Even Before You’ve Read What He Has to Say!
Folks, run-don’t-walk to When Growth Stalls, the site by ad man and author Steve McKee. He’s doing all right, as the president and founding partner of marketing firm McKee Wallwork Cleveland, so you’ll be tempted to say “of course his site’s great,” but you can steal these ideas right now, without needing to be a Big Successful Marketing Dude.
If you’ve been reading along, these 3 ideas are straight out of the Maximum Customer Experience playbook:
1. Brilliant use of minimalist typography. (Don’t yawn. Go have a look! It’s stunning.)
2. Dead-on, “I-gotta-have-what-he’s-selling” tagline.
3. Completely clear navigation. Simplicity itself. So use it, and go read his blog.
And yes, yes, you’re going to love the When Growth Stalls blog. We all need a dose of straight-up writing like Steve’s, daily.
Then c’mon back—what did you think of When Growth Stalls, before you even read a word of his great blog? Have you got a favorite site you love to steal borrow ideas from?
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
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1 May 2009, 10:37 am
Hi Kelly,
Agree 100%, a very sharp-looking, simple website. Great blog posts that are straight to the point too.
But he lost me using Blogger… I have nothing against it per se — I think it is a great place to start for the not-so-technically inclined. But a big, professional marketing company should be able to go with a big, professional blogging platform. Otherwise, you have the impression they might not be so far along the innovation curve themselves as they pretend…
Great pull though, Kelly! I love looking at different website designs, particularly the minimalistic ones. Thanks!
~Graham
1 May 2009, 2:14 pm
Graham,
re: Blogger—I know, I know. But even though I agree about the platform (eew!) it *is* the best use of Blogger I’ve ever seen. (If you’ve ever seen Blogger behaving better than on When Growth Stalls, drop a link so I can run-don’t-walk there!)
And the nav breaks down a little once you go from the main site to the blog because of Blogger, which sullied my otherwise Wowed opinion. I didn’t have the heart to say so, because I was 90% blown away.
Regards,
Kelly
1 May 2009, 4:35 pm
I agree about the blogger platform… reeks of starter blog.. I know because that’s where my starter blog is.
At first I didn’t see the ooh ahh, factor until I read a post… then another and then another…very simple, very clear, very good. And it grew on me. In a very nice way.
He’s chosen a very fundamental touchpoint…and I like that.
Janice Cartier’s last blog post…Shades of Grey, Part 2
1 May 2009, 4:46 pm
I also agree about Blogger… it doesn’t scream professional. But otherwise the site is very simple and well done. I especially like the content of his last post (consistency). How is everyone doing?
Todd Smith’s last blog post…A Quaker wedding, and back on the road again…
1 May 2009, 4:58 pm
Janice,
It is a fine place for a starter, though. Think how many folks just aren’t sure whether they’ll stick with it. Almost better to try out the medium and one’s own stamina for free? (Except that the switch kinda bites. I know that one….)
Todd,
Quite well, thanks. Spring is in the air, everything’s blooming, messages from all corners are upbeat…
Oh, and it’s raining. Ah, well. That’s Delaware for you.
Until later,
Kelly
1 May 2009, 5:06 pm
I just went back to Steve’s site again. One thing I noticed that says MCE to me is that he has a self-diagnosis questionnaire. I didn’t go through the questions myself, but the fact that he has something interesting and free in addition to his books and paid services is a nice touch. It tells me that he wants to give. It sets the tone for what I might expect if I put some cash down. It is also consistent with his blog posts, which seem to be full of valuable content. I can see why you like him.
Glad spring is springing… rain is good, if it makes the flowers grow!
Todd Smith’s last blog post…A Quaker wedding, and back on the road again…
1 May 2009, 5:09 pm
Kelly.
Absolutely, not a bad thing. Just surprising. But I say welcome aboard.
Todd,
Well thank you. Ready to sign off for a while and kick back I think. We have clouds here too. Rain on the way, but that’s a good thing. We need it. Loved your Amish Wedding pics. So lovely.
Janice Cartier’s last blog post…Shades of Grey, Part 2
1 May 2009, 5:15 pm
Jancie – thanks you. I’ve been enjoying your drawing posts, though I haven’t had time to comment.
Todd Smith’s last blog post…A Quaker wedding, and back on the road again…
1 May 2009, 6:35 pm
Todd,
Thank you… they ( the drawing posts) sort of fit with the growth theme here. You have to have no “loss of nerve” for innovation as Steve McKee put it I believe. Stagnancy in art, photography or business..bleh…;-) not so much what we are after, huh.
Janice Cartier’s last blog post…Shades of Grey, Part 2
1 May 2009, 6:38 pm
Good point, Janice. The tree that doesn’t grow gets shaded out.
Todd Smith’s last blog post…A Quaker wedding, and back on the road again…
1 May 2009, 6:41 pm
there you go…;-) Bout time for me to make dinner and I see a nice little Pinot Grigio in the mix…later.
Janice Cartier’s last blog post…Shades of Grey, Part 2
1 May 2009, 6:42 pm
Enjoy, Janice!
Todd Smith’s last blog post…A Quaker wedding, and back on the road again…
2 May 2009, 8:40 am
My notes:
1. The banner sucks, because the grey is so pale that I can barely see the white letters. Also, it’s honking huge. Yes, my eyesight is failing with age, but not that badly. 3/4 of the height would have been fine. Even less.
1a. The site’s content is so friggin’ tiny I need a microscope. I’ve seen small fonts in my time, but seriously. Plus, it’s not at all formatted for screen reading and comes off as a big black chunk. So… yeah. I’m not going to bust myself to read.
1b. The survey is fun… but the white on yellow Next/Previous is hard to read. Had to search for it. Also, the questions were misleading. “The loyalty of our customers continues to grow.” I thought that meant customers at large or possibly his customers. There was no YOUR customers, as in ME. So I made it through three questions and answered them all wrong before I realized the questions were poorly asked and had to go back.
1c. Good results on the survey made me think, “Okay, cool. Don’t need the book. What’s the book about anyways? Is there an excerpt or something? Where’s the TOC? What does the book cover?” Lack of information.
2. The blog is on Blogger. Well, if you want me to take a site seriously, then show that you can afford the $7 a month for hosting. Come on.
3. The black sidebars on the blog are hugely overpowering. I’d prefer them in a clean white so I can focus on the content instead of feeling squeezed between two buildings. (They going to squash me?)
4. Posts are short – too short. I prefer blogs I read to entertain or inform or teach. Unfortunately, these are too short to do any of that for me, and none of them compel me to feel like participating or reading more. Don’t give me one-liners. Give me something more.
5. There’s no archives. I see about seven posts… is that it? Are there more? If there are more, why can’t I access them? Ah. If I click to read a post, then the sidebar changes. Thank goodness.
6. He needs to read Copyblogger’s Headline Clinic series. Big time. I clicked because you’d requested I read. (You’ve got good friends!)
Based on all that (*puts away smoking gun…), I wouldn’t buy the book.
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post…Selling Through Scarcity: Screwing It Up
2 May 2009, 9:01 am
James,
(It’s probably not good if this rant made me LOL, right?)
Ahem! Well, it appears he can’t please ‘em all. My big WOW (design and messaging-wise) was for his homepage, before you click through to the blog. It’s got powerful, creative, actionable lessons all on that one page.
Once I got to the blog, I really loved his content, but I didn’t have a critique-cap on. So thanks for bringing yours, and I’m glad I have my orange hunting vest on ‘cuz I think I almost got in the way of your bullets!
Yes, the nav gets funky there (mentioned above). And without getting silly about it, yes to some of your other points. BTW I wasn’t asking folks to buy the book, I think the blog stands quite well on its own. Evidently we disagree on that!
I’m sorry his content didn’t grab you, but after I’ve finished my copy of the book maybe I’ll send it on up to QC and he can change your mind.
Until later,
Kelly
P.S. I could not do without my friends. Thank goodness for every one of them!
3 May 2009, 8:29 pm
Hi Kelly, wow, I think I was grazed by a bullet.
I actually liked the home page. After far too many hours of staring at sites (including my own, arrggh) with just stuff it was refreshing to see a a very clearly articulated message without anything else. No opt-in box, no twitter feeds, just to the point.
Yes, seeing Blogger surprised me as I am a self-hosted snob BUT I also thought it was a great use of Blogger. I actually follow a few blogger blogs recently and have concluded good content exists outside of WP.
I would not have found this site without you so thank you for leading the way.
Karen Swim’s last blog post…Top 10 Reasons to Avoid Post Procrastination
4 May 2009, 1:29 am
I’ll offer an opposite point of view to James and say that I really like the short points. They give me something to think about but quick.
However, I won’t follow the blog because it’s not aimed at solopreneurs and while interesting, it’s not sufficiently enough so for me to add it to my huge list.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome’s last blog post…4 Ways to Stay Positive When Things Go Bad