I was so excited when Julia called me to redesign her website for her Seattle wedding planning company Wedding Wise. Her look definitely needed updating and because her website wasn't optimized for mobile devices - it was necessary to make that happen!
Read MoreMy entire day has been spent looking at asses and boobs ... how often can someone say that!? I feel all motivated to hit the gym and get myself ready for some naked camera time! I was so motivated to kick ass that I sat and completed this website for my client, Mad Chicken Studio, in under 5 hours ... and boy am I tired and ready for a drink!!
Read MoreOne thing I take great pride in is my honesty with people. I don't kiss asses and I don't promise things I can't deliver. I say 'no' sometimes << crazy, right?? Some people can't handle that. There are people who expect a company they are paying to say 'yes' to everything they ask. This is not reality. If I say 'no' it's because it can't be done - at least from where I stand. I do say 'no' and I would rather do that than over promise and under deliver.
Read MoreI’m extremely picky when choosing a person to work with, especially when they have access to my business and files. I’ve been working with Heather for a while now, even prior to her starting this business. The number one reason why I consider her my “public relations person” is her character, drive, and integrity. Even before this business, when I worked with her from her publishing days, she always was fair and honored her word. Even when mistakes were made out of her control, she did everything she could to satisfy me keep me as a customer. Her service has always been number one for me. And now, she’s over-exceeded our expectations and continues to provide over the top service and knowledge.
I highly recommend her. She’s tough, and “hard-ass” because she knows more than we do about what she does and requires certain things to help you succeed and grow. In other words, she cares more about our business than she does her profit. And that’s what I like. She knows this industry and what we need to succeed. Use her for sure!
I was on a call with Jeannie of Details Details Weddings and Events the other day discussing our plans to optimize her newly designed website ... it's a project I am super excited about! Each image on her website and blog will be optimized in a way that I know brides search online ... and I know this because I watched the analytics on Style Unveiled for 8 years ... I know what brides do and how they think. That knowledge can only be achieved by seeing what searches led brides to find my wedding blog and I'm so happy that I have it!
Read MoreI can't think of a better way to ring in the new year than with the launch party of a gorgeous website I designed! Working with Michelle of Michelle Leo Events (a Utah wedding designer and planner) on this website was like straight out of a dream ... when I was the editor of Style Unveiled I would drool over her weddings and editorial shoots from afar and hoped that one day I would feature her ... and while that day never came I can happily say that she chose **ME** to design her dream website ... and that is something I can't even think about silently to myself without hosting the cheesiest grin on my face.
Read MoreThere are so many ways to capture the eyes of potential clients these days ... the old ways of a 'business plan' that is the streamlined path to greatness seems to be dating itself IMO. When I am coaching my wedding professional clients we talk about the different types of 'nets' they should be casting and how to engineer those nets to capture their ideal clients.
Read MoreI kill all plants. I sneeze just looking at a flower through a window. I have kids jumping all over me while I try to work. But my desk is GORGEOUS ... no, wait ... these things don't add up. My desk ... hmmm, how shall I put this ... hasn't shown the 'actual desk part' in MONTHS ... my computer is the only thing that is visible and sometimes the pile on my desk blocks part of my computer screen .. and so I re-pile sh*t and just continue on working ... this is not the glorious life I want to portray online
Read MoreI am giddy with excitement right now ... it's Sunday morning which means my husband has the day off!! A little tidbit about me and my life: my husband is a courier for FedEx which means that every December he disappears for 6 days a week, 12+ hours per day, and we never see him. It also means I am playing the role of single mom who runs her own business << not my favorite role ... but on SUNDAY it's on!!! I have a parenting partner and I can make plans to leave if I want sans kids ... and today I will be doing just that because I srsly have cabin fever over here.
Read MoreI was recently hired to run the Instagram feed of a company who has seen a loss in their orders and wanted a strategy to create buzz again. My instant answer (in addition to everything else we will do to make this company current again) was: USE INSTAGRAM. Like a lot of companies, this one didn't feel they had time to Instagram as often as I recommended ... and so a few days ago I took the reigns and have been so excited to see what's happening with their following and engagement on social media!
Read MoreIn the 8 years I ran Style Unveiled I probably looked at 5 submissions PER DAY ... someone do the math?? Not all were a fit and it was always a bummer for me to tell somebody who had worked so hard on a shoot "no, this is not a fit for SU" ... and now I am on the other side of things: submitting for my clients(!!!!) and it's terrifying!!!!
While, obviously, you want to have strong photography, strong details, and real(!!) models for any shoot you produce and plan to submit, there are a few fun things you can add to create a unique style to your editorial submission that most blog editors will go gaga over:
Read MoreIt doesn't matter what generation you are from: if you are a business owner then your focus is growing and making money - staying important to your target market. Here's the problem: some people won't adjust their way of thinking when it comes to their business ... they are comfy-cozy and want to keep things the way they are AND stay in business. I say to that: NOT GONNA HAPPEN. Hardcore fact: if you are in the wedding and lifestyle business then my generation is YOUR client. Your client is on Pinterest WAY MORE than they are on Google ... Your potential client is on Instagram and their Facebook feed WAY MORE than they are hitting the phonebooks ... YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENT is **this generation** .... sorry, not sorry.
Read MoreIf you've been on any social media platform for business then you know there is a sad trend ... they'll take it away from you without a single warning that it's coming. You may recall the days when Facebook business pages showed your posts to your 'likers' ... and then one day they didn't. Or when Pinterest decided that all those followers you grew by yourself didn't matter anymore and they took away the ability for your followers to see your Pins ... Scary sh*t. This is something we all need to learn from ... because it's my theory that we are just a few 'blinks' away from this happening on Instagram. Yikes.
Read MoreHave you heard of the incredible company Bittersweet Designs?? They are a company who provides photographers with unique marketing materials and Photoshop templates so they can expand their business brand and grow their business in a stylish way. I want pretty much every single one of their products and I'm not even a photographer!! Yesterday they announced the release of the newest Squarespace template they designed and I was immediately intrigued!!
Read MoreWhen I joined Twitter in 2008 (I believe it was still in beta at that time) it was all about the conversation ... and people would TWEET BACK!! Crazy, right?? I remember when Amy of Wedding Chicks was sitting in an airport somewhere and we were having a full on Twitter conversation about her trip and how crazy the travel had been ... Do people do this anymore? I know I try to!!
Read MoreI feel the need to express something and I want to be VERY clear: I am a website DESIGNER. I am not a website CODER. Yes, there is a difference ;)
A website CODER writes code ... they arrange html code to create a 'look' that becomes a website / and or pages of a website. I am not a coder. While I do know bits and pieces of code I am a website DESIGNER ... I have an eye for what looks good and then I use blocks to create the pages. I use Squarespace for every website I design and I start with BLANK pages ... from there I dream up what my client needs and I arrange the page as I see it in my mind. So:
Read MoreIf you have a logo that hasn't been tweaked in over 10 years << TAKE THAT SH*T DOWN!!!!!! Srsly. I don't care if you love it, I don't care if you have business cards galore in a giant closet down the hall, I don't care if you have signs upon signs upon signs with that logo on it ... nothing should last forever: especially branding for your small >> wedding or lifestyle << business.
Read MoreGet those tomatoes ready!! You will be hating me today ... hating me. In this day and age with all the social media and emailing and photoshopping and cat-fishing going on - nobody is safe from being copied. Nobody is safe from their work being stolen. Nobody is safe from people taking credit for work that isn't theirs.
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