Not a Resume but more of a History...

I understand that before you outsource your internet marketing, you would like to see your creative director's credentials... but you don't have the time or interest to wade through a resume {yawn}. So, you won't find a list of boring credentials here. However, I'll venture to say that the B.A. in Journalism earned from Indiana University in 1984 has served me well through the years. I like to tell college students to learn to ask the right questions and really listen to the answers, and to refine spelling and writing skills! I think it's sound advice.

The travel industry is one of my passions and where my love affair with internet marketing began. In 2002, we acquired a charming log cabin situated on a mountain called Colter Pass in Montana's Yellowstone Country... with 360-degree views of peaks! Named for the huge granite outcroppings surrounding the cabin, the Montana Rocky Top Cabin became our vacation home rental the following summer, and we needed guests! Thanks entirely to the internet, which was still in it's teenage stage compared to today, the cabin is booked with families and couples every summer. Most of the techniques I have used to market the cabin online will work for your business too!

Creativity is the one trait my client's tell me sets one web designer apart from another! I couldn't agree more, but I cannot blame IT (Information Technology) professionals for lacking creativity when they need to keep up to date on HTML, PHP, SSL, MYSQL, etc.... yikes! That's why I have chosen to use a user friendly site editor called Website Tonight, which I've used since 2002 and experienced all of its growth and enhancements. When we are choosing the tools we will need, like domains, hosting, and shopping carts, we will take advantage of products like Website Tonight and Traffic Blazer from GoDaddy's sister company, Wild West Domains, through my reseller store... I guarantee the very best in pricing and support!

Perhaps more importantly, if you want future control of your web site's content, you'll have it! What Website Tonight and my other products permit is for me to teach you how to maintain and update your site and how to submit it to search engines, etc. This is obviously one way a company can save money. No time to learn? Of course, I can handle your site's maintenance and continue offering my creative services to e-mail campaigns and more!

Digital photography and the art of creating coffee table photography books is one of my passions! Call me nostalgic, but I just recently parted with my dusty 27-year old Minolta I used in college! With that old camera, I took my first photojournalism course in college. I carried my trusty Minolta with me everywhere as a magazine editor early in my career. It is now in the hands of a camera collector and I have more room in my office!

Good photography... no, let me retract that for "great" photography... is vital to looking good on the internet, but it doesn't mean one needs to rush out to a professional studio. For many of my clients, we're able to get terrific shots right at the place of business. Does your webmaster offer you on site photography as well as professional photo editing?

Since my collegiate days, I've had the opportunity to live and work in Florida -- nearly 25 years now. Early in my career, I was a public relations worker-bee for ALCOA in Indiana where I was editor of my first newsletter and magazine. Then, in 1985, I landed a position at Honeywell in Tampa and moved to Florida. When the division of Honeywell was sold, I accepted a tenure in marketing for a season of ballet with Tampa Ballet -- what fun that was!

I relocated to South Florida in the 90s where I was an account rep for a PR firm. When real estate really took off, I studied and obtained salesperson and then broker's licenses to sell real estate! For more than ten years, I was a sales consultant with GLHomes in South Florida helping families build homes... it was very gratifying work.

Not long ago, I moved to Lake Placid in Central Florida, where I reside today in the peaceful grove-and-lakes-country of Highlands County. It is here that DianeDesignIt moved from dream job to reality!