6 Mortal Sins of Landing Page Copy

I just recorded this video as part of an ongoing series to help women entrepreneurs.  This one is called, “The Six Mortal Sins of Landing Page Copy.”

Find out:

  • why you need a landing page
  • how a boring headline can kill your sales
  • the reasons your landing page should barely mention your own name or company
  • why you need a copywriter (rather than doing it yourself)
  • the most common mistakes business owners make when promoting their products

 

Once you watch the  video, click here for a free mini landing page review.

Tuesday Travels: How to Use Social Networks

Allied Telesyn switches in rack

Allied Telesyn switches in rack (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Personal Branding Online – Look good (and be searchable) in Google, LinkedIn, and 13 other social sites.

New Twitter Profile Tools – Add a header photo, and it will show across platforms (mobile and desktop). Swipe or tap through shared photos in a stream.

Connecting Your Google Plus and YouTube Account – They’re becoming more and more integrated, here’s a detailed post (and video) from Ronnie Bincer on what this means and how to use it to promote yourself.

Social Listening and Crowd Sourcing– If you have a great idea, should you share it?  Or keep it to yourself?  Tips for CEOs and business owners on interacting online (this is a recording of an hour-long Google Plus Hangout by TekPersona).

Tuesday Travels: Just for Web Designers

 

Web design on a Boston Cream, er, Boston Scream.

Web design (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HTML 5 Facts and Myths -there’s a lot of talk about HTML 5 and how it kills Flash, won’t be ready for years, etc. How much of that is true?

HTML 5 Tutorials – links to 40 tutorials, including how to use Canvas, building apps, creating forms, and how to make it play nicely with IE6 (shudder).

20 Tools for Creating Responsive Web Designs – sketching and wireframing tools, grid calculators, and tools for responsive images, videos, and tables.

Responsive Web Testing Tools – now that you’ve got all that beautiful design, you’ll need to test it to make sure it works properly.

Responsive web design missing the point – there’s a lot of hoopla in web design circles about this — but does it really matter?

10 Ways for Freelancers to Use Google Hangouts

Webcam

Image via Wikipedia

Have you tried Google Hangouts? They may replace Skype, even WebEx and high-end conference programs.

Sure, you can just hang out and have fun.  But, you can do lots of other things too.

1.  Host conference calls.

Talk to people face to face, even if they’re in other countries, or opposite sides of the world.  Best part: up to 10 people can hangout and see each other, and it’s free. If they don’t have video, or are stuck behind a corporate firewall, you can call them directly from the hangout (free for calls in the US and Canada).

2. Have a book group.

I have a business book group every Friday.  Last week, we read Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance by Jonathan Fields (affiliate link) and he was kind enough to join us live for our discussion (with a giant Buddha behind his head)

3. Mastermind group/brainstorming

Use it to set goals, brainstorm, and even share documents and drawings.  If you use the Google Hangout with extras, you can create Google docs, edit, draw, and share as you work.

4. Hold a class or training session

Your students, or company colleagues can see what you’re doing, ask questions, and give you feedback in real-time.

5. Promote your business on Youtube

Record what you’ve done (assuming everyone agrees and knows what you’re doing) and post it automatically to Youtube.  Use it to create mini-movies, collaborate on a video, or a song, to teach something, or promote your business.

6.  Status meetings/year-end wrap-ups

Go over the past year, or a project you’re working on.  Do an “after-action” review on a recent project.

7.  Host a business breakfast or lunch

Invite several of  your clients to join you for lunch. Put together people who might be able to help each other (a furniture store and an interior decorator, for instance).  They bring a bag, you help them grow their businesses.

8. Networking

Get together with other writers, designers, or coders.  Share tips on the best places to get published, how to deal with difficult clients, or just talk shop.

9.  Feedback

Just launch a new product?  Or want to know what your beta testers think?  Get them together in a hangout and see their real-time reactions (the good, the bad, and the really needs to be fixed fast).

10. Holiday party!

So, you’re a freelancer and work with people in other states or countries.  Have your holiday party on a hangout.  Bring your own snacks (you may not want to do this on air!)

Update: Since this post was inspired by Laura Spencer, I promised her I’d add her own post on the subject once it was published. So, here’s The Freelancer’s Ultimate Introduction to Google Plus Hangouts, with more in-depth tips on what you’ll need, how to use them, and how to set one up.

Tuesday Travels: Web Design Templates and Tools

Lower case ‘a’ from Adobe Caslon Pro, superpos...

Image via Wikipedia

Web design inspiration to get your brain humming with ideas

Catalog of free open-source fonts why stick with the same old boring fonts (or old web limits), when you can have fun?

Typography calculator – so you know what line height to use between your paragraphs (you know, leading, back in the day). Enter your type size, and the width of the page, and get suggestions. It will even display the results in the appropriate font face.

Inexpensive or free wordpress themes. These are modern, and minimalist designs. The site comes up in German, but there’s an English option.