We need Contributors for National Home Improvement Publications

We have been contacted by an editor for a variety of National home improvement publications for fall and winter home mainteance and improvement checklists
Please submit articles, tips and to-dos with any exterior high resolution images to go along with them to us. We will forward them along with appropriate credits. This is a great opportunity for you and your business to get some national exposure. Let’s represent the Southwest! The deadline is October 17th. Contact us if you have any questions.

See the Announcement here

Contractors and Home Improvement Businesses in Santa Fe – Flyers are a Great Way to Marketing Your Business Inexpensively. Here’s how!

Using flyers to market your roofing business, plumbing business, plastering business or contracting business may seem “old school” but if done well and consistently you’ll find people will read your marketing flyers and you’ll get leads. Here’s how you can make your marketing flyer look great, grab attention, and bring you leads.

1. Knockout Title or Headline is Key – Phrases like, SECRETS TO FEWER ROOF LEAKS, TIME TO ACT IS NOW, FREE BONUSES, DISCOVER HOW TO SAVE ON YOUR WATER BILL can catch attention where people will tear off your phone number from the flyer.

2. Use Color or Smoking Hot Graphics – A great photo or illustration will get peoples attention visually. Quality photos are available online at Istockphoto.com or fotolia.com that will make your flyer look very cool.

3. Target Benefits of Your Service or Product – You do something most people cannot do like plumbing or framing. Express the benefit someone will receive by hiring your company.

4. Use Awesome Testimonials – People read testimonials from your clients. You have satisfied clients. Capitalize on your success by including a short testimonial on the flyer.

5. Flyer Design Needs to Include Boxes and Borders with Colors that Separate Section – Ease of read for your prospect is huge. Make the flyer “pop” with a solid design. There are flyer service for do-it-your-selfers online that you can subscribe to that you can use to make awesome flyers.

6. Make Your Message Easy to Read – Targeting your main points with BOLD HEADLINES where it makes sense that will help your readers see what you want them to see.

7. Keep it Simple – Making your flyer too busy will kill your message and no one will read it. Read your flyer and pretend you are the customer and then decide if you were a guy looking for a new roof or a to add a deck to their home would your flyer catch your attention. If your answer is YES you’ve done a great job.

8. Proofread – Do this your self then have 2 other people re-read it so you do not have mistakes.

9. Tight Budget and Cannot Use Color Graphics Then Here’s Your Solution – Use bright color paper and print with black ink.

10. Include a Special – If you can, offer a monthly special that grabs your readers attention.

PLACEMENT OF THE FLYERS – Scout out all the places around town that allow 30 day placement of flyers. Many of the banks, grocery stores, credit unions and mail box places have community boards for flyers. Scout them out, make a list, then place your current flyer at the beginning of each month every month and continue to do it for 6 months. Include a tracking phone number on the flyer instead of your regular busines phone number from FREEDOMVOICE.COM for $10 a month that forwards to your business phone or business cell phone so you know where your leads are coming from. This is a cost, but it is well worth knowing if your marketing is working or if it is not.

Good luck!

Internet Marketing Your Santa Fe Construction Business – Home Repair Business With Google Places – Better Than The Yellow Pages and It’s Free

Google Places – We can all agree that advertising works. Some advertising works better than other types of advertising. Heny Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company stated, ” A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man whos stops a clock to save time.” Where Google Places comes In to help you grow your business is one simple amazing fact. 71% of all internet searches. Back in 2005 69% of all searches were done using Google. With this amazing fact in mind Google Places, which is Google’s version of a yellow page business listing, is for the time being free, offers business owners an opportunity to list all their business information including contact information, location information, website address, images from the business and Youtube videos. Businesses with the most relevant information and the with a well designed website quite often get listed on PAGE 1 in the group businesses listed in Google Places business listings or they get listed organically ( organic listing means the search engine computer programs list of indexed websites for every possible relevant search term, bit of information, product, service, or news item. The more relevent the search engines find a website the higher the search engines index the website. Some website are on page 1 while other websites show up on page 7) for that business’s search term. The higher or better your placement is in the list of business in Google Places or the higher your business is listed organically statistically the better your chance is of someone clicking on the link to your website which in turn can convert into new business.

Google Places Optimized Local Business Listing – What’s the Next Step

1. Create a Google Account – You can do this with your current primary email. Once you’ve created your own Google Account stay logged in.

2. Type in a search in Google for Your Business Name – i.e. Joe’s Speedy Plumbing

3. IF Google Places listing comes up for your business click on the words PLACE PAGE. Then click on EDIT THIS PLACE.

4. Then click on EDIT MY BUSINESS LISTING. Then below on that page click on CONTINUE.

5. After you click on CONTINUE you will be in your Google Places business listing. Fill in all the relevant information asked for the click on SUBMIT at the bottom of the page.

6. On the next page Google will ask you to verify your listing by telephone or by postcard. Pick one then wait for your FIVE DIGIT code by an immediate phone call from Google or from Google via the postcard method. Type in the five digit code then press FINISH. Once you pressed finish you will have completed your company’s very own Google Places Optimized Business Listing.

Now when people type in your business name in Google they will more than likely come to your Google Places business listing which includes all the important information about your business, including your phone number, website, images from jobs you’ve completed and Youtube videos, if you’ve set up a Youtube channel for your business. The more information on the internet about your business so people can find you and your website the better off you’ll be when it comes to developing new pieces of business.

Santa Fe Contractors – How you too can get found for the search terms – Contractor Santa Fe, Remodeler Santa Fe, Home Remodel Santa Fe

Getting Your Santa Fe Home Builder/Home Remodeling Contracting Business Found on The Internet – Here are Some Steps to Follow

How to Get Found On the Internet – Getting your business website found on the internet can be appear to be a daunting task, but if you employ some basic search engine optimization strategy (known as SEO) on an ongoing basis you can get your website indexed and more visible than your competitors. Here are some basic SEO steps to follow to help your cause on the web:

1. Check your website to make sure each page on your website has a browser title that describes what your business sells. This means listing your service or product in the browser title my subject name. Make sure the browser title also includes the city you do business in. An example of a correctly written browser title is as follows: home remodeler santa fe, home repairs santa fe, remodel santa fe. It may seem simple to do this on a web page, but most business owners put the name of their business in the browser title and nothing about the service/product and city the company does business in. Big mistake.

2. H1 TAG – This is the tag in the header of your website pages that describes what your business does. If you don’t know what an H1 tag is or how to add one to your website ask an SEO Consultant for help.

3. Meta-Description – This is the description of what your company does that comes up in the search results. This description should explain your company in 2 or 3 short sentences.

4. Meta-Tags – These are the keywords about your company’s service or product. Each page can have up to 160 characters for your keyword list

Each page on your website should be optimized with the components described above. If you have a website where you get to manage the content including the SEO portion of the pages you can “SEO” the pages yourself without much trouble. If you do not have a content management system you can contact your webmaster, go through the pages of your site, and make sure each page is optimized with the right information for your company, product, and services, including the browser page title, H1 tag, Meta-Description and the Meta-Tags. Doing all these things will help get your website indexed and found for the right keywords and search terms and in turn hopefully lead to more visitors to your website.

Thinking of Hiring a Side-Job Contractor Without a License or Insurance for Your Home Improvement in Santa Fe? Think Again

The same story gets told about side-job guys that do remodels and home improvement projects in communities around the country. Joe Side-Job comes in as the low bid on your kitchen remodel. You hire him and he asks for a deposit for materials and a weeks worth of labor. He starts the job, buys some materials and from your perspective the project is starting off great. You see progress the first 2 days then on day 3 you get a call from your low bid guy and he tells you something came up and he cannot make it in today and neither can his guys. Day 4 rolls around and he and his crew are there first thing working on your kitchen again. You’re happy because the project is off to a roaring start and it’s looking like you’ve made a great decision hiring your guy. Then, the 5th day rolls around and you don’t get a call until 11 a.m.. The excuse why the guy cannot show up is lame at best and your “this could be trouble” warning signal is going off, but you buy the reason. Monday rolls around and the worst happens. No call comes your way and no one shows up at the job. Essentially your low quote side-job contractor has turned into a skip with your money in hand. Day 6 turns into day 7, then day 8 and before know it you’re working on hiring a new company with insurance, a good list of references and proof of insurance to finish the job the low quote guy started on.

Another scenario can happen where you hire a similar guy and he or one of his workers gets hurt on the job at your home. In some instances your home owners insurance will sometimes pick up and cover the loss, but then your premiums go up and you could be facing a lawsuit from the injured worker. Worse yet, if your home owners insurance does not cover the costs of the workers injuries you’re on the hook for the entire amount. The idea of saving a few hundred or even a $1,000 on a low bid from a builder that’s not licensed or insured is looking worse all the time.

Your Next Move:

Check out your contractor prior to hiriing. The basics you need to do when hiring a contractor for a home improvement job are as follows:

1. Get a written quote with time of completion guarantees.

2. Check out at least 3 of the contractors references

3. Get proof of insurance including general liability and workmen’s compensation insurance.

4. Go online and make sure the contractor’s license is current with your state’s construction industries division.

Spending the time now to check out your contractor and you could be saving yourself 1,000′s of dollars in the future.

Is Your Santa Fe Home Ready for Summer?

Summer is just around the corner. It’s time to get your Santa Fe home ready for the summer season. Here are some basic things to work on to get your house in shape for the warmer months.

• Install a water catchment system or gray water system
• Build a portal or sun room
• Lay down weed guard
• Gardening, purchase plants and get flowerbeds prepared (please xeriscape!)
• Put in an awning
• Redesign your landscape, install drip irrigation
• Install a solar water heater
• Inspect roof after a long winter and see if it is time for maintenance
• Install landscape lights
• Buy a grill and build and outdoor kitchen
• Remove pest trees and plant shade trees
• Buy and install a pool or pond
• “SPRING Cleaning” and organizing. Build shelves
• Repaint your house, get out of that winter funk with bright spring colors
• Lay flagstone and build a deck
• Install a compost system
• Repair fence and gate
• Repair stucco, fix canalis
• Install skylights
• Remodel bathroom and kitchen
• Redesign interior of home, purchase art
• Replace windows
• Install pet door
• Fix screens
• Set traps and spray for bugs
• Swamp Cooler Time
• Drip Irrigation System – It’s time to flush out your drip system
• Composting Your Garden – The City of Santa Fe has compost.

Home Improvement and Home Remodeling In Santa Fe – Online Press Release Santa Fe, NM (www.free-press-release.com) April 3, 2011 – Wise Improvements LLC, A Santa Fe NM Based Home Improvement Referral Service Announces Launch of Youtube Channel

Santa Fe, NM (www.free-press-release.com) April 3, 2011 – Wise Improvements LLC, A Santa Fe NM Based Home Improvements, Home Repair, Home Remodeling Referral Service Announces Launch of Youtube Channel
Wise Improvements LLC knows where the rubber meets the road when it comes to information on the internet about home improvements, home repair, and home remodeling services in Santa Fe. Youtube is the number 3 website on the web so with that in mind Wise Improvements LLC has launched their own Youtube channel which is named WiseImprovements. The focus of the Youtube channel WiseImprovements will be to provide tips, and information about the services that Wise Improvement’s team of home improvement, home repair and home remodeling service providers offers in the Santa Fe area. Currently the company’s Youtube channel has 6 videos with several more to be added planned over the coming months. The company plans on adding 2 to 3 new home improvement, home repair, home remodeling, or business remodeling Youtube videos a month to their channel. Additionally the company plans on embedding those videos on their blog so when visitors come to their blog they’ll be able to look up a category for home improvement and listen to some good information about the topic they’re interested in learning about regarding home improvement or business location capital improvement. Wise Improvements plan is to grow their Youtube channel content and their blog content each month to where anytime home owners and business owners in the Santa Fe area need to information about a pending home improvement or pending capital improvement to their business they’ll be able to visit the company’s blog or Youtube channel to learn what they need to know to make a good decision about their pending job. Youtube is where it’s at on the web when it comes to video and Wise Improvements LLC of Santa Fe plans on being where it’s at for people needing home improvement information and help with home improvement projects in Santa Fe
About Wise Improvements LLC
Established in 2006, Wise Improvements LLC is dedicated to offering the best home improvement and construction professionals that Santa Fe has to offer. The company currently offers a line-up of 30 plus professionals in the construction industry including roofers, plumbers, electricians, and exterminators. Wise Improvements LLC serves Santa Fe and the surrounding communities. When you want it done right and on time you need to call Wise Improvements LLC
Wise Improvements LLC
Joe Lewis – Owner
Santa Fe, NM
(505) 216-7529