There is no better time to review a web page than while it is still in development. Often, changes are resisted after a site has found its way to the web.

The problem is that, even late into their development, many sites seem to be selling something called “Lorem ipsum dolor” that doesn’t do much more than “sit amet.” In other words, the site template design has neared completion, and the content is still filler. This can be trouble for sites that want to generate leads or sell something.

According to Fun With Words, the “Lorem ipsum dolor…” filler is a “pangram” from a passage by Cicero written in Latin. It is used by designers as place-holder text because it has lots of different letters and the word length is representative of typical English.

Fun with Words claims that there isn’t a direct translation. I have one:

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, diam nonnumy eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolo…”

“He who labels the bottles without knowing what they will contain will have many unsatisfied customers.”

Tell me what is in your site, and I’ll tell you how well I think the design will best communicate it. This is the heart of conversion marketing.

If everyone does it this way, can it really be wrong? I asked my friend Jenny Magic, owner of Austin, TX-based content strategy firm Better Way to Say It. We were talking about how “Lorem Ipsum” is a good signal that your conversion rate, and probably your budget, are in trouble well before the site has launched. Jenny is a content strategist, and gets passionate about saving web projects that have no real strategy for the content; the “Lorem Ipsum” projects.

Brian Massey: Why do you think so many sites end up with Lorem Ipsum filler text so late in the process?

Jenny Magic: Because content is hard! For the client, delivering content is one of the most challenging parts of the process. There are so many stakeholders, so much old content to wade through, so many pages of beloved – but outdated – content that someone won’t allow the team to edit or delete. It’s usually a mess. Not to mention that picking colors, layout, and widgets is more fun. So content gets pushed to the bottom of the project schedule.

Unfortunately, the site isn’t going to launch without content, and without a site launch there’s no paycheck. So the web firm goes ahead with the design phase and just inserts filler text where the “captivating headline” and “compelling call-to-action” should be. It should be no problem to just drop the text in later, right? Wrong.

BM: So this method gets some projects in trouble?

JM: Oh yeah. First, even if the web firm is working hard, the original site launch date comes…and goes, because the company is still messing with the content. Now you’ve got an angry CEO who doesn’t want to hear why it’s late, he just wants it done.

So the marketing director, feeling the heat from his boss, starts scrambling. He schedules a few boardroom content sessions with the cross-department committee, and finally sends over approved content. The only problem is it’s too long (or short) for the approved design by about half. And it’s frankly just bad – anything written by a committee usually isn’t too compelling.

BM: OK, so how does the web firm get the client to revise the content?

JM: Unfortunately, since it took something like three weeks and 14 hours of meetings to get them to agree to this version, the web team is instructed to “just make it work.” At this point, whatever enthusiasm from the start of the project has long since dried up. Everyone just wants to be done. It’s back to the drawing board to make the approved content fit what was already an approved design.

The development website often requires some pretty significant code changes at this point. And that angry CEO is not eager to pony up for a larger fee. So the website finally launches, late and over-budget. The less-than-stellar content doesn’t lead to conversions, which means no new sales which means…a really angry CEO. Don’t even think about asking this client for a referral.

BM: I take it there’s a better way?

JM: There is. And you’d be amazed how straightforward the process can be when a team understands that planning for great content is in the best interest of not only the client, but the web firm, too.

Once a firm figures this out, the first person they send to meet with the client is the content strategist, who deciphers what the client means by “a better website.”

The content strategist doesn’t just ask about form and function. It’s their job is to get clarity about the client’s larger business goals, key performance indicators, conversion metrics, and existing content resources. Content resources might be existing content we can work with, staff responsible for content, or both. The strategist’s job is to plan for and create great content.

Working together, the web designer and content strategist create a sitemap, produce and revise draft content, and insert approved content into wireframes for final review before a single line of the site is coded.

What surprises most clients about this method is that the first design is often the final design, or very close – the web project is much more likely to come in on time, under budget, with high conversion rates thanks to well-planned content. Now you have a happy CEO and a happy web firm.

BM: Sounds like a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t everyone do it this way?

JM: Mostly habit, I think. It can be hard to make a case to the client for content strategy in an already expensive project budget. And until the web firm realizes how much margin can be saved by not redesigning the site a half-dozen times, they often don’t want to give up a piece of their profit.

Earlier this year the folks at the Content Marketing Institute asked their contributors for their Content Marketing Social Media predictions for 2012. Even though there’s clearly a ton in store for both content marketing and social media, I felt like the biggest shift would be the importance of content for web firms:

“I believe 2012 will be the year when brand managers finally realize that the highest ROI marketing activities are the ones where content truly guides design, rather than the other way around. Planning for great content means that the first design is often the final design, keeping efforts, under budget, on schedule and focused on conversion. Specifically, I predict any web developer who doesn’t fully embrace the role of content in the design process will become persona non grata for savvy brands.”

If you find yourself wrestling with issues like how to add video to your site, you are feeling the symptoms of “Lorem Ipsum” design. Start you site development with the content and I think you’ll find your designers will get better at what they do best.

Article source: ClickZ

 

When most people think of small or medium business, they instantly think of the shops and stores in their local community.  While these businesses certainly represent a certain portion of small business, there is a much more important segment to consider . . . and that segment is the single person home-based business.  Why is this segment so important?  It is important because anybody can start a home based business and scale it into a vehicle for generating recurring cash flows.  One of the most compelling mediums for this brand of home based business is the internet.  By building a web-based small business, it can allow you to leverage technology as an accelerator for innovation and create a unique product or service for your customers.

One of the most important advantages for a web-based small business is the low cost of doing business.  Web hosting plans can be acquired for very reasonable amounts, open source software exists that can satisfy most small business needs for an extremely low cost, and the web allows you to reach millions upon millions of people simultaneously.  Naturally, you will need to create a compelling product or service to market but once that has been built, the web offers a highly compelling medium for connecting you with the marketplace.

The most unusual thing about the marketplace of ideas is that nobody can predict what will become the “next big thing.”  Many people assume that their idea will catch on big very quickly, borrow money to invest in their new idea, discover something that they had not anticipated, and proceed to lose all of the money that had been borrowed.  In response to this, some people begin to seek “get rich quick” schemes that promise fast wealth to help them repay their outstanding debts.  Inevitably, the “get rich quick” idea fails to deliver on its escalated promises and the would-be entrepreneur is now mired in a mountain of debt.  This unfortunate cycle repeats itself for all too many people each and every year.  However, this unfortunate chain of events does not need to occur.

By ‘boot-strapping’ new ideas off the ground as small businesses that run with extremely low costs, it gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to test out new ideas in the marketplace before making large investments.  The importance of this strategy is that it allows you the freedom to fail without bankrupting your financial future.  By failing while the cost is low, it provides crucial insights that pave the road to future success.  Thus, the true power of a home-based business is that it provides a laboratory for entrepreneurs to test their ideas and learn the key skills of building and running a small business.

In this way, you can use a home-based business to ‘tinker’ with new ideas and business models.  It is possible that some of these ideas will fail or need significant revision before they meet with success.  This process of ‘tinkering’ or ‘trial and error’ is the method by which the marketplace generates new and innovative businesses.  Do not be discouraged with roadblocks, stumbling points, mistakes, or outright failure.  There is a popular statement that states anything that does not kill you makes you stronger.  This sentiment is a very important part of the mindset for entrepreneurs, as it demonstrates a willingness to learn from life’s experiences and apply the knowledge gained to build the foundation of future success.  The key in all of this is to learn from every experience in your life, and ensure that failure occurs on a small enough scale to be educational, instead of catastrophic.

The small, home-based business that you create may end up propelling you to more prosperity than you had ever imagined.  The only way that you can find out is to start building a business and learn the fundamentals of success.  While you are climbing the ladder of success, do not fear failure.  Learn and understand the fundamental principals of success.  Once those principals are put into practice, there is no telling where the future will take you.