A hint of what is coming to SBI in the next year or two

March 18, 2012 by John Dilbeck · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Facebook, Sitesell and Site Build It 

A few minutes ago, Ken Evoy, Founder and Chairman of Sitesell, posted a note on Facebook listing some of the new features, or upgraded features, that are planned to be released for SBI over the next couple of years.

I had only one comment I could make as a reply, “Wow!”

And people wonder why I am a happy customer and a fan of Ken, Sitesell, and SBI.

“Wow!”

And that’s on top of all the tools that are already included in SBI.

I’m loving being able to work on my business and my websites, again.

Act on your dream!

JD

PS. If you go to Sitesell’s Facebook page and like it, you can keep track of what’s happening with SBI, too.

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Sitesell is about to reach 100,000 fans on Facebook

March 18, 2012 by John Dilbeck · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Facebook, Sitesell and Site Build It, YouTube 

Less than a year ago, I wrote about Sitesell reaching 10,000 fans on Facebook.

Then, in December, about three months ago, I told you that Sitesell had 50,000 fans on Facebook.

A few minutes ago, I noticed that they now have 93,800 fans on their Facebook page.

We’re growing and the excitement is building for the upcoming release of the new BB2 editor and site designer for SBI.

I’ve been beta testing BB2 for about a month, or so, and I really like it. I can’t wait until it’s released and I can use it to refurbish and expand both of my SBI sites. This new editor is a giant leap ahead. If you’re interested, Kelly has been uploading some sneak peek videos of how to build a page using BB2 on Sitesell’s YouTube channel.

It took me a couple of days to get used to using it, and I can’t wait to quit editing my beta site and get to work on my real, live sites.

So, with all the great things happening around Sitesell and SBI, it’s time for a contest! Between now and tomorrow at noon (EDT), you can guess when Sitesell reaches the 100,000 fans milestone. And, if you want, you can help us get there a bit faster by liking their page and inviting your friends. Here’s Sitesell’s Facebook page.

And, if you want to enter the contest — it’s very easy — you, too, can guess when Sitsell will have 100,000 fans on their Facebook page. The person who guesses closest to the actual event will win a full year of SBI for free. That’s worth $300.

And, although I don’t know for sure, based on their other events, there may be some other surprise gifts along the way. I won several months of free SBI in the last two contests.

BB2 went into pre-production this week and looks to be on track to introduction to some SBI sites in a week or so. The new editor will be rolled-out over a period of days to groups of sites at a time so that any problems that may crop up can be quickly resolved.

It has taken two years and over $3 million to develop BB2, and you know what that means, I’m sure. The price is going to go up?

You’d expect that from most companies. I know I would.

However, this is Sitesell we’re talking about. They’re not like all the other companies out there. Even though this has been a big project that has taken longer and cost more than they originally planned (don’t all complex projects?), they are only increasing the price by $0.

That’s right. No increase in price. We continue to get a better product with more capabilities and the price is the same. $300 per year, or you can subscribe for a bit less than $30 per month. (Save $60 per year with an annual subscription.)

Plus, there’s a 90-day full refund guarantee. If you decide SBI isn’t for you, you can cancel within the first three months and get 100% of your payment refunded.

Where’s the risk?

Sitesell has helped me earn a living for the last decade and I’ll continue to be their very satisfied customer as long as I’m able to run my business.

As I’ve said before, if you want to learn how to build a business involving online marketing without all the scams and drama, my top recommendation continues to be Sitesell and SBI.

Nobody else even comes close.

So, when do you think Sitesell will reach the 100,000 fan milestone? Don’t tell me, go and enter the contest.

Act on your dream!

JD

PS. I’m not the only one who says that there are no challengers who have a better system for the same low price as Sitesell and SBI. They put up a $50,000 challenge to anyone who had a better system, and nobody even entered the contest. It’s true.

Sitesell’s $50,000 Match It! Challenge.

Want to build a business instead of a website? Then, why aren’t you using SBI?

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Sitesell has almost reached 50,000 fans on Facebook

November 29, 2011 by John Dilbeck · 1 Comment
Filed under: Facebook, Sitesell and Site Build It 

We are less than 100 people away from 50,000. It’s been moving quickly this evening. Won’t be long, now.

SiteSell Facebook

Here we go!

JD

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Sitesell is about to reach 50,000 fans on Facebook

November 28, 2011 by John Dilbeck · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Facebook, Sitesell and Site Build It 

You won’t believe it, but this is going to be a very short post.

I was planning to talk about this later in the week, because I thought that it would take until December before 50,000 people liked Sitesell’s Facebook page, but now it looks like it will happen today or tomorrow.

I know how much I like Sitesell and I’m obviously not alone.

Looks like it will be party time soon. There will be lots of surprises and prizes when it happens.

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Choosing an email service provider for newsletters and autoresponders

November 20, 2011 by John Dilbeck · 7 Comments
Filed under: Affiliate Marketing, Aweber Autoresponders, Dan Kennedy, Facebook, MailChimp, Marketing, Web Services 

The last month has been interesting. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been interesting.

Newsletter marketing is smart and cost-effective

Part of my business plan for next year is to publish at least three newsletters and maybe more. One will be printed in color and sent by snail mail to my marketing clients to keep them informed of the services I provide and to introduce ideas for marketing to their customers and clients.

The other newsletters will be sent via email every month.

I may make one or more of them also available to paying subscribers via snail mail.

As more and more people use email to manage their mailing lists, I am seeing an opportunity to go back to using printed newsletters that are delivered by snail mail to make some of my newsletters stand out and to increase the likelihood that they will be welcomed and read.

This is especially a good way to reach paying clients and our best customers.

Since I’ll be doing several newsletters every month, I thought I’d better spend some time closely examining the services that are available and comparing them to see which will serve my needs so that I can choose the one service that offers the best mix of features that fit my plans.

I want to choose one service so I can concentrate my efforts and focus on getting as much as possible from the features they provide.

Why send newsletters?

I’ve used newsletters (and autoresponder series) in the past to good advantage.

When I was a computer consultant, I basically built my business with a newsletter that I gave to everyone who wanted it. It was printed on paper, of course, since there was no Internet and no email, back then.

In the early 1990s, I wanted to build an email mailing list, and there were no professional services available, so I spent some time and wrote some scripts in PERL that let me maintain a mailing list and deliver the messages via email. It was a pain to use and, when I quit consulting, I dumped it.

In 2008, I built a number of mailing lists for affiliate and network marketing, using Aweber. It did everything I needed and wanted, and the price was right. When I quit network marketing (MLM), I deleted the lists and haven’t used it for much since then, but I’ve continued paying the monthly fees to keep my account alive.

These newsletters, mailing lists, and autoresponders were helpful in bringing in new prospects and clients, especially when a satisfied client would pass along one of the newsletters to a friend who might be interested in what I offered. It’s a good, easy way to help clients make referrals.

Newsletters are also effective in reminding current and past clients the reasons why they chose me to help them in the first place, and to keep my name in their recent memory, should they need help in the future.

Dan Kennedy, in his book, No B.S. Direct Marketing: The Ultimate, No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Direct Marketing for Non-direct Marketing Businesses, talks about customers and clients from a perspective I’d never before considered.

With no disrespect for the customers intended, he refers to customers as a business owner’s herd and he says that a business owner should focus his efforts on cultivating, nourishing, and caring for his herd. A herd of responsive customers is the single biggest asset that most businesses can have.

One important thing to do is to build a fence around your herd and to constantly maintain and improve that fence.

Dan Kennedy says, on page 172 of the book,

I try to teach business owners to think of themselves as I do, as ranchers putting together and taking care of herds of good, responsive customers. That’s the only real asset of a business…

Most marketers do a truly terrible job of keeping the fence around their customers in tip-top shape. Just like the farmer, they view it as an “expense of operations,” whereas I view it as “marketing.”

I believe you should spend at least as much, if not more, per year on the fence as you did on acquiring the customer in the first place.

Further, you should remember there are poachers and rustlers trying to steal your customers every single day. If you leave your customers alone for very long, if they feel ignored or underappreciated, they are more easily lured away.

He then goes on to describe how to build the fence and how to maintain it, using repetition, frequency, and quality of communications. He prescribes from 25 to 52 “touches” per year per customer. With virtually free email, the number of touches can increase dramatically.

If you think that is too expensive, he says,

If you can’t or won’t invest about $25.00 to $30.00 per year per customer in keeping your fence in tip-top shape, I suggest you get out of the ranching business altogether. Bluntly, frankly, either you’re a financial nitwit or you’ve managed to round up a spectacularly worthless herd.

Mr. Kennedy ends the chapter with this advice…

If you change nothing about your business as a result of this book, you would still have been well served if it succeeds at getting you to send a good monthly newsletter to your customers!

So, when one of the most successful marketers in the country gives time-proven, hard-won advice, I pay attention.

That’s especially true when my own past experiences validate the worth of the recommendations.

(In addition to reading his books and studying his marketing methods and advice, I am a member of the Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle and look forward to receiving his newsletter, CDs, marketing examples, and more every month. I took advantage of his Most Incredible Free Gift Ever special offer and I’ve never looked back. The membership costs me less every year than one hour of his consulting time would cost — if I could even get the appointment. If you’re a business owner and are serious about marketing and increasing your profits, this is almost a no-brainer.)

So, it’s important to send a monthly newsletter. What’s the best way to do it?

I have put a lot of work into answering that question this month, and I reached a final decision this morning — and, frankly, I was a bit surprised at the outcome.

This may be an example of “the grass is greener,” until you examine it.

I will be sending monthly newsletters — at least three of them, two via email and one via snail mail. I’ll also be building mailing lists with sequential autoresponders for my clients, and for their major products and services.

The snail mail newsletter for my clients will be printed in color, double-sided on tabloid-sized paper (11×17 inches). A few years ago, I would have used PageMaker to create it. However, I haven’t used PageMaker on the last three Macs I’ve owned, so it is lost to me. Sometime next year, I’ll purchase InDesign and learn to use it.

In the mean-time, I’ll use Apple’s Pages application to create the PDF files that I’ll take to Jonathan and Tammy at Digital Creations USA, in my adopted home town. I looked at a number of national printing services and compared them with what Jonathan and Tammy offer, and they came out best in the comparison.

So, other than writing it every month, all the work on that is done.

On to the others…

I’ve had an account with Aweber for years and I’ve always been happy with their service, but I’ve been thinking that maybe they don’t offer the tools I need to integrate my marketing with the social networks I prefer.

Among other things, I use Aweber to make it easy for you to subscribe to this blog and to receive each new blog post directly in your email inbox.

If you’d like to subscribe, just fill out the form near the top of the right column.

I’ve also used Aweber, in the past, for creating sequential autoresponder messages and for broadcasts. However, I closed several lists in 2009, when I changed the focus of my business, and I was too sick the last couple of years to build new systems. Now that I’m feeling a lot better, I’ll be building a number of mailing lists and autoresponder series for myself and for my clients.

2012 is going to be a very busy year!

Let’s compare…

So, Aweber was the reigning champ, but I spent a lot of time comparing them to several other services. Since it had been so long since I’d done any of this, I invested the time to rethink the entire process and what I wanted to accomplish.

Let’s see what Constant Contact offers…

I’d been hearing a lot of good things about Constant Contact, so I signed up with them. They were looking really good, until I realized that each of their accounts can host only one mailing list. That won’t work for me, because I’ll be sending newsletters to different lists, from different companies, using different contact information and logos.

So, that eliminated Constant Contact.

Next, I looked at MailChimp.

I opened an account with them last year while I was undergoing chemotherapy, but never did anything with it. This month, I delved seriously into their system. I set up a new list, designed a new newsletter template, and started writing the first issue.

I read their multiple PDF reports that explain how to use their system and I watched a number of their video tutorials. The more I learned, the better I liked their service.

I was within an inch of selecting them for my needs, when I was cautioned by a friend to read their terms of service very closely. I had read them last year, but didn’t remember what they said, so this morning, I read the entire document and everything was going great until I read that Affiliate Marketers are prohibited from using their service.

There it was, in black and white, they think of affiliate marketers the same way they think of people who promote hate, porn, gambling, and other things.

What?!?

Ok, I must have read that wrong.

So, I re-read the list of prohibited uses of the MailChimp service and there it is. It was not my imagination nor sleep-deprived mis-reading of their terms. No affiliate marketers.

Hey, I’m one of those guys!

Affiliate marketing generates a nice percentage of my total income every year and I intend for it to generate more in the future.

So, scratch MailChimp.

I won’t bother to talk about the other services I looked into; none of them passed the first looks.

Aweber is the only contender still standing…

Aweber has a lot going for it. I like their service. Their prices are reasonable. Their support is superlative. They have outstanding delivery rates. They offer lots of features I need.

But, aren’t they behind on how they work with social networking sites?

That’s the question I had to answer to my own satisfaction.

(So, I’ve been gone for a couple of hours since I wrote that last sentence and I’ve been delving into how Aweber can work with my social marketing.)

Here’s some of what I’ve learned.

I can automate notices on Facebook and Twitter when a newsletter is published. That’s good.

I can generate subscribe forms for the appropriate mailing list for each of my Facebook pages (but not for my profile). That’s good.

I can generate subscribe forms for people who comment on my blogs using an Aweber plug-in. I don’t know if I want to use that, or not.

One that I had no idea I could do: I can automate subscriptions to mailing lists when someone purchases something via PayPal. This can be used to subscribe someone to a list based on the product they purchased. That’s good.

It can also be used to set up paid subscriptions to certain mailing lists. That’s better than good. That’s awesome. I’m going to look into this a lot more and test it.

There’s more, but I’ve confirmed that I can do everything I need with Aweber, everything I want, and a couple of things I didn’t know I could do (or even that I might want to do).

Aweber is the winner and still the champ!

Yes, I’ve been out of touch for the last couple of years, and I’ve been listening a lot to people who use MailChimp because most of the services are free and their paid services cost less than Aweber.

That’s what I meant earlier, when I said the grass was greener. I was thinking that the MailChimp service could do more than I could do with Aweber, and that may be true.

However, I can do everything I want to do with Aweber, and a couple of nice bonuses I didn’t know were available.

So, as it is in many cases, even though the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be no better than what is right in front of my face.

(How’s that for a mixed metaphor and for tying it back into Dan Kennedy’s metaphor of building a good fence around your herd?)

My decision is made. It’s final. I didn’t have to give up anything I really want to do, and I already know how to use Aweber.

In the past, I’ve sent only text emails, so the next task on my list of things to do is to learn how to create HTML emails and newsletters using their service.

If you’re interested in knowing more about their service, you may want to watch this short video and try their service for yourself. I’ll be using it — a lot!

Send Your First Email Newsletter Today – AWeber Communications

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a new newsletter to design.

It’s time to invest the next few days into re-learning what I used to know about Aweber and their service, and to learn all the new things they’ve added over the last couple of years, while I was not paying attention.

I have made arrangements with an independent editor to work with me next year, and she is patiently waiting for me to design the template, decide on the regular contents of each issue, and get it to her so she can have the first issue ready to mail out when the second week of January, 2012 arrives. It’ll be here before I know it.

Back to work! (grin)

So, what do you think?

Do you do regular mailings to your customers? Do you make use of autoresponders to teach your customers how to use the services you offer? Do you keep in touch with them every month via newsletters and other contacts?

You know I’m always interested in your story and your approach.

Whatcha think?

Act on your dream!

JD

PS. Here’s another good book recommendation. I’m about half-way through studying it and I’m finding it to be a good read and it’s helpful: The Magic of Newsletter Marketing, by Jim Palmer.

(Those book links aren’t affiliate links, but they would have been if Amazon had not dropped all their affiliates in North Carolina two years ago.)

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John Dilbeck selected as Sitesell Featured Fan on Facebook

October 16, 2011 by John Dilbeck · 10 Comments
Filed under: Facebook, John Dilbeck, Sitesell and Site Build It 

I am deeply honored because I was selected as the most recent Featured Fan on Sitesell’s Facebook Page.

Photo showing John Dilbeck as Sitesell Featured Fan

John Dilbeck is the most recent Sitesell Featured Fan

As I told in the story when I was selected, Ken Evoy and Sitesell have played very important roles in my life over the last decade. I am deeply touched that they selected me as one of their featured fans.

Thank you very much to the Sitesell team. I intend to continue using SBI in my marketing business for a long time.

Act on your dream!

JD

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Empire Avenue – the fun social networking stock market game

September 11, 2011 by John Dilbeck · 4 Comments
Filed under: Blogging, Business Networking, Facebook, John Dilbeck, Musings, Social Networking 

Now, for something a little different.

I’m a hard working guy and I spend most of my waking time working on my marketing business, writing blog posts, creating new pages on my websites, and interacting on some of the social networking sites, most notably: Facebook.

A couple of weeks ago, two of my friends were talking about a website where we can earn credit for what we’re already doing. Now, let me make it clear that we can’t earn money, but we earn value in our stock in this game, and we can earn eaves, which is what the site calls their virtual currency.

It’s like a social networking stock market and we earn by being active with our blogs and on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others.

When you join Empire Avenue, you get some money to purchase “stock” in others who are playing the game, and there are a lot of people doing it. I bought stock in folks like Guy Kawasaki and Mari Smith and other well-known social networking “stars.”

(Note: we are not buying ownership in each other. It’s just a game.)

Folks bought shares of my stock, too, and that gave me more money to invest.

I’ve been buying more shares in the people who invested in me, as I earn more “money” with which to purchase their stock. It’s been a lot of fun.

I’m also buying stock in people I’ve never met before, based on recommendations from others who are playing the game.

I used to enjoy investing in the real stock market, and the Empire Avenue game offers a lot of the same fun with no financial risk.

It also provides another way to expose people to our various social networks and blog feeds.

You can add multiple RSS feeds to your Connections tab, but each feed needs to be endorsed by at least five people before you start getting credit for your blogging activities. And, the credit you receive for blogging is limited, because it’s just too easy for people to cheat by adding the RSS feed of a robotic “splog.”

I’m not playing the game to try to win it; I’m playing for fun and to expose my sites to more people.

I generally buy some shares of the people who invest in my stock, but don’t promise a quid pro quo.

I’ve also bought shares in the stock of some of my online friends who are not playing the game, yet. I can say I’m the first to buy their stock, and I get it at the absolute lowest price, should they decide to start playing the game.

If you’re already playing the Empire Avenue game, I’m still a good investment, but I’ll be crossing the $50 per share price shortly. Invest in me now, before the price goes up! (grin)

Seriously, I go there a couple of times per day and spend maybe five or ten minutes investing in more stock. It’s a nice, short break from work, and still does a little to promote my work. Since I enjoy combining work and fun, this is a good match.

It’s a bit confusing at first, but I’m starting to find my way around. That makes it even more enjoyable. I don’t think I’ll ever spend more than 15 or 20 minutes there on any given day, probably less, but it’s a nice break, now and then.

While it’s not for everyone, it makes it a little more fun to think about myself as representing my marketing business and it’s fun when someone at Empire Avenue buys stock in me.

If you’re looking for a site to purchase advertising and want to expose your sites and blogs to others who are active in social networking, there are ways to spend real money buying advertising and credits. I haven’t done any of that, and don’t have any plans to do so, at this time. I don’t know what I’ll do as I learn more about the site and all that’s available there.

Empire Avenue also has communities where you can interact with others who share the same interests. I don’t have time for that, so I haven’t tried it.

Join Empire Avenue and try it for yourself. It’s free, and you can sign in through your Facebook account, or create a separate Empire Avenue account. It’s your choice.

What about you?

Are you playing Empire Avenue? What do you think about it?

Act on your dream!

JD

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New 21st Century Affiliate Marketing page on Facebook

August 15, 2011 by John Dilbeck · 4 Comments
Filed under: Blogging, Facebook, RSS Syndication, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking 

Good morning,

Last week, I finally got around to creating a new 21st Century Affiliate Marketing page on Facebook and I hope you’ll visit it. At the moment, about all that is there is a copy of the articles I post on this blog, but I intend to add additional information on the Facebook page in the coming months.

If you’re like me and spend a lot of time on Facebook, you can follow new posts in your newsfeed on Facebook, if you go to the page and like it.

I’ll be continuing to tie my various websites in to their own Facebook pages in the coming weeks.

Thanks for visiting and reading! I really appreciate it.

All the best,

JD

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Mind mapping is an incredible way to brainstorm and organize

July 27, 2011 by John Dilbeck · 24 Comments
Filed under: Affiliate Marketing, Facebook, Mind Mapping, NovaMind, Sitesell and Site Build It, Squidoo Lenses 

Did you ever wake up one day and go to work, school, the club, church, or somewhere else and everyone was talking about that great party last night? You know, the one that everyone else went to and had an outrageously good time, but you never heard about it until it was over?

I feel a bit like that today.

Except for the fact that the party is still going strong. I just missed the first few years of it.

What the heck are you talking about, JD?

Have you ever heard of something called mind maps? The process of creating a mind map is called mind mapping.

I just heard of it about three days ago, and I’ve been studying everything I can find about it for the last two.

Where have you been all my life, mind maps?

I am far from being an expert on this, but it has already changed my life when it comes to brainstorming, planning, and organizing my life and my business.

Hard to believe, isn’t it?

For decades, I’ve tried all kinds of systems to help me keep track of everything and to help me plan my life and achieve the goals I set for myself. I’ve tried big whiteboards, notebooks, databases, spreadsheets, project management software, and others, and each of them has been valuable to some degree, but they’ve all had shortcomings, too.

That will probably be true of mind mapping, as well, but — so far — it’s the best way I’ve ever found for organizing my life and work.

I’m not going to tell you the history of mind maps (you’re welcome), but I will point you to some interesting resources.

Tony Buzan invented mind mapping, I think

Apparently, Tony Buzan created this process and wrote several books about it. One of those books, The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain’s Untapped Potential, may be helpful if you want to learn more about mind maps and how to use them.

There are a lot of websites and many videos on YouTube that are devoted to mind maps and how to use them for various purposes. I visited several dozen sites and spent most of an afternoon watching the videos, before I decided that this was something I wanted to learn.

iMindMap Software

ThinkBuzan.com is the official site for Tony Buzan’s mind mapping software, called iMindMap. I have not tried that software. I found this site rather late in my searching on the subject and I’d already found a couple of applications that I liked and had already started using. They have an affiliate program. I am not an affiliate, although as I learn more about this subject, I may apply. It looks attractive.

The main reason I am not an affiliate is because my policy is to recommend only products I use and which help me run my business more effectively. If I had found this site earlier in my searching, I might very well have decided to use it. I don’t know.

MindMeister

One of my friends, Pat, was the first to recommend MindMeister, which is a tool she uses. They offer several versions, including a free version. Here is their versions and pricing information.

I can’t comment on the software, since I have not used it.

MindNode

As you may know, I am a Macintosh person and I prefer to buy programs that I can use when I am not connected to the Internet — especially when I’m brainstorming and organizing. I find it much less distracting when I’m not being tempted to check on Facebook and see what’s going on, for instance.

I found several applications that run on Mac and on iOS mobile devices. I have an iPod Touch and carry it everywhere with me. It is my portable memory.

I compared a couple and downloaded the free version of MindNode.

I put it right to work and really like it. It’s easy to learn and fun to use. You can get it free from the Mac App Store: MindNode (free) – Markus Müller

Of the tools I tested, it remains my favorite for easy brainstorming and organizing of my thoughts. It’s like drawing on paper or a whiteboard, but I can save it on my computer and come back to it later.

Here’s the start of one of the mind maps I created with it, within just a few minutes of installing MindNode from the Mac store:

Sample graphic of MindNode mind map

An early version of the mind map for John Dilbeck

As I said, earlier, I really like MindNode and I’ll be using it for relatively simple mind maps.

I like to support software developers, so I’ll be purchasing the Pro version of MindNode, which adds a few extra features. You can learn more about it on the Mac App Store: MindNode Pro – Markus Müller

As I said earlier, I carry my iPod Touch with me every where I go and I’ll be buying an iPad for demonstrating my services to my clients and for brainstorming with them and discussing projects.

There is a version of MindNode available for iOS and it works on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. I bought it and I like it. Here it is in the iOS App Store: MindNode – Markus Müller

The description of the product says the iOS version can interchange mind maps with the Pro version of the Mac app. I have not tested this, so I can’t verify it. It will read several import formats and export to others. I have not tested these features, either, other than one simple test that worked with no problem.

NovaMind for Macintosh and Windows

As much as I like MindNode, I could already tell that it was not going to work for all I wanted to do with mind mapping. It remains my first choice for relatively simple mind maps with a few dozen nodes, but when I continued to add to the map I showed above, it got harder to use. I knew that it would not support the really complicated mind maps I could already see in my mind.

For example, here’s part of a complicated mind map I’m creating in NovaMind:

A graphic of a mind map created in NovaMind.

John Dilbeck's Master mind map in NovaMind

This mind map has grown rather more complicated since I exported that image of it.

Over the decades, I’ve managed a number of projects and some of them were rather complex. I learned early on that I needed to use project management software to help me plan and organize a project, to present the project overview to clients, and to use PERT and Gantt charts for managing tasks, timelines, and resources.

I tried various methods of doing this, and eventually started using professional project management software.

I have been looking at buying Merlin 2 for Macintosh from Novamind and that is what I will probably do in a few months, when I need it. I had been entirely focused on Merlin and never even noticed their mind mapping software, called NovaMind 5 Mind Mapping.

I think that is interesting, because their company and mind mapping software are both named NovaMind. I guess it’s true that things are invisible before you start looking for them.

The more I looked at professional-level mind mapping software, the more I was drawn to NovaMind. They offer three versions of the software: Express, Pro, and Platinum.

The two versions I find most interesting are Express and Platinum. For me, the differences in features between Express and Pro are not compelling, but the Platinum level offers lots of project management tools and can help generate a project in Merlin. That pretty much seals the deal for me. Here is a comparison of the features of all three levels: NovaMind Feature Comparison.

Please note that NovaMind Mind Mapping software is available for both Mac and Windows, but Merlin is available only for the Mac. Microsoft Project is pretty much the standard in the Windows world.

Start with NovaMind Express and upgrade to Platinum

At the moment, I don’t need all the project management features, so I don’t have to buy what I don’t need. I can start out by buying NovaMind Express and, later, when I need the project management features, I can upgrade to NovaMind Platinum by paying the difference in the prices plus a small processing fee. So, that’s the route I’m taking.

If I needed the project management features right now, I’d go ahead and buy the Platinum version.

Without a doubt, for me, NovaMind 5 is the best mind mapping software.

It is more complex than MindNode and takes longer to learn. I spent several hours yesterday afternoon learning how to use it and watching videos that introduced the software and showed ways it can be used.

That time and effort was well invested, however, when I realized all the power that NovaMind brings to my brainstorming and organizing toolbox.

One of the things I like about MindNode is how easy it is to use and how I can drag different parts of the map around however I want.

I can do the same thing in NovaMind, but the real power starts to show when I don’t do that. When I follow the directions on how to enter nodes using the keyboard, that’s when NovaMind begins to shine! No matter how complicated the mind map (in my admittedly limited experience), it automatically adjusts the map to make room for the addition or deletion of nodes, and does a darn good job of keeping everything neat and presentable. It does a much better job than I did when my mind map started getting complicated in MindNode.

If you’re interested, you can learn more about the challenges the NovaMind team faced when designing the layout and display algorithms that set their software apart from all their competitors.

One of the things I really like about NovaMind is that I can show or hide nodes (and all their children and descendants) with the click of a button. As soon as I hide a node, the entire map redraws (in seconds) so I can see the relationships easily. When I show the node, it redraws in seconds and shows the more-complicated version.

So, for example, if I’m brainstorming, organizing, or documenting my Dilbeck Marketing business, I can hide all my personal nodes.

If I want to concentrate on income and expenses, I can hide all the nodes showing my websites, blogs, communities, lenses, social network profiles, and all the rest. I can even hide all the expenses while I’m thinking about generating income, and vice versa, when I’m concentrating on expenses.

Where it really shines, and what led me to consider mind maps in the first place is how it can help me create a page-by-page site plan for a website (large or small). Each page can be a node. Children of that node can be topics. I can document the page by adding keywords and other information in the notes field, and — although I haven’t tried it, yet — I think I can store all the source code of the page in the notes field. I’m going to try this, soon, to see how large the file grows and how much slower it runs.

Right now, I’m putting everything into a single big mind map. This includes linking to each page of my websites (as I document them), to my blogs (both the sites and the editing dashboard), to each of my lenses on Squidoo, and so forth. It’s going to be huge.

In addition to being able to hyperlink to URLs, it allows me to link to documents and files on my computer so that I can find them easily. Or, if I prefer, I can embed the documents into the mind map. I haven’t tried that, yet, and probably won’t.

Gideon King, founder of NovaMind is the father of this company and software and has written quite a bit about himself and the project. I find it interesting reading. I like to know the name of the person behind the software and their philosophy and some of the obstacles they had to overcome to succeed.

He has a number of videos on YouTube that show how to use NovaMind.

Of all the videos I watched when trying to grok mind mapping, this one on using mind maps to write books, articles, and technical documentation was the first to help me start to “get it.”

Before I forget the main subject of this blog, NovaMind does have an affiliate program.

Free versus Paid Mind Mapping Applications

In the past, I was a big proponent of free open source software, but not so much these days.

I have found many security vulnerabilities in open source software that is used for building websites and I’m rapidly moving away from using those scripts. This has, in turn, colored my perceptions of open source applications.

I have GIMP and NeoOffice on my computer and rarely use them.

GIMP is a photo and graphic editing application with much of the power of Photoshop. For some people, it has a great advantage and that’s because it is free, while Photoshop costs hundreds of dollars.

NeoOffice is a Mac-specific version of OpenOffice, which provides much of the power of MS Office and is free.

Likewise, there are free versions of mind mapping software and it looks to me (with my limited knowledge) that FreeMind may be the leading open source application for mind mapping. It was recommended by my friend, Deb, and she has a Squidoo lens on mind mapping that you may find informative: Mindmap – Tools to Organize Your Thoughts – Powerful How-To Tool. She links to FreeMind in that lens and also to books and other software that I haven’t mentioned in this article.

What prompted my interest in mind mapping?

A few days ago, on the Sitesell Facebook page, we were talking about how important it is to go through the SBI action guide, do the keyword research, determine a good niche, and then build a site map plan for the website, before starting to build the site.

If we already have a site, it is important to go back and build a plan for the site in order to add material we may have overlooked and to better organize the site.

I’ve tried using spreadsheets and databases in the past for this task, and I always hated it.

Yesterday, I started working on a site map plan for one of my existing sites using NovaMind, and it seemed like an easy and natural way to approach the task. That got me to thinking about documenting what I do at Dilbeck Marketing, and before you know it, I had a fairly complex mind map for my business — and I’m just getting started with it.

For me, and maybe for you, a mind map is a great way to conceptualize, organize, and document what I’ve already done and what I want to do.

Doing all that in spreadsheets, databases, hand-written notebooks, and word processors just didn’t work for me. It was like trying to pound a square peg into a small round hole.

On the other hand, to use another cliche, I took to mind mapping like a duck to water.

What do you think?

Do you use mind mapping to help you brainstorm, organize, and/or manage what you do?

What applications do you prefer? Why?

Act on your dream!

JD

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Sitesell now has over 25,000 fans on Facebook

July 21, 2011 by John Dilbeck · 12 Comments
Filed under: Facebook, Opinions, Sitesell and Site Build It 

This is going to be a very short post. Really. I can do it.

Last night, we had a celebration on Sitesell’s Facebook page that started around 10:30 pm (EDT) when we passed the 25,000 “likes” milestone. That’s when the party started. It was fun.

Now, they’re running the 72-hour-only, buy one, get one free celebration special. That’s a deal that doesn’t come very often. It’s been awhile since they offered it.

Just go to their page, like it, and then click one of the images at the top of the page to go to the special order page. Only people who have “Liked” the page can get the special offer — it’s for fans, only.

Early this morning, Ken Evoy, the founder of Sitesell (who is on vacation in Scotland) saw that there was a glitch with the special order page. Ken contacted the CEO and they got the right people onto the problem, which was fixed in a few minutes.

I posted this note on the private Sitesell forums this morning:

I enjoyed the 25K celebration last night!

As a bonus, I won a couple of the prizes (each worth a free month of SBI) and I wasn’t expecting that. Thank you, Sitesell, it made the party even more fun.

On a side note, I watched on Facebook this morning when Ken realized the special offer order page wasn’t working as planned. Even on vacation, he got right on it. A few minutes later, Daniel was on the case, too. I don’t know who else was involved, but the glitch was fixed in short order.

I don’t know of any other company where the Founder and the CEO would both get involved in an order page glitch.

They set the standard and the whole Sitesell team rises to their level. That’s one of the reasons we get so many great things and such good support from Sitesell in return for our small subscription fees.

Facebook needs to add a “Love” button on Sitesell’s page. I’d click it.

Act on your dream!

JD

I really mean it. That is an amazing group of people and an outstanding service.

I’m looking forward to working with everyone at Sitesell for years to come.

Now, I gotta go work on my websites.

Act on your dream!

JD

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