DMC — Mon, 28 Jun 2004 17:09:35 +0000

OtterBob wrote: What you need to do is tell me why these are the CDs I want to buy ahead of the 12,000 others I can get.

I think you've hit the nail on the head Otter. This is a terrible business right now and the problem is that they don't even buy the 12,000 others, they copy them. That's why the music industry is in crisis. I was hoping to get people to listen and let that talk. I'm also trying to figure out a marketing concept that takes into consideration the 'fact' that people won't pay for music (and software for that matter) anymore. The Web has changed the world of music.

Thanks for the comments. I'm scrapping things and starting over with the comments I've recieved. It's pretty strange that I've sold a couple of hundred CD's by word of mouth and distributed well over 500, but on the web site people have yet to even recieve the free CD I offer and I've had a lot of hits. Again, I'm going to back up and look at what I've been doing wrong.

Dave

gazal — Sat, 26 Jun 2004 03:19:23 +0000

Here's some css tutorials that might be useful to u

http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_examples.asp
http://www.csszengarden.com/?cssfile=/068/068.css&page=1

OtterBob — Fri, 25 Jun 2004 20:04:16 +0000

There's not much more that I can add. I'd rewrite the CD comments though. What you need to do is tell me why these are the CDs I want to buy ahead of the 12,000 others I can get.

For example, on the one-page site I'd write something like this for "Jesus Rules" (note that I'm using a lot of your words here): "Looking for something that has an edge to it, something that shouts out the fact that Jesus is Lord? The title tune 'Jesus Rules' does just that. This CD has a pretty wild swing in terms of styles from almost hymn-like to retro rock."

You might want to add some more text in the same vein. One other thing I'd do, especially since you're "the guy", would be to have some additional personal text for each CD. Again using "Jesus Rules" as an example, under the main "sales pitch" text I'd put something like: "I really enjoyed doing this CD and it has sold very well so far by word of mouth only. The song 'Jesus Rules' has a message that I really felt needed to be sent. It took a lot of 'takes' to get a feel that was right but I feel very good about this CD."

DMC — Fri, 25 Jun 2004 15:51:54 +0000

Excellent Megan! I see exactly what you're saying. The grey/mauve stuff is a little cold even though, personally I like the colours, when you mention the connection it turned on the light bulb. Thanks much. I'm going to start working on that and I'm looking at a different logo also. I'm investigating an ISP up north here as we speak. I hope things go well on June 28th for all us north of the 44th parallel.

Megan — Fri, 25 Jun 2004 13:32:14 +0000

What I'm saying is that the design doesn't suit the music. It's hard to explain. These things should go together some how. They should have a common feel. This sort of "look and feel" idea is something you'll learn more about as you continue to improve your design skills. For some reason I'm seeing more warm colours when I listen to your music, espeically with the newer stuff.

DMC — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 22:41:54 +0000

Thanks you guys. Yes Megan I'm from Vancouver BC. I have learned a lot in the last few weeks after publishing my page. I am working on a multipage site now with plans to do as you suggested with the domain et al. The first effort was very limited by Shaw and was a squeeze. I'm working on the things you mentioned and I'm already getting myself into structure nighmares trying to link everything. I will do something at the top. Actually I don't think I like the big chrome logo and I'm experimenting. I'm not sure what you mean with the samples not being coherent with the imaging. Does something come up when you play the MP3? Anyways, thanks again and I will get busy cleaning this thing up and getting a domain and some decent bandwidth. I really haven't given proper thought to the business aspect of this whole thing as I've had my head totally stuck into the music.
Hey tamudzin, purple is very in. The sixties are making a come-back. I'm digging out all my tie-dyed shirts and platform shoes
Thanks again you guys.

inetbizonline — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 19:30:05 +0000

There are some great PSD layouts available at freelayouts.com I would suggest taking out your background, create a company logo without using wordart or 3d text. Good content. Put your keywords in paragraphs towards the top of your page somehow.

Megan — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 14:02:02 +0000

Welcome to TWF! Thanks for reviewing some other sites first, we really appreciate it.

Where are you from, Dave? I'm seeing your shaw.ca domain so I'm wondering where in Canada you are ??? Ah, I see on the site. Vancouver

Anyway, you've got a lot of work to do on your site Start by keeping it simple. Avoid the impulse to stylize everything. Plain text works better. It's easier to read. Centering is especially bad.

You can get a real domain for really cheap. I know of a place to get good Canadian hosting for I think $40/year and a domain will cost you maybe $7 US. Not a huge investment

You also need to have something at the top of the page that people can click on. This area is what we call the "fold". It's the area that the user sees at the top of the browser window, before they scroll anything. Try to put some of your song samples up there. Put your latest work at the top too.

Now, remember what a website is. This is just a page. To make a site you'll need a collection of pages linked toether. Look at other musician sites to see what they include. You might want a photo gallery, a separate page for music links, maybe an area to buy your CD's. It also might be good to use this as a way to let people get to know you better. Maybe a personal journal or something. A picture of yourself would be a nice touch too.

Work on your website skills and this will come along. Listening to one of your samples, I'm finding that the image presented isn't as coherent as it could be. But you'll work on that

Temudzin — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 12:13:18 +0000

Well, not bad for the first site. At first, top logo looks pretty nice. Maybe it could be smaller. I'm not sure about background. One should be very cautious with purple, maybe I would chance it to blue for example.

About navigation: I think it would be easier for users if there were one navigation bar with sub pages.

And text: if you don't have any specific reason to make text italic you shouldn't do it. My opinion is that italic font should be used only to inform about especially important facts or person names for example.

But like I said, not bad for first-timer. Keep on working and you will be professional some day.

-Teemu