Creating a design for the Inside New York guidebook company was a project I knew I would thoroughly enjoy after living in this great city for three years. We went ahead with a full photo background, that easily adjusts itself to any screen size. We worked with the Inside New York book design team to match up color schemes and fonts. A new blog was setup, with the INY team updating it with awesome deals on New York City nightlife, restaurants, and attractions almost everyday. Go check it out! It’s a source that can’t be beat no matter if you’re a New York native or new comer!

Google has just put out a great resource point for local businesses with this awesome video:

So, how can you incorporate locality-based marketing into your blogging? For one, working out deals with local businesses and venues offers some great potential for advertising revenue. Blogging about your favorite burger-joint downtown and including a link to the Google Maps location also helps to increase accessibility and overall functionality.

But what if you’re not in a major metropolis? Well, I say cities such as New York and Boston have hogged all of the advantages of locality-based blogging for far too long. It’s time to start a series on your blog detailing all of the amazing restaurants and attractions you visited during your trip throughout the French countryside. Or even detailing your favorite camping spots in the middle of nowheresville. There is a niche for anything locality-based, and I say: let’s get this ball rolling!

Ellen approached us with a beautifully designed website. She had only one problem; her site needed a blog! Previously reaching her readers regularly through e-mail newsletters, Ellen was looking for a way in which she could keep archives for anyone to read and create opportunities for new readership. Blog What? Design provided her with a custom WordPress design and installation that fit in perfectly within her existing website and design. We provided her with the basics in terms of blogging such as categories, comments (with SPAM protection!), and an RSS feed subscribable via e-mail or a reader to get her away from the limits of e-mail newsletters. We even provided a link so that her generally non tech savy readers could better understand how and why RSS functions to ease them into the updated transition.

Other useful features include a “print this” post button that led to a print-friendly version of her articles, and a “share this” post button allowing readers to share Ellen’s work on a variety of social media websites or via e-mail. We were also able to feature Ellen’s favorite kitchen tools and products via a personalized Amazon store. She now receives a commission on each sale made through this page!

The most enjoyable part of this project? Taking a crack at Ellen’s delicious seasonal recipes.

The concept of social media is now an integral part of our modern lives. It governs the ways in which we purchase things, how we publish things, and even the ways in which we come together in the “real world.” A perfect example of this feature exists in Facebook’s event application. Users can create real, or intellectual/digital events through an extremely easy to use interface. Mashable has done a great job of how to best setup a Facebook event on their blog. Go check it out: maybe it’s just the thing you need to bring your readers together!

Collages.net approached us with an already wildly successful company and product; from their website: “From posting to printing, Collages.net offers professional photographers a complete workflow solution.” However, they were missing one thing: a blog that would enhance their preexisting services and fully engage their long list of talented clients.

So, Blog What? Design stepped in to provide a variety of solutions for Collages. First we designed a blog, through collaboration with a fabulous in-house design team, that mirrored the original brand and concept of the company’s website. Then we integrated features such as optimized search, poll management, and a unique “photo of the week” section in their sidebar. These options, along with the great tools Wordpress automatically builds into each site, created a blog that is updated nearly every day and receives comments on every post.

Take a look at the work we did for Collages.NET here.