Eric Tapley

I’d like to share a new site launched for Melanson Consulting, a firm that is introducing “verbal branding” to the world. I worked with Steve Melanson, the principal, to define the goals for the site, architect the layout, determine the content needs, design and build the site, integrate the blog, incorporate audio and video, and plan a long-term strategy for success. I’m very proud of this site and believe it will achieve great results for Steve.

The team at Bresette worked to help me realize the vision of building a simple site that focused visitors - from top down, literally - on the video, Steve’s action elements (engaging him, his audio samples and downloadable book), and then onto the blog. It’s a straightforward and unusual layout that focuses visitors on each element as they naturally work their way down the page.

In addition to the site we created collateral material for Steve and ensured that all of it was consistent in terms of branding and presentation.

Credits: Eric Tapley, Adam Kaufmann, Tyler Shingleton

It’s more important to be honest than to be rich. Period.

My everyday work (often fueled with a healthy dose of techno) involves helping people and businesses build a successful web presence. That’s not all, of course, but it’s the major thrust of what I do and, in general, there isn’t a good framework used for this.

I don’t mean a technical framework, mind you, but a business framework. My clients focus on less important details (Will there be a “home” link? Where? What color?!) and not the fundamentals, like how the site is going to meet measurable business goals.

So I’ve created a framework. It’s not rocket science but it helps keep people on track.

In general the components are:

1. Acquire: Determine how you’re going to get visitors to your site and what number you need to reach your goals. If you want 10 contacts per month and it takes 100 visitors to get a contact you need a plan to get 1,000 visitors to the site, otherwise your goals are toast.

2. Engage: Once a visitor gets to your site what will they see? It’s not about colors, photos, or even the details of the text, the key is understanding what your visitor needs and building a site that will convey that message. Want them to call you? Make that clear. Engage them with your content, presentation, and the actions on the site.

3. Maintain: This is where people fall down. You’ve done the hard work of setting up a site, driving traffic to it, and encouraging them to take an action. Now what? Keep in touch! Use LinkedIn or Facebook, send out email newsletters, blog, tweet, whatever works for you. Just maintain and grow that connection you’ve worked so hard to create.

Keep these things in mind - how you’re getting visitors to your site, what they’re doing once they get there, and how you’re going to maintain the relationship - and you’ll see continued success and reach your goals.