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Wetoku
If you’d like to conduct remote interviews for content on your Web site via a webcam — in other words video interviews — it’s nice for viewers to be able to see both you and the guest. A new service called Wetoku.com allows you to do just that. And it’s free, so that’s pretty good. As long as each person has a webcam attached to their computer by USB, all they need to do is simply login to Wetoku.com, press record, and both parties will be recorded in a special window side-by-side.
Once the recording in done, you’re given some embed code HTML that allows you to place the finished interview on your own Web site or blog. Now if I’ve confused you with any of that explanation, you can see some examples of how it works at the site, and you’ll hopefully see what I mean. It’s a pretty cool service.
CopyDoodles
Most sales letters, whether online or in print, are boring. There’s a big block of text that looks daunting to read and, unsurprisingly, people either click away if they’re on a Web site, or they just throw the letter away without reading it. But it doesn’t have to be like that — who knew? Simple formatting and the use of color, borders, bullets and things like that make a sales letter much more appealing.
But there’s something else you can do to take the effectiveness to an even higher level. Can you guess what it is? Well, I’ll tell you. Adding handwritten text like scribbles, arrows, doodles and so on, are proven to make any sales letter much more effective. And the same thing applies online, too.
The problem of course is how to add these types of handwritten doodles. Well, the solution is a package called CopyDoodles. It’s a collection of pre-made graphics that look like handwriting — because they were originally handwriting. It’s available from TheCopyBoosters.com. You get hundreds of them in multiple colors to suit the piece, and they’ll pay for themselves the first time you use them. So if you do any kind of sales letters offline or online my advice is to grab the package at CopyBoosters.com.
Hatchwise
One of the questions I get asked all the time is, “How can I find a good graphic designer who can understand what I want?” Well, in the past I’ve shown you the resource 99Designs.com, which revolutionized the way graphics projects are done. Now there’s a new player in town, well at least they’re new to me, called Hatchwise.com, and I’m very impressed.
It works in a similar way to 99Designs, in that you post a project as a contest. You choose how much you want to pay, and then you wait to see the designs come in. In most cases, you’ll get a flood of entries from many talented designers all over the world, and that’s why this is such a great concept.
You get so many choices that it’s often difficult to pick a winner. It’s a much better way to get graphic design done. So check out Hatchwise or 99Designs; they’re both really good.
TheWooThemes
One of the benefits of WordPress being an open source platform is that there are countless themes you can use. A theme, by the way, is just a graphical layout, a bit like a template. The problem with having so many themes available though is that it’s often very difficult to find a good looking, reliable and easy-to-use theme.
Some people mistakenly assume that all paid themes must be good, but that‘s not the case. It’s still a shot in the dark to find a good one. Thankfully, there’s a collection of paid themes that do feature appealing design, a user-friendly interface and rock-solid reliability.
These themes are something of an insider’s secret among WordPress designers, and you can find them at TheWooThemes.com. There’re seven categories of themes to browser through, and they really are in a league of their own. I love them.
You’ll find lots more marketing tips and resources from Andrew Lock in our Small Business Essential series, Lock in Your Marketing Resources.
Andrew Lock is a self-described maverick marketer and the creator and host of Help! My Business Sucks, a free, weekly Web TV show full of practical marketing tips, advice and resources to help small businesses “get more done and have more fun.”
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