By Corry Cummings

Everything you should know about website planning

Save yourself a lot of time and headache: before you dive into building your new website, think through a high-level website plan.

This planning process doesn’t need to be complicated or time intensive. It’s more or less about taking the time to answer some important questions that will help ensure you build your website with the right foundation to accomplish your goals.

For example, creating a website to sell products is very different than creating a website for your personal brand. Thinking through what you’ll need to accomplish one or the other is essential to …read more      

By Paul Jarvis

There is a tendency in nature for apex species to get larger and larger. But there is a counterbalance where…

The post What Elephants, Rats, and Apex Predators Can Teach Us about Creating Durable Businesses appeared first on Copyblogger.

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By Corry Cummings

The emphasis here is on first. This guide is meant to help you get your first dirty brand identity out the door.

It’s meant to be functional and good enough for now.

There are two options I recommend for developing your first brand identity:

1. Do it yourself
2. Use 99designs

Both options will get you to the finish line. The trade off is your time vs. your money. If you are short on money, then do it yourself. If you are short on time, then use 99designs.

If you were to get a high quality, professional brand identity, it’d cost you tens of thousands …read more      

By Stefanie Flaxman

Processes are a part of any type of job — whether it involves data, gardening, or construction. Yet, the fun…

The post 3 Game-Changing Steps You Might Skip When You Publish appeared first on Copyblogger.

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By Lars Lofgren

I personally love data and analytics tools.

But here’s the straight truth: you need a lot less than the analytics industry wants you to believe.

Most experts will try to convince you that you need an analytics tool for everything. More data is always a good thing, right?

I used to believe that myself.

Over the last few years, I’ve changed my stance on the entire analytics category. These days, I prefer to keep things as simple as possible. One or two tools is about all I need. Less infrastructure to worry about, fewer complexities to manage, and an easier system for …read more