Q: As the One Click Ventures Product Photographer, what does your role entail?

A: As product photographer, I photograph all new products that enter the OCV warehouse. I work with Jay (order fulfillment specialist) to select items to photograph, and sort through new/old inventory. Next, I unwrap, prep, and photograph the items in the studio. After the photographing is complete, I edit, name, and re-size each photograph for web so Julie (product specialist and assistant buyer) can upload the images to the site and make product descriptions.

Every so often, I get to document OCV events, and work with marketing on special projects — this can be anything from a simple group product shot for an e-mail, to a photo shoot featuring our very own OCV staff modeling the products.

Q: How does product photography differ from other types of photography?

A: Product photography can be approached many different ways — here at OCV, products are photographed in a variety of different angles using studio lights and a white background. My goal is to to provide customers with a clear visual representation of each product.With that being said, I don’t use filters of any sort to make the photographs look a certain way, or experiment with different backgrounds/angles. Everything is meant to be uniform and easily recognizable to the customer.

Q: When did you first become interested in photography? How did you decide to make a career of it?

I’ve always been interested in photography, but the first time I can remember actually thinking “I want to do that!” is one night while watching Home Improvement. (Whoa — anyone remember that?!) I don’t know how old I was, but I was definitely in the early elementary school years. Fast forward to high school — I transferred to a school with no “textiles & clothing” program, but they did have 4+ semesters of photography, so I opted for that instead. I felt like it was a good fit, and I really liked working with my hands in the dark room. My senior year I applied to colleges, and by some miracle, persuaded my mom to help me get a digital SLR. The rest is history.

Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to become a professional photographer?

Creative work is subjective, if you do what you like, you will learn by default.

Q: Fun question! Who/what is your favorite subject?

As completely biased as this is — I think my favorite photographs are of my dog, Dinosaur. Partly because I’ve raised her since she was 2 months old, partly because I’ve never seen another dog with so many facial expressions. In college, she was my guinea pig when I wanted to experiment with lighting and didn’t have anyone to model. She’s always been a great sport, and doesn’t mind working for treats.

Many thanks to Ani for the interview. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask in the comments!

Exhausting? Eh. (My two-year-old is exhausting.)

Exhilarating and challenging? You bet!

At some companies, execution is a dirty word that conjures up stressful images of conflicting priorities, communication issues, hoards of unfinished projects, and just plain old-fashioned chaos. Thankfully, we try to avoid these nightmares at OCV, and today I’m going to share with you my top five insider tips on how to get things done.

1. Conceptualize, Plan, Execute, Repeat.

Don’t be afraid of structure. Having a well-defined process in place provides a framework that everyone can work inside of and a process can easily be repeated over and over again.  New project ideas come across my desk all the time, and with such a creative and motivated staff, 99% of them are fantastic. From the moment a project is dreamed up, to the day it’s fully realized, it passes through each phase of a defined work flow. I credit this process for allowing us to get through the volume of projects we did in 2011.

1. Concept — Project is still in its infancy, but is on the radar.
2. Planning — An official, detailed project plan is created, kick-off meetings are held, and projects are reviewed by key players , such as head of technology, creative, and the department manager.
3. Scheduling — Projects are prioritized. Technology and creative deadlines and target launch dates are assigned.
4. Design & Technology — Depending on scope, a project could require one, none, or both of these resources. The design elements are worked on first, and then handed off to technology for implementation.
5. Launch — Typically, projects are initially rolled out to our staging environment for thorough testing before being pushed live to the rest of the world. This helps us work out a majority of the kinks before exposing it to the public.
6. QA and Testing — Once a new function, widget, design, or other project is pushed live, we test, test, and test again. For larger projects, like site redesigns, I assemble a QA team and create a shared Google spreadsheet for everyone to log issues and revisions for technology to tear through. This works extremely well — and proves much easier to manage than a hoard of emails flooding our tech guys.

2. Planning

Each project initiator, or Project Owner as we call them, is responsible for developing a project plan that outlines in detail the scope of the project. While many of the nitty-gritty details don’t get added until after the kick-off meeting occurs, the idea is that someone from technology or creative could pick up the project plan and immediately begin working on it without any explanation. The project owner also includes a business case, which forces them to think through the primary goal of the project and how it will benefit the company. Will it drive more traffic, generate more revenue, decrease bounce rates, or elevate conversion rates? And if so, by how much? This phase is considered extremely important, so a significant amount of time is spent in this phase.

3. Communication

Keeping everyone in the loop and on the same page is difficult, and can easily become a project’s downfall. This is why I work so hard to schedule opportunities to review project priorities, upcoming launch schedules, statuses, and requirements. It makes for a scary-looking calendar, but ultimately works out for the best. The kick-off meetings have probably been our most beneficial addition to the process. These typically get scheduled about a month or two before the target launch date, and they are considered the official start to a project. These meetings provide a great opportunity to identify all the details, and for technology and creative to ask the project owner questions in order to  gain a full understanding of the work involved.

4. Dedicated to deadlines

Nothing will ever get done if you don’t assign deadlines. Ever. It’s all about aligning expectations, and then following up. Inevitably, not all deadlines will be met thanks to unexpected fires that pop up, or unanticipated projects that slide down the pipeline. However, it provides the opportunity to talk about why the deadline was moved, and then readjust the plan. Sometimes the deadline simply moves back a day or week, but it gets done, everyone stays in the loop, and the project owner is happy. We have a six-month plan in place knowing it will fluctuate, but we solidify our launch schedules each month. This monthly schedule then gets communicated to our executive team, directors, and department heads. Gantt charts get created for larger projects, like redesigns, and are more detailed schedules that include individual tasks by department, the number of work days each will take to accomplish, along with the start and end dates. This is a great tool to use to ensure everything stays on task, and nothing falls through the cracks

5. Awesome people that care

I feel like I always write about how great the OCV team is, but I can’t avoid it. It’s true! None of this would work if there weren’t people here to take the process seriously. From the executive team, all the way down to the individual project owners, each person is dedicated to making this work and understands the importance of having this structure in place. Buy in from everyone on the team is crucial, and without it mass chaos ensues.

We may not be perfect 100 percent of the time, and I’m constantly refining my methods and learning ways to improve parts of the process. Awareness is key. This new year is off to an exciting start, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

-One Click Ventures: Of course I am a bit biased, but One Click is such a fun place to work that it has to be on this list. With our network of fun brands like Sunglass Warehouse, Reading Glasses Shopper, Handbag Heaven, and Scarves Dot Net, we have a lot of room to be creative and interact with the customers.

Why One Click Ventures is a good place to work for young professionals: Creative bunch of hardworking people, very young and eager crowd, very little red tape, enthusiastic and caring management, freedom to take on a specialty, you can see the results of your work, opportunities for mobility. 

-Exact Target: Exact Target is a global Software as a Service company that uses cross-channel interactive marketing, “pairing the strength of email with emerging channels like social, mobile, and the web.”

Why ExactTarget is a good place to work for young professionals: Unique culture, (from their ORANGE mentality to their orange walls), well-designed space, awesome location on the circle, relocation opportunities, lots of perks.

-Apparatus: Apparatus provides advanced information technology consultation and specializes in the design, build and support of IT infrastructure for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.

Why Apparatus is a good place to work for young professionals: New building just north of downtown, basketball court in the office, cool spin on network solutions—stuff that is usually pretty dry.

-Interactive Intelligence: Interactive Intelligence is a leading provider of call center software solutions and technology to help with business process automation.

Why Interactive Intelligence is a good place to work for young professionals: Well-established, flexible work hours, office on a lake, gyms, health clinics, perks (ie: bagel Fridays), good work community.

-Slingshot SEO: Slingshot SEO is a search engine optimization firm that provides strategies for increasing organic search traffic for its clients.

Why Slingshot is a good place to work for young professionals: Employees have a strong work-ethic with a passion for fun, four-day work week, Slingshot (with Angie’s List) hosts fun networking events with free drinks, lots of other young people.

-Bidpal: BidPal brings the excitement of online bidding to real-world auctions with its handheld gadget. People can use the electronic BidPal to bid on items at auctions for charitable and fundraising events.

Why BidPal is a good place to work for young professionals: Ability to travel, opportunity to work with a lot of people in the community, charitable, exciting and fun product.

-Formstack: Formstack is a company that makes easy-to-use forms for collecting survey responses, event registration, contact information, and other important data.

Why Formstack is a good place to work for young professionals: Involved in Indianapolis community, hosts fun and charitable events like a ping pong tournament to help raise awareness for ALS.

-Smallbox: Smallbox is a web design and marketing firm that builds websites, large and small, then gives their clients the tools to use it. With Smallbox, you can manage and update your website and also know how to market it for real ROI.

Why Smallbox is a good place to work for young professionals: Fast-paced, small, charitable, well-respected in the community and beyond. Their culture video is also really cool.

-iGoDigital: iGoDigital helps some of the world’s biggest online retailers make their digital storefronts better for shoppers. Their tools, including product recommendations and guided selling, help customize the online shopping experience.

Why iGoDigital is a good place to work for young professionals: Young employees and management, good leadership, at the forefront of technology.

-Angie’s List: Angie’s List is a review site, especially popular for finding doctors and contractors. Because its revenue comes from subscribers who pay to access the data, and never from the services and companies being reviewed, you can be assured that the reviews and ratings are fair and unbiased.

Why Angie’s List is a good place to work for young professionals: Indianapolis behemoth, unique culture, cool building, value employees well-being, health initiative.

Feel free to tweet at me (@SewStacie) if you think your company should be on the list as well!

Located just a few miles from downtown Indianapolis, the One Click team could not be more excited to have Super Bowl XLVI right in our backyard. With a hometown advantage, the OCV organic team created the Insider’s Guide to Super Bowl XLVI, which shares details on events surrounding the big game. The organic team also compiled a list of favorite Indianapolis restaurants and nightlife spots to help football fans who visit the Super City. To get an insider’s view on all the Super Bowl festivities, the organic team and I  took a field trip downtown one afternoon to take in the sights and to explore the Super Bowl Village for ourselves — we snapped some photos, ate at a favorite restaurant, and explored the sights!

While downtown, the first thing we noticed were all of the race cars lined up along Meridian, right at Monument Circle. Indianapolis is most known for the Indy 500, but this is supposed to be Super Bowl week, right? There was an IndyCar to represent each of the 32 teams in the NFL, including my beloved Chicago Bears (Yes, I’m a Bears fan who lives in Indianapolis!).

After wandering through all the IndyCars, we took a photo in front of the massive XLVI sign on Monument Circle. We know that people travel from all over the world for the Super Bowl experience, and we met a couple from France during the photo shoot. The gentlemen offered to take a photo so we could all be in the picture at once. He even jumped in a photo with the lovely ladies of the organic team so he could show off his scarf. When he asked the team where we were from, we told him Indianapolis. He said, “Oh, I”m from over there!” as he motioned towards France.

Even the Civil War soldier at the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument wanted to try on our amazing scarf.

And the photo shoot wouldn’t be complete without a picture from the equally good looking Sunglass Warehouse team!

After lunch, but before heading back to the office, we decided to walk around town and the Super Bowl Village to take in the atmosphere. Stacie was kind enough to bring her camera and take plenty of photos so you can get a better feel for the festive city that is Indianapolis! Here are some of photos from around town:

These are the Roman numerals on Monument Circle that signify Super Bowl 46.

There are football statues scattered everywhere downtown.

Georgia Street is the heart of Super Bowl Village.

This is the other side of Georgia Street in Super Bowl Village.

Here’s another shot of the bustling Super Bowl village — there are visitors wandering around everywhere.

Don’t you love their scarves?

There are plenty of great concerts in Super Bowl Village, including free ones!

The old Nordstrom building was converted to The Huddle, an entertainment center and nightclub, for the Super Bowl.

And lastly, this is what the Super Bowl 46 sign looks like from the view of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument.

We hope these shots give you a taste of all the bustle the big game is bringing our hometown!

On Friday, January 13^th (yes, Friday the 13^th), team members and their guests braved the blustery winter weather for a night of mingling, munchies, and a merry good time. Euphoria Events at Bugg’s Temple, located on the northwest side of downtown Indianapolis, hosted the One Click soiree, where gorgeous ornaments hung from the ceiling and twinkle lights provided the perfect backdrop for a fun-filled evening.

To add to the holiday festivities, an array of games greeted everyone upon arrival. Team members sipped beverages, noshed on Buffalo Chicken and Artichoke dips, and guessed “What’s in the Stocking?” by feeling  its contents without taking a peek inside. Guests had the chance to “Find the Key to the North Pole” by tracking down 10 keys hidden (and they were really hidden) throughout the venue. And the office favorite: One Clickers took a gander at which baby picture belonged to each team member. Other activities like Jenga, Apples to Apples, and cards were scattered about to meet just about everyone’s gaming needs.

OCV Talent and Culture Manager Terra Kash Hamilton was the mastermind behind the entire event and enjoyed the hilarity of the party planning process: “The Culture Team and I had a lot of fun putting the whole thing together. One of the funniest moments was when Randy heard we were going to have a candy bar, and he literally thought we were going to hand out chocolate bars for dessert!”  (Randy and the team lucked out on that one. )

Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Angie Stocklin was thrilled with how this year’s festivities turned out. “The OCV holiday party was a huge success! I am so happy that our Culture Team decided to hold our Holiday Party in January this year. It was so nice to hang out with our team members and their guests, without the added stress and obligations of the holidays. The atmosphere of Bugg’s Temple really gave the One Click Team an opportunity to laugh, relax and have a great time.”

So who took home the gold (err…gift card)? Order Fulfillment Specialist Jake Hehmen guessed all 10 items correctly in the stocking game, Order Fulfillment Specialist Janet Whitehouse scoured the venue to win the difficult key challenge, and Director of Email Marketing Alessandra Souers matched a surprising amount of baby photos to their owners.

Team members and their guests enjoyed casual conversation over a three course dinner including a choice of Ciabatta Chicken or Three Cheese Tortellini and a whopping slice of Chocolate Torte Cake for dessert (I’m trying to be objective here, but it was pretty much the greatest thing ever). And in true One Click sweet tooth fashion, an adorable candy bar provided the perfect parting favors for the OCV crew.

Overall, the annual One Click Holiday Party was the perfect chance for the team to enjoy each other’s company and reflect on the incredible accomplishments achieved in 2011. We look forward to the endless possibilities that await us in the New Year.

Observing this phenomenon got me thinking: I know what I’m listening to when I’m completely LOCKED IN to my paid search analysis, bid changes, ad reviews, etc… but what the heck is everyone else rocking out to? What, as Chazz Michael Michaels so famously said, “GETS THE PEOPLE GOING”? I decided to find out, and the results (as expected) were indicative of the broad spectrum of talent and taste here at OCV.

First up was Moriya, our Creative Director:
Song: “My Country” – tUnE-yArDs

“I don’t know what it says about me, other than I’m obsessed with her and I’ve been listening to this album for days. It’s her energy, and the way everything is put together. She’s a true artist.”

Moriya and I have similar feelings when it comes to tUnE-yArDs, and if you’ve never had the chance to see the band perform live, I strongly suggest you check this video out.

The next response I got was from Sarah T., one of our highly talented SEO and social media specialists:
Song: “Revelry” – Kings of Leon

“Kings of Leon isn’t necessarily ‘my style’ but I saw them live in Nashville, which happens to be their hometown, when I was in college. They are INSANELY awesome. Reminds me of college…gosh I miss college…”

Don’t we all, Sarah, don’t we all.

Next up was Maggie T., another crazy talented SEO Specialist:
Song: “In a Sentimental Mood” – John Coltrane

“Jazz is perfect working music for me. It’s hard for me to concentrate listening to songs with lyrics while I’m working, and Coltrane never fails me — even when there are words, I make exceptions for him. He makes me swoon, what can I say?”

I think you can definitely say that you’re keeping it classy for the rest of us, Maggie.

Sticking with the SEO Specialist run, next up is Mr. Hoosier himself, Adam:
Song: “We Didn’t Start the Fire” – Billy Joel

“There is a lot going on in this song, and I always have a lot going on at work For the record, I didn’t start the fire!”

If somebody ever burns something in the office microwave, I think Adam’s going to be Suspect #1.

As fate would have it, next up is Haley, the fearless leader and Director of Organic Search:
Song: “Take It On The Run” – REO Speedwagon

“I could be cool and say some indie band or something, but the truth of the matter is that my go-to song is REO Speedwagon’s “Take it on the Run.” I can’t help it. It makes me want to sing and spit in someone’s eye, or something. It’s a good stress-release song. I also rock it out on Rock Band with this song.”

Full Disclosure: Haley’s comment almost made me spit my coffee all over my computer I was laughing so hard. I also learned that I better not ever mess with Haley until at least an hour after she’s listened to a little REO.

After all this classic rock, jazz, and indie stuff, we needed something with a little bit of an edge. Luckily, we got exactly that with the song from Terryl, another SEO rockstar.
Song: “Fast Lane” – Eminem + Royce da 5’9’’

“Simply an illustration of my Gangster. (Note the big G. Dolla dolla bills, y’alllll.)”

If there’s one thing I know, it’s that Terryl embodies the spirit of ABGP here at OCV, and this song choice is a perfect example of that.

Some people say that you can’t rock out when you have a baby in-tow. Erika, our Product Manager, proves this statement wrong each and every day.
Song: “Just Can’t Get Enough” –Black Eyed Peas

“I’ve been listening to my Pitbull station on Pandora, and it seems to be stuck on the Black Eyed Peas at the moment and is currently playing “Just Can’t Get Enough.” It gets me dancing in my head, so it’s a good pick me up and gives me some energy to plow through everything I need to work on.”

Everyone in the office is continually in awe of Erika’s ability to juggle a million projects and keep everything moving forward (and on schedule!), but I think we just discovered her secret.

A company is only as good as the number of employees it has named Maggie, and luckily for OCV, we have two. Here’s Maggie V.’s choice:
Song: “Tiny Dancer” – Elton John

“Currently listening to Tiny Dancer by the one and only, Elton John. I have a small obsession with 8tracks.com right now and am loving the “vintage” mix (hence the Elton). Hmmm this says…I appreciate all types/decades/genres of music? And that I love any sort of song that would be played around closing time at a bar?? Okay in all seriousness, I have a soft spot for oldies and actually performed to Tiny Dancer as a part of a ballet ensemble my junior year of high school.”

I always thought the name of this song was “Tony Danza”. You learn something new every day. Hold me closer, Tony Danza.

Evidently our SEO team rocks out like it’s nobody’s business. Up next is Nate, SEO Specialist/Conversion Guru/All-Around Nice Guy:
Song: “Johnny’s 99 Problems” – DJ Schmolli

“I believe the most recent song I listened to was Johnny’s 99 Problems by DJ Schmolli on Turntable FM’s Mashups station. I think the tune says how well rounded I am as an acoustic individual. It shows my expertise as a music historian in addition to my need for upbeat, pump up music from a past full of competitive sports… which translates into my SEO full tilt approach towards the online retail world.”

The man isn’t kidding. When it comes to SEO, the kid gets after it. I’ve also seen him running outside in sub-zero temperatures, so don’t ever challenge him to a race. You’ll lose.

If you’re wondering why OCV’s search rankings are so great, look no further than our ridiculously amazing SEO team. Next up from that team is Molly:
Song: “Folding Chair” – Regina Spektor

“I saw her in concert with friends a few years back, and she’s as cute as a button, not to mention, her voice sounds as crystal clear in person as it does on her tracks. I love folk pop music: there’s a quirky cheeriness to it that I think fits my personality.”

Personally, I think the buttons with anchors on them are the cutest. I bet Regina is at least as cute as one of those.

When I was soliciting songs from everyone in the office, I asked for the song that each person had listened to most recently. Our photographer extraordinaire, Ani, went ahead and sent me three, because that’s just how she rolls.
Songs: “Lady Luck” – Jamie Woon
“Talk to Me” – Peaches
“I Look to You”- Miami Horror ft. Kimbra

“The songs say that I want to be happy & relax, but more like in a booth in a club. The bass is really deep & with my ear buds I get to hear it all around me, just distracting me enough so I can start ‘gettin’ stuff done.’ Lots of the covers in my play-list are bright, many abstract. Eye catching. Bright enough to catch my attention, sounds bouncy enough to keep me interested. What does that mean? I have ADHD. I’m feeding the beast. Oh, 1 song? A couple sentences? I’m not good at paraphrasing. My bad.”

Don’t mess with perfection. For this song explanation, I won’t.

More SEO you ask? You got it, pal! Next up is SEO/DIY Specialist Stacie:
Song: “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” – Franki Valli and the Four Seasons

“What does this song say about me? My favorite Pandora station is actually based around this song. I think it means that while I have a taste for cheesy things, both musical and literal, at least it is the best of the cheese. American cheese? Please. Pass the Muenster. And don’t ever bring “Sk8tr Boi” within twenty feet of my eardrums, Avril Lavigne’s rhymes are the cheesiest American cheese of music. I prefer the monster (Muenster?) falsetto screeching of ol’ Mr. Valli.”

Don’t sleep on Muenster. Definitely one of the most underrated players in the cheese game.

Just when you think we’d be out of SEO talent, we hit you right back with another bomb-diggity SEO Specialist, this time it’s Beth:
Song: “Helena Beat” – Foster the People

“It says that… I’m a sucker for a killer beat and I have a secret desire to visit Montana’s capital city?”

I see what you did there, Beth.

OCV literally couldn’t function without this next person. Julie is OCV’s Product Specialist/Assistant Buyer/Customer Service Champ and she rocks and rolls with the best of them, even if she can’t rock the headphones:
Song: “Dancing in the Dark” – Bruce Springsteen

“I don’t listen to music at my desk, but the song I have had stuck in my head for the past couple minutes is “Dancing in the Dark” by Springsteen. I would like to think that I have this song stuck in my head because I secretly wish that I was born earlier in the 80s so I could have more thoroughly enjoyed its musical offerings. (I am circa 1987)”

I dance in the dark all the time, but I’ll never be a quarter as cool as the

Can you stay for one more? I think you’ll enjoy it. The next song is from Scott, OCV’s Organic Search Analyst and frequent Excel-breaker.
Song: “Indoor Swimming at the Space Station” – Eluvium

“One of the best thinking songs around. Sounds like the title.”

One of the most critical skills for an analyst to possess is the ability to think and distill data from the ocean of information at your disposal, and as Scott said, this song can help you get there.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this sneak-peak into the razor-sharp minds of the good folks here at OCV. As I mentioned earlier, when the time comes to buckle down and get down to business, the entire OCV team is second to none, and these songs help us do it!

Q: As the OCV Assistant Buyer, what does your role entail?

A: As the Assistant Buyer, I am in charge of adding all of our new products to the websites, and maintaining them. I also do trend research for our bi-annual trade show visit, so I look at trends from the designer runways, magazines, and the Internet, and see how those correlate with what we sell. Along with purchasing at the trade shows, I also look for new and unique products to add to our existing sites, and place orders with current vendors.

Q: What’s it like getting to see and work with our products before anyone else on the team?

A: I love it! Seeing everything first is an advantage and a necessity for me because I need that product knowledge in order to best describe the items to our customers. And getting first dibs on that adorable new handbag doesn’t hurt either.

Q: Tell me about the buying show in Vegas.

A: The ASD Show in Las Vegas, NV happens twice a year, so we categorize our purchases and products as spring/summer and fall/winter. We go for about four days and purchase all of the new products that go onto our site. Basically, the show has thousands of vendors with all sorts of products. We have relationships with most of our vendors so it’s always very friendly and fun. We pick out products that we believe will sell in our stores, and our vendors always give their suggestions. The hardest part is remembering everything we purchased!

Q: What are your favorite trends for 2012? Can we expect to see your favorite trends sold in our stores?

A: I think spring and pastels are kind of a given, but who doesn’t love a pretty pastel? The ladylike trend seen these past couple of seasons has been a favorite, so polished and feminine, but I also love the ‘70s arts and crafts retro pieces that have been popping up, with their bright colors and the basket-weave handbags. Also, I’m a sucker for the bright tribal prints like ikat that have been gracing the runways of D&G and other designers. They make me want to go on vacation somewhere exotic! I think all of these trends are very transferable to our products and price points. That is what I love about fashion — it is attainable at any budget.

Q: Show me your top three favorite products OCV sells.

A: Oh gosh, only three? Currently I am loving the Kourtney Crossbody Mini Satchel with its  super bright color and snakeskin details. For a scarf, the Haven Fringe Scarf is probably the softest scarf you will ever wear, and comes in some awesome ‘70s-inspired colors ( I have the Turquoise Blue!). For sunglasses, I wear the SW Retro Style #523. You can’t go wrong with a huge pair of cat eye sunglasses.

Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to be a Buyer?

A: I have a Fashion Merchandising Degree with a minor in Marketing. I actually started at OCV as an intern, and I learned so much about the company and Internet retail before becoming a full-time employee. Get as many internships as you can because the experience is invaluable. Keeping up with the industry is a must. I am always looking at designer pieces and trends, as well as what celebrities are wearing. Trends trickle down so you have to look at every level in the industry.  Also, know what you like and know your audience. You have to trust yourself that you are buying the right products, so doing your research beforehand is very important, and can make your job a bit easier.

Thanks to Julie for taking the time to do this interview. I hope you’ve learned more about what it’s like to be an Assistant Buyer!

1. The Sunglass Warehouse blog will have more content based on your needs. We have received great feedback on the articles we’ve posted over the past couple of months, but we’re not completely satisfied unless you’re completely satisfied. We are kicking off the year with a survey asking our readers what type of content interests and inspire them. Based on the responses, we vow to write more posts on information our readers want to see. Do you want more celebrity fashion posts? New product information? Fitness tips? DIY crafts posts? Let us know!
2. You will be able to try on your sunglasses…virtually. We’ve had several customers tell us that they struggle to find the right sunglasses online. We understand how hard it is to gage whether or not sunglasses will fit your face shape through the computer screen, which is why we’re in the process of creating a widget that makes your dreams come true. As our very own Product Manager & Director of Affiliate Marketing Erika Crabtree explains, “Customers told us they wanted a way to virtually try on our sunglasses. This will be a way to finally bring this to them.”
3. We will help you choose the best sunglasses for you. Everyone should have the perfect sunglasses; they’re one of the most important accessories in your wardrobe! However, with so many options, one can get overwhelmed at all of the choices. Aviators, wayfarers, round, retro, cat eye, and oversized are just a couple of popular styles, but the million dollar question is which pair fits your personality and needs? We plan on releasing an application that will help you narrow the masses down to a few pairs that best match what you are looking for. Afterwards, you can virtually try them on (see number 2) to make sure they love you as much as you love them.

Sunglasses are not only a style statement, but there are a lot of health benefits from wearing them, too.  Our new year’s resolution is to provide you with the best experience and resources for when you need your next pair. On behalf of the Sunglass Warehouse team and everyone here at One Click Ventures, we want to wish you and your families a happy and healthy new year!

Many people hear the term SEO and they automatically think that all we do is spam the web to promote our websites. Sure the bad, black hat SEOs do a lot of shameful and annoying things, but I’m happy to be part of an SEO team that takes the high road. A big part of the organic team’s job is to create content and make linkbait to get other websites to link back to our stores so that the stores’ domain authority grows and ranks higher in Google. Recently, one of our favorite places to gain natural backlinks is through Pinterest. Here are some of the recent crafts that have pinned well and brought traffic to our sites.


1. TravelProducts.com’s Travel Notebook: by Nate.

2. HandbagHeaven.com’s Glitter Clutch: by Beth and Sarah

3. SunglassWarehouse.com’s Sunglasses Holder: by Molly and Maggie.

4. DIY Handwritten Scarf: by Maggie.

5. Scarf Camera Strap: by me.

While these projects have brought our sites a lot of traffic, sometimes they even get picked up by other websites. Recently my scarf camera strap was also blogged about on Petapixel and that not only gave us a great link, but it also brought a lot of traffic. Next time you are figuring out how to build your backlink profile, get crafty with it! Literally.

As SEOs, we’re also neck-deep in data, planning out our strategies for 2012 and digging through the trends of 2011. My compatriot in PPC already went over some of the most popular PPC phrases of the last year; in a similar dive through common organic queries, I found myself coming to some pretty deep philosophical conclusions.

 1) People are obsessed with Justin Bieber.

I know this shouldn’t be new to me. We all love our celebrities: Kourtney Kardashian, Snooki, Taylor Swift, Brad Pitt, even Mickey Mouse all make their appearance in OCV keyword data, and we have the styles to help people achieve celebrity looks for less. But the one constant, whether it’s scarves, sunglasses, ties, or, yes, even handbags, is the Justin Bieber keyword. I must admit the guy’s got appeal, so it’s a good thing we keep our shelves stocked for Bieber Fever outbreaks.

Humor aside, celebrities continue to motivate searchers. While it can be difficult to stay on top of which celebrities are trending, it’s worth investigating how popular figures and popular culture affect your audience. On a similar note…

2) We want to know about Demi Lovato’s hair.

With active blogs on many of our stores and a team of pop-culture-savvy editors, we pick up new keywords all the time – some intentional and some not.  A query like “Demi Lovato straight hair” might seem a random and insignificant side effect to writing for a fashion-conscious audience, but when variations of that query show up again and again, it’s worth thinking about what said query reveals about your customer base.  No, this phrase is not really scarf-related, but it does tell us people are interested in Demi Lovato’s fashion choices and that we can show up in the SERPs for such a topic. Could this be turned into an opportunity to gain a new customer, whether they’re looking for scarves or not? Absolutely. Blog posts are all a part of connecting with your audience, figuring out what your customer wants, and giving it to them. In the process, this content could result in a powerful link or a new partnership, increased exposure for your brand name, and new customers. Keyword data – even seemingly-random keyword data – can help you in this process and give you a better idea of the customer you’re trying to serve.

3) When traveling, it’s important to stay dry.

“Quick dry clothing.” “Fast drying underwear.” “Quick dry clothing for travel.” “Using Canadian hair dryers in England.” What are travelers doing nowadays? Whatever it is, it involves a lot of water.

This pattern in TravelProducts.com keywords is not only useful in letting our organic team know about our audience and what they’re looking for, but it also could be useful to our buyers, our customer service team, and other channels in the marketing department. When you find an interesting keyword pattern, don’t forget to share it with the rest of the team – every aspect of the business can benefit from knowing more about your customer.

4) If you want to be fashionable, you should wear a bolo tie.

Just kidding. I can’t make that decision for you. It might be worth thinking about, though. This ABCNeckties.com post from 2010 still saw some decent action in the SERPs and added plenty of bolo-related keywords to our list. Knowing which pieces of content have longevity is important in any strategy for 2012 – for long-lasting, organic SEO, we should be building those resources that will stir up genuine interest in our audience. Relevant, interesting content means natural links and new visitors, not just in the weeks after the content goes up, but for years to come.

5) There will always be questions you can’t answer – aka LIFE IS A MYSTERY.

Okay, that’s a little melodramatic. But since Google began implementing its new SSL search rules, the keyword “(not provided)” has steadily increased. On a weekly basis, it now accounts for more than 10% (in some cases 15%) of organic Google traffic for a number of our stores, and that number continues to rise. Every visit we can’t identify indicates a hole in our understanding of our audience, and it means there could be even more useful little nuggets of keyword gold that we’re missing.

The nature of organic search means that it’s harder to measure and test than something like PPC or email marketing – there’s the delay between action and result and the element of uncertainty that always exists in not really knowing the ins-and-outs of Google’s algortithm – and the “(not provided)” keyword just adds more unknowns to the mix. But that just makes it all the more important for us to look through the keyword data that we do have, and to focus on what we know about our customers and about creating truly useful and relevant sites.

TL;DR: looking through keyword data is useful

Hope everyone has an awesome New Years!