We’ve all seen how important it is to increase awareness of your brand name in the wine marketplace, especially in these tough economic times, when most consumers seem to be sticking to name brand wines.

One very important way to efficiently and cost-effectively gain more name recognition is with social media and your online presence or website. At Leaf and Vine, we are truly ahead of the curve on this one!

We strongly believe in the power of a Content Management System platform for all websites. Why? Because they can be expanded easily to include social media, blogs, video, mobile access and e-commerce, and foster a more personal customer relationship – a relationship that leads to building a solid branding of your product.

We took the month of May to completely re-build the SelectWinesOnline.com website using the WordPress platform. We also did the same for GrassoVineyard.com, taking Frank’s existing site, and re-building it to look almosty exactly the same (per his request), but with powerful tools that he can use himself to manage his winery’s online presence. Frank is now on Facebook, and has even added pages to his site himself, changed content, and uploaded photos…all using WordPress’s easy to use Content Management System.

SelectWinesOnline.com BEFORE:

SelectWinesOnline.com AFTER:

For a free evaluation of your website and how it can benefit from a conversion to the WordPress platform, email us at: marketing@leafandvine.com

All websites need a spring cleaning, especially if you have not made any changes in content or updates in the past six months. Here is a checklist to guide you:

☐ Is your site “static” or “dynamic?” The most important step to take in upgrading your site is to take control of it yourself! Read about the benefits of converting your site from a “static” site that is dependent upon your web designer’s availability and cost – and a “dynamic” site that you control yourself. Leaf and Vine specializes in converting static sites to WordPress content management (dynamic) sites!

☐ What does your landing/home page look like? Does it contain a prominent Call to Action like: “Buy Now!” or “Sign Up” or “Contact Us”? Does the visitor know immediately what you are selling, or what they are supposed to do? If your home page is confusing, you will lose their interest. Consider simplifying your home page with Call to Action buttons, condensed text, and  just one or two clean graphic images. (We have over 15 years of design and layout experience at Leaf and Vine. Let us redesign your site with marketing concepts in mind).

☐ Is your site bringing you new leads/customers/email sign ups? What are your web traffic statistics?  If your site is not hooked up to Google Analytics, you could missing some very valuable information about how, or whether, your website is functioning as a marketing tool that attracts new business. WordPress sites contain a Google Analytics feature, built-in to the admin of your site, that makes it easy to set up and access reporting on your site’s traffic.

☐ How fast does your site load? If you have Flash movies, music, or lots of graphics on your home page, not only do those elements subtract from the Search Engine friendliness of your site, but they take a looooong time to load the page. Users will not wait…they want the information they’ve come for, and they want it fast. WordPress sites have special widgetized areas for your Flash files that do not detract from the site’s SEO.

☐ Speaking of Search Engine Optimization: Hopefully you haven’t spent thousands of dollars on Search Engine Optimization! With a dynamic site that contains a blog, social media, and/or is built on the WordPress platform…you won’t need to. Read about how you can use your WordPress site, in combination with the content on your blog, and/or your social media, to increase your site’s presence in the search engines.

The bottom line is this: is your website working for YOU? Are you selling product? Is the site bringing you new customers? If not, consider a Spring Cleaning – an upgrade from static to dynamic, or, at the very least, make adjustments, update your content, refresh your design. Email us at: marketing@leafandvine.com to get started today.

Sign Up for our next email blast (see the button in top right sidebar?): we will have our completely re-designed SelectWinesOnline.com e-commerce site to show you…yes, we’re giving our shopping cart site a WordPress front page to increase our traffic and sell more product and services!

WordPress is NOT just for blogs! It is a powerful Content Management System (CMS) , and thousands of companies are switching to WordPress to manage their own sites.

(Get a free evaluation of your current site and how it could benefit from converting to WordPress –
Be sure to include your URL; we’ll email you an evaluation within 48 hours!)

Take wine and restaurant websites, for example. These sites often have designs using Flash, music and layout elements that make for a visually beautiful page, but that actually prevent search engines from finding the site.

But convert your site to a WordPress blog site, and suddenly you have a platform that is beautiful AND search engine friendly (WP has built-in search engine-friendly stuff). Want the bells and the whistles, too? OK; with WordPress you can have a shopping cart, video, revolving images, Facebook, Twitter, etc. (and without a blog if you don’t want one)!

So: you can have a beautifully designed site with revolving photos, video and other elements that would typically degrade your site’s visibility, AND you can have great Search Engine Optimization.

Here are some samples of companies with beautiful websites built with WordPress that are NOT used primarily as blogs:

http://www.herout-caves.com/
(I know, the site is in French. But just look at the design…it’s a great example of a beautiful, simple, and very SEO and social media friendly site.)

http://fernwoodcoffee.com/
This site is very content heavy, which makes for great Search Engine friendliness. Their main focus is their STORY, which WordPress does beautifully!

http://theprobar.com/
This uses a very colorful background and images to great effect.

WE can build site like this for you, too; Email for more info: marketing@leafandvine.com

Do you need to contact your web designer when you need to make simple changes to your website? Ever been frustrated by scheduling conflicts or the expense of relying on your web designer to upgrade your site?

Convert your static site (HTML) to a dynamic WordPress blog site (or, Content Management System), and you or your staff can manage the changes yourself. If you have basic computer skills (are familiar with Microsoft Word, for example) and a browser, you can take control of your website now, and direct its growth as your business grows. As website technology continues to progress rapidly into the “do it yourself” sphere, you’ll be ahead of the curve (and your competitors) by making this important change to your website and marketing tools. We’re WordPress specialists here at Leaf and Vine; for more information, email marketing@leafandvine.com.

Here are several more reasons why it’s a good idea to move your site to the WordPress platform:

1. Manage your website on your own time, and with your own resources. You won’t have to rely on your web designer’s schedule nor will you have the outgoing expense for site changes.

2. WordPress uses “themes,” or templates. The vast majority of the coding has been done for you. This structure makes it very easy to make major changes, like adding Pages or Sub-Pages, creating a Blog, and installing Plug-Ins for everything from Video to Email Sign-Up forms.

3. Remote accessibility: you can edit your site from any computer, as long as you can get online. Simply log-in to your site’s administration area, and start working. This is especially efficient if you are traveling and need quick updates, blog postings, or want to upload photos from your event.

4. Expand your site’s reach: according to articles released earlier this week, Facebook has overtaken Google as the most popular website in the United States. If your website is not connected to Facebook and/or other social networking sites, you could be missing out on a potential pool of prospective customers/clients. WordPress allows you to easily connect your site to your Facebook Profile or Pages, your Twitter account, and most other social sites. Post updates on your WordPress site (blog), and they automatically post on Facebook/Twitter. This is much more efficient than trying to manage multiple social media accounts.

5. Expand your site’s funtionality: With a WordPress site, you can upload videos into a “widget” area on your site that will embed your YouTube videos so visitors can play them. Have a photo gallery on your site, create your own contact forms, and much more (these add-ons require a bit more time and computer knowledge, but do not require coding). You can do it if you are willing to invest the time!

6. WordPress is Search Engine Friendly: Search engines like Google and Yahoo work primarily with content. And since a Content Management System like WordPress is also built on content, and because you can easily and more frequently update that content, your site will be found more often in search results. Maintaining your content automatically increases your visibility. No need for expensive Search Engine Optimization costs…SEO is built in.

7. Cost-Efficient: As with any website, the initial investment to set it up will be the biggest expense. However, your expenses for updating, upgrading, and maintaining your site to be a flexible marketing tool will be very low from then on. Your time and the cost of your internet provider will be all you’ll need. See this chart and blog post outlining the cost differences between a static site and a dynamic site.

8. Contact us at: marketing@leafandvine.com for more information.

But if you convert your static website to a WordPress site or Content Management System (CMS)  (a dynamic website), you can add Social Media, video, a blog, a portfolio, music, event calendars and so much more quite easily (ask us how:  marketing@leafandvine.com).

When you log-in to your WordPress administration panel, you are able to control, edit and add content, pages, photos and more (once it is set up for you). If you are familiar with Microsoft Word’s toolbar, you can manage WordPress! (READ this forum posting for discussion among real users regarding static (HTML) site vs. WordPress).

WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS)…and Social Media is also built on content.
Visitors, customers, or clients interact with your WordPress site’s content by making comments, asking questions, purchasing product or downloading information you’ve provided. The same process occurs within your Facebook and Twitter profiles.

And so, it makes sense to have a content-managed WordPress site that connects to your social media and even your email blast software (like Vertical Response). The WordPress site becomes your marketing hub, the center of your content exchange with site visitors, and the site around which your social media revolves.

That exchange of content on your WordPress site and your Social Media sites makes you much more visible to Search Engines. Content drives the Search Engines, and your sites are built upon Content.

Convert your static site (HTML site) into a WordPress content-managed marketing hub that you can control, that is SEO friendly, and that will attract new visitors and business. Contact Marketing@LeafandVine.com

In a nutshell:

1. Status Updates are now seen on Google, Yahoo, etc. search engines: So if you post any colorful updates that you wouldn’t want Mom or your boss to see, you can change  your Privacy Setting under “Profile Information” and “Posts by Me” to show your Updates to “Only Friends,” rather than the “Everyone” setting. Because “Everyone” means Everyone.
2. Your “Personal Info” is also now set to default to “Everyone” by the new Facebook settings for family and relationships (relationship status) and your birth date (do you really want this information seen to anyone and everyone online? Think about identity theft here). You can change this setting.  Go to “Privacy Settings,” “Profile Information” and for each field listed on this page, change the pull-down menu (to the right). You can choose “Everyone,” “Friends of Friends,” “Only Friends,” and “Custom.”  The “Custom” field allows you to choose “Only Me,” which might be the best choice for your sensitive data like birth date.
3. All of the above Personal Information, if it is checked or defaulted to “Everyone,” is also available to the search engines. Under “Settings/Privacy Settings/Search,” look to see if the “Allow” box is checked. If you do not want your Profile information to be search-able, uncheck this box.

For the complete article, and links to more information on protecting your privacy within Facebook, see the sourced article here.

Cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies this month (January 2010).  Depending on your cell phone plan, you may be charged for those unwanted calls.

You can call 888.382.1222 and tell the nice people at the National Do Not Call center to put your cell phone number on the list to be blocked from those unsolicited calls. Make sure you CALL FROM YOUR CELL PHONE. Your number will be blocked for five years.

You do not have to be a writer, or a blogger, to have a blog site. A blog site is just another website built on a platform that allows you to log-in to an administration panel in order to add pages, content, photos, product information, video, etc.

When you convert your static website to a dynamic website, or WordPress blog site, that will allow visitors to interact with your content by making comments, asking questions, purchasing product or downloading information you’ve provided. Blog sites offer many more opportunities for the visitor to take the call to action that will convert them from a visitor into a customer or new client. The communication that you have with the blog site visitor is what distinguishes a blog from a brochure-style, or static site; there is no such interaction between a static site and the visitor.

With a WordPress blog site, you do not need to know HTML or coding to build new pages or update your site. No more calling your site designer to make little changes that you can do yourself. You own your WordPress site, and can control everything in it.

A WordPress blog site can also be set up to connect to your social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter. Post your new content once on your WordPress blogs site, and that content can be posted, at the same time, to your Facebook/Twitter accounts. WordPress blog sites also support e-commerce, advertising, affiliate marketing – using widgets and plug-ins that you can easily install yourself, WordPress blogs have limitless possibilities and flexibility.

There’s a bit of a learning curve if you are completely non-computer literate, but the dashboard is a “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get  (WYSIWIG) editor window, so if you know Word you should have no problem.

Converting your static site does not mean you have to lose your beautiful design…you can have a blog site that looks just like the existing site. But if the goal is to bring in lots of visitors to the site, you should consider using the blog, and it’s fresh, keyword-laden content, as your home page.

I’ve chosen to make our marketing blog the Home page for LeafandVine.com. I do it this way because when I post to the blog, it is indexed more frequently by search engines, so that my target market will find this site more easily. Using my blog in this manner makes my website an actual marketing tool, rather than a brochure site that just sits there looking pretty but doesn’t do much for bringing in traffic.

Make your static site a marketing tool that you can control, that contains built-in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and that will attract new visitors and business by converting it to a WordPress blog site.

Write a comment to this blog post, ask a question, or send us an email for more information to:  marketing@leafandvine.com.

If your website is not bringing in new prospects regularly, you need a site upgrade. Your website should be a center of activity, the hub of your marketing plan, as shown in the diagram to the right. A site that will pull new visitors to your site uses dynamic social media tools and online marketing strategies.

Turn your current static site into a dynamic blogsite or marketing hub, and start using that blogsite as a powerful marketing tool that you control. (note: a blogsite is just another word for a website that either contains a blog, or is built on a blog platform. You do not have to be a “blogger” to have a blogsite.)

When you control your own blogsite, here is how it can function as a marketing tool for your business (start at the top of the wheel, in the diagram):

1. Blog/Posts/Content: You update your own content – or the information about your product/services, often and regularly (blogs are designed to be updated or posted to easily);
2. Your consistently updated website results in increased Search Engine Optimization and more traffic (blogs have built-in SEO because they are built upon content – which you are updating regulary (see #1 above);
3. Your social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) leads TO your blogsite, and your blogsite can lead visitors to your social media communities and your followers;
4. Your email campaigns, print materials and other advertising link to your website;
5. Your blogsite allows customer input and feedback, resulting in better customer relations/customer service and customer loyalty – and your loyal customers will spread the word via their own social media communities;
6. You gain increased traffic to your blogsite as a result of all of the above, where your online presence helps your site Sell Product or Services, become a Brand Leader in your industry, gain more new customers, and more sales.

Leaf and Vine Marketing can help turn your site into a marketing tool

We have been using the WordPress platform to create blogs for clients, and ourselves, for a couple of years now. Many major corporations use WordPress to manage huge amounts of content (the New York Times, and CNN are two of the largest). Recent advances in the way WordPress can be used for websites, e-commerce, social media, video, photo galleries etc. are leading millions of website owners to convert from a static site to a dynamic blogsite/content management system.

Here is a sample of our own WEBSITE REDESIGN from

You have a few options for your online website, but here are two that Leaf and Vine Marketing recommends:

1. Do-It-Yourself blogsite (which can serve as your corporate website as well as your e-commerce cart, blog, and social media hub). Leaf and Vine employs this option in addition to a static e-commerce site., and here are the benefits to a blogsite:
   1. Your blogsite can be your Content Management System that you completely control. No more contacting your web designer for simple changes. Upload product, images, blog posts, recipes…anything that supports your product brand.
   2. Your blogsite serves as your Social Media Hub. In fact, any time you update your blogsite with new product or articles, events or promotions, you can automatically disperse that information to Facebook, Twitter, Yelp!, other industry forums.
   3. Blogsites engage your customers, and bring in new ones. You can set your blogsite to accept comments and suggestions from visitors (and you control which comments are accepted/rejected, etc.); this is a great way to engage your customers and keep them. And because blogs are highly Search Engine Friendly (because they are content/keyword-based), you can drastically increase traffic to your site.
   4. No expensive software to purchase: We really like the WordPress platform for blogsites, which is free and open-source. It is very easy to manage once it is set-up and it is the industry standard for blogsite production.
2. Hosted E-commerce Site (your corporate website, with compliant e-commerce engine, hosted on a company serve that manages it for you, charges monthly fee and initial set-up fee).
   1. This is a great option if you simply can’t or do not want to manage your online presence yourself. This type of site can serve as your corporate online presence, a shopping cart for your wine and/or products, a blog, and can also connect with social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, etc.
   2. Use a reputable, compliant e-commerce site developer. We have one in particular we highly recommend (no, we do not work for them!); contact us for more details; we can help you get set up with them.
   3. There are many companies offering shopping cart solutions. Since this is one of the most important components of your site (after traffic building), you want to make sure to ask some very specific questions when hiring a company to provide a hosted site for you; the cart should offer:
      1. - Built-in Compliance
      2. - Search Engine Optimized/Placed Site
      3. - Marketing tools for your winery and brand
      4. - Your wines search-able by vintage, price, region, and more
      5. - Wine Club offering your wines
      6. - Secure Credit Card Processing
      7. - Shipping Carrier Integration
      8. - Sales Reporting

Feel free to comment on this post, ask questions, or send us an email for more info to: marketing@leafandvine.com