What is “digital consulting?” It’s about finding clear answers to tough questions. And sometimes it’s about getting your hands dirty to make things work. I’m comfortable either way.
Let’s connect. Send me a note, or connect on LinkedIn.
Here’s what I’ve done, and what I can do for you.
I admit it. I’m a big fan of WordPress. Amazing flexibility, usability, and stability. And it’s just plain easy for clients to use. I’ve used it for major local news sites, to non-profit sites, to personal blogs. Chances are it can work great for you and surpass your needs on desktop and mobile.
Recent clients include …
Look at the big picture, outside of yourself. How does a person digitally interact with your company? How do they feel about that interaction? How did they get there? And what did they need to do? Or not do? Was it a valuable use of their time? Would they do it again? And that’s just the start of it. It takes careful analysis and insight. A true mix of art and science.
Though not sexy, it’s incredibly important to get things done on time and on budget. I have extensive experience leading a digital team via agile project management in JIRA and Confluence, along with Zendesk customer service software. Or I can do it more casually because that works too.
The only constant in the digital world is change. Get used to it. The pace is only going to increase. Is it all good, or necessary? Nope. But you might have to deal with it. Site migrations, app migrations, new CMS’s, new social platforms, changing rules on those social platforms, and on and on and on. Been there, done that. Successfully.
The digital world is a great place to experiment, and I’ve done tons of it. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t. Just do it smart and measure the results. Many of the things I created years ago are still around and still popular. I take great pleasure in seeing them continue to succeed without me.
My bread and butter. Remember when there wasn’t a local news website? Or when there wasn’t a mobile web? I do. I built them from scratch on desktop and mobile, leading them to market dominance. And then worked with more and more news markets to duplicate that success. Often times it worked. Sometimes it didn’t, and those are the ones where I learned the most. That’s how you know what’s a “best practice” and what isn’t.
It’s said, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Well, I have. As the principal architect of the digital weather experience on highly visited local news websites and apps, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. I’ve integrated on-air and online weather experiences, so the end-user gets consistent information across sites, apps, push notifications, SMS, and email. However, there’s a limit to what I can do. I don’t forecast the weather, and I certainly don’t control it.
I’ve strategized, designed, and implemented millions of dollars worth of revenue solutions. My experience ranges from the usual assortment of display and video advertising systems to native advertising opportunities to niche sites for auto sales and entertainment.
I’ve been the product manager for close to 200 news and weather apps in the App Store and Google Play. While leading the team to solve hundreds of issues, I simultaneously enhanced the user experience by adding and refining many dozens of customer-focused features. Became an expert in push notifications. The result was millions of incremental page views with increased revenue and profitability.
Knowing how to use analytic tools is one thing, but making the data meaningful to a client’s needs is my real expertise. My extensive experience with analytics platforms includes Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, HitWise, Comscore, AppAnnie, and Chartbeat. I strongly believe that to manage it, you have to measure it.
Today’s biggest moving target. Not a week goes by that there’s not a major shift in the landscape. What worked last year won’t this year. Even the definitions of success change. Learning experiences abound. There’s a lot of misinformation and misguidance out there. My best advice is to stay agile, nimble, and informed.
Thankfully this is one area that’s stabilized and matured. If you provide good, valuable content, and pay attention to the details, you should be okay. But in some competitive spaces, there are little things you can do that really pay off. SEO optimization is a big deal and should not be ignored. It’s something you can control and win.
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” That’s the principle I follow when creating any digital product. I want the people who will use the digital tools I create to become experts at them.
Tight Lines Digital is proud to support Trout Unlimited, helping local chapters such as Schrems West Michigan and Pere Marquette succeed in membership recruitment, fundraising, and digital communications. Please contact us if your TU chapter wants help.