Weekly Web Tools show

Weekly Web Tools

Summary: The Weekly Web Tools podcast features tips and insights, reviews of products, and advice from our global audience

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Podcasts:

 Easy, Fast, Copywriting Tool – Script Doll | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 12:09

Today we have a tool to help create copy for your website. It's Call Script Doll, and its pretty cool. You put in the demographics of your audience, you put in your product, and from there you can have it spit out sales letters, email blasts, video sales letters and more. It's impressive. It's not perfect, and like everything I had to go back and teak some stuff as it is taking your input and putting it into what amounts to be a template. The templates are created by copywriting gurus, and I must say that after ready the first thing it spit out at me, I was thinking, "Man when I write copy it just sucks". I was getting sucked into my own product. As there is no "one size fits all" there will be some tweaking. Script doll gets you most of the way and you tweak the rest. The price is $61 a month. I can see some folks purchasihng this for one month, getting all the copy they need, and cancelling their subscription (which is why its probably $61 a month). Now let's think about this. One of my favorite books on copywriting is by Ray Edwards. You can learn alot about copywriting from this book It will alos take you more than 20 minutes to read it. So if you want good copy, that you can edit (the program gives you your copy in a word document or pdf), and use on your site in a matter of minutes (not days) this is an impressive tool. Here is a video For more information go to weeklywebtools.com/scriptdoll

 Amazing membership Sites in Minutes – Speed Test And Webgrader | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 14:30

Pingdom Speed Test with Website Grader I found tools.pingdom.com to be very cool as it shows you how long it took your site to load, what slowed things down, and gives you a grade. The best part is its free. Vallue Add On Membership Site Tool I was using Digital Access Pass (protection and processing), Wistia (videos), and Optimizepress (theme) to create a membership site. Using those three tools I put out $624 a year or $52 a month. The tool I found is $197 for the first year and $37 a month after your first year. There are no bandwidth limits (like Wistia), and I can create a website in minutes. Who Needs That Many Details Using Optimizepress the good news is you can control everything. The bad news is you can control everything. In many cases there are features that I'm just not using. When I watched the video for this tool I was amazed and they have great features I will be using such as:   * Progress bars as people go through your content (looks alot like Udemy) * Integrates with Facebook groups * Super easy merchant account through Stripe and JVZoo * No limits on videos and bandwidth. The videos are converted for multiple formats and html5 complaint so people can consume content on their iPads/iPhones, etc. * Great looking user interface with the ability for students to take notes in each lesson that are saved on the site. * I love that I don't have to worry about plugins, and my site's speed. It's all handled by ValueAddon * Valueaddon is co-owned by JVZoo which is a HUGE Affiliate network (so I know its not going anywhere) * So far the support has been quick and helpful. * You can allow downloads or not of videos and other materials Here is a video of me showing the before and after.   Check out more from Value Addon

 Easy Video Sales Letter – Content Gems | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 11:15

Easy Video Sales Letter If you've seen those cool videos where the words and the audio are in sync, then you will love Video Sales Letter. You simply type in your script record your voice and the software does the rest. you can add transitions and more. It's only $47 for a single user license. You can find out more at easyvsl.com You can check out a video on their website www.easyvsl.com Content Gems This tools goes out and find great articles on subjects you specify. This is great for people doing content marketing to bring traffic. The good news is its free (for your first two topics). You can have ten topics for $10 a month. I tried their free version and I was impressed with the content that it brought in my direction that I can then have emailed to me. If I want to subscribe to that information via RSS I need to have at least the $10/month plan. Find out more at www.contentgems.com

 SumoMe Website Analytics and List Building For Free | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 8:23

I had a client that told me about this plugin (but it also works without Wordpress). It's called Sumome (www.sumome.com) This tool allows you to have the following: Heat Maps Analytics that show how far people are scrolling down Multiple tools to provide ways to sign up for your e-mail list A tool that shows link to share your information. here is a demo of the share feature

 Wista Video Hosting – Super Fun – Super Easy – Super Powerful | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 19:34

Today I started playing with Wista Video Hosting. This company understands their audience, what they need, and they make it easy to use and the have a GREAT job of holing your hand virtually the process. Here is a video I made showing the back end of wista. Realize I just stared using the service, and this is my first impression Their interface is awesome. Their support seems to read your mind and answer your question before you ask it. They aren't trying to help you make better videos (that's your job). They are helping you make your videos be shared (or lock them down tight) with a simple point and click interface. The one thing I really like is you can see not only how many times the video was played, but how far people watched. That is crucial. You can see if it was replayed. This can point out two things. 1. The video is great - and people watch again and again 2. The video is missing the point, and people need to watch it again because they are confused. I am really impressed. Wisita Vs Vimeo Let me say I am a happy Vimeo user. Comparing the two, it seems like Vimeo is has a split personality. One one hand they want you to watch videos on Vimeo, and on the other hand they are a Video hosting company (with tools to help you share, brand, and protect). Their interface is just not as good. Yes, the have help. It's not as intuitive. One scenario that might be happening here is I've been a Vimeo user for about a year (so I forget their first impression). It just seems like there are features I'm not using (royalty free music for my video) that kind of clutter up the place. Where is my call to action? Where is my email integration? These are  features I will use (and may exist, but I'm unaware - but I don't think so). Wistia has a great tool, and as a trainer, are doing a great job of making me understand how to get the most out of their product. After playing with Wistia for 10 minutes this morning, I'm going to be checking to see when my Vimeo account renews. That is another issue, Vimeo only allows you to order their Pro service in yearly intervals ($200). Wisita is $25 a month for the features I need (Small Business Account). This means that Wistia is $8 more a month (but I pay in smaller amounts over time), but if I'm getting more subscribers, I'm getting more sales, then Wisita could easily pay for itself. For more information go to weeklywebtools.com/wistia

 eCover Authority – Great Covers with No Monthly Fees | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 7:36

Over the past month I went to fiverr.com to get a kindle book cover created. It was fine. It took a couple of days. It cost me $15 since I wanted the photoshop files. Then later last week I needed an ebook cover. Thats when I discovered ecover authority. Its a web based solution that I've seen other places (so they must have a reseller account). This one is different as its $37 ONCE. There is no monthly fee. If you are a person who makes guides, ebooks, software, or needs to show your product on a tablet or phone, you can make some pretty cool graphics with this tool. Check out the video http://youtu.be/Zr6UqpOdF3s For more information go to ecoverauthority.com Did you find this episode of value? please consider a donation.

 Backup Creator – Plugin Rankings – Divi Theme – Canva School – Zoom.us | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 15:47

Backup Creator I purchased Backup Creator and I love it and it costs half the price of Backup Buddy and I can put it on any number of sites I own. I mentioned htis plugin a while back, and when I went to update backup buddy I thought I would check it out, and I'm glad I did. Canva Design School is a free list of tutorials to help you make better graphics. Elegant Themes Divi Theme Forever? Elegant Themes Divi Theme is super powerful, but it uses a TON of short codes. It appears that if you use this to create your website and later decide to switch themes, you may end up with a page of just short code (I need to contact their support to see if this is true). On the other side of the fence, the theme is so powerful, why would you leave? Check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaeWagDRhvE Cool Plugin Directory that Uses Rankings Managewp.org has a cool tool that allows you to see Wordpress Plugins are popular. It does this by downloads, rankings, etc. It's pretty cool and you can look at different categories. Check it out at https://managewp.org/plugins/best Zoom.us Goto Webinar replacement If you have small meetings, and don't need people to register this is a great service for $9.99 a month. It allows people to join on PC, Mac, or tablet. it even lets tablet/phone user share their screen. It's pretty cool. Check it out at zoom.us Send in your tools using the information on our contact page. Happy New Year.

 Explaindio and Landing Page Monkey Use Video Backgrounds | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 17:48

Update from last week. We got a notice that wplistbooster is offering no support and apparently has conflicts with lots of plugins. Thanks to Orlando from www.hablandodetecnologia.com (a podcast about tech done in spanish). Explaindo Has Video, Cartoons, and Sketching All in One program. I've purchased numerous programs that produce videos. One was a white board, the other had cool buttons and characters. Explaindio has all of these plus you can use video as a background and then draw over it, or use animations. Check out this video. Explaindio is $47 as of this writing.  Landing Page Monkey Landing Page Monkey is another tool that allows you to create cool looking landing pages with video in the background. This seems to be the latest trend and you can get it through the end of the year for $32. This video shows you how versatile it is to use (almost too many options). They do have a beginner and advanced options so those who don't need all these options don't have to step over them. Check out landingpagemonkey.com

 Create Cool YouTube Graphics – WordPress Protection – Podcasting Themes | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 8:57

YouTube Channel Graphics CREATOR Last we talk about some premade graphics, this week we have a tool that makes it super easy to create your own graphics. Its from the people who make the logo creator software (which is pretty cool). They've just expaneded it to be YouTube and yet you can even unshackle it and it becomes a non-specific graphic creator (pretty cool). It's $37. Here is a video: For more information go to logocreator.com (aff link). Brute Protect Free Wordpress Theme This is a great tool that will reduce the amount of brute force attacks on your website. It was recently acquired by Automatic the people who make Wordpress. Its creating a database of people who are attacking other sites (and blocking). For more information go to www.bruteprotect.com New Theme at Weekly Web Tools I switched from Thesis to Podcast Pro Frrom Appendipity themes. Its a cool theme with lots of flexibility without having too many options. It's $59 and it requires the Genesis Framework.

 Cool Graphics For YouTube | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 6:16

Today I look at a package that is filled with great looking graphics for those of you on YouTube. Many times these packages are for the graphics in your videos, this one caught my eye as is also about the graphics for your channel as well. It's call the utube graphics Toolkit and the idea is there are over 900 graphics for you to use. It's not software. If you don't have any software there are tutorials that show you how to use these graphics with free software ware like Gimp (or if you have titles like PowerPoint, Camtasia and others).   The price is $27.00 and like most products, they say that price won't last long (shocking). Check it out at www.utubegraphicstoolkit.com

 Swayy.co Shows You What Your Audience is Talking About | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 11:37

Swayy helps you discover the most engaging content to share with your audience on social media based on their interests and engagement. We give you relevant #hashtags and @handles so you can share better. Analytics show you what content is the most effective for growing your community.  - per their website. Today I share my initial 5 minutes and come up with a "Meh.' It did turn me on to some new blogs, and I found some interesting articles. For me it would be great if it integrated with bufferapp.com You can tie it into your twitter, facebook, and linked in profiles. If you're stuggling to find content, this might be a decent tool (bufferapp.com also provides suggestions which I find good). The pricing starts at free and then goes to $9, $9 and up. If I were sway I would have a 15 day trial using all the features that goes back to free if I don't subscribe. Check it out at www.swayy.co

 Nimble Part 2 – Saving on WordPress Themes | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 8:00

Today I talk about why I'm staying with nimble.com (a great tool for keeping up on all things social media). I also found out that the Total Wordpress theme is kind of a consolidated package of a number of plugins packaged as a theme. Yes, alone it is a good value of $58, but you can get some of these items such as the Visual Composer for Wordpress for $28. The other thing that I find annoying is everyone is offering multiple sliders. How about picking the best one and providing it for us instead of us having to dig through three different sliders to figure out which one is the best. Check out the Total Wordpress Theme

 Nimble Organizes Your Social Media – PandaDoc Sign Docs from Your iPad | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 15:21

Nimble Organizes Your Social Stream and Allows You To Make Better Connections I've heard about Nimble from a few folks and its pretty cool. For it to get really powerful you need to give it permission to access things like twitter, facebook, Gmail, and Google+, and your calendar (and others if you want). Then it imports all of your contact. You can then go into your contacts and have it remind you and setup tasks to stay in touch with these folks. You can go into their profiles and easily see their social media stream. You can turn an email, tweet, post, etc into a task. This will all be tied into that profile of that person. You can also send out message and delay them as well. Nimble comes with a 14 day trial and its worth signing up just to see the view. It's hard to describe. Its like no view you've ever seen, and its uber convenient to have everything in one space. Their mobile apps is limited compared to the web version of their program (basically an advanced contact manager). If you are a small business person, its only $15 per user. Check it out at Nimble.com http://youtu.be/n04Qvs0OVZg Panda Doc and Easy Way to Sign Things Digitally Panda Doc allows you to upload your document, choose what fields need signed, and then send it to your contact. You get insights into when they open it, how long they look at each section and more. The best part is you ca try it free (you get three documents). If you refer someone, you get more free documents. If you want to pay for them, they start at free. The one thing that makes this different is it appears to tie into every imaginable system on the planet. I don't have a use for this tool (I found out about it from Nimble) but I can see where this could useful - especially the paralytics. Check it out at pandadoc.com http://youtu.be/2C-YEXFwT4I

 Mobile Tools To Increase Conversions and Grow Your List | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 8:42

We've heard it over and over that the money is in the list. Today we have a tool that enables people to get on your list by texting a word to a number. Another tool allows you to do full on SMS marketing. Got a tool? Call it in 888-563-3228 (be sure to mention your website)   Join By Text - Well Named This product does one thing, and it does it well. You can provide a keyword and a number and when people text to it, they are instantly sent a message asking for their email address. When they send it, they are subscribed to your email list. It works with all the typical players (Aweber, Mail Chimp). the cost is $19 a month. For more information go to joinbytext.com Call Loop Call Loop is more of a marketing tool that uses SMS. You can have auto responders when people text your keyword to a number . The packages start at free with each text cost .05. The keyword is $10 a month. I've used it for two days and have already had someone sign up and use a coupon that I had automatically delivered. If you wanted to you could also do a voicemail blast where you record a message and everyone gets a call (I hate these myself, we all get a ton of these around election time). You can also integrate this tool into your current email sign up form. By adding a phone field, when someone signs up for your email list they are on both your email and SMS list. Plans go from free all the way up to 99 a month with three keywords. For more information go to callloop.com  

 Optin Monster Review | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 8:59

It seems everywhere I go see an optin monster box popping up at me. I really wanted to review it. I wanted to get a good look. I was amazed at all the options that are available. you have an INSANE amount of control on how your optin forms appear. You can customize it down to the category, post, category and more. You can even set it to only show up on the SECOND time a person visits your site (As well as the expected configuration options as to how many times it shows up and how frequnetly it shows up). The feature that everyone seems to be raving about is the Exit Intent feature. This means that when you go to click on the X to close a tab, the option box appears. This is really cool. There are even cool effects you can use to have the optin come flying in with all sorts of eye catching flare. The one thing I liked about this plugin is there is a large amount of customization that you can put together, but I never had to reach for documentation (not for the record I'm familiar with wordpress plugin installations). The only thing that threw me for a loop was I had to allow aweber and optin monster talk to each other. So when I was told that (it mentions it in the configuration area) they had a direct link to explain how. This was an aweber thing, and not an optin monster thing. The cool thing was it took me next to know time to install, and create my first optin. You then get stats on how many times it was viewed, and how many signs up you get. You can have an unlimited number of forms, and the with canvas option, you have some very powerful tools to create some stunning looking optin forms. We all know what the optin forms look like, but what does the back end look like? Here is a quick video to help you. If your interested in optin skin, check out optinmonster.com (affiliate link)

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