Before design to sell there were 70 issues of another newsletter...

GM&D #69

Web content management systems put control where it belongs, in your hands

You can combine professional design with do-it-yourself convenience

Roger C. Parker
Profit Builder
$32,000,000 author
35 books, 37 languages
1.6 million copies sold
NY Times recommended
Training, workshops
Marketing coach
Design educator
Consultant
Speaker

Roger C. Parker

PO Box 697

Dover, NH 03821

603-742-9673

Design your site once, update it often

Content management systems combine professional design with easy, no-cost, updating you can do yourself

Successful websites aren't necessarily the most beautiful or the best written.

Rather, success is based on the business owner's ability to make frequent changes.

Reasons for ongoing changes include:

Adding new content, i.e., upcoming events and promotions, new editorial content, sign-up incentives, etc.

Removing outdated content, expired promotions, previous events, etc.

Testing. Successful online marketing requires continuous testing. Business owners must be able to try out, and fine-tune, the perfect combination of online and offline traffic and offers.

Conventional solutions fail

Although many business owners enjoy the challenges and creative outlets offered by web editing software programs like Microsoft FrontPage or "do it yourself" HTML programming, others don't have time to master the technology.

Delegating ongoing web design and updating to others, however, rarely works. Often, even minor changes involve so many delays, expenses, and frustrations that attempts to update are abandoned. As a result, web sites become fossilized-set in stone, impervious to change.

Content management systems

Content management systems are the online equivalent of the templates successful business owners use to produce print communications like newsletters, postcards, and tip sheets.

Like templates, content management systems separate design from production. Updating becomes a simple matter of entering and formatting text, using pre-determined layouts and text styles.

Content management systems help you combine professional site design with "do it yourself" updating. With a content management system, if you have basic word processing skills you can keep your site fine-tuned, relevant, and up to date.

Components

Content management system include:

Home page template. The home page typically contains a banner, or unique graphic), navigation links, plus frames, (or boxes), where you can insert content.

Inside page templates. The inside pages typically contain a smaller banner. There are often several page options, with different layouts for different types of pages, such as a calendar of upcoming events.

When adding new pages, you first choose the layout most appropriate for that page, then add the content by typing the text or importing graphics.

Flexibility and security

Content management systems allow you to edit and update your website using your web browser from any computer located anywhere in the world. There is no new software to buy or to learn!

A good content management system allows you to determine who has access to making changes on individual pages. A "history" feature that allows you to undue any changes you make.

Design once...

Since your initial site design will be a one-time expense that sets up a framework for years of do-it-yourself site maintenance, content management systems make it practical for you to invest in a professionally designed site.

After a designer translates your goals into a site that projects an appropriate image, you can update it for years without additional costs or delays.

...update often!

Adding, deleting, or editing is a 4-step process. Using your favorite web browser:

Log-in to your site, using your user name and password.
Locate the desired page by selecting the navigation link, or choosing the page from the Site Map.
Select the frame you want to edit. In the editing frame, add, delete, or edit text, apply text styles, or place graphics. As you work, you see the results of every change you make.
Publish the page. Click once to save your work, click again to publish your added, or updated, page.

How to get started

Online marketing is too important to delegate to others. By using a content management system, you can combine professional design skills with your knowledge of your market's needs and your ability to speak your market's language.

Visit www.designtosellonline.com to view a content management system at work.

Questions? Call 603-742-9673 or e-mail me (roger@designtosellonline.com).

To learn how Roger can help you pull all the pieces together into a smooth running program, call 603-742-9673 or e-mail Roger@onepagenewsletters.com.

Have you completed my 3-steps to success plan?
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