Rock Band

Kelakos Returns

Forty-five years after their first album GONE ARE THE DAYS, the classic rock 70s band KELAKOS (Ka – LOCK – us) is making a comeback with a major 12-song album release.

I created the site to promote the band and highlight their album/CD/ video releases.

For their first release in the “70’s the band posed in front of a saling ship-the Mayflower, in fact. For their newest release, Hurtling Towards Extinction, the setting is a spaceship. I created a hurtling, rotating cube with these two images on the home page.

I opened the first page with a video of space in the hero section that almost perfectly matched the graphics for the album by the talented, Eric Phillipe. I then created pages for the band, the store, video releases and a shop.

The band is thrilled with the result, as am I. To visit the site, please use the button below.

The review below, which is not posting on my Google business page but is showing as if it has posted on the client end.

Medical website

NEUROSURGEON

A new website for a neurosurgeon whose old site was from 2013 and not responsive. As a passionate advocate for patient choice, the doctor wanted to highlight his current neurosurgical services and add online services, such as medical records review, second opinion and telehealth for people who live in remote areas and don’t have access to the highest quality of care.

I created a responsive website, wrote the content and optimized the site for search engines, while following the latest recommendations for medical websites. I used the highly visible Helvetica font throughout. Additionally I added outbound links to high quality sites where the doctor has been extensively and favorably reviewed I also added a live Facebook feed since the doctor is highly engaged with his online audience and posts inspiring stories on a daily basis..

Please visit the site to see more.

Dog Walker/ Pet Sitter

Dog Walking / Pet Sitting

This is a super cute website that I created for my sister, Layla Simic, who is starting a pet sitting business. I pulled the colors of the site from the image above and used images of Layla’s pets and other critters.

The site is responsive and we can build it out as the business grows. As we move further along, we will add a blog to help with SEO and inform clients about various pet care products and services we find useful.

Right now, it is important to build a Google business profile, add reviews and rank locally. There are various marketing methods that are effective in order to be seen locally.

Click on the image to be redirected to Pawsomepath and if you are in Evanston, call Layla!

A One Page Website

Many of us are feeling an economic pinch during these troubled times. Sometimes, we have to pivot into new ventures or side gigs to make ends meet.

One way to get your business found online is to develop your Google business profile fully. Please see my article: How do I direct traffic to my website-for free for a step by step explanation.

You can create an account for free on Google my Business. From there, you can add essential information, such as:

Your contact number
A link to your website
Your business hours
Any health and safety measure
Directions (automatic)

You can also share:

Photos
Your logo
Posts
Special offers
Events
Excerpts from your blog with links back to your website

You can showcase your:

Products
Services
Attributes: LGBTQ+ friendly; Transgender safe space; Black, Latino, Woman, Veteran owned
Showcase reviews- it’s ok to ask your customers or clients for reviews. Google even provides a link you can email.

You can also respond:

Respond to reviews
Post answers to frequently asked questions
Send and receive direct messages
Depending on your business, you can add special features. For example, restaurants and events spaces can add featured menus, take online food orders and let customers make reservations.

You may also want to add a landing page or a one page website that is built for conversions and goes into more depth explaining who you are, how you can solve your clients’ pain points, and more features including calls to action and means of contact. We build landing pages ( featuring a specific conversion) AND one page websites.

The Hands that Heal is a one page website built for a Reiki practitioner. Please click on the image to go live.

Stores

E-commerce also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet.

You can start your store on Shopify, WordPress plus Woocommerce, Big Commerce, Etsy or more, depending on the size of your store, your customer base and your goals.

STAY TUNED – New, gorgeous stores are coming soon!

Chicago Blues Emporium

Chicago Blues Emporium was built on Shopify because of the simple integration with Facebook/Meta.

All proceeds of this store go to fund musicians health and inner city music education programs.

Visit Chicago Blues Emporium .

Layla Simic Art

Layla Simic Art was built on Etsy.

CBD, HEMP, CANNABIS

The following are a series of sample pages I created during the lockdown in an attempt to break into a new industry

Accesories

This was built on WordPress. In real life, I would add WooCommerce to it.

To see more

These designs can be adapted into standard clothing, food, and skin care stores.

Online Press Kit

A press kit is an information package provided for members of the media to promote events, artists, organizations, products or people. A press kit is also known as a media kit. If you need a press kit to be added to your website, we create the entire experience from your bio to matching the page to your brand.

Chicago Slim

Chicago Slim, aka Dr. Daniel Ivankovich, is is an internationally renowned orthopedic trauma and spine surgeon. a bluesman, DJ, and a record producer.

Slim’s career began as disciple to many of his musical heroes on Chicago’s South Side. He studied with Chicago legends, Reggie Boyd Sr., Homesick James, Eddie Taylor Sr., Magic Slim and Junior Wells. His musical career also included a stint as a guitarist for the legendary bluesman, Otis Rush. He’s also shared the bill with Albert Collins, James Cotton, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Albert King, Marshall Tucker Band, Robin Trower, Rare Earth and Johnny Winter among others.

At the Checkerboard Lounge on 43rd Street, he befriended and made a lifelong connection with players that he would eventually tap for the Chicago Blues All-Stars: “Killer” Ray Allison, Johnny Cotton and Johnny B. Gayden. CBAS has been a regular headliner for sold out shows at internationally renowned venues, Buddy Guy’s Legends, House of Blues, Kingston Mines and many others in Chicago. They have also been featured in a documentary on PBS in Chicago.

Read full Bio

Musician Heal Thyself

The mission of Musician Heal Thyself mission is to provide outreach, education and empowerment to musicians of all genres who strive to improve their quality of life via promotion of healthy lifestyles.

Musician Heal Thyself is a part of Chicago Blues Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on keeping this vital American musical genre alive and thriving. We help musicians of any genre gain access to better healthcare. We also seek to serve Chicago’s youth by creating musical opportunities to be exposed to the Blues and related genres through music education and the performing arts.

We aspire to expand our footprint in Chicago and beyond through our website and social media by reawakening interest in Blues music. We also look forward to opening a learning and performance center in Chicago’s Uptown for musicians of all ages.

Musician Heal Thyself is a program begun by Dr. Daniel Ivankovich, a spinal and trauma surgeon, humanitarian, and blues musician, professionally known as Chicago Slim. He is best known for his advocacy of the underserved in Chicago’s inner city as leader of the Bone Squad, a group of medical professionals who treat the city’s uninsured and underinsured.

Read in full

To read more samples

John Widomakr

I created the entire page, but not the website.

Lana Blac

I wrote the bio and created the website but not the OPK page

Chicago Blues All-Stars

Chicago Slim’s band. Similar design to Chicago Slim in order to keep everything on brand but a different color way.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is up to 40 times more effective than social media, according to a study done by McKinsey & Company. The same study also shows that the buying process happens 3 times faster than in social media.

As a small business owner, you will want to focus on building your email list. Whether you have a digital business or an on the ground location, you will want to collect your customers emails – and the emails of everyone in your network, if you are B2B. Often this can be done by offering a promise of keeping your clients/customers up to date with special offers, discounts, and events, or by giving them specialized information that will solve their problem.

The type of email campaign you launch will depend on your goals and where in the customer journey you find your prospect.

For example Drip marketing can help you boost sales by turning visitors into buyers, increasing repeat purchases, and re-engaging a dormant audience. By communicating your company’s value, you build a relationship with your audience and demonstrate that you’re a great resource for their needs.

I use MailChimp. Here they explain the process but any reputable email service will have this feature.

Email marketing has a return on investment (ROI) of $36 for every $1 spent. Email marketing makes money. For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $36. That's a higher return than you can expect from any other form of marketing — digital or otherwise.

Advertise Specials

Once your list is in place, use an email service to stay in front of your customers with special offers.

Pro Tip – Constant Contact has just told me not to use exclamation marks in the title line or subtitle. They say you have a higher chance of being relegated to the spam folder that way.

Gift Cards

If you are like me and have trouble thinking up gifts for your loved ones-there is nothing like a gift card. As a business owner you can make them available to your list. Yes, you can make them digital for the sake of convenience!

Events

Publicize events to your list. This mailing had an open rate of 31% and doubled ticket sales.

Publicize events over time

You don’t want to spam your list, so once a week is a good timetable to adhere to. Aim to send your email at 9:00 AM Thursday morning. I begin with announcing an event and then following up with special features.

Direct Mail

Surprisingly effective

Don't forget about Direct Mail

While your digital campaign may end up in the spam folder, direct mail can enhance your rate of success. I recently suggested to a new business owner that they mail or hand out post cards to neighboring businesses in their district and invite them to their Grand Opening.

Here’s a short primer that will give you some pointers.

Radio Station

I created a radio station for a DJ who will be featuring his own playlists, radio show and podcasts. The site will be live as soon as the broadcasting license is in place.

Enjoy a preview of a section on the Home Page, captured as the slider was shifting to the next image.

Click on the image below to visit the site

Record Label

I created a site for Azure Music, a Chicago based record label that will be featuring blues, rock, R&B, funk, and hip-hop artists. In the years to come, the site can be scaled to accommodate a growing roster of artistic talent. I used primal colors, like red, black, white and blue to highlight the artists and the music. The site is responsive, SEO optimized and links to the recording artists’ store as well as to Amazon, where their CDs are sold.

Please click on the image to reach the live site.

Music Magazine

A Digital Music Magazine

I created Blues Today, a digital music magazine with reviews, news, video and soundstage performances. Blues Today was created to promote Chicago based musicians with roots in the blues but will feature rock, R&B, funk, soul, hip-hop and more. I not only created multiple pages to showcase the musicians and bands, but wrote the content, did interviews and reviews. As usual, I created the on-page search engine optimization.

Please click on the image to visit Blues Today

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