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Add ÔÇ£Made with LoveÔÇØ with a Heart to Your Footer

Many sites display “Made with Love” or “Handcrafted with Love” in the site footer, and I wanted to do something similar.

If you take a look at the bottom of the page in my footer at Authentik, you’ll notice that it does not display the default text that is output by the Genesis Framework. Here’s what that looks like:

In just a few steps, this is super easy to do:

Enqueue Ionicons

Open up your theme’s functions.php file and place the code below. Feel free to place this at the very bottom of the file, if you want.

View the code on Gist.

This will properly enqueue Ionicon styles and allow you to add any of the icons they offer to your website. To see a comprehensive list of their icon font library, click here.

Customizing Your Footer

The next step in the process is quite simple as well. Download and install the Genesis Simple Edits plugin on your website.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, this plugin allows you edit the three most commonly modified areas in any Genesis theme: the entry meta in the entry header, the entry meta in the entry footer and the site footer.

After you’ve activated the plugin, go to the Genesis > Simple Edits screen and look for the Footer Output option box at the bottom of the screen.

(Be sure that the Modify Entire Footer Text option is selected.)

Here you should place the following code:

View the code on Gist.

Obviously you can edit the HTML provided with your own name and links to other places. This is simply the code that I use on Authentik.

Styling the Heart Dashicon

Depending on what size and color of fonts you have declared in your style sheet, you might need to tweak the CSS a bit for your heart Ionicon.

Below is the CSS that I have used on my website to ensure the best look and placement of the heart Ionicon in my site footer.

View the code on Gist.

And that is itÔÇöyou’ve customized your site footer with a heart Ionicon!

We have published additional Genesis Quick Tips for you, so feel free to use what you see to build something awesome.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

Sites Weekly: How to Handle Negative Feedback

Welcome to another edition of Sites Weekly.

I hope this email finds you in the midst of a productive and fulfilling week. (Because if you’re being productive, but it’s not fulfilling … what’s the point??)

Before I get to this week’s roundup of external links, I have a few links to internal content that I think you’ll find useful.

First, remember that Brian Gardner has a new series on the StudioPress blog in which he’s giving quick tips on how to make better use of the Genesis Framework. I’ll start including them as part of Sites Weekly.

This week’s Genesis Quick Tip: How to Add an Instagram Feed to Your Site Footer.

Second, we have a new 10-part series of ebooks that deliver expert information to help you build a better website. The series is called Essential Tips for a Faster, Stronger, More Secure WordPress Website.

New subscribers will receive these guides as part of a free weekly course, but you can have immediate access to all 10 ebooks right now.

Here they are:

And finally, don’t miss Brian Clark’s latest Quick Copy Tip over on the Copyblogger blog: Supercharge Your Benefits with Contrast Storytelling.

Now on to this week’s links …

Content: Kill ’em with kindness, wit, and a few ounces of prevention

It’s inevitable.

It happens to all of us who create content online.

Eventually you are going to get negative feedback. Most of it will be well-meaning, some of it will even be helpful, and occasionally you’ll just get a troll or two wasting your time.

Regardless, it’s good to have a plan and a few strategies for how you’re going to deal with negative feedback when it comes. This post includes seven solid ideas, with examples to show you the way.

7 Witty Ways to Respond to Negative Feedback on Your Content

Design: How could your design be better, bolder, or more elegant?

I’m a big fan of the podcast TED Radio Hour. If you’ve never listened, each episode is organized around a general topic, with snippets from 4ÔÇô5 popular TED Talks about the topic as well as interviews with the speakers.

The most recent episode was a replay of a May 2016 episode about design. I found the story told by the founder of Airbnb to be most illuminating and inspiring. The entire episode is worth a listen.

The Power Of Design

And here is a bonus Design link for you …

Looking for color scheme ideas for a new site or a redesign? This blog post provides a rundown of the best free color palette tools.

Two of the most important decisions you will make about your WordPress website are your theme and your hosting. Wouldn’t it be great if they worked together to make your website more powerful?

Now they can.

Discover why over 213,675 website owners trust StudioPress.

Technology: How to grow your YouTube audience

Video is already huge, and it continues to grow. And while Facebook is obviously making a big video push, and warrants investigation (especially if you’re doing live video), don’t forget about YouTube.

Just because YouTube has been around and synonymous with online video forever doesn’t mean it’s a dinosaur or past its prime. YouTube remains hugely popular for video, and recent updates are giving content creators even more power over their channels.

This blog post by Noah Kagan provides some extremely useful tips for how to take advantage of YouTube’s built-in tools to get more subscribers to your channel.

How to get 100,000 YouTube subscribers by 2018

Strategy: Content comes first, then SEO

This article begins with a brilliant metaphor. If you’ve ever felt like balancing content strategy and SEO strategy was a challenge, this metaphor will speak to you.

Bottom line: No matter how great your SEO is, it won’t matter if your content is terrible. (Not to mention, your terrible content will torpedo your SEO in short order.)

It’s obvious, yes, but we can all use a regular reminder of the fundamentals.

Content-First SEO

So …

Which of the ideas in these posts will you put to good use immediately?

I’ll be back with a new edition next week.

Keep building.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

[15] 5 Questions to Help You Avoid a Catastrophic Plugin Decision

As wonderful as plugins can be, itÔÇÖs wise to use patience and discretion when choosing which ones you will use and which ones you will pass over or replace. In this episode, I will present you with a simple decision tree, in the form of a few short questions, to help you decide whether you should install that plugin ÔÇª or move on.

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Important links from this episode:

Try StudioPress Sites
Sites Weekly Newsletter
Subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts
@JerodMorris on Twitter
Original blog post: How Creativity Can Kill a Good Website Design by Rafal Tomal

Transcript

Jerod Morris:Welcome to Sites, a podcast by the teams at StudioPress and Copyblogger. In this show, we deliver time-tested insight on the four pillars of a successful WordPress website: content, design, technology, and strategy. We want to help you get a little bit closer to reaching your online goals, one episode at a time.

IÔÇÖm your host Jerod Morris.

Sites is brought to you by StudioPress Sites — the complete hosted solution that makes WordPress fast, secure, and easy ÔÇª without sacrificing power or flexibility. For example, you can upload your own WordPress theme, or, you can use one of the 20 beautiful StudioPress themes that are included and just one click away. Explore all the amazing things you can do with a StudioPress Site, and youÔÇÖll understand why this is way more than traditional WordPress hosting. No matter how youÔÇÖll be using your site, we have a plan to fit your needs — and your budget. To learn more, visit studiopress.com/sites. ThatÔÇÖs studiopress.com/sites.

Welcome back to another episode of Sites. So glad to have you here with me.

Last week, we discussed how creativity can kill a good website design.

As I mentioned in that episode, it seems kind of ironic that creativity can have a negative impact on your web design because creativity is generally good thing. But as we all know from other walks of life, too much of a good thing can often turn into something not so good.

The same is true for plugins.

Now let me be clear: like creativity, plugins are generally a GOOD thing. In fact, plugins are one of the best elements of running a WordPress site.

Solid, well-coded plugins extend the power and capability of WordPress far beyond what it can do out of the box. For the vast majority of us who use WordPress, plugins arenÔÇÖt just a nice option to have — they actually provide essential functionality that we wouldnÔÇÖt be able to run our websites without.

So whatÔÇÖs the problem?

Well, beneath the sunshine and daffodils, plugins do have a dark side.

They require updates.
Sometimes they donÔÇÖt play nicely with other plugins or your theme.
They can introduce security holes into your website.
They can get out of date and stop working with newer versions of WordPress.
Plugins that were once cutting edge can become obsolete.
Worst of all, they can be abandoned by their developers.

I donÔÇÖt say all of this to scare you. But I do bring this up to open your eyes to the reality of hosting plugins on your WordPress website.

The WordPress plugin repository is a fantastical place. ItÔÇÖs like Willy WonkaÔÇÖs Chocolate Factory for WordPress owners. But you canÔÇÖt just gobble up everything in sight. If you do, your website will get bloated, which can lead to performance degradation on the front end for visitors and on the back end when youÔÇÖre in your dashboard. Plus, you will be committing yourself to all kinds of extra time and worry when it comes to maintenance and updates.

This is one reason why hosting your site with a provider who offers recommended plugins is so nice. For example, StudioPress Sites has recommended plugins for a bunch of different features: building landing pages, running affiliate programs, managing membership communities, etc. The plugins have all been vetted to ensure they work well in the Sites hosting environment, and they are accessible via one-click install from any Sites website dashboard. ItÔÇÖs peace of mind and convenience, to help you get the essential features you need.

But if your host doesnÔÇÖt offer recommended plugins, or you need a feature that isnÔÇÖt among the plugins recommended, then youÔÇÖre going to need to install one on your own.

And the bottom line is that as wonderful as plugins can be, itÔÇÖs wise to use patience and discretion, and even consider a minimalistÔÇÖs mentality when choosing which plugins you will use and which ones you will pass over or replace.

In this episode, I will present you with a simple decision tree, in the form of a few short questions, to help you decide whether you should install that plugin or move on, so that you can experience the benefits of plugins while avoiding the potential catastrophes they can bring to your site.

5 Questions to Help You Avoid a Catastrophic Plugin Decision

Here is the first question to ask yourself:

1. Are you willing and able to keep your plugins updated?

If your answer to this question is no, then just stop right now.

You have to keep your plugins updated. ItÔÇÖs the only way to keep your site safe and functioning.

WordPress is always being updated, and new security threats are always emerging. This means that plugin developers have to be constantly updating their plugins to make them up-to-date and compatible with WordPress, as well as secure as possible from the ever-present risk of hacking.

If youÔÇÖre not going to keep your eyes peeled and stay vigilant, so that when plugin alert notices happen you take action, then youÔÇÖre not a responsible enough WordPress owner to use plugins. IÔÇÖm sorry — that may seem harsh, but itÔÇÖs true.

Okay, can you answer in the affirmative to number one? Then you can move on to number two:

2. What problem are you trying to solve?

This can be a problem for your audience members who visit your site, for customers who make purchases on your site, or even for yourself when it comes to managing your site. There are plugins of all shapes and sizes that do endless multitudes of things.

But notice the wording of the question. ItÔÇÖs very specific.

What problem are you trying to solve?

ItÔÇÖs not: what feature would you like to add? Or, what element would be cool to have on your website? Or, what is my competitor doing so I can match them?

No.

What problem are you trying to solve?

For example, one of the first plugins I often put on my WordPress sites is a Google Analytics plugin. Why do I do this via plugin instead of just pasting the Analytics code into my theme file? Well, because I know IÔÇÖm likely to change my theme in the future. And if I do that, and then forget to add the Analytics code to the new theme, then IÔÇÖll lose data. I donÔÇÖt want that to happen. ThatÔÇÖs a problem. Adding a plugin helps me solve that problem.

What problem are you trying to solve that a plugin can be the answer for? If you canÔÇÖt identify the problem, then you shouldnÔÇÖt even start trying to identify the plugin.

If you have a defined answer to number two, then you can move on to question number three ÔÇª

3. Are there plugin options that actually solve your problem?

Note that I said options, with an s. Not just option.

ItÔÇÖs easy to get into a hurry when youÔÇÖre building your website. You donÔÇÖt want to spend time on plugins. You want to spend time on your content, and building connections with your audience.

So it can be tempting to find the first plugin that purports to offer a solution to your problem, install it, and move on.

DonÔÇÖt.

This is an easy way to make a less than optimal choice.

There can be multiple solutions for the same problem. And they may all work adequately, but one may be more optimal for your particular situation and website than another.

Research the different options, judge the features against what you need for your site, and then make an informed decision rather than a default one — which is what youÔÇÖd be doing if you just pick the first plugin that pops up.

Of course, your research could uncover that no plugins solve your problem. This is why itÔÇÖs so important to be clear about the problem youÔÇÖre trying to solve. Because while it might be disappointing to not find a quick fix with a plugin, itÔÇÖs much better than having a vague idea of the problem and then being tempted to install any old plugin that you think might solve it. No.

ItÔÇÖs better to be clear about what youÔÇÖre looking for, so then you can be clear about whether you find it or not. And if you donÔÇÖt, good. At least you know. And if the problem is important enough, you still have options. You can hire a developer to build you a custom solution — or you can go back to the drawing board and reconsider whether the problem is really that important, or if there is another way to work toward a solution for it.

Remember: sometimes constraints are blessings in disguise.

Okay, so youÔÇÖve identified the problem youÔÇÖre trying to solve, and you have identified plugins that solve this problem. What next?

4. Are any of the plugin options trustworthy?

What do I mean when I say trustworthy? I mean can you count on it. How do you know?

Ask yourself a few of these questions, all of which can be answered in fairly short order:

Is there any social proof suggesting many different site owners have used this plugin successfully?
Does this plugin developer show a track record of success?
Is the plugin updated often?
Is support offered? (Understand that you may have to pay a premium to get plugin support. ItÔÇÖs often worth it. DonÔÇÖt let that scare you.)

If youÔÇÖre looking at a plugin, but the number of sites itÔÇÖs installed on is in the hundreds, not the hundreds of thousands, or itÔÇÖs the first plugin of a developer you donÔÇÖt know, or it hasnÔÇÖt been updated in the past few months ÔÇª IÔÇÖd run in the other direction. Why risk it?

Chances are there are other options, or it will be worth paying for something custom. The risk just isnÔÇÖt worth the potential reward if youÔÇÖre going to be living in constant fear of a plugin breaking or becoming obsolete.

And remember: the problem youÔÇÖre trying to solve with this plugin should be an important one. So if it could simply break or stop working without your site being impacted, my question is why are you even installing it in the first place?

And finally, the fourth question you should ask yourself about a plugin before thinking youÔÇÖre done and ready to move on ÔÇª

5. Does installing and activating the plugin break anything?

This is a big step people often forget. I know I have in the past. Usually it doesnÔÇÖt come back to bite me, but every now and then it does.

Just because you download a plugin, install it, activate it, and adjust all of the settings does not necessarily mean everything is working well.

Things can go wrong. Plugins can interact weirdly with different versions of WordPress or different themes. Sometimes they place code or text in places you didnÔÇÖt anticipate.

To be safe, just expect the unexpected ÔÇª and then make sure that you take a quick tour of your site after installing any plugins. Check the home page, click around to some content pages, scroll down to your footer, etc. Everything look okay?

Good. ItÔÇÖs always smart to check. DonÔÇÖt be lulled into a false sense of security. Even a 5-star plugin might have an issue with the particular configuration of YOUR website. So just do your due diligence.

Once again, here are the five questions you should ask yourself to avoid potential plugin catastrophes:

Are you willing and able to keep your plugins updated?
What problem are you trying to solve?
Are there plugin options that actually solve your problem?
Are any of the plugin options trustworthy?
Does installing and activating the plugin break anything on your site?

Now stick around. ItÔÇÖs time for this weekÔÇÖs hyper-specific call to action.

Call to action

For this weekÔÇÖs call to action, I want you to review your plugins. All of them. Go down the list and identify the problem that each one solves. Every time you can define a specific problem that it solves, great! Keep that plugin.

But if you get to a plugin that doesnÔÇÖt solve a specific problem, or upon further review the problem is actually not that important, then consider removing it.

The upside is one less plugin to have to worry about an update, plus one less potential area of exploit for hackers, and a little bit less bloat on your website.

Can you get rid of a plugin or two? My guess is that if youÔÇÖve never done an exercise like this, you probably can.

Okay — coming next week, we move on from technology back to strategy. And we discuss one of my all-time favorite and most oft-recommended articles ever written on Copyblogger. It was written by Chris Garrett. The title: How to Decide Which Content to Sell and What to Give Away for Free. ThatÔÇÖs next week on Sites.

Finally, before I go, here are two more quick calls to action for you to consider:

Subscribe to Sites Weekly

If you havenÔÇÖt yet, please take this opportunity to activate your free subscription to our curated weekly email newsletter, Sites Weekly.

Each week, I find four links about content, design, technology, and strategy that you donÔÇÖt want to miss, and then I send them out via email on Wednesday afternoon.

Reading this newsletter will help you make your website more powerful and successful. Go to studiopress.com/news and sign up in one step right there at the top of the page. ThatÔÇÖs studiopress.com/news.

Rate and Review Sites on Apple Podcasts

And finally, if you enjoy the Sites podcast, please subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (formerly known as iTunes), and consider giving us a rating or a review over there as well.

One quick tip on that: to make the best use of your review, let me know something in particular you like about the show. That feedback is really important.

To find us in Apple Podcasts, search for StudioPress Sites and look for the striking purple logo that was designed by Rafal Tomal. Or you can also go to the URL sites.fm/apple and it will redirect you to our Apple Podcasts page.

And with that, we come to the close of another episode. Thank you for listening to this episode of Sites. I appreciate you being here.

Join me next time, and letÔÇÖs keep building powerful, successful WordPress websites together.

This episode of sites was brought to you by StudioPress Sites, which was awarded ÔÇ£Fastest WordPress HostingÔÇØ of 2017 in an independent speed testÔÇÅ. If you want to make WordPress fast, secure, and easy — and, I mean, why wouldnÔÇÖt you — visit studiopress.com/sites today and see which plan fits your needs. ThatÔÇÖs studiopress.com/sites.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

How to Add an Instagram Feed to Your Site Footer

Earlier this year, I released Twenty Seven ProÔÇöa free lifestyle blog theme that included an Instagram feed in the site footer. It seems as though this a is a very popular feature these days, so I thought Genesis users would like it.

After all, automatically displaying an array of beautiful photos across the bottom of your website has some appealÔÇöit’s great for bloggers, retailers, and anyone else hoping to grow their brand on Instagram.

Here’s what the site footer of the Twenty Seven Pro demo looks like:

I thought it might be helpful to show you how I did that. Implementing in one of your StudioPress themes will vary depending on which one you are using.

How to Add an Instagram Feed to Your Site Footer

1. Register the “Instagram” widget area in the functions file:

View the code on Gist.

2. Hook the “Instagram” widget area before the site footer:

View the code on Gist.

3. Download and install the WP Instagram widget plugin.

4. Go to Appearance > Widgets screen in your WordPress dashboard, and move the WP Instagram widget into the Instagram widget area. For the Twenty Seven Pro demo, I have selected to display 6 photos, with a size of “small”ÔÇöconfigure the display of your Instagram feed as necessary.

5. Add CSS for Instagram feed images in theme style sheet:

View the code on Gist.

If you’re looking to add your Instagram feed in another location, here’s a comprehensive list of Genesis Hooks for you to use as reference.

We have published additional Genesis Quick Tips for you, so feel free to use what you see to build something awesome.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

Sites Weekly: How to Create More Evergreen Content

Welcome to another edition of Sites Weekly.

Last week, we released a new Genesis theme out into the wild. Outfitter Pro is here, and it’s ready to help you create a magnificent storefront website.

Also, Brian Gardner started writing a new series of blog posts that deliver quick tips for using Genesis. His first post details how to add Typekit fonts to your Genesis website.

Now on to this week’s links …

Content: Are you creating content that will stand the test of time?

One of my side projects is a college basketball postgame show. It’s great. I enjoy it. We’ve built a big audience. It even generates some revenue.

But there is one element of this project that never ceases to frustrate me: Within 24ÔÇô48 hours after we record our show, it’s no longer relevant. A new game comes along, we record a new show, it’s relevant for 24ÔÇô48 hours … and the cycle continues.

See the problem? We have to stay on the content creation hamster wheel to keep our current audience engaged and find new audience members. None of these pieces of bread-and-butter content that we create live on and continue attracting attention in the future.

For all that I love about this project, the difficulty of finding opportunities for evergreen content has always been a struggle. Evergreen content is an investment. You put time, effort, and resources into the content, and it pays dividends for weeks or months or even years into the future. It’s a beautiful thing.

You should definitely seek out every opportunity you can to create evergreen content. And if you want tips from an expert on what types of content you can create that will be evergreen, look no further than the great Darren Rowse. He tackled this topic on a recent episode of his podcast.

7 Types of Evergreen Content You Can Create On Your Blog

Design: What if you didn’t put your best content behind an email opt-in?

It sounds crazy, right? You want to build your email list, so it makes logical sense to design your website in such a way that puts your best content behind an email opt-in.

But what if you didn’t do that? What if you just made all of your content freely available, and I do mean freely available, by not even asking for an email address?

One company tried this, and it worked well enough to get their Senior VP of Marketing nominated for Content Marketer of the Year. The exact strategy this company followed might not work for you, but elements of it may be worth considering.

For example, what if you only required an email address when you deliver an extra benefit to the user? What about using pop-ups to suggest additional content, rather than to ask someone to opt in to your list?

There’s some interesting stuff here that you might not have considered before.

Setting Content Free: How Health Catalyst Gets Results With Ungated Content

Two of the most important decisions you will make about your WordPress website are your theme and your hosting. Wouldn’t it be great if they worked together to make your website more powerful?

Now they can.

Discover why over 213,675 website owners trust StudioPress.

Technology: Is it time to reassess your email strategy?

I’m always a sucker for any headline that promises new data on email marketing.

The demise of email has been projected for so long, that even though I firmly believe in email’s long-term staying power, I’m still on the lookout for signs of a downward trend. Don’t worry. The link I’m about to share doesn’t suggest that. (Quite the contrary, in fact. Check out the second graphic.)

And since email is still here to stay, it’s always good to understand how the desires and behaviors of email users are changing.

Check out this post from AdWeek for some updated data. It’s a simple, quick post — a few easy graphics and some bullet points. As you’ll learn, beware of sending people offers or recommendations that don’t match their interests.

40% of Consumers Want Emails From Brands to Be Less Promotional and More Informative

Strategy: A brilliant method for getting more people excited about your ideas

Do you ever struggle to bridge the gap between the excitement in your own head about a new idea you have … and trying to transfer that excitement to someone else?

I know I do. I get so worked up in my own head about ideas that I think are brilliant, but then I’ll explain them to someone and their response is, well, let’s just say much flatter than I want it to be.

Why?

Because usually I’m so busy talking about the idea, that I don’t spend enough time talking about the thinking behind the idea. And that’s a problem, because that’s where the real transfer of understanding and enthusiasm takes place.

I’ve recognized this issue for a long time, but nothing I’ve read described it better, and suggested a better solution, than this post by Jay Acunzo.

The Green Smoothie Problem: Why Others DonÔÇÖt Buy Your Ideas

Bonus article: Useful tips on Instagram Stories

I stopped using Instagram a while back. In the meantime, its user growth has accelerated and its importance, at least in certain circles, has grown as well.

So I’m thinking it might be time to get back in the Instagram game a bit. Thus, I found this post helpful as a primer for how to use Instagram Stories.

Instagram Stories: How they Work, What to Know Before You Start Posting, plus 15 Content Ideas to Get You Started

Alrighty. So … which of the ideas in these posts will you put to good use immediately?

I’ll be back with a new edition next week.

Keep building.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

[14] How Creativity Can Kill a Good Website Design

There comes a point for any website when more creativity actually becomes too much, and becomes a negative. In this episode, we discuss a couple of important points to keep in mind so that creativity with your web design doesnÔÇÖt harm your usersÔÇÖ experience.

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Important links from this episode:

Try StudioPress Sites
Sites Weekly Newsletter
Subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts
@JerodMorris on Twitter
Original blog post: How Creativity Can Kill a Good Website Design by Rafal Tomal

Transcript

Jerod Morris: Welcome to Sites, a podcast by the teams at StudioPress and Copyblogger. In this show, we deliver time-tested insight on the four pillars of a successful WordPress website: content, design, technology, and strategy. We want to help you get a little bit closer to reaching your online goals, one episode at a time.

IÔÇÖm your host Jerod Morris.

Welcome to Episode 14 of Sites.

Last week, we discussed how to create content that deeply engages our audience.

One element of content that is deeply engaging is, of course, creativity. You arenÔÇÖt going to capture attention, and keep it, if youÔÇÖre saying the same thing everyone else is — and saying it in the same way everyone else is.

So creativity is unequivocally a good thing.

But like any good thing — basketball, beer ÔÇª ballroom dancing — indulging in too much of it can have negative consequences.

This is especially true when it comes to creativity and web design.

Now you may be thinking, ÔÇ£Wait a minute, why wouldnÔÇÖt I want the most creative web design possible? WonÔÇÖt that help me break through the noise, differentiate myself, and get much-needed attention?ÔÇØ

Sure ÔÇª to a point.

The key is knowing where that point is.

Because after that point, additional creativity may no longer be helping your web design. It might actually be killing it.

That is the thesis of Rafal TomalÔÇÖs blog post titled How Creativity Can Kill a Good Website Design. He wrote it in February of 2016. IÔÇÖm reading it here in September of 2017.

And while the post is written to an audience of designers — and you may not consider yourself a designer — itÔÇÖs still relevant to you. Because if youÔÇÖre creating a website, then you have to pick a design and tweak it, or you have to hire a designer. And that means you need to have some idea where the line is between the right amount of creativity and too much of it.

Here, now, is my reading of Rafal TomalÔÇÖs blog post: ÔÇ£How Creativity Can Kill a Good Website Design.ÔÇØ IÔÇÖve adapted it slightly for clarity.

Make sure you stick around after the reading, as IÔÇÖll have this weekÔÇÖs hyper-specific call to action for you.

How Creativity Can Kill a Good Website Design

How in the world could being too creative kill your design?

I always thought the more creative someone is, the better designer he or she must be. Then, I started studying design more and realized that itÔÇÖs actually not all about creativity.

Most of us start as visual designers, and then we grow and learn more about user interface, conversion, user experience, accessibility, or usability.

Your creativity brought you here and that made you interested in design, but if you really want to evolve and become a better designer, be aware that being too creative may actually hurt your design work.

How?

Because weÔÇÖre designing for users — not ourselves. The sooner you realize this, the better. User psychology is a complicated subject, but one thing is for sure: people by default are lazy and will look for the least-resistant way to accomplish their task.

Layouts that are too complicated, solutions that are too creative, and reinvented wheels wonÔÇÖt make your usersÔÇÖ life easier.

So, how can we find a good balance between a creative, artistic, and original design while still making it intuitive, maintaining usability, and providing good results for the business?

Here are a couple of ways …

1. Start with a prototype in mind

According to GoogleÔÇÖs research, users prefer websites that look both simple (low complexity) and familiar (high prototypicality).

People make their aesthetic judgment on your design in less than 50 milliseconds. That first impression can tell them if they want to stay or leave your website or how they feel about your brand and product.

As Javier Bargas-Avila, Senior User Experience Researcher at YouTube UX Research, said: ÔÇ£Designs that contradict what users typically expect of a website may hurt usersÔÇÖ first impression and damage their expectations.ÔÇØ

YouÔÇÖve probably seen thousands of different websites by now. If I asked you to draw a layout of a blog website, it would probably look something like this:

A header area with logo to the left and nav menu to the right
A sidebar to the right with a CTA box at the top
Then to the left in the body section is the main content area

We could repeat this exercise with almost every kind of website: e-commerce, a doctorÔÇÖs office, university, portfolio, magazine, etc.

A prototype of a blog website has the content area on the left side and the sidebar on the right side. The sidebar has ÔÇ£widgetsÔÇØ that mostly includes the email sign-up form as the first one.

Does every blog look like that? No, but most of them do and thatÔÇÖs why this is a prototypical image of a blog layout.

When people visit your blog and want to sign up for your email newsletter, their expectation will be to find it in the right hand sidebar. How convenient is it when they find it right there and how frustrating would it be if itÔÇÖs not there?

I believe itÔÇÖs always good to start designing with a prototype in mind. Then, you can alter it from there and test different ideas and decide how much you can afford to change the original look.

Variation 1 might be a special widget just below the header that spans the content area and sidebar with a CTA box
Variation 2 might be a footer widget with the CTA box
Variation 3 might be the sidebar flipped to the left side.

Of course, everything depends on your targeted audience. If youÔÇÖre designing a website for creative people, their expectations may be completely different. Looking at a prototypical website could be too boring for them and they may actually be open to a more creative approach from you.

On the other hand, if youÔÇÖre designing for a non-specified group of users, you may want to go a safer route and stick as close to the prototypical design as possible. Being too creative here could actually hurt the basic expectations, which would lead to confusion and result in abandoning your website.

So that is point #1: Design with a prototype in mind.

Now letÔÇÖs discuss point #2 ÔÇª

2. DonÔÇÖt make your users think

There are many established web conventions and standards like the placement of your logo, navigation, search bar, or login link. There are even conventions for an iconÔÇÖs meaning, website element names, (e.g. Home, Sitemap, Contact), button styles, layout and visual hierarchy.

All of these standards will help your users to navigate and find what they need much faster. Try to always stick to some of the most popular conventions and use your creativity elsewhere.

Avoid reinventing the wheel. You donÔÇÖt want to change your usersÔÇÖ expectations from where the navigation is or make them wonder what that icon means. Remember that users are looking for the least resistant way to accomplish their task. So, simply donÔÇÖt make them think.

Every website has its own level of user interface complexity and a certain amount of content. The more complex your interface is and the more content you have, the more energy it requires from visitors to explore the website.

There are some exceptions when you may want to break the web conventions on purpose. Maybe you know exactly who your audience is and the goal of your website is to entertain and create an environment where your users are having fun exploring your creative ideas.

YouÔÇÖve probably seen many clever portfolio websites with an original navigation or a horizontal scroll instead of vertical. It is fun to explore these and IÔÇÖm sure all other designers enjoy it too. It is OK in this circumstance.

Similar creative approaches certainly wouldnÔÇÖt work for a local library or hospital website, where many users are older people or less experienced web users and they donÔÇÖt have time or energy to play with your design.

Again, I would strongly recommend to start designing with the conventions in mind, and then try to alter some elements, after testing them first.

DonÔÇÖt just trust your own gut ÔÇô see what your users think. If you can afford to come up with completely new design solutions, then you should be able to afford to test the usability of that solution as well.

So, point #1 is to design with a prototype in mind. Point #2 is to not make your users think ÔÇª at least, not think in terms of how to use your website. YouÔÇÖd rather them spend that time and energy thinking about your content and your ideas, not how to go to the next page.

Now hereÔÇÖs the final point …

Use your creativity mostly in visual design

So, where is the fun part of designing websites if you canÔÇÖt be too creative in many of the previously mentioned aspects?

You can be and should be creative when it comes to the visual design. Try different color schemes or interesting font combinations. You can play with spacing, visual balance, and hierarchy. Design original illustrations or clever hover and scrolling effects.

Look for creative ways to simplify your design. Minimalism is not about hiding features or content, but about doing less, just doing it better. Yes, actually simplifying design very often needs more creativity than making it complex.

Help your users to complete the same tasks in a shorter amount time using fewer steps. Come up with creative ways to solve your users problems or to increase the conversion rate by breaking your visual patterns and directing your users right into your call-to-action.

There is so much room for creativity in these areas while still sticking to design conventions, standards and common website prototypes.

DonÔÇÖt get me wrong ÔÇô be creative and have fun designing websites. Just be careful how and where you use your creativity so it wonÔÇÖt work against you.

Now stick around. ItÔÇÖs time for this weekÔÇÖs hyper-specific call to action.

Call to action

For this weekÔÇÖs call to action, I want you to think about RafalÔÇÖs two big points from this episode:

#1 — Design with a prototype in mind
#2 — DonÔÇÖt make your users think

I want you to think about them in relation to your website and your audience.

What do your users expect when they visit your website? Are you giving it to them? Consider whether there are standard website elements you donÔÇÖt currently have. Ask some people who are representative of your audience members to use your website. Do they have to think too much?

Try to identify an element of your website that would be a simple tweak but that would make it conform better to audience expectations and/or make the experience of using your website better.

Any improvement along these lines will make your site easier for users to interface with, which is going to bring them closer to taking you up on your calls to action.

And, as always, please feel encouraged to report back to me on Twitter. What did you learn by following through with this weekÔÇÖs hyper-specific Call to Action? I want to know!

Okay — coming next week, we move on from design to technology. WeÔÇÖre going to talk about plugins. They are one of the greatest elements of WordPress. And they are one of the most worrisome and terrifying elements of WordPress. LetÔÇÖs discuss now to navigate those two extremes comfortably, shall we? ThatÔÇÖs next week on Sites.

Finally, before I go, here are two more quick calls to action for you to consider:

Subscribe to Sites Weekly

If you havenÔÇÖt yet, please take this opportunity to activate your free subscription to our curated weekly email newsletter, Sites Weekly.

Each week, I find four links about content, design, technology, and strategy that you donÔÇÖt want to miss, and then I send them out via email on Wednesday afternoon.

Rate and Review Sites on Apple Podcasts

And finally, if you enjoy the Sites podcast, please subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (formerly known as iTunes), and consider giving us a rating or a review over there as well.

One quick tip on that: to make the best use of your review, let me know something in particular you like about the show. That feedback is really important.

And with that, we come to the close of another episode. Thank you for listening to this episode of Sites. I appreciate you being here.

Join me next time, and letÔÇÖs keep building powerful, successful WordPress websites together.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

How to Add Typekit Fonts to Your Genesis Website

It’s no secret I’m a fan of Google Fonts, but I’m also an huge advocate of Typekit Fonts as well. I love the variety of fonts that Google offers, and they are free to use, but once in a while I want to take my website to a higher level.

If you’re wondering how to add Typekit Fonts into your Genesis website, I’ve got good news for you. It’s quite simple, and I’m going to show you below.

Adding Typekit Fonts

If you are using any of our StudioPress themes, you’ll need to remove the code that loads Google Fonts first. There’s no reason to keep it in, especially since it would add an additional http request on your site load.

Using Monochrome Pro as an example, you’ll see this in the functions file:

View the code on Gist.

You’ll want to remove the following line of code from that function:

View the code on Gist.

The next step in adding Typekit Fonts to your Genesis website is to create a kit through your Typekit account. After you have done that, you should be provided with an Embed Code that looks something like this:

View the code on Gist.

You’ll need to copy that code and place it into the Header Scripts option box on the Genesis > Theme Settings page in your WordPress dashboard.

Here’s an screenshot that shows you where to place the code:

The last thing you need to do is update the CSS in your style sheet. You’ll want to do a search and replace, as this will ensure you replace all instances.

For example, you’ll notice that our Monochrome Pro theme uses the Muli font from Google, as shown in the CSS below:

View the code on Gist.

Simply replace the font-family with your Typekit Fonts, as shown below:

View the code on Gist.

Update from Typekit: Serve web fonts without JavaScript (and with CSS)

We have published additional Genesis Quick Tips for you, so feel free to use what you see to build something awesome.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

Outfitter Pro: Drive Sales with a Striking Storefront Display

Outfitter Pro is a striking new storefront theme for Genesis. It was designed by Lauren Mancke, and offers a beautifully minimal look for your business.

Built to integrate seamlessly with WooCommerce, and featuring a stylish masonry-style product display option for the homepage, Outfitter Pro will help you drive more sales by inviting click-throughs to product pages and making the checkout process as intuitive as possible.

Notice the Cart button in the header menu area:

Outfitter Pro is the first Genesis theme to feature this button.

Why does this matter?

Because the Cart button encourages progress to the checkout page — which, of course, is the ultimate goal of getting someone to any product-driven website — by providing a subtle, ever-present reminder of how many items are currently in your vistor’s cart. Additionally, the Cart button provides simple, one-click access when people are ready to check out and move on.

Combined with the masonry display on the homepage, as well as the other standard Genesis features, your Outfitter website will make for a shopping experience that is friendly and headache-free, something your visitors will appreciate.

We’ve all been on websites that deliver the opposite online shopping experience. All it leads to is a graveyard of abandoned carts and lost sales.

Outfitter Pro includes a number of additional features that make it a great choice for your product-driven storefront website:

Complete WooCommerce-readiness to help you build and showcase your shop
A mobile-responsive design that looks amazing wherever itÔÇÖs viewed
Big, brilliant buttons that make navigation a breeze
Blog post pages designed to showcase imagery and be easy to read
A simple footer to provide links to your social accounts and contact page
Ample navigation options to create the menu system that fits your layout
Airtight security and SEO so you can rest easy

And much more.

Get the Outfitter Pro theme by StudioPress

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

Sites Weekly: What Makes a Killer Call-to-Action Button?

Welcome to another edition of Sites Weekly.

You may have seen that we announced some special news on the Copyblogger blog earlier this week.

Digital Commerce Academy is open again!

But only for a limited time. (And when we close the doors again, the price will go up.)

So if you want insight from experienced experts that will help you develop and sell profitable digital products, this is the week to take action.

Now on to this week’s links …

Content: What makes a killer call-to-action button?

You may be wondering why a post about CTA buttons is leading us off here in Content. Shouldn’t it be in design?

Two thoughts on this:

Content is design … haven’t you learned anything from Rafal?
The most compelling part of the blog post, in my opinion, deals with writing copy for CTA buttons:

“The best Call-to-Action buttons tend to have very few words, but every word is essential to understanding what will happen when the button is clicked.”

Oh, and plus, I found another article that is perfect for the Design section.

However you want to classify it, you’ll learn a lot from the post below.

The Ultimate Guide for High-Converting CTAs

Design: How design decisions can affect analytics

We don’t often think of design and analytics together. But maybe we should.

This post from Content Marketing Institute compiles five lessons from Andy Crestodina that will help you make design decisions that benefit your analytics tracking.

For example:

“From the viewerÔÇÖs point of view, a thank-you message is a thank-you message. From a content marketerÔÇÖs perspective, you get more useful analytics when you put thank-you messages on their own pages, separate from your sign-up forms.”

These are useful tips. Are there any you are not following that you should be?

Designing for Better Analytics: 5 Decisions Web Designers Fail to Make

And while we’re on the subject of design, here is another useful article for you, from Search Engine Land.

Google hates obnoxious pop-up ads: HereÔÇÖs why you need to look at the ads on your site

Two of the most important decisions you will make about your WordPress website are your theme and your hosting. Wouldn’t it be great if they worked together to make your website more powerful?

Now they can.

Discover why over 213,675 website owners trust StudioPress.

Technology: How do you achieve major growth on a budget?

In this day and age of pay-to-play on sites like Facebook, it can sometimes feel like major audience and customer growth is out of your budget … and out of your reach. But it’s not.

The first key, of course, is to leverage your time in smart ways, by focusing your efforts on the activities that make the biggest difference.

The second key is to leverage your money in smart ways, by focusing your investments in tools and tactics on those that will give you the biggest bang for your buck.

This article from Search Engine Journal provides some guidance on the latter.

Digital Growth Hacking Strategies for Companies on a Tight Budget

Strategy: Do you know who your competitors are?

Knowing who your competitors are is important, even if you don’t view business as a zero-sum game or a win-at-all costs battle.

Because when you know who your competitors are, you know what your prospects are seeing out there in the market. This is what gives you insight on how to position your message and product so it properly stands out and gets the attention it deserves.

This blog post provides a three-step process for identifying your competitors.

Competitive Analysis: How To Find & Analyze Your REAL Competitors

So …

Which of the ideas in these posts will you put to good use immediately?

I’ll be back with a new edition next week.

Keep building.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

[13] How to Create Content that Deeply Engages Your Audience

Now that we know who weÔÇÖre talking to and what we want to say, we just have to fine-tune how we say it to achieve maximum impact.

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Important links from this episode:

Video: Nike commercial – Instant Karma
Video: Total ad, 1987
Try StudioPress Sites
Sites Weekly Newsletter
Subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts
@JerodMorris on Twitter
Original blog post: How to Create Content that Deeply Engages Your Audience by Brian Clark

Transcript

Jerod Morris: Welcome to Sites, a podcast by the teams at StudioPress and Copyblogger. In this show, we deliver time-tested insight on the four pillars of a successful WordPress website: content, design, technology, and strategy. We want to help you get a little bit closer to reaching your online goals, one episode at a time.

IÔÇÖm your host Jerod Morris.

Welcome to Episode 13 of Sites.

Last week, we talked about SEO. We discussed a fantasy world in which we could simply eliminate SEO from our lives … but then thought better of it because of the important insight we gain from associated activities like keyword research — which gives us such important insight into the phrases our target audience members use when they have urgent and specific problems to solve.

We learn how they seek answers to these problems. The kind of problems we want to be the solution for.

Well this week weÔÇÖre also talking about the how — how we create content that really moves the needle for our audience once theyÔÇÖve reached our content and are consuming it.

WeÔÇÖve already spent considerable time during our content episodes talking about the who and the what of content creation. This episode brings it all together. Because now that we know who weÔÇÖre talking to and what we want to say, we just have to fine-tune how we say it to achieve maximum impact.

Here, now, is my reading of Brian ClarkÔÇÖs blog post: ÔÇ£How to Create Content that Deeply Engages Your Audience ÔÇØ IÔÇÖve adapted it slightly for clarity.

Make sure you stick around after the reading, as IÔÇÖll have this weekÔÇÖs hyper-specific call to action for you.

How to Create Content that Deeply Engages Your Audience

Art Silverman had a vendetta against popcorn.

Silverman wanted to educate the public about the fact that a typical bag of movie popcorn has 37 grams of saturated fat, while the USDA recommends you have no more than 20 grams in an entire day.

ThatÔÇÖs important information. But instead of simply citing that surprising statistic, Silverman made the message a little more striking:

ÔÇ£A medium-sized ÔÇÿbutterÔÇÖ popcorn contains more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings ÔÇö combined!ÔÇØ

Yes, what you say is crucial. But how you say it can make all the difference.

How you say it is determined by your ÔÇ£whoÔÇØ

ÔÇ£Marketing succeeds when enough people with similar worldviews come together in a way that allows marketers to reach them cost-effectively.ÔÇØ
ÔÇô Seth Godin

When you create a well-rounded representation of your ideal customer, what youÔÇÖre really tuning in to is the way your people view the world.

And when you understand the worldview your prospects share ÔÇö the things they believe ÔÇö you can frame your story in a way that resonates so strongly with them that you enjoy an ÔÇ£unfairÔÇØ advantage over your competition.

Consider these competing worldviews, framed differently by simple word choices:

Crossfitter vs. Gym Rat
Progressive vs. Snowflake
Businessman vs. The Man

These are extreme examples, and you can certainly cater to audience beliefs and worldviews without resorting to name-calling. For example, the simple word ÔÇ£greenÔÇØ can provoke visceral reactions at the far sides of the environmental worldview spectrum, while also prompting less-intense emotions in the vast middle.

Framing your story against a polar opposite, by definition, will make some love you and others ignore or even despise you. ThatÔÇÖs not only okay, itÔÇÖs necessary.

YouÔÇÖll likely never convert those at the other end of the spectrum, but your core base will share your content and help you penetrate the vast group in the middle ÔÇö and thatÔÇÖs where growth comes from.

Based on who youÔÇÖre talking to, you have to choose the way to tell the story so that you get the conclusion you desire.

ItÔÇÖs the delivery of the framed message that keeps your heroic prospect on the journey so that their (and therefore your) goals are achieved.

The ÔÇ£howÔÇØ is essentially the difference between success and failure (or good and great) when it comes to content marketing. You must tell a compelling story with the right central element for the people youÔÇÖre trying to reach.

ItÔÇÖs all about the premise

When you think about how a story is told, youÔÇÖll hear people talk in terms of hooks and angles. Another way of thinking about it is the premise of the case youÔÇÖre making.

As a term in formal logic, the premise is a proposition supporting a certain conclusion. Applied to content and storytelling, we use the word premise to mean the emotional concept that not only attracts attention but also maintains engagement throughout every element of your content.

In other words:

The premise is the embodiment of a concept that weaves itself from headline to conclusion, tying everything together into a compelling, cohesive, and persuasive narrative with one simple and inevitable conclusion ÔÇö your desired action.

And yes, youÔÇÖre telling smaller stories along the buyerÔÇÖs journey that forms an overall empowering narrative. YouÔÇÖll have a ÔÇ£big ideaÔÇØ thatÔÇÖs told one step at a time along the path.

The premise connects you to the emotional center of your prospectÔÇÖs brain, stimulates desire, maintains credibility, and eventually results in the action you want.

This happens when you understand how to frame your message and overall offer to mesh so tightly with your prospectÔÇÖs worldview that the ÔÇ£this is right for meÔÇØ trigger is pulled subconsciously.

Of course, each piece of content reflects your core values and overall positioning in the marketplace. HereÔÇÖs a famous example from the world of advertising.

Nike has one of the most powerful positioning statements on the planet, expressed in three little words ÔÇö just do it. Beyond selling shoes, this is a way of viewing the world boiled down to its essence, which is why itÔÇÖs so powerful.

Now, think back to NikeÔÇÖs commercial from the 80s featuring John LennonÔÇÖs song Instant Karma. If you have never seen this ad, or donÔÇÖt recall it, IÔÇÖve placed a link to it near the top of the show notes at studiopress.blog/sites13.

WhatÔÇÖs the premise?

First, notice how you donÔÇÖt see a logo or company name until the very end. Even then, itÔÇÖs only for a few brief seconds. In fact, the camera barely shows the shoes of the athletes. ItÔÇÖs all about the lyrics married to the visuals.

The first lyrical tie-in hits with ÔÇ£Join the human raceÔÇØ when an image of Olympic champion Michael Johnson is shown lining up for a race. Then things really kick in with ÔÇ£Who on Earth do you think you are, a superstar? Well right you are!ÔÇØ

And then the unifying chorus paired with images of athletic adversity punctuated with triumph, as John Lennon repeats, ÔÇ£We all shine on ÔÇª.ÔÇØ

This individual promotion supports NikeÔÇÖs overall brand positioning of just do it in a powerful, unique way. Did it resonate with everyone? Not at all ÔÇª and IÔÇÖm guessing that very same commercial today would be absolutely despised by a certain segment of the U.S. population.

But the Instant Karma clip did highly engage the people it was aimed at. Repeat this to yourself over and over:

The content you create is for a particular ÔÇ£who,ÔÇØ and no one else.

LetÔÇÖs now look at a process for finding your how, both with your overall positioning and at each step in the prospectÔÇÖs journey.

4 steps to creating your winning story concept

Great ideas are unique. ThereÔÇÖs no formula for innovative ideas, and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is selling the slickest of snake oil.

That said, great premises always have certain elements in common. It took me many years to understand that, beyond all the tactics, itÔÇÖs the premise of the message that matters first and foremost.

The work youÔÇÖve done so far on who and what was the heavy lifting of the how. But to refine your content marketing strategy even further, here are four essential elements of a winning story concept.

1. Be unpredictable

The first thing you absolutely must have is attention. Without initial attention, nothing else youÔÇÖve done matters.

And nothing kills attention faster than if your prospective reader, listener, or viewer thinks they already know where youÔÇÖre going. Beyond curiosity, a great premise delivers an unpredictable and unexpected element that makes it irresistible.

It all comes back to knowing who youÔÇÖre talking to at an intimate level and what they are used to seeing in the market.

What messages are they getting from your competition? This is what you must use as the benchmark to create your own unique and unexpected angle that forms the foundation of your premise.

In this day and age, you might have to dig deeper for a new and unexpected message that startles or downright fascinates people. A creative imagination combined with solid research skills help you see the nugget of gold no one else sees.

Part of why people tune things out is a lack of novelty, which makes even a previously desirable subject matter mundane.

Taking an approach that differs from the crowd can help you stand out, and thatÔÇÖs why unpredictability is crucial for a strong premise.

Just remember that things change. What was once unpredictable can become not only predictable, but trite. This is why being able to come up with a fresh premise is a valuable skill for anyone who creates content or markets anything.

#1: Be unpredictable.

2. Be simple

One of the fundamental rules of effective content marketing is to be clear and simple. Because a premise by definition is an unprecedented and grand idea, sometimes boiling it down to its essence is difficult, or worse, neglected.

DonÔÇÖt get me wrong. IÔÇÖm not saying to water down your big idea to the point of stupidity.

That defeats the purpose.

What IÔÇÖm saying is youÔÇÖve got to make it so simple and clear that it travels directly into the mind of your prospect, so he begins to tell himself the story. Your copy must guide him and inspire him, not beat him over the head.

So, youÔÇÖve got a grand premise thatÔÇÖs unpredictable and destined to shake up your market. Reduce it to a paragraph.

Now, take it down to two sentences.

Get it even shorter.

Just do it.

At this point, you may find yourself with a great tagline. At a minimum, youÔÇÖve now got the substance for the bold promise contained in your primary headline.

#1: Be unpredictable
#2: Be simple

3. Be real

YouÔÇÖve heard that in this day of social media, youÔÇÖve got to keep it real. Speak with a human voice. Be authentic.

Be you.

You also hopefully know that social media hasnÔÇÖt changed the fact that itÔÇÖs about them, not you. In fact, itÔÇÖs more about them than ever.

How do you make that work? What makes a premise real to the right people?

First of all, your premise must be highly relevant to your intended audience, while also being directly in line with your core values. Without relevance, you canÔÇÖt inspire meaning. And itÔÇÖs meaningful messages that inspire action.

Meaning is a function of what people believe before you find them. As we discussed earlier, what your ideal customers believe reflects how they view the world, and your content has to frame that view appropriately to be effective.

As a function of belief, meaning is derived from the context in which your desired audience perceives your message. That context is the heroic journey of the prospect, with your brand serving as a guide.

ThereÔÇÖs another aspect of being ÔÇ£realÔÇØ with your content. Your messages must communicate meaningful benefits that are also tangible. This is the second important aspect of an authentic premise, and itÔÇÖs critical to help your prospects understand and connect with your message.

In this sense, tangible means real or actual, rather than imaginary or visionary. This is the aspect of your premise that is express, meaning the part where you tell the story in a way that concretely injects certain information into the prospectÔÇÖs mind in a specific way.

Remember the Total cereal ad from the late 1980s? (Again, if youÔÇÖve never seen this ad or donÔÇÖt remember, IÔÇÖve placed a link to it at the top of the show notes at studiopress.blog/sites13.)

ÔÇ£How many bowls of YOUR cereal equal one bowl of Total?ÔÇØ

You then saw stacks of cereal bowls filled with various competing brands, with one case reaching 12 bowls high.

Powerful, right?

Instead of saying something pedestrian like, ÔÇ£Total has 12 times the nutrition of the leading brand,ÔÇØ they showed you a tangible expression of the benefit. But it doesnÔÇÖt need to be done with visuals to work.

Words alone are plenty powerful to paint a picture in the mind. Think back to the beginning of this podcast episode, and the way Art Silverman explained the saturated fat content in a bag of popcorn. He took a dry statistic and brought it to life.

YouÔÇÖll note that both examples — the Total cereal example and the Art Silverman example — contain the element of unpredictability and simplicity. But itÔÇÖs the relevant and tangible expression of the premise that creates instant understanding.

Make your messages as real to people as possible, and youÔÇÖll create the kind of instant understanding that all truly great premises contain. But thereÔÇÖs one more critical element to a premise that works.

#1: Be unpredictable
#2: Be simple
#3: Be real

4. Be credible

If youÔÇÖre writing to persuade, you have to hit the gut before you get anywhere near the brain. The part that decides ÔÇ£I want thatÔÇØ is emotional and often subconscious. If your premise doesnÔÇÖt work emotionally, logic will never get a chance to weigh in.

If you flip that emotional switch, the sale (or other action) is yours to lose. And I mean that literally. Because our logical minds do eventually step in (usually in a way that makes us think weÔÇÖre actually driven by logic in the first place). If your premise is not credible (as in itÔÇÖs too good to be true), you fail.

That doesnÔÇÖt mean hyperbole never works, as long as the prospect wants to believe you badly enough. ThatÔÇÖs how some desperate people in certain markets are taken advantage of.

But belief is critical in any market and with any promotion, so credibility is the final key to a winning premise ÔÇö people must believe you just as your premise must match their beliefs.

Remember, the more innovative your idea or exceptional your offer, the more youÔÇÖre going to have to prove it. This brings us right back to an unexpected, simple, and tangible expression of the benefit in a way thatÔÇÖs credible.

Every box of Total cereal contains the cold, hard data about the nutritional content. And although attitudes have changed toward saturated fat, Art SilvermanÔÇÖs popcorn claims were supported by the FDA recommendations at the time.

The kind of proof any particular premise requires will vary, but the more credibility that can be baked into the premise itself, the better.

#1: Be unpredictable
#2: Be simple
#3: Be real
#4: Be credible

Now ÔÇª put it out there

Consider this metaphor from the 1991 Soundgarden song Outshined, written by frontman Chris Cornell, who, sadly, passed away recently.

ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm looking California, and feeling Minnesota ÔÇªÔÇØ

He shared an interesting anecdote about writing those very personal words in a magazine interview:

ÔÇ£I came up with that line ÔÇö ÔÇÿIÔÇÖm looking California / And feeling Minnesota,ÔÇÖ from the song ÔÇÿOutshinedÔÇÖ ÔÇö and as soon as I wrote it down, I thought it was the dumbest thing. But after the record came out and we went on tour, everybody would be screaming along with that particular line when it came up in the song. That was a shock.ÔÇØ

Instead of the ÔÇ£dumbest thing,ÔÇØ those are the most famous six words Cornell has ever written. In addition to being a fan favorite, the line inspired both a movie title and an ESPN catch phrase whenever Minnesota Timberwolves player Kevin Garnett was in the news.

Why did it work? Because with those six words, SoundgardenÔÇÖs audience understood instantly what Cornell was trying to convey. He spoke to them.

And yet, what if Cornell had cut the line because ÔÇ£it was the dumbest thing?ÔÇØ I suppose that would have been unfortunate, because he would have missed out on a level of engagement with his audience that the rest of us would kill for.

The content marketing strategy weÔÇÖve been working through is putting you in the position to get things right the first time. You smartly spent a ton of time on your who, and then you outlined the critical points of your story by mapping the buyerÔÇÖs journey and the customer experience.

The who and the what inform the how.

You might even be surprised at how easily the fresh ideas are coming to you now.

But ultimately, we as content marketers donÔÇÖt know for sure what will resonate. Only the audience can determine that, so youÔÇÖve got to put it out there.

When the audience magic happens, youÔÇÖll know it.

Now stick around. ItÔÇÖs time for this weekÔÇÖs hyper-specific call to action.

Call to action

For this weekÔÇÖs call to action, I want you to consider the four steps to creating your winning story concept that we discussed in this episode.

To recap:

#1: Be unpredictable
#2: Be simple
#3: Be real
#4: Be credible

Now — quick! I want your gut reaction.

Which of these do you feel is MOST lacking in your content right now?

Is it unpredictability? Is it simplicity? Is it authenticity? Is it credibility?

Pick one. Go with your gut. ItÔÇÖs probably right, after all.

Now — resolve to really focus on this area in the content you create over the next week or two. Review the examples in this episode. Use them as a guide. Think of other content that you appreciate for its unpredictability or simplicity or authenticity or credibility — whichever one youÔÇÖre focusing on — and figure out ways to apply what that content does well to what youÔÇÖre doing.

Pick one, and focus. Get better at the how — so you can connect better with your who.

Oh, and if you want extra credit, then after these next couple of weeks are up, and youÔÇÖve properly focused on one element, pick out a second element and focus on it for a couple of weeks. And so on. Get better.

And, as always, please feel encouraged to report back to me on Twitter. What did you learn by following through with this weekÔÇÖs hyper-specific Call to Action? I want to know!

Okay — coming next week, we move on to design. In this weekÔÇÖs episode, we went over some very creative examples of content. So you might think creativity is always good ÔÇª right? Well, next week weÔÇÖre going to discuss how creativity can actually kill a good website design. ThatÔÇÖs next week on Sites.

Finally, before I go, here are two more quick calls to action for you to consider:

Subscribe to Sites Weekly

If you havenÔÇÖt yet, please take this opportunity to activate your free subscription to our curated weekly email newsletter, Sites Weekly.

Each week, I find four links about content, design, technology, and strategy that you donÔÇÖt want to miss, and then I send them out via email on Wednesday afternoon.

Rate and Review Sites on Apple Podcasts

And finally, if you enjoy the Sites podcast, please subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (formerly known as iTunes), and consider giving us a rating or a review over there as well.

One quick tip on that: to make the best use of your review, let me know something in particular you like about the show. That feedback is really important.

And with that, we come to the close of another episode. Thank you for listening to this episode of Sites. I appreciate you being here.

Join me next time, and letÔÇÖs keep building powerful, successful WordPress websites together.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

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