On Coaching

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On Coaching. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Until a few weeks ago, I had never personally experienced one-on-one lessons or coaching. As a kid, I played a lot of sports and suffered through a brief stint with the clarinet, but these were all group learning scenarios. Even when I struggled to pass my math tests in high school, I never saw a tutor; I created my own quizzes based on the textbooks, then took these quizzes over and over until I started getting the answers right.

As a self-motivated learner, I have never needed the individualized attention of a tutor or coach in order to improve myself, or so I thought. Then I bought a banjo.

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Why This Author Website Works: ChristineSchwab.com

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Once in a while, I like to share well-designed websites when I come across them. Usually, the sites and blogs I’ll share here will be author/expert or book launch sites that act as effective hubs for their owners’ author platforms and promotional efforts. I also give kudos to sites that create clear calls to action and that are structured to convert casual visitors to subscribers or buyers.

Here’s the latest well-designed author website I’ve discovered: ChristineSchwab.com (a former consulting client). What’s good about this site:

  1. Everything’s easy to find.  All the information a publicist, agent, or radio/TV booker needs is clear, easy to locate on the margins of the site, and requires no clicks. The author’s bio, publicist and agent contact information, present and former books, book reviews, buy buttons, social media, and media room are all right there on the home page. If I were in a position to hire her as a guest on a show or as a keynote speaker, almost everything I need to pitch her to my colleagues or contact her for an inquiry is there for me to grab in under 30 seconds. This site is perfect because it’s accomplishing the client’s clear objectives: selling books and getting herself booked.
  2. The call to action is visible. Christine is asking you to do two things: Follow her on Twitter and Like her on Facebook.
  3. She’s blogging actively. Because she’s blogging, I immediately understand her current platform (rheumatoid arthritis) and know that she’s actively talking about the issue. She’s also boosting her search engine optimization for that topic by writing regularly about it.

Takeaways

If you’re inclined to blog, I recommend a design format like this. Your wisdom and experience is front and center (literally) and all your major credentials are easy to see. Blogs are also unparalleled for SEO and give you a hub from which you can network with other bloggers and create relationships that can pay off for you over the long term. (Tactics for which I discuss in my eBook, A Brief Introduction to Internet Publicity.)

If you’re interested in viewing more well-designed book, author, and expert/speaker sites, follow me on Google+ or follow me on Pinterest, where I maintain a board of sites I find that set a good example. If you need to build a new blog or website or give yours a facelift, get in touch–I work with talented designers who can help you.

Interview: 563 Media’s Tech Writer, Keisuke Hoashi

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Note: This post was originally featured on 563media.com in 2012.

We have a new feature here on our website–we’ll be running interviews with creative professionals and colleagues, starting with our own staff. This is the first in a series.

Five Questions with Our Technical Writer, Keisuke Hoashi

Keisuke Hoashi

1. What exactly is technical writing? 

Tech writing is translating highly technical jargon into words a “normal” person can understand. The most common examples are user manuals, such as those you get with software or a kitchen appliance. Ideally, tech writers also have graphic design skills, since a well-designed diagram is often the most effective way to explain a complex device.

2. What are the three most common communications mistakes you’ve seen companies make? 

1 – Too many words.

Most users will only look at a manual to find the answer to one specific question (“Where is the ON switch?”). There’s no need to include a treatise on the evolution of the research done on how the location of the switch was decided by the design committee.

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