| the9crow |
| (new user ) |
| Sat Jan 31 2004 11:23 AM |
you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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Hi,web user I have been running my own site for 2 years now and it's been through 2-3 face lifts,I think this time I have got ot right.
The idea behind http://www.loadsofodes.co.uk is to get my work seen and other poets too. I want to make it more interactive and promote it better.
So far I have only spent money on domain name and I have 705 incomeing links with an average of 206 visitors a day, over a 14 day period loads of odes had 11055 hits.
It's doing ok but I nead to know what the hidden secret is to getting more traffic, if there is such a thing, maybe it's just about money.
Please stop by web user to veiw my site and hopefuly inclued loads of odes in your magazine.
| 123promotion |
| (regular) |
| Sat Jan 31 2004 12:09 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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One thing i would say is that im finding it difficult to read. I write poetry and i will send you some to place on the site if you wish, but, it doesnt have the 'feel' of a poetry site - its very dark. It reminds me of a homebrew Xbox type of site.
Im sure that the content is very good indeed, but i do find the darkness of the site to be a bit off-putting.
I think if you made the site more visually appealing - no major design changes, just colours, you would get some more success.
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Create your own Favicon Image - http://favicon.123promotion.co.uk
| nickc |
| (regular) |
| Sat Jan 31 2004 02:00 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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Tested in IE6 and Mozilla 800x600 56k modem. I agree with the previous post about it being too dark. Manu's don't seem to work in Mozilla. Might be nice if the links changed colour when the mouse is passed over them. Otherwise, a nice design. Good luck with it.
Nick
FREE HTML and Javascript tutorials: http://members.aol.com/nickjc67
| heebiejeebieclub |
| (regular) |
| Sat Jan 31 2004 07:19 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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Ditto with me, make it lighter, and (this may be just me) it don't like the banner at the top - especially the Lucida font. Also, if you want to, try changing the main body font from Times New Roman to something more appealing, perhaps Verdana?
Only thoughts & good luck in promoting it; I've never managed anybody to link to me!
HJC
HeebieJeebieClub - HJC - A young web designer
<a href="http://www.btinternet.com/~music.crush"> Manuscript Music </a>
TheFatControlleR
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| (Forum Admin) |
| Sat Jan 31 2004 07:57 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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Hi the9crow,
Welcome to the forum.
I've taken a look at LoadsOfOades, though I haven't been able to study the content, as yet (although I have bookmarked it for later - I also visit Poetry.Com). But, I have to agree with some of the previous comment;
It may sound like the rantings of a luddite but; To my mind, if a site is dealing with the written word it is best presented in the traditional way, i.e. black copy on a white background. As I said this may sound like a step backward but the concept of black ink on white(ish) paper has been very successful for millennia, and I've no doubt will remain so for many more.
Certainly dark copy on a light background has been shown to be preferred in survey after survey when it comes to text-based pages. In addition, light on dark can cause problems with page printing on some browsers (and prove expensive printing if background colour printing hasn't been disabled).
Having said all that, your current colour scheme isn't a problem for me personally, as far as readability is concerned. However, on a design/concept level I think it is a tad dark in nature. I know much poetry deals with, shall we say, dark issues (angst, death, sorrow, sadness, etc.) and a dark page may suit such thoughts and remeberings, but there is just as much verse offering more joyous sentiments, and there's the rub. Maybe a solution would be to Zone the poetic content and have colour schemes to suit. However, such a strategy may confuse visitors, as an overall, site-wide design template is always preferable in terms of continuity.
TFCNothing is a problem for me...
| longplay |
| (regular) |
| Fri Feb 06 2004 02:39 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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There is no hidden secret to promoting your site, basically it's about getting the sign known in as many places are possible.
Of course, having content people want to visit helps, poems just aren't a big draw, they haven't been for some time.
| Jonny555 |
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| Fri Feb 06 2004 02:43 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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Well, I don't know who told you that Longplay because poetry is very popular. Lots of people involved in the writing world use the internet extensively for research and inspiration.
Good poetry is hard work and I personally know lots of amateur writers who enjoy searching for poetry sites. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but theres more then enough demand for quality sites that contain poetry.
Amateur Watercolour Community
| longplay |
| (regular) |
| Fri Feb 06 2004 02:56 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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I didn't say it wasn't popular, I said it wasn't a big draw.
And lets face it, how many mags are there about poetry compared to Xbox games? or DVDs, or flippin MP3 players - I think it's fairly obvious a poetry site isn't high on the average persons agenda. So lets not pretend it is, it's always going to be a small corner of the web and no one can say otherwise.
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TheFatControlleR
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| (Forum Admin) |
| Fri Feb 06 2004 09:40 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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I guess that's the difference between the people who want to produce a site that actually offers something to the regular visitor (no matter how small they are in number), a growing, organic, user-led site. And those who just want to play the numbers game and get all excited about how many hits they've had - regardless of whether they are returning fans & users of the site or some poor sap who's followed ubiquitous links, only to leave the site after viewing nothing but the first page.
In short; Some webmasters want quantity to massage their ego - others are more interested in quality.
I know which category I bookmark for a return visit.
TFCNothing is a problem for me...
| SandRogue |
| (regular) |
| Sat Feb 07 2004 06:48 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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i think any serious 'webmaster' would be more interested in quality
i know i am although i am by no means a webmaster (yet) ;)
| longplay |
| (regular) |
| Fri Feb 13 2004 03:05 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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It all depends on the site, some webmasters want quantity to make money, the only way to get quantity is to offer something that people want - quality content. The only way to keep them coming back, is quality content, so quality usually equals quantity.
This is also massively affected by the subject matter, in this instance poems. There is, I would argue, a significantly smaller number of people searching for poem sites than there are looking for info on the latest Spiderman movie. That doesn't mean the Spiderman site is of lower quality just because it has far more quantity.
It's a far more complex topic than quantity is for sites of low quality, which is basically what you said. That's so short sited and narrow-minded it's unbelievable.
The orginal topic was about why more people weren't coming to the poster's site, I'm simply saying you have to be realistic when faced with your target audience.
Let's face it, is it worth the upkeep of a site if you get 3 visitors a year? I would say not, some people would say different, people are looking to have some visitors, otherwise what's the point? It's like talking to an empty room.
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TheFatControlleR
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| (Forum Admin) |
| Sat Feb 14 2004 02:44 AM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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My post was refering to, for want of a better word, amateur webmasters, as opposed to corporate/pro web sites. As that is what we are encouraging here, personal web spaces (not business', or money making sites of any description).
The comparison I was making was between this poetry site and the basic (dare I say, almost content-less) sites where the owners spend more time plugging than they do maintaining them.
That's not to say everyone should ignore traffic-driving ideas, search engine optimisation, etc.
As for maintaining a site were you get 3 visitors a year, not everyone is in it for the money, the hits or the glory. There are millions of web pages maintained for that old fashion thing called love - or at least a passion for the subject.
We see several posts here, in this area of the forum, plugging sites. The post generally doesn't attempt to invite comment, or the site actually offer anything to the visitor, it may be considered spam and removed. Genuine calls for comment are always welcome and encouraged.
TFCNothing is a problem for me...
| webby |
| (regular) |
| Wed Feb 18 2004 01:26 AM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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I must admit a poetry site is not one that I would normally visit unless I were looking for a particular piece, which of course would be of a famous poet. I once wanted some verses of Wordsworth and searched for exactly what I needed and it is now included on a page about shipwrecks on one of my websites. (Wordsworth's brother drowned in one)
Don't get me wrong, I like poetry and used to enjoy writing it, though I don't get much opportunity to do so now.
Now I've forgotten why I was writing all this waffle lol....I suppose that it was perhaps to illustrate that the average surfer would have to have a strong poetic passion to visit poetry sites that are of unknown poets and of unknown verse.
Just a suggestion but perhaps you could combine it with meditation. By that I mean have some short specific poems for people to meditate on and include such in your advertising of the site, thereby giving it a wider audience to appeal to.
I like the general layout of your site and the content too. I like the gold links particularly and realise that they only look good on a dark background, but maybe the centre panel could be a lighter colour? Perhaps a misty sort of pastel colour? Or a faded misty image? After all, (and I accept this may just be me) poetry inspires a kind of mistiness.
Anyway, good luck with it and congratulations of what you have achieved so far - I like it
You only have one chance in life - take it while you can
| the9crow |
| (new user ) |
| Wed Feb 18 2004 07:02 PM |
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Re: you don't show unknown poets sites in mag,why?
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Thank you all for your comments and diagreements between your selfs:-)most impressed. Right, This is what i've taken on board and been thinking about for months.... Rollovers,yes i want them but problem is most of my users use netscape4 infact nearly all my users do.
This is why I have been very,how shall i say,boring with my site. Everything is about css and netscape suck. Content is king with me but I need just as much effort in to promotion because if I don't promote the site i can't get the visitors to get the content. Color change,,thats a hard one because the banner is key to the site,it's what starts the site off. I suppose i could give main body some color infact that may look pretty cool.
Here is the real life poetry forum,looking for new members. real life poetry forum
Any idea's on css???. So far all i have on promotion is content,would you say this is only way to getting the links in without resulting into begging.
Edited by the9crow on 18/02/2004 19:15 (server time).