Archive for December, 2010

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Small Business Commerce Association Names Flyte “Best of Business”

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

The other day my sense of self-worth ballooned when I received an email from the prestigious, august organization known as the Small Business Commerce Association (SBCA). It turns out that flyte had been recognized as a Best of Business in Computer Graphics for 2010 in Portland, Maine.

I was almost giddy when I read the email and found out flyte had been chosen based on “information taken from monthly surveys administered by the SBCA, a review of consumer rankings, and other consumer reports.”

As the email states, “Award winners are a valuable asset to their community and exemplify what makes small businesses great.” Too true, too true.

Imagine how excited I was when I found out that they would be happy to send me an award plaque for only $57.97, an elegant faceted award for only $117.97, or both for a promotional price of $157.97.

But wait, it gets better! As respected as the SBCA was, even they realized they may not be perfect. They were open to the possibility that they may have gotten my company name, city and even the award category incorrect. (I’m not sure how such an amazing organization could make a mistake, but their candor humbled me.)

They were so open, in fact, they allowed me to update any information that was incorrect. Well, of course, they got our company name and our location correct, but I did sense that there may have been a typo in the category, so I quickly fixed it. The SBCA site updated my plaque on the fly (see above.) These people are professionals.

I was just about to drop the $157.97 on the combo pack of plaque and faceted award when I realized that it would be more environmentally friendly to just take a screen capture and share it with our fans, followers and readers. Perhaps next year the SBCA will award flyte a Best of Business in “Environmental Studies.”

We’re going to try not to let this award go to our heads, but it’s going to be tough. Don’t hate us just because we’re Most Awesomest.

By the way, if you didn’t get flyte a present for Chrismakkah this year, feel free to cut us a check for $157.97. Just make it out to cash.

Rich Brooks
More Awesomer Than Thou

Posted in flyte news, Ignore It! | 4 Comments »


Web Marketing Articles – A Year in Review

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010

2010 was a challenging year for a lot of businesses, but for those who “marketed through it” fared better than those who put their head in the sand and tried to wait it out.

Social media became legitimized for a lot of businesses who were attracted by the apparent low-cost…forget that it takes serious resources to write compelling blog posts, update your Facebook fan page, create videos, engage in LinkedIn Groups and tweet–just to name a few activities that successful social media marketers delved into in 2010.

We also saw more focus on mobile marketing, which will continue to grow in 2011, with mobile-friendly web sites, smart phone apps, location-based apps, and QR codes to name a few. I expect this will continue as well, as more people upgrade to smart phones…especially if there’s a Verizon iPhone released this year.

As always, I feel that the best approach is an integrated one, where your create a strong content strategy and deliver your message over multiple channels, that may include your web site, blog, online video, and social networking sites. Depending on your audience it might include podcasts, in-game advertising, traditional advertising, in-person networking events and more.

For all of you who take web marketing seriously, and get passionate about growing your business, here’s a quick roundup of the articles we published in flyte log, our email newsletter this year:

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Email Marketing, Entrepreneur & Small Business, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Web Design & Development, Web Marketing | 2 Comments »


Announcing the Blogging Success Summit 2011

Monday, December 27th, 2010

I’m a big believer in business blogs. (Wow. Good alliteration.) I’ve seen firsthand how this blog (and others I contribute to) have increased flyte’s online visibility, traffic to our site, and our business.

A blog is the centerpiece of any web marketing or social media campaign. There’s only so much you can get across in 140 characters, but a blog gives you as much room as you need to inform, educate or sell, all while keeping the interactivity of social media.

That’s why I’m so excited to be one of the featured instructors in the first ever Blogging Success Summit, brought to you by BlogWorld and SocialMediaExaminer.com.

This event will be delivered live online between February 1st through the 22nd, as well as recorded for your convenience. I’ve “attended” both Social Media Success Summits and the Facebook Success Summit (from Social Media Examiner) and all have been filled with an insane amount of information that can help a business grow. In fact, 95% of the attendees to these events say they’d attend again.

For the Blogging Success Summit there will be 23 of the “world’s leading blogging experts”, including Darren Rowse (ProBlogger), Brian Clark (Copyblogger), Debbie Weil (The Corporate Blogging Book), Mari Smith, Chris Garrett, Mike Volpe (Hubspot), Denise Wakeman (Blog Squad), and some guy from Maine you probably never heard of.

Some other fun facts:

  • The event will be live. You can watch in real time on your computer screen as the instructors share their best tips and tricks.
  • You can interactive with the presenters. There is Q&A at the end of every session so you can get your questions answered.
  • Networking is included. There will be a LinkedIn Group that will be exclusive to attendees & presenters. I’ve been part of the other exclusive Summit LI groups, and there’s a lot of non-promotional networking that goes on there.

Act now, save money!

The cost of the event is $597, which is amazing for the list of experts you’ll have access to, the number of sessions, the fact you can listen to these live or download the presentations to your computer, iPad or iPhone for later watching or listening, and the fact that you don’t have to incur any travel expenses or take time off from work to attend.

But wait, there’s more!

For a limited time (seriously, I don’t know how long, they’re not sharing that information with me), there’s an early bird special of half-off the regular price! That’s a savings of almost $300! Seriously, that’s pretty sweet.

You can get the full list of presenters, topics and details at the Blogging Success Summit 2011 registration page. Hope to see you there!

Rich Brooks
That Maine Blogger

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Entrepreneur & Small Business, flyte news, Web Marketing | 1 Comment »


Happy Holidays from flyte new media

Friday, December 24th, 2010

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season and a prosperous 2011!


Rich Brooks & the flyte crew

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Posted in flyte news | No Comments »


2011 Technology Predictions

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

I really wanted to find a swami hat before this segment taped, but no luck. So, without my Carnac abilities at full, I attempted to predict the future of technology…at least through 2011 on 207 the other night.

You can watch the video at WCSH’s web site or in the video below.

Oh, and one other prediction I forgot to mention? 2011 will be the year of the triple rainbow.

Rich Brooks
I See All…And Blog Most

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Posted in flyte news, Off Topic | 3 Comments »


St. Mary’s: Central Maine Hospital Runs on Joomla

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

Flyte recently revamped the website for St. Mary’s Health System, a health care provider in central Maine.

The revamped web site sports a better site architecture to handle and organize the many services that St. Mary’s offers, including Senior Health, Women’s Health, and Prevention & Wellness, to name just a few.

The e-commerce was also upgraded to be more secure, whether people are paying their bills online, making a donation, or buying something from the gift shop for a patient.

Both the current site and the previous were powered by Joomla, an open-source content management system (CMS). As part of the upgrade, flyte upgraded the site from Joomla 1.0 to 1.5 and learned an important lesson: there’s no such thing as upgrading to 1.5. It’s a complete do-over. :roll:

However, with the help of the marketing team at St. Mary’s who are able to handle and maintain the site through the Joomla admin, the final product rolled out, better able serve St. Mary’s community.

Rich Brooks
Maine Joomla Development

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Posted in Web Site Launches | No Comments »


How to Make Time to Blog: 5 Ways to Ensure You Write Blogposts

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

This has been a banner year. Flyte’s been busier than ever, and it’s been great. But that comes at a price…I haven’t had as much time to blog as I’d like.

According to Rich, it’s BS when you say you don’t have time to blog. He takes a business owner’s standpoint on the subject: you’re investing in your business every time you write a new post. Sounds a little more worthwhile after hearing that, huh?

But from a logistical standpoint, though, sometimes you just don’t have the time. Never fear, there are ways around that.

1. Take advantage of a creative moment

I know and love these moments – those moments that tend to happen at the most inopportune times (you know…in the middle of the night, in the middle of a conference call, in the middle of breakfast…).

Here’s the thing: take advantage of those moments by at least getting your ideas down on paper, or recording on your phone. (If you have the time, write a quick draft.) You’ll be happy you did.

2. Take the easy way out

Sometimes, it’s OK to write an easy blogpost to get something out there. As long as you don’t lean on these type of posts as a crutch every time you write, you’re in the clear. Here are some ideas:

  • Find a Wall Street Journal article, copy and paste part of it, then write your .02.
  • Update an old blogpost you did.
  • Do a top 10 link list of interesting posts in your niche.
  • Write a Dear Abby letter to yourself and answer it.
  • Create a list of your favorite Tweeps in your niche or region.
  • Take a photo or video you found online, embed it, and write a few sentences about it. (Better yet, take your own photo or video.)

3. Two (or three or four…) heads are better than one

Lean on your coworkers, staff, family, and friends for post ideas. Ask staff and coworkers what kinds of questions they’ve been getting from customers lately. Ask friends and family how your business relates to them and what they’d like to learn about it.

4. Relate it…somehow, anyhow

For many, business isn’t personal. Though to others, it is. I’m the latter. So take an interesting story that happened to you over the weekend and use it for an analogy – or even just a fun post.

5. Allow guest blogging

What better way to save time blogging than to have someone else write for you? Accept guest blogposts from the community, or even better: from your coworkers and staff.

When it comes right down to it, it’s about doing what works for you. What ways do you manage your time to write blogposts?

Nicki Hicks
Time Manager

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Posted in Blogging | No Comments »


What is Paper.li? A Newspaper of Tweets?

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

It was a couple of months ago when I first starting noticing some of my favorite tweeps (Twitter people) publishing their own “newspapers.” It was a couple of weeks ago when I decided to head over to paper.li to start publishing my own paper.

Paper.li is a free service that takes links from the people you follow on Twitter and organizes those links into a virtual paper for easy reading.

Creating a newspaper is easy: you log into paper.li with your Twitter account and then have four ways of creating a newspaper:

Once you choose a source your paper will be created, and updated daily. There’s a home page, and sections for Travel, Business, Technology and popular hashtags. The newspaper also includes shared videos, tweets, and, of course, advertisements. (No, you don’t get a share of the profits. However, I can imagine that in the near future we’ll see competitors who are willing to share ad revenue to increase participation.)

You can also choose to have paper.li promote your newspaper when it comes hot off the presses through your Twitter account. This is a good way to share some of the highlights from your feed, as well as promoting some of the people you follow (a new twist on #followfriday.)

This is also a good way of getting the attention of people you follow who may not follow you back, or just don’t have as much interaction with you as possible. I’ve noticed that quite a few people have retweeted my paper.li tweets when they see their name there.

This too will run its course, just like #followfriday did before it. However, for now, paper.li is easy to set up, fun to use, and can be a visually engaging way of seeing what your tweeps are sharing.

Feel free to check out some of my newspapers:

Rich Brooks
See You In The Funny Pages

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Posted in Social Media | 12 Comments »


Maine Senior Guide: Resources for Seniors in Maine

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Maine Web Design Example - Maine Senior GuideWhether you’re looking for a doctor, a senior community, home support or estate management for yourself or a parent, Maine Senior Guide is the number one resource for online information for seniors in the state of Maine.

Visitors to the site can quickly navigate to some key resources, such as Home Support or Social Seniors (a section of the site geared towards seniors who want to find nearby church groups, education or volunteer opportunities.) Each section has related articles from the Maine Senior Guide Library, such as Facebook: Connect with Those Kids in the Social Senior section, or Alzheimers: 10 Tips for Keeping Your Independence in the Senior Community section.

Once they’ve located a category or sub-category, they can further refine their search by choosing a location. This can be done by clicking on a map of the state of Maine, selecting a region from a pulldown menu, or typing in a desired zip code.

The site is powered by WordPress with a healthy infusion of custom programming from flyte. Maine Senior Guide is able to update and maintain most all of the site, import and export data, run reports and more.

Maine Senior Guide offers both free and paid listings within its growing resource of services. Higher level advertisers get their own page and the ability to update their information, upload photos and even embed a video! This is a powerful tool for standing out from the competition. If you have a resource geared towards seniors you’ll want to contact Maine Senior Guide for advertising opportunities.

Rich Brooks
Maine Web Design

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Posted in Web Site Launches | No Comments »


Maine Huts & Trails – Outdoor Adventure Vacations in Maine

Monday, December 20th, 2010

When we first met with Maine Huts & Trails I had a completely wrong-headed idea of what the huts were like.

I imagined having to cross-country ski into the woods where I would find a cold, weather-beaten cabin with a wood stove that I would have to get going. (If that’s your perfect vacation, great! Please text me your photos as I sip margarita’s by the pool.)

While cross-country skiing and outdoor adventure is still part of what makes Maine Huts such a fantastic vacation, the “huts” themselves are brand new facilities with plenty of amenities, all without losing the “roughing it” vibe people are looking for.

The huts are staffed, heated, have showers, electricity, and offer a meal plan. The huts are open year-round, with activities for all seasons. Maine Huts & Trails members get added benefits, free snowshoes and canoe rentals, discounts on rooms, for a low annual fee for both individuals and families. (You can become a member here.)

Flyte rebuilt the web site, created a cleaner interface, and improved the functionality for site visitors. It’s easy now for site visitors to book their adventure, plan their trip, download trail maps and plan for year-round activities. The site was built on WordPress, an easy-to-use content management system that allows Maine Huts to add, edit and delete content, create new pages, upload photos and embed video. Everything the modern web site owner could want. ;)

Flyte also provided search engine optimization and social media strategy, which will continue after the launch to increase the online visibility of the site and attract more visitors.

If you’re looking for an outdoor Maine vacation, regardless of the season, be sure to check out Maine Huts & Trails.

Rich Brooks
All-Season Maine Web Design

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Posted in Web Site Launches | 1 Comment »

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