I love working out at the gym because it's a great opportunity to listen to internet marketing podcasts and learn about the lastest marketing strategies and trends. The only problem is that when you hear great ideas (especially ideas that you're thinking of tweeting/blogging about later) it's tough to remember them. Since it's hard to remember several ideas (or website links) throughout your entire workout and until you get to your home/office, it would be great to be able to write them down. But who wants to carry a clipboard or notebook around the gym?
Solution: Your Mobile Phone/iPhone and the multi-platform Evernote program.
Evernote is an excellent web-based as well as phone-based program you can use to jot down your notes in a hurry. All you have to do is register on Evernote's website and then download the Evernote software and install it onto your laptop/desktop (PC or Mac) and web-enabled phone. Since the Evernote site has directions, videos & tutorials & screenshots, I'm just going to show you how to use Evernote at the gym during your workout.
How to Improve Your Memory During Your Workout at the Gym
Download and Synchronize podcasts onto your mobile phone/iPhone.
Note: I use Juice and Windows Media Player for this.
You may use iTunes.
Listen to the podcasts while doing your workout.
When you hear a great idea start Evernote on your mobile phone/iPhone.
Jot down a note in Evernote.
Example: "MOC: Google Website Analyzer" (see Evernote image).
Rinse and repeat (do this for every great idea you hear that you want to remember).
Extra credit to boost your site traffic:When you get back to your home/office write a tweet or blog post based on the great idea.
Clearly when you write these notes on Elliptical Trainers or the Treadmill they don't always look that great (do not do this...see the Caveat/Warning below).
But the point is: All they have to do is be good enough to remind you of the idea you need so you can take action on them, e.g, writing a tweet or posting a blog post.
YouTube Video: "How to Improve Your Memory During Your Workout at the Gym"
How does this help me Attract More Visitors to my Site?
You might be thinking, this is all great, but how does it help me get traffic to my website? Basically, by helping you remember all of the great ideas you heard in internet marketing and social media podcasts so you can blog and tweet about them on Twitter. That's it, no magic or mirrors involved, just enabling you to write more blog posts and Twitter tweets which others may see or find via Google searches and then follow to your website (from your blog or your Twitter bio/profile).
Comments
Have a better way to remember great ideas during your workout? - just let me know...
And "extra credit" points for ways which improve your site traffic as well.
Caveats and Fine Print Warnings!
Please consult your Doctor before engaging in any exercise program. Also, please be sure to *pause* during your exercise routine *before* writing notes in Evernote in your mobile phone/iPhone! After all, you don't want to end up falling or having an accident at the gym.
In Part I we started looking at ways of evaluating and changing your website (or blog) to improve it. Today I'm giving you 10 Quick Questions to help with this process:
10 Quick Questions for Evaluating/Improving your Website
Does your website look nice and inviting? (Does it make your visitors "feel" nice, like the landscape on the right?)
Is it a site that you'd feel like staying at if you just happened to land on it? (Where you feel like you could lie down in the meadow, enjoy the blue sky, and watch the clouds - in other words: hang out for awhile, check out the info/resources, and engage at the site.)
Can visitors find your "Buy" button? (so they can take the desired action easily, e.g., Buy, Join, Subscribe, Register, etc.).
Can prospective buyers (visitors) find what they need easily (information, prices, reviews/testimonials, etc.)?
Is it easy and intuitive to navigate around your site? (Or is it a virtual maze or an impossibly dense mishmash of text or links pretending to be organized)?
Is it easy to use/access your site? (Are there so many fonts and colors that the content is difficult to see, especially for visually impaired individuals)?
Does your site rank highly in search engine results (particularly Google's)?
Is your site's search engine result (Title and Description) enticing enough that you'd click on it (versus all of the others)?
If you click on your site's search engine result, are you taken to the site you'd expect from the Title and Description?
Now loop back to #1 (above) and quickly run through this list again with "fresh" eyes (based on how your site might be found by potential visitors searching the internet).
Bottom Line
IMPORTANT: Please note that "potential visitors" aren't visitors until they visit and "potential buyers" aren't buyers until they buy.
Your task is to re-design your site to create the environment that entices searchers to visit and visitors to buy. This may involve using some SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as well as some E-Marketing techniques and strategy (list building, E-Newsletters, Social Media/Networking, etc.) to promote your site and attract people to it.
If you'd like more ways to evaluate and improve your website (or blog) you might enjoy our free 77 Great Tips of Internet Marketing (at top-right of web page) for a more complete checklist.
~~~
Have any questions, comments, or tips of your own for evaluating websites? If so, please leave a comment...
With a New Year and a sense of there being a new outlook in the world, it's a good time to think how your website/blog/podcast is doing. While the Presidential Inaugural parade was today in Washington DC, we can also look at the recent Rose Parade on New Year's day in Pasadena for some guidance on website design and strategy.
Design, Planning, Functionality, and Theme
Looking at the before and after pictures of NAMM's* "Musical Extravaganza" float which was designed to coincide with the Rose Parade's "Hats Off to Entertainment" theme you can see that a lot of work and planning goes into creating a pleasing yet functional float. And it must have been pleasing because it won the President's Trophy.
* National Association of Music Merchants
Big Bird float - BEFORE
Big Bird float - AFTER
Before and After
This wasn't just random - the float was entirely conceptualized and planned out before it was built (structurally) and the flowers were glued on. You can see the scaffolding used to build the structure in the Before photo (on the left) and the final flower-decorated float in the After photo (on the right).
Blind Evolution versus a single Objective
But many websites have grown-up (evolved?) from initial ideas/concepts into something which might be quite different from what they originally began as. These websites (yours?) weren't tightly themed, planned, and constructed with a sole purpose for a particular effect or goal (e.g., winning the President's Trophy).
"Now" is the Time to Step-Back and Evaluate your Site
No matter how your website got to where it is, now is a great time to step-back and evaluate it (or re-evaluate it). One way not to do this is to let your body go all limp, squint your eyes, and stare at your website for x minutes (like a "magic picture").
Ways to Evaluate (and Improve) your Site
Ok, so if that isn't the way to evaluate your site, then what is? One way would be to find a handful of brutally-honest friends and ask them what they think. A variation on this would be to find a handful of strangers and ask them what they think. The difference being that you'd have to reward the strangers in some way (free ____, pay them, etc.). Or you could simply evaluate it yourself by answering some questions or using a checklist.
