What if  your winery could reach thousands of new potential customers by sending one bottle of wine?  With extensive internet and social media followings,  leading Midwest wine bloggers reach thousands of interested consumers each month.  For example, Michigan by the Bottle, a blog that only reviews wines from Michigan, averages over 7,000 unique visits per month. And the Indiana based Midwest Wine Guy,  aka Jeff Lawson, averages between 6300 – 7000 unique visitors per month.

Why you want your winery to be featured

With increased interest in local food and drink, many consumers are turning to bloggers for advice on quality regional wines and to learn about Midwestern varietals.   If you want to cast the broadest net possible, wine bloggers are a great source of publicity.  Ohio based Tim Lemke of Cheap Wine Ratings,  who reviews wines $20 and under on CheapWineRatings.com,  gets over 30,000 web visits per month.  That’s 30,000 potential wine buyers, winery visitors, or recipients for your email newsletter.

Secondly,  a wine review written by a popular and respected blogger provides credibility and builds trust.  According to Inc.com, consumers increasingly distrust traditional media, such as print ads, TV and radio.  Instead they rely more on consumer reviews and Facebook “friend” recommendations.  Joel Comm, an online marketing consultant,  describes the modern consumer’s four step decision-making process as: “Like me. Know me. Trust me. Buy from me.”  Today’s consumers want to know your story and what makes you unique.  In other words, what sets your winery apart from the “wall of wine” grocery store brands?

How to get featured on wine websites

To be featured by a wine blogger, the first step is easy:  Find each blogger’s on-line sample policy and ship them a bottle of your best wine.  Or if you have a special event coming up, invite them to attend and review it.  Bloggers, like Michigan by the Bottle’s Shannon and Cortney Casey,  also work closely with wineries on give-aways, such as the Super Huge Michigan Wine Month Giveaway, which awards prizes every day during the month of April.

Other wine bloggers that are open to featuring Midwestern wines include: The Other 46, Hoosierwinecellar.com and drinklocalwine.com.  And for sweet wines see La Vino Dolce, which is written by Minneapolis attorney Troy Stark.  In addition, find out who in your area is blogging about local food and wine.

What content should be included with the wine?

Several regional wine bloggers pointed out that Midwest varietals are of particular interest because they have not been extensively written about or reviewed.   As a result, writing about a native or hybrid grape is a way for wine bloggers to stand out in the crowded wine blogosphere.  But before regional wine bloggers can write about regional wines, they sometimes need to be exposed to what’s going on in their own backyards.

For example, Tim Lemke of Ohio’s Cheap Wine Ratings said he receives a steady supply of old word wines to review;  many of which are sent by PR firms representing national or international wineries.   However,  he said he receives little communication of any kind from Midwestern wineries.   Lemke said he would like to feature regional wines that have an interesting story and he welcomes more communications from regional wineries.

According to Midwest Wine Guy Jeff Lawson, helpful information for bloggers includes background on the on the AVA or region,  cases produced, retail prices and spec sheets with wine chemistry data.  Information on growing conditions for a vintage is helpful too.  Lawson said he would also like to know the varietals used in blended wines.  (Lawson’s current winery of the month is Mallow Run in Bargersville, IN.)

In regard to the type of winery information that he likes to include in his website, Lemke provided several suggestions:  “What about the region makes the wine different?  Is the varietal suited for the Midwest climate? Does the winery take advantage of macroclimates or a nearby body of water? What inspired the winemaker to produce wine in the Midwest?”

Blog writers with wine making knowledge, like Danny Wood of the Regional Wine Taster in Kansas City, appreciate visiting wineries and speaking directly with owners and winemakers.  Wood focuses on showcasing Missouri and Kansas wineries in his blog and short films, but he doesn’t review wines.  Wood’s detailed stories appeal to regional wine enthusiasts who are interested in wine making and grape growing practices.   These more sophisticated consumers often vacation in wine regions and favor higher price point wines.

Are you ready for new customers?

Now is a great time to review your website to confirm that all information can be easily found both for wine bloggers and consumers.  List all wines with details, such as pricing, ordering instructions, pairing suggestions and varietal explanations.   While you may be familiar with Norton and Chambourcin, not all consumers are.  Also confirm your web site includes contact information, plus high-resolution photos of your winery’s interior and exterior that can be downloaded by writers.  Also include biographies and photos of the owner and winemaker.

If your winery is featured on the internet,  take advantage of the buzz with Social media and email marketing.  Tweet, Re-Tweet and tell all of your Facebook friends that you were featured.  This helps grow the wine bloggers following, as well as your own fan base.

Make sure all of your communications with the wine blogger promotes your brand and differentiates you from the competition. Everything you do as a winery influences how people perceive your “brand.”  This includes your history,  customers,  reputation, and what the press says about you.  Branding also encompasses logos, color palettes and images you use.  When creating anything for your winery, always keep in mind what makes you unique.

Need more marketing ideas on how to grow your winery? Jump start your marketing with our FREE seven week email course, “Sell More Wine!”

When I designed the websites, I chose layouts that emphasized the pictures of the different locations. As a sand volleyball player myself, I would want to know what type of sand each location has. I also included plugin’s that would allow them to integrate Google calendar for their events, All-in-one SEO Pack and a gallery they can upload photos from their iphone. Each client we work with had different requirements for their website and we work with you to find your perfect solution.

Below are the options that we originally presented.

Option #1:

This option was primarily picture based.

Option #2:

This option I also provided a custom illustration for the header of the website.

Option #3:

This option took the sand “literally.”

Final choice:

They ultimately went with Option #2 – below is the final home page visit. They also had me add a custom text widget box to the home page, so they could change the Welcome message daily. You can visit the live Concord Sand Volleyball here.

Web design work:

After talking to Jamie about her website, we found she loved her e-commerce platform, Volusion, but wanted several design changes. No, problem we can do that. We sent several design ideas over to the owner, she approved one of the design choices and we in turn, programmed the new look.

Here is the old look:

Here is the new look:

The major change was the header  and sidebar design. This re-design allowed us to be able to switch out special marketing messages at the top of her site and in the sidebar. We also switched her email sign-up, so the customer would stay on the same page the entire time.

Facebook:

We have also been busy working with Cassavoy and Company on growing her Facebook presence. When we first talked with the owner their facebook page only had about 50 followers. We grew that page to have almost 300 fans through Facebook ads, a Facebook giveaway contest, and a Welcome page that shows a discount once “liked.” Below is a screenshot of the discount promotion.

We continued our work with Thousand Oaks Winery, located in Marble Hill, MO and designed this Rack Card for  to hand out at various trade booths. The goal was to keep with their classically designed wine labels and promote their view, location and contact info.

Wine label designs:

We were also excited to hear that they named a special edition wine, Willow, after our daughter.

The family business label design was inspired by the owner’s family history – he was the first one in his family NOT to be in the train industry.

This wine label follows their traditional wine labels – logo and label are the same, except for the name & grape.

This label was created from a photo of the winery owner’s parents wedding day.

You can see more Thousand Oaks wine label designs here.

Here are the three options (plus a bonus #4) that we presented to her:

Final logo:

While Jill really liked the above logo’s I presented, she ultimately chose to combine Option #1 and Option #4 (the bonus logo).

Below are the design options that I originally presented them. After I emailed them the designs, they took a week to think about it and scheduled another Skype chat. We talked over some design changes on their end and I sent them back a final design choice. Once chosen, we started the programming stage. Normally, I prefer to allow two weeks for programming, but they really needed this site to be up and running before they left for their big move to New Zealand. We sent them a URL to the site on the development site and they went through it. They had a few more suggestions and once they were made the new website for Moana Nui Designs LIVE.

Design Option #1:

This option is very similar to what the described in our talks. Big hero photo with room for blurbs of copy on the right and thumbnails of the categories below.

Design Option #2:

This option introduced a photo that went over the entire page, but still showed their featured thumbnails on the bottom.

Design Option #3:

This option is kept the hero shot as in #1, but introduced a sidebar to the home page.

Final Choice:

The final design is similar to Option #1, but included cart icons and a different style email button, as well as a tan colored background.

Samples of four inside pages:

Business card design:

Website design:

Flyer to pass out around town and a Facebook landing page:

Sticker design to be placed on merchandise:

Do you have an online e-commerce store, but aren’t sure how to increase sales? Many small businesses rely on this time of year to to provide up to 40 percent of their income, according to the according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the nation’s largest retail trade association.

Unfortunately, if you build an e-commerce site, people don’t automatically flood your website and convert to sales. So, how do you get customers to buy? While large retailers use TV, magazine ads, and radio, those avenues can be expensive for small businesses.  Below are several tips on increasing Online retail sales, while not breaking your advertising budget.

1. Make sure your website design is simple and easy to read

Think of yourself on a crowded city sidewalk with large signs every way you turn. Now think of a country road with one sign on it. Which one would get your attention more effectively? Now translate that idea to your website. If you have a busy pattern with lots of neon type or type in many different colors, are people going to know where to click? Or what you sell? No, they will be overwhelmed and leave your site.

But if you have a clean site, such as Amazon.com, you know exactly where to click or where to search. There are so many different websites that sell the same product as yours, so do everything in your power to get them to stay. Keep it simple. For more design tips, read 7 tips on creating a stellar web layout.

2. Incorporate an E-mail Marketing plan

E-mail marketing is a very low cost way to reach your customers each month. But don’t expect one email around the holidays to turn into huge sales. Part of developing customer loyalty is staying in touch, so you are fresh in their minds. You don’t have to run a sale each month, but you can show your latest product or details about a special event or contest. For more on e-mails, read Can email newsletters increase your sales?

3. Purchase Online advertising

In order for your Online sales to go up, you obviously need online visitors. While every site should use SEO (search engine optimization) key words to rate high on Google’s search engines, another way to gain customers fast is to use Online Advertising. You set the price per day you want to hit. Can you only afford $1 per day or $30 per month? This type of advertising is perfect for you. Depending on what you are selling, two of the most successful I have found for my customers are Google Adwords and Facebook ads.

3. Offer free shipping:

In this Inc.com article, they state that more and more customers are coming to expect free shipping. Plus, if you offer free shipping, the average customer buys more of your products. Are you not a fan of offering discounts? Try this strategy: when someone signs up for your email newsletter, offer them a Free shipping code. That way you aren’t giving away something for nothing in return. You’ll gain their contact information for emails down the road and possible future sales.

4. Social Media marketing

More than 50% of people with Facebook accounts check their account everyday. Take advantage of this by posting weekly messages that can range from look at this new product, a special event, a sale and/or most importantly engage your customers and ask for their feedback. For more information on a social media plan, read How to create an Online Marketing strategy.

5. Hold an event or contest

An event or contest doesn’t have to be just be part of your in-store retail strategy. You can have a one day only online event on Facebook, blog or create a custom landing page on your website with the info. By having a contest or event, you can also utilize another great low cost way to get more business – a press release with all of the details. If you get picked up by your local News channel or paper, this can be a great way to increase your traffic to your website.