Welcome to the official blog of Nathan Williams and Charter Oak Consulting, LLC.

Based in Tallahassee, Florida, I help businesses establish their online roots and tell their story through engaging and informative content. Of course, this is just one piece of a complex puzzle.

Working as a web copywriter since 2008, I’ve witnessed significant development in the web marketing industry over last 7+ years. Organizations can no longer just post random, keyword-rich content and expect results. Rather, they must take a holistic approach to understand their customers’ needs, and then tailor content to help them address these needs (…or fears, pain points, etc.).

Planning and creating this content though is just the beginning. It must be nurtured, shared and updated to ensure it yields the benefits we’re ultimately shooting for – to further establish thought leadership and drive high-value leads via the web.

To illustrate this, imagine a mighty oak tree. The roots draw moisture and nutrients from the ground to keep the tree alive and growing. If the root system is weak, the tree will be weak, and if the tree is weak, all it will take is a gush of wind to knock it over.

In a business context, the roots represent all your behind-the-scenes efforts to build your brand both online and off. If this were 1990 or even the year 2000, some simple advertising and word-of-mouth may have been enough.

Today’s climate requires more. With the rapid growth of the web and adoption of mobile technologies, people today require more information before arriving at a purchasing decision than ever before.

Companies who ignore this fact risk starving their roots of nutrition, which over time causes their “tree” to wilt and eventually die away.

Of course, many organizations simply don’t know where to start, which is especially true for smaller, local companies.

The goal of this blog and Charter Oak Consulting is to help local firms in the Tallahassee, Gainesville and surrounding North Florida region harness the right tools to help build their company’s online roots.

With a strong base or roots, companies can be the mighty oak within their industry and able to withstand the storms of larger competitors, a shaky economy and other potential disruptions.

Besides web marketing for local companies, I also work with firms throughout the U.S. to develop concise, informative copy for blog, product/service landing pages, press releases and more.

Under the Old Oak will be exploring different topics for everything from web marketing to freelancing to the unique challenges local business owners face in establishing their online roots. It won’t be a re-hash of the multitude of sources out there on the web, but rather observations based on my experience as a web writer and marketer.

We invite you to check back often, and please don’t hesitate to email me at nathan@charteroakfla.com or call me at (850) 270-2145 with any questions or to discuss your individual company’s needs today!