by Joseph Graves | Dec 30, 2013 | 30 Day Blog Challenge, Workshed News
Ah, the new year is almost here. If you’re like us, you’re feeling a little bit guilty about all that merriment from the holidays that added to the ol’ mid-section. Time to get back in shape, maybe join a gym, take up jogging again, or try out that newfangled CrossFit thing.
Sounds like a plan. Fitness is important to a happy, healthy, productive human being. But what about your business fitness? Is it time start exercising your marketing and content creation muscle?
Of course it is! Content creation is the oft-neglected, but important part of your business that can resemble a treadmill collecting dust in the basement. Like any piece of exercise equipment, it’s no good unless you actually use it.
For many, creating content (just like exercise) is hard at first. But after the initial pain it gets easier. Once you’re in the habit of creating content and start to see results (more customer engagement), you know it’s all worth it.
Misery loves company so we invite you to share in the pain.
30-day Blogging Challenge
To show that we at Workshed practice what we preach, we’re accepting Hubspot’s 30-day Blog Challenge and invite you to join us. Why blog more? Because it’s an effective method of marketing. Hubspot says customers that write just 3-4 blog post per month attract 800 more website visits, 60 more Twitter followers, and 50 more Facebook likes than those who only write 2 blog posts. Visits and fans are great, but this also led to 20 more lead submissions as well!
Yeah, this stuff really works.
Our Blogging Goal
The challenge is to publish a blog post once a day from January 2 to January 31. We’ll track our site stats and report them daily on our Facebook, Google +, and LinkedIn pages (make sure you’re following us to stay updated). We invite each of you to share your stats, ask questions and help push us through to the finish line.
Not sure if you can post everyday? All is not lost, just post more than you are now. The point is to start…and do it regularly.
Are you up to the challenge?
Sorry, the form is closed.
by Joseph Graves | Dec 17, 2013 | Technology, Workshed News
An out of date version of WordPress is one of the primary ways malicious hackers gain access to websites. Updating your site to the latest release is essential, but depending on how your website was built, upgrading to a newer version can come with it’s own set of risks.
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by Joseph Graves | Oct 29, 2013 | Workshed News
WordPress recently released version 3.7 affectionately dubbed “Basie” in honor of “Count Basie,” and with it come automatic updating! Of course, this might be a nightmare for older sites with “custom” themes, but for most people it’s a helpful way to improve website security. (more…)
![A Fresh Coat of Paint]()
by Joseph Graves | Aug 22, 2013 | Tools, Workshed News
A fresh coat of paint.
Well by now the word is out, Workshed is under new ownership…and look what they did to the logo and website!
Sure, we could’ve left things as they were, worked less hours, ate a few more meals, but then would it really be ours? We love the tradition of Workshed, the way the name evokes (for us at least) feelings of craftsmanship, service, and small town values and it was important to demonstrate our own style and perspective.
Plus the new office is in downtown Washougal (as a Camas grad Joe cannot utter the phrase go Panthers!) so for fun we brought out the orange in the logo and website. It’s very much a work in progress, but go ahead and pull it up on your phone or tablet. It should (assuming everything is functioning properly) automatically resize itself to fit your device. Web nerds call this a responsive design and we think it’s crucial for businesses on the web.
Why you ask?
Just think how often you look something up on your phone. Maybe you like long load times and pinching, zooming, and scrolling all over. The people that track this sort of behavior say most people don’t and that it means lost revenue. How a website looks on a mobile device is one of the questions from our “3 Question Website Review,” if you want a copy just click the button.
3 QUESTION WEBSITE REVIEW
Let us know how your site measures up to the quick review, we’d be happy to help with any changes you need.
by workshedAdmin | Aug 20, 2013 | Workshed News
Meet the new Workshed
Greetings, all! It’s been awhile since we’ve communicated with you this way, but we have some exciting news to share with you. Back when I founded Workshed in 1997, I was just a lone freelancer working nights, putting in hours after my day job to earn some extra money. This was before children and many of the other trappings of adulthood that generally make life more, well, complicated.
Fast forward, and we can see how Workshed has been through so much change over the years—from becoming a full-time, home-based business, to being a full-service creative agency with eight employees. Over the last year, Workshed has shifted back to more of a part-time business again, only this time, the trappings of adulthood are telling us that it’s time to pass the business on to new owners, with new energy and new ideas.
Welcome, Joe Graves and Brian Kashas
How does that Hair Club for Men commercial go again? I’m not only the president, but I’m also a client? Well, Joe and Brian were both longtime clients of Worskshed with their business ventures over the years, and their love for Workshed’s creativity, technical knowledge, and brand has compelled them to take the reigns of Workshed and usher it into its next phase of greatness.
It is with great pride and happiness that we pass the Workshed name, client list, hosting services, and everything else that comes with it, to Joe and Brian. We know they will take great care of you: our clients, contractors, and in many cases, friends.
It’s been a long road for Workshed over the years, but we are thrilled to see what Joe and Brian can do with the Workshed name, and we are extremely happy and secure knowing we are handing our clients off to people who will take excellent care of them. You are what made us who we are, and we know that kind of relationship will continue with Joe and Brian.
FAQs
We know, you have questions. We’re going to address what we think are the most common ones below, but feel free to reply if you have more.
When will this happen?
While we are working hand-in-hand to help make for a smooth transition, Joe and Brian will officially take the reigns effective September 1, 2013.
What will happen to my hosting/Pegmail/ongoing maintenance?
Joe and Brian will continue to offer the same services to you, and in most cases, you won’t notice any significant changes in terms of hosting offerings.
Where are Joe and Brian located?
They have a beautiful office in the growing downtown center of Washougal, WA.
What will happen to all of my data, files, and other information that Workshed has stored?
Everything will be transitioned to Joe and Brian, and we will also maintain an independent backup copy of everything as well.
Are you going to still be available for questions and historical information on my project if/when Joe and Brian need to make updates?
Of course! We will be working with them to complete a knowledge transfer over the next couple of months, during which time we will be available to provide historical information and guidance for questions or technical assistance.
What about my current project?
Don’t worry. If you have an existing project, we will still complete it! We are trying to wrap any existing projects up by the end of September, so if we have not reached out to you already, please let us know and we will work with you to get things taken care of.
A fond farewell, and thank you
With that, we would like to take a moment to thank you—all of you—for everything you have given us over the years. Be it your business, your guidance, your friendship, your trust, or your referrals. Our clients are great people and we’ve enjoyed working with each and every one of you. We know Joe and Brian will do great things with Workshed, and that’s what has made this rather difficult decision easier to make. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us, Joe, or Brian.
Warmest regards,
Bret Van Horn, Founder
Shannon Van Horn, President
Ah, the new year is almost here. If you’re like us, you’re feeling a little bit guilty about all that merriment from the holidays that added to the ol’ mid-section. Time to get back in shape, maybe join a gym, take up jogging again, or try out that newfangled CrossFit thing.
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