I regularly get to contribute to clients' websites and it's always baffled me when they want to erect walls between readers and the information they're looking for. When these readers happen to be members of the media or the wine trade, the result is often that the writers just move on to another winery with a website that doesn't make them jump through hoops to find out tech info, download photos, labels, or bottle images. And forcing someone to apply for a password to access distributor contacts? That's just nuts...
It is also a problem for consumers who just want to purchase wine. I was reminded of this by a recent conversation with a client who realized that their direct-to-consumer sales were hurt in the past by their requirement that potential buyers submit an application to be on the mailing list. Wonderful though these wines may be, the members-only business model was used to lend a rarified air of exlusivity to Napa cult wineries such as Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Colgin, and it was successful for about a decade, with the result being long queues of people on waiting lists. This approach applies to very few wineries outside of the Napa Valley these days (Manfred & Elain Krankl's Sine Qua Non, Helen Turley's Marcassin and Mike Officer's Carlisle spring to mind as outliers) and there's no lack of Napa Valley producers feeling the pain of the economy. And that was before the recession decimated the ranks of new(ish) wineries (although they've been thinned out by more than 10% - is there a Latin word that fills in for 20%, 30%,40%)?
All turned out well for the client; their website has been liberated from the tyranny of the implied velvet rope and sales are booming.
I recently came across a well-written blog-post-verging-on-screed from Bobby Owsinski in his music 3.0 blog. I spent a lot of years in the music business and reading Bobby's blog is a good way to keep up on a whole lot of things. (Gratuitous photo of me playing bass with Kittra & the Cobras back when I was young and skinny)
Bobby Owsinski's site is a fabulous collage of writing about music, musicians, recording technology (and the sounds that emanate from all three of 'em), and the music business in general. Many of his topics are universal in scope and he's really good at linking back to the books he's written and keeping everyone up to date on what's going on in his life.
Bobby Owsinski
In this particular post, titled simply "The Press Section of Your Website", he touches on just about every single thing that usually pisses me off about winery websites. Hell, any website where the reader, be they consumer, media, trade, or competitor needs to make it a breeze to access the info. More than just the press section, Bobby's suggestions can serve as a template for a website PERIOD. Updates to the info, links to Facebook, Twitter, and blogs are all essential to maximizing the chance that someone will accidentally discover the site and send it off to their followers. Viral reaction is something that sounds good in a proposal but you can't create it, lest it feel contrived. However, if you maximize the accessibility of your site, odds increase greatly that it (viral response) could happen. That's really all I'm looking for these days, an opportunity. If the site is well-conceived and well-written, that's more than half the battle...
