Client Updates and Quarterly Recap (2009Q1)

Can you believe we’re already 25% of the way through 2009? Part of me feels like Christmas was yesterday, but I think the fact that we’ve been so busy around here means a lot!

As usual, I’m still working with Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger, but now I’m also managing content for him over at TwiTip, which is quite the Twitter resource! I’ll also be helping out with the 31 Days to Build A Better Blog project starting this Monday, April 6th. (If you haven’t signed up yet – don’t miss it!)

Along with that, I’ve worked with my dear friend James to launch two projects of his, America The Lost and Shoot. Edit. Publish.

America The Lost

Shoot. Edit. Publish.

James also did a guest post over at Digital Photography School (another of Darren’s blogs) titled 13 Tips For Improving Outdoor Portraits which has been a great traffic boost to both new project sites. America The Lost currently is receiving a decent amount of search traffic – which completely debunks the myth of the Google Sandbox, but that’s another story for another time.

In the midst of all of this, we’ve done most of the work on the liquor store client site, and are now waiting for the newest list of wines so we can add them to the site, work on the front page, and make an official launch.

We also did a big revamp of another great site: Cookerati. Prior to working on the site, it was a fairly old install of WordPress with an outdated theme. So we managed an upgrade and customized a design for them that added some great color and layout changes. There’s been some great feedback from the site’s regular visitors already, and thankfully the owners are pretty excited, too!

Cookerati

Dark Shadows Magazine

We’ve also done some work for a revamped online fashion ‘zine, Dark Shadows Magazine. It’s editor is Genn Shaughnessy, who is a celebrity and fashion makeup artist. She’s phenomenal, folks. Really something!

All in all it’s been a good first quarter, to be honest. I’m feeling good about our clients and their needs being met, despite the economic situation we’re all in.

What You Can Look Forward To

• More frequent blogging. We’re taking “consulting” to an extreme in the coming months, and will be talking more frequently on the blog about helping you, either as an individual or as a part of a larger business model, to continue to profit from your online efforts.
• Premium WordPress Themes. I can’t say when yet, or how much, but it’s something we’ve been thinking on for quite some time. And yes, there will be an option to have us customize for you. And also yes, there will be free options.
• More client launches and relaunches. We’re really firm believers in helping to highlight our great clients. No, it’s not just to show off our stuff (though it helps), but rather we want to share with the world how awesome we think our clients are. We hope you don’t mind the intrusion.
• More details on consulting services offered, and improved scheduling options. We’re looking to add more options for lower rates and lesser minimum hours. We know times are tough for everyone, so we want to help as best we can.

So there you have it! We’ve got an exciting quarter planned and hopefully we’ll make it through the above mentioned points and much more!

Re-branding your business.

After nearly four years as “Anubis Marketing”, I made a decision to grow my company outward. It started as a simple design, SEO, and internet marketing business, but has since grown to so much more than that. It was time for a change.

I explain my logo here, which really has a lot to do with the naming of the new company, but what it boils down to is that I felt I needed a better representation of myself and my company than “The Egyptian God of Death and Resurrection”. Haha, that wasn’t my initial goal, but since Anubis has the head (and sometimes the body) of a hound (greyhound), it was something that meant something to me. The problem was, it was only a positive meaning to me, as a greyhound owner, and to the rest of the world well… not so much.

Ginkgo trees symbolize longevity, wisdom, and life. That’s more what this business is about, more what I’m about. I love the leaves, so it made sense to me. It should make more sense to others now, too.

So here I sat with this idea to change my company name, and now I have to deal with four years of incoming links to my old site. With the posts and pages and information on that old site. One good thing is that it was built on WordPress, so I can import the old posts over here, but now comes the trouble of letting my RSS subscribers know about the move and doing a permanent redirect from there to the new site, so that the search engines know where I am now, too.

Not that this is all that much trouble, mind you. It’s just a little scary sometimes. There are chances I could lose subscribers if I don’t write that post on the site compelling enough. There are chances I could lose new visitors who click a link expecting to see Anubis Marketing and find themselves at Ginkgo Consulting. There are chances that I won’t, too. So it’s a little unnerving, but it’ll be okay.

Other Changes

Along with the website changes, there are other things I’m implementing into the new business, like fee structure, payment programs, and services offered. Since I’ve had so many new experiences and projects, I wanted a new way to manage everything to help make it easier.

Eventually, I plan to offer “one stop shopping” for programs. If your site needs a “cleanup” on design for example, you’ll be able to come to the site, pay for it, and we can then hammer out the necessary details via email. Rather than spending my time “selling” a package or price, the goal here is to make it smooth and seamless by letting you know up front what’s included in full detail.

I’m also planning on offering premium WordPress themes that can be purchased right from the site and will be emailed directly to you upon payment. This is for people who might only need a “base” layout for their site, but prefer to do all the customizations and implementations on their own without paying additional fees for programming or development.

So, it’s an exciting time for me! I’m looking forward to our growth and expansion, and I’m seeing great things to come!

Have you ever put your blog or business through a major overhaul like this? Please share your story with us in the comments section!

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