Copywriting

Not web related, but if you've found this post on Google you'll know how frustrating it is. On Mac versions of Open Office 3.0, bullet points are interpreted incorrectly from Word documents.

It's actually a problem with the way bullets are encoded with Word, compounded by the way the Symbol font set works on mac. But, there's a fix.

All you need to do is substitute the Symbol font set with OpenSymbol. To do so, follow these steps:

 I was asked today, "What's the number one thing you look for in a website?".

 Instant answer: "The text. I don't want to notice the design. In fact, if I notice the design it probably isn't doing its job. The design should serve the text. Like with a screenplay - you can make a good script into a bad film, but you can't make a bad script into a good film."

Text is everything online. 

Ben

Today I'm simply going to recommend a blog that is very much worth reading. Chris Guillebeau has a very successful blog. He offers incredible value, and writes engaging content. On top of that, he offers two well written thought provoking ebooks free of charge. Truly, he is remarkable.

"No one will give you links without you earning them. To earn them, you’ll need to do something remarkable. When you receive inbound links, it’s like getting paid." - Chris Gillebeau

 Not blogging at all. Or blogging infrequently. I rarely advise website owners I don't know well to start a blog. A good blog is a rare thing, but a blog doesn't always have to be good (as in well written) to be effective. At the very least it lets people know you and your business is active.

Until you stop.

It's far too easy to end up with a mediocre foreign translation. There's absolutely no point in going to all the hassle if you end up with a mediocre translation. Worse still, is when you have your site translated into 14 languages - but don't get the menu's, text-within-images and other key content translated as well.

When going through your site, beyond text content, make sure you translate:

Here's a quick exerice to help you focus your website. After every sentence, item, image or gadget, ask yourself the question "so what?"

It's so easy to keep adding to your site, or writing more content because you think it's what's needed. What really matters is making sure that what's on your site is having an impact. If it isn't, then so what?

Ben

No. This is not a post on firearms (real or fictional), or about the best way to take down a Storm Trooper. This is a post on making sure your website reflects your company's approach.

There are two kinds of company: the ones that try to do a wide range of things, and the ones that focus on a single area of expertise, or a single product, and focus all their energy upon this like a laser. Here's two examples of what I mean:

1. Shotgun

Don't have your picture on your website? No information about yourself?

Your customers are more likely to engage if you put some personal information about yourself on your website. This is true whether you are offering one on one services, or selling to a mass audience.

People don't come to websites trusting you in the same way they will when they walk into a shop. Showing who you are and telling people about you engenders trust.

Ben

If content is king, shouldn't we all try and fill our websites with as much text as is humanely possible? Won't that get us the highest ranking in Google? Why don't we just write pages and pages and pages of stuff, as much as we possibly can, and we'll get to number one, won't we? After all Content is King.

A website can be a thing of art. There are an ever increasing number of very talented artists who turn their hand to graphic art, and amaze us with gorgeous design. Ranging from simple black and white layout, to fully animated flash interfaces, there are a world of options available to the website owner when trying to revamp a tired site.

What if your website has so much artistic merit, that you win an award. Isn't that the highest accolade an audience can bestow on a webmaster - awarding her for creating a work of art? Isn't that what we should all strive for?

No.