The Joomla Chick

I used to use a GetResponse module to allow the visitors to The Joomla Chick to sign up for my mailing list.  Yes it worked but it wasn’t a great signing up experience nor did it allow you to tailor the visitors experience or add some internet marketing techniques to fully monetise your list.

Today I changed it!

GetResponse needs you to set up a few pages when you set it up.  You can use their default pages but why advertise GetResponse when you can advertise your own business?  However, it isn’t as simple as using a search engine friendly url like html websites.  Joomla works a little bit differently, as if you didn’t know!

The extra piece of information that you need to make the link to

index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=xx&Itemid=yy

Where the xx is the article id, each article you create in Joomla is given a unique id.  The yy is the menu id, again each item that you attach to a menu is given a unique id.  When you put each of these unique numbers together in the xx and yy space you get a unique page that you can create for your GetResponse autoresponder.

Importantly, as don’t want your GetResponse pages to show up on the search engines, you need to create a hidden menu.  All you do is create a new menu and call it “hidden”, mainly so you can easily find the menu and add any other hidden items to it.  DON’T enable the hidden menu as a module.

You will need to create an article and a menu item for 3 pages:

1.   The page that your signup is directed to initially after entering their details but before they have confirmed their details.

2.   The page that your signup is directed to after they have confirmed their email address.  On this page you can have any incentives that you used to encourage your visitors to sign up to your mailing list.

3.   An error page incase there is any type of error in the signup process.  The easiest thing is just to ask your signup to use their browsers back button and try again.

If you really want to see it in action you can always sign up for The Joomla Chick Tips Newsletter!

I’ll be creating a how to video and accompanying workbook to show you step by step how to do it so watch this space for details.

I have always known that having a blog was an essential part of having an online business and have struggled for a while to find the right blogging solution for my Joomla sites.  I did install a Joomla blogging extension and start using that, however I then found out it had serious security issues and uninstalled it.  Don’t get me wrong, there ARE Joomla blogging extentions and they are probably great but I knew what WordPress could do and wanted something equally as good.  There is also a Joomla extension where you can integrate Joomla into Wordpress for $59.99 per year but I guess I just wanted WordPress to work like WordPress and have it’s full functionality.

Drum roll please …….

So I installed WordPress and linked all the menu’s to match the Joomla menus and my Joomla blog entry to WordPress, did some creative Photoshop editing, clever css amendments and hey presto, a site I am very, very pleased with.  All I need now is to continue to write a blog post every few days at the very least and watch my rankings go up.  Well that’s the theory anyway.

My motto is, and always will be, if in doubt – cheat!

The Joomla Chick is my baby.  It’s something that was born out of my frustrations at finding straightforward instruction on how to use Joomla to build a fantastic site.  I’d bought videos in the past, however they were very basic and didn’t teach me anything that I hadn’t already picked up before.  Joomla really is an amazing content management system and once you get the hang of it, it’s really simple to use.  So yes, I will be cheating a bit with my blog being WordPress, however WordPress is the King of blogging platforms and as The Joomla Chick also teaches about internet marketing, we have to use the best tools available.  Joomla will, I am sure, come up with fantastic, integrated blogging extensions but for now I am happy with doing my blog using WordPress.

If you don’t have many technical skills to edit a WordPress template to link with your Joomla site, then you can either use a Joomla blogging extension or hire me to integrate it for you.  Do whichever way you are happiest with.  Personally I love this way, as I get to test out both Joomla and WordPress with my Google Analytics data to see how each platform performs.

I just love the fact that I get paid to play with Joomla and WordPress, as well as testing different internet marketing theories and practises and watch my bank balance increase.  Anyone can do it, but it does take time, patience and perseverence.

If I can help you in anyway with your Joomla site or learning about Joomla then please feel free to contact me using my contact form.  I will reply, unless of course you are spamming me!