I feel like I've been talking about the 'forthcoming Nemesis website' for years. Hell, maybe I have. I forget. The delays have all been my doing, but mainly we've been waiting for the right time to launch.
With our first book (other than the Arbory School book published last year, which was a community project) due out in October, that time has now arrived. The web chaps at Isle of Man Advertising & PR have done a great job (with infinite patience...) and, all being well, we're looking to launch the website within the next week or so.
They've just completed moving the site over to a new content management system and today young Dan was putting the final touches to the design for the blog - which means that, yes, this blog will soon cease to exist, to be replaced by a new one within the website.
As with any project that you're about to inflict on the public, there's some trepidation. Is the website design as cool as we think it is? Is the text pitched at the right level? Does it contain the right information - for both readers and writers? I could go on, but you get the picture.
We've studied other publishers' websites, trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. In the end, we've just got to get it out there and wait for the feedback to come in, which will, of course, be most welcome.
So, stay tuned here for now. We're almost there...
Showing posts with label Isle of Man Advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isle of Man Advertising. Show all posts
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Copy that, Quirky
For the last week or so, we've been focusing on polishing off the copy for the Nemesis website, which we're hoping will go live in the next few weeks.
We're as good as finished, other than one or two areas that need a tweak here and there, and it's a bloody relief to finally cross it off the to-do list. It's been in stasis for a while, mainly because we didn't want to launch the site before we were ready to firm up details of our first books; it's difficult to make something sound sexy when you've got nothing concrete to back up your claims.
Writing the copy has been mighty tricky. There's an art to creating appealing website copy, hitting the right note for the type of site you're looking to develop and the kind of audience you want to attract. We are aiming for a chatty and informal approach, but one that is professional at the same time. We don't want to be a stuffy publisher, distant from readers and writers alike.
That's not what we're about, and we don't think that is what publishing is about any longer. We've looked at other indie publishers who have cool websites - Snowbooks and Salt are great examples - and, rather than just try and repeat what they've done, we've tried to use their approach to inspire ours.
When researching websites, we were horrified at some of the car crashes that are publishers' websites - and we're not just talking small indie presses here, but some of the bigger names in the industry. Online is such a huge potential market, and the use of social media so fundamental to the success of publishing, that I can't believe these businesses aren't looking at their sites, and those of their savvy rivals, and thinking, hang on, we need to pull our damn finger out and improve our online presence. Still, if they won't go down that line, it only makes it easier for us to stand out.
Have we got the look and feel of the site bang on the money? We think (hope...) we have. It's difficult to gauge, to be honest, and we'll only really know when people start firing feedback over to us. The design is pretty cool (thanks to the web guys at Isle of Man Advertising & PR), so it is all down to the copy hitting the mark. The beauty is that, if after a short while the feedback points to certain areas needing to be tightened or expanded, then it's an easy fix to amend.
The last page to be completed was, of course, the 'about us' section. Always find it difficult to write mini-bios. In fact, they are quite easy to write. It's writing one that doesn't make you sound like a pretentious arse, that's the problem.
Till next time.
We're as good as finished, other than one or two areas that need a tweak here and there, and it's a bloody relief to finally cross it off the to-do list. It's been in stasis for a while, mainly because we didn't want to launch the site before we were ready to firm up details of our first books; it's difficult to make something sound sexy when you've got nothing concrete to back up your claims.
Writing the copy has been mighty tricky. There's an art to creating appealing website copy, hitting the right note for the type of site you're looking to develop and the kind of audience you want to attract. We are aiming for a chatty and informal approach, but one that is professional at the same time. We don't want to be a stuffy publisher, distant from readers and writers alike.
That's not what we're about, and we don't think that is what publishing is about any longer. We've looked at other indie publishers who have cool websites - Snowbooks and Salt are great examples - and, rather than just try and repeat what they've done, we've tried to use their approach to inspire ours.
When researching websites, we were horrified at some of the car crashes that are publishers' websites - and we're not just talking small indie presses here, but some of the bigger names in the industry. Online is such a huge potential market, and the use of social media so fundamental to the success of publishing, that I can't believe these businesses aren't looking at their sites, and those of their savvy rivals, and thinking, hang on, we need to pull our damn finger out and improve our online presence. Still, if they won't go down that line, it only makes it easier for us to stand out.
Have we got the look and feel of the site bang on the money? We think (hope...) we have. It's difficult to gauge, to be honest, and we'll only really know when people start firing feedback over to us. The design is pretty cool (thanks to the web guys at Isle of Man Advertising & PR), so it is all down to the copy hitting the mark. The beauty is that, if after a short while the feedback points to certain areas needing to be tightened or expanded, then it's an easy fix to amend.
The last page to be completed was, of course, the 'about us' section. Always find it difficult to write mini-bios. In fact, they are quite easy to write. It's writing one that doesn't make you sound like a pretentious arse, that's the problem.
Till next time.
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