Anyone who talks to me knows I am in love with a content management system called MODx. A content management system is a piece of software that lets people manage their web site. It might or might not have blogging functionality in it. MODx does. There are other CMS software packages out there, a lot of them. I evaluated a bunch of them and chose MODx because it’s just better. (If you want to know why it is better than Joomla or Drupal or any of the others I tried out, ask and I’ll elaborate.)

WordPress, however, is what I use to blog, and I love WordPress. But I do not like to build entire sites with it. I build sites with a CMS. If you have an existing web site and you call me and tell me you want to edit it yourself? I might tell you to just add WordPress onto the site. Or I might tell you we need to convert it and put it into a Content Management system (MODx). Which? Well. It depends.

It depends for one thing on your budget and your time constraints. Setting up WordPress takes a few minutes and we can customize a themed template for you pretty quickly. So it will not cost as much. Then you can add articles and content to your hearts content…but your main site will retain its current design and code. Basically we’re adding a new wing to your house instead of tearing it down and rebuilding it.

So is a rebuild into a CMS worth it? Absolutely. In terms of a lot of older sites (sites built 4-5 years ago) you might have outdated code and it needs to be updated to make it pop more. That and you need to add and change up your content regularly, a CMS will give you the power to do that yourself, site wide. The pages will be pages, we can port your design easily into MODx. A CMS will not limit you in terms of how much you change and where and it will not limit you in terms of design, which WordPress does.

But don’t a lot of people use WordPress as their site? Sure they do. And I’m not knocking that. You can make WordPress do a lot. But WordPress is a blog engine. Stretching it to do something it was not designed for is not always a good thing. It depends on what your site needs to do, function wise. It depends on your goals. And it also depends on the design of your site, whether or not you should port it. I’ve had several calls this week from local Louisville businesses asking about the best design option for their web site and just wanted to post a clarification on it… if you want to know more, email me or shoot me a tweet and I can answer your questions. You can also visit both software sites to see their features and that might help you in making a choice as to which way to go.

MODx home

WordPress

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A guy emailed me last week asking me if we wanted to pay for sales leads. He emailed me twice, in fact, once after I had already replied with “No thank you.”

The reason I said no is not because I do not want sales leads, but because I’m now actively building my own inbound marketing apparatus. The way I see it is that how we approach sales says something about us. And the truth is we have always done inbound marketing.

Red Toad Media has been in business since 2001 and we have never advertised. We’re usually found by word of mouth, we work with mostly local businesses… though if I go on vacation or even out for coffee in Louisville… I will usually pick up a client wherever I am. (Sad but true, ask my in-laws.) Usually people see our work and the rest is fairly simple. I honestly have to be very careful or we become overloaded. I have had many people look for us after seeing our designs and gotten phone calls from around the country and from competitors inquiring about us, discussing design, after they have visited our sites or seen a printed piece.

That’s the kind of leads we want.

We want people who like our work, we want people who have gotten to know us a bit and are actively looking for what we have to offer. We want to make people say, “Wow.”

The idea of cold calling a random sample of people who filled out an internet form, interrupting their day and barging into their schedule, is anathema to us. This is the difference between traditional outbound marketing and inbound marketing. One invites, the other interrupts. One focuses on quality and excellence and then puts out that message, confident it will be heard and receive response. The other? Tries to persuade.

Which image do you think is more effective? What is your current approach to sales and marketing saying about you?

Social media marketing online is a natural extension of what we have been doing for years in person … meeting people, getting to know them, introducing them to our work, meeting needs they might have. The reason I write about social media marketing so much on this blog when I am in fact a graphic and web designer? is that I know it can actually make a huge difference for a small business with a limited budget. And right now everyone has a limited budget. You might not have the cash flow for an AdWords campaign or for Omniture or a traditional media blitz. But you can learn to use blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to create meaningful and useful content and thus get interest and traffic to your web site. Then it becomes a numbers game, the more traffic and the more their content is optimized for people as well as search engines then the more sales or conversion you will get.

Bottom line, I’m interested in building businesses, not just web sites.

The great thing about social media marketing is that there is so much information out there about it, free. Once you start to look at marketing this way, it will change everything. A great place to start if you’re new to this idea of inbound marketing is Mashable, and then of course we really like Hubspot, and they have some seriously amazing advice and products. We also like Laura Roeder, she puts out some of the best and most practical information for a small business that we have seen.

Anyhow, before you start shelling out dollars for leads, think about using this strategy, read a bit, and feel free to ask us if you have questions. We’re glad to help.

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Today, Smashing Magazine published a great article on marketing your iphone apps in the App Store.

But you might be a real estate agent, a spa or a blogger. You might be a lawyer or an insurance agent. A musician. You don’t make apps so why bother reading this?

The App Store is interesting because it’s a place where you need an edge to sell. What Smashing says about selling apps applies to you, Mr or Mrs Service Provider in a Saturated Market.

Blogs Are Like Kids in a Schoolyard

While they may not want to hear this, blogs are a bit like kids in a schoolyard. If you can get the cool kids to talk about you, chances are that other blogs will pick up the story and throw you on their front page. Getting on review and media websites is vital to your marketing success, because they are less transient than tweets. Reviews stay there and bring in traffic for months.
Give out promo codes to blogs without hesitation.
Have an extensive and easily accessible press package.
Don’t be afraid to ask individuals to endorse your app.
Try to crack category-specific blogs. If you’re making a wine app, contact wine blogs.

How many blogs have you contacted with promotions for their readers?

Do you have a press package? Easily downloadable?

Do you visit or read a blog regularly? Contact the owner and ask them to promote you, all they can do is say no. Crack category-specific blogs. Have a Louisville business? Start looking for Louisville blogs.

See how this taking-strategy-from-other-industries works?

Don’t do what everyone else is doing. Be extraordinary.

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