About Donna Fontenot

Who I Am

DazzlinDonna I’m a woman who, after 25 years of working in office cubicles, has found her comfortable place in life. After spending my youth chasing adventure in San Francisco, I finally moved back to my homeland (southern Louisiana) to settle down.

What I Do For A Living

I’ve been making my living working from home for several years now. The Internet has given me the opportunity to do the things I love to do, while still earning money and paying the bills. Much of the last few years was spent educating others on the subject of SEO (search engine optimization), but I did that mainly as a way of giving back to the industry. On a day to day basis, I’d estimate that half of my work time is spent engaging in a mix of freelance and marketing services, while the other half involves creating my own sites for fun and profit. I sometimes even make a tool or two, like TwOptimizer, a twitter application, that lets you take your time to craft the perfect tweet before hitting that submit button.

This site is somewhere between the two…incorporating both education and fun. Hopefully, you find something in it somewhere that you enjoy. The main focus, of course, is helping you learn to make a living online, just as I do. But life is short, so you’ll occasionally find me discussing non-work related things – things that make me laugh or make me wonder…

Snapshot Of My Services

I provide WordPress installations, troubleshooting, and theme customization.
I offer solid inbound marketing strategies and training to help small businesses get more targeted, pre-qualified traffic and sales, including SEO and Social Media Marketing.
I am a coach and consultant to individuals and small businesses who need guidance, focus and training to reach new online business goals.
I create original, well-written articles and tutorials, which are designed to be search-conscious but human-focused.

More Details On The Services I Routinely Offer

First and foremost, I coach others who are looking to make a living online. You can read more about my ebusiness coaching at eBuzzCoach.com.

If you are in need of web app installation services, then my new sideline is what you’re looking for. WordPress Installation Services and other web app installations available at InstallsPro.com .

I may or may not always be available to take on projects, so it’s best to contact me via my contact form. If I’m not swamped, then we may be able to work together.

Hourly work:

$65/hour – 1 hour minimum – billed in 15-minute increments for non-SEO work

$100/hour – 1 hour minimum – billed in 15-minute increments for SEO work

For hourly work, 1 hour deposit via Paypal required before work begins. Remainder due when project is complete.

I’m available for a wide variety of hourly work, but some examples include:

WordPress installs / updates
WordPress problem troubleshooting

I can code, but I don’t generally take on coding projects because I just really don’t enjoy it. But other than that, if it’s remotely geeky and related to the Internet, there’s a good chance I can be of help to you. I’m sort of a renaissance woman in that I have an interest in many things, and am proficient at lots of stuff (how’s that for a good solid word…stuff…). So if you’re looking for help with your site and aren’t sure if it’s something I can assist you with, it doesn’t hurt to ask me about it.

Most SEO work should be on a per project basis (see below), but if you’d prefer to retain me on an hourly basis for occasional consultations, that can be arranged.

Per Project Work:

Custom quote will be given based on client needs. If accepted, 50% due as deposit via Paypal before work begins, with the remainder due when project is complete.

SEO audits – $500 – $1000 on average

Content Writing - 9 cents per word for original, well-written copy. Client specifies article topic, length desired, and any relevant phrases that should be included. Although content will be optimized for search, quality remains key, and keyword phrases won’t be stuffed into any content in a spammy,unnatural manner.

My LinkedIn Recommendations

One of the best ways to get insight into someone is to hear what others have to say about them. Below is a list of recommendations given from people I’ve worked with over the years, in some capacity. You can either read them here, or click the link to see them on LinkedIn itself.

LinkedIn Recommendations

“Donna is one of the few cross trained people I know. She brings her expert skills with the technical side of design, setup, servers, and programming, along with her strong, long time work in search engine marketing. She was my lead help when moving Cre8asiteforums to a new server, which was a complicated task. Donna’s is easy to work with, prompt, very smart and an asset to any company smart enough to hire her.” June 21, 2011
– Kimberly Krause Berg, Owner/Usability Consultant, Cre8pc

“I’ve known and worked with Donna since 2005. Back then I barely new what the letters SEO stood for and Donna was always willing to take the time to help me learn the basics – and not just about SEO but also about blogging, online marketing and running a business. I’ve always been impressed with her work, knowledge and ability to explain difficult concepts in and easy to understand way. But most of all I’m impressed by her commitment to the people she works for and with. I recommend Donna wholeheartedly to anyone looking for an SEO audits or coaching, consulting and training.” June 21, 2011
– James Cook, Web Developer/Owner, studioJMC.com

“Donna is a veteran SEO professional. I remember reading her blog when I first started learning about the industry, and that was about six years ago. She is friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. This makes it easy for me to feel comfortable sending clients her way, as I know they will be taken care of and get fantastic results.” June 21, 2011
– Everett Sizemore, Director, Search Marketing, Kinoli, Inc.

“I’ve worked with Donna in several capacities over the years, from Cre8asite Forums to my client work and personal projects. She is professional, speedy, knowledgeable, resourceful, trustworthy, easy to get a hold of in a crisis and overall a delight to deal with.

Rely on Donna for SEO audits and advice, solving WordPress problems and as an eBusiness coach.” June 20, 2011
– Elizabeth Able, SEO Specialist, integrating design and content, LiBeck Integrated Marketing

“What I like best about Donna is her hands-on approach. She communicates well and is willing to teach “up” as your project becomes more detailed and you wish to learn the steps yourself. Donna keeps her sense of humor while still hitting her deadlines which makes it a real pleasure to work with her. You just can’t go wrong with her project recommendations and her promptness.” June 20, 2011
Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, Creative
– Christine Metzger

“Donna knows an incredible amount about how to code a website so that it looks just right. She also knows a great deal about SEO and how to make sure the perfect website is found by the perfect people. She is generous with her knowledge and good to work with.” June 20, 2011
– Stephanie Smith, Owner, Freelance writer

“Donna Fontenot is incredibly helpful. Her knowledge and grasp on it is such that she’s able to convey and instruct on information in such a way that it is simple and actionable enough for those outside of her fields of expertise to act on, yet never “dumbed down”.” June 20, 2011
– Ruud Hein, Senior SEO, editor, Search Engine People

“Donna Fontenot has been, and always will be, a WordPress diva. Working with her on a project made me realize what a valuable professional she is; my team and I still have her in our “go-to” rolodex. Her ability to cut to the chase and deliver timely projects is second to none. It has been my pleasure and honor to work with such a widely respected professional in our industry.” June 20, 2011
Top qualities: Expert, High Integrity, Creative
– Gabriella Sannino

“Donna is one of the best partners I’ve been working with. Although she is working remotely, she is able to communicate very effectively and has excellent client management skills.

She distinguishes herself by proactively reaching out to clients and making sure every project is well-prepared in advance. Any potential employer would be lucky to have her on board.” June 16, 2011
– Jonny Chan, Analyst, Blitzlocal

“I absolutely love working with Donna – her work and dedication speak for themselves. I look forward to working with her in the near future on many a project – if she’d have me as her business partner!” May 12, 2011
– Ana Hoffman | Traffic Generation Cafe, Founder | Social Media, SEO, Internet Marketing, Blogging Consultant, Traffic Generation Cafe

“Donna is one of those few folks you can give a project to and not worry about whether it’s going to get done. She knows how to deal with tough clients, deadlines, and ambiguity. How often do you find someone with programming chops, client finesse, and a caring heart?” May 9, 2011
– Dennis Yu, CEO and Co-Founder, BlitzLocal.com

“Donna’s proficiency at getting things done – anything required of her – is amazing. Her skills involving any sort of web application are incredible. She’s comfortable, friendly, easy to work with, learns new things quickly, and seems to be awake 24 hours a day grinding away on a project well before it’s due date. I highly recommend her for any web administration, IT, or any other role that fits within her ever expanding skillset – she gets the job done, all with a smile.” May 8, 2011
– Matt Parnell, Senior Server/IT Administrator, Blitzlocal

“Donna is one of the most knowledgeable, insightful, talented and hard working people I know. She works tirelessly to get the best results for her clients and has a way of approaching problems that I envy. Her insightfulness and willingness to share has meant that I have learned a great deal from her over the years and I value every bit of knowledge I have gleaned. She is the only person I would trust with a usability issue as her SEO expertise and skills as a web developer make her the perfect person to balance everything.” April 12, 2010
– Judith Lewis, Blogger, SEO Chicks

“Donna has tons of experience and expertise, and could teach most of us a thing-or-two, yet she is still one of the most approachable people in the SEO and Internet Marketing World. Would always jump at the chance to work with her.” March 7, 2009
– Patricia Skinner, Freelance SEO Consultant, Wellwrittenwords

“Donna’s got the SEO knowledge you need and always responds promptly to any problems that may arise.” January 7, 2008
– Geoffrey ‘G-Man’ Faivre-Malloy, Owner, Purple Duck Software, Inc.

“Donna undersells herself too much in my opinion. She has some great ideas that are the very reason that readers of her blog are having success, yet gives them away for free. Im sure if she looks back in a few years and sees how many people have been influenced by her, she will be very happy.” October 14, 2007
– James Welch, Head of Research and Development, Just Search

Still Need To Know More?

If you are curious and want to read anything else I’ve written, you can check these out:

My home page gives a nice summary.
I founded SEO Scoop, which has now been folded into the SearchEnginePeople blog.
I was a staff columnist for Personal Branding Magazine.
I’m a forum moderator at Cre8asite Forums.
The personal side of me – Slice of DD
The coach – eBusiness Coach and Consultant | Donna Fontenot
On Twitter – DonnaFontenot
On Linkedin – Donna Fontenot
On Google – Donna D. Fontenot

Google+

Donations Accepted:

If you feel my blog has contributed to you in any meaningful way, and would like to throw some loose change into a tip jar (metaphorically speaking), a click on the donation button below would definitely be appreciated.

Disclaimer:

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog may show paid advertising, such as banner ads, or link to products using affiliate links. If you purchase a product via an affiliate link, I will be paid a commission directly from the company that sells the product. You, however, will never pay more for the product because of the affiliate link. In fact, in some cases, you may even pay less due to my ability to pass along some form of savings or coupon code that you might not have received otherwise.

I abide by word of mouth marketing standards. I believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. I am not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely mine. If I claim or appear to be an expert on a certain topic or product or service area, I will only endorse products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

The bottom line is that my opinion cannot be influenced (and anyone who knows me even a little can attest to the fact that I have strong opinions that aren’t easily swayed – or bought). Finally, all sponsored links are nofollowed, so keep that in mind if you decide you want to purchase any kind of advertising.