July 9, 2008
July 8, 2008
A better way to 'comment' on your blog
I love when things fall into place like this.
For weeks, I've wanted to find a better 'commenting' module for this blog (the default 'Comments' feature provided by blogger just wasn't cutting it for me...or you).
So here's what happened: I got an e-mail one hour ago from Jeff S. asking me to join his network on Plaxo (which, BTW, provides a very cool integration of Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Plurk and a dozen other social networking sites).
Even though I'm buried in social media I figured I'd give it a go because I noticed that a good bunch of my friends and colleagues were online with Plaxo.
Glad I did...
While setting up my profile on Plaxo I learned of a cool plug-in for blogs that makes 'commenting' much more usable. The plug-in is Disqus and according to them:
"Disqus makes your comments more interactive for readers and easier to manage for you — all while connecting your community with other blogs."
Awesome! I couldn't ask for more (although we all know 'more' will be coming from Disqus and a hundred other start-ups before we can say "great, just what I needed").
Bottom line is this: WE are all going to kick the tires on this one as soon as they work out an integration issue with blogger.
Stay tuned.
Mike
Online Leads: How to get them, convert them, and give them what they want
One of the most useful areas of the Cool Site blog is the Great Resources section in the right panel.
I'm constantly updating and refining this list based on my own experience as well as suggestions made by my readers and listeners during Cool Talk (hint: you'll want to bookmark www.coolsite.com and review the Resources section at least once a month).
In case you haven't already discovered these truly great resources, here they are (grab a coffee, fire up your Diigo toolbar and start tagging).
July 7, 2008
Who's walking on my screen?!
I'm proud to be a part of a select group of true webmasters who come together every Thursday during my live call-in webcast, Cool Talk, to answer questions and share their best online tips and strategies.
The most recent episode of Cool Talk was not short on good ideas and great advice. Here are some useful links from our conversation (if you find these useful, please click the 'sharethis' button below. Also, you can add your favorite links by adding a 'Comment' at the end of this post. I look forward to seeing whatever you contribute).
Generating leads and customers
There's no doubt that video has become a big plus in creating stickiness for a site. Well, how about virtual spokespersons or online video spokespersons? You know, you visit a site and a person starts walking and talking across your screen to drive your attention towards something (like an email sign-up form or a product features page).
If done right, this tool can be VERY effective. HumansOnline seems to have produced a features-packed variation of this animal that leaves competitors in the dust. I've invited the President of HumansOnline, Greg Sheppard, to join us this Thursday on CoolTalk--there are way too many cool features for me to cover in this short post.
Speaking of video, check out Seesmic. It's not a bulletin board, it's a video board...with a very entertaining intro. Bottom line, just another cool way to reach out to prospects.
How about press releases? You sending them? You should. You've probably heard about PRWeb but one of my readers, Cliff from OPC Marketing, swears by PRWizard.
Converting your traffic
Thanks to Markus Allen for this link to Michel Fortin's CopywritersBoard re: Top 12 Reasons Web Sites Fail To....
Great marketing advice and tools
A recent add to this blog's 'Great Resources' section (right panel) is GoldbarOne. If you can find a better suite of tools for the price, please e-mail me. No matter where you are in your web experience, GoldbarOne has at least a handful of tools that you must be using (and they're all under one roof).
In case you're wondering, GoldbarOne has been around for nearly 10 years and they just keep over delivering on what they offer (I'm currently using a handful of their tools and plan on reviewing the whole package in a future post. In the meantime, I recommend visiting GoldbarOne and click on the linked text that reads:
See how businesses just like yours are using GoldbarOne to Get More Traffic, More Leads & More Sales everyday.Another awesome resource is CGIconnection where, for a ridiculously low price, you can have access to thousands of useful scripts for your site (and it includes automatic installation so anyone can benefit from them).
Thinking about starting an online store? In addition to GoldbarOne , check out Volusion.
Miscellaneous
Shop5 (the Cool Site of the Day on June 19th)
You twitter? Try Plurk.
Have SEO envy? Check out the many free tools (like this one) at SEOmoz...and read some of the many useful articles to quickly advance your knowledge of the search engine universe.
Got an RSS Feed? Every now and then you may need to give it a quick maintenance check with FeedValidator.
Thanks to Keith H. for recommending Defensive Design for the Web, an excellent book on web design with plenty of examples (good and bad).
Finally, here's a cute digital post-it notes generator.
Until next time,
Mike
