I just got home from critique group and answered a billion email messages, so I’m going to just answer some of the comments you posted today. Tomorrow, I’ll continue with our ongoing discussion on web sites and blogs. Yesterday, I posed the question “Are Pretty Web Sites Effective?” A number of you responded. Let’s look at those comments:
M.L. Eqatin wrote:
But one other question on pictures: Dreamweaver lets you put in little alternate text tags for every picture. Don’t the search engines read those? Somebody told me that google will pick up the picture tags first.
Randy sez: Yes, pictures can be tagged with the “alt” tag, and the search engines will notice those. So, if I have a picture of myself, I might add an “alt” tag that says, “Randy Ingermanson, America’s Mad Professor of Fiction Writing.” And the search engines would see that. That would be good.
However, suppose I had a pretty banner with my picture and the words (in graphic format as part of the banner): “Randy Ingermanson, America’s Mad Professor of Fiction Writing.” Would the search engines see those words? The answer is no. The search engines can’t interpret pictures of words. That’s why “alt” tags exist–to let the search engines know what’s in the pictures.
Heather wrote:
Magically, after complaining about not receiving your newsletter for months and months, this past letter came through. It’s like asking the clerk to help you find a book after searching for hours only to discover it’s been in front of your nose the whole time.
Randy sez: If you have either a Comcast or Yahoo email address, odds are high that they’ve been filtering out my e-zines lately. This is an ongoing problem, and I would love to fix it. Today, I changed my e-zine subscription so that all new subscribers receive a confirmation email with a link that they MUST click in order to complete the subscription. I boo-booed and accidentally had my system send out emails asking all my uncomfirmed subscribers to confirm. They can if they want, but I don’t think it’s mandatory. Those who do should get my e-zine more regularly than those who don’t.
Sylvia wrote:
I’ve noticed that your e-zine, and many of the comments that are posted on your blog, fill up only about half of the page. For reading that is great! For printing it out — it takes a lot of paper. I’m sure there must be a reason for that, and I’m not sure it is worth taking up space on your blog to answer it. Just thought I’d ask.
Randy sez:
Email programs break lines in different ways. Some will break an overly long line at 60 characters, some at 80 characters, and some won’t break it at all.
That’s a problem, so the rule for e-zine writers is to manually break all lines at around 55 characters or so. That way, they can be guaranteed not to send emails that some programs will display as horribly jagged looking blocks of text.
That’s a problem for those who print out my e-zines. (A surprising number do–something that I never would have guessed when I launched the e-zine.) A 55-character line only takes up half the page or so on a piece of paper.
For blogs, the main text column needs to be quite narrow for comfortable reading on the screen. If you print out the page, that means it’ll be narrow on paper. There, you have the option of manually stretching the page, but it’s still a bit awkward.
I don’t know what the best answer is. The primary mode of reading both my e-zine and blog is on the screen, so I optimize it for that. But it does mess up things for the paper-lovers. I guess you could cut and paste the text into a text editor and remove all the line-breaks. It’s a hassle, but that would at least work.
Sylvia wrote:
Me, again! I just remembered that a friend of mine did her own ministry site. She posted all her articles on it. Later, however, when she did a “search” for it, it wouldn’t come up on Google. I don’t know if she tried some of the other search engines or not. A ministry site that can’t be found is of little value!
She called a tech, and got such an involved answer that she finally thanked him and hung up. What can she do?
Randy sez: If you email me privately with the URL of the web site, I’ll look into it and see if I can come up with a reason why Google is not indexing it. I have solved puzzles like this before for my friends. There is always a reason.
David wrote:
The local extension of our nearest community college is offering an evening class, about 15 to 18 hours of instruction, on web pages using FrontPage. I’m thinking of taking this. Any thoughts? Is FrontPage good software for a beginner? From your in-post statement, you seem kind of down on it. I just can’t see plunking down a few grand for a professional site during my unpublished phase.
Randy sez: Go fer it! FrontPage is neither awful nor spectacular. It works quite well and I know at least two good internet marketers who use it. It’s easier for a beginner to use than DreamWeaver, but DreamWeaver is more powerful for experts.
Mary wrote:
I think it depends on the person who wants the site. It’s the same with yards. I’m in love with flowers and herbs and garden paths, so I garden a lot. It’s important to me. I also love graphics. It’s important to me that my website reflect my bent toward the aesthetic.
I truly believe you can have both. I have a nice looking website that I can change the content on, the best of both worlds.
Randy sez: I would agree. An effective blog or web site can be extremely beautiful, just like a great car can be beautiful. But it’s possible for an effective blog or web site to be pretty plain, just like a great car can be plain. There are some folks who try to make us believe that “pretty” and “effective” are the same thing, and that we therefore MUST plunk down the big bucks. ‘Tain’t necessarily so. I think public speakers are held to a different standard. A public speaker needs to dress well and have a very professional looking site. But writers? Uh uh on both counts.
Bruce wrote:
You might want to comment, even if ever so briefly, on your definition of “pretty”. I can think of several conflicting definitions, such as:
“Graphic intensive”
“Layout, white space arrangement, readability”
“Artistic color palette”
“Easy to navigate”
Randy sez: All of these are components of “prettiness.” So is the existence of Flash or JavaScript-driven graphics that show a lot of moving parts. (I met one webmaster who insisted that any site without motion on it was useless. He was about 20 years old and was not particularly adept at marketing.)
Please don’t get me wrong. All of these “pretty” things on a site are nice to have. But they’re not essential for a marketing platform. Millions of dollars are earned every year by people with pretty dull sites that are not “pretty” by any definition of the word.
Just a comment about FrontPage: it’s easy to use, even for a technophobe. It’s easy to update. And they have great free tutorials online that literally talk you through the process as they help you set up pretend little web pages during the tutorial. I put off learning it for a whole year while it sat on my computer, and it wasn’t worth the fear and trepidation I invested in learning it. Turned out to be fun actually!
Hi Randy,
First thing I do every morning-after feeding the cats-is to read your blog. I’m still in the synthesis stage of constructing an historical novel. I am intimidated by all of this publicity/marketing stuff so I’ve been paying close attention to your blog.
Printing out: I started a Word document to contain information you post on web marketing. I copy the pertinent text of the blog, then paste into the Word document. Word is already formatted with margins, etc. To print out you have a full page of text without large white spaces.
Thanks for your inspiration and technical knowledge.
Zara
Don’t you think it makes a difference what you put on your website depending on what you write? I’m a children’s writer, so my graphics are a little more colorful and fun.
However, if/when my middle grade fantasy comes out, I’ll design a site more in keeping with the audience.
Hey Randy…enjoying your great discussion about “pretty” websites and blogs. As I work with authors and speakers across North America, I find that a person’s mindset has a big effect on the quality and growth of their writing.
For instance, if an author really wants to grow their career, they must be willing to “invest” in themselves and how they present their message to the world. A big problem with a lot authors that I know, even the successful ones, is that they choose to do everything on a “shoe-string” budget. Now, I agree that it’s crucial to keep your expenses under control. However, it’s just as important to put forth a professional image to your target audience.
As humans, we are visual creatures. So, if someone creates a barebones or cheap-looking blog and website, then it can make it hard for customers to take an author seriously. It’s like you’re sending a signal to the world, “I care more about saving money, than investing in myself and looking like a professional.”
Believe me, content always trumps graphics..you must offer real value for any book or message to sell. But, it’s also important to “package” your message professionally, which establishes more credibility with your audience. It’s hard to take someone seriously if they look “homemade.”
There’s nothing wrong with saving money on a website or blog, but make sure that it looks professional enough to save your career.
Quote:
“…when she did a “search” for it, it wouldn’t come up on Google. I don’t know if she tried some of the other search engines or not. A ministry site that can’t be found is of little value!
She called a tech, and got such an involved answer that she finally thanked him and hung up. What can she do?
Randy sez: If you email me privately with the URL of the web site, I’ll look into it and see if I can come up with a reason why Google is not indexing it. I have solved puzzles like this before for my friends. There is always a reason.”
Will you make this answer public, please?
Instead of printing out your e-zines, I save them in a file. I copy and paste them into a google document and keep them all in a folder online. That way, I never loose them if my computer crashes — which it has done several times in the past 12 months. (Saving for a new one.) I also keep the e-mail in one folder just for you. Don’t you feel special?
One suggestion for printing out the ezine – paste it in Word, select all text, and place in two columns. Fiddle with the column width, text size, and margins until the text fits properly, and print!