoughts flowing. Just click here to grab a copy!

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Tammi Metzler ~ The Write Associate
Free call: "How to Write Email Subject Lines That Grab Attention!"

Originally Posted by Write Associate

If you're still stuck, I have a free copywriting tips report that you can pick up from my website that might give you a few ideas to get the thoughts flowing. Just click here to grab a copy!

Hi Tammi. I followed your link and it says to enter name and email below, but there's no place to enter it. The opt-in box seems to be missing. Is it just me?

Deb

p.s. Using Firefox 3.0.10 on Vista.

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Deb at Ivy Freelance
Metrics, Marketing and Macros

Originally Posted by Ivy Freelance

Hi Tammi. I followed your link and it says to enter name and email below, but there's no place to enter it. The opt-in box seems to be missing. Is it just me? Deb p.s. Using Firefox 3.0.10 on Vista.

Oh geez...I had this trouble a few months back but thought I got it fixed! I think there's something wrong with the communication between my web host and the newsletter provider...but of course each one says it's not their problem!

Anyway, if you're interested in this report, you can contact me through my site or PM me with your email address. Sorry for the inconvenience!

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Tammi Metzler ~ The Write Associate
Free call: "How to Write Email Subject Lines That Grab Attention!"

Winston has a great idea and I'd like to expand on that a bit.

Take out a sheet of paper for each webpage you think you want (Home page, Clients, Testimonials, Contact Us, etc.). Lay them out in the order you think you want them in on a space you can arrange them. Then jot down a brief outline of the content you think should go there, leaving room to fill in the blanks as you go.

I find that as you jot down more things, it triggers an idea for content that should be on another page. When you figure out what you want on the page, the content should fill itself in. This is a couple day project, and you might find yourself thinking about those sheets of paper at odd times, but it does help me sort my thoughts, and the content seems to flow from the organization.

Originally Posted by J+L Consulting

Winston has a great idea and I'd like to expand on that a bit. Take out a sheet of paper for each webpage you think you want (Home page, Clients, Testimonials, Contact Us, etc.). Lay them out in the order you think you want them in on a space you can arrange them. Then jot down a brief outline of the content you think should go there, leaving room to fill in the blanks as you go. I find that as you jot down more things, it triggers an idea for content that should be on another page. When you figure out what you want on the page, the content should fill itself in. This is a couple day project, and you might find yourself thinking about those sheets of paper at odd times, but it does help me sort my thoughts, and the content seems to flow from the organization.

I completely agree. Just get something down, and that will start the whole process. If you feel overwhelmed, just do like I said earlier... walk away and do something else. After a few hours revisit your project with fresh eyes and a clear mind. Good Luck!!! Let us know how things are coming.

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Winston Stewart
PennWin Administrative Services

I have learned since launching my business that people do not enjoy writing about themselves! As someone said above, take a piece of paper and now write down your positive qualities. Then take that piece of paper to your trusted family and friends and ask them to add to it. Also, browse around and look at the competition's websites. Just to get an idea of the types of words used and the flow of their site.

Once you have a rough outline of what you would like to write, be sure to use active words and 'keywords' that will get you noticed on the search engines. I won't go into SEO here, but if you have any questions PM me. good luck

Caroline Pigott
http://cpstyle.ca

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Caroline Pigott
VIP Assistant Solutions