Manage all your website tags without editing code. Google Tag Manager delivers simple, reliable, easily integrated tag management solutions— for free.
Using the Google Site Kit plugin is the easiest way to install Google Tag Manager on a WordPress website, in my opinion.
Check out Marketing Metrics Mastermind if you’re interested in joining a monthly group to focus on your metrics.
Oh January! That wonderful time of year when we all “reset” our expectations of what we can possibly accomplish in one year. So, I’m taking a little time out to share a bit about marketing goals, since goal setting is already on your mind. But don’t get me wrong, if it’s July and you’re just now reading this, that’s ok too!
I’ve created a quick one-page worksheet to help you tackle your top three marketing goals, this downloadable includes an example provided by one of lovely my clients—Friends of The Cliffs.
Provide your contact details to download your copy of the Yearly Marketing Goals Worksheet!
What are the top three marketing goals that your organization would benefit from achieving this year?
Sometimes it helps by imagining what success looks like, by reviewing why your organization exists in the first place, or by asking others what they feel would be beneficial.
Go ahead and day dream exactly what success would feel, smell, taste like… uhm.. you get the picture. Picturing the success clearly of each of your three big hairy goals will help you better plan your approach, define metrics, and set milestones.
This is the step that many people leave out. But, measuring success is the most important part! How are you going to know you’ve won if you don’t know where the finish line is? Connecting measurable metrics to your success will help you track your progress and achievement.
Use your answer to question 2 above to help tease or suss out 1-3 ways you could truly measure your marketing success.
So… What are your marketing metrics to measure? Revenue? Increased traffic? And—realistically—by how much do you want to move the needle?
And finally, let’s bring your audience into the mix. Because, true success never happens alone in a vacuum, so it’s likely you’ll need to find some help or need to connect with others to tackle your three big hairy marketing goals this year.
I’ve been brainstorming ways to help more people, put more content online, and be super relevant. So what better than to answer your questions online through the advice section on madebetterstudio.com? 🙂 Read more
I had a blast taking a road trip with Carol Stambaugh from TechToolsOnline to WordCamp San Diego 2013.
San Diego is an awesome place to visit, but throw in hours of geekery on the road trip + two full days of WordPress awesomeness and you’ve got yourself one heck of an awesome weekend.
Friday was mostly driving with Carol, cooking up good ideas for the 2014 Phoenix WordPress conference, sharing work stories and finding more ways to work with one another.
Carol had brought along all kinds of roadtrip treats (something I’ve found that mothers of small kids do well). One particular treat is sooo tasty! You have to check out Trader Joe’s Powerberries! Oh my are these delicious! Thanks Carol for the introduction. 😀
Friday night I was left on my own (while Carol went to the speakers dinner – Way to go Carol!), so I took a evening stroll in Little Italy with was lovely, the weather was warm, the sea breeze was refreshing, I even saw some really interesting windows.
Saturday was the main day of WordCamp San Diego, it was so great to meet Austin Passy in person as well as hang out with all the regular WordCamp peeps like Dre Armeda of Sucuri and Chris Lema. Loved the content, and it was great to see the way another city does WordCamp.
Carol’s session was a big hit, and it was so awesome to see someone who I taught WordPress 101 to at a Phoenix WordCamp speaking only a few years later at another city’s WordCamp! 😀 Go Carol!
At the after party, Phoenix WordPress peeps Carol, Cody, and Josh Stebel from Page.ly got together for drinks, while mingling with the rest of the peeps enjoying free drink tickets thanks to WordCamp San Diego. After everyone was good a liquored up, Chris Lema broke out Cards Against Humanity.
Now, I love this card game so much I bought my own copy right after I got back into town, but let me tell you this game is not for the faint-of-heart or easily offended. It is after all, a card game for “horrible” people.
It is a really great concept, and I love the way the creators have crowd-sourced their cards and made the cards available for people to print out their own decks.
Sunday, WordCamp San Diego did a business development / for WordPress developers day where the best of the best talked about how those of us who contribute to and help set up others on WordPress can do business better. Got a ton of great notes about contracts, dealing with clients, and making my own schedule.
By the afternoon, Carol and I were ready to go home. Our brains were full and our minds inspired, we packed up the car and said good bye to WordCamp San Diego.
Such a great trip!
Listening to Why the Question Was Asked in the First Place
Listening is not understanding the words of the question asked, listening is understanding why the question was asked in the first place.
What Have You Done Lately, Besides Raise Funding?
If the press is only writing about how much money you raised, it’s because you haven’t done anything bigger.”
Earlier this month, I gave a two hour presentation at Gangplank Chandler in regards to online community building for non-profits, here’s the slideshow presentation from that talk.
Here are the infographic links that I used within the presentation:
Also some requested links:
If you’d like to talk more about online community building for your non-profit, feel free to contact me and I’d be happy to discuss!
I was selected by the lovely Susan Baier who has been leading the Chandler division of Laid Off Camp to speak at their first Small Business Workshop at Gangplank last Saturday.
I gave a 45 min. presentation on WordPress for Small Business, a basic overview and tips on getting started. Slides are available below:
Here are the resources I suggested within the slide deck and during the presentation:
Support on WordPress.com – This is a great resource for beginners that are using WordPress.com, it really has a lot of great detail on how-tos, getting started, and other items that are great for learning the basics and getting familiar.
Support on WordPress.org – This is a great forum where you can get help with your WordPress.org self-hosted setup, customization and other questions.
WordPress.org Codex – Looking for documentation on how to get started with WordPress.org self-hosted installations? This is the definitive resource created and maintained by the WordPress.org community.
Arizona WordPress Meetup Group – This is a great group of WordPress folks (many who help setup and support WordCamp) that meet around Phoenix and Tuscon. It’s a great place to find support, ask questions from people also using WordPress, and get more information on WordPress.
Gangplank Hacknight – Gangplank Chandler has a hacknight every Wednesday night that is place to come in and dedicate some time to learning and setting up your new WordPress website. There are generally people there who can help out if you get stuck, have a question, or just want to bounce ideas off of.
WP101.com – If you’re looking for some training videos on the basics that we covered in class, WP101 has a great set of tutorials available for a mere $20 for a lifetime subscribe (meaning if WordPress changes, they get you out new vide0s)! Each tutorial is professionally done and pretty extensive for the basics, plus you can watch it over and over and over…
Easy WordPress Guide – This resource was suggested by Christie Simmons of Launch MiE as a great way to learn WordPress through a guided process.
Super thrilled at the success of presenting the WordPress 101 class at WordCamp PHX this past weekend.
I met a lot of great people getting started with WordPress, and loved their enthusiasm for the getting in and getting their creative juices flowing with this great tool. It was wonderful to hear all the different ways people are using WordPress, from business websites to personal blogs.
During this 8 hour workshop we really got participants feet wet with all kinds of knowledge, from how to get started, choosing the right WordPress setup, to more advanced detail of themes and plugins. While most of the presentation was demo-based, I did have a small slide deck with information on hosting types, a hosting/domain/files metaphor I like to use and places that these beginners can become more affiliated with the WordPress community, get help, and share knowledge. You can check it out the slide deck below. As the video from that class becomes available I’ll update this post to let you know. 🙂
Here are the resources I suggested within the slide deck and during class:
Support on WordPress.com – This is a great resource for beginners that are using WordPress.com, it really has a lot of great detail on how-tos, getting started, and other items that are great for learning the basics and getting familiar.
Support on WordPress.org – This is a great forum where you can get help with your WordPress.org self-hosted setup, customization and other questions.
WordPress.org Codex – Looking for documentation on how to get started with WordPress.org self-hosted installations? This is the definitive resource created and maintained by the WordPress.org community.
Arizona WordPress Meetup Group – This is a great group of WordPress folks (many who help setup and support WordCamp) that meet around Phoenix and Tuscon. It’s a great place to find support, ask questions from people also using WordPress, and get more information on WordPress.
Gangplank Hacknight – Gangplank Chandler has a hacknight every Wednesday night that is place to come in and dedicate some time to learning and setting up your new WordPress website. There are generally people there who can help out if you get stuck, have a question, or just want to bounce ideas off of.
WP101.com – If you’re looking for some training videos on the basics that we covered in class, WP101 has a great set of tutorials available for a mere $20 for a lifetime subscribe (meaning if WordPress changes, they get you out new vide0s)! Each tutorial is professionally done and pretty extensive for the basics, plus you can watch it over and over and over…
Loved all the great feedback I got from the presentation attendees. If you have any suggestion on ways I can make my presentation of the 101 material better, please contact me or leave a comment below. 🙂
One of the most overlooked and yet VERY important parts of marketing is measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) by tracking meaningful metrics based on the type of interaction you’re looking for from your customers.
Somehow, even with all the hype around ROI, when I ask new clients if they’re tracking metrics, they give pause and a blank face. So, it’s time I share a little post and create a little infosheet on how to choose and measure metrics that matter around your marketing.
provides tailor-made marketing ideas, WordPress SEO, coaching & technical support + marketing training courses Learn More About Made Better Studio
April Holle, Principal of Made Better Studio
