Using Twitter to Enhance and Promote your Website

Many websites have already been taking advantage of Twitter and a little time and effort you can grow your followers on Twitter who might find every update or link posted through your profile useful, but the fact that they subscribed shows that they have an interest in the topic (product or service) your website covers and they will certainly click through to topics that grab their interest.

To find out how you could use Twitter to improve your website listing and drive sales, contact us at West Coast Solutions.

Either ring us on 0800 055 5073 or email us at info@westcoastsolutions.co.uk

What is Twitter ?

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.
Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, SMS, RSS, email or through an application such as Tweetie, TwitterFon, Twitterrific, Feedalizr or Facebook. For SMS, four gateway numbers are currently available: short codes for the United States, Canada, and India, as well as a United Kingdom-based number for international use. Several third parties offer posting and receiving updates via email. Twitter had by one measure over 3 million accounts and by another, well over 5 million visitors in September 2008 which was a fivefold increase in a month.

To find out how you could use Twitter to improve your website listing and drive sales, contact us at West Coast Solutions.

Either ring us on 0800 055 5073 or email us at info@westcoastsolutions.co.uk

Also for more information go to the Twitter website at: http:twitter.com

Whats new in Microsoft Windows 7 !

Improved taskbar and full-screen previews
The taskbar at the bottom of your screen is what you use to switch between the applications you've got open. In Windows 7 you can set the order in which the icons appear and they'll stay put. They're easier to see, too. Click once on the new large icons or bigger preview thumbnails and you're ready to go. You can even see a full screen preview before switching to the window.

Jump Lists
With Windows 7, we focused on keeping the things you use most right in front of you. One example: The new Jump List feature. It's a handy way to quickly reach the files you've been working with. To see the files you've used recently, just right click on the icon on your taskbar. So right-clicking on the Word icon will show your most recent Word documents. Plus, if there are other files you want to keep handy, you can just pin them to the Jump List.

New ways to work with Windows
Windows 7 simplifies how you work with the windows on your desktop. You'll have more intuitive ways to open, close, resize, and arrange them. You can drag open windows to screen borders, so you'll no longer have to click on tiny objects in the corner of a window to make it do what you want.
Maximize a window by dragging its border to the top of the screen, and return the window to its original size by dragging it away from the top of the screen. Drag the bottom border of a window to expand it vertically.
It's easy to copy files or compare the contents of two windows by dragging the windows to opposite sides of the screen. As your cursor touches the edge, the window will resize to fill that half of the screen.
To see all your desktop gadgets, just drag your mouse to the lower right corner of your desktop. That'll make all the open Windows transparent—making your desktop, and the gadgets on it, immediately visible. Want to minimize all your windows? One click and it's done.

Internet Explorer 8
Available now, Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 helps you do what you want online, faster. With innovations to the address bar, search, tabs, and the Favorites bar, Internet Explorer 8 brings you more information, with less effort.
Instant Search
To start, as you type a search request you'll immediately start seeing relevant suggestions from your chosen search provider, complete with images when available. The twist: search will also use your browsing history to narrow the suggestions. You'll start seeing search results while you're typing. If you see what you're looking for, you can go right to the list without finishing the request.

Better device management
One of the great things about PCs is how they let us use such a wide array of devices. In the past, you had to use several different screens to manage different types of devices. But With Windows 7, you'll use a single Devices and Printers screen to connect, manage, and use whatever printers, phones, and other devices you have on-hand.

HomeGroup
Setting up a home network can be complicated. With PCs running Windows 7, a home network will be easier to setup and a lot more useful. HomeGroup makes it easier to connect to other computers and devices on a wireless home network, so you can share files, photos, music, and printers throughout your home. To use HomeGroup, you’ll need to have at least two PCs running Windows 7. Once you've set up a homegroup, you can use the Network and Sharing Center to choose what you share with other homegroup members.

5 Ways to Speed up your PC !

1. Free up disk space
By freeing disk space, you can improve the performance of your computer. The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.Use Disk Cleanup to:

Remove temporary Internet files.

Remove downloaded program files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets).

Empty the Recycle Bin.

Remove Windows temporary files.

Remove optional Windows components that you don't use.

Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

2. Speed up access to data
Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when the file is opened to piece it back together. The response time can be significantly longer.
Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.

3. Detect and repair disk errors
In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.
As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.
If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.

4. Protect your computer against spyware
Spyware collects personal information without letting you know and without asking for permission. From the Web sites you visit to usernames and passwords, spyware can put you and your confidential information at risk. In addition to privacy concerns, spyware can hamper your computer's performance. To combat spyware, you might want to consider using Microsoft Windows Defender, which is included in Windows Vista, and is available as a free download for Microsoft XP SP2. Alternatively, there are other free anti-spyware software programs available.

5.Learn all about ReadyBoost
If you're using Windows Vista, you can use ReadyBoost to speed up your system. A new concept in adding memory to a system, it allows you to use non-volatile flash memory—like a USB flash drive or a memory card—to improve performance without having to add additional memory

West Coast Solutions Remote Data Backup Service !

Advantages of the Remote Data Backup Service !

Easier
Backups are fully automated on a daily basis or on an frequency you require. You can automatically backup once a day or even more if required. This means you never have to get involved with taking backups home, switch tapes etc.

Safer
You will receive an e-mail notification with a comprehensive report detailing new, changed and deleted file information after every backup. This form of reporting puts you in total control of your backup process.

More privacy
All backups are encrypted at source and your data can only be read with your own password. This making your backups as secure as possible.

More locations
We store your data away from your place of work weather that is your home, Office or factory. As a result, it is impossible to lose data due to natural disaster so you never run the risk of losing any backups.

More versions
While restoring files you can choose from many different versions - yesterday, last week, and so on.

Easy restore
Restoring your files is incredibly simple. We will restore your files as this is part of the service we provide included in the subscription price.

Cheaper
Making conventional backups costs time and effort. Making online backups is a fully automated process, which enables you to focus on your work instead.

Building An E-Mail Marketing Campaign

Below are five steps involved in launching a successful e-mail marketing campaign.

Step 1: Obtaining a List of E-Mail Addresses
Perhaps the biggest challenge is obtaining a list of qualified e-mail addresses. You can take two different approaches: build your own list, or rent a list. One way to build your list is to ask your Web site visitors to sign up for further information about your company, its products, and services. The advantage to this method is that you collect a relevant list of pre-qualified customers who have expressed interest in your company. The disadvantage is that it can take a long time to build a list. You must also be vigilant about following the CAN-SPAM Act laws. Keep the following in mind as you build your list:
Obtain your customers' permission to send them e-mail by giving them a way to opt-in. Make it clear that you are asking them to sign up to receive commercial information about your company, products, and services. Make the form they fill out short and easy. Ask them about their interests so that you can send them targeted e-mail.
Clearly explain your privacy policy (what you will do with the personal information they give you) and adhere to it.
Offer something free--but of value to your customers--to entice them to sign up. Some examples are: free information or research, product discounts, a chance to win a prize, personalized customer service, access to additional services on your Web site, or notification of future events.
You must also provide a clear and easy method for your customers to opt-out of further e-mail.
The second method is to rent a list of e-mail addresses from another company. This can be a quick-fix solution, but ratchet down your expectations: rented lists are normally only one-third to one-half as effective as lists you build yourself. If you rent a list, you must manage the process closely. To get your money's worth and avoid legal issues, ensure that:
The company you are renting the list from follows all rules of the CAN-SPAM Act.
The list contains qualified e-mail addresses; in other words, the people on this list have indicated that they want information about the type of products and services that your company offers.
The list has been kept up-to-date and contains only people who have recently opted-in or that communicate regularly with the company you are renting the list from.
The company guarantees useful results. Guaranteeing that a percentage of customers open your e-mail is not nearly as useful as guaranteeing a percentage of responses or click-throughs. Be wary if no guarantees are offered.
You are comfortable with how the campaign will be managed. Will the company provide you with the list so that you can physically send the e-mail, or do you have to submit the e-mail message to the company so that they can send it. The latter is very common when the company wants to protect the privacy of their list, but it also means you must rely on the accuracy and timeliness of their reporting mechanisms.

Step 2: Define Goals for Your Campaign
Like any other marketing effort, you should define goals for your e-mail campaign. Are you trying to increase brand awareness, drive customers to your Web site, increase sales, or improve customer relations? Once you've decided on your goal, define what success will look like. If you want to drive customers to your Web site, you should already have several weeks or months of traffic statistics to use as a baseline for measuring the success of your e-mail marketing campaign.

Step 3: Determine Customer Segment to Reach
Once you define goals for your e-mail campaign, you need to define the customers that can best help you get there. If you took the time to ask your customers several questions about their interests when they opted-in to your e-mail program, it will pay off now. Being able to send targeted e-mail to specific customer segments is usually much more effective than sending generic e-mail offers to your entire list.

Step 4: Create the E-Mail Message
With a campaign goal defined and a customer segment identified, you can now create the e-mail message. One of the keys here is personalization. Any marketing piece must appeal to its intended audience, but this is especially important in e-mail because customers are so inundated with spam and junk they don't want. When your e-mail lands in your customer's in-box, it must stand out from the clutter; it must be clearly and immediately obvious that it is of interest to the customer. Here are some proven techniques to help you out:
The "To" line of the e-mail should include your customer's name; even this simple level of personalization increases the chances of your e-mail being read.
The "From" line should clearly indicate your company's name, or the name of someone associated with your company (and preferably known by the customer). A recent survey by Return Path revealed that recognizing a trusted company's name in the From line helped influenced 60% of customers to open an e-mail. If the customer does not recognize who the e-mail is from, they are much less likely to open it, fearing spam or viruses.
The most important line is the "Subject." It is vital that these words accurately describe the value proposition of the e-mail, but most importantly, they must grab the customer's attention. However, don't overplay your hand. For instance, putting the word "free" in your Subject line is more likely to cause suspicion than excitement. It is also a good idea to keep the Subject as short as possible; recent research by EmailLabs found that open rates were 12.5% higher and that click-throughs were 75 percent higher when the Subject line contained 50 characters or less.
The body of the e-mail should begin by addressing the customer. As in all direct marketing pieces, it is generally best to make your message as short as possible. Also, end with a call to action: if you want to drive traffic to your Web site, provide both a link and an incentive for clicking on the link. If you provide a link, be sure it takes the customer to the specific page on your Web site that provides the information or offer mentioned in your e-mail.
Using HTML to create vibrant, professional e-mail messages not only increases the appeal of the message to customers, but it is an excellent way to extend your branding. You can even format the contents of your e-mail to look like a page from your Web site. However, you should avoid loading your marketing e-mail with lots of graphics--customers with older computers or dial-up Internet connections may become frustrated if the e-mail takes to long to download and open.

Step 5: Measure Your Success
An enormous benefit of using e-mail marketing is the speed and precision with which you can measure customer reaction. You can conceive of a campaign, execute it, and measure it's effectiveness within a matter of days. Following are some of the most important metrics to track for each e-mail campaign:
Sent: This is simply the number of e-mail sent and functions as a baseline for several other metrics
Bounced: The number of e-mail that bounced back because they were undeliverable. Some e-mail may not be deliverable for temporary reasons (such as a failure at the customer's ISP); other e-mail may be undeliverable because the customer's e-mail account is no longer active. If e-mail is undeliverable to a customer after three consecutive campaigns, their contact information should be considered invalid and deleted from your list.
Delivered: The number of e-mail sent, minus the bounce back rate, equals the number actually received by customers. DoubleClick reports that the average delivery rate is 90 percent.
Opened: The actual number of e-mail opened by customers. DoubleClick reports an average of 34.3 percent. If your average is significantly lower, consider changing the text in your e-mail's Subject line.
Opt-Out: The number of customers who opted-out of receiving future e-mail from you. Obviously a high number here means that customers reacted poorly to the message or offer in the current e-mail.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): The number of customers who responded to the call to action by clicking on a link in the e-mail. DoubleClick reports the average is 8.2 percent.
Conversion: This is the ultimate number of successes, the people who were motivated by the e-mail and acted on it. If the goal of the e-mail was to sell more cameras, this is the number of people who bought cameras.
The inexpensive nature of e-mail marketing encourages experimentation; its ability to reach segmented audiences encourages refinement. Test variations of your messages on small groups of customers to find the most successful solution. Keep your e-mail lists fresh and relevant by constantly working to add new customers and weeding out old, expired, and invalid data.

Advantages of Email Marketing

Used correctly, e-mail can be a powerful marketing tool for increasing brand recognition, increasing sales, driving traffic to your Web site, and building and maintaining customer relationships. Some of the advantages of e-mail over more traditional marketing methods include:

Inexpensive: You may need to spend some money on designing your text- and HTML-based e-mail pieces, but you can eliminate paper, printing, manufacturing, and shipping costs.

Fast: An e-mail piece can be created very quickly, and many of your customers will receive it within 30 seconds of it being sent. Likewise, response time is very fast: 80% of customers who respond to an e-mail piece do so within 48 hours of receiving it.
Personalized Message to a Targeted Audience: E-mail enables you to send targeted messages to specific segments of your customer base. Research shows that personalizing an e-mail greatly increases the chance that your customer will read it; it also increases the chance they will follow your call to action.

Verifiable Results: Like no other marketing vehicle, e-mail enables you to immediately measure many types and degrees of customer reaction to your campaign. You can measure how many customers open your e-mail, how many click on a link in it, and how many ultimately purchase a product or take any other action suggested in the message.