How To Bring Focus To Your Website And Engage Your Online Audience [Site Review]


It can be difficult to know the best way to apply good web advice to your own website.

So, in order to better demonstrate how the ideas I share can work on your site, I will be reviewing websites from members of this community. We’ll go through a site and break down what works well and what can be improved.

Today I am reviewing Amaliah Grace’s website. Amaliah has a robust website with a lot of different offerings. In the video below I give her (and you) some ideas for bringing focus to a site and improving audience engagement.

A few key points from the video:

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Stop Making The Same Boring Websites!


“Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members… Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You should be breaking more rules. So should I.

Every day we are cluttered with more of the same: website content you’ve seen before, blog topics you’ve read before. The same free guides. The same email signup forms. The same headlines.

If you want to stand out, you need to, quite simply, stand out.

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What To Do When Your Website Doesn’t Get The Results You Want


I debated whether I should write this post.

I’m guessing there are some people I know who will say I shouldn’t share it with you. But I’m willing to take the chance…


In the past, I’ve discussed the idea that we learn a great deal from failure. And I’ve encouraged you to not be afraid of making mistakes for that very reason.

I’m not alone in this thinking. Many bloggers, inspirationalists, and coaches will tell you that progress is dependent on the learning that occurs when things don’t turn out as you want.

Yet, advice on failure is usually dispensed from people who share how they already weathered the storm and came out the other side. They’ll say something like “this one time I made a mistake, but look at me now: I’ve got it all figured out.”

The truth is, however, that we’re all still making mistakes in the present. Even as we progress, we’re making guesses as to what’s going to work next. Sometimes we’re right and sometimes we’re wrong.

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Who Controls Your Website?


Note: In case you’re just joining us, this is a follow-up to this post in which I asked people about their interest in a web training program that I’m considering putting together. The enthusiastic response was “Yes, do it!” I appreciate your encouragement and am excited to continue exploring the idea with you. It appears there is a strong desire for just such a program right now. You’ll find an update on that below…

I can remember the moment that my first website went from something I did for fun to something that would change my life forever.

It was the moment that I decided to take control.

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I Need Your Advice (please)


Note: I am very appreciative of the response to my previous post earlier this week. I love the big plans brewing for everyone. This is a follow-up to that.

I know I ended with a bit of a cliffhanger in the previous post. Sorry about that. I’m hoping it didn’t cause you to lose any sleep. I’m losing enough for everyone, what with the 5:30am earthquake we had on Monday and the extra nerves and excitement I’ve had about sharing all of this with you.

When we last left off I was talking about the idea of doing something big. Something that you’ve been asking me to do.

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Getting Personal … And Finally Doing What You Asked Me To Do


Most weeks, I offer you strategies and tools to build a better website.

But… today is different.

I want to pull back the curtain and share something a little more personal.

Here it goes.

It’s been almost a year since I decided to leave my job. I gave notice to my boss last March.

It’s funny, when you dream about leaving a job, especially to pursue your own business, you think of dramatic moments. You think of Jerry Maguire.

You see yourself walking out, holding a box of your things, either to the applause of those proud of what you’re doing, or to the dirty looks from co-workers jealous they aren’t doing the same.

But it was nothing like that. There were some difficult discussions and sad faces, but the entire situation was pretty undramatic.

And wrapping things up at work took far longer than expected. It wasn’t simply a few choice words and a quick walk to the elevator. Instead, I stayed on for months, first full-time, then part-time, until I finally did walk out the door of an almost empty office months later. Just a quiet Friday in late July, the weekend before my birthday.

That weekend, like every birthday for the past eight years, I wrote a long letter…
to myself.

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The 3 Pillars Of Successful Websites: How Every Site You Love Built Its Foundation


“Freedom’s etched on sacred pillars.” – Sheryl Crow

I love to watch kids imitate their favorite athletes or movie stars. They usually focus on repeating one distinguishing characteristic, like Derek Jeter’s batting stance at the plate, or Julie Andrews’ accent in Mary Poppins, enabling them to feel like they’re embodying the whole person.

Many people do the same thing with their websites. They find a site they love, think they know what makes it so good, and try to replicate a single obvious element.

But building a successful website is about more than modeling your efforts after the surface tactics of those you admire. It’s about building a true foundation that supports and fuels the growth of your site.

Building that foundation won’t take as long as it took Jeter to develop his many baseball skills, or for Andrews to carry a film on her own, but it will take effort.

So what do you need to build a proper foundation for your site?

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How I Implemented The Seven Hidden Laws To Building A Dynamic Website [Guest Post]


This is a guest post from Dave Lukas of WarriorDave.com. Dave attended my webinar, ‘The Seven Hidden Laws To Building A Dynamic Website,’ and used the accompanying PDF guide to shape his website. I asked him if he would share his experience of launching a successful website, which he graciously does below.

Seth’s Seven Hidden Laws to Building a Dynamic Website guide was instrumental in the establishment of my website. It provided clear, concise, and easy directions to get started.

Perhaps the most important thing I learned from him is to have a plan! For years I had an idea in my head of the type of website that I wanted to create and the type of content that I wanted to share with the world. I tried a couple of blogs for a while, but I never stuck with it because they lacked clarity and focus.

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Do You Make The Same Mistakes As These Websites?


Note: This is the first in a series of “online field trips” in which we will be visiting various websites to explore their best and worst qualities. We’ll look at different aspects of the sites and what they can teach us about how to make our own websites better.

So pack your lunches, forge your parents’ signatures on your permissions slips, and let’s all hop on public transit in an orderly fashion. No buddies required, but if it makes you feel better, feel free to pair up.

On today’s online field trip we’re going to visit three websites that make some big mistakes in the experiences they provide their visitors. The sites vary in size, but all offer lessons that can be applied to any website.

Another note: My apologies to the operators of these sites. I know many other people make the same mistakes you do, I just happened to find your sites while I was writing this article.

Our first stop is…

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4 Things That Selling Tea In Chinatown Can Teach You About Running A Successful Website


I recently started exploring the diverse and tasty world of tea.

Luckily, I live in Berkeley, right across the water from San Francisco’s Chinatown, filled with tea shops.

So when I visited this amazing neighborhood in search of tea, I visited most of the shops. But I only chose to buy from one of them. Why? Because this shop did things differently. And you can employ the exact same tactics they used in their store with your website, turning your visitors into loyal fans and customers.

Starting with…

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