D.S. Leach Consulting, Inc.

Building Relationships One Link at a Time

Our friend Seth over at Cup 'O Books recently did a very kind thing for us here at D.S. Leach Consulting, he wrote a post on his blog letting his readers know about us and what we do.  But there's more to the story than the nice act of one of our friends, because why we know Seth and what he did provides an instructive lesson in what blogs can do for a business. 

As you may know, Greg is somewhat (the irony is intended) of a jazz fan; Seth is as well.  It is unlikely that their paths would have crossed, even in the small town environs of Rochester, except a few years back both Greg and Seth discovered each other while blogging the 2005 Rochester International Jazz Festival (and there was more than Seth...there was also Ken).  It's a typical situation in blogging.   You do a search to see what other people are writing about something of interest, in this case the RIJF, and find that there are others doing what you're doing.  You let others know what you've found and a network and conversation starts.  In 2006, we  met in person at one of the first shows of the RIJF and with Ken have seen a few shows around town since that one.  We have some plans about blogging the 2007 RIJF that we'll be talking about soon, I hope.  Dianna and I saw Seth and Ken again when John Nugent played recently at the Grille at the Strathallan and talked a bit about D.S. Leach Consulting.

What I'm trying to say here is that a blog (in fact several) has helped to forge a relationship in the real world by introducing two people who have common interests and now we are doing what we can to help each other out in our businesses, as well as going to hear some great jazz together.  In addition to being a teacher and writing his posts on books, reading and life in a personal and always compelling voice, Seth has a book consulting and book buying and selling business that you can link to through the Cup 'O Books site.  In the not to distant future, I hope to be interviewing Seth as part of my work with WME Books on the A-Ha! Authors Helping Authors blog (and I have my eye on one of Seth's recent posts for posting to that blog as well).  This conversation is just beginning....who knows where it will lead!

Arts and non-profit organizations: Get noticed on a budget

What does your organization spend marketing your programs or services?  How much do your efforts get your organization in return? As a feeder to drive traffic to your main website or as the site itself, a blog can be a natural engine to draw attention to your business on the web. Most importantly, for cash-strapped non-profit organizations, blogs can be created and maintained without great expense.

Earlier this month, D.S. Leach Consulting launched a site on behalf of the Friends of Brockport Dance, a new arts organization that is being founded to raise money for scholarships to support students of the Dance Department at SUNY Brockport. In the first few days after launching the site, its "hit" count—"loosely" defined as the number of page views—began growing. And this was before a lot of the "optimization" of the site to the web was completed!  We hope that this tool will help to create the community that the Friends need to succeed in their goals.

What does this mean? A blog may be a good marketing option for small businesses, arts, and other types of nonprofit organizations. It is a great way to get your message out and get it noticed.  The main requirements are time and enthusiasm, not technical proficiency. Although time is always in short supply, enthusiasm is usually available in abundance in arts and other nonprofit organizations. Most blog platforms do not require a lot of knowledge of coding HTML or other technical skills.  Blogs can maintained by more than one person, so they are natural for staff at non-profits who have different "stories" to tell or who reach out to different constituencies.  Thus, you can leverage staff and volunteers to provide you with content and links to “feed” the blog.

We can work closely with you and your organization to develop a blog/site that will attract new interest, clients and, possibly, donors to your organization's programs or events. Our partner, WME Blogs, has extensive experience building high quality blogs and helping clients to learn how to maintain them or maintain them on behalf of the client. Or, if you prefer, you may contact us directly here at D.S. Leach Consulting and we’ll see if what package will suit your organization most effectively. Please leave a comment if you have a question, or contact us through the email link in the right panel if you'd like to learn more.

Therapists and blogs?

As I peruse the blogosphere, I have yet to run across a blog that is written by a psychotherapist, at least not one that deals with things psychotherapeutic.  I wonder why that is?  It is true that there are reasons for therapists to fear blogging.  Blogging about issues they are faced with their clients would be a constant struggle with the limits of their obligations to confidentiality and there is always the "who has the time?" question.  However, the potential benefits of the communities you may create and the vistas of information you'll open for your practice are likely to outweigh these obstacles, not to mention the marketing potential for new clients. Are you an expert in a particular area of interest?  If you're interested in exploring this with us, leave us a comment by clicking on the comment link below and we'll be in touch, or you can send us an email (see Contact Us).