Final Post #5: Sponsorship Ideas

Some proposals for sponsor ideas for Lake Onondaga Vineyard!

1. Sponsored Editorial Post

Local wine companies and festival associations can sponsor posts where this blog includes editorial posts discussing the companies and associations. The editorials would be relevant to the company and the fans since they’d still be about local wine. They could be reviews of different brands or spotlights on a certain event coming up. The sponsors would get links to their websites along with tons of images included. We would be sure to let the readers know that the post is sponsored, but that we wouldn’t feature something that we didn’t fully back and support. Banner ads and buttons may be added in with the editorial.

Photo Credit: Sfgate.com

 2. Merchandise

We could start selling Lake Onondaga Vineyard t-shirts, wine glasses, coasters, and more. We could also make it so that customers can purchase wine online, extending our market nationwide and not just locally. 

Photo Credit: Hamilton Oaks Vineyard

3. Offer a Groupon/Daily Deal

Lake Onondaga Vineyard can set up a coupon for customers to purchase. We could offer $30 for a moonlit dinner for two, which is actually a $60 value. We could advertise it through our social network sites, as well as on the blog and through our mailing list. 

Photo Credit: Theredglare.com

4. Offer Ads 

As a vineyard, we can give ads to places like wine companies and local farms. The ads can be on the top or the sides of the page. In addition to the ads, we can offer spotlight posts about the sponsors. This would allow us to ask for a little more money for the ads because it gives the companies more exposure.

Photo Credit: Tortugatech.com

 5. Event Coverage

For sponsors, our blog could cover events that they hold, whether they be sales or festivals. Writing about them will get the events exposure to our readers and will drive more people to go and participate in them. We can even offer discounts on our products or activities if our customers come to us with a ticket stub from a sponsor’s event.

Photo Credit: Eaglenewsonline.com

Final Post #4: Public Apology

An Apology to Our Fans…

Recently, it has been made known that the owner of Lake Onondaga Vineyard, Shelby Kross, made some very uncalled for remarks towards our fellow Dutch citizens of Onondaga County. We at Lake Onondaga Vineyard would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the words that were said against the Dutch people. It was completely unacceptable. Shelby Kross has issued a statement to the community regarding her comments:

“Earlier this week, I made some very rude and inappropriate comments towards the Dutch people in an interview with the Syracuse Daily Tribune. My actions were inexcusable, and I apologize for what I said and the harm it caused. As a local resident and local business owner, I am deeply ashamed to have disgraced this amazing community.”

At Lake Onondaga Vineyard, we love all of our customers and fans and we value the bonds we make with our community. We invite all of our fans to come out to the vineyard this weekend and celebrate the Dutch community and heritage. We will be offering 20% off discounts on wine tastings, highlighting wines and foods that come from some of our local Dutch family-owned farms, and there will be a live band performing traditional Dutch music and dances. Please come down and enjoy. We can’t wait to see you all!

Final Post #3: Prezi Presentation

A visual look at who we are and what we do! Enjoy!

http://prezi.com/gbjzd0fy2hkg/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Final Post #2: Coming Up at Lake Onondaga Vineyard (List)

We have a lot coming up here at Lake Onondaga Vineyard! Here is this week’s breakdown of upcoming events:

 

1. Sip Under the Stars

Join us this Tuesday night for stargazing and drinks! Choose from your favorites of our wines and mingle with fellow stargazers. Local astronomers will be here discussing the current happenings in the night’s sky, as well as helping to locate constellations, planets, and more! We will also be serving some light complimentary snacks.

Photo Credit: Zebrasbistro.com

2. Half-Price Wednesdays

Come enjoy a wine tasting on Wednesday and get half off a bottle of one of the participating wines! Wine tastings also come with a complimentary wine glass.

Photo Credit: Foodservice.libbey.com 

3. Farm Dinner

On Friday, August 23 Lake Onondaga Vineyard will be hosting a farm dinner in collaboration with local farms. Enjoy dishes made from locally grown farm fresh foods, as well as wine from our vineyard. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because we’ll also have live music and lots of room for dancing! Tickets are $75 per person and includes a variety of appetizers, meal, and desserts. Come eat fresh and support your local farms!

Photo Credit: TheIllidelph.blogspot.com

 4. Labor Day at Lake Onondaga Vineyard

Spend Labor Day with us! We’ll have food and craft vendors, games, hayrides,  face painting, and more! Plus you won’t want to miss the chance to squish your own wine grapes! And yes, you can do it like Lucy Ricardo…no shoes!

Photo Credit: Floridarambler.com

 We are always coming up with new and exciting events here! We love getting our fans involved at our vineyard. Please don’t hesitate to suggest a special event you’d like to see us host! 

Final Post #1: Intro

Hey there! I’m Sara and I am the head blogger for Lake Onondaga Vineyard. We are a wine company that offers wines made with fresh products from our vineyard, as well as tastings and foods to supplement the tastes of your wine. We produce wines to suit your every need, whim, and occasion! 

Photo Credit: Fineworldwines.blogspot.com

 Celebrate your special occasions with us! At Lake Onondaga Vineyard, we have facilities to host anything from birthday parties and anniversaries to weddings and banquets. We have a variety of packages built specifically for all kinds of occasions and party sizes. Picnic on our wide open lawns and take in the view of the vineyards while you wine and dine. We even offer late-night dinners and special events so that our guests may enjoy our delicious wines under the stars. 

Photo Credit: Bocamag.com

We offer indoor and outdoor options for weddings and can provide catering services and the wine, of course. The happy couple may choose to get married right in the vineyard among the grapes, in our lavish lawns and gardens, or inside our roomy banquet hall. Whatever you’d like, we’ll accommodate!

Photo Credit: Cordonbleubanquet.com

Can’t find a wine you like? Create your own! Our talented staff will guide you through choosing flavors that will compliment and accent each other, while also catering to your specific requests. Whether you’re in the mood for something fruity or spicy, we’ll help you design the perfect wine for you!

Photo Credit: Vinterscellaryorktown.com

Visit us at Lake Onondaga Vineyard, just outside of Syracuse! We’re open seven days a week and are always ready and willing to help you with all of your wine and special event needs. 

Emerging Trends

SEO

Photo Credit: Designbynewton.com

My blog would be affected by a lessened use of links through other websites by not coming up as much in search engine results. Because human feedback and social networking is becoming more prevalent, I would try to get my blog posts heavily rotated and shared on all the social network websites that I could to try to get people talking about them and viewing them as a quality source for information on my topic. On my blog, I would also encourage people to share their opinions and generate a sense of community to keep people wanting to come back and talk about it on social media.

Mobile

Photo Credit: Phonearena.com

I anticipate and would like to encourage a lot of mobile viewing of my blog, and I understand that a lot of people do view blogs on their mobile devices. I’d like it to be easy for my readers to be able to take out their phones and quickly and easily look up a recipe on my blog anywhere they are without having to wait too long for it to load or be laggy. I have a few ideas for preparations and changes that I could implement for my blog. One would be to have a mobile version of my blog to make it easier for people to view on their phones. Another would be to try to avoid posting a lot of video tutorials and keep them to a minimum when I feel they are absolutely necessary. In addition, I may want to try to keep picture sizes down. Lastly, as I mentioned in a previous post, it’d be great if I could have an app for my blog that my readers can download and have easier access to it rather than viewing the actual website in a browser on their phones.

Social Media

Photo Credit: Brandfreeze.com

While I don’t necessarily think that my readers should login to my blog with their social network accounts, I do feel that simple share buttons can be effective in getting readers to share my content. Pinterest allows bloggers to insert a ‘Pin It’ button in various ways, whether it be at the end of each post, or when hovering over the pictures in a post. This makes it easy for readers to share content without feeling like it’s too much effort to do so. A Facebook ‘Share’ button provides the same affect. Furthermore, for Twitter I could pre-write a tweet that people can tweet to share something without having to think of something to say. 

Demographics

Photo Credit: Sciencebase.com

Baking and cooking recipes is something that 55+ women would probably be looking for on the Internet. They are most likely mothers, grandmothers, aunts, etc. who have kids and family that they are cooking for. This is especially true around the holidays. As a baking recipe blog, I’d be in demand for this currently trending demographic. To take advantage of this, I may want to post recipes with themes for things like kids parties, holidays, and recipes that make bigger batches more suitable for families. 

As far as niche groups, baking is great in that it can be molded to fit any type of event or theme just through the art of decoration. The possibilities are endless when it comes to decorating cakes and cookies for virtually any type of theme.

Video

With hands-on activities like baking, it’s really helpful to sometimes do video tutorials, especially when decorating. And because videos are so popular, it’s important to keep up with this trend and offer readers what’s in demand. I could create video tutorials of how to make recipes that may be a little too complicated to just have text and/or pictures of. I think it also might be good to use humor in the videos to keep people entertained while being informed!

Statistics For Blogging

Types of Statistics:

Search Engine Traffic

Because so many people look up recipes by searching for them online, it’d be important to know what my search engine traffic is. I assume this is where the majority of my readers would come across my blog as they will be looking for information about specific recipes. I would want to regularly check my search engine traffic to make sure that people are finding my blog through there and that I am providing the right kind of information to suit their needs and that show up in searches. I also want to make sure I’m using the best keywords I can in my titles and posts to be sure that I’m showing up in searches used by my readers.

Photo Credit: SAHabitat.com

Search Rankings

Search rankings would be extremely important to my blog as the market for baking/recipe blogs is highly saturated. It will be a challenge to show up near the top of search results. I would definitely want to look at page views to see which pages and sections the readers go to. This will essentially tell me which kinds of recipes or tutorials my readers are looking at and for the most. Once I know this, I can create more posts that better cater to my readers’ interests. 

Photo Credit: Wrensoft.com

Social Media Traffic

I’d like to monitor the traffic on my social media accounts as well as see how many people are finding me through the various sites. The biggest two I’d be concerned with are Pinterest and Facebook. Pinterest is a huge source for recipes and where a lot of people post and find recipes. It’d be beneficial to track if people are pinning my recipes and which recipes are the most popularly pinned. That way, I know what is most popular among my readers and in the online community in general and I can keep delivering the types of recipes that people want. 

Photo Credit: Digitalvisitor.com

Facebook activity is always good to track as it’s the biggest social media site out there right now. It’s important to see how many people are sharing your posts, what posts are being shared the most, how many new people are coming from Facebook, and so on. 

Tools:

Google Analytics will help me track pageviews, search terms, etc. for my blog which will help me keep track of my search engine traffic. There is also a way to track search rankings through Google Analytics as well. 

Photo Credit: Google.com

For the social media part, I’d use Pinpuff for Pinterest. This site determines how influential your blog is on Pinterest and how popular your pins are. It will help me keep track of which posts are the most popular. For Facebook and Twitter, I’d use Klout to see how my social media accounts are helping my blog and what I can do to improve them.

Photo Credit: Pinpuff.com

Problem and Solution:

I feel that search engine traffic would be an issue for my blog since there’s such a saturation of recipes online already. It’s hard to come up with original things when it comes to baking and recipes. It’s also hard for someone to stick out among the thousands and thousands of chocolate chip cookie recipes.

Photo Credit: Hitwise.com

 

As a solution, I’ll use the statistics and tools I’ve mentioned above to figure out where the demand is in recipe types and then try to offer more inventive versions. Although there are tons of recipes, there are times when I myself can’t find something I’m looking for. When I come across these types of things, I should take advantage of it and create my own recipe for others who can’t find it either.

Lastly, I’d like to offer giveaways and host contests to engage readers more and keep them wanting to come back and maintain their interest.

Apple RFP

1. Sponsored App Review Posts

I can review various baking/recipe apps with emphasis on ones that are solely for Apple products. The apps would be of interest to my readers since they would be relevant to baking/cooking and helpful to look for recipes on the go. This would drive traffic to the App Store.

Photo Credit: PCMag.com

2. Coupon Code for App Store or Apple Store

I can offer my readers an exclusive coupon for the App Store. Some of the apps featured in my reviews can be discounted or given for free for a limited amount of time to my readers. This would drive traffic to the App Store and give readers incentive to make purchases from there.

3. Editorial about iPhone 

I have an iPhone, and I really do like it better than my other phones that I’ve had. I’ve had an Android phone before, but I feel that the iPhone is just easier, especially since I’m a Mac user. I could write an editorial about the iPhone and why I feel it’s better and easier to use than Androids or other smartphones. I would include links to Apple’s website, photos of their products, and discuss how handy it comes while baking (conversions, recipes, etc.).

Photo Credit: BusinessInsider.com

4. Large Banner Ads

Of course, a large banner ad would be included, linking to the App Store, the Apple website, or any page that Apple deems necessary. The App Store would probably be best and the ad can feature baking apps in it.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia.org

5. Host a Giveaway

I can host a giveaway for my readers where they win an Apple product or a gift card to iTunes/App Store. To enter, my readers must visit the Apple website or App Store and leave a comment with what they would most likely use their gift card on. Other requirements may be specified as well.

6. Editorial About iCloud

I could write a post about how iCloud makes it easy to access saved recipes no matter what device they’ve been saved on. 

Photo Credit: Surgeworks.com

7. Team with Apple to Create an App 

It’d be cool to make an app for my blog that my fans can use to easily access my recipes on the go. In promoting my app, I’d also be promoting Apple and the App Store, and my fans would make purchases through the App Store, driving traffic and money to Apple.

Keeley Krackerz Product In Action Post: How To Eat Keeley Krackerz

Tired of the same old cheese and cracker snack? Don’t get us wrong…we love a good cheese and cracker combo, but sometimes you just need something a little different. Here are a few other ways to eat Keeley Krackerz:

1. Use Them For Dip

Photo Credit: Snack Picks

That’s right. Use Keeley Krackerz instead of chips to dip into your favorite spread. You can use our Reduced Fat Keeley Krackerz for an even healthier choice.

2. Make Tiny Open-Faced Sandwiches

Photo Credit: Snack Picks

Pile on the barbecued chicken or pulled pork for a saucy snack. It’s great for when you’re not too hungry, but just want to satisfy a snack craving.

3. For Dessert

Photo Credit: Food.com

Love that sweet and salty mix? Crackers are a perfect choice! Try adding some marshmallows to your favorite Keeley Krackerz. Or, create your own trail mix right on top of a cracker with chocolate, pecans, and more!

4. For Dinner

Photo Credit: Kraft.com

Do you love Keeley Krackerz so much that you wish you could eat them as a meal and not just a snack? Well….you can! Crush up some of our crackers and sprinkle them onto your favorite casserole for a crunchy and delicious addition.

5. For Breakfast

Photo Credit: Better Homes and Garden

Top your Keeley Krackerz with egg, bacon, and any other breakfast food for a twist on an otherwise boring breakfast. Bacon egg and cheese on bread is soooo last year. 😉 Try it on a Keeley Kracker!

How do YOU eat your Keeley Krackerz? Let us know at blog@keeleykrackerz.com and you may see your snack featured here on the blog!

Keeley Krackerz Fun Post: Keeley Kracker Art

It’s time for this week’s Keeley Kracker Art! We asked our fans to submit photos of the creative ways they eat their Keeley Krackerz. This week we focused on snacks for kids to celebrate the end of the school year! Here are a few of our favorites:

Thanks for everyone who submitted their photos! Next week’s theme will be Beach Bums! Be sure to submit your creative snacks to krackerart@keeleykrackerz.com