I received a request recently from a creative professional who’s taking the time to understand how a new, more integrated web presence could help expand their business.

Earlier, we’d enjoyed an in-depth discussion over espresso, touching on some ideas about how to position a personal brand, the importance of relevance, and the values of quality.

The email came a couple days later, asking for a quick recap of the salient points of the process we had outlined.

With hopes this may be useful for others on the same path, I’m posting my response here.

1. Identify Your Markets

Take a close look at the services you provide. Now, identify the types of people (their roles, jobs, needs) where your abilities and talents can be helpful.

You may find that you offer a diverse range of related services, each with a distinct target audience. In some cases these targets may overlap; that’s fine. By defining your potential markets, you gain insight into how your site should be structured.

From a site development perspective, we can take this structure and begin to identify the high-value keywords most likely to drive new business. This keyword data will be used to optimize site architecture (how we arrange the information) and site content.

2. Define Your Brand

Your personal brand consists of (but isn’t limited by) your online and offline presence in all forms and locations. Visual consistency goes a long way here, helping your audience recognize your work and presence across multiple venues. It’s a great idea to use your web site’s logo, photo and color scheme on your social media pages, press releases, invoices, etc.

Developing a “look and feel” for your new site includes a number of choices regarding logo, colors, navigation options, layouts and various widgets. My design process produces a photoshop document which gives an accurate visual representation of the final site. We can review and modify as needed, making sure you’re happy with the design before we start coding.

3. Assemble and Edit Your Content

The quality of your site is essentially defined by two elements: the quality of your content, and the degree to which you focus on the needs of your visitors. Assemble your content — posting music, videos, and other media to appropriate sharing sites — and author drafts for the various web pages. As you write, review the list of keywords and include as them in your drafts. Headlines, subheads and photo captions are especially good places for keywords.

As we discussed, there’s no reason to get hung up on authoring. It’s a wonderful creative process, and you’ll achieve best results by writing from the perspective of helping each site visitor achieve their goals. And since it’s the web, revising your content is as easy as it is important, so you can always go back and improve or enhance your copy.

By spending time working with each of these three aspects of your business, you’ll find yourself well prepared to work together with your designer/developer to relaunch your business with an effective and engaging new site.

Pioneers in Progressive Education

Founded as a reaction to European fascism in 1938, Goddard holds a prestigious history of academic leadership: the first American college to offer adult-degree programs, first to develop a low-residency model for higher education, and first to offer residential programs for single parents receiving public assistance. Their tradition of improving access to higher education and commitment to liberal values runs wide and deep.

Goddard.edu delivers customized dynamic content for every academic program

The school’s commitment to low-residency learning — where students congregate on campus for two weeks out of each semester — means that a vibrant, robust and scalable website is mission-critical to its success. While their legacy site was able to provide information on graduate and undergrad degree programs, the college was largely unable to modify its own content, create or customize landing pages, or integrate multimedia content.

Empowering the College and its Community

We were honored to be selected to redesign and develop on the new site. Working in partnership with the good people at KSE Partners in Montpelier, we designed and developed a brand new site for the college which launched this month.

We rebuilt Goddard.edu on the Drupal 7 open source platform. In the world of higher education, Drupal is the veritable standard for COntent Management Systems: a highly customizable and cost effective choice for managing substantial amounts of structured content.

The new site features more information related to each degree program, with links to relevant faculty bios, blogs, student videos, alumni connections and related campus events.

A dynamic new home page offers video, community profiles and events, testimonials and news highlights; every page provides customized related content, designed to enhance the user experience and broaden their access to the wealth of available information.

Keeping this amount of information organized and up to date is no small task. That’s why we included a system in the admin area for authors & editors to create, review, revise and publish new content to the site with complete control over each step of the process. College staffers now work cooperatively to manage, curate and embrace a growing online community of faculty, students, trustees and other stakeholders.

Goddard’s educational philosophy holds that “experience and education are intricately linked.” Our work to build a new platform that integrates diverse people, information and media into a cohesive web-centric educational model is a major step in bringing this belief to life.

Faces of Long Trail School

Each page highlights an individual who exemplifies the openness and intelligence that the school is known for; each member also serves to illustrate the wide range of interests, skills and aspirations that together comprise this small yet diverse academic environment.

In addition to the great people at LTS who put in their time and effort (both on-camera and off), this project owes a lot to the skills and talent of local photographer Les Jorgensen, whose keen eye and relaxed persona helped bring out the best from every subject. We decided to shoot the models, who range from middle school to much later in life, in a series of environments selected to bring out each person’s interests and passions. That led us from traditional settings — the school library, on-stage center, a local book shop — to a more adventurous series of locations, covering tree forts, mountain streams, bike trails, and trampolines. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by the school to see the oversized gallery prints on display in the Hunter Entrance hall.

Each copy of this limited edition book is hand-bound; the format was designed so the school can feature new members of this ever-evolving community on an annual basis.

Roger co-founded Florentine Films with Ken Burns back in their college days. We recently redesigned and relaunched the professional site for his Manhattan-based production company, building out new content to highlight his films, videos, reviews, and photography in a series of interactive portfolios.

The new site features in-depth information on over a dozen films, video clips, stock photo galleries and links to his newly published consumer-friendly how-to book, Ready Steady Shoot: The Guide to Shooting Great Home Video. (And yes, the design consistency between the two sites is no accident — we developed a single theme for both sites and customized each to highlight the key selling points.)

We built both sites in WordPress, leveraging existing digital content (and the client’s penchant for dark backgrounds), while creating a more lively and elegant interface. We also created a custom Facebook landing page for the video book, and launched an ad campaign on the social media site to build buzz.

Roger’s response? “You’ve been great to work with. And talk about professional!”

This is a reposting of our email sent out on April 17, 2012 to subscribers of our email list. It’s easy enough to get get more stories like this delivered to your inbox on an occasional basis: just enter your email address in the field to the right!

A New Web Site For Authentic Designs
Lives Up to Its Name.

In nearby Rupert, Vermont, you can find one of the most amazing companies you’re likely to see anywhere nowadays: Authentic Designs, a workshop and showroom dedicated to recreating authentic lighting designs from 18th and 19th century America. We’re talking hand-built, one-at-a-time, made-to-order craftsmanship — solid brass chandeliers, lanterns and sconces, all cleverly reconfigured to exceed UL safety standards.

We’ve been working with the folks at Authentic Designs for a while now, and are pleased to have redesigned and relaunched AuthenticDesigns.com, a fresh site that offers stories and videos about the company, newly enhanced product information, and a secure single-page online shopping cart.

It’s a great company, with a cool story, run by nice people who are producing real, quality products. And now, they have a web site to match.

Visit our website to learn more about what went into making this new ecommerce site fully functional and very affordable. While you’re there, check out the link to view Authentic Designs’ engaging, home-grown and cost-effective “About Us” video.

Targeting for Engagement
on Facebook

Once we’d completed the promotional site for his new how-to book on shooting home video Ready Steady Shoot! New York filmmaker Roger Sherman wanted to generate some buzz in social media.

We created a campaign using Facebook Ads targeted at three niche audiences, and built a custom FB landing page complete with video, shooting tips, and links to more great content.

The results? The message is on the move. As weekly reach has doubled from four weeks ago, the brand has over 1600 new fans, and Facebook now ranks #3 for driving highly engaged traffic to the site.

If you’re interested in ways to generate awareness and engagement, get in touch. We’re always happy to chat, learn about your business, and offer some insights.

image courtesy of Jane Davies

Head down Mill Street to a converted toothpick mill on the banks of the Indian River, the home of Authentic Designs. The polished wood showrooms in front display over 300 styles of traditional period and colonial lamps, chandeliers, lanterns and sconces. Virtually every piece is a faithful reproduction of originals found in early American homes, farms, museums, and historical institutions.

Each fixture is crafted right here, built by hand one at a time in the workshop out back. Skilled fabricators work with sheet metal, brass tubing, and custom lighting components to produce works that will last for generations, adding character to any room or entryway, brightening the spirit a well as the space.

We’ve been working with the folks at Authentic Designs for a while, and are pleased to have recently launched the redesigned AuthenticDesigns.com, a fresh site that offers stories and videos about the company, newly enhanced product information, and a secure single-page online shopping cart.

It’s a great company, with a cool story (make sure you check out their About Us video), run by nice people who are producing really wonderful products. And now, they have a web site to match.

The new site is up and running on MagentoGo, an affordable eCommerce platform which offers a broad selection of marketing integrations right out of the box, and allows for a huge degree of customization. We added a number of new SEO-friendly elements and strategies, as well as Google Analytics, MailChimp, Facebook and other data integrations to the back end.

We also redesigned the user interface to better represent the brand’s commitment to quality, and to highlight the distinct visual qualities of their product line. Take a look and let us know what you think.

And along the way, he’s seen more than his fair share of amateur videos that were, well, hard to sit through — regardless of the good intentions of the people who shot the footage.

Now he’s sharing his wisdom and experience in a way that can help anyone shoot better home video. The director and cinematographer has just published his first book, Ready Steady Shoot: The Guide to Great Home Video.

This little book is packed with easy tips and techniques that make home video more fun to make and to watch. Unlike the other home video titles, Ready Steady Shoot doesn’t dwell on technical aspects like which camera to use; instead, it’s all about how to approach your subject and put together a series of visually interesting shots that tell a whole story.

The new web site, ReadySteadyShoot.com, offers an introduction to Roger’s techniques featuring “Ten-Shot” video samples and “How-To” blog posts, along with a basic Paypal option for buying the book. We’ve also helped position and market the title via a Facebook Page, using Facebook Ads and a custom landing page to identify and build an online community quickly. You can also buy the book directly on Facebook: we set up a simple Payvment storefront that lets users make a secure and easy purchase within the familiar context of the FB page.

And there’s more to come. The new site went from discussion to deployment in just a month; now that it’s live we’re moving on to redesign FlorentineFilms.com

Google requires prospective partners to pass a series of specialized tests that cover fundamental Adwords topics (including campaign development, effective PPC campaign architecture, bid management and quality score), as well as more advanced strategies like effective video advertising, display banner & interactive ad campaigns, and advanced conversion tracking. In addition to passing the tests, a successful company must have managed at least $10,000 in advertising over the past 90 days.

We’ve been using Adwords since them good ol’ days of 25¢ keyword bids, and now manage Display and Search campaigns for clients using Google, Facebook and Bing. It was great to brush up on the latest Adwords tools and techniques as we prepped for the tests — the advertising ecosystem is changing faster than ever, and we’re dedicated to ensuring our clients have quick access to expert advice and assistance.

The new site, HummelGifts.com, offers a wide range of gifts and collectible items from coffee mugs and holiday plates to calendars and housewares, each featuring a reproduction of the original M.I. Hummel artwork.

The emphasis is on the original artwork; you won’t find any porcelain figurines here (they’re on eBay, which currently lists over 6,000 Hummel figurines). The initial licensed product offering on HummelGifts.com will soon be growing substantially, as the site steps into product personalization later this year.

We built this niche-tageted ecommerce site web site on the new Magento Go hosted platform, providing customized brand development, theme design, product and catalog management, SEO and third-party integrations. We’re also working with some personalization software people to integrate a seamless online experience. As that goes live, we’ll provide updates here.

This week, we’ve launched the brand new web site for the Long Trail School in Dorset, Vermont.

With less than 200 students from grades 6-12, this school offers an academically robust curriculum on 14 acres nestled in the foothills of the Taconics. Long Trail is the first school in the state to receive accreditation by the respected International Baccalaureate program. Its academic strengths are focused, the results are impressive. This from Wikipedia:

Class sizes currently average 8-12 students, though classes with only a single student are not unheard of at Long Trail. Academic standards are high by comparison to other local schools, with test scores consistently above state and local averages. Even after offering IB courses, Long Trail continues to offer some Advanced Placement classes, many independent study opportunities and student-demanded classes.

The new site is a dramatic shift from the previous site. A visual focus on the campus serves as a metaphor for the educational community — expansive and intimate at the same time — and serves as an environment for the beautiful new collection of community portraits we commissioned from award-winning photographer Les Jorgensen. (Les’ work will be featured in an upcoming limited edition book that tells the stories of a diverse group of Long Trail students, staff and faculty.) The site’s full-screen campus imagery will change throughout the year, to reflect the natural beauty of the school throughout Vermont’s four seasons.

We’ve also included a streamlined navigation, new and improved search, and updated content in many areas. This completes the first phase in a comprehensive approach to enhance the school’s online existence; additional integrations and site improvements will be added over the coming months.

The new site was built on Long Trail’s existing WordPress platform, which allows the school to reuse a number of still-relevant digital assets and leverages the staff’s expertise in operating the back end. We customized a theme from Elegant Themes — we were impressed with their solid code base and knowledgable support team — and worked closely with the LTS team to identify user personas, streamline content, update branding and improve user experience.

As is often the case in projects of this scope, the quality of the team had a tremendous influence on the positive outcome of the new site. Their shared vision and commitment to quality helped make the design and development process as enjoyable as the end result.