Our latest Speaker announcement is for a fantastic addition to WordCamp Raleigh … Brandon Eley, who is the Interactive Director for Kelsey Advertising & Design, a small-smart advertising agency with a strong focus on digital media.

Session:

“5 Tactics Bloggers Should Learn from Online Marketers”

We don’t usually think of blogs as transactional websites. They’re content sites, right?

The truth is, every website is transactional in some way or another. E-commerce professionals and online marketers have spent 15 years developing the best ways to get visitors to convert.

In this presentation we’ll discuss 5 key tactics that the pros use to boost conversions… and you’ll learn how they’re applicable to your blog, as well as how they can help you make more ad revenue, increase newsletter and RSS subscriptions, and sell more products.

Bio:

Brandon is an Interactive Director, entrepreneur, author, and professional speaker. He has 10 years of experience in online marketing and e-commerce from both the perspective of an e-commerce retailer and that of a consultant.

He is the Interactive Director for Kelsey Advertising & Design, where he oversees interactive projects, online marketing campaigns and information architecture. He is also the owner of 2BigFeet.com, an online retailer of large men’s shoes, as well as several other websites and blogs.

Brandon is also the co-author of “Online Marketing Inside Out” and frequently speaks about online marketing at conferences and organizations all over the country.

In addition to all of this, he co-authors the SitePoint Tribune email newsletter that reaches over 200,000 web professionals weekly.

Brandon’s past presentations include sessions at eCommerce Merchants Association, Digital Age Seminar, South by Southwest 2010, BlogWorld Expo ’09, BarCampBirmingham, plus many others.

Follow Brandon:

Website: KelseyAds.com
Blog: BrandonEley.com
Twitter: @beley

Announcing the addition of Gregory Ng, as another awesome Speaker for WordCamp Raleigh. Gregory is the VP, Creative at Brooks Bell Interactive, an online direct marketing agency.

By night he is the Frozen Food Master, the host of a niche web show reviewing frozen foods at Freezerburns.com.

Session:

“I Want To Be A VideoBlogger!”

It seems like everyone is talking about video blogging these days, but how hard is it to get started?

What equipment do I need to buy? How can I get paid for it? In this presentation we will discuss everything you need to get started producing videos for your own videoblog.

We will also cover how to publish, promote, and make money off of your website using WordPress.

Bio:

Gregory is a direct marketer and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design where he was classically trained in Graphic Design. He develops effective, integrated, results-driven marketing programs for Global Fortune 1000 clients including: Bank of America, American Express, TRowe Price, Chase. Dell, Microsoft, and Cognos.

His experience spans across all marketing communications channels including: mail, collateral, brand identity, interactive, broadcast, print, out-of-home, and events.

Gregory specializes as a social media strategist with experience in viral internet marketing, social networking, web promotions, SEO, and paid search.

In 2005, Gregory received the Prodigy award from the New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA) given to professionals under the age of 30 who have mastered the science and art of direct marketing. Since 2003, he has received over 40 awards for his direct marketing campaigns.

Gregory is also an accomplished blogger and besides FreezerBurns.com, he also runs five other blogs: ClickAroundWith.Me, Noodad.com, FromDadto.Me, ChelvisLives.com, & SlantyEyes.com.

Gregory’s past presentations include sessions at Social Media Business Forum ’09 and Future15 Online Video segment for South by SouthWest SXSW 2010.

Follow Gregory:

Blog: FreezerBurns.com
Blog: FollowGreg.com
Twitter: @gregoryng

Now here’s a session and Speaker addition to WordCamp Raleigh that you won’t want to miss … Andrew Gray, is a partner at TayloeGray, a Wilmington, NC based Marketing and eBusiness Consulting firm.

Session:

“Speed Up Your Site Using Transient API for Caching”

Transient API is a great way to cache sidebar items and other fragments (HTML sections) of your site that don’t need to be created on every page load.

With a simple change to your template, you can dramatically reduce the load on your database and still have a dynamic site.

The presentation will include a basic overview of the transient API and how to use it in your template. Examples will include caching the tag cloud, most commented posts, and other side bar items.

Bio:

Andrew has been a web developer since the late 90’s, and his first commercial internet project was founding the Chapel Hill website Rent.com in 1999.

He is now a partner at TayloeGray, a Wilmington, NC based Marketing and eBusiness Consulting firm, where he develops client sites using WordPress.

TayloeGray’s highest traffic WordPress site is Hip2Save.com, a coupon blog with over 5M page views per month.

Other notable WordPress sites Andrew has created include CBradioshow.com (online radio station) and UNCWEC.org (the Entrepreneurship Center of UNC-W).

Follow Andrew:

Website: TayloeGray.com
Twitter: @TayloeGray

We’re happy to announce another great Speaker addition to WordCamp Raleigh, Aaron Brezell, who is a WordPress developer & consultant, and the author of the WordPress Bible from Wiley Publishing.

Session:

“WordPress Social”

Examining how the WordPress ecosystem can help you build communities, leverage social networks, and integrate with the growing connectedness among Internet users.

Bio:

Aaron, who is often controversial but rarely wrong, is a WordPress developer & consultant and the author of the WordPress Bible from Wiley publishing.

He has been developing in WordPress for more than 4 years and is a strong advocate for resource sharing among communities.

Aaron’s past presentations include sessions at WordCamps’ San Francisco, Dallas, NYC, Atlanta, and Mid-Atlantic, where he is a lead organizer, plus others.

Follow Aaron:

Blog: Technosailor.com
Twitter: @technosailor