Internet Marketing Taskmasters

If you are like any of my clients - they tend to get a bit overwhelmed when told what to do!  What I quickly learned upon kicking-off the marketing of a freshly launched (or re-launched) website is that clients often become overwhelmed when they realize the real work is just beginning.

Common misconception:  If you build it they will come... (see previous post - this is not the Field of Dreams!)  

You must work and rework your site, monitor traffic sources, statistics, conversions and about a gazillion other factors to determine where to focus your energies - and then you need to put the time and energy into it - REGULARLY!

When I review a website's marketing plan with a new client - I warn them...  ::: your eyes will glaze over about half way through this, don't be alarmed :::  There is a ton of information and activity surrounding an effective internet marketing plan - and the best type of plan?

A simple plan!  Keep it simple!  I tell my customers they will get no more than 3 tasks at a time from me.  I try to keep the work in small manageable chunks, so when they accomplish a task, they feel great about it.

Not only that, but when you are reviewing website content and updating it, I find it better to do in small chunks to start getting the new web pages indexed while working on others, so you aren't waiting 6 months to promote a whole new website yet again.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Projects that Drive you

I make my living as an Account Manager at an Internet Marketing Firm in upstate, NY, and I am VERY passionate about my clients and helping them make their small businesses succeed online.  I love what I do, and take great pride in the little successes along the way that lead to long term relationships.

BUT... These past few months, I have been given the chance to work on some thing I have been  truly passionate about.  Our company's new web site. Working with Charles Broersma, the founder of our company, has been a challenge.  I mean that in a good way... because he is demanding, and probably more passionate than I am - but we have a great working relationship and we get 'er done!

In a previous life I worked as a project manager at another web development firm, where I was overseeing custom site development, and all aspects encompassing that from RFP responses, scope and budget development, team member selection and managment, risk mitigation, and so on - and I loved all of it.

My work now is somewhat different - in that my days in the hands-on development and input for direction of a new site being built from scratch does not happen any longer.  I now get the sites AFTER they are built and launched, and then run with them, developing strategies for my clients to make their new sites the best they can be, get them optimized, ranked and ultimately drive traffic and sales to result in new customer relationships for them.  

Shown here is a snapshot of the current site... soon to be a memory... This site development project has been exciting for me working with Charles to develop a message for the site, and then coming away from that with a concept - after several iterations and a few headaches here and there (mostly for Charles).  I miss the days of creative input & last minute stresses, trying to dot every "i" & cross every "t".  

Puzzled yet as to what the new site will look like?  Wait and See!

So here we are at the 11th hour and the site is due go live in the next 24 hours.  There are press releases to get out, email blasts to send and meta tags to be updated.  Final quality control check and few last minute tweeks and then we are good to go!

I remember the days of all the final details of a new site launch.  My favorite was a PBS site I worked on that was a complimentary piece to a documentary.  Warrior in Two Worlds.  When you are so passionately involved in a site's success there is a huge amount of excitement and anticipation that goes along with it's launch.

It's been a fun journey, and very rewarding - gaining the acceptance of my peers on this new project and having a team review that was very positive this afternoon.  I am mentally exhausted - yet exhilerated... and Ready!  

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what what is ahead.  - Phillipians 3:13