January 2012
3 posts
5 tags
2011: The year we grew, moved, and made a kick-ass...
With the holidays well behind us and our New Year’s resolutions slowly beginning to take effect (or dwindle altogether), we thought we’d take a moment to look back at 2011. It was a good year for Business Bullpen. A lot has happened in just 12 months; here are a few of the highlights:
Besides our client work, one of our biggest accomplishments this year was to design, develop, and release...
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UXCamp DC 2012
This last Saturday, Graham, Todd, Amanda, Emily (our new intern), and I trekked to Washington, D.C. to attend the 2012 DC UXCamp. Graham and Todd are veterans of the Bar Camp style of conference, but the rest of us had never attended one before Saturday, and I, for one, was not entirely sure what to expect. I am as fearful of speaking in public as anyone - would I have to present something...
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How to return from vacation with an (almost) empty...
Most of us took some time off during the past couple of weeks. With today being the first day back to work (for many), your inbox might not be as full as other times of the year after some time off. Wouldn’t it be nice if this was always the case after a vacation?
As a small business owner, I can’t expect to completely disconnect when I go on vacation. But I can take some steps that...
December 2011
2 posts
1 tag
8 tags
SEO Copywriting: Be Human (All Too Human)
I recently took a 2-week course on SEO copywriting through mediabistro.com. I can’t say I learned anything super new in the course, but it articulated in a cohesive way little nuggets I’ve been gathering here and there. It also laid out some basic assumptions about SEO copywriting that I found worth sharing:
SEO writing is about ensuring content is visible and discoverable in the digital...
November 2011
3 posts
7 tags
8 tags
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Single A Tumblr Theme Version 1.1.2 Now Available →
Our latest updates to Single A are now live.
October 2011
2 posts
5 tags
8 tags
Editing terms
In the market for an editor? If you’ve done any kind of shopping around you’ve probably seen estimates for different kinds of editorial services, which can be confusing if you’re not familiar with the terms. Here’s a quick run-down of different kinds of editing.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the most basic kind of editing and is typically done just prior to publication (on- or offline). When an...
September 2011
9 posts
7 tags
Focus, focus, focus
Last week Graham and I visited Tumblr’s headquarters in New York. As I walked through the double-glass doors, the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. With 30+ very creative people in the NYC office and an open space floor plan, I expected there to be a lot of noise. But there wasn’t. You could literally hear a pin drop.
We had to wait a few minutes for the person we were...
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Things that go well together: SEO and copywriting
What goes better than peanut butter and jelly? Stumped? How about keyword research and copywriting? Bingo!
Jessica and I recently wrapped up a project in which we provided our client AutoSport with extensive keyword research that was then rolled into beautifully written copy. Since implementing the new keyword-rich copy less than two months ago, the client has already seen improved results in...
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SEO copywriting: AutoSport
Gary and I are pretty psyched about the work we just tag-teamed for our client AutoSport. The job consisted of two parts: an SEO analysis performed by Gary, followed by SEO copywriting performed by yours truly. For the copywriting, my mission was to take AutoSport’s 25 most popular pages and implement 50 keywords from Gary’s SEO analysis.
I went into the project with a couple of objectives: 1)...
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Facebook apps for Cobec
We recently did a complete rebranding project for our client Cobec, which included not only a new website driven by WordPress, but also a couple of Facebook apps.
The requirements were fairly simple—two tabs on the Cobec Facebook page: “What We Do” and “Careers” (you can see the final result in the first image below). To start, I registered myself on Facebook with...
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Introducing the NEW look for Cobec!
We are proud to show off the new rebranding work for Cobec Consulting. We added much more life and energy to their brand, which seemed fitting because Cobec is a charismatic, fun group of people. Not only did we design their logo, we translated the new look of their brand across many other facets, including:
website
Facebook and Twitter pages
business cards, letterhead, envelopes, and pocket...
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Memolane
Disclaimer: I’m fully aware that this blog post is flying directly in the face of one of my other recent posts titled “Information Overload.”
I recently discovered Memolane. Still in beta mode, the app is a great idea, although I’m still trying to figure out exactly how I might use it. Basically, it allows you to add from a list of about 15 social media sites to aggregate...
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Web Developer Opportunity at Business Bullpen →
Are you looking to build the next great Tumblr or WordPress theme?
Interested in developing for the mobile space?
Come work for us with outstanding clients in Charlottesville, Virginia, consistently rated as one of the best places to live in the U.S.
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Copywriting: It's all about tone
“Copy (or text, or words) used in design is a very particular type of creative writing that requires the inspiration of an artist and the control of a craftsman or craftswoman.” —Mark Shaw, Copywriting: Successful writing for design, advertising and marketing
We don’t really think of business writing as creative writing, in part because the aims of business...
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August 2011
11 posts
7 tags
Thank you, Tumblr
This month our first Tumblr theme, Single A, passed 30,000 installs. We submitted the theme to Tumblr on April 1st. It’s rather humbling that over 30,000 blogs are using it less than 6 months later.
I’ve been using Tumblr since December of 2007. The community here is incredible and it’s you, the users, who I’d like to thank first and foremost for your support. We listen...
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Sometimes it makes sense to roll your own
As a developer, I’ve always been an advocate of using existing tools/plugins/components when they are cost effective. Why spend two days reinventing a wheel that you can download for free or a nominal fee? Since joining Business Bullpen in the spring, I’ve been getting my feet wet with several WordPress sites for clients, and obviously there is a seemingly endless library of free...
Felix: There’s been a lot of shamefacedness and... →
I’m liking this idea of Twitter as a newsroom.
felixsalmon:
There’s been a lot of shamefacedness and embarrassment on Twitter from people who tweeted the false news that Piers Morgan had been suspended from CNN. I can see why: a lot of the tweeters were professional journalists, foremost among them Channel 4 News’s Jon Snow. And professional journalists…
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ledz asked: hi! can we add google+ link on the socials and +1s on the posts? :) thanks!
amandadanziger asked: Will your theme be available on wordpress in the near future?
Happy Wi-Fi Day!
Sure, why not?
world-shaker:
Wi Wi-Fi Day? Because it’s 8.02.11.
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How many people actually click on your links?
If we’ve ever done an SEO audit or review of your website, then you’ve probably heard me preach from high atop Mt. SERP about the importance of linking, both internal and external. Internal links, of course, are links from one page or post of your site to another page or post within your site. And external links are those that point to websites other than your own.
Have you ever...
July 2011
63 posts
andrewgolucky asked: am i able to upload a background image with your theme?
farandwell asked: Thank you for your theme from tumblr. I'm using it and it's so beautiful.
“In our culture, we’re suspicious of strangers. They’re a threat. They lurk in...”
– word
David Weinberger, linked from an older post on Caterina’s blog (via cacioppo)
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Andy Rutledge: Redesigning NYTimes.com →
Very cool breakdown of news sites and how they could be improved.
cameronmoll:
Andy Rutledge:
Regarding content strategy and mechanism, today’s ‘news’ is rife with irrelevancies and distractions. Part of this is due to the news industry’s abandonment of actual journalism, but much of it is due to thoughtless promotional strategy and pathetic pandering. I suggest that digital news...
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On Scope, On Time, but Over Budget
Every now and then a project estimate is way below the actual time spent on a project. While it’s important to continually improve our estimation process, going over budget does happen on occasion. We usually cap our projects with a not-to-exceed figure, so unless the scope of a project changes, we eat the costs when going over budget.
When we do go over budget, I don’t focus on the...
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Single A Tumblr Theme Version 1.1 is Now Available →
We are very excited about the latest version of Single A. For those of you that are using it, the update happens automatically. Check your Appearance Options to configure the new features. Let us know what you think!
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