We all know that we have to constantly create content for our digital platforms. Whether that’s for our websites, blogs, or social sites, fresh content needs to be created on a regular basis. If you’re looking for tools to make it easier, faster, and give you more options than this is the slide deck for you!
Because I often get asked what tools we use, I figured why not put together a slide deck with our mostly used ones. Check out the deck below and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me @jpdesigntheory
Another new year has begun and prior to January first, like most of you, I had a good few goals I wanted to begin come the turn of the year. I imagined myself doing them, I wrote a few of them down on paper, and I barely started two of them. And that’s me being honest.
That hype that you have about fresh and newness is the same attitude most of your potential customers and visitors are also expecting from your website too. Because they are expecting this, we don’t want to let them down. This is why I’ve started to renew the idea of writing a quality post at least once a week as well as post much more regularly my photographic work on my social media sites.
Being a creative you’d think that I’d have a ton of materials for my website and social sites all the time ready to go. Well, to be honest, as a creative we’re probably the most critical over our work than most others in different trades. So below are five great changes you can make to your website to give it a fresh look for the start of 2017.
1: Update Your Home Page Graphics and Hero Graphics
Whenever landing on a website your eyes are usually first intrigued by the images and graphics that are at the top. Those visuals may be accompanied by text to better describe the graphic or also with buttons that lead to other pages or to a call to action or product. Think about how much better some more relevant images could do for your website in better describing your products or services.
2: Change Some Colors
Not saying you should change your brand identity, but maybe use some of your highlight or accent colors in a different way. Be subtle but make a fresh impact that leads to something worth looking at or reading for your website visitors. I’m recently working with a client where their logo is their first name in gold and they have a couple of other websites that could use the same gold color in the logo to create a linking motive while keeping separate identities for each website. It’s kind of like finding an easter egg in a Marvel movie – when you see it, you smile.
3: Use Video
Video explains so much and when done right will capture and keep the attention of your visitors a bit better than regular text and more so than a static image. For those of you with products, how about creating a video that describes how to use the product, how it saves time, or even the difference of your product over a competitor product. Other video ideas could be you describing what the website stands for, why it’s relevant, or better yet video testimonials from past and current customers.
4: Create a Worth-While Call-to-Action
You’ve gotta create an incentive for people to come back. While “creating great content” is the common phrase you hear all the time, part of that content needs to be something that is engaging or offers some value. We’re all used to seeing the 10%-25% off stuff and even those sometimes don’t entice most consumers to buy alone. Why not offer something that your visitors will actually use. Try offering a free hour with the purchase of the first hour. Or suggest this product to two friends and you get this free.
5: Make it a Point to Post Once a Week
This may be the hardest thing to do. We’re busy, there are other things we must get done, we don’t have time, don’t want to make time, etc. I can give you plenty of excuses. But it’s 2017, there are too many services out there that you can sub-contract your busy work to. For me, Sunday nights are the best times for me to sit down and write out my posts and schedule my social media. I’m more in the mood to do it then and it helps me to get the weight off my shoulders when my week actually does start. Once you get on a roll with it, you’ll find how easy it is to keep going and making it a priority. Don’t forget to track with analytics to better curate your content.
We often get questions from our clients and people to our website or social media about ways to generate traffic on a website that don’t cost as much as doing full blown SEO Marketing. If you don’t know already, the median cost for adequate SEO (search engine optimization) campaigns can range from $250 – $5,000 a month if not more. Depending on your business’ marketing budget, you may not be able to afford anything towards paid marketing, and that’s ok. One of the best things you can do to promote your business and drive traffic “organically” to your website is to create great content on a your website.
Creating organic content is rather easy in thought. If you’ve got a WordPress website, you’ve already got a blog built in. So logging in and creating a post and publishing it is a snap. Check out our free how to videos if you need a refresher.
The Value Add
The value in your posts is what you talk about and how detailed or defined you can get. It’s not so much on repeating what most may already know about your industry, but a different take on something common or a simple way of solving a problem that most suffer though the hard way. And in there lies the organic and realistic perspective that only you can provide in your words.
The more topics you write about in this same fashion you will build up a fan base. People who respect what you have to say over some industry leaders even. Why? Because of your unique perspective and how relatable you are.
Provoke An Action
Once your readers have consumed your posts, you should ask them to take an action. This action may be fulfilling a promise, sharing your post with 2-3 people, trying out the steps you laid out, or maybe even to prove you wrong in a way. Lastly, you can offer a give-a-way of something of value to your readers. Could be a top 10 list, discount coupon, or something of the like so that they are willing to give you their names and email addresses in exchange for this free option. This is also a great way to build your email list!
Monitor Your Analytics
While you may not see too many comments on your posts, you may notice the increase in traffic to your website on the days you post, and a couple of days after each post. But first lets talk about consistency. Your readers would appreciate knowing that you’ll be publishing new content on a regular basis. That “regular” basis may be once a week or more, but it is at the least consistent. This is probably the hardest challenge of all. We all get bogged down with busy work and life moments that pouring into our business can sometimes be more of a chore than a pleasure. I promise you the results will encourage you, where the lack of publishing will also be seen in your analytics.
While these are just a few benefits of self publishing for what I like to call sweat equity marketing, there are always more. We’ll write more about it next week to keep this post short. In the meantime what are some topics in mind that you are ready to publish? Check out this cool and FREE Editorial Calendar. It may help you put all those ideas down and plan when to write and publish them for the next few days and weeks.
In this short video, we show you how to quickly create a new web page from your WordPress dashboard. Once you’re logged in to your Dashboard, creating pages is really easy. You’ll select from the menu list on the left and choose “Pages” then “Add New” and you’ll be on your way to creating your page title, adding your content, and any images or graphics that will coincide with the new page to then publish it.
Most marketers know that one of the best ways to convey pertinent information, especially statistical data, is through infographics. When potential or new clients ask me what they are, I often say “it is a visually pleasing and engaging way to consume medium to large quantities of information.” The purpose of the infographic is as multidimensional as the design. Over the years, I have seen infographics used for a variety of purposes – educational, political, business soliciting – you name it.
One that recently caught my attention, made me start thinking about companies and organizations purposes, agendas and the like, that are using this “visually pleasing and engaging” method of marketing to accomplish the their vision and goals. Join me as we journey though some of the most compelling and captivating infographics published to date.
Peta’s Life of a Cow infographic tops many emotion-evoking infographic lists. It educates consumers, encourages veganism, and intentionally elicits emotional pain over what baby calves go through to become dairy- and food-producing options. This infographic holds nothing back when it comes to mapping out the beginning with the fear-inflicted eyes of the baby calf to the ill-fated end of becoming dinner.
Domestic violence is a huge issue in our society, in the U.S. and abroad. It can be physical, sexual, emotional; and the least publicized, psychological. Millions of Americans, women AND men, have been victims of domestic violence and this infographic displays the ugly truths of these heinous acts. Developed by NowSourcing for Socialworkdegreeguide.com, Exposing What Happens Behind Closed Doors, is an educational infographic reflecting truth, demographics, and current statistics. From the first, engaging image through the un-ignorable statistics, this in-depth domestic violence awareness all-in-one definitely does what it should.
Sure to get a few guffaws, this infographic from Killer Infographics is sure to crack the corners of your mouth with statements that most people think but don’t have the guts to say. I’m Cooler Than You Because…was designed in 2013 to showcase “why certain people are cooler than other people” relying on “bold icons and funny copy to make this infographic super effective!” And that it does! So if you don’t have a bunch of nay-saying, humorless colleagues, post this in your cube to surely receive a few laughs and engaging conversation. And in case you didn’t know and are bold enough to rock it, you can get this on apparel by visiting here.
Eye-opening content is always welcome in my book, and as well, that which is shockingly truthful. In the 21 Shocking U.S. Food Waste Facts & Statistics, the designers at AZ Solutions, ensure you are well aware as to how much food wasting goes on and its riveting impact. So many of us do it in one way or another, but I had no idea that my disregarding, no left-overs mentality impacts the masses. It was compelling enough to change both my mind and my own behaviors.
So there you have it folks, just a few jaw-dropping, tear-welling and knee slapping infographics that are out there. Stay tuned as I may address this topic again in the future and once again reveal why well thought out, skillfully designed infographics are such captivating and compelling content around.
Most marketers know that one of the best ways to convey pertinent information, especially statistical data, is through infographics. When potential or new clients ask me what they are, I often say “it is a visually pleasing and engaging way to consume medium to large quantities of information.” The purpose of the infographic is as multidimensional as the design. Over the years, I have seen infographics used for a variety of purposes – educational, political, business soliciting – you name it.
