You’re posting on LinkedIn when you have time. You’ve tried a few networking events. You’re working on your website when you can. Maybe you’ve invested in SEO or ads at some point.

And yet, it still feels like nothing is really building momentum.

That feeling isn’t random. There’s a reason for it.

It’s Not a Lack of Effort. It’s a Lack of Prioritization.

Most businesses aren’t struggling because they’re doing too little.

They’re struggling because they’re doing too many things without clearly identifying what’s actually working.

So instead of doubling down, they keep adding more: more channels, more ideas, more things they “should” be doing.

The result is activity without traction.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

SEO is starting to gain traction, but it’s inconsistent. LinkedIn brings in conversations, but posting is sporadic. Networking happens, but without a clear goal or follow-up. There’s no real tracking of where leads are coming from.

Nothing is broken. But nothing is fully built either.

Why This Happens

This usually comes from good intentions. Business owners and teams want to do the right things. They’ve heard SEO and GEO matters. They know LinkedIn works. They’ve been told to network.

So they try to do all of it. But without clear prioritization, everything becomes partial effort. And partial effort rarely compounds.

The Shift: From Scattered to Focused

Identify what’s already working and do more of that. Not everything equally. Not all at once. Just more of what’s already showing signs of traction.

Where to Start

1. Identify your top 1–2 lead sources.
2. Pause low-return efforts.
3. Build consistency into what works. See an oldy but goody, 3 Keys to Building Something Great.
4. Track it.

Measuring What Matters

Use tools like Google Analytics to understand where your traffic and leads are coming from. Here’s a helpful guide to getting started: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9304153

You can also explore SEO performance tools like SEMrush: https://www.semrush.com/seo/

See  insights on boosting your local SEO.

Final Thought

Scattered marketing isn’t a sign that you’re doing something wrong. It’s usually a sign that you haven’t decided what matters most yet.

Once you do, everything starts to simplify and results start to compound.

The post The Real Reason Your Marketing Feels Scattered appeared first on Platform Creator.

At Platform Creator, we continually test AI tools. Most do not make the cut. A few have become core to how we help businesses market smarter, not louder.

ChatGPT: The Brain of Your Marketing Operation

At the center of any AI-powered marketing system is ChatGPT. This is where strategy, messaging, and structure begin.

ChatGPT works best when you stop treating it like a writer and start treating it like a strategist. The quality of output is directly tied to the quality of the prompt.

Prompt Ideas for Better Marketing Content

Blog Content Prompt:
Act as a local SEO strategist for a Dallas-based service business. Create a blog outline targeting the keyword “Google Business Profile DFW” with conversion-focused CTAs.

Social Media Prompt:
Write three LinkedIn posts for a small business owner in North Texas. The tone should be professional and conversational. The goal is inbound leads, not engagement for engagement’s sake.

Email Campaign Prompt:
Create a 3-email nurture sequence for website visitors who requested a free SEO audit. The audience is non-technical business owners.

Prompt Ideas for Image Direction:
Describe a clean, modern hero image for a local SEO agency website. Emphasize clarity, trust, and growth. No stock-photo clichés.

Nano Banana: Clean Marketing Images

Nano Banana is our go-to AI image generation tool for marketing-ready visuals. It excels at clean compositions, realistic people, and visuals that support messaging rather than distract from it.

Fal.ai: Advanced Image and Video Generation

Fal.ai is ideal for more advanced experimentation and creative testing. It offers a large library of image and video generation models within a single dashboard.

Nano Banana is available directly inside the Fal.ai platform, making it easy to move from clean, marketing-ready images to more advanced visual and motion-based experiments without switching tools.

Fal.ai is especially useful for short-form video concepts, stylized image variations, creative testing before production, and exploring motion-based ideas for ads or landing pages.

While Fal.ai operates on a credit-based system, many projects are inexpensive. Simple image generations and short video clips often cost pennies per second of video, making it practical for testing ideas without committing to full production budgets.

Updating.ai: Website Optimization Built for AI Search Visibility

Updating.ai goes beyond traditional SEO. It is designed for how people search today across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Key benefits include:
– Indexed across major AI platforms
– Standard AI visibility coverage
– Optimized for “near me” and service-based searches
– Designed to surface your business inside AI-generated recommendations
– Many businesses begin seeing traffic improvements within 30 days

How These Tools Work Together

ChatGPT defines strategy and messaging.
Nano Banana produces clean visuals.
Fal.ai explores advanced creative concepts.
Updating.ai ensures the website converts and gets discovered.

Final Thought

AI is not a shortcut. It is a multiplier.

Businesses that integrate AI into real strategy gain momentum. Those who chase tools without structure get noise.

In an upcoming post, we’ll dive deeper into how to use each of these tools individually.

The post Our Favorite AI Tools to Run Your Marketing Department appeared first on Platform Creator.

Embarking on a website redesign can be both an exciting and daunting endeavor. Whether you are starting from scratch or refining an existing design, this guide provides a structured approach to navigate the complexities of redesigning your website effectively.

1. Platform Selection

Before engaging with a website designer, it’s crucial to decide on the platform that best suits your needs:

• Wix: Ideal for solopreneurs needing a visually appealing site without extensive coding skills. It offers affordability with plans starting at $17/month but has limitations in SEO customization and advanced design features. Learn more about Wix.
• Squarespace: A step up from Wix, offering more design flexibility but still less SEO and customization compared to WordPress. Explore Squarespace.
• WordPress: Highly favored by intermediate to expert developers for its extensive customization capabilities. Plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math aid in optimizing your site. Discover WordPress.

2. Brand Strategy

Understanding your brand identity is paramount. If you’re unsure about your brand’s core values and messaging, consider attending a Brand Strategy Workshop. Your website’s design and content should be a reflection of your brand, beyond just the logo.

3. Budgeting for Redesign

Costs can vary significantly based on the complexity of your site and the expertise of your chosen professionals:

• Agencies: Typically charge between $7,000 to $75,000.
• Freelancers: Rates range from $2,000 to $25,000.
• DIY Solutions: Cost between $300 and $5,000 depending on scope.

4. Design and Optimization Tools

For WordPress users, consider using the Divi Builder to enhance design flexibility and site optimization. Transitioning to Divi can improve site aesthetics and lower bounce rates by keeping visitors engaged longer.

5. Personalization and Preferences

Personal taste plays a significant role in website design. Identify your preferences in color schemes, typography, and overall aesthetics by reviewing other websites that inspire you. Maintain consistency throughout your site to strengthen your brand identity. You may want to lean on your website designer or brand strategist to help you with #5 in your website redesign checklist.

6. Developing Strategic Alliances

Effective SEO isn’t just about keywords; it’s also about building online alliances. Quality backlinks from reputable sites can drive traffic and elevate your site’s credibility. Focus on crafting meaningful anchor texts that enhance your SEO efforts.

7. Hosting and Security

Choosing the right hosting provider is critical for your website’s performance and reliability. Companies like Liquid Web offer robust services with excellent customer support. Ensure your site’s security by regularly updating software, using strong passwords, and installing security plugins like Wordfence. Wordfence protects your web platform from threats like hacking, malware, and data breaches. In addition, use SSL certificates for secure connections, and regularly update your software and plugins.

8. Domain Registration

Your domain name is part of your brand’s online identity. Register a domain that is memorable and reflects your brand’s essence with providers like GoDaddy or Namecheap. Ensure it is easy to spell, and type, and remember to make it accessible to your audience.

9. SEO and Content Strategy

Develop a comprehensive SEO strategy that includes:

• Keyword Research: Identify keywords that your audience is searching for.
• Content Optimization: Craft content centered around your primary keywords.
• Promotion: Utilize your digital platforms to share and promote your content.
• Link Building: Earn backlinks to boost your domain authority.

10. Functionality and User Experience

Your website should not only look good but also function seamlessly. Prioritize SEO to enhance discoverability. Create a user-friendly experience that builds trust and educates your audience. Implementing strategic CTAs can help convert visitors into leads and customers.

11. Ongoing Maintenance and Testing

Regularly test your website for usability and keep improving based on user feedback. Maintain engagement with your audience by updating content and optimizing performance continuously. Your website designer likely offers monthly services to keep your plugins, theme, and security of your site updated. Don’t forget to ask about website backups and what happens when your website goes down. Who is responsible? What are the expenses?

Conclusion A website redesign involves numerous elements from choosing the right platform to effectively promoting your redesigned site. By following this comprehensive checklist, you can ensure a successful redesign that not only looks great but also performs well, aligns with your brand strategy, and meets the needs of your target audience.

For further guidance and building out your website redesign checklist, explore A List Apart for more insights on design and content strategy or Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO for a deeper understanding of search engine optimization.

The post Website Redesign Checklist: 11 Critical Steps appeared first on Platform Creator.

How do you create a platform? Basic Steps for Creating a Web Platform:

1. Choosing a Hosting Provider (Critical Step)

Choosing the right hosting provider is the foundation of your web platform. This decision impacts your site’s performance, speed, uptime, and scalability. There are various hosting options, including shared, VPS, dedicated, and cloud hosting. Assess your needs and budget before making a choice. Popular hosting providers like AWS, Bluehost, Liquid Web, and SiteGround offer reliable services for different requirements. In our experience, Liquid Web offers the best value for the service, security, and reliability. Despite all of the similarities between web hosting solutions and website maintenance providers, two major differences stand out: Cloud performance and Responsive WordPress Expert Support. Faster Cloud virtual machine (VM) performance will lead to a better website experience for users. Liquid Web VPS handles queries 1.5 – 2x faster than many top providers. 24/7 phone and chat support connects within 1 minute in most cases.

2. Choosing a Framework

Once you’ve selected a hosting provider, it’s time to choose a framework for your web platform. Frameworks provide a structure for your site’s development, making it easier to build and maintain. Popular frameworks like WordPress, Drupal, and Laravel offer flexibility, customization options, and active communities for support. We prefer WordPress due to the flexibility and ability to customize but also have access to many plugins, making it easy to find a solution to your design and functionality needs.

3. Creating an Architecture

Creating a solid architecture is the blueprint for your web platform. It involves designing the layout, navigation, and user experience. Plan your site’s structure, including pages, menus, and content organization. A well-thought-out architecture ensures easy navigation for visitors and contributes to a user-friendly experience.

4. Buying a Domain Name

Your domain name is your online identity. Choose a memorable and relevant domain name that reflects your brand or content. Register your domain with a reliable registrar like GoDaddy or Namecheap. Ensure it is easy to spell, type, and remember to make it accessible to your audience.

5. Adapting the Product to Devices and Systems

In today’s mobile-centric world, it’s crucial to ensure your web platform is responsive and compatible with various devices and systems. Implement responsive design techniques to optimize your site’s appearance on smartphones, tablets, and desktops. Test your platform on different browsers to guarantee cross-browser compatibility.

6. Ensuring the Security of the Web Platform

Security should never be overlooked. Protect your web platform from threats like hacking, malware, and data breaches. Install security plugins, use SSL certificates for secure connections, and regularly update your software and plugins. Implement strong password policies and conduct security audits periodically. Wordfence is the leader in WordPress security. They offer a free version. With their Premier version, you’ll enjoy real-time updates to firewall rules as new threats emerge, their comprehensive Commercial Signature Set for the very best in malware detection, continuously updated Premium IP Blocklist blocks over 40,000 known threat actors, Country Blocking, Premium Support and more. Premium runs $119 per year with discounts available for multiple accounts.

7. Choosing a Content Management System (CMS)

A Content Management System (CMS) simplifies content creation and management. Select a CMS that aligns with your site’s goals and requirements. WordPress is a popular choice for its user-friendly interface and extensive plugin library. Drupal and Joomla are other options suitable for more complex projects.

8. Maintenance and Testing

How do you create a platform? Your web platform’s journey doesn’t end with its launch. Regular maintenance and testing are vital to ensure its continued success. Update content, plugins, and frameworks as needed. Perform regular backups to safeguard your data. Conduct user testing to gather feedback for improvements.

Creating a web platform is a step-by-step process that requires careful planning and execution. Each of these steps plays a crucial role in the success of your platform. However, remember that choosing the right hosting provider (Step 1) is absolutely critical, as it forms the foundation for your online presence.

In conclusion, building a web platform is an exciting journey that can open doors to countless opportunities. By following these seven efficient steps, you can create a strong and reliable web platform that effectively serves your goals and engages your audience. So, take that first step, choose the right hosting provider wisely, and embark on your web platform creation adventure! Let us know if you need help getting started. If getting started seems frustrating, you might start by getting clear about who you should target and what your messaging should be. If you’d like to explore a free brand strategy workshop, reach out to us.

The post How Do You Create a Platform? 7 Efficient Steps. Number 1 is Critical. appeared first on Platform Creator.

First, the fact is Google prefers fresh content. And, like it or not, Google is still the behemoth for search engine results.

Another consideration is marketing strategy. Assuming you have a clear one, you’ve likely made changes over time. You want your content to reflect those changes.

Evaluating and enhancing your web structure and content is a way of shoring up your online presence. And it helps ensure your new content is easy to find.

Now that you know why it’s important let’s look at how to go about a website refresh.

Step 1: Identify and leverage top-performing content

According to personal development expert Tom Ziglar, the fastest way to improve one’s life is to replace bad habits with good ones.

Ziglar’s advice is solid for making a positive life change, and you can do something similar to optimize your website. But rather than replace underperforming content, you’ll eliminate or update it.

Still, you want to make the most of the content already getting good results. Here’s how.

Assess your top-performing posts and make sure you understand why they’re doing better than the rest. Here are a few common causes:

• Are you using the right keywords? A simple and ridiculously inexpensive tool like Keywords Everywhere can help you with this. Trust us; it’s worth the learning curve.
• Is your content aligned with your audience’s search intent? In other words, are you speaking to the motive behind the words the user types into search? For example, if a post is performing well, it’s probably on target because you made it informational, transactional, or research-oriented. Use this knowledge to guide future content and media.
• Is your headline an attention grabber? According to advertising legend David Ogilvy:

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

Now let’s take a look at a structural element.

Step 2: Check your website speed

Beautiful web design and great content won’t help if site visitors click away because your home page takes forever to load.

Go to https://pagespeed.web.dev/, type in yourcompanyname.com, and check both your mobile and desktop results.

Don’t pay as much attention to the performance score for now. Our is 87, but we know why and have reasons for being ok with it.

As for your site, pay the closest attention to the top two lines, especially TTI or “Time to Interactive,” which describes how quickly the homepage populates and allows visitors to navigate your website.

If it takes over 5 seconds to load, you’ll want to get some help. User experience (UX) studies show that 57% of folks leave if it takes longer than three seconds.

Step 3: Apply your findings to refresh your website

Remember, the goal here is to refresh your website, not revamp it. So here are some basics that don’t require a significant mental or financial investment.

1. Improve the writing quality – don’t underestimate the value of digital writing tools like the Hemingway Editor or Grammarly. AI writing tools such as copy.ai are popping up everywhere and can lessen the blank page woes, but don’t underestimate the power of developing your voice.
2. Re-Examine Your Keyword Strategy – If you’re not using keywords in your title tags, meta descriptions, page headers, and URL structure, now’s the time to start. You want to make sure your pages contain relevant keywords so they’ll rank higher when people search using those terms.
3. Update Your Images. Images are an essential part of your website design, helping users navigate your site more efficiently. In addition, a fresh image can give a unique appeal to an article, like the new paint in a living room.

As a busy business owner, you may not be ready to address all of these items at once. So take an incremental approach.

But do consider getting help on some of the important stuff, such as site speed. It won’t break the bank, and it will make a big difference in performance.

Making these small changes to refresh your website, and seeing positive results, will likely inspire you to learn even more.

The post Adopt this process to refresh your website and boost results appeared first on Platform Creator.

The naysayers contend that AI will put people out of work. And this is understandable. Look at AI-generated content like this, and you’ll see that AI-generated content is surprisingly good. In fact, a college student used AI to create an article that rose to the top spot on Hacker News.

But AI has an (im)personal problem. Truth is…

The robot’s writing still has a metallic ring

Apart from the fact that AI tends to make up stuff, especially quotes and names, it also struggles with creating context. This makes sense when you consider that its MO is to pore over mountains of information and data. It then regurgitates predictions for whatever block of text you’re writing.

Still, most users and readers can sense that AI-generated content is just a bit off when it comes to tone.

What AI does best for us humans

It frees us to focus on the hardest part of writing and the thing we do best: Thinking about great content ideas.

David Nunez, the Director of Technology and Digital Strategy at MIT Museum, has a great way of describing our working relationship with AI:

AI works with us, not for us.

That distinction of with instead of for is important. An AI writing tool, for example, knows nothing and does nothing until a human being causes it by teeing up ideas for the algorithm to run with. But it won’t just write our content for us.

The output of AI-generated text is only as good as the human-generated input of great ideas.

Interestingly, the algorithm often offers unpredictable twists on old ideas. And it speeds up the writing and idea development process by filling in the gaps with… well… with filler. Which means you are freed to concentrate on the creative element.

Embrace the AI marketing tools now

Become an early adopter (there’s still time), and you can begin building a moat around your marketing and business ideas.

When you’re new to writing, volume is more important than precision. The more you produce, the more quickly you learn. Using AI, you increase the velocity and the volume of your writing.

Here are three ideas for getting started:

1. Check out the tools.

They are popping up quickly, but a few have taken the lead. Though it’s not specifically a marketing tool, Grammarly is a must-have for content writers. Splurge for the Business level at $30 a month, and your writing will improve dramatically.
Jarvis.ai (formerly Conversion.ai) does marketing content creation and will likely be a force to reckon with. They also have plenty of videos and other resources.

2. Start tinkering.

You’ll learn a little with the entry-level packages for AI marketing tools. But you’ll learn better and faster once you’re ready to splurge for premium options.

3. Don’t wait.

New tools are disruptive to your MO. It’s better to start now while you can grow with the tech rather than trying to catch up to it later.

The wave is coming. Surfing it will be much more exciting and more productive than paddling around, hoping not to get bowled over.

The post How AI marketing tools increase your creativity appeared first on Platform Creator.

We get a lot of web design questions from our clients and people who call Platform Creator. Where do I start? Do I need several different domain addresses? What is web hosting? If you have a business in Dallas, Fort Worth or any metro area, chances are there is a wealth of freelance web design, SEO and brand strategists near me and you. In addition, there are several free online marketing tools that can help get you started with your online platform.

However, if you’re on a tight budget, here’s a free step by step web design resource that utilizes several professional tools and answers many of these web design questions. Even though we, at Platform Creator, are in the business of serving our web design and video production clients, we understand that not every business or individual has a large enough budget to launch a stunning website.

Nine Web Design Questions.

1). What change are your trying to create? Why is this critical? It’s important to know the reason why you are creating a website in the first place. This will determine your strategy for how it’s designed and on which platform it will be designed. A website should help accomplish many things. It should help you: build trust with whoever visits your site, get found, inform, engage, tell your story and differentiate from others. 

2). What platform should I use to have my website created? Many of the top websites in the world use WordPress. It’s where a large pool of talented web developers create and exchange ideas and tools to best bring businesses from a brick-and-mortal presence to a well-designed graphical representation of their brand online. Here’s another resource to help you determine which website platform to use.

3). Who is your persona? Not just age, income and gender demographics, but dig a little deeper into who your typical customer is. As an example: ‘What does their typical day look like?’, ‘What do they value most?’, ‘Where do they go for information?’, etc. Some of this information can be gathered through Google Analytics. Other info can be gathered through surveys (online and in store) and online research.

4). Once you find out who your ideal persona is, how are your going to develop your website (design, content and functionality) to create a positive user experience and to accomplish your goals? 10 Quick Fixes to Build Killer Landing Pages

5). How often will you need your website updated? This is were local talent comes in. It’s fine to work with someone outside your trade area, but it’s helpful if they understand your market. What’s good for web design in Dallas may not cut it in New York. But, it’s convenient to have a face-to-face meeting on occasion.

Consider price, quality and timing. Normally, you can have two of the three (low price, high quality, fast turnaround). If you want it done fast and at a low price, often the quality will suffer. If you want quality work and at a low price, it might not happen as quickly as you’d like. However, if you’re willing to pay the standard $100 – $175 an hour to keep your website properly maintained and secure, you should expect quality work with a fairly quick turnaround (24 – 48 hours, depending on the complexity of the request).

6). Are you using your site as a lead generation tool? If the answer is yes, it’s best to engage a digital marketing agency or freelancer who has multiple capabilities such as: building lead generating landing pages, designing your email marketing campaigns, marketing to and engaging your ideal persona with social media tools, optimizing your website with an effective SEO strategy and measuring progress through Google Analytics.

7). How will you know if it’s working? Creating your online platform is much more than just building a website. You are competing with hundreds or possibly thousands of other companies online who have had an established online presence for many years. It takes time, at least six to nine months, to make even a small impact online. Of course, it depends on your digital marketing budget.

If you don’t have that kind of time or thousands of dollars to spend on your monthly digital marketing budget, you might want to start with a free website builder like Wix or Strickingly. Are you trying to generate sales or donations online? What’s your baseline for sales now and by what percentage do you expect your sales or donations to increase. Consider times of the year and doing a year over year comparison.

8). How long before you lose patience? As mentioned in number 7, building an audience online takes time and money. Set reasonable goals, possibly a 10 – 15% increase over 6 – 12 months, depending on your ad budget.

9). Who is responsible for messaging? Are you hiring an agency to compose your story or are you handling this on your own? Does your content have good flow throughout each page (reading like a story)? And a bonus question, does your messaging help you accomplish your goals in question 1? Is your content telling your story in an engaging way, with keywords for effective SEO and does it help differentiate yourself from the competition? The message map below can assist you in getting started with your content strategy.

Help For Creating Your Message Map

Platform Creator is a Dallas Ft. Worth area web design and SEO company that also provides video production, social media and SEM services. Give us a call with your web design questions or email us if you are interested getting started with your online platform.

john@platformcreator.com

972-672-8805.

The post 9 Critical Web Design Questions appeared first on Platform Creator.

1). FONTS

Choosing or identifying the ideal font can make a big difference in designing your website or marketing piece. Designing a brochure for a preschool would vastly contrast an elegant font applicable for a clothing boutique.

Fontface Ninja

If you ever wondered what that font is that you’ve see online but can’t identify it, Fontface ninja is what you need.

Adobe Typekit (paid)

Here you can find tons of amazing fonts designed by the top experts at Adobe.

2). STOCK PHOTOS

Lightstock

This is a resource that we use at Platform Creator when we’re looking for quality photos. These photos are a little pricier, but the quality is phenomenal and something you won’t find in adobe stock. This is a great resource for ministries.

Adobe Stock (top choice)

Adobe Stock has millions of photos with packages starting for only a dollar each. Adobe places high quality pictures here, that could use a little editing in Photoshop, if you want that artistic quality of a true photographer.

Photodune

You can find reasonably priced stock photos here.

iStock Photo

When you just can’t find the image you want, go to iStock for the highest quality Getty Images.

3). COLORS

Paletton (free)

If you’re looking for a color scheme for anything, Paletton is the way to go.  Paletton uses their own “Colorpedia”, an encyclopedia of colors. Paletton’s colorpedia is a constantly growing source of information about color theory, color schemes, and color usage.

4). GRAPHIC DESIGN

Adobe Illustrator

This is the perfect program if you need to create some vector art. For those who don’t know, vectors are based on a set of mathematical equations that make sure your image doesn’t lose resolution no matter what the size of it is. If you’re a beginner and don’t know where to get started try this interactive course on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tastytuts+adobe+illustrator

We use a variety of different Adobe products and recommend that you view some of the pricing packages that Adobe has available. They also provide very good tutorials for free.

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is a very powerful application that is used mainly for editing photos, but also has an incredibly wide range of uses. From 3D art to getting that lighting just right, Photoshop has a wide range of uses. On the downside though, for beginners, this wide range of features can be very tricky to learn. Just stick to the basics and work your way up from there.

I recommend watching this introductory Photoshop course if you want to get a solid foundation for this application.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tastytuts+adobe+photoshop

Adobe InDesign

In Design’s primary purpose is for publishing. You can create and preview documents for both print and online. For typography it offers much more precision than Photoshop or Illustrator would. The projects usually worked on with InDesign include newspapers, posters, flyer, announcements. At Platform Creator, we use InDesign primarily for business cards, event planning, posters, and exhibit banners.

Adobe Bridge

Bridge is an application that organizes photos and graphics. In our own practice, we have used bridge primarily for finding out ways to optimize our graphics to ensure that the site can run as efficiently as possible.

GIMP (Free)

This is a great program for beginners and the program we started on. If you have a photo that you want to edit or lighten up a bit, GIMP is a perfect program. Drop us a line is you need any help with any of these programs.

5). WEB DESIGN

WordPress a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability with tens of thousands of plugins and theme options. Drop us a line if you need some help or suggestions on the steps to take to get started.

If you want an elegant and easy drag and drop platform, WIX is a good option.

There are a variety of different publishing platforms available, but WordPress is a good place to start. Joomla. ASP.NET. Squarespace. Drupal.

The first thing you need to do to get started is choosing a hosting platform. Bluehost offers a wide variety of low-priced options to higher dedicated server packages. We’ve used Bluehost for years for their reliability and customer service. They also offer domain and email server options and a variety of different marketing tools.

After you install WordPress or another publishing platform, you’ll want to use a theme to create your website. A theme is coding (CSS, HTML, PHP) that gives you a good starter template from which to create your website. Themeforest has many different options. Elegant Themes has many unique mobile responsive templates. If you prefer to customize your own theme, try Dreamweaver below.

Adobe Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver is used for creating websites. The advantages of using Dreamweaver range from helping you write code and design beautiful CSS that’s customized exactly the way you want.

Adobe Premiere Pro

This application is used for editing videos. You can browse for clips and bookmark them.

6).PRINT

Alphagraphics provides one of the broadest arrays of products and services among the printing industry. Aside from commercial work (books, annual reports, brochures, business cards, letterhead, etc.) they can create event marketing (indoor / outdoor) exhibit banners and displays.

NextDayFlyers

NextDayFlyers offers flyers (of course), business cards, postcards, brochures, stickers, and booklets. On their website, they offer plenty of templates if you want to create something quickly or design your own right on their website. If you already have your own template you can upload that as well. NextDayFlyers offers a great selection of high-quality products at affordable prices.

The post Bookmark These Top Graphic and Web Design Tools appeared first on Platform Creator.

Do you have a system to attract new people to your website? Once them come, do you have a system to convert them and turn them into advocates?

You’ve heard the saying, ‘What you don’t know won’t hurt you’.

We challenge that notion. There are a lot of opportunity costs with that mindset. Drifting at sea with your marketing plan can be costly.

Is what you don’t now know really what’s keeping your online platform from performing better? Maybe – maybe not.

There’s an awful lot we don’t know. The maze of Social Media; the plethora of information about it that bombards you when you enter the realm can be overwhelming. It comes at you in the form of “here’s what you’re missing and need to learn right away. This is stuff you don’t now know, that you need to know to make your platform successful!” It makes sense to want to know more, but it can also become an endless chase – and a Marketer’s dream! The only apparent antidote in this scenario is to know what you don’t know, but how can you know that for sure? It can become a bird chase.

In his book, “Happiness is a Serious Problem”, Dennis Prager refers to “The Missing Tile Syndrome.” It describes our obsession with what’s missing, and the fact that we don’t notice the ceiling tiles that are there – just the holes where there are none. We assume that what’s missing from our lives is what would make us happy, if only we had it. Don’t get caught up in this mindset with your online marketing and the creation of your platform.

You must go with what you now know. Don’t be like the baseball pitcher who only practices his windup.

There are often just a few basics you need to know to make the best of your situation, or your online platform. These are the ‘old saws’ like:

• Hard work – there is no replacement! Of course we have to work on the right things, but nothing happens until the work begins.
• Have a system – you won’t know what’s working if you are not systematic about your approach.
• Diligence – sometimes it just takes time. Be like the ant – keep at it!
• Interaction – your prospects and followers are not just a crowd. Get to know them.
• Think for yourself! (This applies only if you want to create something original.)
• Adjust your approach based on the results you get.

There are always a half dozen things that make 90% of the difference. Don’t overlook the basics. We suggest you focus on the half-dozen that YOU think might work for you and then watch for a while and see what happens.

And, if you don’t currently have a system in place to harness your hard work, start with a simple inbound marketing program. It’s important to create an inbound marketing plan or the leads coming to your website will be one-timers. They will check you out today and will be gone tomorrow, maybe never to return. You may only have one shot.

Inbound marketing is a system that analyzes the way people learn about products and services leading to purchase decisions.

It’s a shed of advanced tools and processes used to attract qualified leads to your website and turn them into happy customers. Advocates only become that way through a nurturing process.

Want to know more about how to create an inbound marketing system, turning leads into customers and customers into advocates? Drop us a line below.

What you don’t know has been hurting you. You have dozens of leads coming to your website every day.

Leaving leads unattended is like loading a container ship with your precious cargo headed to the South Pole.

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Hopefully these online tools will help make your work easier, whether you’re a: copy writer, starting a blog, building a website, or building your online platform.

The Periodic Table of Content Marketing, by Chris Lake.

Create a Message Map – How to Pitch Anything in 15 seconds

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