Rapid Fire

You have questions, we have answers. Rapid Fire is our series of to-the-point articles that answer your most common questions about digital marketing for wine, beer, and spirits producers. From websites to social, workshops to strategy, these articles are straight-shootin', from the people who actually do the work everyday. Got a question? Shoot us an email and we'll add it to the list.

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PESTEL Factors and Their Impact on Business: An In-Depth Analysis

The PESTEL framework—which stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors—is a comprehensive tool for analyzing the macro-environmental influences that affect business operations. A PESTEL analysis helps organizations identify external factors that could impact their performance both negatively or positively. By systematically examining each element, businesses can develop strategies to leverage opportunities and…

Common Email Marketing Mistakes (and How Wine Brands Can Avoid Them)

In this episode of Headtraining, Polly talks about the common mistakes wine brands make with their email marketing campaigns and how to avoid them. From prioritizing social media over email to missing mobile optimization, she dives into practical tips and strategies that can transform your email marketing game. If you’ve been struggling to make the…

How Do I Find the Best Wine Marketing Agency for My Winery?

If you’re in the wine business, you know that creating exceptional wine is just half the battle. Getting it into the right hands? That’s where a wine marketing agency comes in. But with so many agencies claiming to be wine marketing experts, how do you find the best wine marketing agency for your needs? Obviously,…

What Makes a Great Winery Website?

What makes a great winery website? If only we had a dime for everytime we were asked that question! The truth is, it’s a moving target—we are constantly learning, revising, and improving our own knowledge of websites as platforms change, capabilities, change, heck, even the internet changes! A great winery website isn’t a static thing;…

A love letter to old friends: how to revive a dead email list

What the heck do you do with an email database that hasn’t been used in ages? We’ve all been on the receiving end of these emails, the ones where we think, “who IS this?” and immediately unsubscribe. So in typical fashion, I’m going to take the “real human” approach to this conundrum. But first, let’s…

GDPR for Wineries

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It is the new data protection law in the EU, it comes into force in May 2018, it has serious penalties, and it applies to data collected about EU citizens from anywhere in the world. This means that pretty much every winery site anywhere needs to care about…

Designing a Better Customer Experience

In a recent article, we talked about the decision-simplicity index, and I received a few emails asking about clear pathways versus the old-school tactic of upselling via meandering paths. “Isn’t it better to encourage people to look around, so maybe they add more to the cart?” Before I answer, I will lead in with a story:…

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Simple truths for better winery websites

Recently, someone (not the client) looked at one of our most thought-out, well-planned, customized sites (with innumerable goal-driven features) and said, “it just looks like a simple site to me.” Honestly, my team was gobsmacked. We had spent months working on discovery and custom development and optimization and testing ….My ego reared its head and…

5 Edits You Can Make to Wine Product Pages to Sell More Wine

This article has been updated for 2024. We often get emails from winery owners and marketers asking how they can improve their winery’s ecommerce product pages. I always get over-excited by these requests because product pages are baby steps toward frictionless customer experiences. BUT, before you start (and this is super important), any successful digital…

Social Media for Wineries: Sure, You Could Keep Doing It The Hard Way

This article has been updated for 2024. We don’t know a single winery who doesn’t find social media to be a big ass chore. All the platforms, all the formats, heck, even just producing content for all the different post sizes! And yet, it’s something that we know all brands need. So in this edition…