He came to me through a referral in January needing a website. That was the plan. What followed was a domain migration, a hidden piece of internet history, an email program, a full book launch marketing push, and a press kit. One project kept leading to the next.
Starting Under the Hood
Before I could build anything, I had to figure out where everything lived. Chris’s domain sat with one company. His DNS, the settings that tell the internet where your site and email go, lived with a second company, and his business email ran on an older mail system behind that.
That kind of setup works fine until someone moves the website and the email goes dark. So I mapped the whole chain first, saved a copy of every existing record, and moved the site over without touching the mail. Nobody notices this part when it goes right. That’s the point.
It paid off again a few months later. When we set up his email marketing, the records that prove his emails are legit had to go to that same DNS company, not Squarespace. I already knew exactly where.
A New Site, and the Old One Too
The new site is on Squarespace, built from January through March. It’s clean, easy for Chris to update, and ready to grow with whatever came next. Web design is usually where my client relationships start, and this one was no different.
Chris McLernon — Squarespace website
Chris had a website back in the early 2000s, and it held over 20 pages of history: his bands, the different eras, the stuff fans dig for. I didn’t want that to disappear. So before the new site launched, I recreated the original as a hidden section of the new one. Chris still has it, and any fan who finds the link gets a little time capsule.
The fun part was making it feel like the original while building it in Squarespace. Old-school HTML sites have a look you can’t fake with a modern template. Getting that right took some work.
Chris McLernon — hidden recreation of his original site
Building the List
With the site live, Chris needed a way to reach his fans directly. I set up Mailchimp, connected the signup form on his site, designed a branded template, and built a welcome email that goes out automatically to every new subscriber. I also authenticated his domain so his emails land in inboxes instead of spam folders.
Then I built his Linktree, one link he can drop into any social bio. The book sits at the top, followed by his email list, his music, and the podcast.
Launching the Book
Chris’s memoir, Screaming in Hollywood: The Last Gold Rush, came out August 21. It covers his first four years in Los Angeles, from arriving in Hollywood in July 1985 to getting signed by MCA.
For the run-up, we made four chapter visualizers: Chris reading from the book in his own voice, set to the book cover and an audio waveform. Each one went to his email list first, then went public on his blog. By launch day, his list had already heard him read the book. That’s the advantage of building the list early. You’re not announcing a book to strangers. You’re telling people who’ve been waiting for it.
The launch email didn’t have to introduce anything. It just said the book was here. His list kept growing on its own, with no ads behind it.
Chris McLernon — chapter visualizer
Building an Electronic Press Kit
A book needs people talking about it. Podcast hosts need something to work with. So I built Chris an electronic press kit: a hidden page on his site with everything a host or reporter needs. A one-sheet, bios, photos, an excerpt, interview questions, and story hooks with page numbers. Instead of five attachments, Chris sends one link.
To write the hooks, I read the whole book. It’s a great read. The best press kits point hosts to real moments, not summaries. There’s even a section of ready-to-paste blurbs for show notes and social posts, so a host can share the episode without writing a word.
Chris McLernon — electronic press kit
The Work Between the Projects
The big launches get the attention, but most of this relationship happens in between. Chris writes his blog posts, and I edit them, post them, and handle the SEO. I add new pages and content as his projects grow, and I’m the person he calls when something on the internet doesn’t make sense. Here’s everything so far:
- DNS and domain migration
- Squarespace website
- Hidden recreation of his original site
- Mailchimp setup and automation
- Linktree
- Book launch marketing and chapter visualizers
- Electronic press kit
- Website updates and new pages
- Blog editing and posting
- Ongoing consulting and support
An Ongoing Partnership
Chris was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019 and beat throat cancer in 2025. Both are part of why the book took longer than he planned. Neither one stopped him. If anything, they made him want to do more: more music, more shows, a book. He’s one of the most inspiring people I’ve worked with.
He’s partnered with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to help other people living with Parkinson’s, and he puts his approach best on his site:
“The best way I can do that is by being myself. And that self is stubbornly upbeat.”
Chris McLernon
Like Don Ruperto, this one started with a website and kept going. That’s the kind of work I enjoy most. Not one deliverable, but a client you get to keep building with.
Learn more about Chris at chrismclernon.com, and pick up Screaming in Hollywood on Amazon.
