Building a Website that Matters (Free Webinar)

If you read this blog regularly, you know I'm not interested in simply making a buck. I want to make a difference. Recently, I've seen how social media can move people to act — to shut down a corrupt orphanage in Haiti or motivate college students halfw

If you read this blog regularly, you know I'm not interested in simply making a buck. I want to make a difference. Recently, I've seen how social media can move people to act — to shut down a corrupt orphanage in Haiti or motivate college students halfway around the world to travel. And I want you to see that, too. There's simply no reason why you can't build a popular blog or site that allows you to broadcast your message to the world.

So far, we've talked about building your platform and getting a larger audience. But there's one part I've neglected: building the actual website. That's about to change. There are several factors to consider.

There's the excitement

This is the anticipation — the flurry of possibilities that comes to mind when you imagine what your site could be:

• Thousands of fans

• Hundreds of comments

• A nice banner

• All kinds of shiny "bells and whistles"

• Maybe even a suite of products and services to pay the bills

It's okay to dream. And it's okay to believe in those dreams. Because you have a voice; your words matter. And it's time people heard you. Yeah, you can get excited about that.

There's also the fear

Face it: you could fail. Or worse: become irrelevant. What if no one listens to you? What if no one cares? There are more than enough mediocre sites and blogs out there, merely contributing to the noise. Along with fear, there's the intimidation of the technology itself. The options are overwhelming: domain names, email addresses, site hosting, setting up a blog, and so on. Where do you begin? Not to mention, what platform do you choose? And how do you know if it's going to work?

Then there's social media

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, and more. There are a million places to start, and everyone has an opinion about what you should use. It can all seem so mysterious and elusive, so confusing. Who's right? Who's wrong? What will work for you? It would be so much easier if there were a few, simple laws to follow. There are.

What the experts don't want you to know

These secrets to building good websites are well-hidden, because "social media experts" and "tech wizards" have buried them beneath a lot of hype. Why? Because they want you to depend on their services. These laws are hidden by those who profit from a lack of understanding, much like how a sleazy car mechanic swindles some poor soccer mom (or a guy hypothetically named... Jeff) out of a few hundred bucks.

Nevertheless, these laws exist

And they are laws that you can follow, that you can use to your benefit. They are fundamental principles that lead to an engaged online audience and a successful web presence. If you follow these laws, the rest of the picture becomes clear. Knowing where to start becomes obvious. Choosing the right tools or platforms makes perfect sense. Understanding these laws means you get to call the shots; it makes you the wizard.

So we're going to do a free webinar

A few weeks ago, I shared a guest post entitled, "What Every Writer Should Know About Web Technology." I was pleased with the response and side conversations I had with several of you that I decided to reach out to the author, Seth Leonard. I asked if he'd be willing to share more about how to create successful websites. And that's exactly what he's going to do. I'd like to invite you to join Seth and me for a live webinar next Wednesday that we're calling: "The Seven Hidden Laws To Build A Dynamic Website."

You can register for this FREE event here.

It should be a lot of fun. This is the first event like this I've ever done, so this is a total experiment. I'm curious to see what you think. If you can't make next week, go ahead and register anyway, so you get the replay. And if the turnout is good, we'll do another one. This webinar is ideal for writers, artists, bloggers, and entrepreneurs who are curious about building a website that generates traffic that leads to change (or profit). There's no sign-up fee and you aren't expected to contribute anything. Just come ready to watch, listen, and learn. At the end, you'll have an opportunity to ask Seth and me some questions. The whole thing should take less than an hour. I'm looking forward to learning a few things myself. I hope to see you there. *Photo credit: Brenda Hallowes (Creative Commons)