Social media, online marketing hints, tips and advice – Liz Hover's Diary of a Web Gal (Winnipeg)

Blimey I’m a bad blogger. I get email updates everyday from sites like ProBlogger and Daily Blog Tips. I would get a slapped wrist from them for being so lazy with my updates.

We’re due to soft-launch our new website in just a few days. Gulp.

The test site is looking good with still a few tweaks to be made. I’ve been busy trouble-shooting a bunch of things in anticipation of said launch.

Today I worked out how to record voicemail messages on to my computer using Skype and Pamela. The Pamela files get saved as MP3s into a folder on my hard drive so I can open the file and edit it. Horrah! And all for the cost of a cheap phone call on Skype. The only limitation with the Pamela basic application I downloaded is that I’m limited to 15 minutes of recording per call. Fingers cross no silly bugger leaves us an extra long message cos we’ll be screwed.

And as a result of this, I also set up our podcast hotline which allows listeners to record a comment about the podcast. I hope to use some of these in future podcasts.

My editor and reporter are working on some of the video interviews tonight.

We’ve more or less finished the audio interviews. I’m just waiting for the final few from my editor. I ended up recording the general intro and outro for all podcasts myself. I had asked my husband but he’s up to his eye-balls in his own work chaos so to save time I did it. As I previously mentioned, I’m no silky-voiced diva but I think it will work out just fine for now. The intro and outro top and tail all the audio interviews that appear on our website.

Our website folks have been working on the never-ending report that I lovingly prepared for them. There have been design changes and revisions to the way the CMS works. It’s a long road but I believe we close to the end of this part.

I’ve also been preparing information my bloggers. I’ve put together a kind of ‘Promoting your blog 101′ document which will help them get the word out about their blog on our website.

Tomorrow I should be testing the test site again! I’ve also got to move a bunch of content across to the new site. And then we’re just days away from our soft-launch. I’ve written a – heck, I don’t know what you’d call it – it’s not a news release but more of an info bulletin for our soft-launch audience telling them what we’ve been doing with the website and what we’d like them to do now they have their eyeballs exclusively on the site.

It’s all about feedback.

I just announced to my unconcerned husband that I haven’t blogged since April 9.

Me and my co. have been super busy. Testing, testing, testing.

I went to a workshop recently and discovered a new person I admire. Matt Bailey who founded SiteLogic is one of the most straight-talking guys I’ve ever listened to. I dream of the day we can bring him to Canada.

You should check Matt out:

Matt Bailey on video at the Search Engine Strategies conference.

Matt Bailey can talk to us in person.

Matt Bailey is not only wonderful, but he also blogs.

Today I sent the content management system to all our staff to test.

There’s still lots of polishing and fixing to be done but I’m keen to hear about staff experiences with the system. I gave them the user manual, a spreadsheet on which to report any problems and a mini-test (for wimps who can’t face the big mother).

I’ve already had some feedback to which I’ve been replying, ‘Write it all in your report.’

I’ve heard mutterings from my neighbouring colleague as she wrestles with this entirely new ‘thing.’ ‘Refer to the manual,’ I shout across the office. And if it doesn’t make sense, write it in your report.’

Oh what fun this is.

Yesterday I handed over a bunch of video for editing to the journalist we’ve hired and got the first version of our opening video intro that will appear on all our online video. With a few tweaks we’ll be good to go.

Can’t remember if I mentioned we’ve ordered a professional microphone for our podcasts. It arrived. (Horrah!) But we couldn’t open it because the case was locked. And guess where the keys were? Inside the locked case. So we’re waiting for additional keys. Jeez.