For those out there who missed this year’s “Happy Holidays from Blue Ion” message due to over-zealous spam filtering or first-day-back-from-vacation email deleting, here’s a link from us to you. Many thanks to Brennan for capturing the magic that morn.

Tired of the same ole Christmas Ornament? Ready to brighten your RV with something fresh and familiar? Well, look no further! We have created another print, cut and hang ornament for all our friends. This year is one of our favorite characters from Christmas Vacation, Cousin Eddie!

If you feel like doing a little arts & crafts, and you’re in the holiday spirit, here is the newest ornament! Click the image to download. Enjoy and have a Happy Holiday!

A few months back the crew at Lunch & Recess suggested that we create a film about the goings on at Blue Ion. Given Ethan, Ryan and Dorian’s talents we thought that sounded like gold, and the production began.

The project required several days of shooting over the course of the summer, surviving their Barbara Walters-sytle interrogations, a seemingly endless editing process, the creation of a custom soundtrack courtesy of Sunday Entertainment, and intense arguments over who deserved top billing and screen time. It all came together and we owe a million thank yous to L&R and Sunday E.

Gave a fun presentation on Saturday at the Charleston Bar Camp on the topic of glossophobia – more commonly known as the fear of public speaking. It’s a very common affliction and the key to controlling it seems to be a mixture of self-hypnosis and having a good working knowledge of your topic.

Big thanks to Josh for helping with my supporting illustrations. They were a hit. Here’s a quick sample:

And for those that have asked, here’s the vintage 1949 educational film I sampled from on Speech: Stage Fright, and What To Do About It. It’s well worth a viewing.

The new Blue Ion iPhone skins came in yesterday…those of us with iPhone4s have already slapped them on. Mine’s the cool one. Props to our superstar Green Ion-er Laura Wood for the design. We may have a few extra (some Luddites in the mix with older iPhone models or bag phones) so give us a shout if you’re ready to represent. First come, first serve.

Brutus received a sweet package today from Keith Lanpher at Lanpher Productions. He received a bag of Mini Hyperdog balls, a “Life is Good” frisbee and a signed photo from Miss Lily (another Jack Russell Terrier). Brutus couldn’t be more pleased! Thanks Keith!

Meet Laura Wood. Illustrator, Art Student, Blue Ion Intern.

Currently a student Ringling College of Art and Design, Laura recently joined our Creative Department for her summer internship. She brings with her some amazing illustration/design skills, a can-do attitude and a true passion for all things art & design. You can see some of her awesome illustration work here. And, check out her intern application video here.

Welcome to Blue Ion Laura!

Last night was the 10th Pecha Kucha Night held in Charleston….we had a great line up of speakers, a great outdoor setting and awesome weather. We maxed out at 500 attendees and the beer (9 kegs worth) and food were gone soon after intermission. We’ll plan bigger next time. In the meantime some moments courtesy of Tim McManus Photography:

Many thanks once again to all that make this thing happen:

1. A team of Parliament volunteer planners/doers….with Todd Richardson from Byers Design Group leading the charge, Nathan Durfee and John Pundt doing the awesome poster, Cassidy and the Kid working the music.

2. Generous sponsors including CRDA, New Carolina, Maverick Southern Kitchens, Westbrook Brewing, Duval Catering, PDA, Civic Design Center, Office of Cultural Affairs, The Digital Corridor and more.

3. 12 awesome presenters and 500 awesome attendees.

Start getting ready for PKN11.

Had some fun at lunch today.

Last week we checked off a big goal of ours here on the digital marketing team: become a Google AdWords Certified Partner.

Even though Casey and I have a combined 7+ years of Google AdWords management, we’ve never formalized our expertise by completing the required exams.

So, we’re proud to announce we now meet the company qualifications and Casey has his individual qualification (I’m finishing mine up this week).

Here’s a breakdown of what’s required to become a partner.

1. Manage at least $10,000 spend over a 90 day period.

2. Have a qualified individual at your company that has both:
   Passed the “fundamentals” exam & one of the “expert” exams:
   - Search Advertising (Casey passed this one)
   - Display Advertising
   - Reporting (I’m taking this one later in the week)

We’re now showing up in the partner search, and we’re planning on using the official logo they provide in our updated email signatures. How’s this look?

Updated Email Signature With Official Logo of Awesomeness

If you’re interested in help with your own AdWords account, just give us a shout. We’re happy to apply our knowledge to your specific situation.

Our Approach to Paid Search

While anyone can study hard, hustle up enough clients to meet the minimum spend, and take the exams, we like to think there are a few little things that set us apart and continue to show the value of AdWords and our time to our clients.

1. Understanding AdWords is just a piece (tactic) that fits within an overall marketing strategy. And that fits within the overall business strategy. If you don’t have a solid brand, product or service, and strategic plan you’re wasting money.

2. You have a solid tracking and reporting structure in place. Before we spend a minute on Adwords, we’re looking to see what the goal of your business is and the role your website plays in the sales process. Then we configure our goal tracking and ensure every keyword visit and penny spent can be attributed back to those goals.
   
   Examples
   
   Linking AdWords to Goal Tracking in Google Analytics 

   
   Dashboard We Provide All Of Our AdWords Clients
   

3. Organization, organization, organization. We’re going to dive into this topic more in later posts, but for now it will suffice to say we’re big believers a consistent approach to brainstorming and really thinking through a super-organized account structure.That leads to clickthrough rates like these:

   
   Rockstar Clickthrough Rates