Do You Own Your Website?

Hello, all!

I know I've been away for a bit. Details on that in an upcoming post. For now, I just wanted to let you know that the most recent issue of my e-zine has been sent out. This is the second part of my series on owning your website (and the dangers if you don't). This time we're talking about the questions you should be able to answer. Here's a short excerpt.

1. Are you paying for the site?

Very few things in life are free. Unless you have your site on
one of several advertising-supported systems, *someone* must pay
for it. Usually whoever is paying for it has the ultimate
control over it. Check your financial statements for a monthly,
quarterly, or annual payment for your hosting services. If you
can't find anything, then you might want to start to worry.

2. Who hosts the website?

more...

If you'd be interested in receiving my e-zine, you can subscribe on the ezine page of the Cyber Data Solutions website.

So, do you own your website? Are you sure?

One Step at a Time

My daughter, Kaylie, taught me a lesson this morning about creating my web presence.

Yep, she's a child prodigy even before she's spoken her first word.

She was with me in my office while I was working. I had her on her lily pad blanket and she was working on running. No, she wasn't actually getting up and running around my office. She was lying on her back, lifting her legs and rolling onto her side. That's it. She's working on the next step of rolling all the way over. It's hard, but she's not letting that slow her down.

So, what does that have to do with creating a web presence?

Most people -- myself included -- won't do anything on the web until we've got the whole thing figured out. We've got to have the perfect website with the perfect layout and design, the perfect content, the perfect e-newsletter, the perfect search engine optimization which places us at the top of any search rankings, etc, etc, etc.

The end result of this, of course, is that we do nothing.

I think Kaylie has the right plan: Just start. Don't have a website? Hire someone to build one. Can't afford a high-end web design company? Hire your nephew. Can't afford him? Spend ten minutes a day using one of the various online tools at your disposal, such as Google's Page Creator.

Oh, and your site doesn't have to start out with every single piece of potentially interesting information under the sun. Try starting by answering the questions: Who are you? What do you do? How can you help me? How can I contact you? Later on you can create a page with the details of your state-of-the-art, factory-certified, award-winning framenjammer processes, one with the list of your press releases, and the calendar of events that you will be attending.

So what if you don't have perfect content? Something is better than nothing. Write anything, because, as my buddy Scott Ginsberg says, writing is the basis of all wealth.

A Web presence can be (and really must be) built over time, step by step. It's a slow process, but a necessary one, because if you (or your company) don't exist on the Web, then you don't exist.

So, what steps are you taking to increase your Web presence?

A View into Google Calendar

Those crazy kids at Google have one-upped me. I guess I can't blame them too much. After all, it's what they do.

In this case, though, they've come up with a relatively simple way to embed a Google Calendar into a website (or blog, or whatever). This is similar to a tool that I had built a little less than a year ago. The only real differences are that mine is a little more customizable and theirs is a lot easier to use.

In order to use their service, all you have to do is:

1. Create a calendar using Google Calendar -- you'll need a Google account to do that. Make sure you set the calendar to be publicly readable.
2. Enter some items into the calendar.
3. Go to the settings page for the calendar and scroll down to the section on embedding it in a web page.
4. OR, click on the link to take you to the customization page which allows you to specify colors, sizes, default appearance, even multiple calendars.
5. Whichever step you took, you next just copy the provided HTML code into your web page and you are done.

From that point on, when you change your Google Calendar, the changes will appear on your web page. I've already set up one of these for one of my clients, CNP of Ohio, Ltd. They have a calendar of business networking events that they maintain for their members. Check it out to see what can be done.

So, how could you use an embedded calendar like this?

Don't Surprise Me!

OK, I like a surprise as much as the next guy. Really. When my wife decided to throw a surprise birthday party for my 40th, I was elated. The clock radio she got me for Christmas -- the one I can plug my MP3 player into? Delightful!

The kind of surprises I can do without usually involve software. Ironically it's often the little things that get under my skin.

For example, this evening I was working on incorporating all of my contacts into Gmail. Now, don't get me wrong. I like Gmail. Anyone who's been reading this blog knows that I am a big fan of Google in general.

This time, they did something that just didn't make sense to me.

As a result of doing this import, I had a lot of contacts which were duplicates of others and some which were just completely unnecessary. As a first pass to clean things up, I decided to delete all of the unnecessary ones. I spent about 15 minutes going through the list, clicking on the little checkbox next to any that no longer belonged. When I got to the end of the list I had 148 names to be deleted.

I clicked on the "Delete" button.

Gmail promptly informed me that I was only allowed to delete 20 entries at a time and I would have to go back and "unclick" some of the ones that I had selected.

What???

OK, for all of you who are designers out there: Don't do anything like this. Don't let me walk that far down the path and then tell me that it's a deadend. If I try to delete that many and you think I might be mistaken, pop up a dialog to make sure that this is something that I really want to do. If you don't feel like doing that, then you'd better do something pretty obvious when I click on that 21st entry.

So, now I get to go back and do the whole winnowing process again...

... but you can bet I'm keeping an eye on how many I've selected!

So, what sort of software bizarreness have you uncovered in your Internet travels?

Cleaning Up

We had a party for my wife's birthday this afternoon/evening. We did all of the things you would normally do for such a gathering. We planned a menu, invited our friends, cleaned the house, etc. Everyone showed up. We had a great time. Then everyone went home. Nothing left to do, right?

Wrong.

Anyone who's ever thrown a party will tell you that there's this little thing called "clean up" which you have to do after everyone has gone home. It's part and parcel to throwing the party. In fact, it can even be somewhat enjoyable. I find it very relaxing to reflect on the happiness and laughter of the day while I put things aright.

Websites and web development are actually very similar. You spend time working with your web developer. You design an architecture, write great copy, and generate some wicked cool graphics. You install everything and make it go live.

That's not the end of it, though. There's still the clean up. Because no matter how many tests you run, there will always be something you missed. Sometimes it's something as simple as a typo. Other times it might be something much bigger, like a missing page or some broken links. At any rate, that sort of thing needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible.

Here's where it's important for your web developer have a clear understanding of your expectations. You must both understand how the developer will deal with bugs found after the project has been delivered. For my clients, they receive 3 months of "shake out" at no extra charge. Of course, adding new features to an existing system will cost additional money, but any bugs found are my problem and I will take the time to make sure that everything is done correctly.

But that's just the way I do things.

So, what was the worst "bug" in your website that you've encountered?

Getting Snowed Under

I was out shoveling the front sidewalk this afternoon. The job was made all the more difficult because I'd kind of ignored the whole thing for the past couple of snows. As a result, instead of an easy clearing of white, fluffy snow, I was dealing with an inch of ice under another inch of slush and water.

Heck, the only reason I was out there at all was that I knew if that top layer froze, too, people might break their necks just trying to walk past our house.

Anyway, it took me two hours of back-breaking labor to get the sidewalk and a narrow path up my driveway cleared.

A lot of people treat their websites like that. They build something nice and then let them go. Instead of updating them periodically, they ignore them until they are so out of date that they are worse than useless. In fact, it can get to the point that the website actually makes them look worse than having no website at all.

Then, to fix the problem, they have to go through a complete website overhaul. It's expensive, time-consuming, and can be full of aggravation.

The solution? Just like with my shoveling, do a little at a time as it is needed. In fact, part of the process of setting up a site should be a plan on how it will be kept up to date (just like me making sure that I have gas for the snowblower and salt for the pavement).

So, what's your plan?

Trust Me, It's Not You

Seth Godin had an interesting post last night about the nature of communication. Essentially, we can blame our audience for not understanding or we can look to ourselves for not being understandable. Guess which one is more likely to lead to success?

This is one of the aspects of my industry that bothers me more than a little. I shudder every time I speak with someone and they tell me that they are too stupid to do anything with the computer (or on the internet or whatever). I always tell them that the problem isn't them, with only one exception:

They shouldn't think that they have to conform themselves to the tool (computer, Internet, etc).

So often, people in my industry build systems and expect the user to change -- the way they think or the way they work -- to fit how the tool builders think things should be done. In reality it should be the other way around. The best systems conform themselves to fit the needs of the user.

No matter what the system designers think.

So, what was the last piece of software, website, or online tool which forced you to change the way you did things? Are you better off as a result? Are you happier?

It Was Spectacular .. And Then What?

In amongst all of the craziness of the holiday season and of coping with a new baby around the house, I did manage to "walk the stage" and earn my third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

December 1 was the big day. We showed up early at Huron High School, where we always have the graduation show, the "Black Belt Spectacular". We rehearsed the show once on stage, and then the big show was upon us. It's always a blur, but the moment that one of the instructors ties on your new belt inevitably sears itself onto your brain. It's a wonderful feeling of achievement, surrounded by the people with whom you've trained for three or seven or ten years.

And then it's over. Come Monday I was back in my regular classes. The only thing that had really changed was that I had one more stripe on my belt.

It's a lot like setting up a website. No, bear with me here...

Peter Gluck and I,
after the show

You spend a lot of time working toward that big day when the site is going to go live. You and your developer pick colors, design graphics, craft text. You put all of that effort into it and then it goes live.

And then the next day you have to go right back to working on it -- perhaps at a lower intensity level -- but if you don't keep that content updated, then none of your visitors has any reason to come back.

Of course, a lot of people choose to let the site go. After all, it will look good for many months and even years to come. Just like the Black Belt recipient who never trains again, however, the site will begin to lose its edge.

Thanks to my good friends Kimber Householder and Norm Roller for the photos from the day.

So, when was the last time you "finished" your training and let things ride? What happened then?

Best Laid Assumptions

About a week ago, our area had almost a foot of snow fall on us. Flights were cancelled, schools had snow days. It was a veritable Winter Wonderland. With that much snow, we were pretty much guaranteed a White Christmas.

Now, due to temperatures in the 40's and the torrential rains we had overnight, I'm looking out on a landscape which definitely doesn't fit that definition.

Of course, the lack of a White Christmas probably won't kill me or even inconvenience me much for that matter, but it does put me in mind of more serious examples of counting on things staying the same.

I'm working on updating and upgrading the website for Bruce Donovan Construction. In talking with Bruce it was clear that he understood that he not only had to be on the Web, but he had to look good on his site and provide his visitors with what they wanted -- in this case a portfolio of current and completed jobs, including photos.

Bruce could have ignored the situation, but more and more people are making their decisions based on information they get from the Web. If he hadn't met the need, I'm sure one of his competitors would have.

Construction isn't by any means the only industry where the technology of the Web is changing the playing field. Think of the difficulties that travel agents have had over the last decade. Now, you'd better be able to plan my whole vacation for me (at ridiculously low cost), otherwise Expedia is waiting. Local booksellers? As if the 800-pound gorilla which is Borders weren't competition enough, the 80-ton dinosaur of Amazon might easily crush you and never even realize you were there.

Even in my own business of web-development, nothing is assured. Tools are coming out which could easily make me obsolete. Website templates, gadgets and widgets, high school students who can undercut me -- these are all factors which I must be aware of. What value can I add which can offset them (and, worse, offset those which I never would have expected)?

I don't really have any answers right at the moment, but you can be sure I'm keeping an eye out.

So, how has technology changed your business, for good or for ill?

Make It Clear

OK, I'm back.

My apologies for the two-week hiatus, but getting used to having the little one around the house has taken a little bit of doing. Oh, and just so you are forewarned, it's entirely likely that my posts may be in some way baby related for some time to come. I'll try to restrain myself as much as possible.

I did run into a situation with regards to being a new father that ties in with having a good website. In short: Make it clear.

Lisa and I received a wonderful little garment for Kaylie called a SwaddleMe. Imagine a T-shaped piece of cloth with the corners rounded and the center bar of the T is a little pouch. The function is pretty straightforward. You put the baby's feet in the pouch and then wrap the "arms" around her body.

The thing that confused us was that there were two pieces of velcro on the end of one of the arms. They were the "hook" half of the closures. The problem was, we couldn't find the "loop" half. They wouldn't even latch on to the fabric from with the garment was made. We were stumped.

No one should make any sort of baby product whose function is not immediately and obviously apparent to a sleep-deprived new parent! If I have to read the instructions then I'm going to get mildly grumpy.

In the same way, a website should be equally clear. If your users have to think in any way about how to traverse your site, then they will get grumpy and they will leave. The biggest challenge that many people face is that they want to put everything on their front page. They are trying to write the great American novel.

What they should be writing is the best billboard which your visitors can read at 60 miles per hour.

So, what products have you run into which could have been a bit more obvious?

So, Where Do I Start?

One aspect of my work is the area of "graphical treatment conversion".

Huh? What's that?

Well, basically, my clients sometimes call me in to work with a graphical designer. These are folks who have a great eye for color and layout, but aren't skilled in creating actual web pages. The designer creates pictures of what the website should look like and how it should behave. Then they hand those pictures (the "graphical treatment") to me.

Then I convert those pictures into an actual web page/web site. I do this with a combination of HTML and CSS.

Don't be scared by the acronyms. As I mentioned in one of my TLA tutorials, HTML is just a way of indicating the structure of a web document. With it, I can tell the browser that this chunk of text is a body paragraph and this other one is a section heading. CSS just tells the computer what each of these structures is supposed to look like. For example, it might say that the section heading is in 18 point bold, bright red Arial font and is centered on the page.

The conversion process goes a lot faster and easier if the end client does two things. First, they really should hire a professional web designer or at least a professional graphical designer with lots of Web experience. There are some design elements which are easier than others when it comes to converting them for the Web. If the designer knows this, then the resulting website will not only be up and running faster, but will also probably work better as well.

The other thing?

If you should ever hire a professional web designer, listen to their advice. They probably won't completely refuse if you want to have pink text on a light purple background, but they will have some strong reasons why it won't work. Find out what they are.

Can you tell when someone has hired a professional designer?

A New Beginning

I got started on the Bruce Donovan Construction project this evening. One of the first steps to this or any project is to set up three copies of the site.

The first copy is the one that is on my desktop computer in my office. This is the copy upon which I will be doing all of my work. Having everything directly on my local computer makes editing files or adding graphics a lot easier. Also, since I try to make my local machine look like the production server as much as possible (i.e. it has the same files and directories), when I finally move the files to the production site, I have a fairly high chance of the system working right from the start.

The second copy is on a test site which my client should be able to see. This is so that after I have made some changes on copy one (the one on my computer), I can then upload the files to the test site, where the client can take a look and give me his or her approval. Quite often I'm able to make what is called a subdomain on the production server and use it as a test site. For example, if you can open the production site by pointing your browser at http://brucedonovan.com/, then the test site might be at http://testsite.brucedonovan.com/.

The final copy is the production site itself. Of the three, this copy changes least frequently -- only when testing on the other two copies clears up most of the potential bugs.

By doing this, I reduce the number of problems which might otherwise crop up on the production website, without giving myself too much overhead.

So, what are the first things you might do when you get a new client?

On the Web: Defining Some More Terms

After reading my post from yesterday, my good blog friend, Jacki Hollywood Brown of Well Organized thought that I should address some of the terms regarding website statistics. Yes, I know that many people don't care about statistics. Really, the only reason you should care is if you actually care whether someone is actually reading your content.

OK, so most of us might actually care about that. So, here goes.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This has nothing to do with making search engines work better. This actually means optimizing your site to make it more likely that you will end up on the front page of search results when people search for a particular phrase. For example, one of my former clients, Suzanne Smith of cellochan, is on the first page of results when someone searches on Google for "Ann Arbor cello lessons". SEO is almost as much an art as a science and requires a long-term commitment for any reasonable chance of success, according to my friend Andrew Miller of Your Search Advisor, LLC. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
   
2. Hits: This is the number of times a file is retrieved from your website. This is probably one of the least useful statistics. Each time a visitor looks at a single web page on your site, his browser has to retrieve many files. The text of a page is in one file and each graphic on the page is also in a different file. One page visited could easily generate ten or more "hits".
3. Page Views: This is slightly more useful as it is the number of times anyone visits a particular page. This can tell you which pages on your site are receiving the most traffic.
4. Visitors: When someone comes to your website, they may click around a bit, each generating a number of page views. It's good to know how many people visit your site. Think of this as the equivalent of how many people walk in the front door of a store on any given day.
5. Unique Visitors: While "visitors" counts the number of people through the door, unique visitors measures the size of your actual audience. In our real-world example, if I had fifty people walk in and out of my store in a day, I might be pretty happy -- until I discovered that it was actually the same guy all the time. My traffic was fifty people, my audience was one.

There are several other meaningful concepts with regards to web statistics, but they start getting into some esoteric areas which, for now might be best left alone. Maybe we'll cover those in another post.

So, what are some of the phrases in your business that a lay person might not fully understand?

On the Web: Defining Some Terms

I've spoken with a few networking contacts and prospects lately and I've discovered that there is some confusion as to the entities which govern how we interact with the Web. So, without further ado, here are a few of the terms a website owner should know:

1. The Internet: The Internet is a worldwide network of computers upon which a variety of services (like email, the Web, etc) can be run.
2. The World Wide Web or the Web: One of many services which run on the Internet. This particular service provides text and graphics in a particular format which can be displayed by programs called browsers (see below). One way to think of the difference between the Internet and the Web is by thinking of the Internet as an elementary school building. The Web would correspond to the group of teachers and students who make up the fourth grade.
   
3. Internet Service Provider (ISP): This actually has nothing to do with your website. This is how you connect the computer on your desk to the Internet. You might have "broadband" or "high-speed" service from your cable company, like Comcast, or "DSL" service from your phone company. You need an ISP in order to surf the Web or retrieve email.
4. Hosting Service or Web Hosting Service: This is where your website lives. This is a company which has a whole bunch of computers called "servers" (imagine your desktop computer, but way more powerful and without a computer monitor). Your website is stored as a bunch of computer files on one of these servers. When someone goes to your website, the computer on their desk makes a connection to the server at the hosting service and requests the page that they want to view.
5. Browser: A browser is a computer program which runs on your computer. It might be called Internet Explorer or Firefox or Safari, but essentially when you want to look at a particular web page, this program makes the connection I mentioned above, retrieves the files for the page and then turns those files into the pictures and text which you see on your computer screen.
6. Domain Name: Think of this as the address for your website, your email, etc. So, in my case, "cyberdatasolns.com" is the domain name for my company website.
   
7. Registrar: OK, this one is a little more complicated. Essentially, the registrar is the company with whom you register your domain name. By registering your domain name you are telling the world which hosting service is storing your website. This gets a little confusing because the same company which provides your hosting service can be quite often your registrar also, but they are not necessarily linked. If you ever decide to move your website to a new hosting service, you have to contact your registrar to do so. Usually this can be done fairly easily through an online form.
   

Those are some of the more commonly confused terms that I've heard. Perhaps you've encountered some yourself. Let me know if there are any other confusing terms or phrases which you think should be included in this list.

So, in your line of work, what terms are often confusing to your prospects or clients?

Viewing a Bigger Picture

I'm nearing the end of the training process for my next Black Belt. As a part of that process, I've had to complete weekly homework assignments. Most of the requirements were about putting in a certain amount of time in practice, but there were one or two assignments which were written or artistic in nature.

This week I have to write an essay about "Why I deserve my black belt."

Our instructor, Master Jason, has assured us that the reason for the assignment is not that he requires convincing. The real reason is that those of us going through this intensive training are in danger, at times, of focusing on the process and losing site of the underlying reasons we are going through it.

I think there's a similar situation when someone wants to build or renew her business's website. She hires a professional web design team, works with them for weeks or months to design the "perfect" look, helps write content for the site (or hires a professional writer like my friend Deb Merion of SPARK Communications), and finally launches the site. The process can take so much time and focus that the business owner forgets that the site is not the end product, but rather simply a tool in the effort to maintain better communications with her customer.

This is also how many sites run into trouble. The business owner, focused so much on the process, tries to make the site appeal to her as opposed to her client. Often a professional designer can help steer her clear of this, but if she won't listen to the designer's advice, then the site often fails to deliver (or at best delivers poorly) on its specified goal.

So, has it ever happened to you that the client insisted that he new your job better than you? How to you guard against that?

Going Past the Surface

Today was yet another test on my path to my third degree black belt. It seems like this has been going on forever, but I've only been in this frequent testing mode for the last eight months.

I'll be glad when it's done.

Part of today's test was a board-breaking. I had to perform a spinning side-kick off my left leg and break two boards at once. Not impossible, but certainly not easy.

Once you get past the actual technique you are using (chop, kick, elbow, whatever) a board-breaking comes down to two things (and please don't try this at home):

1. Hit the board really, really hard.

2. Strike through the board.

The second one is what causes most people to fail their breaks. They hit that board as hard as they can and then stop as soon as they come in contact with its surface.

In the web world this is a lot like a company setting up their website -- putting in all that work to design a great-looking site, using all of the latest technologies to make it fresh and exciting -- and then as soon as they launch it, they think that they're done and that they never need to look at it again. Weeks, months, and even years pass by with no changes made and fewer and fewer visitors. Here's the thing: The failure wasn't in the site itself.

It was in the lack of focus beyond the launch.

So, in your business what failures are caused by focusing on the surface?

Building for a Reason

So, I was assembling the crib we had purchased for our soon-to-be baby. While I was mired between steps three and four in the instruction sheet, I reflected on how much this was like building a website.

Stick with me here.

With a website, you can have a lot of fun working on designing and building the site. You can pick out how the user will interact with the site, what colors and fonts it will use, and which images you want to have to represent you and your company.

But that's not what's important.

With a website, you can take a certain amount of pride in the fact that you actually have a site. Perhaps you are in a line of work where people don't usually think it's important to have a web presence (are there any businesses like that, truly?). Having a site makes you the leader of the pack.

But that's not what's important.

With a website, you can feel that thrill of excitement, when the last page is in place and you put it into production mode, so that all the world can beat a path to your electronic door.

But that's still not what's important.

With a website, the important thing is that, first, you have a purpose for creating one, and, second, that it achieves that purpose. Whether it be for marketing, sales, advertising, or communication, the site is a tool created for a specific purpose.

So, what does that have to do with building a crib?

The crib we picked out is beautiful -- made of dark, solid maple. Lisa and I really enjoyed shopping for it and I, with my puzzler's brain, loved putting the whole thing together. When we saw it in the baby's room, it looked perfect -- just what we'd hoped for. I can't wait to show it to friends and family.

But that's not what's important.

What's important is that my baby-to-be has a safe, warm place to sleep.

So, what's the important part about what you do?

5 Ideas to Turn "All About Me" into "All About Them"

Seth had a great post today about why some blogs are boring and don't get much traffic. Essentially, it comes down to the fact that bloggers often write about themselves. Needless to say, such ramblings are really only of interest to the author and his immediate family.

Not that I've ever done that.

The counter argument, of course, is the traditional admonition to "write what you know". So, how do you draw on the strength of your experience without boring the tears out of your audience? I've come up with a few ideas. If you have any others, please send them along.

Tell your story if:

1. It shows an example solving a commonly experienced problem -- "I had a problem with a sticky drill bit one time. Here's what I had to do."
   
2. It sends a warning -- "Let me tell you how I got this hole in my forehead."
3. It asks interesting questions -- "So, after all of that, I have to ask, what could I have done to avoid breaking the drill bit?"
4. It makes us laugh (without having to know the people or places involved) -- "Then my brother climbed on top of the stack of magazines with a his drill in hand..." (OK, that might be a bit of a warning, too!)
5. It talks about your interactions with others - where they are the focus -- "Let me tell you how Bob Smith of BS Hardware helped me out with my drill problem."

Basically, I think it all comes down to trying to help others and not aggrandize yourself. If you are providing value, through advice, warnings, testimonials, etc, then it is worthwhile for your audience to come back regularly. If it's just a story of your everyday life, well, send your mom the link, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you.

So, can you think of any other situations where it would work to tell your story?

"Running" a Web Presence

On my list of 101 goals for 2007 is one which says "Run a 10K". I've been working on it now for four months. Yesterday I made it 5.1 miles (10K is 6.2 miles approximately). I'm not running particularly fast (around a 9 minute mile on average) but I'm getting there and that is what I want to do. While running, though, I do have a lot of time to think. This time I was struck by some of the similarities between training as a runner and developing a web presence.

What?

Yes, there are similarities. Stick with me here.

1. Focus on one thing. In running, I can improve my distance or I can improve my speed. Trying to focus on both would likely lead to unhappiness and possible injury. In a recent e-zine article, I came up with eight ideas on how to improve your Web presence. If someone tried to start doing them all at once, they would quickly burn out and quit doing anything at all.
2. The first mile is the hardest. Some days I wish I could start on the second mile. After that first mile of running, your legs get into the rhythm and most of the achiness goes away. Your breathing settles into a pattern and it feels almost effortless. Since much of the effort of developing a web presence requires writing in one way or another, I've found the biggest challenge is getting through the first paragraph. After that, it seems almost effortless.
3. Start small. When I first started running, I wasn't even doing a mile -- just around the block once and then stretch. To do any more would strain my body and probably make me give up. Similarly, if I tried to develop my web presence by first creating the perfect website (and not doing anything else until it was done), I might never get there. Instead I had to get small pieces up and running first and leave space into which I can expand.
4. Get into a habit. OK, so I lied in #2. The hardest thing is actually getting out there and running when I'm supposed to. Unless I make it a part of my weekly workout habit, sooner or later it stops happening. In the same way, if I don't make a habit out of writing in my blog or e-zine, then before I know it, I'll have skipped two weeks and I have to start all over again.
5. There's always an excuse. Just as you have to get into the habit, you have to watch to make sure you don't fall out of it again. This is a tough one for me on both fronts. As an entrepreneur and business owner, it's so easy for me to say to myself "Oh, I'll go out for my run later on. I need to finish this project right now" or "I don't have time to write today. It won't hurt if I skip a post or two." Even if I only walk around the block, or write a short two-sentence post, it's better than doing nothing at all.

So, what have you done recently to improve your Web presence?

Adding a New Feature

As of this writing, I am using Blogger as my tool of choice for creating and maintaining this blog. I am more than satisfied with it's features and I've been quite pleased with how much more stable the whole system has become. Of course, there is always room for improvement. On thing that I would dearly love to see is an incorporated "trackback" feature. I have that feature through a third-party tool, but, unless you are either a techno-nerd like I am or have access to one in the family, it's pretty unlikely that you will have trackback if you use Blogger.

What? You don't know what "trackback" is?

OK, let me back up.

You know how at the bottom of many blogs there is a link to "Add a Comment" or something similar? This allows the reader to take part in the creation of the blog as an online community. I do get the occasional comment on my posts. Most are quite polite and actually contribute to the discourse.

Trackback is very similar, except that instead of making comments on the blog site, the reader uses her own blog to make the comments and then sends a link to the original blog for inclusion in the "trackbacks" section. If you check out Seth Godin's blog, you'll see what I mean. In fact, this is the only way he accepts comments.

Why would either party do this?

In a phrase, it spreads the word. Both authors gain by pooling their audiences. My readers, who might not have heard about Seth Godin, might check out his blog (and eventually his books) and become new fans. I benefit by temporarily getting a greater readership, some of whom might stick around for a while.

All in all, it's pretty much a win-win all 'round.

Now we just have to get Blogger to recognize that trackback is the way to go. They have a similar feature, called "backlinks", but, as far as I know, it only works with other Blogger blogs (not WordPress, TypePad, MoveableType, etc) and, in a quick browsing of other Blogger sites, I couldn't find anyone who had enabled it.

If you are a blogger and you are interested in the trackback feature, please feel free to drop me a line. I can tell you where to download the free software which allows you to use trackbacks with your Blogger blogs.

Quick note: I just added a new category section over to the right, immediately above the "Archives" section. It will probably take me a while to categorize all of my posts, but I've gotten about half of them done. Try it out and let me know what you think.

So, how do you draw readers into your blog?