Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I have two related websites

http://www.learningmeasure.com

and

http://www.learningmeasure.tv

The first is an attempt to build a technical training site, and the second is the associated video podcast.

I guess I am looking for all types of critiques. I built everything myself, I did all my own coding, video editing, I run everything out of servers that are in my home, and since I have a day job, I do all this in my "spare time". 

I so far have made $100 in adsense revenue, and about $20 from the ads on my podcast to date. Not a stellar start. I get about 200 unique visitors a day, but no subscriptions as yet.

I am continuously developing new content, but I can only go so fast as a one-man band. I am also creating spiral bound compilations of the course material that I will try to sell, and am compiling DVD`s of the podcast.

Any suggestions on how to make the  websites work better,  I would appreciate it.

thanks

Here`s the live link:
http://www.learningmeasure.com/

http://www.learningmeasure.tv doesn`t work....(Firefox, Win98)
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First impression is that you`re selling yourself---what with the picture on the front page. :-) You don`t look very friendly, by the way, so you may want to try a different portrait... LOL!! (Just a thought).

The site looks like a multi-level-marketing (MLM) site, with a lot of text, big bold headlines that talk about deals and things, but don`t much say what`s going on.

Instead of "Welcome to Learningmeasures.com," which we already know since we clicked on the site URL, why not have the next section more bold?

Your course catalog page was brutal on the eyes, and I wasn`t at all thrilled to waste my time reading in a course catalog, how to use my email, sign up for the board, or otherwise post a resume. This should be moved away to a page that talks about these subjects. They`re not "courses," and shouldn`t be represented that way.

On the other hand, I figured there was some sort of training, but had no clue from the home page. That just has too much stuff (TMS, to use a technical term). :-) Y`know?

There`s been a lot of excellent discussion and resource references here on Startup Nation (SuN) about how people read material on the web. There are eye-scan studies, time studies, and other ideas related to how to quickly capture the attention. And that doesn`t even get into the actual interest level of the content itself.

I`d have a discussion with a copywriter, and see what they have to say. You could have more "space" on the home page, better isolation of your main point(s), and a sort of Executive Summary of what it is you`re offering. Then, use the side-menu to better advantage to direct people to their area of interest.

Think of it as walking into a huge department store with an enclosed lobby. That`s the home page. In this lobby you can have a receptionist, or you can have a large map or directory. There are a number of doors, all of which look pretty much the same. There aren`t any windows, but the room looks nice.

The immediate task is to quickly explain to whomever walks in off the street:

• Who are we
• What do we do
• What can we help you with
• What areas are behind these doors
• What would you like to do next?

How often do you actually read the Preface, Introduction, or Acknowledgement page of a book? Don`t you rather, most often read the back cover---the flyleaf? That`s how a good Web home page should be---a flyleaf, with hyperlinks to the main conceptual areas of interest.