The State Of The Web And How To Make $$$ From It A Free video education series for Grey and Bruce Businesses, Organizations and Individuals The Goal: Increased comfort and participation of local business, not for profit organizations and area individuals online. Premise: With an increased # of locals educated and empowered to use the web we all benefit. This free course will provide the right mix of web business basics, best practices for present and insight on how to leverage the power of the web as a business and marketing tool. The Producer: The State Of The Web and How To Make $$$ From It is produced by Ryan Wiseman of FindItGreyBruce.com/BrandCamp.ca. The video series will draw on Ryan’s personal experience, years of web based research and writing, the best resources from around the web + the insights of leading business and web thinkers from around the region. The Sponsors: The production costs for The State Of The Web and How To Make $$$ From It are underwritten by an assortment of area businesses and organizations. Series sponsors will receive “name and URL recognition in each episode” + a 25 sec. logo/photo and audio tagline message included in 2 video episodes. Episode choice is available on a first come first serve basis. Series sponsors will also receive a logo and business synopsis on the Series Mini site @ FindItGreyBruce.com. For complete sponsorship details see below or please visit FindItGreyBruce.com/business. Distribution: The series episodes will be published online @ FindItGreyBruce.com and included in our YouTube channel. Additional series promotion will include Facebook, Twitter, Kijiji and other online promotion. Each episode will remain online for a minimum of 365 days from date of launch. In all likelihood the series will be updated in 11 months and rereleased for another year. Initial series sponsors will have the first option to secure another year of sponsorship for the series. Schedule: Production of the series will begin as soon as we have greater than 50% of the sponsors on board. From that point, one episode will be produced/released every 1‐2 weeks until the completion of the 10 episodes. The Style: Each episode in the series will include a mix of: video, web screenshots (static) and video screen capture (moving picture with audio) + Series branding and supporting sponsor acknowledgement slides. Each episode will have an associated web page with show notes, relevant links, downloads etc as well as sponsor identification. The Content: The series will cover a variety of topics of interest to businesses and entrepreneurs looking to make the most of the Internet as a learning, marketing and relationship building tool. While the Internet by its very nature is ever changing, our goal is to produce “evergreen” web content that will have a long shelf life and maintain value to viewers for some time. Proposed topics included in the series. Google Local Business Centre – how to sign‐up, add content and a look at how to manage your local business campaigns. Free (or nearly free) Web Publishing platforms ‐ Posterous, Wordpress.com … and a number of other free resources for your small business website. OK, I signed up for a Blog…Now What? ‐ Blogging for business is a powerful tool if carried out right. People like to do business with those they know, like and trust. Blogging for your business is a great first step to develop such relationships. This video looks at best practices and provides a variety of examples/sources of inspiration. Facebook for Business ‐ A slightly more advanced approach to Facebook for business advertising friend/list splitting – Facebook ad campaigns – Facebook trend tracking The real time web, what it means, how to track it and how to benefit. Twitter, Friendfeed, Google Alerts E‐commerce fly by – a considerably in depth topic covered in minutes with attention to the right questions to ask your developer/service provider, e‐commerce business basics, how to manage shipping & taxes The Future of Web is Video – a look at how web based video spots can benefit your business, where to promote/distribute your video as well as insight/tips on how to plan/produce your own. The Link Economy – how to get links, how to give them and how we all benefit from the practice. Gimme an S, Gimme an E, Gimmie an O: an SEO reference guide – a quick look at the topic of SEO and what steps a business should consider when attempting to or purchasing services for Search Engine Optimization 10 Audio and Video Podcasts reviewed. A look at 10 audio/video podcasts that can benefit your business practice. Sponsorship Benefits – The State of the Web and how to make $ from it.
Sponsor details.
10 x $350 (+ GST) sponsorship packages are currently available.
Episodes: 10
Episode Length: 5 - 10 min. each. Each episode provides evergreen* web education, best use and
marketing content.
Business Branding/Presence:
- Business Name + url/phone at the end of each episode
- logo + tagline message on 3 videos
- profile on mini-site
Shelf Life – Guaranteed online for 365 days. Initial course sponsors will have an first option to renew
sponsorship after one year
Add a 60 second video promo to your Mini-site profile, + $300:
The Upsell
For an additional $300 we will visit your business and shoot an interview/required footage + photos to
produce a 2 minute video spot to be included in your profile on the State of the Web mini-site + inclusion
on our YouTube video channel. You can also promote your completed video spot anywhere online… how
do I do that? The Future of Web is Video episode will tell you all you need to know.
Reserve your Sponsorship Opportunity today by calling Ryan or Deb at
FindItGreyBruce.com, 519.371.7611.
*evergreen content = content designed and created with the goal that it remains pertinent for some time.
Daily news = not evergreen. How to win at euchre, a step by step guide = evergreen as the details of
how to win at Euchre haven’t changed much over the years!
Cover Letter
Dave Barrett
Saugeen
Dear
Super Group Creative is a collective of marketing and creative professionals from Grey
and Bruce counties. The team consists of Jennifer Harris, Keylime Creative; Melissa
Ruth and Jason Gem Webb, Gemini Films; Ryan Wiseman, RJG Creative; Andrea
Stenberg, TheBabyBoomerEntrepreneur.com.
We are presenting a one-day workshop called Brand Camp on November 5th 2008 in
Owen Sound. Brand Camp will equip small business owners with tools and strategies to
market and promote their business, combining online and offline marketing tools.
We are requesting sponsorship of our workshop plus assistance in promoting the event
via your email list. Full sponsorship is $1800. As a full sponsor of Brand Camp, your
logo would appear on all marketing materials including post cards, website and the
program. You will also be given an opportunity to introduce your services to the
participants. Shared sponsorships are available at a lower cost. Lesser exposure and
recognition are offered to shared sponsors.
Registration is $25 for participants and will include admission, a program and handouts.
Any revenue generate from the event will go towards the speakers’ fees.
In addition to your assistance in promotion we have an extensive marketing plan. The
Business Enterprise Centre in Owen Sound has agreed to promote the event to their email
list. Super Group Creative is purchasing a table at Bridges to Better. A website,
www.brandcamp.ca is in the works as well as a variety of other print and online
marketing tools.
If you would like more information about the event and sponsorship opportunities please
contact:
Andrea J. Stenberg 519-376-3536
Or
Ryan Wiseman 519-371-7611
Super Short CV...
By training I am a geographer (Waterloo) and a Teacher (OISE, UofT)
I managed a second hand clothing shop in uptown Waterlooo while studying...Lived in a van for a
while traveling to music shows selling hawaiian shirts and sunglasses ...and while at U of T I was a bike
mechanic @ Curbside
From 2000 - 2006 I taught geography and environmental studies to grades 13, 12, 11 at a Private Highschool in
Toronto
In 2005 I actually quit half of the teaching job to start looking at what I was going to do next. I had been doing a
lot of work with technology in the classroom at the time which peaked my interest in the web and new media....
I set to task learning anything I could from a technical web publishing and began publishing an environmentally
themed website/blog at besustainable.com. The most interesting part of this project was the Sounds
Sustainable podcast... for a couple of years I travelled around to festivals etc.. recording interviews (audio and
video) I wanted to take the environmental education work I was doing in the classroom and bring it to a larger
audience.... but I knew nothing about sales (or at this point metrics/pricing...) I have countless hours of great
recordings from this project that have been shelved.... because without a business model (a concept I didn't
focus on much at the time) I really had no cashflow to justify the time to produce the collected material.
In June of 2006 my wife and I moved home to Owen Sound with our then 1.5 year old... At this time I made a
career change, leaving teaching and starting full time on the web. In Owen Sound I build a creative services
company that did a variety of web dev/strategy and media production/distribution... I have been steadily
engaged in such work for the past 4 years.
In addition to client work over this time I also published to local area geography websites... one
at www.theowen.com and the other atwww.finditgreybruce.com
Both explored what was going on in and around owen sound and grey and bruce counties... over the 4 years we
have published certainly more than a 1000 stories/articles,1000's of photos, custom google maps,
events listings, audio and video productions...business directories.... In the past year a significant effort was
also made to ensure all this material was also being published to other channels as well (twitter, facebook etc.)
While the future of these projects is up in the air ( ie have recently come to realize my talents are best utilized out
of market at this time!) I look back fondly on the learning experience... I learned a great deal more about the
technical side of web publishing and content distribution + the day to day costs to operate an always on media
site. I also proved again that Sales is a skill best left to someone other than me.... All in, I likely spent $50, 000
over the 4 years publishing these two sites which is really insignificant compared to the learning's of the
experience... not terribly disastrous since I had the creative services business to keep some $ coming in and
these projects drove a lot of that work.
..... the above is a super lean overview of some events that have brought me to where I am today. I have lived
and worked on the Internet for the past 5 years. Watched a number of new developments occur and continue to
think about how to keep ahead. A great deal of this time has been spent specifically at the intersection of green
and the media (I still look back and laugh when I think about doing a Sustainability podcast in 2005-06 ...nothing
like having to explain both sustainability and podcasting to people when asked what I was doing.)
On a professional development note I would reckon I have listened to/watched easily 3 hours a day of web
audio/web video a day for the past 3-4 years. Anything and everything I can get my hands on from tech,
business, venture and green.... (Ted Talks, anything ontwit.tv, thisweekinstartups.com ....)
Fast forward... as of now I am looking for new opportunities beyond local, where I have been super actively
engaged for the past couple years. I am extremely interested in web video and the interactivity social media. I
have been watching very closely what people like leo laporte (twit.tv) are doing in the web streaming space +
use of live chat + multiple guest remote web video via skype. What Leo is doing in the tech sphere will find it's
way to other niches/verticals and I am thinking a lot about how to take advantage of that eg be the Leo Laporte
of green or local ....
There is certainly a lot more that could be discussed looking forward... That said I will put an end to an about to
be lengthy email and hope that we can discuss more in person. I am very much interested in finding out more
about the CEPP project and how you hope to engage the audience in a discussion about community power. I
think I have a lot of value to offer to such a project and look forward to finding out more details.
Cheers for now,
Ryan
To Whom it May Concern,
FindItGreyBruce.com is piloting an exciting new internship program designed to
train high school students in the growing fields of publishing and digital media. This
program, which runs for the duration of one semester, teaches students valuable
and relevant skills, helps to build their portfolio, provides a letter of internship
completion and/or letter of recommendation, and gives them the opportunity to
create and publish original web based content. Three interns from area high
schools will be selected to commit to 9 hours per week after school.
This internship is appealing to students interested in such areas as media,
journalism, design, computer science, digital arts, communications, and
broadcasting. The knowledge and experience of owner/operator Ryan Wiseman
coupled with his background as an educator provides a unique opportunity for
students to immerse themselves in a cutting-edge creative environment and
challenge themselves within a supportive atmosphere. Completion of an internship
such as this is a valuable addition to their resume/CV, can lead directly to future
employment, and increases their appeal as candidates for employment and
admission to post-secondary institutions.
Within the framework of the internship, the program is adaptable to the intern's
interests, featuring opportunities to learn the ins and outs of web publishing, get
published on FindItGreyBruce.com, and create content using such mediums as blogs,
podcasts, and video. Some digital media skills prior to entering the program are an
asset, but not required; the only requirements are enthusiasm, a sense of humour,
awareness, and excitement at the prospect of a challenge. Students should send a
resume with a cover letter to [email protected] to have an interview
arranged.
Please display the included poster in a location visible to students, tell
classes and/or students you think may be interested, and if possible put an
announcement on. For more information, contact [email protected] or
ask fro Ryan at 519 371 7611.
Sincerely,
Ryan Wiseman
Observations from the intersection of Green and Tech.
For the past 15 years Ryan Wiseman has been embedded in the Green/Environmental
movement. Active in a number of environmental efforts locally during his high school days
Ryan left Owen Sound to study Geography/Biology at the University of Waterloo in 1995.
Following his time in Waterloo, Ryan attended teachers college at the University of Toronto
before accepting a teaching position at a Toronto Private high school. For six years Ryan taught
Geography and Resource management courses to the senior grades. The private school setting
afforded Ryan and his students access to technology (computer labs, pc's in the class room,web
connected projector in the classroom) that set the stage for a very tech centric exploration of the
health of our planet and our collective actions which protect and endanger it. Ryan left teaching
to explore how technology could be used to better engage the general public in the
environmental discussion. This led to starting and environmental blog and podcast, starting a
weekly environmental radio program (greenmajority.ca) on CIUT in Toronto and
building/operating a successful web publishing and creative services company in Owen Sound.
Observations from the intersection of Green and Tech will follow Ryan's journey from and
back to this area and the his many green actions and observations along the way.
Attitudinal Shift - a look at environmental attitudes over the ages + how to assess your own
impact (Carbon Foot print Calculator) etc. In order for the citizens of Grey and Bruce to achieve
meaningful change in their lifestyles/communities toward a healthy and sustainable future we
first need to understand where we are starting from.
a look at various human-environment relationships over the ages which influence our communal
and individual actions (explores role/balance of nature versus technology in our society)
20 minutes
Technology Shift - Role of technology in...
1) environmental remediation/protection - a review of different technologies currently in use or
proposed for use in managing/remediation environmental impact. Photovoltaic panels,
geothermal heating, computational systems management, the programmable thermostats,
biotech/nano tech, hybrid cars....
10 minutes
2) communication of environmental messaging. - a look at how online communications tools
have evolved over the past 15 years and what it means for the green movement. I left Owen
Sound with a DOS 3.1 PC and got my first email address in 1995... 11 years later I returned to
Owen Sound and started a web publishing business, pushing rich media (audio and video) on
line) This section will explore my experiences over that time period and take a look at how the
communication of the environmental message evolved from email -use group- web - forums to
rich media web. This short history (with a radical amount of change) will flow nicely into the
next section... the current state of Green Online.
5 minutes
Current State of Green online - a look at various online resources for information, articles,
research and solutions to environmental problems facing out community. A variety of
communications tools will be reviewed (wikis, blogs, forums...) and a resource list provided.
Will likely show off a number of websites (worldchanging, TED) , videos (lots of great stuff to
inspire and educate...) etc. during this session
20 minutes
Current State of Green in our area - a look at what we can turn up in an exploration of green
efforts online in Grey and Bruce counties. A comparison to the current state of green on the rest
of the web + a lead into the next section - Best Practices
10 minutes
Best Practices Community Groups - how to use online and other communications
technologies to promote your green organizations efforts. Building on the observation and
assessment of the current state of Green, this section of the talk will explore next steps and best
practices for online communication, organization, document handling, research and
collaboration.
-Social Marketing (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.), E-communications, netiquette, google
docs, wikis
30 minutes
Q and A
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Green Access through Technology – Host: Ryan Wiseman
2:00 pm – (Don Vail) Welcome to and Introduce Ryan: Brief bio/introduction
2:05 pm – Carbon footprint Calculator (what is it – where do you find them – how do you use
them)
2:15 pm – Research – effectively on the web finding organizations and information (eg. Using
‘Blackle’, finding local information (bluebox pickup etc), finding organizations (David Suzuki
Foundation etc.))
2:30 pm – E-communications – newsletters, branding, web layout, videoconferencing
3:00 pm – Coffee Break
3:15 pm – Social Marketing – tools to use on line (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.)
3:30 pm – Online collaboration – such as google docs, wikis
3:40 pm – Effective communication – netiquette
3:50 pm – Q&A
TARGET WAGE SUBSIDY APPLICATION GENERAL COMPANY INFORMATION rjg creative (http://rjgcreative.com) rjgcreative is a web strategy, design and new media production/consulting company located in Owen Sound, Ontario. The firm aims to service the needs of SME's (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) which hope to leverage the power of the web to improve their findabilty, their service offering, and their day to day work flow while simultaneously improving their bottom line. Our primary focus is on the use of the web as a marketing and communication tool for business. Our belief is that there is much room for growth in this space, especially within the SME segment of the Canadian business landscape. This is underscored greatly by the fact that Canada is a global leader in Internet connectivity. There is somewhat of a learning curve however for businesses and a necessary realization that web strategy is integral to, not in addition to, business strategy in the 21st century. Rjg creative aims to address that learning curve through our consulting and training efforts, web strategy and development activities as well as with the development of local online web resources for business, organizations and individuals. In addition to my work with small businesses, considerable resources over the past two years have been devoted to the development and growth of two local online web resources. These projects focus on local media, social media and the collection and sharing of local resources. These projects can be found at www.finditgreybruce.com and www.theowen.com. Our efforts to date on these projects have been quite well received by the community and I am very excited to now see them further develop with the application of new resources (new employee labour + the fruits of my recent efforts to produce appropriate sales and promotions materials as well as a variety of soon to be launched updates to various areas of our online presence). BASIC INFORMATION JOB TITLE: Office Manager / Project Lead for FindItGreyBruce.com OBJECTIVE: After three years of running a business as a time starved solopreneur I am aiming to improve the day to day functioning and profitability of the business as well as to expand business activities with respect to our local online web properties noted above. My objective in requesting a targeted wage subsidy is to identify and provide training to an individual who can provide administrative and project management support to my expanding business, with a primary focus on the day to day operations and publishing of the Find It Grey Bruce directory project. JOB DUTIES: The Position of Office Manager/Project Lead will entail a variety of day to day tasks, each provided in greater detail in the following training summary. The basic duties will be divided between the office management role and the maintenance and day to day operation of the Find IT GB directory. The office management role will include the provision of typical day to day management of office operations, including organization of paper and digital assets, business research, client communication, communication with subcontractors, as well as invoicing and invoice follow up (but not bookkeeping). Employee will also assist in the development, recording and implementation of formal office operations and company communication guidelines. The latter point carried out with the expectation of future company growth as well as to meet short term need of ensuring proper communication between FIGB agents (basically a series of FIGB representatives in each GB community) and our clients/the community at large. The FIGB project lead role will include the day to day operation and maintenance of the FindItGreyBruce.com web directory. The software back end for this site is designed in such a manner as to allow business owners, organization representatives and individuals in the community to maintain their own listing details. With that known, the role of FIGB project lead will include the operation of the directory software package (approval of listings, monitoring of system generated billing and invoices etc.) This role will also entail communication and interaction with this client’s base as needed as well as fulfillment of a variety of ala carte services available via FIGB, including the creation of banner advertisements, promotions coupons, and creation of print materials (business cards/rack cards) to promote listings. SUPERVISOR: Ryan Wiseman, Owner will provide the orientation, training and monitoring. WAGE RATE: I am proposing to pay a starting wage of $14.00 per hour. HOURS: 35 hours week. Monday to Friday 9 am – 4:30 pm. PROPOSED WORK EXPERIENCE PLAN •
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This plan includes the following considerations: Additional detail for each week of the plan provided at the beginning of each training week. All efforts will be made to be flexible and responsive to employee questions Plan will adapt as necessary to build on existing skills and knowledge of trainee Training will be carried out in such a way as to accommodate a range of different learning styles and adopt a range of approaches and formats. Over time training style should adapt to the learning style of the trainee. Training will encourage interactivity with a variety of programs and applications (in test as well as live environments. Interaction with company partners, sub contractors and clients will also be emphasized. Feedback from these individuals will be integrated into the training plan as well Feedback and progress reporting will be used throughout the training period (well, after the training period it still makes sense!) This feedback/progress reporting will also go both ways, asking the trainee to provide weekly feedback on training content, amount of content, style of delivery... (Sorry in advance if I am going over the top on this... prior to my starting a web media company I was a high school teacher and I put too much time and attention into curriculum planning then as well!). WEEK 1 Office Management/General •
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Orientation by Ryan Company policies and procedures (this will be one part directed learning and one part collaborative process as many company policies and procedures are in need of recording/review Office space tour and orientation. Basic overview of office equipment Fax and Phone systems, including message systems computer systems and specialized programs (specialized programs that are introduced at this time will be further explored in the following weeks of training Introduction to the current digital file management system including file backup procedures and schedule. Basic Skills assessment/review will be conducted. A series of tasks will be assigned, monitored, graded and reviewed with trainee. Results of this effort will be integrated into this training plan. A week end review/ Q and A conducted by Ryan will review tasks covered and determine if candidate is ready to move ahead. An introduction to the next weeks training will also be provided. FindItGreyBruce.com (FIGB) •
Introduction to the project, its goals and timelines. At this point we are looking more at the ongoing story of FIGB as opposed to the day to day management and operations. WEEK 2 Office Management/General •
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Introduction to the various computing programs required to maintain the online and offline requirements of this project e.g. Programs (PC based) ‐ Photoshop ‐ Adobe acrobat, Adobe illustrator (graphics editing programs) Dreamweaver basics (html code editor) and html basics potential trainee has training in a few of these programs and as such a refresher is all that is needed. A graphic designer will be brought in to aid in the training if necessary. Introduction to Client Management resources and systems •
Will be trained on a series of pc/web based tools used day to day to monitor and respond to clients. FindItGreyBruce.com (FIGB) •
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Trainee will be asked to accomplish a variety of tasks on the FIGB site from the client perspective (create a client user account and then add a listing, update a listing, add images, submit a classified, submit an article …. there are a lot of features to review. And this process will familiarize the trainee with the clients perspective and should = greater service capability/understanding A week end review/ Q and A conducted by Ryan will review tasks covered and determine if candidate is ready to move ahead. An introduction to the next weeks training will also be provided. WEEK 3 Office Management/General •
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Company messaging as it relates to rjgcreative. Basically an overview of company past and more importantly future direction such that employee can speak confidently about the organization. introduction to other area businesses (competition (outdated concept really!) as well as allied organizations) FindItGreyBruce.com (FIGB) •
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Project messaging, history and future goals etc. will be covered so that employee maintains proper messaging when dealing first hand with customers. Review of FIGB project documents, sales sheets, adventures, posters. ‐ during this hands on review I hope to also complete some updates to these docs. Introduction to the varied web components used in the management of the FIGB project. This introduction will also include time taken to establish all required logins and passwords for the various component programs/software that run FIGB and the other sites in the network. A week end review/ Q and A conducted by Ryan will review tasks covered and determine if candidate is ready to move ahead. An introduction to the next weeks training will also be provided. WEEK 4 Office Management/General •
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case study reading / audio (a huge amount of my training occurs via audio (podcast) listening). I have maintained copies of many of the influential recordings that address company culture and business/client relations. Trainee will be provided with time to listen to these resources which should help with meeting the overall vision of our customer service model. There is likely 20 hours or so of applicable audio in the catalogue at this point which will be introduced this week and reviewed over the course of the training period (OK, you got me, this continued education model will continue well beyond the training period) during this week the trainee will be provided with a source of auto updating references that should be examined over the coming weeks (basically a variety of company/project applicable resources will be provided in a manner that allows the trainee to parse/review articles/audio/video. Starting this week I would like to see a weekly submission of an annotated review of a site/article/resource applicable to the company and our stated direction of growth. FindItGreyBruce.com (FIGB) •
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Introduction to FIGB area agents and the FIGB 'Hyper Local' mini sites as well as the basic concepts of this distributed community connection strategy. web research methodologies will be covered including company specific means by which we record and annotate applicable web resources Introduction to the FIGB software platform. The directory is run on a web based software platform and is comprised of 8 system modules (listings, events...) Training on the use of, updates to and creation of database entries for each of these modules will begin this week An introduction to the site global features and setting will also be carried out at this time. A week end review/ Q and A conducted by Ryan will review tasks covered and determine if candidate is ready to move ahead. An introduction to the next weeks training will also be provided. WEEK 5 Office Management/General •
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Introduction to Billing/Invoicing software We use an integrated billing client support ticket program at this time trainee will be introduced to our key clients, including the idiosyncrasies of each. Client relationship management techniques will be introduced and demonstrated. Reporting systems, as I have evolved as an employer I have developed systems for tracking employee time/productivity FindItGreyBruce.com (FIGB) •
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continued hands on training on the FIGB software package as required by the employee understanding/uptake to date. By the end of week 5 it is expected that participant will be able to do some update work for the FIGB directory independently. Evaluate progress. Determine if ready to move on or review. A week end review/ Q and A conducted by Ryan will review tasks covered and determine if candidate is ready to move ahead. An introduction to the next weeks training will also be provided. WEEK 6 Office Management/General •
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Web publishing / content Mgmt systems about 90% of rjg creative web projects are built on a single web software package known as a word press Training the is system will be ongoing (I am still learning as I have been since the first day I worked with the program 3.5 years ago) Training will cover the basic skills required to add/edit content to wordpress based sites Basic training will be a mix of ‐ taught one to one by Ryan Learning by hands on experience (at all times we have a # of not yet 'live' projects that can be worked on a series of online tutorials will also be completed by the employee. These training resources are step by step and I can assign those applicable. This will be a purchased web training system from a resource such as lynda.com which equals improving skills without a draw on Ryan's time FindItGreyBruce.com (FIGB) •
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Hands on publishing training on FIGB wordpress based components. The content management system for many sections of FIGB (the hyper locals, news, the gift guide...) uses the Wordpress CMS mentioned above. This tool allows for future date publishing (i.e. write content today and set for publication at a future point. The skills introduced this week will be put to work, “publishing” a variety of future articles (this not live environment will provide hands on experience without immediate publication to the web = a lot of practice (except it is not for not as the articles will at some point be live) with ample time for me to review style, organization, spelling grammar etc. prior to becoming “live” online •
A week end review/ Q and A conducted by Ryan will review tasks covered and determine if candidate is ready to move ahead. An introduction to the next weeks training will also be provided. WEEK 7 & 8 Office Management/General Continuation of the Web Publishing Training including Web page layout and Web design •
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Writing stories and headlines to work in search engines Social media: understanding how to use a story to create discussion and debate Tagging and data classifications Web analytics and audience statistics Web Strategy •
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Web publishing business models Online marketing trends The drivers behind online use and audience behavior Approaches to content development and support The elements covered in these two weeks are focused on the web development/strategy portion of the business (this has been the core business of rjgcreative). Familiarity of the process and elements of this core business activity will allow for the trainee to: provide assistance on projects outside their day to day scope as necessary, to provide insight into the up sell services that may be applicable to FIGB directory clients, better work with/manage sub contractors working for rjgcreative and more generally increase trainee understanding of the online business climate, trends and user experience. The end goal of this effort will be to produce an employee who demonstrates critical thinking about our industry and provides insight to our market and market opportunities. FindItGreyBruce.com (FIGB) •
Trainee will continue with day to day maintenance of the FIGB directory which it is hoped at this point will be experiencing increased traffic and listings/events/etc. Sign‐ups... WEEK 9 – 12 Office Management/General •
Introduction/review of related business services used on a day to day or project by project basis •
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the business uses several third party providers of graphics, video, audio, images etc. and an introduction. Username and logins details etc will be provided at this time for any of said services that have not yet been introduced as needed in day to day business operation. Review of the office filing & organization systems. This may be a collaborative research/training project (and a continuation of our brief introduction in week 1) as I am to improve the organization of the non‐digital portions of the office. This is a key area for improvement and an important part of the Office Manager role. It is hoped by this time I might be receiving training on an improved system of business organization. additional training/assistance may be consulted for help to put us both on the right track if need at this time. FindItGreyBruce.com (FIGB) •
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Continued hands on maintenance of the FIGB directory with less and less supervision trainee will continue to provide weekly reports on directory activity and future opportunity identified that week. A week end review/ Q and A conducted by Ryan will review tasks covered and determine if candidate is ready to move ahead. An introduction to the next weeks training will also be provided. WEEK 13 – 26 Office Management/General Email and Print Newsetters •
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Editorial newsletter production Layout and presentation of email newsletters is a part of our business and an essential tool 8 ‐ 10 hours of video training + hands on as employee is supervised during the production of client and in house newsletters Online marketing theory •
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Search engine marketing skills Understanding of navigation, design and usability Web analytics and audience research Web publishing strategy Introduction and training on the use of Facebook (and related social media sites) for the purpose of promoting the FIGB brand and for ongoing communication with our area audience. includes one on one instruction, web based readings & video training as well as hands on experience over the latter weeks of training •
Education on RSS and related web syndication technologies. This will be a mix of hands on and web based training. This technology will be in use from an early stage in this training plan. This item covers the greater theory and application as it will relate to FIGB as well as future rjgcreative projects FindItGreyBruce.com (FIGB) •
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Trainee production of in house newsletters begins. day to day maintenance of the directory continues review of our online ad formats and performance to date web analytics reporting, an introduction to the tools and interpretation of the results FIGB marketing strategy review (basically a review of my efforts by the trainee based on their experience with the project to date. Review of print production technologies and procedures. My identified possible employee has experience in this area = limited time needed to train here. However time will be allotted for research and discussion on the application of print resources to our business model. Research and costing for print run versions of the directory or mini directories will be carried out by the trainee. A week end review/ Q and A conducted by Ryan will review tasks covered and determine if candidate is ready to move ahead. An introduction to the next weeks training will also be provided. Monitoring Trainee will be asked to complete a daily training log entry (this will be achieved via the use of a shared, web based training calendar and will include a list of items covered that day, approximate time spent/task, employee notes (for future reference), as well as any questions / identified areas in need of review. These daily logs will be reviewed by Ryan at week’s end and progress will be evaluated. An oral interview following each new task or skill and at the end of each week will also be conducted. Based on the above monitoring Ryan will determine at which rate of speed the training shall progress. I do have a trainee in mind that was brought to my attention via the YMCA. I have met Debra and I think much of her past work experience could be an asset to my business. That said I am pursuing a training subsidy at this time to address the shortcomings of her experience with regards to my day to day business activities. Basically her experience is great, but her training to date needs to be updated to meet the needs of a new digital medium. Training Applicant Details. NAME: Debra A. Mustard DATE OF BIRTH: 1963/02/05 SOCIAL INSURANCE NUMBER: RESUME/WORK HISTORY: Attached Web Presence and Marketing Plan
The following thoughts outline the required steps to:
1) Update online (using web best practices + quality audio/visual elements both on the
website + YouTube).
2) Work to capture client + potential clients contact details for future messaging and to
collect customer feedback
3) Provide skills training and ongoing monthly consultation to store/business management
to maintain/update website/facebook/ produce regular newsletter
Costs outlined below are pre-tax and include upfront development costs + ongoing campaign
management costs (initial online ad spend budget of $200 + management and consultation fees).
Summary numbers collected at the end of this quote, including a variation to implement camera
and netbook PC into the store/business.
Website - $2500 (includes design/development and launch. Website built on an open source
content management system, designed with ease of use for you/your staff in mind)
Domain Name - $35 (this is a yearly recurring expense)
Website Hosting - $200 (provides for annual hosting costs + regular backups, Weekly SQL,
monthly core file back-up)
Newsletter Marketing Tool Set-up and Branding - $150 (costs associated with opening your
email marketing tool account and creating a template design to match the site + store
Facebook Page/Ad Setup $350 (time required to establish a brand presence in Facebook, add
required media and prepare pay per click advertising campaign. A portion of the monthly, online
add spend dollars will be spent on these targeted ad blocks)
Video/Photography Shoot/Edit $500 (initial video and photo shoot required to produce quality
images/video for the website/Facebook and use in our future newsletters. We will collect a
variety of shots from around the store/business, product shots etc., including items needed to
support future campaign messaging) Will include two produced video shorts (ie. Men’s and
women’s… depending on your business/store)
Training - $600 (10 hours of in-store, hands-on + phone/email support during the initial site
launch. This is a minimum but should suffice given some level of competency on the part of
you/your staff. )
Item
Cost
Website
2500
Domain
35
Hosting
200
Newsletter Branding/Set-up
150
Facebook
350
Photo/Video
500
Training
600
In store tech (optional)
(netbook for email collection
+ camera)
700 (+/-) =starting price point
for functional gear.
Total 1(without tech)
4335
Total 2 (with tech)
5035
This plan, if implemented now = a takeover of a good portion of our available time. The domain
(registered) and hosting (set-up) process can be implemented quickly in anticipation of a need to
complete a quick turnaround (and the process takes time to propagate around the web...). The
website can be functioning at base level within 24 hours, ready to collected email addresses etc.
the bulk of the design/development work to be started soon thereafter.
A little breakdown
Total One - without the in store equipment, works out over a 12 month period to around
$361/month to establish a solid foundation web presence and to have you/your store manager
trained on how to carry out the steps/updates etc. In order to implement the plan as envisioned
we will add an additional monthly budget of $740 (which includes the email marketing tool costs
$40 (+/-), a $200 month online ad budget (with which we can test facebook, google and other
online pay per click ad campaigns to drive traffic to the email list, website and facebook fan
page) + a monthly consultation/management retainer of $500 (my time and attention to review
analytics and campaign performance, review with yourself or manager, details in store + provide
planning assistance for each month's newsletter details (customer calls to action etc.)
Total Two - has the same monthly ad/tool budget and management fee, with a slightly higher
upfront cost for the purchase of a Netbook PC and camera for your business. These are valuable
resources to have in store so I think the purchase makes sense
The total campaign costs
Over 12 months we are looking at an average monthly cost of around $1160/month to build and
manage/grow your brand online.
Payment Schedule We can have things rolling quickly with all the finer points integrated over a couple of weeks
(additional photography, addition of the video content to the site, facebook etc.)
Deposit - $2601 represents 60% of the upfront design/build/plan costs due immediately.
Balance of Site design/implementation costs can be broken into two payments over the
following weeks. It is expected that the entirety of the upfront work will be completed
reasonably quickly.
The monthly ad budget and email tool costs will start effective the month you sign on and the
monthly consultation/management retainer will kick in the following month.
Please review and then contact me an we can discuss getting things started. I can be in the shop
very soon starting some photo/video work and a live site can be up and ready to collect email
addresses within hours = your current radio campaign (if you have one) can begin to message the
url and drive people to a visual experience + set of incentives as discussed to bring folks in.
I look forward to working with you and maximizing your online presence.
Cheers for now,
Ryan
Kris,
I have been mulling over approaches that I think might fit with the stated objectives the OPA is
looking for in a CEEP delivery agent. When we spoke earlier in the week I was hopeful I could
get some ideas back to you quickly. I apologize that it has taken a couple of days, I have a few
projects on the go at present that required my complete attention..despite my creative interest in
the possibilities of working with OSEA on a project like the CEEP delivery.
If anything outlined below fits with your (no doubt near complete) proposal I would be pleased
to discuss more. If not this project, you have some idea of the thinking/area of interest we have
as far as monitoring and engaging the general public (or a targeted segment within)
Quick Overview of the 2 key items addressed below
1) Social media monitoring campaign
Budget: $110, 000 over three years for set-up, tools/service fees, monitoring and analysis. The
goal of this effort is to understand who,what, when, and where the CEEP program is being
discusses and to provide insight as to the best course of action to engage with those making
mention of the program. Also provides real time feedback on how the program provision is
being carried out = ability to integrate feedback into the program operations + a great deal of
supporting information that can be used in your own reporting back to the OPA
This scenario utilizes some best of breed tracking tools (more than just a google alert!) + analysis
and reporting best course of action to engage/respond. If needed I can provide an idea for a
lower cost approach (at the expense of course of service, granularity of results and likely an
increased demand on OSEA staff resources.
2) Weekly podcast production.
Budget: $60, 000/year (+/-) for production depending on style/delivery. Over the three years of
the program there will be no shortage of great stories to be told and education components to be
shared. I envision a weekly (40 weeks a year or so, 30min/episode) podcast/webcast... that tells
the ongoing, real time story of the CEEP program and its participants + serves as a guided
conversation to direct attention, interest and effort of all involved in the right direction to make
the program a success.
The topics and content of the program can be designed to meet OSEA's current program delivery
needs as well as feedback all the necessary into as outlined in the social media monitoring effort.
The two items as outlined include a fair amount of my hands on attention over the course of the
course of the program + staff resources. I am open to discussion of any points outlined in this
email brief. Apologies as well for the rushed nature of this outline.
I have reviewed the OPA Request for Proposals for a Third Party Agent to Deliver the
Community Energy Partnership Program to get a sense of your required deliver ables that need
to meet
This is certainly an exciting project which immediately led me to dream up a variety of strategies
I think would be applicable to delivering such a program.
Looking over the program goals I could us involved in a few capacities.
1) Social Media Monitoring
There are a variety of tools that could be (should be) used to monitor the CEEP program itself +
the wider community power conversation online. This process would start with a review of
pertinent keywords, program goals etc in order to properly set our monitoring tools.
Monthly costs for the monitoring tools, tool management and analysis/reporting
Set-up - one time up front - $2500 (program review, keyword research/review,
$30000 month x 36 months = $ 108, 000 (this includes ongoing software costs + monitoring of
the necessary software tools + regular report of findings to OSEA. Reporting would include a
review of the social web mentions of the program, + guidance as to best course of action to
engage those talking the about the program, address negative responses etc..
Monitoring will provide project insight, leads, ability to react quickly to public opinion, identify
potential community partners to work with etc.
The details derived from this social web review can be funneled back into the CEEP program
delivery by
-integrating feedback into strategic messaging to each of your target audiences
- providing opportunity to manage concerns about the program as expressed by general public
-provide an opportunity to address difficulties/new opportunities to improve the application
process
-track the buzz created by a variety of campaign actions (for eg did the roadshow visit to a town
spark online conversation about the program...)
-determine spending priorities for marketing/advertising dollars( both by medium and location)
2) Web based programming, production of education and community building resources for
program participants + review/coverage of program efforts and successes to date. I am imagining
a regularly scheduled program audio/video (determined by time/budget) that tells the ongoing
story of the CEEP program. This would include reference to recently funded projects, interviews
with communities that have completed projects, examples of community based power programs
and projects in other places...
For the most part the web based programming and communication will taking the ideas, articles,
photos, video discovered by the social media monitoring campaign and feeding it back to the
public as content.
There are a lot of ways that messaging can be carried out during such a program. We would be
interested in getting involved in a story telling capacity. Obviously there will be a program
education component that needs to be presented. I think there is merit as well in focusing some
efforts on teaching/enabling the community groups involved to use social media in their own
efforts to promote there project. Any of the media (audio, video, images..) could be integrated
back into the overarching story of the CEEP program and community based power...
Over the three year program there will be no shortage of media content created. I would be
interested in exploring the possibility of producing a regularly scheduled multi media program
(likely audio podcast + a mix of video and photos etc as a part of the feed).
Such a program, produced weekly (something like 40 weeks a year) could educate the public,
provide resources/tips, informative interviews etc while recapping progress made each week by
CEEP program participants and those seeking funding. The show could include feedback from
the general public, answer questions about the program, provide highlights form the community
road trip...
I envision things looking something like the CBC's Farm Radio Forum... brought into the 21st
century and with a focus on community power development
"
National Farm Radio Forum
On air from 1941-01-28 to 1965-03-29
It was radio that got farmers talking. From 1941 to 1965, National Farm Radio Forum brought
together groups of neighbours across rural Canada to listen to a weekly half-hour program on a
single farm issue. Using accompanying printed study guides, the groups then discussed the
broadcast and sent in a summary for follow-up on a subsequent show. Launched as an
educational experiment by the CBC, along with the Canadian Association for Adult Education
and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the show's motto was: "Read. Listen. Discuss.
Act.""
http://archives.cbc.ca/programs/508-447/page/1/
Another good example here would be the OPA Powerlines production with Peter Love
https://www.hydroottawa.com/conservation/index.cfm?lang=e&template_id=447
In short a podcast program tells the story of the CEEP program, the OPA/CEEP and OSEA and
serves as a guided conversation over the course of the CEEP program period.
The program can be delivered via all the social media options + there is potential to also position
it in other places as well (radio syndication etc.
The production costs for a series like this could vary greatly depending on the details but I would
look at somewhere in the 40-80, 000 a year range over the three years. This would include
episode planning, production and publishing to the web (across the necessary program sites +
social media) bandwidth excepted.
3) Engagement - Obviously a program like the one outlined above is a good example of
public/community engagement. There is a lot more that would need to be done on the day to day
, direct to individuals via the social media (facebook and twitter responses etc...) and I would be
interested to see what plans are in the works to manage this effort as well as contribute where
possible to a successful community disucssion around the topic of local power.
Cheers for now,
Ryan