How to Get Rid of Negative Reviews

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Feedback from real customers is easily one of the most powerful selling tools you can use to find buyers on the web. What happens when it all goes wrong, however?

Unfortunately, your business will likely find a few customers along the way who aren’t thrilled. Whether you provided poor service, you over-promised and under-delivered, or your client was simply grumpy, nobody wants to have a negative Yelp review tarnishing their reputation. Bad feedback can discourage potential buyers and negatively impact your bottom line, so how do you get rid of negative reviews?

In most cases, you can only get bad reviews rejected if they meet one of the following criteria:

  1. The review is inflammatory or inappropriate. Think bad language, harassing statements, or threats.
  2. The reviewer has a conflict of interest, i.e. a previous employee or a relative.

If you get a bad review that doesn’t fit one of these categories, you can’t ask for it to be removed. Your hands aren’t completely tied, however. Instead of sending up the white flag and simply accepting the negative feedback, use the following simple keys to negate the impact of the review:

Respond to Negative Feedback

When customers share bad feedback, it often feels tempting to stick your head in the sand. Instead, make a point of responding to negative feedback in a friendly, non-confrontational manner. Most review services allow businesses to have their say, so don’t hesitate to make contact with a reviewer who posts negative information.

Treat this as an opportunity to provide great customer service. Express your disappointment that the client’s desires weren’t met, and extend an invitation to make the situation right. This accomplishes two different things: it shows your angry client that you’re willing to try to resolve the problem and it demonstrates your service-oriented approach to others reading the review.

Correct Dishonest Claims

Customers are free to make outrageous claims about your company online, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit by and accept it. When a client makes a claim that simply isn’t true, don’t be afraid to state your case in a kind, factual way. Sometimes reviewers mistake companies for different organizations, while in other cases, anger can cause someone to lash out with ridiculous comments. Remember, your response will be made public, so don’t respond in haste. Be thoughtful with your words, while defending your company’s reputation.

Proactively Prevent Bad Reviews

Have you ever thought to yourself, “if only there was a way to prevent bad reviews?” Fortunately, there are solutions you can use to intercept angry reviewers before they leave nasty remarks about you online.

GatherKudos is one such tool, a review filtering resource that will allow you to boost your company’s clout online, while stopping bad feedback from popping up on the web. The premise is simple: direct customers to your GatherKudos page to leave honest feedback. If the feedback is positive, the page encourages them to post about it on services like Yelp and Google+. For those with less savory remarks, comments are directed straight to you.

Are you struggling with bad reviews online? Is your business losing sales because of negative feedback? Learn how we can help by giving us a call today: (909)-748-5882

Conversion anxiety: Why your website visitors resist the click

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“I don’t want to adult today”

Remember as a child, the world seemed so easy to navigate? And then you grew up, and realized that you’re the responsible adult now, and the world is full of decisions and potential mistakes. Websites are a good representation of this, and a phenomenon known as conversion anxiety is very real. Today I’m going to talk about what this is, why it happens, how to overcome it, and perhaps sprinkle in a few other words of Helen wisdom along the way.

Click Me, A Mysterious World Awaits

Our spam folders have ruined everything. Once, a peaceful world of trust and love, we are now living in a time where scammers and phishermen rule supreme. No button is safe from the potential scare of malware and viruses, and our browsing habits and on-page actions reflect this. How many times have you been on a website with a button where you’ve thought “There’s no way I’m going to click that!”? And how many times has that website been, on the surface, a fairly reasonable looking page, with nothing outwardly suspicious? This anxiety is present in all of us, and it is probably happening right now on your businesses’ website. Go check, I’ll wait.

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See? Somewhere on your homepage is a call-to-action that just screams “I’m leading you into the dark world of uncertainty”. It’s a button that says something like “Submit”, or “Click here”, or “Enter”. It’s a form that gives little information about the room behind the door. It might be a menu item, a page link, or a simple phone number. See where I’m going with this? Your call to action is creepy, and there ain’t no way in hell I’m going to do what you tell me, without a little more reassurance that it’s all going to be ok.

Why We’re Scared of Clicking Your Button

We’re not wimps. We’re businessmen, high-flyers, schmoozers, and risk-takers (I’m looking at you, entrepreneurs). So why are we so afraid of a little click-action? The fact is, your website’s call to action doesn’t tell us what to expect, and it’s not fear we’re experiencing, it’s common sense. If we clicked every Tom, Dick, and Harry button out there, we’d be in a bad way, with laptops full of viruses, inboxes full of spam, and bank accounts on the verge of collapse. We don’t click your button because your button doesn’t show any good intentions.

Borrowing Reputation through Trust Symbols

When the BBC publishes a news story, no one questions it. Why? Because the BBC is pretty darn reputable (and British, which is always a good thing to be in my book). And if you see a quote from the BBC somewhere else, you don’t question that either? Why? Because their reputation follows them. This is the whole idea behind trust symbols, it’s an image that makes your inner voice squeal “I know them!” and adds that reputation to the surrounding information. Right now, Netflix features the word “Emmy” in its headline, and it’s doing just that – adding the reputation of an industry-recognized award to the whole brand. And they’ve not even won anything yet!

Preventing Click Anxiety

To prevent anxiety on your webpage, all you need to do is a little hand-holding. Sprinkle a few of your best and most reputable trust symbols around the button, and let the website visitor know it’s all going to be ok. I also recommend adding in a few sentences about what this action will do – it turns the mysterious metal door into a lovely glass panel through which everything becomes clear again. If the button is a sign-up, let them know:

“Receive 3 emails packed with hints and tips, every month!”

Reassure them of any get-out clauses you might have:

“Unsubscribe anytime with our one-click process.”

Give them peace of mind that they’re not going to be left alone after taking the action:

“Our support team is available by phone 24/7 on (555) 867-5309”.

See it in action right here! Click below to find out exactly how we can help you improve your website even further. We’ll call you for a no-cost consultation and suggest ways to improve your website’s confidence. Join companies such as RPM, Jack in the Box, and Five Ten, who have worked with us to improve their conversions and online reputation. Or just call me, on (909) 748-5882 x 804.

Google Apps: Email at Your Domain

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Google Apps offers email services, cloud-based storage, a messaging platform, and a host of other tools frequently used by modern companies. There is simply no better tool available for small business teams searching for an affordable and practical means of working together, without the hassle of paying for multiple software licenses. We’re so convinced of it here at OpenPotion that we use Google Apps for our own day-to-day operations, using Google Hangouts, Calendar, Drive, and Docs. As a virtual office, it helps us coordinate, collaborate, and keep up with our workload. Today we’re going to share with you the benefits of using the Apps service for Google Mail (also known as ‘Gmail For Your Domain’).

Email At Your Business Domain

This is perhaps most impressive of all in the Apps arsenal. The Google Apps mail system makes it easier than ever before to send and receive messages using your company’s domain. Here are some more benefits for those who choose Gmail to run their domain mail service.

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A Simple, Intuitive, and Powerful Interface

Many companies use personalized email addresses hosted on their own server, i.e. you@yourdomain.com. This is a professional alternative to free webmail services such as Yahoo, but is often liable to downtime, hacking, and complex server issues that result in bounced emails and send/receive failures. With Gmail through Google Apps, you benefit from advantages like a 99.9% uptime guarantee, 30GB of digital storage, automatic backups, and spam protection. Best of all, you don’t need to be a tech whiz to understand it—it just works. The usually complex process of configuring settings is simplified by Google’s intuitive, guided system that walks you through your options and helps you make the right decisions for your organization.

Individual User Accounts

Every inbox on Gmail is associated with a unique user. This allows you to create personalized addresses for the various members of your team. Users have their own login, and can have their own permission levels, allowing you to set up sub-admins and other accounts. You can easily establish a new user account by visiting the admin console within Google Apps.

Click the “Add User” option and you’ll have the opportunity to create an account, along with the desired email address. Repeat this simple process for each member of your team.

Username Aliases

Aliases allow you to create a secondary email address that links to an existing inbox. This is a perfect solution for commonly misspelled names, or for making sure that firstname@yourdomain.com and fullname@yourdomain.com are able to receive mail to the same place. Rather than creating another inbox that must be monitored (and paid for) separately, an alias allows you to establish a secondary name for the inbox and check mail for both in the same location.

You can add an alias for any member of your team by accessing the individual’s account page and clicking “Add An Alias” under the aliases section.

Domain Aliases

This option allows you to link multiple domains to the same account, which is great for businesses that operate under multiple trading names. In fact, Gmail is a perfect example of this – any email set up under the @gmail.com domain will also work with the googlemail.com domain.

We use this service, as we own and operate multiple domain names. Many of our property management websites are built under our subsidiary, DoorGrow, which is a comprehensive marketing solution for property management and real estate professionals. DoorGrow is operated largely by existing OpenPotion team members, so the easiest option was to simply make any OpenPotion.com email address work with the DoorGrow.com domain. Users continue to log into their single inbox each day, but receive all mail sent to them at both domains. Better yet, they can reply to each mail from the respective domain, all from the normal email drafting screen.

Want to do the same thing on your Google Apps account? Navigate to “Domains” under your admin console and click “Add a Domain or a Domain Alias.”

Groups

Groups function in much the same way as a username alias, except messages sent to the group are received by multiple recipients. This enables your clients to communicate with entire departments simultaneously. We use Groups for a number of different departments at OpenPotion. Whenever our clients have support requests, want to follow up on a project, or need to contact a specific department (i.e. the content team), they can email an alias that places the response in the inbox of every person in that group. This ensures we respond to requests as quickly as possible, while also eliminating the need to forward messages to other members of our team.

Want to do the same thing for your organization? You can easily create a group within the admin console. You’ll need to assign a name to the group and create an email address. Once this is complete, you’ll add new members to the group and define the role of each person. You’ll also have the option of keeping the group email address internal (i.e. for a managers email group) or allowing anyone on the web to contact it (such as info@yourdomain.com). Groups also have an alias setting, so you can even ensure that inquiries@yourdomain.com and enquiries@yourdomain.com go to the same place (we highly recommend this one!).

For Businesses of All Sizes

Whether your company consists of hundreds of staff members in need of dedicated inboxes, or you’re looking for a easy way to manage accounts on multiple domains, Google Apps offers a smart solution to consider. Most of our clients take to the platform immediately, and within hours they find themselves creating new accounts and making complex changes without any assistance.

OpenPotion Knows Google Apps

Feeling overwhelmed? Why not let our team help you navigate the installation of Google Apps for your team? We’re an authorized reseller of the service, and we’re able to get you set up quickly. We’ll provide you with hands-on training, answer any questions you might have, and establish accounts and aliases as needed. Schedule an appointment today: 909-748-5882

Under Construction: Building a Property Management Company From the Ground Up

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According to a 2013 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, a whopping 43 million American households now live in residential rental properties. For entrepreneurs considering property management, this growing figure represents a staggering pool of business opportunities. While the growth potential of this industry has skyrocketed, both would-be property managers and established firms need to formulate a strategic growth plan to maximize profits and build momentum. The following steps are among the most crucial for anyone looking to start a property management company.

Build a Reputation

Are you eager to court homeowners en masse, but struggling to make an impact in your local market? Building a great reputation takes time, but there are certain keys you can use to accelerate the process. First and foremost, focus on providing exceptional service to the customers you already possess. Some business owners mistakenly direct their zeal at reaching new clients, in turn neglecting those who already entrust their homes to the property firm.

Organic feedback and reviews from your customers will help firmly establish your business’ credibility, but consider joining both national and local housing associations to further polish your image. Groups like the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) provide affiliate membership to real estate professionals. Joining these groups gives you access to a powerful network of other players in the industry, while also offering peace of mind to potential customers.

Master the Art of Marketing

The modern business owner must remain versatile and in tune with current market trends. If you haven’t already established a marketing plan, begin working on identifying the niche you’d like to target and craft a strategy for reaching those individuals. Consider using a combination of both offline and online marketing campaigns to better connect with homeowners, property investors, and tenants. When in doubt, turn to a professional team to polish your company’s vision and create an aesthetically pleasing brand image.

Embrace Technological Resources

Whereas property management websites once featured nothing more than a few simple lines of text about available properties, today’s real estate firms have access to cutting-edge tools that make it easy to find new clients, process tenant applications, and interact with existing customers. Property management portals like AppFolio and Propertyware are two notable examples. Don’t hesitate to integrate these tools into your business website—not only will this approach satisfy your customers, but it will help to streamline your workflow and maximize your staff’s efficiency.

When the various responsibilities of running a property management company are addressed appropriately, this unique industry can prove quite lucrative. On the flip side, neglecting the fundamentals of building a vibrant, modern brand could have devastating consequences for the longevity of your company.

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Schedule a consultation today and let our marketing experts take the reigns. We’ll analyze your current property management site, provide you with practical feedback and advice, and help you build a strategy moving forward. From advertising campaigns to property portal integration, our talented team of developers, content creation experts, and marketing gurus can’t wait to help bring your vision to fruition.

Call us today to learn more.

9 Smart Ways to Max out Your Year-End Budget

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Having too much money sounds like a wonderful problem for a small business to have, but this can actually be a bit of a bind. If companies fail to use up their budget by the end of the year, they might find themselves short-changed in the new year. But spend it on the wrong things, and you could find yourself in hot water in the next quarter.

So what should you do?

Marketing your business now will pay off in 2015. Choose from our ideas below to utilize the last of 2014’s marketing dollar for profit in the coming year.

1. Redesign your current site

Websites should be redesigned every 4 years, minimum. We always build with the newest technology, but that doesn’t mean that sites we did a few years ago are still selling well. Make sure you’re not bleeding leads with an old, outdated website.

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2. Get a free month with annual support billing

If you’re going to be on our support plan next year, you might as well pay upfront and get the benefits. Not only does it utilize your end-of-year marketing dollar, but you also get the 12th month free.

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3. Choose a higher plan with more design hours

Silver plans and higher benefit from included design and development hours every month. If you’re a savvy site owner, you can use this time to update your graphics, layout, software, and even your content (we do blog writing!) – this keeps your site fresh, and feeds those Google Rankings.

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4. Get a reputation face-lift with GatherKudos

One bad review can immobilize a business. For just $29 a month, you can implement a strategy to stop bad feedback before it becomes a review, and help your business to get better reviews, constructive feedback, and ultimately, more sales.

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5. Why wait? Use PPC to get instant business

OpenPotion now does Pay Per Click (PPC) Management! We have expert resources (his name is Cody) to get you more leads, more business, more profit. Be quick, we only work with one client per vertical and market – don’t let your competitor sign up first.

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6. Get your social media accounts in line

We do business account setup to get your social media where it needs to be. Whether you have stale accounts, or need a whole new strategy, we can get you configured so it’s easier to stay social.

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7. Increase your blogging efforts

If your blogging efforts amount to a few dreary articles a month, you’re wasting the benefit of one of the best tools on your website. OpenPotion has an in-house writing team that can create sales-effective content, delivered fresh to your inbox (or straight onto your blog) whenever you need it, so your site stays active and popular.

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8. Prime your print media with better graphics

Just because it’s printed, doesn’t mean it’s timeless. Whether you’re a networking genius or a strategic socialite, you probably have some of your old business cards kicking around, causing you grief. Let our in-house design team revamp your graphics and get you back on the A-list.

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9. Get your freebie consultation with Helen

Ok, this one doesn’t use any of your marketing budget, but it’s still totally worth it. Book a free time with Helen (Jason’s personal assistant and author of this fabulous newsletter) to go through your current site and identify areas for improvement. She’ll be here all week, folks.

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Why I Love My New Tuft & Needle Mattress (And I’ve Not Even Got It Yet)

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Online Reviews Are a Big Deal (Even for mattresses)

4:36am, Thursday morning of last week, I awoke to a crunch. My flimsy $100 mattress had finally given out on me. It’d served me well, being one of the first things I bought since immigrating to America from England, but now it was time to be a grown up and invest in a real mattress. I propped myself up on my broken bed-springs, popped my laptop open, and started browsing the web to find some recommendations.

One business name kept surfacing in the forums I visited. Their name was Tuft & Needle, and their promise was simple – “Great sleep at a fair price.” One of the first things on their website to catch my eye was this statement:

“We thought there were too many zeros in a mattress too.”

You had me at hello.

You had me at, “Hello.”

“Finally, someone’s on my side!” This headline was not only attention-grabbing, but it spoke to me – yes, I wanted a good investment, but I also had wondered if I really needed to pay thousands for a bed. My pain point (aside from the broken spring in my butt) was that mattresses just seemed too expensive. And that was blocking me from seriously shopping for one.

Their whole site was impressive. Clean text, clear product images, diagrams that instantly made sense to me, and a simple design that got to the point, as if their web designer knew I’d be browsing half-asleep in the middle of the night. Then I found the one thing that made me go from interested website visitor to impulse buyer (complete with credit card in hand) – this review…

“When I first ordered my mattress, I opted for the 5-inch thick version, simply because I wanted to save $100 over the 10-inch version. But when I realized the 10-incher would be better for me, Tuft & Needle actually allowed me to upgrade by charging me the $100 difference. All I have to do now is donate the 5-inch mattress to a charitable organization and present Tuft & Needle with a receipt from that organization.”

Just one review, from one happy customer, and within 4 minutes I had placed an order for my own Tuft and Needle. Why? Because this review showed me that they were not only confident in their product, but they wanted their customers to be happy above all else. They wouldn’t be able to re-sell the ‘used’ mattress, but the happiness of the customer is worth more to them than the cost of a donated mattress. As it turns out, that decision bought them a new customer – me – and undoubtedly many more.

The point I’m trying to get at is that reviews count. Reviews count a HUGE deal. As Jason says in his eBook 13 Rockstar Tips to Get Reviews (That Don’t Suck), “It is important to evaluate the cost of possible negative reviews and multiply those as they accumulate over time.” By the same token, it’s important to understand how far a kind gesture to a happy customer will go. Tuft & Needle has earned a huge portion of their business through word of mouth, and doing the right thing. Customers don’t quickly forget that (and if you’re really lucky, they’ll blog about it).

Reviews are a HUGE DEAL.

Reviews are a HUGE DEAL.

What happened next? Well, I continued to read up on them, and found out a few interesting things. They’ve only been in business since 2013. That means that in the space of a year, they’ve gone from nameless start-up to a company I can stumble across during random web browsing at 4am. Their Amazon page already has hundreds of reviews, and their footprint spreads much further than just a few tired mattress review sites. So far, I’ve found articles about them on Fortune, Entrepreneur, Fox, and plenty of other news sites. Their business model works incredibly well.

I want to mention as well, their ordering process is delightful. While I might not have my delicious marshmallow-of-a-mattress yet, I can enjoy the comfort of multiple emails letting me know each stage of my ordering process, as well as a reply to my tweet. They’re super responsive, and I can sleep somewhat-soundly knowing that I’ll have no issues dealing with them, even if the product that shows up at my door fails to address all of my diva demands.

Ordering was a breeze.

Ordering was a breeze.

My takeaway message? Reviews count! If you believe in your product, don’t be afraid to show it. Treat your customers like humans, and understand their pain points. Spend a little money making sure your customers love you. Also, have a kick-ass website that sells to each and every visitor, the moment they click onto the page. Oh, and you spend a third of your life in bed (more, if you work from home like me), choose your next mattress with care (and get a buckwheat pillow for yourself – thank me later).

-Helen, Jason’s British Brain

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Frightening Ways Your Website is Losing Leads

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Frightening Ways Your Website is Losing Leads

It’s Halloween, and in honor of the holiday, we’re going to take a look at some frightening ways your website could be losing you leads. If your website is not properly set up to get conversions and bring in leads, you’re losing out on potential business and bleeding money. The scariest part is, you’re probably not even aware of it!

There are many fundamental items your website must contain to have a high conversion rate – these include layout, design, and content. If your website is missing even just one of these important factors, your bottom line could be affected.

Above the Fold

What is”above the fold” and why is it important? Above the fold is the area of your website a visitor will first lay eyes upon when coming to your site, the area that is visible without having to scroll down. Sometimes referred to as the hero or the showcase area, this is your first chance to catch people’s attention, tell them what you can do for them, and address their pain point.

You want to answer their question: What’s in it for me?

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Does your showcase area effectively target your key audience? Does it contain the important elements that will turn visitors into customers?

If the answer is no to either of these questions, then you could be losing out on potential business.

Homepage Content
Of course, when we think about content, we think about the words on the page and crafting great copy to draw in our visitors and sell them on our products. What most people don’t know is that content isn’t just words.

 

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There are key elements every website needs to have to grab attention and convince your would-be customers that they need you. These include forms, social proof, and up-to-date contact information, just to name a few. Above and beyond that, there is a specific formula to these elements that, if followed, will greatly transform your business and increase your sales.

Other Features
Websites that are built for marketing will assuredly capture more leads and increase your sales. There are many features a website can include to capture these leads, and if your website doesn’t have these items, you’re bleeding money and missing out.

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So, how do you know if your website is effective at capturing leads and turning over conversions? Which features should your website include, and what should your forms ask your visitors for? If only there were some type of test you could take to figure all of this out for you . . .

Introducing DoorGrow, a simple test you can take in just a few moments to evaluate how well your website is at getting you those leads. Geared towards property management websites (because that’s our specialty), this test will walk you through your website step-by-step and ask questions to determine if you’re losing out on leads or converting like a pro.

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Editor’s Note: If you’re not a property manager or a property management website, don’t be afraid to take the test, too. It’s targeted towards getting more doors for property management companies, but it’s still a great test to evaluate key elements every website should have to increase conversions and sales.

Building incredibly effective websites is what we do at OpenPotion—after all, we’re marketers first and designers second. Take our free test today  and discover for yourself if your website is costing  you leads.

 

-Starr, Content Goddess

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Why is WordPress the Best CMS Choice for Property Management Websites?

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If you’ve made the decision to use WordPress as the starting point of your property management website, you’re already off to a great start. While there are several other choices out there for a content management system for your website (such as Joomla and Drupal) there are a number of advantages that WordPress brings to the table.

But first, you may be asking yourself what exactly is a content management system and why use a CMS in the first place?

What a CMS Does

Essentially, a CMS is a web application that makes it easy for non-technical people to edit, update, and manage their website through a visual interface. You no longer have to be a hardcore coder to make grand changes to your website – with a few sweeping motions of your mouse and a few clicks, you can add in a video, change the background image, edit the text content, or create an entirely new page.

The power of a content management system effectively hides all of the “behind the scenes” complicated stuff allowing the user to focus on the website’s message and presentation.

 

WordPress makes creating and editing your site easier.

WordPress makes creating and editing your site easier.

 

Even though creating an interface that is easy for the average user to use is the goal for all CMSs, it’s important to note that not all CMSs are created equally–in fact, many management systems can still be fairly complicated applications that will challenge your intellectual prowess.

Why use WordPress?

WordPress has been downloaded 140 million times, while the next popular CMS was only downloaded 30 million times. This gives you a pretty clear picture of just how widely used WordPress is. Simply put, it’s popular for a very important reason: it’s easy to learn and use.

Some of the major WordPress advantages:

  • You’re in good company: CNN, Harvard, Forbes, and the White House use WP.
  • Responsive: works on mobile phones and tablets
  • Manage your website from any computer, anywhere in the world
  • Search engines LOVE WordPress: it’s easy for search engines to read and index your site, and includes options for precise search engine optimization (SEO). Getting ranked highly by search engines has always been a tough battle – by choosing WP, you make it that much easier to gain valuable ground.
  • Everything is 100% customizable – from the text content to the visual layout, you have as much control over your site as you need.
  • Make Your Website Do What It Needs to Do: with 27,000 free plugins available, you can add new functionality and life to your site in minutes—add contact forms, photo galleries, event calendars, live chat, rental listings, application forms, and more.
  • You don’t have to know a thing about HTML, CSS, PHP, or FTP (or even what they stand for):  WordPress is hands down the easiest CMS to use for beginner users, and you can make all your changes entirely within the visual interface.

If you’re thinking of creating or redesigning your property management company’s website, you are on the right track. With more than 70% of renters starting their search online, and more than 92% of home buyers using the internet to find their next home, WordPress will allow you to set up a website quicker and easier.  And thanks to the many SEO features and options, you’ll reach more property owners and tenants in larger numbers than before.

Even still, there is a way to take it a step further.

Enter OpenPotion . . .

While many property managers are satisfied with using WordPress out of the box, we know our clients expect more. When we develop a website using WordPress, we add extra functionality and features that go above and beyond the standard CMS.

We add a tried-and-true layout that converts users to customers: even if you add your own pages or content, your site will still follow the basic rules and layouts we’ve established to convert.

Wanting to make things even easier, we add “drag and drop” functionality: editing your site has NEVER been this easy before. Want a text box on your page? Then you simply drag a text box where you want it to be on the page, then edit the type. Want to add a button? A testimonial? Click, drag, drop, then customize it as you see fit.

 

Here’s just a sample of the visuals you might see when editing your WP OpenPotion website.

With WordPress as your CMS and OpenPotion as your tour guide through the process, you’ll save time, lower costs, increase sales, and end up with an incredibly effective website.

Ready to discover what OpenPotion can do for your business?  Contact us today.

-Morgan, Website Developer

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Meet Our Accounting Goddess

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For the last several months, you’ve had the opportunity to get to know our team in this series, Meet the Team.  At OpenPotion, we pride ourselves on building awesome relationships, and the transparency that goes along with that creedo.   We’ve given you a peek into the lives of all of our team members, and now we would like to introduce you to our bosses.

Jason and Ashley are the founders, co-owners, and CEOs of this company- without them there would be no OpenPotion. Partners in life and business, this dynamic duo inspires all of us to do better, learn more, and perform at 110% every single day.  Next week you’ll get to read the exclusive interview with Jason.  Today, I would like to introduce you to Ashley.

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 What’s your background as far as work?
I have been working as the co-owner of OpenPotion since we started the company in 2008. Before that I worked as the Marketing and PR Manager for a consulting company. I have also worked as a coffee barista, a file clerk at an insurance company, and an office manager at a chamber of commerce.

What do you bring to our Team that is valuable?
I am really good with numbers, and I handle all of the accounting. I also handle all of the corporate filings and documents and  help manage support tickets and billing issues. I pretty much do anything that Jason asks me to take care of.

Where do you live, and with whom?
I live with the love of my life, Jason, and our four children; three girls and one boy.  We also have 2 dogs 🙂

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to read, sing, and be artistic and creative. I also love being on the PTA at my son’s school and doing volunteer work.

Where do you hang out at when you’re not at work?
For me, work and home are the same place so I am mostly at home.

If you didn’t work for OpenPotion, what would your dream job be?
I would love to run a non-profit organization or open a bakery.

What is the best part about working from home, and one of the biggest challenges of working from home?
The biggest challenge in working from home is being able to separate my personal life and work. They overlap all the time and it’s difficult to set boundaries. I love working from home because it gives me the freedom to be more involved in my children’s  education and volunteer at their schools.

What is your favorite advice that you like to give to clients about their website?
If they do not have a website that sells well and/or has functionality built into the site that cuts down their workload, they are missing out on a valuable tool to help their business grow.

What has been your funniest moment working at OP?
I don’t have a specific incident that was funny, but I sure do enjoy sitting in the team chat room online and watching all the funny memes that everyone creates.

What’s your favorite food?
Sushi, cupcakes, pizza

What would your rapper name be?
Suga Rush (like sugar)

Favorite movie?
Oh man, this is a hard one. I love The Lord of the Rings movies. I love Across the Universe.  And all of The Avengers movies.

If you had a super power what would it be?
I would definitely want the power of telepathy.

Share a favorite meme from the internet.

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-Starr Bryson, Content Goddess

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Meet Marcelo: Website Developer Extraordinaire

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Welcome back to our, “Meet the Team” series.  If you’ve been following along, you’ve had the chance to meet our team members through personal interviews and get a peek at the people behind the scenes of OpenPotion.   So far, you’ve had the chance to get to know our customer service expert and web developer Morgan, our awesome projects manager Esteban, our British assistant to our CEO Helen, the members of our content team, Adam the Content Wizard and Starr the Content Goddess, our visionary designer Mike, and our fabulous web developer, Fabricio.

Today, we’d like to introduce Marcelo, a very talented and knowledgeable website developer.

"Life is not meant to be understood, but to live."

“Life is not meant to be understood, but to live.”

 

What’s your background as far as work?
I studied and graduated as a Systems Engineer from U.M.S.S. in Cochabamba, Bolivia and then did other courses on Preparation and Evaluation of Projects also in the U.M.S.S. until 2005.  After that, I developed custom systems for different companies in the surrounding areas for about a year, until I was hired at XpertSolutions to create different desktop and web applications for companies in Germany and Bolivia. Earlier this year I left my job there to begin working at OpenPotion.

What do you bring to our Team that is valuable?
I bring 10 years of experience in advanced programming in web and desktop applications to OpenPotion, which will help us as we grow and move forward into the future.

Where do you live, and with whom?
I live in Cochabamba, Bolivia, with my wife, whom I recently married in January of this year.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like watching movies and taking long walks in the park.

Where do you hang out at when you’re not at work?
With my family and friends.

If you didn’t work for OpenPotion, what would your dream job be?
If I didn’t work on OpenPotion, my dream job would be owning and operating my own Software Development company.

What is the best part about working from home, and one of the biggest challenges of working from home?
The best part of working from home is that I can work at different times and make my own schedule, without the need of going to an office, saving time on commuting back and forth.  The biggest challenge of working from home is keeping yourself motivated, disciplined, and working on your own limitations to meet deadlines and achieve your personal goals.

What is your favorite advice that you like to give to clients about their website?
Don’t be afraid of using more colors and nice images in your design so users enjoy viewing it. Let’s get over the minimalistic designs!

Which projects have you enjoyed working on the most and why?
I don’t have one in mind in particular, but I like doing my job, and enjoy doing all of the projects I work on because I know I was a part of them and I always feel good when our clients provide great feedback and are super happy with their new websites.

What’s your favorite food?
I love almost every food around, but my favorite would be grilled meat,  paired with a great wine.

What would your rapper name be?
MC Cello!

Favorite movie?
The Butterfly Effect

If you had a super power what would it be, and why?
To be able to teleport, because there’s so many places I would like to visit without wasting time on traveling from one place to another.

Share a favorite meme from the internet.

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-Starr Bryson, Content Goddess

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