My nephew is a very talented artist out in Bozeman, Montana, and he just launched his new photo blog (with a little help). Living in Big Sky Country, Jason has some breathtaking shots of the scenery (not to mention skateboarders defying gravity).

Shortly after we launched the CONNECT Computer website, we were asked to design, write, and manage a monthly newsletter for ongoing client communications as well as provide useful insight into the IT industry for those who opt-in (via website, email blasts, and social media channels). After some A-B testing, this design layout below proved to be the most engaging for CONNECT’s subscribers. Each newsletter would have a different “theme” such as Security Issue, Support Issue, or Breathe Deep Issue (below). On average, we see 18% to 24% click throughs to full stories residing on the website (industry average for IT is only 15%).

Batternay Collection launches new website designed to engage and educate visitors on how custom photographic artwork has the power to express the mood in both residential or commercial spaces. We helped founder and artist Nora Batternay explore the marketing opportunities for custom photography in the US before introducing a new brand online. Out of this process emerged a style and language that most effectively reaches interior designers and art consultants. answerYES collaborated with Betsy Moore of Brains for Rent on the art direction and copywriting. Nicely done.

Our client CONNECT Computer was running a year-end promotion in partnership with HP: Get a $15 Gift Card of your choice when you purchase two of the same HP LaserJet Toners. The offer expired December 31st, 2010.

We did the typical stuff like email blasts and updating social channels but given the short notice and the fact that CONNECT’s social channels were too new (we had only recently launched the website) to have yet accumulated enough “social” capital, we needed something else… and fast!

The answer was a splash page specific to the Gift Card offer and leveraging social browsing communities like StumbleUpon to drive targeted visitors to it.

The idea behind a splash page is that it is a standalone page with a singular purpose, in this case the Gift Card. There is no navigation, no extraneous copy, and one call-to-action. More importantly, it can be done quickly and cheaply.

Since the Gift Card offer expired at midnight on 12/31 we decided to create a peaceful winter scene, replete with animated snowflakes, displaying a countdown to 2011 (instant value add BTW). Both the snowflakes and the countdown were done using jQuery so the page worked even on iPads and iPhones!

Social browsing took place over the last 5 days of the year. Yes, only 5 days! Personally, would have liked to have had 3 weeks for a campaign like this but we played the hand we were dealt. We still witnessed a 33.21% jump of visits to the Gift Card page and several sign ups. I suspect we would have seen even higher numbers if the campaign started before the holiday rush (i.e. end of November instead of December).

The offer is over but you can still see the splash page here.

If your web presence has become so out-dated that you rather say you don’t have a website then it might be time to call a professional. And if you’re going to call a professional, you might as well call the best (I don’t recommend waiting this long though). Such was the case with CONNECT Computer, an IT company based in Fairfield County that provides comprehensive network solutions, application hosting, and disaster recovery and business continuity.

answerYES redesigned the entire website under the Umbraco open-source ASP.Net CMS with search-friendly site architecture and copy. We added new client-centric features like Live Chat and Citrix Assist for remote assistance. We setup CONNECT on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and provided on-site training to their sales team.

In addition, CONNECT has retained answerYES for ongoing SEO, link building, and content development. We manage the company’s editorial calendar which includes social media updates and a monthly newsletter. Within the first 30 days of launch the new website generated over 1,000 unique visits. It consistently earns top-page ranking on Google for target keywords within the company’s local market. And this is just the beginning.