It's Terribly Tasteful

Billboards in the Traffic of the Web, Part One

Solo entrepreneurs are confused about web presence, how to do it, what it will do, what it won't. I know this, I am one and I was confused. Because of our ignorance, we are at risk for spending money unnecessarily on sites, search engine optimization, paid directories and the like, or at even greater risk of not being there at all. There are numbers to back this up from very a-list sources like Marketing Sherpa  and Flyte  and Debbie Weil's Blog Write.

It's important to understand the principles of why and how before we reach into our pockets to spend on Internet presence. Let's be findable first, whether people are looking for us in particular or someone like us in general. (And of those two groups, are they buying online or showing up in person? More to come on that!) Doesn't it make sense to be findable first for the people who are looking for us physically and locally? And doesn't it also make sense to have a simple, forthright Internet presence even though almost nobody knows where the internet will go and when? So that's Step One. Be there for the people who want to find you locally. Now.

Simple enought to brainstorm that process. My name is Susan Lucas. I am a photographer based in Charleston, SC. I also create emotional and artistic portraits of people, as well as art prints, greeting cards and calendars. I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out things like marketing my work on the internet, in galleries, in stores and through other venues. Assuming someone is looking for me on the internet, didn't I just cover all the bases? Good. Searchers look for all the above and generally find me or my stuff on page one of Google, Yahoo, MSN or some other directory they're using to find. Note that I named all the big internet directories--not yellow pages or white pages or local city and town directory pages because those directories were not born on the Internet and they do not have the root function of internet search engines as their first priority. They are commercial enterprises created separately with you as a customer. When someone searches the net for you, the paid directories are only competition (and distracting competition at that) for your own site. The trick is to put your own site there and make it findable above the directories because you are the one and only original you!

I'm betting on this with Tecchia, for my business and for giving back. I am weaving a presence, history and findablity on the internet that changes regularly. I am there.

tecchia

The Test of Time for Charleston Photographer Susan Lucas

Blogging is a great way to increase search enging rankings; those tags will send you right to the top. That is, if you use them. That is, if you blog. That is, if you post frequently. That is, if you read other blogs and link to them so you, a) know what's going on and, b) mix (link) with the right people, i.e. bloggers who have something to say. The question is: Who has time? Or maybe the question--the million dollar question-- is: Is the time invested worthwhile?

Take my Charleston photographer posting. Still the same rankings--not Page One. But I didn't post anything on my blog other than that first mention, much less post frequently about it, and haven't had/taken time to read and link to others. My bad.

So how do you get anywhere without this wonderful, fun time-sucking project of blogging-done-right? While I'm mulling it over, I'm trying Internet Billboards (splash pages, one-page web sites, whatever). What this would necessarily mean is that if you're individual enough, say Susan Lucas Photography rather than random search terms like Susan Lucas, or Charleston photography, or Maine photography, you could be at the top of the Google list, revered Page One, with your name. And you'd have enough url's with your could-be name redirected at your real name so that the weakest efforts to find you would, well, find you.

tecchia, more to come.

Charleston Photographer Susan Lucas

This is a test. I was just going to email a couple of my favorite Charleston businesses to let them know that they flunked the google test, and discovered a big hole in my own rankings. Using Google organic search page one listing as the benchmark:

Susan Lucas Photography: stellar
Susan Lucas: One-upped by Susan Lucas, phD. At least I'm in good company, and on Page One.
Little Works of Heart: great
Heartbeat At My Feet: ditto
Terribly Tasteful: fine
Charleston photographer: FLUNK. But I am one.
Charleston portrait photographer: sad. But I do that, too.
Charleston photography: bleak. A lot of paid directories. Not terribly tasteful at all!

Care to follow me as I try to increase my own rankings? See you on google!

Curiouser and Curiouser: Squidoo!

If you're looking for opportunities to expand your territory, a.k.a. online presence, here's a way to do it, and it's (my favorite price) free! Squidoo. Lenses (Squidoo's name of choice for the pages you create) are kind of like blogs but without time-stamped entries. You don't need programming knowledge; it's all done with preprogrammed modules.There are modules for individual expression, revenue-generating modules and a variety of modules being added all the time. It's all searchable, linkable, tagable and findable on the web.

What I like best about Squidoo is where it came from. Started by Seth Godin and staffed by an impressive group of leaders in publishing, marketing, technology, business, overall creativity, and the best part-- values. Because of this, you'll see many familiar names and organizations aligning themselves with Squidoo. Bonus--click on the Seth link to see his Squioo Lens, and download free ebooks!

I am not endorsing Squidoo because they selected me to attend the Innovative Marketing Conference at Columbia University (shameless self-promotion)--my lens came first.

Try it out. Squidoo.com.

 

 

The image is a retired racing greyhound enjoying his new home complete with front porch, couches and beds. His new responsibilities are welcome committee, loving, sleeping and being loved. They are great greyt dogs.

The print is 8x10 and matted to 11x14. Price includes shipping to Continental U.S.

Not Posting Enough!

When Seth Godin posted Done in his blog, I got emotional. I'm always trying to empty the inbox, and feeling all the negative energy generated by trying to dot every I and cross every T.

"The challenge is NOT to empty your inbox... The challenge is to ask a two part question: What next? What now? Asking is the hard part."

My what's next/what now is doing the blog thing right, or not doing it at all. Since Terribly Tasteful is about sharing what works and what doesn't, I'm sharing this: Frequent posting works. Short posts work. I haven't been posting enough.   

 

 

 

At 418 King Street in Downtown Charleston there used to be a wonderful shop called Cameron's Antiques, owned by Patricia Ahern. (Now it's The French Hare, equally as wonderful for different reasons). Antique stores suck me right in and the old building's light was as beautiful as the goodies inside. Patricia graciously humored my request to come back with my camera. The results were beautiful.

The print is 8x10 and I'm selecting a metallic paper and an oversized (16x20 mat) to make it more dramatic. Price includes shipping to Continental U.S.

Directories: A Rant

No, we're not in Kansas anymore, but as in the myth of the Wizard of Oz, we want to go home, enlightened by the strange and beautiful and scary journey we've been on. The internet is Oz, and paid directories are those evil flying monkeys.

Example: The Yellow Pages. Faced with loss of ad revenue in an increasingly online world, the classic yellow book is on the web. However, instead of publishing a partner version of the book--a real benefit to the user--the online version is a separate entity. IF the directory does list all book entries, it's only after the paid spaces, which come after the premium paid spaces, and there will be no link to your expensive and meticulously created online presence. I'm all for making money, but isn't The New World of Work about conducting business in a way that benefits the customers rather than sapping the life out of them? It's not just the yellow book, Toto, it's all paid directories.

Using the internet as the internet dictates, we Google. Or Yahool. Or occasionally MSN.  And we don't google "directoryname new york yoga studio," we google "yoga new york." Just because you're new at this does not mean you have to be scared into giving money to the for-profit directory du jour! "Use the Force, Luke" --or my case--the Luke Force: my own brave intuition. Here's my traffic, based on the last 5,000 hits.

#1 Links from email notification of blog posts, followed and sometimes surpassed by
#2 Links from search engines (generated by frequent blog posting and other unpaid techniques)
#3 Links from blog to web site or vice versa, which originated as No. 1 or No. 2

To quote Dennis Miller "Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."

Just say no.

Vindicated!

"Charlene (Charlene Li, Forrester Research Analyst) also noted that blogging tools have begun to evolve into more expansive applications. “They are a content management system, an online publishing toolset,” she told me, noting that she is seeing static websites being built with blog tools because they are faster, easier to build and, equally important--easier to update and revise. A year ago, Six Apart’s Loic LeMeur reported the same thing was going on in Europe..." This is from Shel Israel's blog. His book, Naked Conversations, written with Robert Scoble, is mandatory reading for all Terribly Tastefuls. Available at the Terribly Tasteful Bookstore, where proceeds benefit somebody other than me.

See? Blog as online journal, blog as self publishing, blog as self promoting, blog as VOICE. I'm here, I came from there, I do this stuff, my contribution is this and BTW you can buy my stuff at...

Simple and simply ingenious. Like a white cat.

The print is 11x14 inches. It is a Trompe L'oeil (Look It Up!) Giclee. A mat effect is applied and the resulting piece is printed on fine art paper. Select "buy now" to view the price of this piece. Most prints are $100. Price includes shipping to continental U.S. Email for worldwide shipping info.

Tie It All Together in a Neat Little Package

I'm remembering the billboard analogy--a blog being a billboard in the traffic of the web--and wondering if it applies across the board. Do my customers read blogs? In some segments of my work, most assuredly not. But the blogosphere affects them nonetheless.
    That's where Permission Marketing comes in. This upwardly mobile segment of the population does read their email. I'm working with Constant Contact to formalize a permission marketing email campaign. Very impressed by their tools, tutorials and real human contact. Now it's up to me to learn the system and launch it. I'll keep you posted.

Of course the permission marketing campaign will link to my blog, and perhaps I'll win converts to the blogosphere. It's a good place. In the meantime, there's still no way to beat frequent posting as a way to show up on Search Engine Page One. Nobody knows where the net will go, but know for sure that it's going!

Coming up, why we can't abandon snail mail, and some really, really good resources. Stay tuned!

The image is an ad running in Skirt! Magazine. It's a wonderful, fun, targeted publication created by Nikki Hardin to provide information to women here in the Lowcountry. It's a Lovemark. The photograph is a private commission. Wish I had one like that of me with my dad!

Emergent Behavior and Terribly Tasteful Blogging

The internet is a bright light still on the horizon for some of us, but we want to be part of it because it's the biggest conversation of all time. And we'd like to apply its momentum and possibilities to our businesses.

There are many ways to get there; some terribly expensive, some terribly tasteful. None work the way things did in the past because none of them existed in the past. This is emergent behavior, not predetermined. Let's move forward with that mindset.

Learn as much or as little as you want; it's practically free. That's kind of how it is with the Internet, and in particular Web 2.0, Google, Safari Bookshelf, Wikipedia, VTC Online University, Wordtracker and especially, blogs . Connections are more accessible and easier to find--even in the haystack--thanks to links, keywords, pings, tags, trackbacks, and tweaks (more about this to follow).

Do as much or as little as you like. We terribly tasteful entrepreneurs have a hard time deciding what to learn, what to do and what to pay others to do, because while creativity is boundless, resources are finite. Balance. Learn a little about what you don't know and it will be easier to determine what to keep and what to assign.

By the way, bring others along. What benefits everyone else benefits you. Giving and receiving are the same. You are remembered not for how much you make, but how much you give away. All the above.

My contribution is this: you can be creative and productive and self-promoting without so having so many hands in your pocket. Put on your oxygen mask before you assist others. That's terribly tasteful!

    The print is 11x14 inches. It is a Trompe L'oeil Giclee. The artwork is prepared from a photograph, then the decorative mat effect is applied and the resulting piece is printed on fine art paper. Price includes shipping to continental U.S. Email for worldwide shipping info.

L Words

HTML, OMPL, XHTML, PERL, SGML...

There are a lot of hands in our pockets because we don't know the "L words". Why not? Maybe it's because we have a Life. And Love. And Laundry! To me, it's the same a carburetors, brake pads and that little "check engine" light that periodically makes an appearance on my dashboard. We pay because we don't know. And we are at risk. And we think we need something that, if we don't get it, we will Lose.

Lose what????!!!!!!!

There's another way, and it's terribly tasteful! I hope you'll stay with me on this adventure because I want to be a myth-buster for small entrepreneurs who think they have to spend thousands of dollars and hours to be present on the internet for little or no ROI. If you don't know what that acronym means, it's time to talk with your banker!

Let Morgan Stanley and Pottery Barn spend thousands on their internet presence. They have it. Our terribly tasteful presence, can be just as powerful. On our budgets, terribly lean as they are.

The print is 11x14 inches. It is a Trompe L'oeil Giclee. The lilies are painted from a photograph, then the French mat effect is applied and the resulting piece is printed on fine art paper. Price includes shipping to continental U.S. Email for worldwide shipping info.

Fishbowl Strategy

Have you ever noticed that if people see a fishbowl or ballot box or any other kind of container that already has business cards in it, they will toss theirs in without even knowing why?

What's beside your fishbowl? A generous stack of blank business cards on a terribly tasteful plate with a pen for those with CDD (card deficit disorder). And I don't know if you've noticed, but there isn't a pen shortage any more. A terribly tasteful note beside the blank cards that says, "Your name and email are more than enough, and we promise to keep it to ourselves."

And where is your fishbowl? One by the register for those who purchase. One by the door for those who don't. And in either event, if they don't take the bait, you cheerfully say, "Do drop in your business card; you might win this week! And be sure to include your email." Should they ask what they might win--which they probably won't--you pick up the nearest piece of merchandise and say, "This beautiful __________!" Then, of course, then you have to give something away; we do have scruples after all. I can help you with that.

Of course we do all this in a terribly tasteful way. From Tiffany to Target and Buzz Blodgett to Bed Bath & Beyond Because we are all... well, you know--tasteful!

 

P.S. If you have a speaking engagement, don't forget your fishbowl.

Thirty Seconds...

Someone asked me exactly what Illustrated Weblog Marketing does for business and what value it adds. This means that either...
1) I am being terribly unclear about this project, or
2) He hasn't read or doesn't understand my previous posts about the process.

Either way, I need to polish my thirty-second commercial. (Wish I could link to the originator of that concept, but there are so many references and time is short; I have a commercial to do.) According to sources, this should be 50 words or less, and I should practice saying it until it becomes second nature.

1) I create illustrated marketing weblogs for businesses.
2) Weblogs add value by increasing your name recognition and promoting online sales. Everywhere.
3) They are cheaper and more focused than "traditional" websites and most advertising.
4) Unlike most advertising, weblogs remain online and searchable until you pull the plug. Maybe longer.
5) I would love to make a beautiful, results-oriented weblog for you.

My 30 seconds are up. Word count: fifty-something. I'll work on it. Here's a Buy Now button in case you want to...

Global Microbrand

I did not think that up. Global Microbrand is from Hugh Macleod, who I believe might be a genius of practical WWW user knowledge and was an important influence for Illustrated Weblog Marketing.

It's our individual contribution to worldwide trade, doing what we love, sharing what we do, finding the perfect demographic for our microbrand and thriving in that market.

Stay tuned...

About the photograph: This rose burst as dramatically as possible from its little bush in a sparse backyard garden where I was photographing a sunny one year old. Good-looks genes in both cases. Don't you just want to burst wide open like that?

I am printing this series on Hahnemühle paper. If you know what that is, I don't need to say much more. You can reach right into it and feel those velvet petals. The colors will bring tears to your eyes. The print is five inches by seven inches, matted in gallery white to finish at 11x14. Price includes shipping to continental U.S. Email for worldwide shipping info.

And now for something completely different...

This is how I stumbled onto the concept of Illustrated Weblog Marketing. I tripped over a $5000.00 rock– my website. A full-blown multi-page online store featuring photographs, cards and other paper products.
 

With the help of a truly fabulous web design service, we had launched and were waiting to become a visible, profitable, imposing presence on the web. And waiting. I wasn't exactly sure how it would go, but I had art to sell and a vague notion of facilitating those sales with a presence on the www. That, in and of itself, turned out to be a good move, although not in the way I had expected.

While I was waiting for internet traffic to swerve in the direction of my site, I began to blog. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a blog, weblog or online journal is just a website that lends itself to frequent new entries (posts), and usually puts the newest first. In my case, I journaled about things that were important to me, threw in quotes by people who impressed me, included photographs (because after all that's what I do), and links because I am so excited about the things I learn and people I meet on the internet. It was creative, and it was fun. I blogged 60 posts in 120 days and here's a little of what I learned in the process:

• People would read my weblog; in fact, people from 38 states and 54 countries, according to my statistics counter.

• I could significantly increase my readership with links, keywords, tags, HTML tweaks, pings, frequent posting and reading other blogs. And illustrating (because that's what I do).

• Even though I stopped regularly posting on August 31st, readership didn't come to a screeching halt-- it continued to grow! As did the traffic directed to my website (that rock I tripped over) because all those things I had done to increase my readership work in perpetuity on the internet.

• I took some time to regroup, assimilate, and explore friendly new services by Paypal and others-- things that could redirect internet traffic in a focused way to facilitate exposure and sales. Via Illustrated Weblog Marketing.

• I figured as long as I was going that way, I might as well take some friends along. They would need their own weblogs, and those would need to be illustrated (what I do). Illustrated Weblog Marketing.

I now understand the concept of internet as conversation. It is as empowering to the individual as it is to the corporate giant--more so because of the vast numbers of individuals contributing their resources and utilizing yours. And weblogs are like billboards in the traffic of the web.

Stay tuned...

 

 

 

 

The photograph is a bookshelf in The Weary Club, Norway Maine. The story goes...during long, cold winters, afflicted with cabin fever and marital dysfunction, men would retire to the Weary Club for spirits and manly conversation--wives not allowed; the men were weary of them. What are you weary of?

The print is eight inches by ten inches on cotton rag art paper, matted in a  gallery-white eleven by fourteen artcare mat. Email me to inquire about different sizes or presentations. Price includes shipping to continental U.S.