Scope of Project: To create a more visually appealing and SEO friendly website based on the content of an existing template website. Modified website by taking it out of table based template and creating handwritten HTML and CSS site.

Overview: I have known Anya Hanson Wendt for about 3 years. She is a good friend and I have always respected her abilities as a coach and business person. So when she asked me to help her create a website for her coaching business, I was honored and delighted.

We tried several versions and ideas a few years earlier, but none of them seemed to be working for her. Anya was looking for a way to have her website reach potential coaching “partners” while at the same time having the site reach potential coaching “clients.” The duality of this made it difficult for me to come up with a good hybrid site since one of my development rules has always been to only have a singular focus. Due to our inability to find a good solution, Anya decided to have another group help her build her website.

Original using replicated website template	Updated website using HTML and CSS

In 2010 she came back to me with the completed website that she had built with a request to modify it. The website was styled pretty well including a great video that they recorded with her that speaks to potential client partner. The issue she had with it was the use of color, lack of white space, and cartoon images or stock images not being an exact fit for what she wanted. So, I decided to take on the project and help her get the website out of the template it was in, streamline the colors, and use more effective imagery to help connect with clients. In addition, the content and message still wasn’t speaking to her audience they way she wanted – so I also agreed to re-write the content to give it a clear voice and message.

The final website that I created was done by handwriting the HTML with CSS attributes to give it a clean style with lots of white space. At the same time, I coded the pages using white-hat SEO techniques whereby I strategically placed converting keywords throughout the site to help it rank better in the search engines. The completed website also has a new message and content that clearly breaks down what Inspired Learning does, what they can offer potential clients, and a clear call to action to get her more clients.

“From my view, finding expert, results oriented Internet marketers that understand the multi-faceted nature of the industry (marketing fundamentals and strategy, design, analytics, best tools and tactics, implementation experience) is difficult. I have found most internet marketers to be more hype than performance. Finding someone who produces results is extremely valuable. Jeff fits this side of the equation.” Anya Hanson Wendt – Inspired Learning Group

Lessons Learned – Sometimes it takes time for clients to try multiple solutions in an effort to get what they want.

If you need a website or have a marketing need please contact me for a personal consultation.

I recently had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth Crinejo of Uniquely Wed. Elizabeth is among many things a minister in Austin. She had an existing website that she used to get wedding clients. The challenge facing her business was how to have a professional appearance that didn’t look like every other wedding site. And a way to enhance the fact that she specializes in non-denominational wedding ceremonies and non-traditional wedding ceremonies.

The previous website was a template site that was built and hosted by GoDaddy. It didn’t feature any photos and did not highlight anything related to specific services or have a clear call-to-action. The content was well written and there was a contact page, so the site was completely functional albeit generic.

After our first consultation, it became clear that the solution for Uniquely Wed was quite simple and very affordable. I recommended that she switch from the existing GoDaddy template over to a WordPress.org website. This would allow her the ability to easily create and modify her site, while at the same time incorporating a blog component, Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Original website using GoDaddy template	Modified website using WordPress

The look and feel of the website was drawn on from Elizabeth’s personal taste. She envisioned having a website that was maroon and light blue, that also had mockingbirds symbolically placed. Given her easy direction, I quickly converted the website to a hosted WordPress site, built a theme, incorporated her social media tools, and inserted her existing text. After a couple of small color changes, we were complete and her company was off and running.

The solution provided to Elizabeth and Uniquely Wed enables her site to stand out from all the traditional “Black & White” formal wedding sites and speak directly to her audience. She is very happy with the result and has already booked her first wedding using the new site.

“By making the graphical changes and adding a focus on the non-denominational aspect to my business, the number of wedding requests per week I receive has increased substantially.” Elizabeth Crinejo – Uniquely Wed Austin

Lessons Learned – Sometimes there are great websites that just don’t make a good first impression. With a few simple changes, it is possible to help people suddenly see the hidden gem that was hiding there all along.

If you need a website or have a marketing need please contact me for a personal consultation.

Created the Energy Audit Institute in 2009

I started out in the energy audit industry in 2008 by partnering with Denby Energy to build a new training and certification company focused on the commercial audit sector. I was able to build a nice website platform using WordPress and a keyword campaign into Google Adwords that quickly netted a profit. After the initial success of that first training platform, we decided to split as partners and I created a white-label version of the training under the brand Energy Audit Institute.

After its launch in Jan of 2009, the Energy Audit Institute (aka EAI) quickly became the most recognized brand in the energy efficiency training and certification sector. I was able to attain this by keeping the price point under $200 as well as pointing out to prospective customers how the training and certification they received was not a replacement for other certifications offered by RESNET and BPI. As a marketer, my vision and focus was generating a unique selling proposition and building off that to offer different products.

By the beginning of 2010 my white-label contract was completed and I hired some technical writers in the energy industry to create 2 new programs – commercial and residential – that would serve as both a replacement product for what I sold during the white-label period as well as to upgrade the materials that had become dated during the year long contract. The new programs also included more academic tools such as practice exam questions, working examples, and highlighted core concepts to assist students in the learning process – which helped increase the number of customers actually taking and subsequently passing their certification exams.

The Energy Audit Institute continued to grow during 2010 with the addition of my own white-label partners, community colleges, and state programs adopting the new course materials into their own curriculum’s. This added boost was enough for me to have to look into expanding EAI as a multi-employee company with potentially several offices located throughout the U.S. But since I am a marketer at heart and did not have the aspiration to be the CEO of a full-size energy company, I decided to sell the company at the end of 2010.

Lessons Learned
There were 3 big lessons that I learned during this process. The first was that if you do your research, you can find opportunities in even the most impregnable areas. This industry was strictly patrolled by governmental agencies that had a strong hold since the 1970′s. But by finding an area where they weren’t operating (commercial energy audits) and focusing in just that market to start, we were able to get up and running without issue. Second, I learned how important contracts really are and how a hand-shake agreement to start a business with people you don’t really know can quickly fade once you start making money – enough said. And 3rd was just how complicated, irritating, but rewarding selling an online business really is!