Website development tools for non-professionals

So, it was time to reinvent and my content was brewing in my head. I was ready to put pen to paper (fingers to keyboards?) and needed the best website development tool very little money could buy!  Realizing my original approach of using the free editor that came along with my hosting service would not work, I moved up the price ladder by going with Aspiresoft which is a content management system provider. The idea was I could manage and change the content whenever I needed to and won't have to rely on someone else to do the redesigning. On the plus side, the tool is online so I can get to it from anywhere. On the down side, it's not the easiest tool to learn specially if you are not a web designer (I know basic HTML but I am not a web designer!). Also their tutorials are lacking so you have to commit to learning by doing if you go this route.

As should be obvious by now, I decided to keep my blog separate mostly for SEO reasons. That was 2 months ago. Since then, I've learned more about WordPress which is also an online CMS provider and if you are willing to go with their basic templates, you can host your website there for FREE! (you still have to pay for your domain name). WP has a very powerful blog tool. As for keeping the blog separate from the website, I am starting to lean towards having both under the same domain name.

So, I got busy with my new website. A couple of weeks later, I was asked by my sister to design a website for her as she was preparing to run for office. With her site, I took a new approach. I used Godaddy as the domain name provider and host but instead of using their low cost website editor (I used such a tool for my very first website offered by Verio and quickly learned that you get what you pay for!), I chose to dust off my old 2002 version of Dreamweaver software and build the site on my local hard drive!

So now, I have experimented with 3 different ways to build simple websites by a non-professional:

1) Cheap website editor - very ineffective even for simple websites but very low cost.
2) Content Management System - powerful but probably too complicated for simple tasks and could be costly for SW licenses and monthly fees.
3) Dreamweaver editing tool - middle of the road complexity but it helps to know basic HTML. Reasonable onetime cost of purchasing SW.

Of course, I still plan to try out Wordpress. I would like to try integrating my website and blog but it needs to allow me to transfer my work so I don't have to retype anything. The goal is to keep the costs down as low as possible since I am doing all the work and they are just hosting my bits.

Evolution of a consulting business!

The last couple of months have been an Internet blur.  It started innocently enough when I decided to redesign the website for my consulting practice.  Initially, when I decided to strike out on my own, I wanted to focus on bringing an effective solution for measuring and managing multiple projects.   This practice is called 'project portfolio management' or PPM with several companies specializing in building enormously sophisticated software solutions (Clarity, Cognos, Microsoft, Planview and others).   The full-version of these solutions cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for licensing, training, integration and even more for customer customization.   It turns out I was able to build an in-house version of this capability at a fraction of the cost using Excel!  Although, doing PPM this way has a lot of limitations for larger companies, I figured it just might be what medium companies would be willing to pay for since the tool enables early visibility into problems with non-performing projects and potential to save millions.  Well, I figured wrong!

In a nutshell, it takes too much efforts to convince smaller companies the benefits of knowing the ROI of every project and if the market projections are on track because the pain is not yet great enough.  In a tough economy, these companies are too worried about shorter term survival than longer term capital planning and cost savings.

After blitzing through years of research, adding new arrows to my quiver, validating that they add value to my clients' operaions and discovering that the fire is still burning inside, I am re-launching the new website.  But before we get into the advance topics related to the business of high-tech product planning and marketing, it would be interesting to talk tactics of the website development next.

Radio 101

Today is Saturday, Jan. 9.  It's been 3 days since the radio program on KOOP.org with me as the guest went on the airways. You can download and listen to the podcast here.

I actually listened to the podcast for the first time last night, mostly because a) I was de-pressurizing and b) I didn't expect to be surprised by anything that happened. In my view, the interview went well considering this was my first 'live' interview and I think we (the hosts and I) were able to get some key pieces of information out to the listeners. We talked about the new media vs. the old, the power of free content in creating followers, the difference between a website and blog, the tools to identify and address your target audience. We even spent sometime on the Long Tail concept. I didn't get to talk about the 1000 true fans which answers 'am I ever going to make any money doing this?' but for the most part, we covered the marketing strategy side pretty well.

However, I probably would do some things differently next time. Unbeknownst to me, listeners were also interested in the mechanics of doing the things that I was talking about, the tactical side of marketing. These would be things like steps to start a website or a blog, choosing a business friendly social media site and the process of accepting checks online. Although I am a marketing strategy and product planning guy, if my target audience is looking for tactics and ‘how to’ answers, this they should receive. That is the essence of any good strategy!

Now that this part of the journey is over, it's time to move over to the second part. I've just started re-designing my new website. I plan to fire my old hosting company and move the website to a new host. The reason? The new company provides a content management system (CMS) that makes it easy for me to make changes to my website. My old hosting company used a pitiful software tool for designing a website with lots of limitations and would charge for any major changes that were outside of the software capability. Since I plan to make ongoing changes to the website, it was time to pay a bit more and move up the capability ladder. This fits my marketing strategy for the next phase of my business.

For those of you who listened to the show, let me know if have any questions and I'll answer it on the blog.

'Should I start with a website or blog?'

First, let's start with an update. I initially was scheduled to speak on Writing On the Air, on December 31st. But there was some confusion on the hand off so I am now scheduled for Wednesday January the 6th. The hosts at the studio invited me to come in and listen to the live show on Dec. 31 with Edgar E. Pace, and work out the jitter bugs (by the way, Edgar put on a great show!).  I got a few sentences in during the show and later my wife said I was a little shaky at first but things got better as the show went on. So, having a few extra days gives me a chance to cover some new topics prior to the show and hopefully a better show to kick off the new year.

So far, we've covered the basics. If you've read the posts and clicked on some of the links, by now you should know I am a believer in the ability to express your goals in clear language. For example, for a non-fiction writer, this could be something like "my goal is to start writing a blog about the topic of my book, have 10 academic reviews in the next 20 weeks, generate at least 3 positive testimonials that I can use on the website and sell 20-30 books a month by the end of the year". If you feel you are suddenly frozen and not at all sure if these goals make sense or what should happen next, relax. This is normal! These goals are not meant to be cast in stone. Rather, they serve as a roadmap for getting you started. The actual work itself will reveal new directions, skills and opportunities that are not initially clear. For instance, speaking opportunities might not be part of your initial set of goals but you may need to add that in if you find that you are selling more books after speaking engagements than all other efforts combined.

Moving forward with that same thought process, there is really no right or wrong answer to the question 'should I start with a website or a blog?’ A blog serves a different purpose than a website and as long as you understand this, the important thing is to follow your marketing plan, by 'doing' rather than 'contemplating'. Technically, a blog is a website but it's designed for dynamic and frequently changing content. The tools used for writing blogs and posting them are written so non-technical people can use them as if they are writing in a journal. Here is more good info on the topic.  In short, a blog is about building your reputation (a good one, I hope) and keeping your audience interested in you and your message.  A website is the place where you take care of business.   This is where you tell them about your work of art, why your work should be considered a literary masterpiece, your well-deserved credentials and of course where they can purchase your product and enjoy adding it to their collection of books or other works of art.

When I formed my consulting business, I started with a website. My plan was to get the site up quickly and then refer potential clients to the site to see some samples of my work. In the rush to get the site up and running, I didn't think a lot about my 'buyer persona' and 'website design'. In hindsight, that wasn't a very good idea but my original marketing plan was about selling consulting services through my network and not the website. Now, I've done a 180 and re-doing my marketing goals to include an effective online marketing plan. This new plan includes having a blog and expanding the services my network of consultants and I can offer.

So what is next for me? I am in the process of working with a new hosting and web design company. Since the website content generally stays static, I initially used a low-end website editor (software tool that allows you to build your own website) offered by my original hosting company. The new site will be different in several ways, including a more professional look and feel, better definition of my target audience and more relevant content. If there is interest, I will write about this process as I go through it.

'How does a writer go about selling his or her product?'

A few days ago, I sent an email to Dora Robinson, one of the hosts of the radio program 'Writing on the Air'. I wanted to know if she received my bio and if there was anything else I should know about the show and our upcoming discussions. She responded with a few questions I should think about, one of which was the title of this posting. I think it's time to dive in a bit deeper.

Seth Godin is a marketing guru, an author of 11 books and an Internet phenomenon. In his daily blog, he writes about ideas that work equally well for businesses and individuals who have something to say or something to sell. So when he wrote about 1000 True Fans, I took notice. The concept came from Kevin Kelly who founded Wired magazine back in the early 90's and now writes many blogs including The Technium. In it, Kelly explained that it might be possible for artists to make a living by pulling themselves out of the shallow end of the Long Tail where there are very few buyers (see my last post) towards the middle of the curve where it is likely to make more sales. For example, if you are an author and can find 1000 true fans that would not only buy any book you wrote but also buy a t-shirt and a mug and drive 100 miles to see you in person and while there buy the hard-cover, out-of-print, signed edition of the same book, you are on your way. According to Kelly, 'the point of this strategy is to say that you don't need a hit to survive. You don't need to aim for the short head of best-sellerdom to escape the long tail. There is a place in the middle, that is not very far away from the tail, where you can at least make a living. That mid-way haven is called 1,000 True Fans'.

Getting 1000 fans require direct and constant communications and exposure for a sustained period of time. This is the greatest challenge facing those who want to leave the very low-volume end of the long tail towards the higher-volume, more financially viable part of the curve. I know this is not easy, but the new rules of marketing are not for the timid. To bolster the point, check out this NYT article about Jonathan Coulton, a musician who has made a living by going viral.

By now, it's pretty clear where I am going with this. In order to sell your creative work online, you need to have an online presence that talks to your readers and be willing to get involved. Since we all like lists, a good marketing strategy should consist of the following:

1. Marketing plan - know your goals, target audience and resources you are willing to commit.
2. A blog - content should be fresh, relevant and informative - readers can tell if you are faking it.
3. Website - include the product, testimonials, your story & cool stuff for the fans.
4. Social Media presence - choose a couple from Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo or meetup.com.
5. Building a fan base - know who they are, stay engaged and find ways to keep them interested.
6. Conversion - Ultimate goal is to convert your supporters from fans to buyers.

I've said this before but it's worth saying it again. Building a reputation on the Internet is hard work and it will take time especially with limited resources. There will be exceptions here and there but for the most part, the momentum will build gradually and steadily.  There is however, a right way (I'll recommend some books later) and a wrong way of doing this work (trial and error).  For my own consulting business, I've done it the wrong way before (i.e. my old website) but I've come full circle and now doing it the right way this time around....

Is there any money in 'The Long Tail'?

Christmas is over and it's time to get back to work.   For years, I used to work for companies that shut down between Xmas and New Year.  So, typically, this time was spent on taking day trips or visits with out-of-state family and friends.  Since I left the posh company life and started my own consulting company, I no longer have that luxury (by the way, major changes are coming to the website and services offered.  More on that project later).  With only 3 days to go until the radio show, I thought I would pass on some information about couple of interesting marketing concepts that have been floating around and could easily apply to any small business doing online marketing but could be particularly useful for authors, musicians, sculptors, painters or artists in general.

The first concept is called the 'Long Tail' of marketing.  This was a concept first proposed by Chris Anderson, the previous Editor-In-Chief of Wired Magazine.   If you want the details, check out a very good read on Wikipedia on The Long Tail.

If you are in a hurry, here is a summary.  The concept is based on some academic research that shows demand curve for markets with a high freedom of choice (like the Internet) favor the top 20% of the most popular items sold -- these are considered to be the 'hits' or 'blockbusters' products.  The 'non-hits' make up the other 80% of the market.  This portion (the yellow in the graph) is the Long Tail.


Most traditional retailers, especially the brick & mortars, focus on the 20% since the cost of storage and distribution to carry the other 80% would be prohibitive to be profitable due to relatively low volumes of sales.  But in a market like the Internet, this 80% could represent millions of underserverd customers.   Businesses like Amazon and Netflix as well as social media sites are successful mostly because of the Long Tail.  Keep in mind, these are aggreators of the work of many authors or film makers, not just a single person trying to sell a book or short film online. 

So does this model apply to individuals selling a book, photographs, music or other creative works of art online?  Possibly yes.  But as with most things in life, there are caveats.  The Long Tail does not guarantee financial success and it is not a get-rich-quick scheme.   That is because even with the large numbers of potential buyers online, the number of people who will search a specific non-hit item, land on the right site with the right information and eventually make a purchsing decision is still relatively small and will require considerable committment from the creators of those products (see the definition of strategy in the previous blog - a successful one requires goals, plans and committed resources).   Unless you know you are going to be featured on Oprah's Book Club, you should plan on getting your viral marketing plans in place and get ready to go to work.

Twas the night before Christmas and I was thinking about new rules of marketing!

As I read the first few lines of this poem online (we also have the book), I thought how strangely appropriate and timeless this work of art remains nearly 200 years after it was first written. There was indeed 'not a creature stirring' in my house, although there was some clicking from the computer mouse, which I don't think really counts.

To stay with the theme in my original post, let's start by looking at some basic marketing concepts and strategies that can help individuals and small business owners successfully reach their goals. To get this right, I'd like to start with a baseline in the form of a common definition for strategy. Having read many different interpretations, I've settled on strategy as 'plan of action to deploy resources in order to achieve desired objectives'. I like this statement because it spells out what every winning strategy should contain: well-defined objectives, a plan to get from here to there and showing commitment by allocating resources (time, people & money).

In 'The New Rules of Marketing & PR', David Meerman Scott talks about building an action plan that begins by asking yourself 'what is my goal?'. Since the target audience of upcoming radio show is writers and authors, I would assume the goal may be finding a publisher, selling a book online or creating a networking hub for authors and writers in the community. Defining an objective, allows one to take action and make incremental steps forward, sideways and back without losing sight of the ultimate goal. Additionally, knowing the goal is important when it's time to measure the results of the marketing strategy. If the goal is to sell books online, it would make sense to invest in creating an e-commerce friendly website.  Even without a lot of bells and whistles (cool sticky web design or fancy artwork), the marketing strategy should have a reasonable Payback period to be considered effective.  

According to David Scott, the second part of the plan should be 'understanding your buyer persona'. Over the years, I've met many business owners who were not exactly sure who was visiting their companies' websites and who was purchasing their products. Are your readers teens, stay at home moms, business professionals or men of a certain age and demographic? Clearly, the buyer persona has dramatic impact on the design of the marketing material, communications strategy and sales approach (if you are selling anything). Bringing together the buyer persona with your goals is the start of your successful marketing strategy.