Beyond Words

A short cruise around the internet and you’ll find blogs and websites of varying caliber. More than a few are cluttered, poorly designed sites with a jumble of color and images that overwhelm readers. I don’t want to read a blog that’s visually crammed with lots of widgets and animated crap.  I really hate flashing colors and websites that launch into song! The song will usually cause me to leave almost immediately, or at the very least hit the mute button.

I’m visual; I respond to space and placement and color. Strong bold color can be fine, personally I’m drawn to white space. Yesterday I discovered the coolest site.  I got there in a roundabout way,  starting with a simple powerful tweet; I followed the link and found something that caught my eye. That link took me to a sales page featuring two women, one was Danielle LaPorte.  I went to her website, White Hot Truth, and that’s where it happened. I’ve already, in those few short minutes, signed up for daily feeds and I’ve preordered her book.I don’t usually fall that fast, that hard. I promise (and I’m not getting anything incentives to rant and rave here).

Yep, this is all about book marketing–bet you thought I wanted to talk about web design.  LaPorte has a book coming out in mid-April and it’s selling like hotcakes. The Fire Starter Sessions is being presold on 9 different sites. Plus, if you preorder and let her know, you get a free gift!  She’s got powerful marketing mojo. And, she’s prompt and thorough. So far, everything she’s promised has happened and this morning she’s following me on Twitter. Awesome.

Somewhere in my meanderings I read a story about the success of her promotion, for a book that’s months away from hitting the shelves. I’m not at the ‘about to be published’ stage yet. Hell, I haven’t even finished the book, but I am paying attention to the publishing world, more specifically to how authors are going about self-promotion. I’d suggest you do the same thing. I’m collecting promotional emails, newsletters, blog articles and links to books like LaPorte’s. It’s nice to have examples of what other writers are doing–it’s a learning experience.

My take-away? Ok, so maybe this post is about web design. Well, I’ve found a new blog to read that mixes creative energy with savvy marketing. And it feels like an upbeat place to visit. She is offering up the type of creative energy I know I can benefit from… I just know. And, I wouldn’t be raving about her website if the design hadn’t been so visually appealing and well-laid out.

It’s time for me to shake up my blog design. It’s energizing to see a good blog and think about how to translate some of that to your own. Even when it gives you a moment of anxiety. We all have different styles and what appeals to me might not appeal to everyone. Personal taste matters but it’s important to be consistent in messaging, which means making all aspects of your site compatible.

I titled this post Is Your Blog or Website on Fire? Shouldn’t It Be? Ironically mine is not–I have some work to do in the upcoming days and weeks.

How’s your blog?