Announcing: The Loop, and the Checkup

This week I’m launching my newsletter, The Loop.  The Loop is going to go out more or less weekly, and it will have short tips and inspiration on building an online presence that helps you develop stronger connections with your audience. Probably the odd joke.

When you sign up for the newsletter, you’ll be able to download a copy of my workbook, The Website Checkup and Cure.  This has been a long time in the making.  Back in January, I started offering professional website review and planning to businesses as a coaching service.  This is pretty much my system, presented in a workbook that anyone can use to develop and improve their site.

The workbook questions are based on the approach I use with large websites, developing specific, measurable goals and assessing the website against those goals.

I feel there’s a real need for everyone to be able to look at their online presence and come up with informed improvements, so I’ve developed this as a primer for those who want to review their own sites, and aren’t sure where to start. Download it, and let me know how it goes!

The workbook design is by the extremely talented Lisa Valuyskaya, owner of Idea Stylist.  Lisa is a graphic designer based near Rome, Italy, who is becoming known for her gorgeous, quirky e-book designs.   Lisa’s design philosophy is pretty much the same as mine: that design should follow function. As she puts it, adding a graphic element should always make your content better – it’s not simply about decoration.   The design is something that provides the content with extra power.

(Incidentally, I asked Lisa what her advice was for people working with a designer for the first time.  I expected Lisa to come up with something terribly practical and businesslike, but instead she said, it’s all about the passion.  ‘Be passionate about what you do, so that I can get excited about it.’ I love that )

The Website Checkup and Cure is a very practical toolkit, but it encourages you to go deep.  It’s a 9-page PDF which will help you to look at your website through you customers’ eyes.   There are three core checklists which will help you identify glaring problems that stop customers in their tracks, plus a series of questions designed to make you investigate your users and their journeys.  You can print it off or complete it online.

Need an expert eye rather than going it alone? You can also work with me, one on one, to get a rapid expert assessment of your site. Take a look at the Web Clinic.