This was my challenge a few weeks ago when I was hired by a reptile, amphibian, and dinosaur sculptor, Liz Beavers.

Liz, a working artist for over a decade, never had a website. Here’s a peek into a portion of the strategic web communication process we developed, and the immediate results.

Challenges

• Another “Liz Beavers” is a prolific writer, a byline which could squeeze our sculptor out of first-page name search results.
• Although a sales site, Liz needed to be respectful of her existing retail outlets (galleries, stores) so not to undercut them.
• Liz also needed to leverage her existing social circles, many of whom are just joining social media such as Facebook.

Content and Marketing Strategies

Strategy 1: Blogging Filled with Keywords & Phrases.
We first focused on creating content that references ten highly targeted, and competitive, keywords and phrases relating to the kind of sculpture produced by Liz Beavers.

Content Strategy response: Since my client is a good writer and understood the challenge we made her blog the central feature of her website. Her posts contain reference to her work and to the key words/phrases she wants to “own”. Frequent updates make the blog relevant to search results, pushing down competing “Liz Beavers”.

Content Marketing response: Liz’s blog allows her audience to get to know her personally and connect with the thought and process behind making her sculpture. This, in turn, underscores the unique character behind every clay dinosaur, frog, or other highly personalized creature.

Strategy 2: Simple User Interface.
Visitors to Liz’s site should be able to find the information they seek in two clicks or less. We mapped out paths for the top three audiences: those seeking artist biography and background; those browsing available sculpture inventory; and those interested in purchasing off-line in galleries and stores.

Content Strategy response. Content is clearly communicated so navigation is a snap.

Content Marketing response. Liz can effectively speak to all three audiences while maintaining positive relations with her gallery representatives.

Strategy 3: Establish Professional Facebook Profile
Most of Liz’s current patrons tend to be older – which is fine, because this represents the fastest-growing demographic of Facebook adopters. Her Facebook profile automatically updates with the latest entries in her “Studio Journal” blog.

Content Strategy response. Integrating a professional social media profile allows patrons and collectors to connect with Liz on a daily basis via Facebook.

Content Marketing response. By being active on Facebook Liz provides social proof that her work is appreciated, and collected, by others.

Results

• We “soft launched” the website to coincide with local newspaper coverage – resulting in first sale traced to website.
• Liz now has first page Google search results in half of our highly targeted key phrases in less than four weeks. Additionally, she has also pushed down competing “Liz Beavers” entries.
• She now has a 24/7, strategic marketing piece.
• Most importantly, Liz has online sales capability for the first time.

My only regret? That Liz charges so little for her unique clay sculpture. I’ve recommended she raise the prices in 2011.

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My friends at Deena Warner Design have hired me for an interesting, albeit, “odd” project: being the voice of their pet project, “Odd Staunton” – the “Officially Unofficial Guide to Staunton, Virginia.”

Matt and Deena started the blog as a hobby when they moved to Staunton from Northern Virginia in 2005. They are quirky, creative types and their view on the city reflects that. In fact, finding the “Odd Staunton” blog is how we met.

I’ll be writing a regular feature for “Odd Staunton” that highlights weird and wonderful things in the area. (I mean, what other cities greet you with a large watering can sculpture, seen here?) The first is a profile on Montgomery Hall Park.

Strategy-wise, this project has several objectives:

• showcasing the city’s unique personality
• using seo techniques to build on existing web traffic
• highlighting cool things, people, and events around the city

I think the Warners’ project provides a great community service, and, has already resulted in convincing another set of friends to relocate to the area.

I’m happy to be a part of it.

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Confession time: earthworms gross me out.

I mean, worms really make my skin crawl….I totally respect what the humble earthworm does, but still… ick!

So, it’s rather amusing that I’ve written a few articles on the topic. It began with an aol article about earthworms last year and, more recently, for this month’s Flavor Magazine.

The weird thing? I’m actually considering  buying a vermicomposter…so long as I don’t have to touch them.

Here’s an excerpt:

Compost is considered “black gold” and any gardener will attest that happy soil makes for happy, healthy, and beautiful, plants. The secret? The ultimate “black gold” compost made in partnership with humble, wriggly worms. The vermicomposting process starts in your kitchen and comes back full-circle to your kitchen when you enjoy the bounty of your vegetable garden.

For anyone unfamiliar with worms – in the kitchen, no less! – consider the benefits. First, you’ll take stewardship of the land by reducing landfill waste. Secondly, you’ll enhance your soil’s fertility lost from years of pesticides and mismanagement. Thirdly, you’ll enjoy more flavorful homegrown food, too.

Here’s how you can start creating this “black gold” right in your kitchen. Don’t worry: it won’t smell, and, the worms won’t make a great escape!

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Curious about building your own rain barrel? I built one and  wrote an article inspired by the process. It appears in the June/July issue of Flavor Magazine, a magazine dedicated to “Cultivating the Capital Foodshed” in the D.C./Virginia region.

Rain, Rain, Go This Way

An excerpt:

A rain barrel has many practical uses, whether you’re an urbanite, a serious gardener, or somewhere in-between. A rain barrel can service a small, urban herb garden, for example, or maintain stretches of suburban lawn. Gardeners in particular appreciate water from rain barrels because harvested rainfall does not have the additives or chemicals some municipalities add to the water supply. Plants respond better to water that hasn’t been softened.

Read it all here.

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Excerpt from the article “Contain Yourself: The Simple Art of Growing Edible Plants in Pots” for Edible Blue Ridge:

For apartment dwellers, those with small yards, or even newbie gardeners who want to start slow, edible container gardens are a wondrous solution.

Their modular nature gives you the freedom to move them around, depending on where they seem to be thriving. Container gardening also can be easier to tend. Pots that are tall or set on a step can eliminate bending and straining. Plus, potted plants are less prone to weeds, which, when they do pop up, are easier to pull out.

Click here to read the rest, or browse the latest issue of Edible Blue Ridge.

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It’s easy to overlook how content development and management supports the work done by non-profit organizations.

Earlier in the year I volunteered to write and design an informational brochure (embedded below) for the Shenandoah Valley’s Resource Conservation and Development Council (Shenandoah RC&D).

This lead to an interesting three year contract to organize and collect written materials for the “flex fencing stream exclusion” watershed program. The program provides financial assistance to farmers willing to erect fencing to keep animals from polluting the watershed. The fencing is typically accompanied by erosion-prevention planting techniques, too.

The program is privately funded through the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network.

From a content management standpoint the flex fencing project demands keeping track of, and documenting, numerous pieces of varied content (written materials – such as contracts and transcribed farmer interviews – to digital content, such as before/after photos).

Content is pretty essential when you think about its role securing funding for a non-profit. The content collected and managed tells the story of what’s been accomplished.

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Challenge:
Inform the public about the products, services, and philosophy of one of the Mid-Atlantic’s few remaining independently-owned, USDA-inspected meat processing facilities.

Solution:
Develop content strategy and related copy for a social media presence and new, CMS-driven website.

Client:
T&E Meats, Harrisonburg, Virginia
—

Excerpt:

Why T&E Meats
In 2007 Joe Cloud joined forces with farmer, author, and activist Joel Salatin to save one of the few remaining independent, USDA-inspected abbatoirs in the Mid-Atlantic.

The existing butcher shop had been named “T&E Meat Market” after Tommy and Erma May, the previous owners. Cloud and Salatin renamed it “T&E: True and Essential” to highlight the crucial role meat processing plays in the local food ecosystem and to mark the difference between sustainabily-produced local meats and the industrial system.

T&E enables farmers in Virginia to raise and direct market quality livestock by providing excellent processing services under USDA inspection.

A small-scale facility like T&E Meats skillfully and respectfully butchers its livestock compared to the mechanised and inhumane systems common to most large commercial meat processing plants.

We are the only remaining full-service butcher shop and abbatoir in the Shenandoah Valley.

##

See: T&E Meats website and T&E Meats Facebook page

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• Joel Salatin on Big Organic and the Future of Food (thekitchn.com)

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Solution:
A press release explaining the urgency of habitat loss and its connection to the local economy.

Client:
Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District
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January 12, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VERONA, VIRGINIA—A collection of cost-share incentive programs are now available to Augusta County residents willing to create quail habitats on their property.

The official “Christmas Count” of these grassland birds reveal that the quail population in Augusta County has dropped to an all time low. Bobwhite quail populations native to the area have declined over 82% in the last forty years.

Cost-share programs are available to private landowners, commercial tenants, and private citizens who wish to develop habitat for quail and other species on their properties. The state’s Best Management Practice (BMP) program in Augusta County is administered by The Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District.

“Our goal with the cost-share program is to support creation of quail habitats. We find the local, state, or federal funding available to help shoulder the cost. Funds are available to reimburse residents for costs associated with purchasing native plants or hiring labor.”, says Robert Whitescarver, District Conservationist at Headwaters.

He continues, “Landowners are rewarded knowing they are contributing to improved wildlife habitats, support the local economy, and by enjoying the increased aesthetic beauty of their land. State and federal funds make protecting wildlife and natural resources a reality.”

According to Private Lands Wildlife Biologist, Kenneth Kesson, the contributing factors to the quail population decline include: habitat loss and fragmentation, increased urban development, nest predation and lack of winter cover and food. Natural grassland food sources have been gradually eliminated and replaced with non-native Fescue, a grass species which is neither good for cattle or quail. Meanwhile, many hedgerows and shrub thickets, which historically provided thermal and escape cover, have simultaneously been destroyed and cleared.

photo credit: Les Howard | Flickr

“Some might wonder why focus on quail when there are other pressing environmental issues in Augusta County. The answer is that by providing habitats advantageous to quail we are building a healthier ecosystem at the same time. Bobwhite quail can be seen as an indicator species for early successional grassland bird populations.

“Declines in the quail population mean that there is a lack of this type of habitat in general, and may be seen as an ecological warning indicating that there may be further declines in other species which use similar habitat components as quail. By restoring quail habitat we allow people an opportunity to enjoy a resource that has been in Virginia for centuries. There are many other benefits from adding habitat components favored by quail, ranging from carbon sequestration to protecting the soil from the erosive forces of the wind and water. We have had great success working with farmers and individuals to keep our waterways clean, prevent soil erosion, and replace non-native, invasive plants.”, says Kesson.

He adds, “It may be possible to bring the quail population back to previous levels over time. By developing habitat we are taking the first step towards making a realistic recovery effort. I am happy to speak to anyone interested in created quail habitat, or wildlife habitat in general, on their properties. The positive thing here is that we have money to help those interested in developing habitat on their properties and can get a lot of good done fairly quickly.”

In the past five years, Headwaters has paid $1,860,787 in state cost-share funds to Augusta County landowners who installed conservation practices.

The Headwaters District is one of 47 Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Formed in 1975, the District is a part of the state government which provides citizens the structure and the capability to solve conservation problems at a local grassroots level. Since 1984, farmers in this District have voluntarily excluded 1,669 acres of pasture from livestock to protect streams and protected 96 miles of county stream banks, among other successes.

“Area residents have demonstrated their commitment to improving the environment over the years. We expect area residents will be excited to participate.” adds Whitescarver.

Private citizens concerned about quail can make their yards more wildlife friendly. Residents should provide four critical components for wildlife: food, water, cover, and a place to raise young.

More information on cost-share funds specific to quail can be found online at: http://www.headwaters.vaswcd.org/, or by calling Mr. Whitescarver at [omitted]. Yard certification is offered through the National Wildlife Federation. More information can be found at: http://www.nwf.org/

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Challenge:
Raise awareness about state and local funds available for new entrepreneurs and existing independent business owners

Solution:
A series of connected radio spots to air early 2010

Client:
Local micro-finance lending agency
—
Script 1: Stream of Consciousness
target: new entrepreneurs
:60 seconds

SFX: SMALL CITY SOUNDS: TRAFFIC, PEDESTRIANS, CONVERSATION, BIRDS, etc. UP & UNDER (:03 seconds)

ANNCR:    Have these thoughts crossed your mind?

MALE 1: No one works harder than me. Why not strike out on my own? It’s time. I have the knowledge. I could—

FEMALE 1: —be my own boss. Why wait for someone else to give me an opportunity? Life is about creating—

OLDER FEMALE: —new opportunities. I had a satisfying career. Now that I’m retired, I’d really like to focus on my dream, which is to open—

OLDER MALE: —a new business. It’s been tough looking for a job. Seems like the perfect time to take control of my future and start a business.

ANNCR: Did you know that some of most successful businesses in the United States were started during a recession?

ANNCR: Did you know the Staunton Creative Community Fund is seeking motivated, dedicated entrepreneurs? You may be eligible for up to $34,000 in loan money to start your own business.

ANNCR: Isn’t it time to be your own boss? Call XXX-XXXX or go to XXXXXXX.com for more information.

SFX: SMALL CITY SOUNDS: TRAFFIC, PEDESTRIANS, CONVERSATION, BIRDS, etc. UP & OUT (:03 seconds)

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Thank you for activating your newsletter subscription. You join a select group of people who appreciate good food and support local, independent businesses.

Here are a few more items that may interest you.

EVENTS:
Every Monday we donate 10% of our sales to local charitable organizations. We’re also throwing a craft beer festival this Fall. Keep track of these and other fun events via our Events Calendar:
http://www.georgebowersgrocery.com/calendar/

(P.S. If you use Google Calendars, you can sync it directly to your calendar)

SEE FOR YOURSELF:
Browse behind-the-scenes of local food producers. Isn’t it great to know where your food comes from and who made it?
http://www.georgebowersgrocery.com/photos/

FRIEND/FOLLOW US:
(’Cuz we’d be flattered!)
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We always appreciate you passing along some kind words on our behalf. After all, good food should be shared with good friends. We look forward to getting to know you better and seeing you again soon.

Sincerely,
Brian and Katie (and George)
George Bowers Grocery
614 West Beverley Street
Staunton, Virginia 24401
540-255-6811
http://www.georgebowersgrocery.com

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