Newbie has an idea - any good?

Lawrence Hudson · #1 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 01:44 AM

Hi all,
First, Lisa your websites are REAL, and these days on the internet that is the highest compliment I can give! Oh, and your forum is a cinch to use too.

So here's my thinking. I am a pastor and I put out a newsletter article every month during the school year. I have been doing this for 18 years. That's 180 pages of good, well written, often funny and very thought provoking content. Is there a way I could use this as some of the content on an SBI site? Before I buy the product I am trying to do some of my own brainstorming. I can see the immense breadth of ways to use content, but I am having a hard time coming up with how it all might apply to me. I have other ideas related to hobbies etc. but lets start with this one. Any clues?
Yours,
Lawrence

ssmorgan · #2 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 02:58 AM

Hi Lawrence,

That's great!

If I were you, I would start by trying to identify a theme or two around which all or most the newsletters revolve. For example, is the overarching theme "motivation for christian students", "how to be a christian teen", etc.?

After I identify the theme, I would spend the rest of the time connecting each newsletter to the overall theme. Each of these could be it's own page on your website.

I hope this makes sense.

Sherif

Radenau · #3 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 03:15 AM

Hi Lawrence,
I think its a good way to reach out to young adults. Gen Y gets most of their information onlines these days. They're the instant generation.However, the site should be cool and welcoming. A place for curious minds rather than full on biblebashing.There are already plenty of those websites.

Have Fun!

Julian

Lawrence Hudson · #4 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 03:17 AM

Thanks Sherif,
There are many topics and themes, but I see your idea of connecting the newsletters and the idea of a specific theme. If I were to use them all on one site it would have to be something like "Every Day with God" or "Practical Theology" or "Pastor Hudson's Insights" or "Christian Faith Makes Sense" and I'm not sure something like that would draw traffic. Within the site I could go through and sort some of them out for a more specific thrust. I'll have to bounce it around some more. Thanks again for your response. I'll chew on it.
Yours,
Lawrence

James · #5 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 07:44 AM

Lawrence,

Welcome to the site. I know you will find this a great place to visit and learn from as well as a place to share.

The previous comments point in the right direction. What it boils down to is that you have to build traffic eventually and establishing a site that fits your outreach is key. Your organizing theme has to be something people are looking for when they first arrive at your site or they will be gone in only two to three seconds. Not long.

You have to start by asking who you want to attract to the site and then ask what will they be looking for (think "Google")when they get there. You will hear people talking all the time about key words. What words will people be searching for when they arrive at your site? Will they see those words immediately when they arrive?

Those are the kind of questions to ask yourself. Your experience reaching out in your church work should help guide your thinking. I look forward to seeing you around and checking out your site when it is up and going.

Jazzy · #6 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 07:49 AM

Can you sort the newsletters into 8-12 categories.

Depending on what the numbers look like once you get into brainstormer, you could have the overarching them of your website as practical christian faith (or whatever looks good) and then divide it further into 8-12 categories using your newsletter articles as a page under each category.

You will probably have to tweak your articles to make them fit specific keywords, but it sounds like something that could work.

lisa · #7 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 11:31 AM

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for the compliment and welcome to the forums. Everyone has already given such great advice and to follow up on what James was saying regarding what people are searching for. Yes, that is key. Let's say 50 of your newsletters deal with faith. You would use SBI!'s brainstormer to find out specifically what people are typing in regarding faith so you can craft your artciles to target those specific keywords.

The most important thing to remember is to write for the demand (keyword searches). So SBI! will tell you how people search for certain phrases and then you'll be able to look at your inventory (your newsletters) and decide the best way to communicate your message and meet the demand of the search engine searches.

Lawrence Hudson · #8 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 01:00 PM

Thanks, this is so very helpful. My fear has been that I would buy a product and simply not know how to use the tools. Now I'm getting a feel for how the brainstorming tool works from your comments.

Is there a tool in SBI that tells you if your idea simply will not draw traffic? Will any idea work depending on how you approach it (except all the overused ones I mean)? Thanks for all your help.
Yours,
Lawrence

lisa · #9 (**permalink**) 07-18-2008, 01:53 PM

Glad we could help. SBI!'s tools provide statistics so if you brainstorm for a phrase and it has 0 demand (that means no one ever searches for that phrase) then that's a clear sign you don't want to base your site around that phrase. So while it will never come out and say "Horrible topic" or "You'll never get traffic from this phrase", you can get a pretty good idea once you get comfortable with using the tools.

And just to clarify, SBI! is a great system / guide, but ultimately you are responsible for how much you get out of it. The tools and information are all there but it's up to you to utilize their tutorials, SBI! forums, and not be afraid to step out of the box, get creative, etc.

I say that because I think from my (and others) description of SBI!, a lot of people think it's going to promote your site for you or it's automated to the point that you just tell it what you want to do and it does everything for you. It's never going to come out and say "Don't choose this topic" or "Do X, Y and Z and you will have 100 visitors by next week."

Now there are some automated technical processes such as submitting your site to the important search engines, submitting your Google and yahoo sitemaps (a list of all the pages on your site so the engines know about them) But as far as choosing your topic, marketing, making money, writing content, etc. you are ultimately in control of your own destiny. SBI! provides the tools, tutorials and guidance in such a way that I've never seen before with other systems. That's why I push it so heavily for beginners. It ensures you understand how and why websites succeed (and fail) before you even start.

Not everyone needs that kind of guidance. There are numerous people on this forum who are doing fine without using SBI!. But if you like structure and want a guide to walk you along the process then it's a good option.

Also check out http://videotour.sitesell.com and http://demo.sitesell.com The tour will show you how it works and the demo will actually let you download the action guide you get when you order.

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