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10:27 pm
June 15, 2011
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QuoteHi folks. I'm returning to this with my solo music after a year or so's hiatus during which I got into a couple of other projects. So, it's a bit of a relaunch and an opportunity to refresh things. First off, I'm considering a new domain for my main website. The reason being that I originally went with paul-curtis.com as paulcurtis.com was unavailable. That hyphen has caused some problems though in so far as I can't replicate it on the facebook & Twitter URL extensions, so I've ended up with all different URLs which I don't like. paulcurtismusic.com is currently available, so that's what I'm thinking of. My squeeze page has the even more complicated paulcurtis-online.com which I may look at changing in the future, but I want to get my main site sorted first. I never got too much into the SEO side of things, so I don't think I'm going to lose much in terms of rankings. My main site is a WordPress theme and I'm wondering whether there is a way to transfer my content to a new domain and retain all the comments etc?
Another thing I'd appreciate some thoughts on is my tagline. Up to now I've used the same line for donkey's years. Inspired by The Who - Maximum R&B, I came up with Paul Curtis - Mercurial Acoustic Performer, and that's what I've always billed myself as since long before I had an online presence. I think it might have outlived its usefulness now and probably doesn't give anything in terms of searchability / keywords. Broad though the term is, the only way that I think describes what I do is acoustic rock, although I am technically also a singer-songwriter. So, is a tagline the way to go and if so any ideas? My wife has just shook her head at everything I've come up with so far!
Regards,
Paul
10:32 pm
June 7, 2011
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Hey Paul,
I think PaulCurtisMusic.com is a good choice. I never liked hyphens either.
You can absolutely transfer your entire site and it's content to a new domain, but I would hire someone to do it for you. I'd contact Scott from ihelpmusicians.com. Tell him I sent you. He is a fellow IC member and a cool dude.
As for the tagline, do you mean a tagline just for your WordPress settings, or as part of your bigger brand?
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
11:08 pm
June 15, 2011
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Hi John,
Yeah, I mean as part of the brand. A line to sit beneath the logo intended to be descriptive & enticing!
Paul
9:00 pm
June 7, 2011
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Hey Paul, sorry for the slow response. I fell behind by a couple of days. That's a tough one. I don't personally use a tag line in my public branding, but I can see how using one could help sell you to people who only have a 3 second attention span. And I think honing in on that hook (ultimate selling proposition) is really important, at least for your own sake, so that it becomes easier to market yourself and keep everything congruent.
I don't hate Mercurial Acoustic Performer, but it also doesn't really mean much to me when I hear it. It's a bit difficult for me to take a stab at this without being overly familiar with your stuff. But what I usually do is try to imagine myself talking to someone that I just met, who asks me, "what ind of music do you make and what sets you a part from other musicians. Take that instinctive response and then just polish it up a bit. Happy to be your sounding board if you come up with any new ideas.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
9:52 pm
June 15, 2011
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Thanks, John. I'll have a think. By the way, thanks for directing me to Scott for the domain swap - he's done a great job for me.
Cheers,
Paul
11:19 pm
June 7, 2011
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Sounds good. Glad to hear things are going well with Scott. He's the best.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
7:18 pm
June 15, 2011
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I'm back! The tagline has gone into the "too difficult box" for now! In the meantime I've finished the redesign of my website and would be glad of any feedback. http://paulcurtismusic.com
4:12 am
October 27, 2011
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I'd second Scott James as a great web developer, he helped us redesign our site, http://www.sunspotmusic.com and did an excellent job!
7:08 am
June 7, 2011
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Yeah, Scott has bee a life saver for me, many times over.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
8:27 am
June 15, 2011
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Yeah, Scott's great..... but what about my website feedback?? 
11:52 pm
June 7, 2011
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Sorry Paul, I missed that part of your post. I think the site looks good, but it's not something I would want to send cold traffic to. Instead I would use a squeeze page. But the site you shared is a great place to send subscribers AFTER they subscribe, whenever you want to share blog posts, etc. Is that what you had in mind?
The only thing I don't see is a blog feed. I may just be missing it, but i think that is the most important part of a site. It really needs to be about fan engagement. And comments and RSS feeds make blogs a great platform for that. I also didn't think the free track offer was as prominent as it could be. I saw it, but I personally am a fan of the side bar offer on every page of the site, especially blog posts.
That said, the look of the site is totally solid and does the job of presenting a professional looking hub.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
5:23 am
June 15, 2011
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Thanks John. Yeah, I have a seperate squeeze page at another domain. This is the content site. It does have the blog feed under the "News" menu option. There is also the sidebar free tracks offer, but that's on every page other than the home page, where it features on one of the big alternating ribbon things. Am I better off getting the blogfeed and sidebar on the home page too somehow?
10:56 pm
June 7, 2011
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I see. Well, I personally like having that opt in offer and blog feed on the home page, as I think those are the two most "sticky" things about a site, but it looks like you have put in a lot of work on what you have and I don't know if the effects will be that dramatic seeing as you will be driving people to a squeeze page. It's really your call, but that would be my preference. I spent a little time there and didn't find everything. It's likely others will have that experience.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
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