Resources

Internet Marketing Classes & Seminars

The Asheville chapter of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) offers excellent low-cost classes and seminars covering website design & construction, internet marketing, and how to use social media for business. I highly recommend them - I have taught classes for them in the past, I know the people who teach them now, and they are all experts in their field. Check their website for class offerings and dates.

Asheville Advertising & Marketing Agencies

The Brite Agency in Asheville is a full-service marketing & advertising firm, including all website and internet advertising & marketing services. I have known the folks at the Brite Agency a long time, and can vouch for the excellence of their work.

Website Design & Development

Blue Ridge Solutions is an Asheville web design and development firm with whom I've collaborated on many sites. I am consistently impressed by their ability to do anything you need in a site, and to go above and beyond your expectations. Blue Ridge Solutions is a reliable, stable company and a pleasure to work with. I cannot speak highly enough of them. They deliver!

Allen Porter at Quasi Suave Digital is another master webmaster I've collaborated with. He builds the site, I do the SEO and PPC. Allen is particularly skilled at Flash design - and he understands how to do SE-friendly sites that include Flash.

Totsie Marine has been one of Asheville's top-notch web site designers and builders for over ten years. She combines excellent design skills with site building that matches the individual personality of the person or business being presented. Totsie specializes in building sites you can maintain yourself using the Plone CMS (content management system).

Need a Facebook Page, help with Social Media, a blog or a website? Visit Karen Mazza and her team at Studio88. I've known Karen for several years and she's ahead of the curve when it comes to Facebook and blog-based sites.

C Gray Design offers a broad range of services covering website design and e-commerce solutions as well as print design, graphics, identity and branding development.

I've known Julie Parker at Handwoven Webs for ten years, and have no hesitation recommending her. To my mind, her specialty and 'personal touch' is ideal for artists, healers, wellness and those in the heath care field, and anyone with a personal story to tell. Handwoven Webs offers a beautifully artistic touch to every web site they build.

Bednar Multimedia LLC is new-media website design studio based in Asheville, NC, specializing in creating effective, affordable websites and other multimedia solutions. I have worked with the owner, Ryan Bednar, doing the SEO on several sites they've built. I can vouch for the clean and stylish professional designs of their sites, as well as the SEO-friendly site construction.

Wordpress Specialists

Eric Howell of LaunchPad Design Studio specializes in advanced, sophisticated custom Wordpress sites and blogs. I have worked with Eric on optimizing sites he built... and if you visit his portfolio you would never believe that these sites are based on Wordpress! Eric is also a great photographer with a fine eye for detail work. Check out his pet, architecture and stock photos at his other site, www.ericrhowell.com.

Emily Gough of Amazon Art & Design is also a Wordpress site specialist. I was introduced to her recently when a business associate needed a new site built, and chose to work on the Wordpress platform. She has a very nice portfolio on her site - she does great work building Wordpress sites and blogs.

Social Media for Business

If you are confused about social media, unsure how to use it for business, then I strongly recommend you talk to Sarah Benoit of Creative Original. I have known Sarah for quite some time, and she is my "go to" person for anything related to using social media for business. She consults, works on projects, and teaches classes too.

Video Production & Marketing

Susan Stone of Stone Digital Media knows how to tell a story - whether it's a documentary or a marketing video for your company website. She has a gift for combining creative approach, conveying a message, and professional video production.

Led by television veteran Ernie Sigmon, S&S Video Concepts brings video to life. The importance of video as an online marketing tool is growing very fast, and we've reached the point where it's no longer an "extra." It's much more affordable than you might think, with a high rate of return on investment. S&S Video Concepts is a full-service video production provider with over 20 years of experience in the field.

Sheridan Hill, Live A Little Books & Video, has over 25 years of experience in public relations, marketing, writing, and editing. As a professional personal historian she she has produced many quality videos that tell a story. Ms. Hill now offers video production and promotion specifically designed for web-based marketing.

Professionally-Produced Banner Ads & Graphics

Need a great-looking, effective banner ad - FAST? I recommend BannersMall.com for quality work, competitive pricing, and fast turnaround. For examples, many of the graphic ads on www.Weaverville.com were produced by BannersMall, a company based in Canada with UK offices as well.
Ask for Senthu :-)

SEO-Friendly E-Commerce Shopping Carts

On the principle that "if Hippo IM uses it, it's gotta be good" - check out the Magento shopping cart from www.magentocommerce.com. I know the folks at Hippo well, and in addition to their own IM courses, they run several very successful online businesses. They know their shopping carts!

If you'd like to see an example of a superior e-commerce site - or if you run a hotel,  motel, or B&B and need housekeeping carts you should check out Housekeeping Cart Solutions for what I know will be excellent products, price, and customer service.

I also came across this SEO-friendly shopping cart program from 3DCart.com. It uses static URLs and allows for customized metatags from top to bottom. It also has many other features, such as a Google Sitemap Generator, and feeds to all the big online shopping sites. It is also very easy to work with. I definitely recommend checking out this e-commerce site/shopping cart provider.

Build Your Own Site

Bizamajig provides an all-in-one business solution for customer relations, marketing, project management, networking, communications, and more. You get a public website, plus unique login-based areas for your working partners and customers. This site does so much it is impossible to cover it all in one paragraph - check them out if you're a small business owner who needs to manage a lot of information in one place!

Free and low-priced software products for building and/or updating your site include www.CoffeeCup.com , www.xSitePro.com , www.komposer.net/download.php , and www.PageBreeze.com.

Photographers

Scott Lessing is a professional photographer in Asheville I have known for years - and have seen a great deal of his work. He specializes in wedding photography, but also produces stunning portraits, nature and documentary photos, and does commercial photography for those who want high-quality photographs of their products. Check out his portfolio!

Business IT Networks, Infrastructure, Technology and Security

I met the President (Daniel Russello) and Executive VP (David Casper) of Appalachian Network Services at a Better Business Bureau event. They provide the installation and support of office servers, networks, and online security systems & monitoring. They're certified partners with Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, and Symantec. Their client list is proof of their abilities and trustworthiness for mission-critical projects.

Helpful Online Directories

I like Best of the Web! for their ease of use, quality listings, and well-organized categories. If a search engine fails you, try this directory.

It's also a great directory for listing your own site - I highly recommend it!

The Tiny URL Tool