I’ve known the owners of Voltier Digital for over 4  years, and have worked with them on a large variety of projects.   Since they began in 2007, I’ve been impressed by their knack for staying on top of trends – especially trends in viral and content marketing.  We became friends through our shared passion for social media and its power to help good, unique content spread, attract links and ultimately increase a company’s bottom-line.

We’re also driven by a common goal; to provide services of value that demonstrate real, clear results.   I believe it is this shared vision that makes this acquisition such a good fit.

It was important for me to make sure that the rest of BlueGlass felt the same way. We have had a lengthy courtship with Voltier that involved lots of trips to Tampa, tons of meetings with all of the teams and even the founders attending our holiday party in December (now we can finally post some of the pictures that they were in!). I wanted to make sure that they didn’t just fit in on a strategic level but also on a personal level. I needed buy-in from everyone and we got it.

The team at Voltier Digital demonstrates not only a deep understanding of how great content can be utilized as part of an integrated marketing strategy, but also a wealth of innovative new ideas and resources that can help to strengthen the BlueGlass team and our offering.   BlueGlass has had a strong content marketing offering, delivering consistent results for clients, but we need to be exceptional. We believe that the integration of the Voltier team, their IP  and their processes make us exceptional.

Check out a few Infographic examples below.  You can find more here

BlueGlass can now look forward to executing new content marketing strategies that are on the absolute bleeding edge.   Our offering focuses on bringing additional value to the popular infographic medium, as well as new executions that take advantage of the capabilities of modern browsers.   Motion Graphics, Kinetic Typography, Interactive Infographics, and variety of experimental content types that take advantage of HTML5 and CSS3 and other burgeoning web technologies will help to insure BlueGlass remains a leader in the space.

Over the years, Voltier Digital has created content for dozens of clients including eBay, CEO.com, Fanhattan, WellHome, COLOURlovers.com, Greatist.com, and more.  This content has been featured on a huge variety of the web’s top publishing destinations,  as well as some of the most popular blogs.  Websites like Mashable, TheNextWeb, TreeHugger, GigaOm, SocialTimes, ReadWriteWeb, and SingularityHub, among others, are frequent publishers of the content  Voltier Digital creates, generating exposure for clients that is hard to achieve elsewhere.   Voltier’s unique and highly viral infographics have also been featured in countless popular niche blogs and websites that drive traffic, generate links, and encourage social mentions and interaction for clients.

Now more than ever, it’s become clear that high quality content is absolutely essential to launching an effective and truly viral marketing campaign.  Companies that can create content with substance stand to gain a great deal.  Companies who can further innovate and create not only great content but also explore new content mediums will win the day.  The acquisition of Voltier Digital signifies our faith in the importance of highly original content as a fuel for delivering results. So, on behalf of the rest of the BlueGlass team, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Voltier Digital.  Stay tuned, there’s much more to come….

Learn more about what this means here or check out some of their work here. Want to find out what we can do for you? Let us know here.

“What’s it like?”

“What makes it different?”

“Why should I go?”

Here’s the best way I can answer those questions….

Want to be part of the next Internet Marketing Experience? Find out more about BlueGlass LA 2012 taking place on April 23rd & 24th in Los Angeles, CA. But act quick, there are less than 50 tickets remaining…

This is the earliest (by far) that we have ever had everything ready and we are sparing no expense with this conference. We call our conferences ‘Internet Marketing Experiences’ because we want people to get more out of them than the typical conference.

Having the best, hand-picked speakers, amazing sessions and a great venue is really important to us. Limiting the size of our conferences (only 125 tickets for BlueGlass LA)  lets everyone really get to know each other and form (or strenghten) relationships (and have fun doing it!) is even more important.  That is the experience part.

What to expect from BlueGlass LA:

You will leave smarter. With killer sessions like “How the Evolution of Content is Changing (Again!)”, “The Secrets of Successful WordPress Sites,” and “Mastering Buyable Media”, you will walk away full of new ideas and knowledge .

You will build long-term relationships. This is often cited as the BIGGEST benefit to our conferences.

You will be well fed. We include ALL meals and it’s food you will actually want to eat (and go back for seconds!).

You will never pick up the tab. Our cocktail receptions both nights of the conference are open bar!

We hope you can join us at BlueGlass LA 2012 on April 23rd & 24th, 2012. If you’re ready for the EXPERIENCE, don’t wait:  register now!

I have known Richard for years and I have always been impressed with 3 things:

* His technical background
* His business acumen
* His direct, yet patient, leadership style

It’s been an internal goal of ours since we started BlueGlass to have Richard join our board and we have been in discussions (both formal & informal) since late 2010.   Seeing our 2012 roadmap and how far we have come as a team in the last 6 months helped to seal the deal.

We have some pretty lofty goals for the future and we feel truly confident that Richard is the person who can help us reach them.  Richard is a great complement to our existing management team and will help us continue to grow in a smart, sustainable manner.

Click here for the full press release.  Or click here to learn more about Richard.

**Richard will be on the Analytics panel at BlueGlass LA 2012, find out more here.**

For our next conference, BlueGlass LA 2012, we decided to do things differently (i.e. plan way ahead!).  Over the summer, we hired a dedicated Events Coordinator and right after BlueGlass TPA – we secured the venue and dates for BlueGlass LA 2012.  So here we are with almost 5 months to go until the conference and we already have 95% of the speakers and agenda set.

Tickets for the conference don’t go on sale until January 11, 2012 at 1pm EST but we want to start sharing some of the awesome things we have planned in the meantime.  So today, in celebration of the holiday season, we are launching our own take on the advent calendar.  In this calendar we will be revealing a speaker or two each day.  It will be a great way to get to know a bit more about each speaker. We always try to make our speaker lineups as diverse as possible.  You will find: really well known people but also people you might have never heard of.  You’ll find inhouse’ers along with solo consultants or agency folks.  It doesn’t matter who you are, it just matters what you can deliver…

So head on over the BlueGlass LA 2012 page and see who our first announced speaker is….

We will be announcing the new speakers each day on our Twitter, Facebook and Google +  pages so be sure to connect with us there.

We started working together on a bunch of stuff and at the same time tried to figure out how he could possibly join the BlueGlass team.  The only problem was that he had a pretty thriving business. Luckily, we’re pretty persuasive people and got a chance to walk Andrew through everything that we were doing and what he could help create.

Fast forward to 2 months later and Andrew Norcross has officially joined BlueGlass as our Senior WordPress Developer.  Andrew is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of all BlueGlass initiatives (for both internal and client-related projects) involving the WordPress CMS.  He will also be responsible for creating some cool and really helpful stuff for this community.

So welcome Andrew, we’re glad to have you here!

**Note: We are currently only doing WordPress projects as part of overall Internet marketing engagements – no one-offs or development only projects due to demand (sorry!).   If you’re interested in what we can do for you, please contact us and we’ll see if it’s a good fit.**

The rumors are true… We are going to be holding our next BlueGlass Conference Experience in Los Angeles on April 23rd & 24th, 2012.  Save the date and don’t be late for BlueGlass LA 2012.

The bar was set high last year at BlueGlass LA 2011.  The bar was then set even higher with BlueGlass TPA in September.  We are going to make sure that this event surpasses all expectations and is the best Internet marketing event you have ever been to.

“BlueGlassLA didn’t just attract a top-notch speaker lineup, but it filled the room with people that are making waves in our industry. I was literally shocked to see all of those faces in one room, and even more shocked to see them all meeting each other, hitting it off, trading biz cards, clinking glasses. I mean wow…just…wow.”
– Joanna Lord 

We will be announcing all of the details over the next month but you can be assured of a few things:

* Amazing speakers (each speaker is personally invited & vetted) who know what they are talking about

* Unparalleled networking (our goal is for you to leave with new connections, opportunities and friendships)

* Everything included in one place (all meals, parties, drinks and much more are part of the experience)

* You will leave with a head full of knowledge (new ideas, new strategies and a new outlook on Internet marketing)

* SOOOO much more….

Click here to learn more and to sign up to be alerted as soon more info becomes available & tickets go on sale.  We sold out last time and we will sell out this time as well…

See you in Cali!

We promised everyone that this would be our best event yet and we are going to be sure to live up to that  The entire BlueGlass team is dedicated to making sure that these 48 hours will be ones you never forget.

If you didn’t get a ticket for this one, you can still get in on some of the fun:

• We will be live tweeting throughout both days.  So follow us on Twitter here.
• We will be sharing photos, pearls of speaker’s wisdom and other fun stuff on Facebook.  So connect with us on Facebook here.
• And we will be covering each session (along with daily & conference recaps) on our blog.  So subscribe to our RSS now.

Finally, stay tuned for details about our next conference….

A few members of the BlueGlass team are headed to NYC next week to speak at SMX East.

Greg our President of Products and Services, Loren, our VP of Marketing, and Annie, our Director of Analytics, will all be speaking on different panels and you won’t want to miss them! Check out their schedules below:

Loren Baker: The Future of Search and Social

• Tuesday, September 13th
• 3:45-5pm
• According to SEMPOS’s 2011 State of Search Marketing Report, 54% of agencies and 29% of companies utilize Social Media as part of their Search Marketing activities. How has social media changed the search landscape forever? Will this incorporation continue to grow? What other new channels, strategies and activities will search professionals utilize in the future to optimize their results? Come to this panel discussion to listen and join the debate of what the future holds.

Annie Cushing: The Hidden Treasures  Within Google Analytics

• Thursday, September 15th
• 10:15-10:30am
• All analytics packages come with dozens, if not hundreds of reports that slice, dice and segment countless variables, all purporting to offer comprehensive metrics about the performance of your search marketing campaign. While many of these reports are great, you can often get much deeper insights – and “ah-ha” takeaways – from lesser known or even undocumented reporting options. Speakers in this session show you how to tap into these undiscovered gems.

Greg Boser – Ask the SEOs

• Thursday, September 15th
• 1:45-2pm
• In this no-holds-barred, all-questions-welcomed session, you’ll get a full-spectrum view of cutting-edge thinking and have your own opportunity to ask for SEO advice from some of the most respected and trusted search engine optimizers in the business.

If you are going to be at the conference, Greg, Loren, Annie & Barbara would love to talk to YOU.   Hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, or drop a comment below!

I have personally gotten so much out of speaking at and attending Internet marketing conferences over the years. I can point to so many different clients, partnerships and friendships that were spawned directly from conferences or opportunities given to me by people like Danny, Brett or Matt.  The big 3 (SMX, Pubcon & SES) are probably also indirectly responsible for BlueGlass coming together because if it wasn’t for them, we probably wouldn’t have formed such a tight bond so quickly.   Those conferences (and a bunch of others) are worth their weight in gold.

My goal was to never replicate or replace those conferences but rather to build on what they stand for and to hopefully be responsible for doing the same for others.  The fact that we have been able to do this for our attendees’ careers and businesses is probably the achievement that I am most proud of after the first year and few months of BlueGlass. When someone emails me and tells me that they got a new job directly as a result of our conference or that they are now speaking at other conferences as a result of the break we gave them – that alone makes it worth it to me.

Loren, Dave & Jordan (the founders of Search & Social which merged into BlueGlass) built their brands and ultimately their business around the conferences they put on.  It sure as hell put them on my radar in a big way.  They lost a lot of money each time but they were forming great relationships and creating brand advocates.

When we decided to merge, we all decided that conferences were one thing that couldn’t go away.  We’ve gone through a lot of changes in the last year and there have been more 100+ hour work weeks than not.  It would have been really easy for us to say that we weren’t going to do a conference and just say “at some point in 2012″ but we knew we had made a commitment to people and that there was a real demand for our conferences.  Lots of emails, Tweets & Facebook messages reinforced this  So, we decided we would stick to what we had set out to do.

Our first two conferences lost money. Actually, if I’m being completely honest, they both lost a lot of money.  But in my eyes, they were a complete success.  The other question I get asked a lot is, “Why don’t you charge more?”  As I said above, conferences weren’t ever put in our business plan as a profit center.  They were put in as break-even (something that my wife reminds me of )  But we’ve had amazing things happen directly as a result of our first two conferences.

It’s a great way for us to get to know new people and to build stronger relationships with clients, partners and form new ones.   We love being able to show people the stuff we’ve been working on in a controlled environment without ever having to “sell” them (we don’t do any advertising or promos during our conferences).

This conference is a special one for us because it will allow us to finally showcase all of the hard-work we’ve put into the last year. We’re going to show people some amazing things that we might be releasing in 2012 and show our clients what they have to look forward to.  It also allows us to sit down with people and figure out how we can leverage what they are doing with what we are.  It’s more important to us to get the right people there than to make money on the conference. It’s just that simple.  And with the help of Danielle we might just break even on this one!

When I read stuff like this – it makes it all worthwhile:

“Of all of the search marketing conferences I have ever been to, I have taken the most notes at this conference. I came here and just consistently heard about new tactics and topics that I have never heard before. As someone who has been in the industry for a while, and thinking that I know everything I need to know, this was very surprising to go from session to session and leave with notes and ideas that I am going to follow up on with my team.” — Jon Henshaw, Co-Founder & Director of Product Innovation at Raven Tools

For me personally, this will be the first conference that I am speaking at in 2011.  I think I spoke at  about 15 conferences in 2010 and then decided that I needed to take a break in 2011 to completely focus on what we were doing with BlueGlass.  So I have vowed to make this conference better than our others and to make it truly represent what we set out to accomplish: an intimate event with the best speakers and the best possible networking.  Two days where our attendees don’t have to worry about anything (all meals, parties & everything else are covered!) but learning, networking and ultimate building their business.

Is there really a need for YAIMC (Yet Another Internet Marketing Conference)?  Probably not.  Do we feel a responsibility to give back to the community and help people?  You’re damn right we do.  So as long as we can keep doing that, we will keep putting on conferences….

– — – — – — – — – –

BlueGlass TPA was originally set to be 50 people.  We sold out on August 18th.  We had a bunch of requests so we opened up 25 more tickets.  There are currently 11 of those left.  If you are serious about growing your business or career and want to see what makes BlueGlass events so special – register soon because we are capping this at 75 tickets no matter what.