JoeBailey.ORG

This comes up every once in a while from my clients. A company, names not mentioned, will send you a domain name renewal letter in the mail. I’m not sure if you should call it a scam or not, but it will definitely cost you more money. What these companies do is find out when your domain name expires, or find a version of your domain name and send you the letter. The letter looks pretty convincing, but essentially, it’s a company trying to renew your domain name from your existing company and charge you up to 10 times more than you can spend. Don’t fall for it. Contact the person that registered your domain to find out the real situation. If you’re spending more than $10 for you domain name, contact JoesWebShack.com for a cheaper price. That’s what we use.

Yes, times are tight, if you want to save money on your website, you can do it. Psst… This is information from inside the web programmer world.

1. Transfer your domain name to a cheaper location – Some companies charge you up to $50 each year for a domain name. Don’t forget, you can get a domain name for under $10. Potential savings: $40 a year

2. Change hosting companies – Hosting can also be cheaper. If you are using what is called “shared hosting” you can definitely get cheaper hosting. Most small businesses in the world use shared hosting. Dependent on what you need, you can find hosting for less than $5 a month. Potential savings: $20+ per month

3. Hire a different web company or firm. Rates can get pretty high. For example, the people that hire me, typically charge their clients at a rate of $125-$200 per hour. I’m not billing them that rate.

4. SEO – How much are you paying for your SEO?.. and is it working. Remember, don’t hesitate to make a decision and move on.

5. Are you paying for other services for your website? If so, chances are, you may not need these items. Today, a lot of things can be done for free or may be unnecessary.

6. Submit articles, products, etc to Google Base. Yes, you can add your information DIRECTLY into Google. Why try to get into Google, just do it.

7. Turn on Spam filtering or get it. Chances are you spend a certain amount of time each day deleting spam. This time could be spent on running your business. If you have a contact form on your website, don’t forget to add some way to ensure an actual person is filling out your contact form ( captcha ) This eliminates unwanted emails from your website.

8. Use email marketing. Yes, I know there is a lot of spam out there, but people still look at their emails. When you sign up for email software, it should be less than $10 unless you are sending more than the average number of emails. Potential savings: $5+ per month

9. Pay attention to how your advertising online, where your spending money online, and what is successful. I stick with the 80/20 rule. Keep duplicating and enhancing that top 20% of your online ads. Remove the bottom 80%. Continue doing this until your satisfied with the results.

10. Last but not least. Always trust the people you work with. If your gut tells you something is not right about a project, quote, or cost, move on. Web costs can be expensive and can add up fast. Also, choose the right individuals to do the work. Keep in mind, in our world there is NOT 1 person that can do everything extremely well. There are typically 2 general categories of web people, those that can make your site look good and those that can make your site run.

If you would like to save some costs on domain names, hosting, etc, please visit www.joeswebshack.com

If you would like some help with some programming on your site, please contact me here through the site.

Ok, we’re all taking trips this year, it could be for summer break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, whatever… Now, that gas is a major issue, how can you save money on the road? Well, there are now ways to find out where the gas prices are the best while you’re on the road. Granted, technology is changing so it will take a little work.

First things first, you must be comfortable with maps. Second, get your directions. Once you have directions, follow the instructions below and you’ll see where you should stop and fill up your gas tank.

• Go to www.gasbuddy.com
• In the top navigation, go to “Map Gas Prices”
• Type in your zip code and press the “Go” button.
• Now that you see a map of gas prices in your area, simply move the map along your route to see the gas prices.

What we found?
We’re going to avoid filling up in some states, therefore, we’re filling up before we enter the state and once we leave.
Some cities have better gas prices either entering or leaving the city.

Ok, let’s cut to the chase. We’re all looking to save money right now because gas prices are getting so high. Here are a few tips:
1. Dump the trunk: Empty out any unnecessary things from your trunk and the car.
2. Who’s driving what? If you have two cars, determine if you need to switch cars on certain occasions to save money on gas.
3. Join a club. We’ve joined a Costco that has a gas station. Prices are always cheaper there. Time your routine to pass by there and get gas cheaper.
4. Do you really have to drive? Make a mental list of those places you drive. Do you really have to drive there? Or, can you combine trips. One big thing we found saved us time and money were services such as Netflix and Concierge-To-Go. Netflix, of course will send you your movies through the mail. We’ve saved a ton of time and money using this service. Concierge-To-Go is a dry cleaning to your door service. The dry cleaning prices are the same and we save at least 30 minutes of time per week without having to go and pick up the dry cleaning.
5. Drive in the slow lane. Yes, it’s a pain. But, by driving slower in these lanes, it saves money on gas and is less stressful. You will also use the accelerator and brakes less often.
6. Monitor your gas mileage. Some car display systems tell you the used miles per gallon. Keep this information in the display at all times. Getting more miles per gallon becomes a game after a while.
7. Pick a different time to drive into work. Sometimes changing your work schedule can save you both time and money.
8. As always, carpool or use public transportation if you can.
9. Keep your car in tip top shape. Make sure your tires have the correct pressure and all maintenance has been done.
10. Use online tools such as gasbuddy.com to find the most cost effective gas.

Above all, when travelling this summer, don’t get caught paying too much. Some states charge more for gas than others. For example, we’ve found that North Carolina charges more for gas than South Carolina and Virginia, so we always fill up before or leaving the state.

As a consultant I often find it a hassle to carry around my laptop. Not only did it add extra time and baggage to every trip, it also added risk. For example, when working out in the gym, I was concerned someone would take it, or it would get wet in the rain. After a lot of thought… but a lot of delay, I looked into a way to keep my laptop at home when I could work on someone else’s computer or while on vacation.

After some online checking, I found most companies would charge for this service. Then I found LogMeIn which is FREE if you do not use all of the functions. Granted, when I say not all functions, you can’t copy back and forth easily. But, I’m able to log onto my computer, check and send email, write documents, etc. I’ve been using it for over a year. Not bad.

www.logmein.com