I have a confession to make. I’ve been playing hooky.
For most of this summer, COVID seemed a distant memory. It started with vaccines and my son marring an amazing young lady. I moved two of my adult “kids” to college for their sophomore and senior years, then took a trip to New York City with my 12-year-old son (which included lots of sightseeing, walking, subway riding, body boarding, and biking). In the middle of all that I finished a design for an art studio and started the contracting process to build home expansion for my mother.
On the Frank McClung Advisory side, I began work with a superb client in the energy sector and finished up a legacy website design project for a local non-profit. What I did not do is write about all the topics I’ve been chewing on this summer concerning website strategy. This was, I believe, a significant error on my part for reasons one of my favorite science communications experts, Bob Lalasz, points out in his excellent recent article Can We Count on Your Expertise?. Expertise, like leadership, must be consistently present to be useful and valuable to clients. And I’ve been absent from your inbox without leave.
Nonetheless, I have gleaned some insight during my summer wanderings and am committed to consistently sharing them with you. I’m hopeful they will be beneficial to you as you plan your website strategy. Here are some of the topics we will cover this fall:
- Why your website is your most significant and durable digital “store” of value
- How often should you revisit and revise your website strategy
- Selecting a strategy to effectively transition your website as your business focus changes
- What are some common assumptions about websites that restrict growth and effectiveness
- Planning for the “death” and potential rebirth of your website
- Strategy lessons from the US involvement in Afghanistan
- Creating a website strategy from start to finish (the big picture)
One thing I really want to do a better job of is getting point quickly in my newsletters (I’ve failed miserably in this one). This will mean less story and metaphor, more straight-out insight or point of views or recommendations. There may be newsletters (Afghanistan lessons learned!) where, as a former Air Force Intelligence Officer and history major, I just can’t help myself. You’ll be the judge of how I do with the unsubscribe link.
It’s time to get back to “class” learning and sharing about the wonders of website strategy.