1. Multi-site capabilities – Whether you run 1 or 1,000 blogs, you can manage them using one profile. No more logging in and out of your different profiles to update your blogs. From a single menu, you can update, edit and post to different sites. Blog network managers are blasting their vuvuzelas now that their jobs have become much simpler.

2. New Default Theme – Okay, so maybe this isn’t something to write home about, but Twenty Ten is definitely pretty and has a clean look many can appreciate. However, most users will appreciate what’s under the hood – the ability to customize your header image and background, by choosing from default images and solid colors or uploading your own image.

3. Navigation Menu – Managing your WordPress navigation used to be tricky; but with the new interface, it’s now easier to change menus, links and destinations, even the order of your items. The interface is now visual, allowing users to drag, drop and re-arrange the links and pages with the click of a button. LOVE.

4. Custom Pages and Posts – With the new WordPress, you’ll be able to define your pages and posts. As you post and add to your blog, you can categorize them as Pictures, Texts, Video, Audio etc.

5. Shortlinks – With the advent of Twitter, people have realized how important shortening links can be. Now, you can do it within the WordPress 3.0 interface by clicking on the “Get Shortlink” button.

6. Customized Taxonomies – For personal blog users, this may not be a big deal, but if you blog professionally or for business, the possibilities are endless. It used to be that you could only use categories and tags to mark your posts. Now, you can use anything you want. For example, if you run a food blog, you may want to use mark your posts with “Recipes” or “Restaurants” or even “Ingredients.”

Now for the rite of passage: WordPress TV’s video on their newest release. We love Michael Pick’s accent – our guess is he’s from Liverpool? Rationale being he reminds us of the accent of Neil Buchanan of Art Attack!

These newest features are only some of the bells and whistles WordPress 3.0 has to offer. While some of them may seem straightforward, others may be confusing and will require some tinkering under the hood to make them work. If you have any questions about these or other features, October 17 Media can help explain or utilize them to improve your blogging experience! We’re right on the other side of this contact form, just shoot us an email or give us a call!

Until now, using our favorite household web typefaces would mean jumping through hoops due to all the licensing and browsing support issues one would have to deal with. Using real fonts would also mean Flash replacement text, back links and exported images… but things are starting to change. Slowly, the world’s font libraries have started opening their doors and likely it will only be a matter of time until we get access to a selection far greater than Arial and Verdana.

What better way to start than to understand how web font format works. In our opinion, Snook.ca will get you working with real fonts in no time.

You can also check out Typekit.com (http://typekit.com) to get you going on your next web design. Typekit works hand in hand with foundries and provides a chocolate box selection of fonts you can simply mix and match.

For ease and breeze, you can check out Fontsquirrel.com (http://fontsquirrel.com). They’ve done the dirty work for us so we can have various typefaces in easy-to-use format right at our fingertips!

Now more than ever, it gets really exciting to dig in to that very next project and unleash more artistic possibilities with the web. But remember that more possibilities necessitates more responsibilities. We may now have more fonts to choose from, thanks to type designers and foundries, but web developers and designers alike should get ready for the overwhelming resources available on the web. There is joy in this new trend, but there might also be challenges.

Serif and sans serif faces, no matter how limiting in design, work because they are easy to read. The challenge in using your favorite household fonts often lies in legibility and typography. Choosing a type face that jives perfectly with the message you are trying to convey can be tricky when you take into consideration readability and design. But Webfontspecimen.com (http://webfontspecimen.com/) makes the job easier for us. At Webfontspecimen.com you can dry run various faces until you find a match for your web design.

It may only be a matter of time until all our favorite type faces are available for use. Everyday, the possibilities multiply, and our options increase. It will be essential to have an understanding of how effective typeface can be when used deliberately. For now, may this new trend inspire web designers to create more goal-centric websites that are hot and fresh!

This relationship is so crucial that it determines which sites we think are important and which are not. It’s kind of like how we choose who we interact and network with – simply being out there is not enough. For example, if you were looking to hire someone for your business, you wouldn’t just go out and choose random people on the street; you would ask for recommendations from people you knew first. Or if you do find a good candidate, you’d check up on references.

When we choose to link to a particular site or a site chooses to link to us, it creates a sort of credibility. This is why one of the reasons search engines (particularly Google) use quality links to determine ranking, i.e., who gets to be on top of the results page of any given search.

So one of the keys to getting good results on search engines (so that your customers can find you) is to get good links back to your site. However, if your site is relatively new, you may think this is a daunting task. After all, who would link to a relatively unknown site? Well, time is definitely important, but so is effort when it comes to link building. Spending just a few minutes each day building up your network can be beneficial in the long run. So get started today with these tips:

Submit your site to web directories and search engines
It may take a few days for Google’s bots to crawl your site, so be proactive and submit your URL to popular (and even the smaller) search engines. There are also web directories, similar to the Yellow Pages, where you can post your site under different categories.

Promote your site to contacts and networks (without spamming!)
Let people on your Facebook page, Twitter account, etc., know about your new site. Social networking has its advantages when promoting your site, and part of it is the “personal” touch it adds. Don’t forget to post your URL (as a link) on your social networking profiles as well.

Get social! (bookmarking, that is)
If you have interesting or important information, post your site on places like Digg or Propeller. Bookmarking on web pages such as Delicious and Furl is also a good strategy to build up your links when you’re starting to promote your site.

Get social! (part II)
Get out there (online) and interact with people on message boards and blogs. Joining related message boards and offering your expertise is a good way to promote yourself and your site (while creating links to your site!) whether you’re directing someone for information or something as simple as placing a link on your forum signature.

Visit and read bloggers in your industry and comment on their posts – many ask you to leave a URL or you may be able to link back directly on the comment form. Remember, the important part of this tip is that you give quality information – do not just place links for the sake of linking as this is considered spamming.

Send out a press release
A press release is no longer something that only big corporations or Hollywood actors send out to the media. With sites like PR Leap and PRWeb, you can easily submit a press release (with links) and have the information viewed by many people. The sites may also distribute it to other online news outlets who may be interested in what your site has to say.

Most importantly, build a good site!
This is probably the most important “tip” of all. Your site should be informative, dynamic and should have fresh content for people to link to. Have quality information for people to read and optimize your site so it’s easier for people to find. Don’t discount good grammar – misspellings and bad language can turn off people.

Of course, many experts out there offer other link building schemes and methods, and many of them are effective for some sites, while others are not. However, watch out for those who offer “black hat” methods, which are basically questionable or unethical ways to create links. These may provide favorable rankings in the short-term, but could give cause for your site to be banned from search engines in the longer term. Remember to use only legitimate means – these may take a while and you will need to put in a lot of effort, but the rewards you reap will be significant.

Have any questions about these, other linking tips or perhaps have a comment? We’d love to hear from you, so send us a message!

When e-mail was launched almost 40 years ago (yes, 40 years ago, check out the history of email on Wikipedia), it was a new and innovative way of communication. Then came the desktop, the laptop and then broadband, and email became the best way to reach someone instantaneously. Today we can’t really imagine a life without it. We are addicted to it. We probably spend hundreds of our waking minutes in checking emails, sending hi’s and hello’s to friends and family who live across the globe.

Naturally, the marketing gurus figured that getting into your inbox would get more results than knocking on your door. Email marketing’s major benefit is that it is cost effective. How much does it cost to create a marketing email? Next to nothing compared with traditional print media. (We can give you a real quote if you’re interested.) Email newsletters can have a creative and truly stunning branded format. Neither will cost even a fraction of hiring sales representatives, printing flyers or promotional cards and distributing them.

As far online marketing goes, email marketing is definitely effective. However, if yours is not working then you may need to make a few adjustments. There are a few guidelines to follow in email marketing, starting with the content itself. It is after all an advertisement and should be made to sell.

Instead of being verbose, email marketing should lean towards short, sharp and simple. Make offers, keep them straight and lure buyers right from the first line. Keywords like FREE, DISCOUNT, VOUCHERS all trigger our curiosity and make us read the email. However, words like FREE can also trigger spam filters so be careful how you use them as they can be costly mistakes that earn you a spot in the trash folder. It is also important that email marketing maintain the same brand identity as offline marketing. Emails should carry the colors and logo of the company being marketed.

Email marketing should be targeted towards the right audience. There is no point in sending emails with offers on baby products to teenage boys, now is there? However, it is not easy to build mailing lists online. It is possible to start with affiliate programs with other websites and then retaining the visitors by offering a “subscribe” option.

Additional features and discounts on the site can also be withheld from non-subscribers thus encouraging subscription, which will add to your mailer list. Some companies also rent out their mailer list but we don’t promote this to our clients as it’s heading down the road of non-permission based email which we don’t approve of. These lists can be accessed through public libraries in the US, but again, be careful how you use them. You don’t want people to associate your business with spam!

Be interactive. Make your emails more interactive, encourage customers to provide feedback and send personalized messages to returning customers. To do this you will need to track the activity of recipients in your subscriber list. Referral offers for long time clients can also generate more clients that are loyal.

There are of course many other tips and tricks of email marketing that you can learn from the industry leaders. Sometimes, a little bit of professional help can go a long way in producing results. If you’d like to know more, please do give us a call.

Sure, a thousand visitors a day to your business’ website is appealing. But what good is it if the vast majority of visitors immediately abandon your site, leaving you with no leads or sales?

So what makes web content effective with visitors? To get the scoop, we chatted with Vancouver web writer Rick Sloboda. He’s the Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which provides optimized web copy to businesses big and small, from AT&T to local fitness trainers. Rick also teaches web writing courses and conducts web content studies with the likes of Yale University.

OCTOBER 17: Is writing web copy for search engines and writing web copy for people very different?

Webcopyplus: Quite different, but there is overlap. For instance, as all SEO experts know, keywords are essential for search engines. However, they’re also useful for visitors as about 80% of people scan web copy, versus reading it word for word. So, when someone’s scanning for a specific topic or information, his eyes are drawn to those descriptive keywords, which naturally indicate what the content is about. So the keywords serve both search engines and your visitors.

OCTOBER 17: And what’s unique about writing for visitors?

Webcopyplus: Well, with search engines, web writers cater to complex sets of rules called algorithms. But, when it comes to people, it gets even more complicated as you need to get the visitor’s attention, stimulate desire and then reinforce reasons to invest in your products or services. In short, good web copywriters write for an emotional impact.

Two fundamental flaws that hurt so many websites include self-centric and feature-driven web content. Webcopyplus frequently explains to business owners that their visitors don’t necessarily care about their company, but visitors definitely care about what the company can do for them. When you deliver visitor-centric web copy, you’re speaking to the visitors’ needs or wants – not yours. Most website copy, however, focuses on the company. Our web writers call it the “little piggy we, we, we” syndrome.

OCTOBER 17: You mention feature-driven web copy; isn’t this necessary? Are you proposing fluffy, feel good copy?

Webcopyplus: Definitely not. Well-defined and communicated benefits aren’t fluff. They distinctly convey how the prospect will be fulfilled, or advance or profit by investing in your offerings. That’s where the saying, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak” comes from. People make decisions emotionally, and then rationalize them logically, so we need to engage them emotionally.

OCTOBER 17: Can you give us an example of web copy features versus benefits?

Webcopyplus: Sure. Consider web content promoting military sunglasses. A web copywriter could concentrate on features, such as high-quality, oversized lenses and rubber coating. That is useful to gain credibility. But the web writer should also promote the benefits, which might include: clear visibility from dusk until dawn, and total comfort to allow extended wear.

OCTOBER 17: Okay, focusing on the visitors’ needs and benefits are important. Is there anything else that helps web content connect to visitors?

Webcopyplus: Branding. I agree with branding experts who insist a winning brand conveys why you are your prospects’ best solution. Branding goes so much deeper than logos and colours. Accordingly, you can build brands with words, too.

Do you demonstrate what makes you different and why are you better? Your web content needs to inspire consumer confidence to such an extent that potential customers will choose your product above all rivals. Plus, the more reasons you give people to choose your brand, price becomes a less important purchase decision factor.

OCTOBER 17: Easier said than done.

Webcopyplus: Yup. Webcopyplus employs Wardell, one of Canada’s leading business coaching firms. Even with our experience in helping so many other companies find their voice, and the support of a very capable consulting company, we reach out to guys like marketing mastermind Seth Godin to help us develop and define our position and strengths.

It’s extremely difficult for a business owner to see his or her business from a fresh perspective, and approach his or her marketing messaging objectively. As a result, an outsider has a clear advantage. A copywriter with a strong sales and marketing mind can determine and then effectively communicate to prospects why a certain business is the audience’s best choice.

Part of the reason is expert paralysis. That’s when a business owner gains vast knowledge and experience on a specific area, and it’s hard to introduce this knowledge in simple terms to others. Also, business owners tend to think just because they get excited about certain aspects of their business, prospects will too. Your web content has to be relevant to your visitors’ needs. If your web content doesn’t hit the mark, your visitors are just a couple of clicks away from the competition, and they’ll bail on you fast. One compelling, relevant point is better than five that prospects really don’t care about.

OCTOBER 17: So don’t waste your visitor’s time.

Webcopyplus: Right. Actually, today’s Internet user won’t let you. If you don’t answer their questions straight away, they’re gone. And with more than one trillion unique URLs on the Web, chances are they won’t come back.

Interested in getting an Online Marketing Review and Diagnosis? Check out our Usability Review Solution PDF.