{!date dayname+0}, {!date long+0} Dear {!firstname_fix} What a glorious week we've had - plenty of sunshine, unseasonably warm weather and lots of smiling people as a result. On Wednesday I was sitting on the sea-front in Jersey eating a fresh fish lunch. Lovely. Except one thing - it clearly gave me food poisoning and I've spent the last couple of days rather unwell, to say the least. I'll spare you the gory details, but it's a useful reminder that when all around you looks and feels wonderful, there is often something that will appear out of nowhere to put paid to that idyllic situation. That doesn't mean you should be constantly gloomy, always expecting the unexpected. What it means is that there are always things happening to us out of our control and it is how we react to them that matters. I could have taken to my bed, laid low for a day or two and wallowed in self-pity. Or I could have carried on, just being honest with people I was due to meet and explaining why I couldn't travel too far from the nearest loo...! I chose the latter option, of course. But I have a sneaking feeling that not everyone does. Today we see a major demonstration in London from public sector workers about cuts in services due to the economic crisis. Several studies show that, on average, public sector workers have more days off sick than they have holidays. Could it be that some of the cuts would be unnecessary if the Government instead changed attitudes inside the public sector instead? I know public sector workers who take a couple of days off work for "a sniffle"; but even though I was seriously unwell thanks to that dodgy fish, I was economically productive. It's not what happens to us in life that matters - it is what we do as a result that counts.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: When are separate sites better than landing pages? Last week I wrote about the need to have much more focused websites so that your specific, target audiences can easily see what they want in a small fraction of time. For many businesses, however, this poses a couple of problems. Firstly, there is the cost of the domain names and the hosting. Secondly, there is how you manage all the sites you may need and maintain them all. A couple of people contacted me and asked why not have "landing pages" - specific pages targeted at niche audiences. Many companies - especially those who use advertising to generate traffic - use a specific page within a website as the starting point for particular kinds of visitors. These are the pages that those visitors first "land on" when they enter. So, when do you use a separate site and when do you opt for a landing page instead? A landing page is useful only when you have a limited amount of specific information and content for your target audience. If the extent of your material is only one-page worth of content AND if your target audience is relatively small in size, then a landing page is worthwhile. But if your target audience is large or if your material needs more than one page, then a separate site is the best method. Here's why. If you use a landing page and there is more information your visitors then need to find it. The chances are they need to use your menu system, but that now includes links to content that is not relevant to them. Result? Potential confusion and resulting disengagement. If, however, you only have limited material and you put that on a separate site, your audience is equally confused. The look at your content and go "And...? Where's the rest...?". If they have nothing else to do other than read a limited amount of material, they are also confused and disengaged. So, the decision as to whether you need a separate site or just a landing page largely depends upon the extent of the content you have for that target audience. Clearly, it also depends on your budget for the costs of domains and hosting. Sometimes a single-page site will work because the other material on your main site is of little or no value. But the extra costs of the additional website obviously have to be taken into account. The way out of this is to use a cost-effective domain buying system - my preference is for Domain Monster because you can control every aspect of each domain you buy and even set-up single page websites if you wish. As for hosting, look for hosts that provide unlimited space, such as JustHost, HostGator and WebHosting UK. Using a combination of one of these hosting companies and Domain Monster you can build as many sites as you like for only a few pounds at a time, which means there is no excuse for saying you can't afford loads of extra sites.
WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK: Dealing with negative feedback really helps Whenever I speak at an event there is usually some kind of feedback form - "happy sheets" - that tell the organisers how brilliant their meeting was. Occasionally there is some negative comment, but I have a fairly thick skin and don't worry too much about them if the majority are positive. I assume I didn't quite hit the mark with that individual, or they were just having a bad day. However, this week I realised that perhaps I do need to take on such negatives. On Monday I gave the Opening Keynote Address at a conference on online marketing attended by almost 600 people. I had been asked to provide a general introduction to the subject of digital marketing, giving my views on the future changes likely to happen. My audience was largely made up of small business owners, most of whom have only made tentative steps into social media. During my talk a few people were tweeting about what I said - almost entirely positively. But the day after I discovered a blog post, which was attracting several comments, saying that the event itself was disappointing and my speech in particular was really not good. I was accused of going over old ground and using tired old analogies. I could have done my usual - ho, hum, never mind, you can't please all the people all the time. But instead I decided to comment on the blog and to hold a conversation on Twitter with the author. It transpires she is a social psychologist working in social media - in other words an expert. My talk was targeted at a completely different kind of person - the "newbie". No wonder she found my material "old hat"; indeed it is far from the content I provide to expert audiences. This discussion - and the comments on the blog post - made us realise that several people in the room wanted more, but were effectively attending the wrong talk when I spoke. My talk was not aimed at them. The result is that the blogger and I are now talking about arranging an event especially for the expert audience where I could be a speaker. Far from being seen as negative, I am now being seen as helpful. If I had not engaged with the negative comments about me, I could not have turned the situation around.
THIS WEEK'S "MUST BUY": The Backchannel
To find out more about this book visit: http://uklik.me/thebackchannel
Kind Regards
Graham Jones Web:
grahamjones.co.uk Tel: +44 118 336 9710 If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter than you can delete your name from the mailing list by clicking this link: {!remove_web} Affiliate Links: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links providing me with a small commission when you purchase the item. However, I only use affiliate links for products which I personally value. |
