P.L.A.N.T. your website!

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1.5K followers

On my gardening website, my “Gardening Basics” page discusses the acronym, P.L.A.N.T. and, how to make use of it to plan and execute a healthy and productive garden. Each letter corresponds to a necessary step in the gardening process.

This same acronym can also be used to guide us in our quest to build a healthy and productive website.

Want to know how?

PPick the right niche. Look deep into yourself and find a burning interest that you have…one in which you can put your heart and soul! If you do this, you will never be at a loss for words. And, those words will mean something to you and everyone who reads them.

LLay out achievable objectives. What do you want your website to accomplish? This isn’t about making money through your affiliate links. This is about providing meaningful and fulfilling content to support and develop your niche.

AArm your website with affiliate links that are directly related to your niche. Don’t try to sell tuxedos on a website about outdoor activities and camping. Got the picture?

NNever do anything to alienate the visitors that come to your website.

Several of my pet peeves are:


  • Throwing a request to sign up for a newsletter in a visitor’s face while they are trying to read your website content.

    • Personally, when I go to a website, I expect to be able to read the content without seeing “Subscribe To My Newsletter” popping up…or “Buy This Product”…or “Get My E-Book Now”…
    • When I see these things jumping up in front of me, my first inclination is to get out as fast as possible and look somewhere else for my information. Invitations for newsletters, ads, e-books, etc., can be offered in a less obtrusive way by placing them on the right or left side of the webpage. And, if the content of the webpage interests me enough, I may subscribe to it if I am not pressured into it.
    • Worst case…as long as your website is user-friendly and interesting, I will, most likely, bookmark your webpage and come back again.
    • Isn’t that what you really want?

  • Having more advertisements than content on any page or post.
    • Too many affiliate ads detract from your message and make your website look cheap and only interested in making money. As a visitor, I would doubt the sincerity of the writer as well as the validity of the message they are trying to convey.
    • Be low-key about ad placement. Keep most ads in a product review section.
    • You can sneak a few advertisements into other content but let it flow from the content naturally.
    • If it is pertinent to the information I am providing, I will mention a product related to the subject at hand and provide a link to the product’s review. If the reader is interested, they may choose to click the link…or not.

  • Content with a lot of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
    • Misspelled words, bad grammar, incorrect or missing punctuation…these errors will detract from your website’s appeal…make the page difficult to read…and, in abundance, look very unprofessional.
    • Everyone has the occasional typo…or misplaced word. What can you do about it?
    • Proofread…proofread…proofread…and proofread again…and again…and again.
    • No matter how many times you read your own writing, you will find something that needs fixed…or changed for the better…every time you read it. I know I do.
    • Plus, it doesn’t hurt to ask someone else to look at your writing. The perfect tool for this is WA’s website feedback!


TTry new things. Attempt to come up with unique and innovative ideas to present on your website. Why? You want your website to stand out in the crowd. Don’t just offer the same old stuff that other websites in your niche offer…think out of the box. Strive for content that is ground-breaking… inventive… original… I, for one, would cherish a website that gives me information that I find not only informative but unmatched and original.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go and P.L.A.N.T. your website.

And watch it grow into something extraordinary!!!

Jim, The Lifelong Gardener

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Recent Comments

17

Hi Jim.
I love the acronym and explanation. Very well thought out and clearly presented. I totally agree with those pet peeves, all of them. Wishing you much success.
Ange

Hi Ange,

I'm glad you like my P.L.A.N.T. blog!

I think my "pet peeves" are timeless - because, I still feel exactly 100% the same way.

May the "affiliate marketing" force be with you!

Jim

Haha, Thank you

Jim, I love your post. I've been reading lots of posts that give great advice how to write a post. Your advice is one of the most helpful. :) Partly because I can understand everything you have written! Sometimes people tent to complicate things too much, use awfully difficult words. I need things to be explained in a simple language and not in a very sophisticated one. Thanks Jim.
Margaret

I appreciate your kind words, Margaret.

It's amazing how such a plain acronym can be a guideline for more than one idea.

But, maybe, P.L.A.N.T. is special - and, I'm happy if I am able to "PLANT" some fresh ideas into my fellow WA'ers!

Good luck "planting" your website!

;-)

Jim

Very helpful Jim. Always have had a thing for acronyms, must be the military man in me. I like how it ties right into your niche too. Pretty creative!

Thanks, Dan. From one vet to another...

"Be All You Can Be"...

Jim

Great post, Jim.

Many people fail to realize that running a website is exactly like running a business in the "real world".

No one wants to be bombarded by ads, pop-ups and flashing neon signs every time they enter a website or when they enter a store.

Not enough "grown-ups" realize that they had to crawl and walk before they were able to run. Your acronym is a great one. I love it.

Paul

Thanks, Paul.

That’s a great analogy. We all had to crawl first, then walk, then run!

I think some “grown-ups” lose sight of that incontrovertible fact of life…and, they get impatient…wanting their “crawling baby” website to make money for them INSTANTLY.

Trouble is…99.999% of the time…babies don’t make near as much money as “grown-ups” do…do they?

Jim

Good afternoon Jim,

Nice to see you again.
You make some good points in your post. I have just updated all my posts on one website. It is quite amazing the little details one discovers, the ones that were overlooked the other time.

Have a great weekend, Taetske

Hi Taetske!

Thanks, for checking out my post! It's for sure...P.L.A.N.T. is S.M.A.R.T. !!! Just like Michael said below...

I'm glad it spurred you into proofreading and tweaking your website. It can only get better...and better...

Jim

Hi Jim, I love your P.L.A.N.T. acronym for our websites! A very healthy way forwards, many thanks, Sue :)

Thanks, Sue! I know it helps me and I hope it will help others, too!

Jim

That is what gardeners do Jim, I really like your take on things. You have high lighted some of the not so good issues online and provided some really good actions to follow through on thank you for sharing your insights.

You are quite welcome, Alex!

I hope that I have planted a seed that grows into more healthy and productive websites by our WA community!

Jim

Sort of like setting a SMART goal. Try it and see How it works!

http://topachievement.com/smart.html

Yep...Michael. P.L.A.N.T. is S.M.A.R.T. :-)

Jim

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