Your Small Business Coach & Solution Provider
|
|
|
|
Schedule
The current schedule of Websites and Coffee Workshops and Labs is posted online. To register and to learn more,
visit Websites and Coffee.
|
Joyce S. Kaye
The Computer Spirit
Small Business Coach & Solution Provider
Facilitator of
WordPress and Constant Contact
workshops
|
| About Joyce
Joyce S. Kaye, MSW,
The Computer Spirit (known as The Computer Therapist in a prior lifetime), is a computer geek and people-person who understands business and computer applications and thrives on the challenge of communicating that understanding clearly. Specializing in Constant Contact e-newsletters and "living" WordPress websites, Joyce brings her creativity, love of people and Spirit*, and computer expertise together to empower individuals and assure them they are not alone.
-----
|
|
My Philosophy
"Give a person a fish
and they will eat for a day.
Teach a person to fish
and they will eat for a lifetime."
- Old Chinese Proverb
I'm here to empower you - not just get a website or e-newsletter done.
I work with clients one-to-one, host computer labs where learners can work interactively on computer projects, teach workshops, and facilitate project teams.
|
Interactive, hands-on workshops to empower you to create and control your own WordPress website.
To learn more,
|
 Inspiration & Contemplation
"Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow." - Edward Sandford Martin |
|
Missed Some of My e-Newsletters?
|
| Contact Info
JOYCE S. KAYE
P. O. Box 2207
Sedona, AZ 86339
928.301.7292
Homes on the Web: and
|
|
|
|
Vol. 3, Issue 11 | November 2014
|
 |
|
Greetings!
"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude -a quiet joy." - Ralph H. Blum I've not had a lot of traditions over the years in my life, including at the annual Thanksgiving holiday - the where, what, and who of it. Except for the 7 or so years I was married and knew I'd spend the holiday with my then-husband, preparing each year for this holiday has sometimes been a mix of joy and sadness. Sadness for not having the continuity, the traditions, the roots I'd long for as a child; joy in diversified celebrations, being of service, and spending time with dear friends and making new ones. In these days of change, change, change, I've grown accustomed to situations turning out to be adventures, and to having an attitude of gratitude whatever transpires. A quiet joy and sense of peace prevails within. So with eagerness and gladness, I look forward to this year's Thanksgiving plans. My day will start with some phone calls to connect across the miles. Then I'll cook up home-made stuffing (I made fresh bread last night - yum!) and prep the organic turkey. I'll drop it off (with other goodies of course) at my friend's place to roast while I volunteer at a huge community-wide Thanksgiving meal, bussing tables (the closest I will ever get to waitressing at this point in my life I suppose). I'll head back to my friend's where five of us will celebrate one another and the holiday with a dinner meal and hanging out for a while. Then it's off to another friend's for the main dessert, and gathering with different friends there. It will be a day rich with people - not just food!
Yep, each year it's different, each an adventure in connecting deeper with current friends, making new ones, being of service, and expressing gratitude. Whatever you are doing this Thanksgiving holiday, no matter who you are with, and wherever you are, Spirit is with you. May you feel blessed and full of gratitude and joy this day and every day. Happy Thanksgiving!  
|
 |
|
Spiritual/Personal
Aren't We Already Supposed to Be Doing What We Really Want With Our Lives?
It seems that I have often been a maverick throughout my life, both in terms of what was expected of people in general, and women in particular.
 For instance, I bought my own home at the age of 24 - in the late '70s that was most unusual for a single woman (especially in the suburbs of NY). I also blazed the trail in taking positions at AMTRAK that were traditionally filled by men. I chose to not have children... Drove across country by myself to relocate... Started my own business so I wouldn't have to be in an unfulfilling, bureaucratic j-o-b... Married for the first time close to age 50... On and on the list goes.
I took an active role in creating, to the best of my ability, the life I wanted to have, believing it was possible to do so. After all, it's my life!
As I've aged, I've grown even less concerned about what others think of me (it's none of my business anyway!); I'm taking better care of my body, mind, and spirit; and, I've embraced that, with Spirit, I truly do have the ability to change, evolve, and enjoy a rich life in a heaven while on earth. My path has been filled with effort on my part, and, no doubt, grace.
A recent reading made me think again about the road I've traveled...
|
|
|
General Computer
Keyboard Shortcuts for International Characters
 From time-to-time, you might need to type a foreign character in Word. Using a combination of keys, you can type accents, tildes, carets, etc. For example, the word "résumé" - with an accent over each letter "e" - is typed by holding the CTRL key down while pressing the " ' " (apostrophe), then typing the "e".
Here are some other examples you can type properly by using keyboard shortcuts with international characters:
- ¿Hacia dónde va Pedro?
- ¡Vengamos!
- La niña
- The letter Å in Scandinavian and other alphabets.
To view a chart of keyboard shortcuts for international characters using PCs, click here; for Mac users, click here. Have fun!
|
|
Workshops
All the workshops I offer are done so with the intent to help empower you to take control of your marketing tools to foster relationships.
Due to the year-end holidays, I've scheduled workshops early in the month of December to leave us all plenty of time to focus on celebrating the season and reflecting on the past year and what we'd like in the new year. All will take place in the Village of Oak Creek, Sedona; space is limited and advance registration is required.
Hands-on WordPress workshops will be held in the evening on Tuesday, December 2nd and Tuesday, December 9th. For more information and to register, visit Websites and Coffee. I'm also offering a FREE Hands-On Constant Contact Newsletter Workshop. It will be held Friday, December 5, 2:00 - 4:30 pm. To learn more, visit the online home of The Computer Spirit.
|
|
|
e-Newsletters
How to Approach Your Email Reports with Confidence
[Excerpted from a blog post by Miranda Paquet]
If you're sending email out through Constant Contact, you have access to helpful reports that show you how your emails are performing, what's working for you, and where you can improve.
Here are the five most important areas you should focus on:
- Opens: You can view the percentage of contacts that opened your email, as well as a specific list of everyone who opened each message.
- Click-through rate: Your click-through rate shows you how people are actually engaging with the content in your email. You can view which contacts clicked your links, then target them with follow-up emails.
- Bounce rate: Emails can bounce for a number of reasons, including invalid email addresses, a full inbox, or out of office statuses. Keeping an eye on your bounces will help you to remove any addresses with ongoing issues and maintain high deliverability rates.
- Spam: If an individual on your email list reports your email as unwanted or unsolicited, it will be marked as spam. The best way to ensure a low spam rate is to practice permission-based email marketing.
- Opt-out: An opt-out occurs when one of your contacts no longer wants to receive your emails and unsubscribes from your list. A few opt-outs are normal from time to time, but you should pay attention to this number to make sure your emails are not turning people away often.
Now, think about what these numbers are really telling you... Here are some common questions you might be tackling, and advice for how your reports can help.
|
|
|
Website Development/WordPress
Beware of Plugin Overload
 As of this date, there are more than 34,000 WordPress plugins, and it can be tempting to try all of them!
But beware: excessive use of plugins can slow down your website, and will surely increase maintenance as well. So use only the plugins you need.
Note that every plugin:
- has a different admin page.
- puts its menu in a different place - some plugins don't even have menus!
- becomes a research project as you try to figure out how it works - this can be time consuming and also frustrating.
So, as I always recommend (very strongly), sketch out the architecture of your website and what plugins you'll need to accomplish what you want to do. Then proceed to build your site, loading plugins one-by-one, getting familiar with how each works, and testing it. If it does the job and is not adversely impacting other elements of your site, you're good to go!
|
Joyce S. Kaye (AKA The Computer Spirit)
|
|
|
|
| |
Joyce "came to believe" in a Power greater than herself about 24 years ago. Thanks to hearing the novel idea that one could choose their own concept of God - and name too - and the workings of synchronicity, Joyce embarked on a new way of thinking, a new way of living, a new way of being in the world and with others. Since that time of commencing her conscious spiritual journey, she has endeavored to remember The Presence in all that is, all whom she meets, and all that she does - including working with others and their computer and marketing projects! |
|
|
|
