Create your own Share link for Facebook

Posted on April 20, 2010 by CScholz

Another free tip from Cat’s Web Weave!

Facebook is a powerful tool for marketing your products or services online.  There are smart ways to use Facebook and there are ways to lose Facebook friends.  Brenda Horton teaches you how to use Facebook effectively in her online self-paced social media training.

This post is about how to create a link within your email to help your subscribers share your content easily on Facebook.  Here are the instructions:

1) Add the text “Share on Facebook” to the content of your email

2) modify this hyperlink url with your webpage url and title:

http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=<your url to share>&t=<title of content>

3) hyperlink your “Share on Facebook” text with the modified link you created

4) send yourself a test email to make sure it works – you may need to edit your webpage to your liking so Facebook displays what you want

Source: http://www.facebook.com/facebook-widgets/share.php

Questions?  Leave me a comment!

Posted in Facebook, Social Media Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Intro. to WordPress, Level 1 and Level 2 Classes with Cat’s Web Weave

Posted on April 6, 2010 by CScholz

Today’s Level 1 class was delightfully full of brilliant questions and ideas – truly a co-creative process between students and teachers alike!  Watch a short video from today’s class here:

Posted in Classes, Training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More WordPress training dates and improved emails from AWeber

Posted on April 1, 2010 by CScholz

Hi all-

I am so pleased with the response I received with my first free Introduction to WordPress class on Tuesday at the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley.  There were about 20-25 people there, which filled the room nicely and kept me on my toes!  I also got great feedback and will definitely incorporate many of the fine ideas into my future classes.  Speaking of which…

Here are the April WordPress class dates happening at the Holbrooke in Grass Valley:

  • April 6th, 2010: 10am-12pm WordPress Level I ($18 – and worth a whole lot more)
  • April 13th, 2010: 6-8pm Intro. to WordPress (free)
  • April 20th, 2010: 10am-12pm WordPress Level 2 ($28)
  • April 27th, 2010: 6-8pm WordPress Level 1 ($18)

You may be wondering how I can afford to offer these classes as such an affordable fee.  The reason I’m charging a fraction of what other WordPress trainers are currently charging is because I am in the process of developing these classes to create a self-paced online training product to be released in the Fall.  So I encourage you to tell your friends to take these classes now – this highly valuable training will be going up in price in about 6 months!

You may have also noticed that I am switching email service providers to AWeber.  I love their easy-to-customize email templates using their exclusive blog broadcast feature and I think you will enjoy the new look to my emails, too.  You should have received an email asking you to confirm your subscription sometime earlier today, so if you haven’t already done so, please check your inbox and confirm ASAP.

Posted in Classes, General Information, Training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What is WordPress (self-hosted version)?

Posted on March 16, 2010 by CScholz

What is WordPress (self-hosted version)? The WordPress self-hosted software (not WordPress.com or WordPress MU) I am referring to is FREE, open-source software that…

  • is constantly evolving by an international community of developers (not Microsoft or Adobe)
  • is the #1 blogging software available (and is also used for websites)
  • anyone can download and install on their own web hosting (I use Dreamhost)
  • is easy to learn how to use (FAR easier to use than Dreamweaver!)
  • is highly customizable with WordPress plugins and themes (learn which ones to use!)
  • must be kept up-to-date and be backed up regularly (the not-so-fun, but still easy part)
  • can be used for e-commerce, embedding audio and video and as a CMS (content mangagement system) in addition to blogging (you can make money easily)

I will be teaching a class in Grass Valley, CA that will go into more detail about how to use WordPress effectively for internet marketing.  If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email at support @ catswebweave.com.
Watch the What is WordPress? video:

Posted in General Information, Wordpress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Video Tutorial: How to embed your YouTube video in your WordPress (self-hosted version) website/blog

Posted on March 12, 2010 by CScholz

Learn how to embed one of your YouTube videos on your WordPress website or blog with this simple video tutorial from Cat’s Web Weave.

Posted in General How-To, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Top 5 posts from Cat’s Web Weave

Posted on March 2, 2010 by CScholz

I looked at my “All Time” Stats today and discovered the top 5 posts that have gotten the most views since I started my blog.  Here they are:

Add a feedback tab to your site

Sync your blog with your Facebook Page

Free alternative to Dreamweaver

Free alternative to BrowserCam

ProPlayer Plugin

Have you found any of these posts particularly useful in your work?  Leave me a comment.

Posted in General Information | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Class Preview Video: What will be covered in the Intro. to WordPress Class?

Posted on February 26, 2010 by CScholz

In this video, I briefly outline the subjects I will covering in my upcoming Introduction to WordPress class in Grass Valley, CA.

Posted in Classes, General How-To | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why use WordPress (self-hosted)?

Posted on February 25, 2010 by CScholz

There are many great reasons to use a self-hosted version of WordPress for developing your website and blog.  Here are my top 10:

  1. Google loves WordPress (and blogs in general) because search engines favor sites that have regularly created fresh content.  See my post on SEO.
  2. WordPress is interactive.  Visitors can comment on pages and posts.  You can create a community around your business with your site.
  3. You can organize content with categories and visitors can view or subscribe to the categories they want to.
  4. You can automatically sync your content to social websites such as Facebook with the RSS feed.
  5. WordPress sites can be translatable into many languages.
  6. WordPress sites are easy to update (far easier than reglular html or Joomla).
  7. Multiple authors and editors can contribute to writing content and posting photos or video (you can DELEGATE!)
  8. You can add PayPal buttons or a shopping cart to monetize your site (you can MAKE MONEY!)
  9. You can embed video from YouTube easily (YouTube is second to Google as a search engine now!)
  10. WordPress is open-source and is constantly evolving (it’s always getting better!)
  11. OK one more: WordPress is easy to learn!

There are more advanced reasons that concern templates, tags and permalinks, but the 10 reasons listed above should satisfy most folks who need a fast and easy way to get their business website up and running.

Here is a screenshot of what WordPress looks like from the back-end:

Live in Nevada County and want to learn more about WordPress in person?  Come to my free class.

Posted in General How-To, Google, PayPal, RSS Feed Optimization, SEO, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Self-Paced Social Media Training Course from HWare

Posted on February 24, 2010 by CScholz

Brenda and Chuck Horton have created an exceptional self-paced online training program that is affordable and highly relevant for businesses of every shape and size.  Whether you are just getting started with social media marketing or you have been using social media for some time, I am highly confident that you will learn something new from this training.

I took this course a couple of months ago and I am still implementing the HWare strategies for my WordPress Web Weaving business.  It’s a course that I plan to re-visit over and over again, at my own pace, to glean all the tips and techniques for using social media in the most effective ways (and also how NOT to use social media!).

<–Click here to get started!

If you are not completely satisified with this course, HWare offers a 125% money-back guarantee.  WOW!

This training covers the importance of creating a social media plan using Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging with WordPress.

“The information about the evolution of social networking and specific internet marketing strategies was enlightening. I left the call with specific actions to take to increase my visibility and went to work that day to implement what I learned. I can’t wait to learn more strategies! For anyone who is new to social networks, or wants to increase their proficiency at social networking, do NOT miss this Course! I only wish I had taken it 6 months ago!!” – Sonika Tinker, Relationship Expert

Who is it for?

  • Small Business Owners
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Start-ups
  • Non-profits
  • Coaches
  • Marketers
  • Salespeople
  • Virtual Assistants
  • Work-at-home-moms/dads
  • Anyone trying to get there hands around Social Media

Posted in Facebook, Social Media Strategies, Twitter | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

What is involved with a Web Weaver monthly retainer agreement?

Posted on February 19, 2010 by CScholz

A Web Weaver™ monthly retainer agreement is a written document and mutually beneficial exchange of monies and services, co-created between 2 parties through dialogue and email.  The monetary exchange is pre-paid through a recurring PayPal transaction or with check or cash.

The retainer agreement allows a client to purchase a set number of Web Weaving™ hours per month, thereby engaging the Web Weaving services regularly over a period of time, with a minimum commitment of 6 months.  Hours may not be carried over to the next month if not used.

Making a retainer agreement represents a higher level of commitment from both parties to an ongoing working partnership that supports successful outcomes (such as increased website traffic, growing an email list, growing sales, improving social media reach, etc.) through ongoing site improvements, attention and communication about the effectiveness about the Web Weaving services applied to the WordPress site.

Continue reading →

Posted in General Information | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment