Forums are dying
For the last four years, the Offbeat Bride Tribe’s traffic has been in decline.
Across the web, forums are dying as we all increasingly default to social media like Facebook. What does this mean for the future of the Tribe?
Pinterest vs Facebook: how different algorithms encourage different publisher behavior
While both Facebook and Pinterest traffic are hugely important to me, I interact with the two networks very differently. As a publisher, Facebook has me trained like a dog: we post all day, every day on our Facebook page because we see an immediate, real-time traffic boost when our posts go out. Meanwhile, I have very little control over the traffic Pinterest sends, even though I also post there all day every day. So why do I keep pinning?
Let’s talk about clickbait
I think of clickbait as manipulative and forcing your hand (ie “This bride got left at the altar — YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT SHE DID NEXT”), but the truth of publishing is that a huge portion of a publisher’s job is what’s known as content marketing.
How do you make sure that people who are interested in your content A) see it and B) are interested enough in it to click through to read it? People do NOT want to leave Facebook, so it’s a significant challenge.
How to submit the world’s most perfect bug report
I have been taught the most magical method of submitting tech support requests that make it easy for developers (or anyone!) to understand what the problem is, so that they can hopefully fix it.
I’m slowly training my staff to use this method, and while it takes some getting used to… it’s a game changer. Yes, it’s helpful when you’re trying to tell someone what’s busted on a website, but it’s also helpful when calling your ISP, or your cable provider, or the person who made your computer. It’s basically the best way ever to get help from someone. Here’s the template: