What is Holistic Web Marketing?

What is Holistic Web Marketing? At flyte we use this model to explain our integrated approach to online success. A static Web site is no longer enough; you need a coordinated Web marketing strategy to reach the widest audience possible.

Holistic Web marketing consists of four parts:

• Attraction: How to drive quality traffic to your Web site. [Tools: search engine optimization, blogging, social media]
• Retention: How to keep the conversation going after they’ve left your site. [Tools: email marketing, social media]
• Conversion: How to get people to make a buying decision at your site, whether it’s clicking on a “Buy Now” button, completing a contact form, or picking up the phone. [Tools: web site]
• Measurement: How to analyze your traffic to make ongoing improvements to both your Web site and your Internet marketing for better results. [Tools: analytics]

We believe that you need to address and integrate all four pieces of Holistic Web Marketing for long-term success.

On Thursday, May 14th at 12pm EDT, I'll be leading a one hour Webinar (plus 30 minutes of Q&A) examining how small businesses can use the holistic Web marketing model to grow their own business. We'll look at search engine optimization, email marketing, blogging, social media and your own Web site as tools to increase online visibility, drive more qualified leads to your site, and generate more online business.

The cost of the Webinar is normally $49, but if you enter coupon code "theeconomystinks" you'll save $15. That's our stimulus package to you.

Learn more and register now!

Rich Brooks
Web Marketing for Small Biz

Flyte's Economic Stimulus Package for Small Business

It seems like the only way you can get bailout money from the government these days is if you're "too big too fail." Where does that leave us: the small business owner, the entrepreneur, the engine of America's economic recovery?

Well, we've got to look out for each other. Which is why flyte has rolled out our own Economic Stimulus Plan for Small Businesses.

In honor of us releasing a new ProSite theme (good work, Andy!), we've taken our already affordable ProSite package and thrown in a fully functioning, complementary-designed blog at no extra cost (normally $499).

Flyte's ProSites, affordable, pre-designed Web sites, are perfect for small businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals who are looking to get an effective, successful Web site presence up and running quickly.

Once we've received your content your site can be up in as little as five business days, for as little as $1,999.

The sites built on WordPress, the popular open-source content management system (CMS), which allows business owners to update their own Web site, add pages, upload images and embed videos without any HTML knowledge or expensive software. Any modern browser will do.

These sites are completely scalable, search engine friendly, and are built rock solid by flyte new media, the official small business Web design firm. (Official status still pending; we're just waiting for one more signature at the SBA.)

Check out our newest ProSite designs, or learn more about the ProSite packages at our Web site.

Rich Brooks
Small Business Web Design

Web Developers: Is it Time to Really Ditch IE6?

Every Web designer and Web developer I know would answer either:

• Yes!
• Hell, yes! or
• F***, yeah!

to the previous question.

For most of us, Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) is the bane of our existence. You can design the most beautiful site that works well in IE7, Firefox, Safari and across operating systems and then you go and look at it in IE6 and you just want to cry.

On average, it adds 4 to 5 hours of development time or more when it comes to building a Web site, so making sure that the site looks good on IE6 is an investment in time.

So, now that Microsoft has released IE8 can we drop support for IE6?

Traditionally, flyte's guarantee has been that our sites look great on the two most recent versions of popular browsers across Mac & PC, and "degrade gracefully" on previous versions. After all, you can't support every version of every browser; you'd go out of business before your first site was launched. And although it's gotten better recently, Microsoft's lack of compliance with industry standards has made the average developer's life harder than it needs to be.

When I think about the hours of productivity lost because IE6 sucks so much it makes Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme pale by comparison.

OK, maybe it's not that bad, but a few extra hours on every Web site built? It just shouldn't be that way.

Unfortunately, dropping IE6 support may still be a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. On flyte's Web site about 9% of our visitors are still using IE6. For one of our clients, Alaska Fly Fishing Goods, they get 13% of their visitors on IE6. For another client, St. Mary's Health Care, it's a whopping 28%!

Although those numbers will decline as IE8 adoption goes up, it's not going to change overnight. If 10% - 25% of a client's traffic is going to be delivered using IE6 it's impossible to ignore that business. You have to make sure the site "works" on IE6.

So, what can you do?

I would suggest to all Web designers and developers that we attack the problem on two fronts:

1. Start charging more for IE6 compliance. If IE6 is adding 4 - 5 or more hours of production work for the developer, why aren't you passing that time on to your clients? Although we haven't made any decision yet, at some point we're going to have to either stop supporting IE6 outright or giving our clients the option of buying a "premium" package that covers the additional time.
2. Recommend upgrading to IE8 and promoting the link. As a Mac guy I'm not thrilled with the idea of pushing IE8, and of course I'd recommend Firefox, Safari and probably even Chrome over IE8, but better 8 than 6. Tell them it's a security issue. Tell them if they stick with IE6 then the terrorists win. Tell them whatever you need to, but get people to upgrade.

If you have any suggestions, legal or otherwise, to make IE6 nothing more than a war story to tell our kids, please let me know.

Rich Brooks
IE6 Stole My Profit Margin

Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility Relaunched on Joomla

Flyte recently launched a Web site for MEBSR: Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility.

I've been involved with MEBSR for several years, an organization that can best be described as a dynamic collection of forward-thinking business leaders in Maine dedicated to “doing well by doing good.”

If you're a Maine-based business and interested in triple-bottom-line success: environment, community involvement and profit, then you should get involved with MEBSR. It's the perfect network of people interested in sustainable business and green business.

The new site offers member only benefits such as unique content, membership directories, links that pass search engine juice, and discounts on upcoming events.

The site was built on Joomla, an open-source content management system that offers great scalability. Members can update their profile online as well as renew online with a credit card or PayPal.

If you'd like to give MEBSR a try, why not attend our first Leadership Event of the year, which is from 6pm - 8:30pm on 1/28/2009 at the Portland Museum of Art. The topic is "Climate Change Leadership and Triple Bottom Line Success."

I hope to see you there.

Rich Brooks
Sustainable Business Owner

8 Reasons Why WordPress is Better Than Contribute

Yesterday I send out an email newsletter about content management systems (CMS) for small business. I have already received a few emails from clients and subscribers who are interested in upgrading their static Web site to a CMS.

One client with a static site was using Contribute to update their site and wondered if a CMS offered any other benefits. This led to a discussion with my friend/co-worker Dave Cousins about the myriad of benefits  WordPress--a blogging/CMS platform we often use-has over Contribute. Other CMS platforms have similar benefits.

1. Contribute is $200 per copy. WordPress is free.
2. Contribute is $100 per upgrade. WordPress upgrades are free.
3. Contribute is for one computer. On the road? Working from home? You'll need to have your laptop with Contribute installed with you or you're out of luck. With WordPress you just need to log into your password-protected admin system from any modern browser and you're good to go. In fact, you can have multiple people updating the Web site and not have to buy multiple copies of any software.
4. It's easy to add pages in WordPress. Yes, you can add pages in Contribute, but it's a bear.
5. It's easy to update navigation in WordPress. Don't get me started on Contribute.
6. WordPress uses XHTML/CSS for fast-loading, bloat-free sites. Chances are if you're using Contribute, your site is a few years old and is ready for an upgrade.
7. Design revisions are less expensive with WordPress. Because of its extensive use of style sheets, a design update or even overhaul is significantly less labor intensive in WordPress. You only need to update the style sheets, not rebuild every page on the site.
8. WordPress is an online publishing platform, Contribute is an update tool. WordPress offers a site search, blogging capabilities, podcasting capabilities, RSS feeds, and unlimited plug-ins to enhance your Web site. Contribute allows you to fix typos and update your events page. In fact, it's really not fair to compare the two. But that didn't stop me.

I'm sure I'm leaving plenty of ideas out, so feel free to jump in. Or, if you think I'm wrong, let me know why Contribute trumps WordPress.

Rich Brooks
WordPress Web Sites for Small Business

Animoto - Slick Slide Shows for Small Biz

If your small business has some nice visuals (think scenic views, jewelry, art, beautiful people, etc., etc.,) and you've been looking for an interesting way to display it online, you might want to check out Animoto.

I first heard about Animoto in an article I read in Entrepreneur magazine last month and began playing around with it right away. It's addicting to say the least.

What Animoto does is create slick slide shows set to music with great transitions. While there is a free version, it just too limiting to be of any use to a business. By upgrading to a paid account you can have videos of any length, have DVD-quality images, upload your own music, and include a clickable call-to-action. (For example, a resort could end it's slide show with a "Book Your Room Now!" link to the reservations page on their site.)

Once you've established your account you can easily create a slide show by clicking on "create video" near the top of every page. After that it's a three-step process.

Images: You can upload images from your computer or another Web site like Flickr. Once they're on the Animoto site you can rearrange the order, add text, delete or even spotlight certain key photos. Once you're happy with the organization click continue.

Sound: You can choose from Animoto's royalty-free library that includes a number of genres such as hip-hop, classical, independent rock and more. You can also upload your own music, but be aware of any copyrights you might be infringing on. In other words, dropping that Zeppelin track on your slide show may get you a call from an attorney.

Once you've selected the appropriate music it's time to render your video.

Render: If you have the business account you'll be able to add a call-to-action button at the end of your video. You'll also be able to change the image pacing of your video (although just 1/2 speed or 2x speed) and choose a cover screen. Once that's done Animoto gets to work.

A few minutes later (or even a few hours, if there are a lot of photos), you'll get an email that your video is ready for viewing. This is a lower-res version. If you like what you see you can download a DVD-Quality version. If you'd like to have the Animoto engine try again you can "remix" your video.

You can choose one-click remix, which will just give you different transitions, or go back in and tweak the order of photos, text, and choose a different song.

For small businesses looking to break through the clutter and grab a visitor's attention, Animoto might be just what you need.

Below is the video I created for Portland Motor Club based on my trip to an open house they had a few weeks back.

If you can't see the movie here, check it out on YouTube. Keep in mind that the DVD-quality is somewhat diminished when rendered through YouTube's system.

Rich Brooks
One Day I'd Like to Direct

ProSites - Affordable Web Sites for Small Businesses

We don't often promote individual ProSites -- our affordable Web sites for small businesses -- here at the flyte blog, but every once in a while it's nice to list some of the companies that are now using the ProSites.

• Maine Custom Woodlands - A full service timber harvesting, land management and excavation company.
• Alan Shaver - Candidate for trustee of the Episcopal Church Pension Fund.
• Psychological Associates of Northern Jersey - A multi-disciplinary partnership of mental health professionals in northern NJ.
• Business Etiquette Institute - Margie Kelly, a business etiquette consultant.
• Reduce My College Costs - A resource-rich Web site for parents of college-bound children looking to save money on tuition.

All of these sites are built on the WordPress platform, allowing our clients to update their Web site without any HTML knowledge or expensive 3rd party software. Just a modern browser is all they need to keep their Web site fresh and smelling like springtime.

Rich Brooks
Small Business Web Sites

How to Share Your Google Analytics (Without Sharing Your Google Account)

As you may know, here at flyte we're pretty fond of Google Analytics and set our clients up with this great, free traffic reporting software.

If you're working with a contractor who's helping you with search engine marketing, or improving your Web site's effectiveness, they may want/need access to your traffic reports to make better recommendations. However, if you give them full access to your Google account they can also access your Gmail and intercept all of your mushy emails or those cease-and-desist letters from Sarah Palin's lawyers.

Here's how you can give them access to just your reports but keep curious eyes away from anything else.

First, login to your Google Analytics account. Down near the bottom of the page you'll see "User Manager." Click there.

That will take you to a page that will show you any user that already has access to the traffic reports. In the dark gray bar you'll see an Add User link near the right. Click there.

This will take you a page where you can add a new user. You can give this new user just View Reports access or make them an Account Administrator. If you choose to give them Account Administrator access they will be able to edit your account settings such as adding other users, creating filters or having Google Analytics email certain reports to users.

This could be just what you want, but just be aware of what you're choosing.

Your new user will need to have a Google account, but as Google accounts are free this probably isn't much of a problem.

You may be tracking reports for multiple Web sites. If you're just giving View Reports access you'll need to select at least one domain from the Available Website Profiles, click the "Add>>" button, and make sure they end up under Selected Website Profiles. Otherwise, the reports won't transfer.

And as always, save your work.

That's all you need to do. Next time they log into their Google Analytics account they'll see a link to your analytics on their dashboard page.

Rich Brooks
Web Analytics Guy

Web Marketing Course for Entrepreneurs and Small Business

I can't believe that we're just one week away from the first class of Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Small Business over at the University of Southern Maine.

Well, actually I can, as I spent most of yesterday afternoon updating and revamping the search engine optimization content for the class. And I've blocked out plenty of hours this week to review the rest of my content and build out the social media component. But the "I can't believe" part stresses the fact that it's only a week away, and if you were planning on coming you've got to get a move on.

Who should go? Well, you should be in driving distance of Portland, Maine. (Yes, one of these days I'll create an online version, but not today.) Assuming that you can get to the campus, this course is geared to small business owners, marketers and entrepreneurs who are looking to build a Web presence to grow their business.

Topics will include search engine visibility (how do you out rank your competition,) email marketing, business blogs, social media, e-commerce, and building a Web site that will convert prospects into customers.

The course is held over four Monday nights, 11/10/2008 - 12/1/2008, from 6pm - 8pm at the Abromson Center on the campus of the University of Southern Maine (directions.) The cost is $205, but you need to pre-register for the class, so...

Register Now!

We'll be spending class time reviewing students' current Web sites (when applicable) and making on the spot recommendations to help you rank higher, drive more qualified leads to your site, and convert more prospects into customers. So what are you waiting for?

Register Now!

Rich Brooks
Oh Captain, Your Captain

Protect Your Email Address from Email Harvesters

Putting an email on your Web site has traditionally been the most effective way to learn about low mortgage rates, Russian brides and Viagra. That's because email harvesters--evil little programs that scour the Web for email addresses--collect your email and deliver it to spammers.

However, as our own Andy Woznica reports in our flyte crew blog, a Web based version of Enkoder is back. Enkoder is a program that hides your address from the email harvesters while showing it to the humans who want to contact you.

Now, personally, I think this is just the latest salvo in the spam wars, and one day the email harvesters will figure out how to decode the enkoder, just as the Terminators learned to mimic human form. But for now, the good guys are winning.

If you feel the urge to show your email address on your Web site, check out the Enkoder today.