Critique My Marketing Blog

Blog is nice, but is cluttered and seems to have no purpose except to look fancy. Here are the most important things to do:

1) Add a hover ad to the homepage of your blog to capture subscribers

2) Move the "subscribe to newsletter" sign up form from the bottom of the page to the TOP right of your page

3) You need a much better headline

4) Consider using a different layout/area for the social marketing tabs on the left of your blog. It's distracting when reading

i totally agree with everything randall says

also

the blue "free consultancy" top right is hard to read

i hate the red page that pops up between page clicks

i think you should add more articles first so it looks more fully developed

i think you can find better images that act like titles and are more suited to the articles.
for instance, create an image that says 6 essential wordpress plugins

your pic for "what mass media shold you choose" looks (to me) more like an
article taht will be about cell phones and nothing at all about mass media

for your google seo pic, i'd make an image that shouts out seo, and not a google
search page

for twitter followers, i'd make an image that says "increase your twitter followers"
instad of a pic, that, to me, looks like an out-of-focus of people crossing the street
both ways, and not following anybody

it has good articles, and you starting out great

i hope you'll have many many years of success with internet marketing

It's ugly. Especially that black header.

You give no indication of what the site is about.

Very poor use of space. The "latest post" block is unnecessary and just takes up space.

The red text on blue "consultancy" tab looks horrible.

Brent

Thanks everyone, I will carefully read through your opinions and apply what is necessary !

Done some updates but many more to go. Unsure what to do with the black header - Brent, do you have any suggestions? Did you mean the color was bad and I should use a different color?

As for the white background, what color would you use instead that might be lighter for the eyes? A grey one? If you check the site on Phone however since it's AMP it uses a different interface .

https://avoncy.com/

Thanks!

Good move on having your opt in form on the front page. I like that.

Thanks for asking us, BTW, and for being open to feedback.

A few ideas:

- the theme looks rough. Like the formatting is a bit off. I would read a few top blogging tips blogs - Pro Blogger, Blogging Tips, Build Your Own Blog, etc - and see how these top bloggers use clean, clear, crisp designs. Clean and clear and simple works

- As for your opt in form, consider moving it to the sidebar to clean things up some

- Consider having a brand logo designed and positioned near the top of your home page; leaves a solid impression and smart branding too

- Create an in-depth about me page; I need to know who you are and how you can benefit me so I can connect with you and trust your advice....before I trust the advice, I gotta check the source

- As you get clearer on your blog, begin blog commenting and guest posting on digital marketing blogs; avoid the all too common mistake of spending all your time onsite when most of your time should be spent offsite, leveraging your presence

Thank you very much for your input Ryan.

- I am contemplating whether to change the theme/design completely, as I'm not 100% satisfied either (I want it cleaner) although having done a few more changes now.

- Opt in form moved to sidebar (Going to get pop ups soon, probably ThriveLeads)
- Brand logo added
- Working on an about me page
- Also looking to make a strategy for commenting and joining other blogs etc.

Solid advice from you so thanks again!

You are right, I will consider changing some current headings and opting for this for future ones. Thanks!

What is the desired effect of the website.. I am assuming new clients? right now.. its just a blog. you need to identify what it is you want the site to do for you, and then implement those processes.

I will say that in terms of a home page for an "Agency"? you may as well take the thing down because it will do nothing for you.

Think business first.. and the blog is contnent in the background that draw people to your services.

That is not the desired effect however. It is only a blog right now

Good points:

1. It LOOKS like an article resource.

2. Design is pretty clean.


Things to improve:

1. I have no idea "Who this is for" or "Why I should be here." (Hint: you have all that free space in the header to the right of the logo. Use it.)

2. "Free Consultancy" did catch my eye...but again I'm not sure who that offer is right for, and why I should click. In fact, the word "consultancy" is not used in my part of the world quite the way you are using it. The word may not be wrong, but it's "off" by my perception meaning I think "Not A Fit For Me." So who is your ideal customer?

Thank you Jason.

I have made some minor clarifications to the free consultancy button and contents. I plan to make this a lot better and clearer soon however, thanks for pointing out.

That will also cover point 1!

I don't want to sound harsh but your blog looks just like every other marketing blog on the internet

As you probably already know if you want to make money in this game you have to stand out from the crowd

Sadly i don't see that happening with your blog as it currently stands

For example, your post on getting more Twitter followers only has one screen shot and it really doesn't add all that much value to the post

If i were to write that blog post i would focus on case studies.

I would walk the reader through the process of getting new followers i would also get the reader excited about the next steps.

Conversion is the name of the game

You know that

Regardless of how many how much traffic you get, none of that traffic will really help you if you if you can't turn those visitors into cold hard cash

In terms of content volume, your blog is definitely on the right path

But don't be surprised if you don't get much traction from your blog as far as clients are concerned maybe you're just using the content to draw traffic from search engines.

That game is also tough because of the heavy search visibility of traffic gurus like Neil Patel and others.

I suggest posting less content but drilling down more kind of like Brian Dean

Your theme is very boring. You have to beat your competition and get the interest of your readers. Isn't that what marketing is all about? An eye-catching theme is the first step. Your blog's esthetics put me to sleep. I wasn't interested in reading any articles because I guessed your ideas are going to be just as boring as your design. If you can't market me with esthetics, then why should I read your articles?

Look at these top marketing blogs:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/

https://marketingland.com/

CMI: Content Marketing Strategy, Research, "How-To" Advice

https://moz.com/blog

https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/

I agree the design is a bit dull and needs a refreshment. I'll check the ones you have linked and hopefully get some inspiration there. Going to see what themes there are that could potentially fill all needs, or if not, work on a customized design.

Working to create more content that is richer on visuals. Thanks for the feedback. I'm confident I will be able to put out much more intriguing articles in the near future!

It looks like a nice blog to me.

Not too many ads. That's good for the reader.

Pics are good.

BTW - I left a comment on your latest post.
Thanks

I didn't see the original versions, but from the comments, I don't think I missed much.

If you're trying to draw clients for a consulting gig, a blog with random marketing articles spattered with ads probably won't get you there. As it stands, it looks like every other blog out there trying to make ad cents, not a site looking for serious clients.

Your about page says you're a "Google Adwords certified marketer", but certified by whom? Not being facetious here, as there are many sites that will "certify" you once your credit card clears.

If you are certified by Google, say so.

If you want to consult on, set up and manage Adwords for other companies, say so. Right now, there is only one article on your home page about Adwords. There's also a semi-related article about SEO. The rest are all over the place.

You have a decision to make.

Is this blog a tool for attracting potential clients?

Or is it just another marketing blog you can hang ads on?

Where to go from here depends on the answers...

I have yet to make several clarifications on my site indeed. I am certified by Google so, I will make sure to include that. Thank you for the truthful criticism. The idea however is not to get new clients, I mean I would not resist them, but right now at this stage all I am doing is running a blog In time, I will turn it more into a consulting service.

Monetizing with ads is my primary goal, but also building an audience that would engage/comment on the blog - although the latter is probably much more difficult when just like you said, there is a lot of random topics/matters that I bring up. There is no niche, perhaps I could get into one / find one that suits me one day, but not something I am actively searching for.

Thanks John!